Chapter 282: The Yanshi County series of missions completed^^……
Suburbs of Yanshi County.
Large tracts of flat land are covered with lush green vegetables and grains, and hardworking farmers move about among the neat rows of fields. Despite the scorching sun, the people here are used to it.
Only an old man, wearing only his underwear and resting on a stone in front of a house by the roadside, sighed, "This sun... it's awful!"
Every wrinkle on his face was glistening with sweat, his skin flushed from the sun. He covered his head with a large straw hat, but even with his clothes open, it didn't cool him down. His shorts were rolled up almost to his thighs, revealing his thin, withered legs in an unsightly manner.
The woman, who was holding a hoe in the field and looked up, panting heavily, immediately chimed in, "That's right! It's so sunny here!"
Her voice was loud and clear, and as soon as she complained, the surrounding fields echoed back and forth: "...It's too hot!" "It's not as cool as Luoyang here!" "That's right..." "Auntie, take a break, let me do it for a while." "Sigh, husband, you take your daughter to the river for a while, you're almost getting sick from the heat."
Upon arriving at this location, Li Banhui's eyebrows twitched several times. He immediately began to loudly reprimand, "What nonsense are you spouting! We've been looking around for ages, and only your village has a chariot! Didn't we give everyone new clothes? Put them on, all of you!"
Li Banhui, now appointed as an imperial envoy by the new emperor, couldn't speak his mind directly. His servant, spoiled by wealth, muttered disdainfully, "...Working without clothes on is so uncivilized. Luckily we saw it, otherwise, if the new emperor came to inspect and saw us, he would think we were being mean to them!"
The others who followed nodded in agreement, skillfully flattering him.
A curious voice came from behind: "What does 'plus four' mean?"
Li Banhui turned around and glared at him, annoyed: "You're not from Luoyang, are you? You don't even have a four-horse carriage..."
"...!!!" The reprimand he was about to utter suddenly melted away, and he stared wide-eyed in horror at the other side along with the patrol team.
—A few people emerged from the vineyard behind them at some unknown time. The question was asked by the leader, and all of their faces looked very familiar.
The Prince of Ning, who was accompanying him in front of the vineyard, wore a stiff smile that betrayed a hidden murderous intent: "Lord Li, why don't you come and pay your respects to...the Emperor?"
Li Banhui felt as if the sky had fallen. He crawled over in a panic, and when he knelt on the ground, he still looked a little aggrieved: "Greetings, Your Majesty!!"
That's it!
Why did the new emperor have to run into him during his inspection tour, right when these ignorant people were complaining?
...Isn't the new emperor's carriage only scheduled to depart tomorrow?!
"I came to see my sixth brother first. You all continue with your work." Qi Chengming dismissed the group of people who were filled with trepidation, leaving only Li Banhui, who was leading the inspection. He would never say that he had come incognito on a special occasion; to the outside world, he would only say that the emperor would arrive in Yanshi County tomorrow.
Qi Chengming looked at Li Banhui, who was kneeling weakly on the ground, with a sense of relief, and told him to get up. Where was the slightest trace of this spoiled brat now? He was quite capable in doing things, although, well, he still made mistakes like the one just now. It seemed that his arrogant nature was beyond redemption.
"So, what does 'plus four' mean?" Qi Chengming asked curiously again, following up on the previous question.
He vaguely remembered that Li Banhui was not a native of Luoyang, but now he spoke fluent Luoyang dialect.
If it were any other question, the uneducated Li Banhui might not be able to answer it, but he had recently studied the reason for it!
Li Banhui perked up, proudly puffed out his chest, and said, "It's 'driving with four horses,' that's an insult! The Zhou emperor rode in a chariot drawn by six horses, called 'the emperor's chariot drawn by six.' According to the regulations, feudal lords could only ride in chariots drawn by five horses, dukes and ministers by four, and officials and scholars by three..."
“When ordinary people see a carriage with four or more horses, they know they’ve met an important person. So…” Li Banhui hesitated to finish his sentence, his eyes darting furtively to the side.
He was just using the metaphor of "driving a chariot" to mock those common people, implying they were important figures who couldn't even endure the slightest hardship.
Qi Chengming nodded thoughtfully.
The emperor and the feudal lords were the most powerful figures, and no one was allowed to offend them in the slightest. That's why the common people only dared to gossip about the officials from the highest level down.
The General Mao, who had come to escort him, listened intently from behind, taking notes silently.
He's not interested in learning any local dialects, but if it's swear words, then it's worth memorizing!
Qi Chengming glanced at Commander Mao, who was silently memorizing something and had suddenly burst forth with a desire to learn, then thoughtfully glanced at Li Banhui, who was too guilty to look at him: "..."
Well, you understand it so well, I'm afraid Li Banhui learned it this way too.
“Brother, shall we go into the city and take a look? You don’t know how much has changed here.” Prince Ning breathed a slight sigh of relief as he watched Li Banhui ramble on and on, seemingly diverting the new emperor’s attention. He spoke casually.
"No rush." Qi Chengming made a gesture and raised an eyebrow at the people in the fields.
Who knew there would be an unexpected surprise?
Qi Chengming recognized the complaining old man and the men and women; weren't these the same refugees he had seen spending the night outside Luoyang? They had migrated to Yanshi County and settled down, now owning houses and land. It seemed that apart from not being well-adapted to the climate, they were doing quite well. Last time he saw them, they looked like wild men; this time, they looked like ordinary farmers.
"Greetings...Greetings, Your Majesty!" Ever since the village chief and the high-ranking officials arrived, the old man who had been caught complaining had been extremely nervous. He stood stiffly with the dozen or so households that had gathered around him. Now that they saw their benefactor also turning his gaze to them, they all knelt down with a thud, overjoyed yet not daring to breathe loudly.
This is the emperor! Who dares to say they've been lucky enough to speak with the emperor twice in their entire life? Their ancestors' graves must be emitting auspicious smoke!
Qi Chengming helped the old man up and noticed that there was a ring of light indigo stains on his half-wet collar. The clothes that the other farmers had hurriedly put on also had some stains, rather than being pure white cloth.
The village head, a shrewd and experienced man, noticed that neither Prince Ning nor Lord Li, who were accompanying them, had noticed this, so he suddenly spoke up discreetly, praising:
"Thanks to His Majesty for inviting Prince Ning to our Yanshi County! He drove away those scoundrels who oppressed the common people! Now, not only the later refugees, but even us old folks who toiled in the fields have been allocated new land! Even the new clothes we received are colored!"
Prince Ning showed his approval and was secretly pleased with the village chief's tact; this was helping him gain prestige.
Qi Chengming then asked in surprise, "Why are all the clothes colored?"
“Aren’t there many new factories and shops opening in the city? There’s a newly opened dyeing factory that hires a lot of migrant workers. They’re not very skilled at the job yet…” The village head cupped his hands in greeting. “The Imperial Envoy, Lord Zhang, decided to buy it and distribute those clothes to the people who have just arrived in Yanshi.”
"Well done," Qi Chengming praised, relieved.
The old man didn't dare to say much, so he just shrank to the side and kept nodding in agreement with the village head, his wrinkles smoothing out.
After they moved here, they lived like gods, receiving houses, land, and clothes as gifts, and the city was constantly hiring workers. All the young men and women from their dozen or so households went to the city, earning a lot of money every day! Only those of them who remained felt the pinch and insisted on staying to tend the grain. This new grain was precious; even the prince said it was divine grain brought back by His Majesty, a kind that would ensure a year's worth of food!
Prince Ning's lips curled up even more, and he asked again with a reserved yet smug air, this time speaking with much more confidence: "Your Majesty, shall we go into the city and take a look?"
"Okay." This time Qi Chengming agreed, his gaze sweeping over the vast fields, and the anticipation in his heart subsided.
A surprise inspection can reveal the true nature of a place. Although he has not yet entered the city, it seems that Prince Ning's team is developing very well in Yanshi County, and everything is modeled after Liuzhou City.
If you were to ask Qi Chengming why he knew so much detail...
He silently glanced at his system:
[Infrastructure Task: Reform the Yanshi County Government and distribute land extensively (Completed)] (Executor: Prince Ning)
[Infrastructure Task: Planting three major grain crops in Yanshi County (Completed)] (Executor: Prince Ning)
[Infrastructure Task: Work-for-Relief Program, Resettlement of Displaced Residents (Completed)]...
[Infrastructure tasks: Factory construction and shop erection]...
[Infrastructure Task: Currency Exchange]...
A dozen or so infrastructure tasks, large and small, were sent out one after another and were all entrusted to Prince Ning for remote execution. These tasks had been lying on Qi Chengming's system panel for several months, and Qi Chengming had not looked at them since. They were all currently showing as completed.
After all that, only one task remains:
[Infrastructure Task: Initiating a Project (Incomplete)] (Executed by: Prince Ning)
[Mission Objective: To spread the news of the reforms in Yanshi County to Luoyang City, thereby gradually bringing about new changes in Luoyang.]
This last task is not difficult to complete. As long as Qi Chengming conducts a fair and aboveboard inspection of Yanshi County and uses the newspaper as a mouthpiece to publicize it, no one else can help but be tempted.
Qi Chengming smiled slightly and followed Li Banhui and Prince Ning into the city.
...
On the cement road, people and horse-drawn carriages passed by in a bustling manner. Although Yanshi County is only a small county town without tall and majestic buildings, many houses in the county town are made of blue tiles and thick bricks, and look square and upright, indicating that the families are well-off.
The streets were bustling with activity. Vendors carrying chickens and ducks called out their wares, their clear voices soliciting customers, and a unique, sweet aroma filled the air. Even though many of the people dressed in simple clothes were still thin and pale, their eyes shone with a light. Along the way, besides the shops, much of the area was still under construction; the air smelled of dirt, and everywhere were mounds of excavated earth and people sweating profusely.
Zhang Rui, who had rushed over from the county government office, couldn't hide his nervousness as he forced a smile and explained, "The drainage system is still under construction... Oh, Your Majesty, did you smell that odor just now? That's from the streets they pass by where they're making 'silver bar candied fruit' and silver bar treasure vegetables. They soak them in well water, and they're especially crisp and refreshing to eat in the summer. These are also tribute items, and they can only be grown in Yanshi County!"
Qi Chengming sensed that Zhang Rui was overly nervous, likely due to the pressure of his relationship with Zhang Ting. However, his ambiguous speech, even if not a bad thing, still aroused suspicion. Qi Chengming stopped and asked, "—Why is the sewer system only being repaired now?"
Prince Ning and his entourage have been in Yanshi County for several months now. Even if the drainage and the renovation of the county town's structure are not the most urgent matters, they shouldn't have been delayed until now. This is not the massive city of Luoyang, where the workload is not that large.
Master Mo has witnessed the development of Liuzhou by following Mr. Qin throughout the entire process, so he should know what is more reasonable.
Qi Chengming asked a simple question, but Zhang Rui's knees buckled. Thinking he was being deliberately reprimanded, he knelt down with a thud, sweat pouring down his face, and trembling as he kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me! Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
As the imperial envoy whose rank was second only to Prince Ning among this group, Zhang Rui's kneeling caused everyone in the county government to turn pale with fright and kneel down as well. Passersby in the distance stirred, afraid to approach, but this place remained completely silent; the air seemed to freeze.
Qi Chengming: "..."
He silently turned his gaze to others.
So, could someone please tell him why it's taking so long to fix it?
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Author's note: Another batch of rewards is about to arrive!
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