366, Storms and Clouds
366, Storms and Clouds
From winter to spring, and from spring to summer
When the first city wall of Li County was completed, Lu Mingfei received a letter sent by Zhao Lang.
After reading the letter, he had a feeling of...unexpected, yet expected.
Zhao Lang's letter informed him that the Emperor and the Deposed Emperor had fought and both had died. The young prince had succeeded to the throne, and Zhao Lang had become Regent, assisting the young Emperor in governing the country alongside Prime Minister Wan and the six ministers.
Judging from the arrangement of appointing a regent to supervise the country before the emperor's death, the emperor did not completely trust his grandfather, otherwise he would not have appointed Zhao Lang as regent before his death.
Now things are not going as they planned.
Lu Mingfei pondered the situation and decided that the current trend was better than he had initially envisioned. A country that frequently changed its rulers was a sign that it was truly headed for decline and destruction.
The court was in such a state, plagued by external troubles and internal turmoil, that it was no easy matter to bring order to this mess. Furthermore, there were a large number of people within the court who were dragging their feet. Prime Minister Wan was probably eager to immediately remove Zhao Lang from power, kill the young emperor, and ascend to the throne himself.
Therefore, it is probably not easy for Zhao Lang to be the regent.
However, there is one advantage of Zhao Lang being the regent, which is that it becomes much easier for them to do something.
There was also a great benefit for the imperial court: with Zhao Lang in Jingdu Prefecture, Prince Ding would not rebel. Furthermore, with Prince Ding and the Northern Guard Army backing the imperial court, the other vassal princes who wanted to stir up trouble would have to consider whether they could withstand the hundreds of thousands of Northern Guard Army.
However, for Prime Minister Wan and others, Zhao Lang's sudden appearance directly shattered his dream of usurping the throne and becoming emperor himself.
Now the direction of things has changed greatly from what they originally discussed. Lu Mingfei really wants to go to Kyoto Prefecture to meet Zhao Lang and discuss their next arrangements with him.
Perhaps thinking of his reaction after reading the letter, the man said at the end of the letter that he should wait and he would find a way to transfer him back to Kyoto Prefecture.
I think it must be because the situation in Kyoto Prefecture is unstable, and Zhao Lang was afraid that he would be in danger if he went to Kyoto Prefecture, so he asked him to wait in the letter.
Since that was the case, he could only give up the idea of going to Kyoto Prefecture to find Zhao Lang and stay in Li County.
The hot summer is over and autumn has arrived.
That autumn, the people of Li County and all its villages were filled with joy, for their fields had yielded abundant crops. The crops they had grown this year were better than any other year.
After deducting the grain tax, they still have 90% of the grain left!
The man kneeling on the ground held the newly harvested grain, tears welling in his eyes, "Dad, Mom, we, we finally don't have to go hungry anymore!"
"God saw that our lives were too hard, so he sent us a good adult. It is because of him that we have land and can grow so many crops..." The old man knelt down in the direction of the county town and kowtowed three times.
His descendants, wives, and daughters all knelt down with him and kowtowed in the direction of the yamen and their leaders.
It was not just the old man's family who did this, but many people in the area, who all knelt down and kowtowed in the direction of their master.
Thank you for coming, thank you for sending people to dig wells and build canals everywhere over the past few months, and for lending them grain seeds for free on credit, and allowing them to exchange labor for farm tools, so that they can have food in this area.
When these people harvested the grain from the fields, the first thing they did was to send a load of the newly harvested grain to the gate of the government office, specifically for their county magistrate.
At this time, Lu Mingfei was at the back of the government office and had no idea what was happening at the gate. He only learned about it when someone came in to report it to him. He was so frightened that he stood up from his chair and strode out.
"This bunch of people are just messing around! Isn't this...considering I'm committing corruption and bribery?" Lu Mingfei couldn't help but mutter to the guards following behind him as he walked out.
"Sir, it's not that serious, right? This is a gift from the people, which shows they like you." Guard Ma followed behind their master. It was the first time he saw their master walking so briskly.
"Don't you give them credit for grain, seeds, and other things?"
"You have spent tens of thousands of taels of silver when you became the county magistrate. Now the people are just giving their masters some gifts. Isn't that right?" From Guard Ma's perspective, he felt that it was right for the people to give their masters anything.
"I'm the local official. It's my duty to help the people here. This is my responsibility and obligation. I can't say that just because I help them, I should get something from them."
"Besides, the money I paid to the government office will be returned to me in the future. It's not given away for free." Lu Mingfei wasn't so generous as to give the government office tens of thousands of silver for free. He had been an official for several years, and his monthly salary wasn't even that much!
If these tens of thousands of taels were his own money, it would be fine. But most of it belonged to Zhao Lang, and the remaining half was borrowed from his father and adoptive father, all of which had to be repaid.
Now that he had done the math, he realized that not only had he not gained any benefit from being an official, but he had also added so much money to the bill. He also had to work hard every day to give advice to the people and try every possible way to improve the lives of the local people.
How is this any different from working without a salary and still paying into the business? When Lu Mingfei reached the door, he paused, his mind full of doubts about his life.
The horse guard following behind almost bumped into the back of their master.
"Sir, why don't you leave?" Guard Ma asked curiously.
Lu Mingfei did not answer this question. He shook his head to get rid of the doubts in his mind, and then continued to walk towards the door.
Just as he came out to the gate, he saw a father and son putting a load of grain at the door of the yamen. He hurriedly sent someone to stop the father and son.
"Greetings, sir." After being stopped by the police, the father and son did not feel as fearful as they had felt when they were stopped by the police on the road before. Instead, they felt a little happy and nervous.
Lu Mingfei came forward and helped the father and son up, saying, "Take this load of food back with you."
"We don't accept these things here in our government office."
"It's not for the government office, it's for you, sir. The new grain from the fields has been harvested, and we want you to taste it." The old man said with a smile.
"I can't finish so much food by myself, you can take it back. I usually eat in the cafeteria and don't cook at home." Lu Mingfei didn't lie. He really didn't eat at home on weekdays. He always ate outside before returning to his residence.
"Well, take it to the cafeteria and ask the cook to prepare it for you." In short, they were determined to deliver the food.
The father and son exchanged glances, then turned and ran away.
There was no way Guard Ma would let the father and son escape. He rushed forward to stop them without waiting for their parents to speak.
However, at this time, many people came to deliver food to their masters, and there were many people gathered at the gate of the yamen to watch the fun, so the father and son actually got into the crowd and ran away.
At this time, the other people who came to deliver food saw this and quickly put down their burdens, kowtowed to their elders and ran away.
“…” Lu Mingfei.
“…” Guard Ma and other brothers.
"Sir, let me go and get them back." Guard Ma paused and wanted to break through the crowd and go out to find those who had just run away.
However, at this time, an old man outside the crowd shouted, "Sir, please accept it. This is everyone's respect for you."
"Yes, sir, please accept it."
When the others heard this, they all followed suit and shouted.
What else could Lu Mingfei do? He could only bow deeply to these elders and fellow villagers and say, "Thank you for your thoughtfulness. Thank you for your recognition of me."
"I will have the ladies in the yamen canteen prepare the food you all sent today. In the next few days, we will set up a stall at the yamen gate. If there are villagers in need, they can come here to receive it for free."
Since it was a gift from everyone, he couldn't keep it all to himself. The best way was to share it with everyone.
After finishing his words with everyone, Lu Mingfei turned back to the yamen and instructed the legal advisor who followed him, "Arrange a few people to guard the yamen gate. If anyone brings something to give to me again, let them take it back."
"Everyone listen carefully, no one is allowed to take a single cent from the people."
"Yes, sir, I understand." The lawyer replied.
After giving the instructions, Lu Mingfei led the guards into the backyard, leaving the master alone to watch them leave.
The lawyer admired their masters in his heart. People outside didn't know that their masters had taken tens of thousands of taels of silver into the yamen, but those in the yamen knew about it.
He had been a legal advisor for so many years, but this was the first time that he was a good official who did not put money into his own pocket, but took money out of his own pocket.
The master in their family is truly an upright official!
After their master entered the back hall, the lawyer passed on the instructions of their master and arranged for a few more people to guard the gate of their hall. Later, when the people brought things in, they let them take the things back, following the words of their master, "not taking a penny from the people."
Today's update.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
