A caravan of carriages slowly drove into Changle County. The local people, seeing the long line of carriages, were no longer surprised.
Because of the great victory in Fujian, and the fact that the emperor is coming here, many high-ranking officials have recently arrived in Changle County.
At first, the people were somewhat curious about these people, but now that they've seen them so many times, they've become numb to it.
No matter how many high-ranking officials come, it won't affect their lives as usual.
Recently, the lives of the people in Fujian have improved a lot. In addition to Li Chang'an lifting the sea ban, the most important thing is that he has dealt with all the corrupt officials in Fujian.
Without those corrupt officials and without layers of escalating taxes, ordinary people could clearly feel that their households had much more grain.
Some merchants are also more willing to come to Fujian to do business.
After all, here, the money earned doesn't need to be shared with local officials; all that's required is to pay taxes normally.
Although the people of Changle County still wear tattered clothes, their overall spirit is different.
They feel that their lives have become hopeful again.
Looking at the people on the street, Zhou Chao felt a little heavy-hearted.
The memorials submitted by officials from various regions were either filled with songs and dances, or depictions of peaceful and prosperous lives. Even when disaster struck, they wrote about how wonderful the relief efforts were.
The people who suffered from the disaster were only briefly mentioned in the memorials to the emperor, and the emperor continued to whitewash the situation.
No one wrote down the true situation of the common people for him to see, and even if someone did, he might not be able to see it.
During this trip, he saw many things and came to understand one thing.
That is to say, being an emperor is not something that can be accomplished simply by hard work.
If you're bad at something, practice more. But in this fake environment, no matter how much you practice, you'll still be bad.
The carriage arrived at the gate of the military camp and was then stopped.
"This is a military stronghold. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter. Get out of here now."
The soldiers on the watchtower waved to the carriage, signaling it to leave, while the other soldiers stationed there aimed their crossbows at the carriage.
"It's me!"
Li Chang'an lifted the curtain and stepped down from the carriage. He looked at the soldiers on the observation platform and jumped up the moment he saw the figure in white.
"The prince is back! The prince is back!"
In the eyes of the soldiers of Tai'an City, Li Chang'an was a kind of faith. Even if he did nothing, as long as he stood in the middle of the army, these soldiers had a backbone and felt confident when they saw him.
When he was away, these soldiers always felt something was wrong, no matter what they did. Whether they were fighting or doing anything else, they felt empty inside.
It's as if there's no one supporting me.
"Your Highness, you're back."
Chen Shaoan walked out of the military camp, wanting to cup his hands in a gesture of respect, but found that he only had one hand left and could not perform the cupped-hand salute, so he could only bow.
Having been used to having two hands for decades, he still felt a little uncomfortable suddenly having only one.
Seeing him like this, Li Chang'an quickly helped him up: "Are you feeling better? Does it still hurt? Didn't I tell you to rest?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I'm much better now and it doesn't hurt anymore. I've been bored lying in bed these past two days, so I'm studying arithmetic so that I won't be completely clueless when I take office as political commissar."
Chen Shaoan always had a smile on his face when he spoke. That's just his personality. He doesn't fight or compete. He occasionally utters a few curse words, which usually means "I'll beat you to death."
Seeing that he was much better, Li Chang'an was also happy: "When I went back to Tai'an City this time, I saw your family. Your parents are in good health."
"They're just a bit restless. Even though they have plenty of food and drink, they still like to go out and farm."
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. My parents are just like that. As long as they can move, they like to do something. They are uncomfortable if they stay at home and rest."
Hearing that his parents were well, Chen Shaoan smiled even more. Thinking of his own parents, he couldn't help but sigh: "In my father's words, they worked hard all their lives and suddenly they are enjoying a life of comfort. They are not used to it."
Upon hearing this, Li Chang'an laughed:
"By the way, where are Xiong Er and Chen Da? Why didn't they come out?"
"General Chen led his men to Iwo Jima to bring our brothers home. They set off half a month ago and should be back in about ten days."
"General Xiong Er went to attend the wedding banquet. Xu Kun is getting married today, and the brothers who were resting in the barracks all went to help."
"Oh, I see!"
While they were chatting, Zhou Chao also led the Empress out of the carriage to stretch their bodies.
"Aaaaaaahhhhhh~"
A sound like a ghost wailing came from his mouth.
Ever since he saw how Li Chang'an got up, he had started to imitate him.
To be honest, calling your name twice when you wake up will make you feel more energetic and prevent your head from feeling dizzy.
Upon seeing him, Chen Shaoan was stunned for a moment before realizing that the Emperor was also with the Prince this time.
"This humble general, Chen Shaoan, greets Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty..."
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"
When Zhou Chao saw him about to kneel, he quickly reached out to stop him: "The Ming Dynasty no longer requires kneeling rites. You don't have to kneel when you see me. Besides, you have made such great contributions this time and are injured. How could I bear to let you kneel?"
"You can continue with your conversation. I'm just taking a look around. You can pretend I don't exist."
After saying this, Zhou Chao stood behind Li Chang'an and began to observe the military camp.
"Chang'an, why are the military camps so empty? Where are the soldiers from Tai'an City?"
"Your Majesty, some soldiers are getting married today, and some of them are taking a break to attend the banquet."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chao immediately became interested: "I've traveled all this way and I still don't know how ordinary people handle their weddings. Why don't we go and take a look? I'll broaden my horizons too."
Li Chang'an thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'd like to go take a look too."
Without hesitation, he stepped into the carriage, intending for Youchu and the others to rest at the military camp while he took Emperor Jianyuan to Xu Kun's house.
But when Lin Dongdong heard the word "banquet," she insisted on going along.
Li Chang'an was constantly being called "brother-in-law," so he had no choice but to take her along.
Lin Dongdong wanted to go, and Miao Qingqing wanted to go with her. Now, these two children are inseparable, no matter what they do.
Even Li Chang'an had his suspicions. If Lin Dongdong ate shit that day, Miao Qingqing would want to take a bite to taste how salty it was.
Unable to keep up with the commotion, he had no choice but to bring the two silly kids along.
Su Xiao looked at them, who were going to play with their master, and showed a look of envy. She wanted to go too, but she was too embarrassed to ask.
Seeing her hesitant expression and longing look, Li Chang'an waved his hand and said, "Let's go, the whole family will go."
Before the carriage even entered the military camp for rest, it headed towards Caijiazhuang.
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