Chapter 427 Du County Post Station
Five days later.
As the sun sets, a group of people and horses set out on the official road from the capital to Qingzhou. Among them were more than a dozen fully loaded carriages, and the wheels made heavy creaking sounds as they rolled over the ground.
Since the team was carrying grain this time, their speed was limited, so Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan changed from riding horses to riding in a horse-drawn carriage.
Tiger Ping'an was also among them.
It is now past the beginning of winter and the weather is very cold.
Zhu Lan was wearing a fox fur scarf and holding a small hand warmer. He was resting with his eyes closed in the carriage when he heard Zhu Qingyan say:
"It's really hard for Minister Lu to temporarily prepare so much food from the capital and surrounding areas in just a few days.
I don’t know how long these food will last once we get there.”
Zhu Lan opened his eyes. "These grains can only help us with emergencies when we get there. They won't last us for a few days."
Zhu Qingyan let out a soft "ah" when she heard this. Although she was well-read in poetry and prose, she had been staying in the Hanlin Academy after entering the officialdom, and still lacked practical experience in specific administrative affairs.
This time I followed Zhu Lan out to gain some experience.
"In this case, this amount of food is far from enough. When the food is all distributed, what will we do next?"
Zhu Lan was silent for a while, then said slowly:
"I don't believe that there is no surplus grain in the Qingzhou warehouse. Otherwise, such a big thing will be exposed sooner or later. How dare the Qingzhou prefect suppress it? This is a matter that will cost the whole family their lives.
Since he dared to suppress the news, he must have thought that the situation was still under his control, so I concluded that there was still surplus food in the state."
"So...what have you thought about doing?"
Zhu Lan shook his head solemnly, "The situation in Qingzhou is unclear right now, and the water is probably very deep. We can only use the food we brought with us for emergency response, and the rest... we can only make plans after we understand the situation clearly."
At this time, there was a sound of horse hooves "clacking" outside the carriage of the two people, followed by a man's voice:
"My Lords, we are now in Du County. The frozen pears here are famous far and wide. I just ordered someone to buy some to quench your thirst."
Zhu Lan opened the carriage window and saw the man outside. His face was a little thin, with faint crow's feet at the corners of his eyes. He looked smiling and very amiable.
It was Li Moxu, the grain inspector on this trip.
"Thank you, Lord Li."
Zhu Lan nodded to him slightly, took the two frozen pears from the window, and gave one to Zhu Qingyan.
The sound of horse hooves outside tactfully left.
The frozen pear was dark brown in color. Not only had the skin been washed clean, but the core in the middle had also been removed. It felt soft when squeezed, and had obviously thawed.
Zhu Qingyan took a bite and felt the texture was dense and very unique.
She took a sip of pear juice and joked to Zhu Lan, "This time, His Majesty not only appointed you as the Imperial Envoy for Disaster Relief, but also arranged for you to have such a thoughtful and considerate grain supervisor. He really treats you well."
Li Moxu was over 40 years old. As a grain inspector, he didn't need to take care of the trivial matters along the way personally.
However, this Lord Li behaved quite attentively, busying himself at the emperor's request, and any discerning person could see that he was trying to curry favor with the emperor.
Zhu Lan silently took a bite of the frozen pear but said nothing, his eyes becoming more profound.
The sound of Li Moxu's horse hooves returned to the front of the carriage again, and he said to the two of them:
"My two imperial envoys, the road ahead is covered with snow, so it is not suitable to travel at night. The official post here in Du County is quite large and can accommodate so many of us.
We will stay in Du County today, what do you think?"
Zhu Lan lifted the curtain and smiled, "Thank you for arranging it, Lord Li."
The team stopped at the official post station in Du County. There were too many soldiers accompanying the team to rest, so they set up tents in the yard, fed the horses, and made a fire.
Zhu Lan called the postmaster and instructed him, "It's freezing cold, and the soldiers are working hard. I heard that Du County is rich, so please ask the postmaster to find some wealthy families in the city and borrow some cotton-padded clothes and quilts to keep everyone warm."
After saying this, he put a few silver ingots into the postmaster's hand.
The postmaster was flattered, and he bowed and thanked him repeatedly: "You are really too kind to me! The Minister of the Central Affairs is compassionate to the soldiers, don't worry, I will definitely do it for you!"
Zhu Lan nodded and instructed: "We can keep our meals simple tonight and take good care of the soldiers outside. Everyone is allowed to drink a small amount of wine to warm up their bodies."
Soon, the postmaster came into the yard with a jar of liquor.
"Lord Zhongcheng has ordered that in this cold weather, everyone is allowed to drink a small amount of wine to keep away the cold. Now, each of you take a bowl and come to me to get some wine.
Remember, each person can only take one bowl of wine. The Minister said that we have to set off tomorrow morning. If anyone drinks too much and causes trouble, they will be punished by military law!"
When the soldiers heard that they could drink, their eyes lit up and they stood up one after another.
"Since Lord Zhongcheng is so considerate, we will never drink too much!"
"Brothers, we swear to serve Lord Zhongcheng until death!"
"I... I can't drink much, so I only drink half a bowl, not a single sip more!"
The postmaster was distributing wine to everyone when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a dark figure out of the corner of his eye, who seemed to be looking at him.
He looked up and saw Li Moxu standing at the door, smiling at him, as if he had something to say.
Seeing that the soldiers were very conscious, the postmaster asked them to get the wine themselves, and walked up to Li Moxu and said humbly:
"Does Lord Li have anything to tell me? By the way, I have already asked the kitchen to prepare dinner according to Lord Zhongcheng's request."
Li Moxu laughed, glanced at the soldiers queuing in an orderly manner to get wine outside, and said to the postmaster:
"Have you reported the drinking of the soldiers to the Minister of Justice?"
"That's exactly what Lord Zhongcheng ordered," the postman replied.
Li Moxu nodded, his tone full of admiration.
"Our Lord Zhongcheng is quite remarkable. Although she is young, she is very thoughtful in her actions.
Generally speaking, drinking is not allowed in the army, but in this weather, we made an exception and let everyone drink to ward off the cold without delaying tomorrow's departure. It is rare to be so flexible and adaptable."
After Li Moxu finished speaking, he looked at the respectful postmaster and asked, "How is the dinner arranged for the Lord Zhongcheng?"
The postmaster announced the names of several dishes, and Li Moxu frowned slightly.
"So simple?"
The postmaster said, "It's the Lord Zhongcheng..."
He was interrupted before he could finish his words.
Li Moxu looked at him with some dismay and said:
"Do you know that the Minister of the Central Chancellery is a close minister of the Emperor and an imperial envoy? How honorable is that?
Look at the soldiers outside, they are well fed, well clothed and have wine to drink. Have you ever seen an official as kind and righteous as the Minister of Justice?"
The postmaster thought about it and felt that he had never seen it before.
"Mr. Zhongcheng has worked so hard and put others before himself. Do you feel comfortable with this kind of hospitality?"
The postmaster was in a dilemma. He had great respect for the Lord Zhongcheng and wanted to arrange a fine banquet, but he did not dare to go against the Lord Zhongcheng's wishes.
"Alright, although you didn't do it right, fortunately there is still a chance to make amends. I will teach you."
Li Moxu whispered a few words in the ear of the postmaster, who nodded repeatedly.
"Thank you for your advice, Lord Envoy. I know what to do now!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
