Chapter 243 Imperial Envoy
There are certain etiquettes for receiving an imperial edict. Concubine Fan came here to give instructions on these matters. The person who received the imperial edict was Sang Luo, but the Shen family members had to accompany her to receive the edict. As soon as she arrived, the Shen Lie brothers were notified to rush back.
They set up an incense table, learned etiquette, and dressed neatly. The Shen family was poor and did not have luxurious clothes, so they only pursued a neat appearance. They were busy preparing for the event when they heard the movement of the imperial envoy's procession.
“Here I come.”
Mrs. Chen and other irrelevant people quickly retreated outside the Shen's house. Some of them were eager to go and see the imperial envoy's procession, but when they turned around, they were surprised to see that the procession was not that exaggerated, but there were so many villagers following them from a distance.
It’s better to stay in your own seat, at least you can hear.
Shen Ning was so nervous that he breathed out twice, and only when Sang Luo pinched his hand did he feel a little relieved.
Sang Luo thought that the so-called angel was a eunuch. It was not until the person came closer and saw the official uniform that she realized that he was an official in the court. Looking at the light crimson uniform, although Sang Luo did not understand it very well, she knew that his official position should not be low.
She was full of doubts. The curved plow was good, but it didn't need to be this big.
Her mind raced. The imperial envoy also looked at the people here and asked, "Where is Sang?"
Sang Luo took a step forward and bowed: "I am Sang Luo."
The imperial envoy was stunned. He thought that Sang was at least in her forties, since she could improve the plow. But this lady looked... 18 or 19? Was she 20?
He subconsciously looked at the governor Zeng who came with him, and the governor Zeng smiled and nodded.
That's right.
Although the imperial envoy was full of surprise, he did not delay for long. The Shen family had no yard or hall, just three unconnected thatched houses, so he announced the decree in the open space outside the house.
This was the first time Sang Luo had knelt down since she was a child, and of course, the whole family knelt together.
The imperial edict was full of beautiful words, and just the context was a great pleasure to listen to. Of course, it was the first time in her two lives that she had received an imperial edict, and like Shen Ning, she was also nervous, so she didn't care about enjoying it. But soon Sang Meng was no longer nervous, she was overwhelmed by the reward given by the emperor.
Field archways, silver, money, and silk.
Not only Sang Luo was dizzy, but everyone in Daxing Village who was watching from a distance also started to feel dizzy.
The emperor's meaning was very simple. If you have made contributions, you should be rewarded. Since you are good at farming, then I will give you land.
One hundred acres of fertile land, one hundred acres of forest land, two hundred taels of silver, thirty pieces of silk, and the emperor's personal writing, which was held in the eunuch's hands with great care, saying that it was to be erected into a memorial archway.
Archway.
Who wouldn’t feel dizzy?
Sang Luo received the imperial edict in a daze. For the first time, she felt worried about the three thatched houses in her home. The imperial edict was written by the emperor himself. How could she preserve it?
Fortunately, the master took one look at the three thatched houses of the Shen family and understood Sang Luo's predicament. He smiled and said, "Madam, this imperial edict and the emperor's handwritten inscription must be handed over to Governor Zeng first. The emperor wants the imperial edict to be made into a stele in the state government, and the emperor's handwritten inscription should also be made into a memorial archway and a plaque. Once everything is completed, it will be returned to your family for worship."
Sang Luo breathed a sigh of relief and quickly handed the imperial edict and the emperor's handwriting to Governor Zeng: "Thank you for your help, sir."
After the imperial edict was read, the silver and silk awarded were also to be given to the Shen family. The silver was okay, Shen An could hold it, but how could Shen Ning handle the thirty pieces of silk? Even if the three brothers Shen Jin came to help, they couldn't handle it.
Sang Luo could only go with Shen Ning and lead the eunuchs to the two rooms in the house to put away the pens, ink, paper and inkstone on the table as well as the books they were reading, making room for the silk.
There was a eunuch outside who was instructing Sang Luo on how to preserve the imperial edict and other matters. Sang Luo took note of it carefully, thanked the eunuch, and secretly stuffed a purse into his pocket.
The eunuch knew that there were silver ingots in it as soon as he touched it. Seeing the thatched house this family lived in, he was a little surprised. His eyes flashed, but he still took it with a smile on his face, "Thank you for the reward, madam."
…
The imperial envoy's entourage came and went quickly.
The governor Zeng and the chief secretary accompanied them. Concubine Fan stayed behind to look at the Shen family's house. She smiled and reminded Sang Luo: "Madam Sang, I think we need to speed up the renovation of this house."
Otherwise, there would be no place to enshrine the imperial edict.
Sang Luo smiled and said, "Thank you, Madam, for your advice."
I originally wanted to wait until the busy farming season was over, but now I really have to speed up the work. However, the palace has awarded me two hundred taels of silver, so the house can be built better.
Concubine Fan smiled and said, "Don't call me Madam. We are from the same hometown. My maiden name is Concubine, so you can just call me Concubine."
Sang Luo was stunned by this, but she remembered that when she presented the plow last time, Concubine Fan was particularly friendly to her and their conversation was quite harmonious. She also admired Concubine Fan very much, so she smiled and said, "Then don't call me Madam Sang. My name is Luo. If you don't mind, you can call me Ah Luo."
As they said this, they looked at each other and laughed.
Concubine Fan looked at the three thatched houses of the Shen family and asked, "Your homestead is not very big, is it?"
There are only four people in the family in total. Concubine Fan has recently changed into men's clothes and followed her husband to various counties. She is familiar with the policy of dividing gardens and residential land in Da Qi.
Sang Luo nodded.
Concubine Fan said, "One or two days won't be too much of a problem. Your family has the imperial edict and the memorial archway granted by the emperor, so the situation is a little different. Not only this piece of land, but after the awarded fields and forests are allocated, you can also allocate a piece from them and incorporate it into the garden and house land, so that the house will be more spacious. Chu Sihu should be here to take care of this matter soon, so you can discuss it with him."
The silver and silk awarded by the emperor came from the palace, but the land was allocated by the Shezhou prefecture government.
When Sang Luo heard that the garden house could be expanded, she was delighted and said, "Okay, thank you for your suggestion, Madam."
"Why thank you? Well, I have to go back. If you have time, you can come to the back house of the provincial government office to talk to me."
Then he took his maid and left.
…
As soon as the governor's wife left, Mrs. Chen and the others were completely let loose. They didn't dare to get close to them just now, but now they all came over, but their expressions were still as if they were dreaming.
"Is it really a reward from the Emperor?"
One hundred acres of farmland, one hundred acres of mountain land, two hundred taels of silver, and thirty pieces of silk. Mrs. Chen pinched her face hard and gritted her teeth. It really hurt.
Don't blame her.
It was a reward from the emperor.
Apart from the reward from the emperor, the fields and mountains add up to 200 acres. This is not land that the government will take back when he gets old. This land can be passed down from generation to generation.
Two hundred acres? What a concept. According to the current land allocation method of the Great Qi Dynasty, a male who turns eighteen can be granted ten acres of perpetual land. This means he will have to give birth to twenty children and grandchildren, and all twenty children and grandchildren will have to be raised until they are eighteen years old before he can get so much land from the court, right?
Mrs. Chen calculated the number of people in her family. How many generations would it take for her family to have 200 acres of permanent farmland? I'm afraid it's impossible for her to live to her eighties or nineties.
There are also two hundred taels of silver. Among these people, except the Xu family, who has ever heard of such a large number?
Thirty pieces of silk. What is the price of silk? It is a real commodity that can be exchanged for money if it is sent to the city.
Everyone was talking at once and Sang Luo didn't even get a chance to answer.
Zhou Cunzheng was also excited: "They even built a memorial archway for them. Ah Luo, did you hear clearly what was written on the memorial archway? I didn't quite understand what they were reading."
Sang Luo shook her head: "The imperial edict did not mention this matter. I'm afraid we won't know until the memorial archway and plaque are completed."
"Yes, build a house! A'lie, A'luo, you have to speed up the construction of the house. You have to have a place to hang the plaque given by the emperor. I just heard it. The imperial edict also needs to be enshrined, right?" Zhoucun seemed to suddenly wake up and said, "We will all come to help when the time comes. I will call people from the neighboring villages."
There were villagers who were watching the fun in the village. When they heard this, they laughed and said, "Master Shen, Madam Sang, if you want to build a house, please call us. We will come and help with the construction for a few days."
Many people responded with a smile.
Sang Luo and Shen Lie thanked them one by one.
As there were a lot of silk rewards that needed to be sorted out, everyone was so excited that they all gathered outside the manor to chat. It was also convenient for them to talk to the villagers who came over after hearing the news, and soon only the Shen family was left.
The three brothers Shen Jin did not leave, but followed Shen Ning to see the silk.
The three brothers did heavy work every day, and their hands were so rough that they didn't dare to touch anything.
"Sister-in-law, how much is this worth? Did the imperial court give such a large reward for modifying the plow?"
He was there just now. Two hundred acres of land and two hundred taels of silver. If everyone in the village got excited, Shen Jinguang would be so excited that he would be speechless.
Is it a lot?
Yes, there are many.
Sang Luo knew that it might be related to the moment when she presented the plow and the help of Governor Zeng. It would be a good thing for the whole country to be united.
But it was not easy to tell Shen Jin about this. Sang Luo said, "The emperor is looking for talents, and the reward to me is also for the knowledgeable people in the world to see."
Chen Lie cleared his throat, looked at Sang Luo, and smiled: "It must be that your words that day touched the emperor's heart. When Xiao An and I came back from the provincial school, a new imperial edict had just been posted on the government bulletin board. Can you guess what it was?"
Sang Luo was puzzled, but Chen An started laughing. "My elder brother and I were in a hurry to come back and didn't have time to look at it. But I heard the clerk who sent us back mentioned the names of the imperial edicts. There were two imperial edicts, one for commending the Sang family for presenting the plow, and the other for changing Jianye's name to Chang'an. Sister-in-law, the clerk said that the name Chang'an was changed to use the phrase you said that day, "Prosperous Chang'an."
Sang Luo's eyes widened and she was stunned.
Chen Lie chuckled: "A Luo, that edict was issued by all prefectures in Da Qi."
In other words, his daughter A-Luo is famous all over the world.
…
Daxing Manor was bustling with activity. Meanwhile, the Imperial Envoy and Governor Zeng had just left Daxing Manor. Their mission of announcing the imperial edict was complete. They returned to the Governor's Mansion and sat down. After tea was served, Governor Zeng finally had the chance to ask, "Lord Li, why did you have to come here to announce the imperial edict?"
Who is Li Yu? He had been with the King of Qi to conquer the world. Although he was a scholar, he was also highly trusted by the King of Qi. He gave advice, recruited talents, and settled the rear. Now he is a fourth-rank official. If it was just to reward the Sang family, there would be no need to bother Li Yu to make this trip.
The two of them had served under the King of Qi in the past and had some friendship between them, so Governor Zeng dared to ask.
Li Yu sighed, "It's not that I can't tell you. I came here to take a look at the situation in the south on behalf of His Majesty, and secondly, to go to Kuaiji."
"Huiji? You mean..."
Li Yu smiled and said, "It's just as you think, Ziqian. Now, not only are the counties and prefectures below using old paper from the previous dynasty, but the court is also using the same old paper."
Governor Zeng frowned so hard that a fly could be pinched to death: "What is Luo thinking? The Great Qi is now unified, who can come up with something fancy? What good can it do to Luo by blocking the paper?"
Li Yu sneered: "They think too much. Now they just say that the son of the clan who holds the papermaking recipe has died in the war, and the recipe has not been found for the time being, so His Majesty can't say anything."
As for what he was thinking, he didn't go into details.
Zeng Sanlang could guess without Li Yu saying anything, it was nothing more than interests, there was no place for the Luo family of Kuaiji in the court at the moment, thinking of the official positions held by the Luo family members in the court during the Da Gan period, Zeng Sanlang narrowed his eyes. The Luo family was not seen when the world was conquered, but now they dare to ask for official positions and titles.
As the matter was not settled, Li Yu did not say much and said, "I will rest here for an hour and then go to Kuaiji with a small group. If your state office is short of paper, you should prepare it. It may not be easy to wait for Luo's paper."
Governor Zeng nodded. When he heard that he was leaving in the afternoon, he said, "You have come a long way, so why don't you rest for a night?"
Li Yu waved his hand: "The mission is important."
"Okay, then I won't keep you any longer. I'll treat you to a meal at noon, and I'll have my wife prepare some food and water for you on the journey."
Li Yu smiled and said, "Thank you, my sister-in-law."
…
In the afternoon, the couple saw Li Yu off. Concubine Fan noticed that Li Yu's carriage was going in the wrong direction, so she asked him the reason.
There was no one around, so Zeng Sanlang said, "I'm going to Kuaiji."
Concubine Fan was such a person that she would feel guilty when she heard this: "Go to Luo's?"
She laughed in anger: "Is Luo really not afraid of getting herself into trouble?"
"What is he afraid of? What he said on the surface are all polite words. Who would really tear his face apart? It's just a matter of who will make the first move with more profit or less profit." Zeng Sanlang pursed his lips and said, "As for me, I will have to ask the government to recruit a few craftsmen who can make bamboo slips. The waste paper is almost used up."
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