After thinking about it again, Min's father realized that it wasn't impossible.
After all, the son-in-law had only been there for a little over two years, and he was already promoted! He was even promoted several ranks at once, faster than others who had worked for ten or twenty years.
I heard that my son-in-law won another great victory this time, capturing all the bandits with ill intentions, and now it's very peaceful there.
Mr. and Mrs. Min looked at each other for a long time before they composed themselves and continued to look at the contents of the box.
Min Yueqing included corresponding instructions for each type of medicinal herb, making it easy to understand at a glance.
As she looked at the items, Mother Min murmured, "Wild gastrodia elata, lingzhi mushroom, cordyceps sinensis, wild ginseng..."
Mr. Min immediately took a liking to the small box wrapped in layers of packaging, thinking that this must be the fine tea his daughter had mentioned. Upon opening it, Mr. Min was even more pleased; the box was filled with rare and precious teas, some of which were even priceless and unavailable on the market.
After hesitating for a while, Mr. Min thought to himself: "My daughter said in her letter that she wanted to share some with those two brats at home. They don't know anything about tea. It would be a waste to share it with them!"
Seeing the conflicted look on her husband's face, Min's mother knew what he was thinking. She scolded him, "This is a token of my love for my two brothers. All of these things should be divided into three portions, and one portion should be sent to each of our sons' courtyards!"
Upon hearing this, Father Min became even more reluctant and stammered, "How about... we give them more medicinal herbs, and each of them gets a box of tea?"
Mother Min looked at her husband with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. The old saying was really true: the older you get, the more childlike you become.
Considering that tea was indeed one of Mr. Min's greatest hobbies, Mrs. Min chose to turn a blind eye and did not raise any further objections.
Mr. Min was satisfied to see the letters from his daughter and grandson, knowing that they were both well and doing quite well, and to have saved most of his cherished tea.
One day in mid-June, Pei Han returned and told Min Yueqing some big news: he had been promoted again.
Pei Han said casually, "Madam, the imperial court has issued an official letter formally appointing me as the prefect of Qingzhou."
Min Yueqing replied quite naturally, "It should have been issued long ago. Hasn't everyone in Qingzhou always regarded you as the prefect?"
Pei Han smiled helplessly at Min Yueqing; promotion at this level in this dynasty wasn't so easy.
According to a letter from Pei Han's friend who was an official in the capital, a fierce debate had taken place in the court regarding the appointment of the prefect of Qingzhou.
There were quite a few people who opposed appointing Pei Han as the prefect of Qingzhou. The main argument of this faction was that Pei Han was too young, and it was inappropriate to promote him to a fourth-rank official so quickly.
The supporters countered directly: If you disagree with appointing Pei Han, then who among you is willing to go?
The position of prefect was originally quite attractive, but the prefect of Qingzhou was much less so.
After all, Qingzhou was notoriously remote and impoverished. They disliked going there because there was no money to be made, and they would have to deal with bandits who would cause trouble from time to time. They could easily die in the line of duty like the former prefect of Qingzhou.
Although the opposition officials were unhappy that Pei Han had risen so quickly at such a young age, they had no intention of giving up their comfortable life in the capital and traveling all the way to Qingzhou to suffer.
Therefore, they ultimately chose to remain silent.
The Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet all had a good impression of Pei Han, and with their tacit approval and encouragement, the matter was settled.
Immediately afterwards, Pei Han told Min Yueqing some truly good news, "Madam, the court has ordered me to return to the capital at the end of the year to report on my duties. As far as I know, there are now newly favored guards and eunuchs in the palace. Jia Renyuan is no longer as powerful as before, and now he only lives a life of humility by relying on his old relationship with the emperor since childhood. This time we can openly visit my parents-in-law."
Pei Ji, forgetting all about his meal, widened his eyes and asked, "Are we going to my maternal grandfather's house?"
Min Yueqing smiled broadly, "Yes, we can go in a few months, it will be very soon."
Because Qingzhou was a long way away, Pei Han began making preparations for the long journey at the end of September, arranging all the affairs of the government office. In particular, in terms of military affairs, specific personnel were assigned to be in charge of the training and patrols of the soldiers.
Fortunately, over the past six months, Pei Han has prioritized recruiting and training soldiers. Not only in Maocheng, but he has also urged all other areas under his jurisdiction to intensify their military training, emphasizing that if he discovers any soldiers hiding from bandits or ignoring bandits disturbing the peace, they will be severely punished.
Of course, Pei Han didn't just urge them on verbally; he secured a special fund from the imperial court and allocated it to the various regions under his jurisdiction for their recruitment and training of soldiers.
Potato seeds were also distributed at the same time, and the officers and soldiers sent by Pei Han would provide detailed yield and planting instructions.
After Pei Han's combination of carrot and stick tactics, no one in Qingzhou dared to slack off or hold a position without doing their job.
For a time, bandits in Qingzhou were living in misery.
The bandits weren't fools. They tried to hide here and there, but soon realized it was pointless. Military training was in full swing everywhere, and the purpose was obvious. The bandits knew perfectly well that these government-led military exercises were mostly aimed at them.
Some astute bandit leaders realized they could no longer survive in Qingzhou, so they led their men across mountains and valleys to escape to a nearby barbarian state overnight.
Although they had heard that the barbarian people were very cruel, they felt that this Lord Pei was even more ruthless. After weighing the options, they decided that it would be best to flee as soon as possible.
The remaining bandits, who had been hiding in the mountains, soon found themselves in prison.
Only then did the people of Qingzhou finally live the peaceful life they had always dreamed of.
Under Pei Han's guidance, agriculture in various regions was the first to recover. Given this momentum, it's easy to imagine that industry and commerce would sooner or later flourish as well.
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