Chapter 119
Chapter 119
Wuxincheng, the largest and busiest sub-provincial capital of Dianzhou Prefecture, has been popular for unusual "outfits" in recent times.
Starting from December, every young man in every family is proud to wear Ning'anzhou's dyed cloth clothes and wear Ning'anzhou's rubber-soled shoes.
Anyone who can combine these two will surely attract everyone's attention.
For example, in the largest restaurant in Wuxin City, many people gathered around the young man in the middle.
“Is this a rubber-soled shoe?”
"It doesn't look anything special, just the soles are different."
"Is it really that magical? It won't get wet?"
The young man surrounded in the middle raised his head and said, "What else? Could the things from Ning'an Prefecture be wrong?"
If this statement had been made a few months ago, it would have certainly been met with laughter.
But if I say it now, no one will object.
Anyone who doesn’t know how good Ning’anzhou’s things are is out of date!
Besides, their stuff is really good, who wouldn’t like it?
Of course, what people also talked about was the era of the new governor of Ning'an Prefecture.
When Ji Yuan first arrived in Dianzhou Prefecture, many people thought that his life was over.
Now what?
Now it's totally not going to be okay.
It is true that gold shines wherever it is.
Jiyuan’s most powerful gold can still be made into so many useful things even in Ning’an Prefecture.
In fact, the entire Dianzhou Prefecture was greatly encouraged.
Dianzhou Prefecture has always been remote, and transportation was underdeveloped in ancient times, so it was actually difficult to have a real sense of the central government.
We only know that there is a central court, but it seems unclear what it actually does.
Ji Yuan, the top scholar from the capital, seemed to represent part of the will of the central court.
I thought the imperial court would only collect taxes and treat this place as a place of exile.
Now, the country's top scholar has been sent here to develop Ning'an Prefecture, the most remote area of Dianzhou Prefecture. Naturally, the local people feel differently.
Most people in Dianzhou Prefecture now believe that Ji Yuan was sent here specifically to develop backward areas.
Regardless of whether this conclusion is right or wrong, local scholars are greatly encouraged.
When Ji Yuan heard the news, he was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
However, he would not refute this, as such rumors would naturally only bring benefits.
He is worried now.
Xiao Huang's reputation spread, and everyone wanted to breed Xiao Huang.
Isn't this inappropriate?
Fortunately, Dahai arranged this matter, which finally allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.
Dahai also said that Xiao Huang has actually reached the age for breeding, and such an excellent working ox must have more offspring.
Fortunately, Xiao Huang did not show any resistance, which made Ji Yuan silently wonder how Xiao Huang was going to have a baby.
But speaking of oxen, another thing has to be put on the agenda after the beginning of the new year.
Spring ploughing.
Although the local spring plowing time is relatively late, we still need to make preparations in advance.
The large-scale canal repair work in the area started in August and September last year, and it is only December now.
After four months, most of the canals have not been completely repaired. The more hardworking mountain farmers will definitely continue to build them before the spring ploughing.
By April or May, it should be about the same.
As a result, the consumption of agricultural tools in various places will be very high.
Ji Yuan asked the head of the household department to observe local prices. If any foreign merchants maliciously raised the prices of farm tools, they must not be let off easily.
At the same time, Jiyuan also incorporated the previous additional nine natural villages into the household registration system, and the number of local villages increased from thirty-nine to forty-eight.
Ji Yuan asked them to register the situation in each place clearly so that everyone would have a clear idea.
In other places, such a population census might be difficult.
But in Ning'an Prefecture, from the government office to the entire prefecture, no one disobeyed Ji Yuan's words.
Because here, too many people's lives have been changed because of the existence of Jiyuan.
The local rubber industry has gradually become a mainstay.
It was said before that the cloth dyeing workshops were very popular.
But compared with rubber, it is still far behind.
The local people have truly felt the development and feel that Ning'an Prefecture will be better in the future.
The people of Ning'an Prefecture trust him so much, so he will naturally not let everyone down.
So we must be well prepared for this year's spring plowing.
Forty years after Huayuan, the new year has arrived amid the sound of local fireworks and firecrackers.
There has been constant burning of incense in Ning'an Prefecture during the first month of the year.
Many local Buddhist temples are performing religious ceremonies.
The people who used to work hard finally put down their work and went to the temple to worship Buddha with incense and candles.
Ji Yuan knew that worshipping Buddha was popular in the local area and the Buddhist culture was strong.
But he was still shocked when he saw the burning incense sticks as thick as his arm. The candle was more than ten feet long and was said to be able to burn for four days.
Ji Yuan went there just to join in the fun, and then received an unexpected invitation.
General Zhennan of Zhennan Pass invited him to taste the fine wine next door.
Zhennan Pass, you can tell what it does just by listening to the name.
He was originally a border guard of Tianqi State, a checkpoint guarding the country's border.
But after the accident with the Laman tribe, Tianqi State gained an additional territory, and Zhennan Pass was no longer the southernmost place.
However, the role of Zhennan Pass remains undiminished. Thirty thousand soldiers are stationed there all year round, ready to safeguard the safety of Tianqi Kingdom's southern territory at any time.
It is because of the existence of these places that the small countries further south dare not invade.
Moreover, due to the special circumstances of Ning'an Prefecture, there are no military equipment locally.
Even their safety here has to be protected by General Zhennan Pass.
The local military force invited him to a drink?
There's something wrong here.
Generally speaking, local civil servants and military officers are two systems and basically do not interfere with each other.
Not to mention taking the initiative to invite.
Ji Yuan looked at the invitation with some amusement.
What is the other party’s purpose?
Just inviting him for a drink?
Liu Tong, who was already Ji Yuan's subordinate, knew: "Maybe it's because of Guard Wu."
Wu Renhao?
Ji Yuan looked over.
Lord Liu continued, "Lord Zhizhou, General Zhennan wanted Guard Wu to come over before. Do you remember?"
This is a reminder of Ji Yuan.
When they passed Zhennan Pass, someone wanted Wu Renhao to go over and do some work.
But Wu Renhao himself was unwilling to do so, as he was more accustomed to being Ji Yuan's bodyguard.
The same was true in the previous documents of the Ministry of Personnel.
After Ji Yuan was promoted, Wu Renhao naturally became the prefect's right-hand man.
That's even stranger.
When he was a sixth-rank official, General Zhennan would not let go of his guards.
Now I am already at the fourth rank.
Generally speaking, no one thinks Wu Renhao will leave, right?
It’s not that Ji Yuan is bragging, it seems that he still has some future.
So this invitation is even more interesting.
"Are you going or not?" asked Liu Tongzhi.
Ji Yuan looked at the time and saw that there was still time before the spring plowing: "Go, we must go."
Only after you go there will you know what the other party is planning.
Ji Yuan continued, "Our goods basically have to go through Zhennan Pass, so we can't just make enemies."
If goods from Ning'an Prefecture are to be transported to the inland, they must pass through Zhennan Pass, which is the only way.
Moreover, Zhennan Pass has a large number of troops under its command, and if Ning'an Prefecture encounters any problems in the future, it will have to ask for help from there.
Finally, the General Zhennan was a fourth-rank official, and a higher-ranking official could crush people to death.
No matter how you look at it, he has to go there.
Ji Yuan asked someone to pass on the message to General Zhennan's men who was delivering the letter, saying that he would set off in the next two days.
We set out on the ninth day of the first lunar month, spent three days on the road, and returned around the eighteenth.
Because it was a personal invitation from General Zhennan, Ji Yuan traveled light, bringing only Wu Renhao and the minor official Chai Feng.
At Lord Liu's repeated request, four more followers finally followed him, and they set out together.
Before leaving, Lord Liu also talked about the situation of General Zhennan.
This General Zhennan is the nephew of the general who helped the Laman tribe resist the Jing Kingdom.
That is to say, his ancestors had done Ning'an Prefecture a favor, so his attitude has always been arrogant, and he looks down on the people of Ning'an Prefecture.
This is even the reason why the people of Ning'an Prefecture are reluctant to pass through Zhennan Pass frequently.
There are soldiers and bandits everywhere. If you make them unhappy, half of the goods passing through will be looted.
This is not surprising.
In ancient times, people said that soldiers passed through like a sieve. This is not the army of later generations. It is not an exaggeration to say that they were bandits.
Ji Yuan didn't know there were such details, so he couldn't help but frown.
This is too overbearing.
No wonder the locals of Ning'an Prefecture are reluctant to go out. There is a reason for it.
Since the people's goods are being robbed, then with so many things coming and going in Ning'an Prefecture, it would probably attract attention.
It seems that this time, it is a Hongmen Banquet.
The journey from Ning'an City to Zhennan Pass was relatively smooth. When we finally arrived at the city gate, there were already people waiting nearby to greet us.
Those people came straight up to him, and without further ado, they knew who was in front of them.
It seems that the people at Zhennan Pass have already found out the situation here.
Ji Yuan didn't show it on his face. He smiled and responded to everyone, saying, "Thank you for waiting. I hope I didn't waste too much of your time."
The other party said directly: "How could it be, I just arrived."
Just arrived?
How did the other party know that they were about to arrive and wait in advance?
It's a scout.
The people from Zhennan Pass must have been waiting on the road in advance and then came back quickly to report.
It seems that this matter will not be small.
Ji Yuan and his party were taken to the Zhennan General's Mansion. The mansion was very grand. The soldiers at the door were wearing armor and looked like they wanted to keep strangers away.
"Please."
Ji Yuan stepped forward, and the people behind him were holding gifts brought from Ning'an Prefecture.
Naturally, he would not give anything expensive, just some rubber-soled shoes and fine fabrics that were produced in abundance in Ning'an Prefecture.
These things may allow him to know the other party's intentions.
The facts turned out to be just as Ji Yuan had expected.
The other party did not despise these things for being shabby. Instead, he smiled and praised them: "Not bad, not bad. I have always known that these two specialties of your Ning'an Prefecture are good. Now I finally see them."
The 52-year-old General Zhennan in front of him was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, but he was not a burly military general. Rather, he looked like a person with soft flesh, as if he had not exercised for a long time. However, if he wore armor, he could still intimidate people.
But now he is wearing ordinary official uniform and doesn’t look like a military general at all.
Ji Yuan looked like he knew nothing and was really just invited for a drink.
In fact, I already have a general idea in my heart.
As for the printed and dyed cloth with rubber-soled heels that does not fade easily, it is very good for ordinary people or poor families.
But for truly wealthy people, it may be novel for a while, but they don’t want it that badly.
Why?
Naturally, rubber-soled shoes are, to a certain extent, a substitute for leather shoes.
Printed and dyed fabric that doesn’t fade?
Rich people would love to have a new set of clothes every day, and they also have better dyeing materials, but this is simply not a problem for them.
The General Zhennan in front of him was naturally from such a wealthy family.
Will he choose "substitution"?
The answer is definitely no.
It's obvious what he wants.
"Come on, come on, brother, tell me how much money these two things have made. Is Ning'an Prefecture going to make a fortune?"
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