Chapter 37 Winter Fishing and Spring Ploughing (Part 2) Update
Liu Ziye nodded, waved his hand and asked Xiying to lead people to the place where the Fu family lived.
Liu Ziye took his men away. The governor's army had to wait for Wang Yanpeng's confirmation, so they temporarily camped around the sunken flat land in the snow dug by the Fuyu clan.
After days of heavy snowfall, the lake surface was three feet thick. In order to avoid the wind, most of the government troops were stationed in the depression where the snow had been cleared by the Buyeo clan to expose the ice on the lake surface.
As for what the young Marquis of Xiguan was doing with the people of the Fu and Buyeo clans, he had no intention of paying attention.
The soldiers of the Governor's Mansion were not slow in their movements. Although Qiansai Lake was not close to the Governor's Mansion in Yucheng, they probably followed suit and asked someone to get a dog-drawn sled. The next day, they arrived at the south bank of Qiansai Lake with a blood letter with a seal on it.
Accompanying these palace soldiers was the Western Gate Governor Wang Yanpeng.
For this winter fishing trip, each fishing team came here and decided to stay here day and night.
When Liu Ziye and the Fu clan members came, they also brought tents and necessary supplies for camping. Last night, most of them stayed in the honeycomb snow tents on the south bank of Qiansai Lake.
Liu Ziye did not return to the Marquis' Mansion in Yucheng. Yesterday, Fu and the Marquis' Mansion's team had only just selected the fishing spots and assembled the necessary tools and machinery, including the snowplow and ice-chiseling fishing machine that he sold to the Fu clan members. The actual fishing had not yet begun.
The Fuyu fishing team arrived early and already had their own camp set up.
Last night, they were shocked when they saw the tents deployed by Xiguan Houfu and the Fu family. The tents they saw were deployed very quickly, taking less than half an hour.
Even when stationed on the snow, it is very sturdy because of the keel rivets extending in all directions and deeply buried in the ice and snow to grip.
The structure of the tent was something they had never seen before. Even the tent fabric was made of three densely woven layers of cloth.
It is both stable, warm and windproof.
Seeing the Fuyu clan's shocked expression, Liu Ziye smiled and asked, "So what? Has the Fuyu clan leader finally taken a liking to my tent? If you want it, just tell me. I'm open for business, so I welcome anyone who comes!"
Fu Yu Changqing immediately agreed and ordered five sets of Xiguan Houfu's honeycomb quick-install tents.
Although many households in the Fu Yu family were spared from the disaster of losing their houses this time because of the disturbance caused by the young Marquis of Xiguan, there were still some unexpected circumstances and not all houses were unscathed.
The winter in Xiguan had just begun this year. It was impossible to build houses with mud and tiles during such a winter. The tents in Xiguan Houfu just solved his worries, so he naturally took action without hesitation!
That night, even though the tent he lived in was still leaky and cold, Fu Yu Changqing rested very soundly.
The depression and suffocation she felt when her fishing spot was occupied by the Governor's Mansion during the day were swept away. She vaguely felt that after she really saw what the young Marquis of Xiguan wanted her to see, there would be no doubt about the possibility of her reaching a so-called "deal" with the young Marquis.
Even she, Fu Yu, will definitely benefit greatly from such a deal.
As soon as Wang Yanpeng arrived today, he went straight to the tent where Liu Ziye was.
When he saw this snow tent with a unique structure, he was as shocked and surprised as Fu Yu Changqing was yesterday.
However, he didn't have much time to observe carefully, as Fu Shi and the people from Xiguan Marquis' Mansion had already noticed him. After the private guards of the Marquis' Mansion asked Liu Ziye in the tent, they were led directly into the tent by the personal guard Xiying.
He heard from the soldiers who returned to the governor's mansion to report the news that the young marquis of Xiguan was also at Xisai Lake with his men, and had such a cold exchange with their soldiers. After a moment's thought, he took the governor's seal and stamped the blood letter, then personally accompanied these soldiers to Xisai Lake.
The heavy tent curtain fixed with hooks and loops at the door was lifted, and Wang Yanpeng stepped into the room.
This was the coldest weather since the snow fell. He came with the palace soldiers in the open air. Even though he covered his face with a cloak and wrapped himself up as tightly as possible, his face was still frozen blue and red.
However, when he entered the tent of the young marquis of Xiguan and felt the warmth blowing on his face, Wang Yanpeng couldn't help but rubbed his cold hands and face without caring about his image, and looked around the tent which was about ten feet wide.
After all, he is the direct descendant of the royal family of the Great Zhou Dynasty!
Even though he was in such a poor state, he could still obtain rare things that an official like him, who came from a small branch of a wealthy family, had never seen before!
Liu Ziye was no longer surprised by the reactions of everyone who saw the tent for the first time.
She leisurely enjoyed her breakfast. When Wang Yanpeng finally realized something was wrong, he quickly apologized and said, "Oh, young marquis, I'm sorry for being rude. I've never seen such an exquisite and windproof tent like yours. I'm truly amazed. Please forgive me!"
Liu Ziye hadn't finished his breakfast yet and didn't want to talk to him at this moment.
Finding a break between swallowing the food in his mouth, he casually asked him, "Is the seal ready?"
Wang Yanpeng waited respectfully, and upon hearing this, he hurriedly took out the blood letter that the palace soldiers brought back yesterday from his sleeve.
There was also a letter he had written on paper, referencing the contents of the blood letter: "I found the blood letter too crude and brief, so I have copied it according to the meaning of the young marquis's blood letter and added my signature and seal. Please review it, young marquis."
Xiying took it and read it. Finding there was nothing wrong with it, she temporarily unfolded it and placed it on Liu Ziye's desk, waiting for him to finish his meal before checking it again.
There was silence in the tent for a moment.
Liu Ziye hadn't instructed Xiying to find a place for Wang Yanpeng to sit, and Xiying naturally didn't interfere. Wang Yanpeng folded his hands awkwardly. He didn't dare to directly contradict or offend the young marquis, so he could only stand there and wait.
Fortunately, the young Marquis of Xiguan seemed to be eating quite quickly. In just a few moments, he had finished the three or two dishes placed in front of him. He wiped his hands, picked up the documents and the blood letter, and took a look at them.
"That's fine. I, Xiguan Hou, will act as the middleman and witness. It's settled."
Liu Ziye said, "Xiying, put away the two documents."
She then said to Wang Yanpeng, "Prefect Wang is truly a wise and understanding official who is the father of the county. The heavy snow in Xiguan County has almost devastated the lives of the people. Disputes like yesterday's over a bite of fish and game will surely become more frequent in the future. The Xiguan Prefectural Office, despite its own hardships, has single-mindedly considered the interests of the people. He personally led his men to dig snow and break ice on the frozen surface of Xisai Lake, organizing winter fishing for the border residents in preparation for the natural disaster. This dedication and contribution will surely be mentioned in my next private letter to my cousin, the Crown Prince."
Wang Yanpeng's eyes lit up when he heard this.
Why did he show up in person in the cold winter and chase to the shore of Xisai Lake?
Isn’t that what the young Marquis of Xiguan said?
In the past, Yiberi, who was also the governor of Xiguan, had never thought that he could gain any reputation in Yanjing through the Prince of Xiguan.
But that was because, no matter what the Prince of Xiguan said, the current emperor would definitely not accept it. Even Iberly himself had already established his own contact channels with Yanjing because he had been monitoring the movements of the Prince of Xiguan and the Prince's Palace for many years, so he didn't need the Prince of Xiguan to introduce him.
But now it is very different.
The last time Major General Chi Mu came with the Imperial Guards, everyone knew that in addition to the emperor's edict, he also brought a letter written by the current crown prince himself, which was written to the young marquis of Xiguan.
Therefore, this young Marquis of Xiguan actually has a direct connection with the future monarch.
The current emperor is approaching middle age, and it is only a matter of time before the reins of power in the Zhou Dynasty are handed over to the prince. Of course, he is eager to show his face in front of the prince more often.
As expected, the young Marquis of Xiguan really is his god of official luck!
Wang Yanpeng's heart surged with emotion, and he bowed sincerely: "Thank you, young marquis!"
Liu Ziye nodded lightly, stood up and put on his outer robe, as if he was ready to go out.
Even though this tent was as warm as spring, and even though Wang Yanpeng wanted to spend a little longer with his God of Officialdom, he couldn't stay here.
He bowed again and then reluctantly lifted the tent curtain.
·
The palace soldiers who had come with Wang Yanpeng and had been waiting outside the tent saw their governor come out.
He stepped forward and asked, "Sir, shall we begin arranging our own fishing?"
Wang Yanpeng thought of his promising future career. Even though the cold wind was biting his face outside the tent, he was in high spirits. He waved his hand and said with great ambition, "Let's go! Today, I will join you all in winter fishing!"
The palace guards were stunned, not knowing what their lord had just experienced in the tent of the young marquis in Xiguan.
He unexpectedly changed his previous behavior and did this kind of menial labor himself without fear of the severe cold.
But Wang Yanpeng obviously didn't care what these palace soldiers were thinking. He enthusiastically went all the way to the fishing and hunting ground guarded by the palace soldiers and personally organized the subsequent ice excavation.
Two hours later.
The soldiers, who had just been amazed and encouraged by the unprecedented diligence of their governor, were now complaining in their hearts.
How could the governor know how to break ice and catch fish?
When he said that they wanted to go winter fishing together, he certainly didn't mean to personally hold the iron pick and shovel and work hard to chisel the ice, but to give instructions from the side.
However, if that were all, it would be fine. No one expected adults to really do anything.
But please don't give orders blindly like that!
Among the government soldiers, there were many residents from the western border areas who were very familiar with this kind of winter fishing work.
When they were directed by Governor Wang to change the digging site every quarter of an hour, they would change their minds before they could dig out anything, saying that the cracks in the ice at that place were not right and they wanted to try another one, which left them speechless.
At this moment, they heard a burst of noise and cheers coming from the surface of Xisai Lake.
This sound is so eye-catching in the winter wilderness.
Wang Yanpeng couldn't help but stop giving orders, wiped the sweat off his forehead because he thought these palace soldiers were useless, and looked towards the source of the sound.
However, that was obviously the fishing spot where the young Marquis of Xiguan and the Fu clan members were. Because there were too many people gathered there, Wang Yanpeng had no way of telling what was going on!
He took another look at his messy fishing hole, which hadn't made any progress, and simply said, "You guys dig it yourself. Use your brains and your strength, otherwise you will be the ones who won't have enough to eat this winter!"
The palace soldiers nodded repeatedly, thinking: Okay, my dear sir, you are finally leaving!
When Wang Yanpeng and a few others finally arrived near the location of the Fu family fishing team and pushed aside the crowd in the front row, the scene behind the crowd came into Wang Yanpeng's eyes, and he was so shocked that he almost popped his eyes out!
I saw that on the snow-covered lake surrounded by the crowd, a large area of soft snow on the surface had been cleared.
In the cleared space in the middle, there was a large machine with a strange shape, a mixture of wood and iron that Wang Yanpeng had never seen before.
This machine is as tall as two people, with a long spiral iron head extending from one side, with the pointed end pointing downwards and pressing against the hard surface of frozen snow and ice.
There is a structure consisting of several circular wheels and belts in the middle of the machine, which are connected to the rear by belts. At the rear, there is a control console where three people can stand.
At this time, the three people were collectively stepping on several pedal-like things on the console and pedaling quickly.
The most amazing thing is that as they pedaled with all their strength, the complicated belts were driven, and then the round wheels began to rotate, and finally the spiral iron head in front rotated rapidly and drilled into the frozen snow and ice.
The sharp and fast-rotating iron tool effortlessly broke through the ice, bringing out pieces of flying ice flowers.
In such a winter wilderness, under the scorching sun, the snowflakes are crystal clear and charming.
Wang Yanpeng opened his eyes wide, trying to break through the thick snow fog and get a clearer look at the rapidly spinning spiral iron cone.
Even though his vision was frequently obstructed, he could still tell that the spiral iron head had sunk several feet beneath the ice, because the wooden mechanical arm above the iron head continued to sink.
At this time, all the fishing teams on the surface of Xisai Lake within a few miles could hardly bear the hustle and bustle here and gathered around.
As the robotic arm sank little by little, bursts of exclamations were heard from time to time.
Finally, the people at the rear console stopped pedaling and began reversing some of the mechanisms on the machine. Then, they returned to the pedaling platform. At this point, people saw that as the three people pedaled again, the mechanical arm, which had been deeply submerged in the ice, began to slowly rise from beneath the ice.
Finally, the robotic arm returned to the surface of the ice.
As the spiral iron cone returned to the surface, everyone could clearly see that what it brought out was a rush of icy water.
This ten-foot-deep ice layer was broken through! !
From the beginning to the final breakthrough, it took less than a quarter of an hour!!
Moreover, they all knew that the opening chosen by the Yucheng Fu fishing team was the one with the deepest ice and the most difficult to open on Xisai Lake this year!
Amidst the bursts of exclamations, Wang Yanpeng was dumbfounded.
He had never done fishing before, but after staying in Xiguan County for a long time, he had participated in winter fishing activities in previous years.
Even if you haven't eaten pork, you have seen pigs run.
Besides, today, he just went through two hours of accomplishing nothing!
Their area was said to be the best fishing spot, but they didn't even show him any reaction. But when they got here, they actually... actually!
His eyes quickly swept through the crowd and soon found the unignorable figure of the young Marquis of Xiguan.
This young Marquis of Xiguan also clearly felt that he had watched a very interesting show today, clapping and cheering with great excitement! Next to him, still closely next to him was the young patriarch of the Yucheng Fu family, Fu Zhen'er, whose face was also filled with joy.
Although Fu Zhen'er had been very close to the young Marquis of Xiguan during this period and they had a deep friendship, she did not seem to have been infected by the young Marquis of Xiguan's flashy and pretentious habits at all, and she still dressed in the most common style of his Fu family.
But the more this is the case, the more it highlights the rich, deep and clear temperament that is unique to a man who grew up in Xiguan.
It’s no wonder that these two characters, each with their own unique character and outstanding appearance, standing together with such high spirits and energy are enough to impress anyone who sees them!
No, why should I be upset?
Wang Yanpeng interrupted his uncontrollable fantasies and returned to his original thoughts.
Looking at the young Marquis of Xiguan's surprised look as if he was watching a show, it didn't seem like he knew in advance that there was such a skill in the Fu family.
Wang Yanpeng thought to himself that he had been immersed in Yucheng, Xiguan County for many years, but he never expected that the Fu family of Yucheng had so many hidden secrets and such ingenious and sophisticated members!
His expression suddenly became serious.
Perhaps from now on, he needs to change his views on these local clans in Xiguan County.
The ice cave had been dug, and the next step was to lower the fishing net into the bottom of the ice cave. The Fu family craftsmen on the ice-cutting machine began to remove the iron spike at the front, as if they were going to transform the machine directly into a fishing machine capable of dropping and trawling nets.
Wow, this is really eye-opening!
Wang Yanpeng took advantage of this gap, straightened his clothes and appearance, found the patriarch of the Fu clan, Fu Mingyi, and walked forward.
At this time, besides the fishing team of their Fu family, which was busy around Fu Mingyi, there were also many hunters from other towns gathered nearby to watch, and from time to time they would try to find a chance to talk to Fu Mingyi.
Fu Mingyi, who was the focus of everyone's attention, had to take care of the trivial matters of directing and arranging fishing, and was extremely busy.
As the governor of Xiguan County, Wang Yanpeng naturally had no such awareness of being on the same level as other ordinary border residents.
As he and his attendant soldiers approached, the soldier grabbed Fu Mingyi and said, "Fu Mingyi, right? The governor wants to speak to you."
Today was the first time that Fu Mingyi actually operated the fishing machine given to him by Du Hui and the people in the Marquis' Mansion. It was also the first time that he witnessed this ice-breaking fishing machine that the young Marquis of Xiguan had said he wanted to do business with him, and he had accepted it out of favor no matter what it was.
I never expected that once I stepped onto the ice today, it would be so powerful!!
As the main leader of the Fu family fishing team today, he was as excited and surprised as the other onlookers.
However, he still had to remain calm, follow the operating instructions given by Du Hui step by step, and concentrate on executing the next step.
With so many people constantly trying to strike up a conversation with him, how could he care about them all?
Just when he was concentrating, he was suddenly pulled like this. He felt extremely impatient: "Who? What do you want to say? Can't you see that I can't let go here?"
The palace soldier was choked by him and immediately became angry.
Wang Yanpeng was also very unhappy, but he knew that the relationship between Fu and the Xiguan Marquisate was very special and he could not easily control it.
Fu Zhen'er saw this and stepped forward to defend Fu Mingyi, saying, "Sir Governor, my father was very busy and didn't recognize your identity. I hope you won't blame me for any offense."
Fu Zhen'er had barely finished speaking when Liu Ziye squeezed in from behind him. "Hey, Lord Wang, why are you here? Don't you have your own fishing spot? It's the best spot on Xisai Lake this winter!"
Her words were obvious. What she meant was, why are you wandering around other people's land instead of working hard at your own fishing spot?
Wang Yanpeng's face tightened, but he forced himself to maintain a smile. "Your humble servant greets the young marquis. It's simply because the Yucheng Fu family fishing team is so popular that I couldn't help but join in the fun."
Liu Ziye sneered, "Is the fun over yet? Can't you see we're busy over here? Why do you have to come look for my uncle Fu at this time?"
Wang Yanpeng suppressed his embarrassment and continued, "The Fu family is truly one of the most powerful families in Xiguan County. To possess such a powerful ice-breaking fishing tool is truly a blessing for the entire Xiguan County! With such a valuable item, I've been thinking... why not use it to help the people living along the borders of Xiguan County?"
Liu Ziye laughed even louder this time: "Then you are late, Lord Wang!"
Fu Zhen'er added, "There are only two ice-breaking fishing machines in my Fu clan. The one you see here is not one of them. The other one was sold to the Qingcheng Fuyu clan half an hour ago."
"What? Sold to the Buyeo clan?" Wang Yanpeng couldn't believe it.
"good."
Fu Zhen'er slowly agreed and explained, "Your Excellency can see that this ice-breaking fishing machine is complex and difficult to build. Furthermore, if it weren't for this year's blizzard, it's doubtful such a machine would have been needed. Therefore, my Fu family only prepared two of these machines to deal with unforeseen disasters. I never expected that they would actually be used."
"Is this... like this?"
Wang Yanpeng was speechless for a moment. It was not that he had nothing to say, but he could not say what he wanted to say in front of the young marquis of Xiguan who was glaring at him covetously.
Liu Ziye obviously saw through his thoughts and sneered, "Sir Wang, the blood letter and documents you sent earlier are still with my personal guards. What? Are you going to change your mind now?"
"No, no, no, no!" Wang Yanpeng quickly denied it.
"Then what do you want to do? You want to take the family property of my sworn brother? Believe it or not, I will slap you in the face right now." Liu Ziye made a clear threat.
Wang Yanpeng felt his back tighten, and he dared not say anything more. He quickly bowed and said goodbye.
It's not that he was a coward, but he had seen with his own eyes how this young marquis of Xiguan kicked and beat Iberi and Pan Yi half to death in front of General Chi Mu in Yanjing, with blood all over the floor.
The blood letter and documents that I had just delivered were still in their hands, so I was already in the wrong and felt very angry.
If this little devil is really angered, Wang Yanpeng will not be able to bear it!
The governor fled with his tail between his legs, but the others were unaware of the conversation between the three of them.
Those scattered fishing teams carry on their shoulders the livelihood of every household in every town and every ethnic group for the whole winter.
They had been arriving at Xisai Lake for such a long time without any gains, and their despair was growing day by day.
How many people have stared at the ice cave of the Fuyu clan, thinking that they must try no matter what to get that little bit of money from the subordinates of the Fuyu clan and other big families.
Later, when they saw that the Fuyu clan's fishing port was taken over by the governor's office, this only small hope was shattered in an instant.
After all, if the governor's office is willing to share some of the catch with the border residents of Xiguan, they will be very grateful.
But if they don't make a distinction, they will have no bargaining power.
This winter, they had barely escaped the first major disaster. Are they really going to continue to be slowly devoured by hunger and cold, and never see the return of spring next year?
However, at this moment, when they fell into the abyss of despair, the Fu family of Yucheng appeared!
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