Chapter 78: The Army Passes Through (Part 2) Update
The Buddhist beads in Du Yan's hand were spinning rapidly, and he was so anxious that he couldn't sit still.
Given his understanding of the Young Marquis of Xiguan, he couldn't help but panic! Even the Great Master Xuanjing and the Young Marquis of Xiguan said they would just lash out without mercy, let alone himself, the so-called host.
When the young Marquis of Xiguan entered the guest hall first, Du Yan immediately bowed and said, "I am Du Yan, a poor monk. I am sorry to bother you, young Marquis of Xiguan."
Liu Ziye glanced at Du Yan, and even though he was reluctant, he couldn't help but think of the great master Xuan Jing from that day.
She nodded faintly as a greeting and went straight to her seat.
Du Hui, however, saluted from behind with a smile: "Master Du Yan."
Jin Jie, like Liu Ziye, simply paid a simple tribute.
After everyone took their seats, Liu Ziye saw that Du Yan was too flustered to look him in the eye, so he asked directly, "Why did Master Du Yan come alone? Why didn't Master Xuan Jing come with him?"
"ah?"
Du Yan was startled. "Um, Master Xuan Jing... uh... it's inconvenient for him to come."
He didn't dare to tell the truth. If Xuan Jing came, he might not even be able to enter the gate of Xiguan Hou Mansion.
"oh."
Liu Ziye understood, and she was also aware of this. She stopped teasing Monk Du Yan and asked, "Master Du Yan, why are you here today?"
Du Yan felt even more embarrassed when he thought about what he was going to say today.
But Master Xuan Jing had given him the order, so he had no choice but to do it. "Um... I've come to your residence to ask the young marquis if you could lend Yanyun Temple some food and medicine..."
In recent years, the reclamation of wasteland in Xiguan County has progressed rapidly.
Furthermore, each plot of land was fertilized according to local conditions, improving soil quality and fertility. Grain yields per mu were also extremely high, and the grain reserves in every household were already sufficient to feed the people of Xiguan County for five, seven, or eight years.
The Xiguanhou Mansion also stored more food than it could eat.
Since the year before last, Du Hui has arranged people, headed by Xiguan Houfu, to establish the Xiguan Grain Management Workshop.
This granary collects the grain voluntarily stored by each household and is responsible for the daily storage and management of the grain. It also issues grain coupons to the people who store the grain, which specify the quantity and type of stored grain.
After storing grain, you can use this ticket to withdraw grain from the grain shop.
This granary would lend out the grain stored by the people. Through the process of lending and returning grain, it would collect a small commission and replace the old grain in storage with new grain.
Of course, in addition to storing grain, people can also freely sell grain to the granary.
The grain purchased by this grain shop would also be sold to the outside world. Xiguan County had an abundant supply of grain, but the demand was low. Therefore, this grain shop changed its name and, after several attempts to conceal its owner's background, opened outside Xiguan County.
All the way west, we drove to the eight tribes of the grassland. All the way east, we drove to the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
As a neighboring county of Xiguan County, Fanyang County naturally also has a granary operated by the Xiguan Marquisate.
Although according to the information received, the local grain reserves of these granaries had long been forcibly requisitioned by the government, and the stocks were almost exhausted, there was still a large amount of grain stored in Xiguan. With the current transportation efficiency of Xiguan County, it would only take two or three days to transport it to the border of Fanyang County.
That's why Du Yan came to Xiguan Houfu today.
Liu Ziye seemed a little surprised when she heard this. She looked at Du Yan and asked curiously, "I wonder how much grain Master Du Yan wants to borrow?"
Du Yan's face was covered with sweat. "This... I would like to borrow three thousand dan of grain from the young marquis."
After saying this, Du Yan felt that his strength was almost exhausted, and he leaned weakly on the table.
Liu Ziye smiled at him and said, "Yanyun Temple is located in Yucheng. The monks in the temple are no more than the abbot and his two companions. I wonder how the abbot can borrow food from you? If my Xiguan Marquis Mansion really did lend food to your temple, would you be able to return it?"
She seemed to suddenly remember something and continued, "If this Marquis remembers correctly, both the initial construction and renovation of Yanyun Temple were funded by my Xiguan Marquisate. If the abbot wishes to use your temple as collateral, this Marquis will not allow it."
"No, no."
Du Yan denied it repeatedly: "Young Marquis is right. How dare this poor monk use Yanyun Temple as a bargaining chip?"
Liu Ziye asked again, "Then, Master, how do we return the grain?"
Du Yan looked at Liu Ziye and had to throw out the last mission of the day. He said, "Master Xuan and Master Xuan Jing said that the Xiguan Houfu will give 3,000 dan of grain, and he will return it with the hearts and minds of the Buddhist believers from the three directions."
When Du Yan said this, Du Hui was suddenly shocked.
Xiguan County is located in the northwest of the Zhou Dynasty, so to the east, south and southeast, there are three sides.
Master Xuan Jing, this is a promise made to Liu Ziye to win the hearts of the Buddhist believers in the Zhou Dynasty.
Du Hui looked at Liu Ziye with his bright eyes, and his meaning was clear.
Liu Ziye exchanged a glance with him, then looked at Du Yan and said, "By using 3,000 dan of grain to win the hearts and minds of the people of three regions, our Xiguan Hou Mansion has made a huge profit."
Du Yan hurriedly said, "No, no. Master Xuan Jing said that what the young Marquis of Xiguan has done is a blessing for the people. The people of the three border areas will one day all be under the young Marquis's command. The great master has only done his little bit to speed up the process of rallying the people's hearts."
When these words came out, Liu Ziye was very surprised.
After all, her relationship with Xuan Jing had collapsed the moment they met, and Liu Ziye had deliberately ignored him for the past three years. Furthermore, she believed that as a high school student in modern society, she relied on materialistic thinking and a solid foundation of mathematics, physics, and chemistry to navigate the world.
Deep down, I never take these so-called great masters, eminent monks or even Buddhist temples seriously.
With the wisdom of Master Xuan Jing, it is impossible for him not to see her true attitude.
Liu Ziye saw that the Buddha was willing to give such a high evaluation to someone like himself who "does not believe in Buddhism and does not respect Buddhism". He could see the transcendent mind and bearing that a disciple of Buddha should have.
As a counselor who was born and raised in this dynasty and devoted to assisting the ruler of the revival, Du Hui understood better than Liu Ziye the value of Monk Du Yan's words today.
He kept signaling to Liu Ziye with his eyes while sitting in his seat.
Liu Ziye nodded and said, "Okay! Master Duyan, please tell Master Xuanjing that the Xiguan Marquisate will begin transporting food and grain into the pass starting tomorrow."
Du Yan didn't expect that the young Marquis of Xiguan would be so willing to agree to Master Xuan Jing's request.
Overjoyed, he stood up, sealed the order again, and bowed: "This humble monk thanks the young Marquis of Xiguan."
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After seeing Du Yan off, Liu Ziye discussed with Du Hui and handed over the matter of grain transportation to Wang Zhi, who was in charge of the grain business.
Du Hui was very happy.
Who is Master Xuan Jing?
The fact that he could make Du Yan say such words today meant that he was certain that their young marquis would have unlimited power and life in the future.
Furthermore, Du Hui was deeply convinced that Xuan Jing was absolutely capable of single-handedly bringing forward the day when the young marquis's fame would spread throughout the Great Zhou. This was why even the current emperor, with his exceptionally high standards, had to show respect to a Buddhist disciple and repeatedly attempted to invite Xuan Jing into the palace to preach.
Listening to Buddhist teachings is secondary. The real consideration is whether Xuan Jing can be invited into the palace to support Liu Jian's throne.
That was why when he learned that Master Xuan Jing had come to him on his own initiative, he immediately sent a letter asking the young marquis to return home and visit Yanyun Temple in person.
However, since the two of them did not get along, the young marquis was rarely so angry, and he had no reason to let the young marquis give in to Xuan Jing.
But I didn't expect that after not interacting with each other for these years, Xuan Jing could still have such an evaluation of the young marquis.
A sense of pride that his master was appreciated by another high-level player arose spontaneously.
Someone came in from outside the courtyard and announced, "Young Marquis, Governor Wang is here to see you!"
Liu Ziye and Du Hui exchanged a glance, and she said to the newcomer, "Please come in, Governor."
After saying that, she thought for a while, took a sip of tea, stood up and walked to the door of the main hall to welcome the guests.
Wang Yanpeng walked into the second gate with a humble smile on his face, and politely bowed to thank the servant of the Marquis' Mansion who led him in.
When he looked up, he saw that the tall, handsome and dazzling young marquis of Xiguan had condescended to wait for him in the corridor in front of the hall. He immediately changed his fast walk into a jog and hurried over with a series of small steps.
"Alas, Young Marquis! Your household is overwhelmed with affairs. If it weren't for something of grave importance, and indeed related to the fate of the Xiguan Marquisate, I would never dare to rashly disturb you!"
Liu Ziye smiled slightly and said to him, "Please come in, Governor."
As the chief steward of the Marquis' Mansion, Du Hui also smiled and extended his hand to Wang Yanpeng to invite him into the hall.
Wang Yanpeng entered the room feeling flattered. As soon as he sat down, he said, "Young Marquis, I'm sure you've heard that our Great Zhou Dynasty is going to war with the Eight Tribes."
Liu Ziye nodded in confirmation.
"This... this Xiguan County is directly adjacent to the Great Zhou territory of the Eight Tribes of the Grassland. By then, millions of Great Zhou soldiers will gather here from all over the Great Zhou. Although the various armies will gather in Fanyang County, in the end, they will all pass through our Xiguan County to enter the Eight Tribes!"
Wang Yanpeng rubbed his hands together, "Then you'll see... the tremendous changes that have taken place in Xiguan County over the past few years will no longer be concealed!"
"I am merely the governor of a certain prefecture. If the court wishes to punish me for concealing the truth, I have nothing to say. However, you, young marquis, are different. You are of royal blood, the youngest grandson of the Holy Ancestor! If His Majesty were to learn of your pivotal position in Xiguan County and the role you have played in its tremendous transformation, with a million-strong army at their disposal, if such a formidable force were to raise a foot... even my entire Xiguan would be annihilated!"
His head was covered with beads of sweat and there were bruises under his eyelids. It was obvious that he had been anxious about this matter for a long time and was restless.
Although he said that he was not afraid of the court's punishment, that was of course just a formality.
Liu Ziye was willing to see him today, of course not to listen to his roundabout way.
She said bluntly, "I am capable of protecting myself. If the Governor is worried about me, then I thank you for your concern."
"What?"
Wang Yanpeng looked up unexpectedly.
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