Chapter 1530: How impressive

After He Lingchuan expressed his thanks, he scratched his head: "However, I have only just acquired the Fountain Shanzhuang, and there aren't enough rooms to house nine hundred people."

This was not an excuse, but the truth.

"No matter, my brothers can also stay in the storehouses." Zhao Song naturally could not take his troops away. "At worst, we have brought military tents with us."

"Oh my, letting the Imperial Guards stay in storehouses? How could I be so embarrassed!" Although he said this, He Lingchuan was, of course, not the least bit embarrassed. The Fountain Shanzhuang was too large, and he had too few men, so he truly could not look after it all. Now that Zhao Song had brought these nine hundred men, it actually greatly strengthened the villa's defensive force.

Dong Rui's temporary departure had left He Lingchuan's methods less flexible than before, and he still had to expend mental energy to guard against Qing Yang.

At this moment, the guard unit sent by King Yao was a timely rain.

Since there was sufficient manpower, He Lingchuan asked Zhao Song to allocate two hundred guards to tidy up the empty rooms so that the several leading commanders could move in, while simultaneously clearing out the warehouses to settle these hundreds of men and horses.

The villa was large, and it took this unit two days of busy work to finally get settled.

As for the meals for nine hundred people, He Lingchuan waved his hand and said generously: "I will cover it all."

On the first night the guard army moved in, He Lingchuan turned down two banquets in Tianshui City and instructed the head chef to prepare a welcome feast, treating Zhao Song and several guard commanders to a good meal.

Zhao Song had traveled all the way here with him from Ju City, so they already had some friendship. Now that Island Master He had gained the monarch's favor, he did not act bossy, and he gave Zhao Song plenty of face in front of the other commanders. Thus, after drinking a dozen cups of fine wine, Zhao Song began to pat his chest and guarantee that if there was anything needed, He Lingchuan only had to speak! From this day on, whenever He Lingchuan went out, he would bring hundreds of guards, surrounded by an entourage.

It was the same in Tianshui City; a few people would set out, surrounded by hundreds of elites.

Those century-old streets and alleys were already narrow, and once He Lingchuan went through, the entire road would be blocked!

Although they did not shout, "Island Master He has arrived, idlers move aside," strangers truly could not get within five zhang of He Lingchuan.

With such momentum and such a display, which noble family could compare? But he had to enter the palace, meet guests, and coordinate construction matters; entering and exiting the city were official duties, so who had the reason or the guts to impeach him? For a time, He Xiao's reputation was like fire cooking oil.

That he dared to act like this in the capital and still be fine showed that his various behaviors had all received tacit approval from above.

He was truly worthy of being the number one favorite in front of the King.

Ever since He Lingchuan joined with the status of "Upper Deliberator," the various matters of the new city expansion were like pressing the fast-forward button, suddenly spreading out comprehensively and accelerating.

The authorities posted announcements in the streets and alleys, clearly stating that Tianshui City was about to expand eastward, and explaining the size, boundary locations, and so on, as well as the supporting public projects for the new city expansion.

Beside the announcements, there were also designated personnel to explain them to the illiterate commoners.

This was the first step of He Lingchuan's strategy, which was to let everyone in Tianshui City receive the clearest signal: the eastward expansion of Tianshui City was already a certainty.

Don't believe it? If you don't believe it, go look at the official residences on the south bank of You Lake, and look at the royal palace that was preparing for renovation.

Since the monarch and the high officials were all preparing to move to You Lake, what else did ordinary people have to hesitate about? Buying along with the big shots would definitely not lead to losses!

And He Lingchuan's reputation in Tianshui reached its peak. Although he was not the person in charge of the capital's eastward expansion plan, everyone in the royal court knew that King Yao valued his opinions; one word from him could top ten words from other ministers.

Otherwise, how could he have a thousand-man guard unit? Since the founding of the Yao Nation, which foreign merchant had ever received such an honor?

Therefore, he had endless flattery to hear and endless gifts to receive.

At this time, He Lingchuan suddenly became upright and incorruptible, refusing all gifts and telling the outside world that he was just a person with a leisure post.

What bribes would a person with a leisure post take?

Fan Shuang was also grinning from ear to ear.

Following by He Lingchuan's side, it was roughly equivalent to enjoying the display of being surrounded by hundreds of people wherever he went, and he was the focus of everyone's attention wherever he walked.

Moreover, many officials who could not reach He Lingchuan hoped to pass messages through Fan Shuang.

To ask for help, one had to have an attitude; to ask for help, one had to prepare gifts.

Fan Shuang had never been so glorious in his life.

From now on, not only You Lake, but even the townships, towns, and counties surrounding You Lake became large construction sites. Qing Yang traveled between You Lake and Tianshui City, and the road was rugged and bumpy the whole way, breaking two carriage wheels within three days.

She was wealthy and imposing, sticking two expensive gliding talismans on the carriage, which finally spared her the embarrassment of being forced to shake her head the whole way.

In fact, Qing Yang no longer wanted to live in the You Lake Cottage. It was neither quiet nor convenient there.

But she could not move away, otherwise it would be equivalent to admitting defeat to King Yao in person.

Just as she returned to the You Lake Cottage from the palace, Yuan Xuan handed over a document: "Palace Master, this is the finalized data for the Tianshui City eastward expansion."

The matter of Tianshui City's expansion had been argued about in the court for seven or eight years, but in these few days, it had suddenly accelerated, with progress made every day.

King Yao also made the decision with unprecedented decisiveness, never mentioning the empty treasury or the lack of money for expansion.

Qing Yang had many eyes and ears in the palace, and she found out the reason for this immediately.

Round and round, it could not escape the name "He Xiao."

She read the detailed data Yuan Xuan brought very carefully and slowly, almost pondering the so-called "city expansion construction" plan word by word.

When she put down the thick file, her face had already changed color: "How impressive!"

"Palace Master?" Qing Yang was always calm and composed; Yuan Xuan had not seen this look on her face for a long time.

"When He Yang was alive, I told him that King Yao relied on the You Lake villa to force his subordinate officials to submit letters of allegiance, and this trick could only last for a month or two." Lightning in the west lit up the night sky, and Qing Yang walked to the window. "I didn't expect that He Xiao would actually have new tricks! If the planning in the proposal can all be implemented, King Yao's game of chess can continue for another year or two!"

Yuan Xuan was a smart man, but he truly did not understand these words of Qing Yang.

After hesitating again and again, he still asked: "Palace Master, this set of proposals is the result of the collective discussion of the ministers. He Xiao seems to have only offered a few scattered opinions?"

In such a thick stack of data, He Xiao's suggestions did not take up many strokes, and even his name only appeared two or three times.

Why would the Palace Master be facing a formidable enemy?

"There are dozens of officials who bought the You Lake villas. I originally thought that the King of Yao had no way to make them all rise to prominence, and the court would soon become foul and difficult to operate."

If the King of Yao forcibly promoted dozens of officials in one breath, wouldn't the royal court be in chaos?

How come, promotion is not based on diligence, not based on political achievements, not based on talent and virtue, but as long as one takes sides, as long as one spends money to bribe the monarch?

Then what would the entire Yao court become? Would King Yao still deserve to have diligent and serious subordinates? ===== CHAPTER 1531 =====