Chapter 395

Similarly, those who could come here to attend the Treasure Tree King's birthday celebration were all political dignitaries from various places.

He Lingchuan scratched his head; this Treasure Tree Kingdom really had a lot of "political dignitaries." He thought of his father's provincial government, from top to bottom, including officials and clerks, which seemed to be less than thirty people, all operating at full capacity.

No way, it's poor.

Although it would definitely expand later.

Now there were over nine thousand officials here; he didn't even dare to imagine how many officials were in each provincial government of the Treasure Tree Kingdom, how many in the counties, and what about the townships and villages?

Moreover, there were mostly humans here, all dressed impeccably.

Obviously, the ability to manage local areas and handle affairs was still what humans were best at.

After sitting down, the Second Master Shi started chatting with the VIPs around him.

Those who could enter here were either in officialdom or in business; knowing one more friend meant one more path in the future.

He Lingchuan raised his tea and took a sip; it was refreshing, comparable to the Jasmine Dragon Pearl gifted to him by the Marquis of Songyang, so it must be expensive.

Jasmine Dragon Pearl was a private good tea gifted by the Marquis of Songyang, but the tea here was supplied to all guests.

Two officials on the side were talking: "This is our Wuqing tea, called Mist Tea."

"I know, I'm from Ganzhou Prefecture; millions of jin of Mist Tea are sold to other places every year, although the grade is not as good as this one."

"Oh, what a coincidence, I'm also from Ganzhou Prefecture!"

The two exchanged pleasantries and chatted about some gossip regarding their superiors.

He Lingchuan stuffed a crispy broad bean into his mouth and asked them: "You are from the same prefecture, yet you don't recognize each other?"

The official said: "The way you ask, it seems you are not from the Treasure Tree Kingdom?"

He Lingchuan smiled: "Indeed not."

"I am from the North Prefecture of Ganzhou."

The other said: "I am from the South Prefecture of Ganzhou. We are fifty miles apart and don't work together usually, so how could we recognize each other?"

"A prefecture is divided into North and South?" He Lingchuan was slightly surprised. "May I ask, how many people are in the North and South Prefectures respectively?"

"Our North Prefecture has a fixed staff of three thousand three hundred and twenty people."

"The South Prefecture has fewer, about two thousand eight hundred."

So Ganzhou Prefecture had a total of over six thousand one hundred officials? He Lingchuan had little experience and couldn't help but gasp: "How many counties are under Ganzhou?"

"Eight counties and one hundred and two townships." The official sighed. "The miscellaneous tasks are piled up like a mountain; there isn't a day they can be finished."

He Lingchuan did the math; Xiazhou had six counties under its jurisdiction, totaling ninety-eight townships. But the number of officials in the Xiazhou government was not even one percent of that of the Ganzhou government in the Treasure Tree Kingdom!

Another official saw He Lingchuan's shock and coughed lightly: "Ganzhou is considered few; Zizhou has East and West Prefectures added."

A prefecture is so large that it has to be divided into East, West, North, and South Prefectures? "Zizhou has over ten thousand officials?"

"Naturally." The official smiled. "Every time the New Year goods are distributed, it's the busiest in Zizhou. Those who queue up late have to wait from morning until night."

He Lingchuan's eyes rolled: "Since there is so much work, do the various prefectures have arrangements for outsourcing?"

So-called outsourcing is subcontracting.

The Xiazhou government had only thirty-some officials; even if He Chunhua grabbed his youngest son to be a volunteer, many desk documents still couldn't be finished, so he outsourced tasks that didn't involve secrets, and the government spent money to find people to do them.

These were laborers who didn't receive a salary but were additionally hired by the government; even the runners and grooms were paid this money.

This move was not created by He Chunhua; it had existed long ago.

The money received from outsourcing was, of course, much less than that of the formal establishment.

The official nodded: "That is naturally the case. Without these hands, how could the work be finished?"

Public affairs are all outsourced, and the government still needs to support over six thousand officials? He Lingchuan was sighing when this person squinted at him: "Little brother, what high opinion do you have?"

He Lingchuan smiled and said: "I am just sighing that your country is rich in resources, and it is not easy to operate such a large country, yet the people are still so prosperous." The Treasure Tree Kingdom is prosperous; otherwise, how could it afford to support so many officials?

An official is not a lone commander doing the work alone. He has to be equipped with subordinates, manage food and drink, and have cars and horses when going out.

Winter firewood and charcoal, summer ice drinks; if not given in kind, it must be converted into money.

A set of personnel, everywhere is an expense.

The two chatted again; the Second Master Shi pulled He Lingchuan's sleeve and lowered his voice: "I have been to the Ganzhou government to handle affairs, just a small private matter, and I had to stamp twelve seals before and after. Hehe, a characteristic of the Treasure Tree Kingdom. Routine affairs are handled very quickly, but extra matters are not; it's dragging!"

He Lingchuan wondered: "Other demon nations are not like this?"

"I have been to nine demon nations in total." The Second Master Shi shook his head. "The Treasure Tree Kingdom has the most government personnel. Anyway, they can afford to support them, and they don't need others to worry blindly."

He Lingchuan had good eyesight; at this time, he saw from afar Grand Tutor Sha standing in the main hall, his expression solemn, talking to someone.

The corridor was built along the lake; after He Lingchuan took his seat, as long as he leaned forward slightly, it was equivalent to being suspended over the lake water.

Looking down from his angle, the lake water was clear, as if he could see the roots intertwined at the bottom of the lake, with countless fish and shrimp living among them, happy and harmonious.

He Lingchuan looked at the giant tree in the lake.

In other words, its root system had actually firmly controlled the entire lake, leaving no gap? How does such a silent divine tree usually talk to people? What He Lingchuan was more curious about was how the Treasure Tree King fought against enemies? The thirteen demon kings of the Beijia nation were all famous great demons who relied on their strength to rise. The Treasure Tree King was the oldest and must have extraordinary means to maintain the long-term stability of this country.

At this time, the herald was singing and reporting the arriving envoys; one moment it was "The envoy from Xuluo Kingdom has arrived," and the next it was "The envoy from Chiyan Kingdom has arrived." He Lingchuan listened with great interest.

For the Treasure Tree King's birthday, other demon nations sent envoys to congratulate him. It was said that the envoy from Xuluo Kingdom, located northwest of Beijia, had set off forty days ago to arrive on time.

The envoys from various countries, some were humans and some were demons, but they usually looked high-spirited. After all, they were envoys representing the demeanor of their own country, and they couldn't show weakness in appearance first.

That's how demon nations are; walk around the main road, and you can encounter all kinds of monsters and ghosts.

When He Lingchuan turned his head, he happened to hear the herald shout "The envoy from Shanyu Kingdom has arrived." He subconsciously took a look, and his gaze froze: among the Shanyu Kingdom's envoy group, there was actually a giant white python! The python's body was snow-white, with ring-shaped spots on it, which was quite beautiful.

But this, this was indeed somewhat similar to the deputy envoy of the Eling Kingdom, the giant python killed by Fushan.

It's no wonder he misidentified it.

He Lingchuan felt that the demon king of the Shanyu Kingdom was really interesting; clearly, this country was rich in birds of prey, yet it let a snake demon be the envoy.

Of course, this giant python looked healthy, obviously Fushan hadn't gone to trouble it yet.

This envoy group presented gifts and entered the back hall to sit down. He Lingchuan clearly noticed that there were more guards around them.

After the government office received the intelligence from him, on one hand, it increased the search for Fushan, and on the other hand, it definitely strengthened the protection for the Shanyu Kingdom's envoy.

When the Treasure Tree King celebrated his eight-hundredth birthday, if a friendly envoy was killed on his own territory, that would truly be a great humiliation.

Now White Cloud Abode looked festive, but in fact, the defense was strict; if anyone dared to take the opportunity to cause trouble here, I'm afraid they would be chopped into meat paste immediately.

He Lingchuan hadn't met anyone from the Grand Tutor's Mansion all day today, so he didn't know if Fushan had been captured.

But he had a feeling in his heart that this person was comparable to a cockroach and probably wouldn't be caught easily.

Of course, his attention was now on the giant tree, and others could worry about security.

Nearby, officials had been talking, all about trivial matters in the local area and officialdom; he didn't listen carefully, but two people actually mentioned a familiar name in their words:

Hong Chenglue.

He Lingchuan's heart moved; he leaned over and arched his hands: "Are the two talking about General Hong?"

"Yes." The two looked back and saw a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy, a stranger. "Who are you?"

He Lingchuan showed his token: "I came from the Grand Tutor's Mansion to watch the ceremony."

The attitude of the two became enthusiastic immediately: "Disrespect, disrespect."

What He Lingchuan took out was the silver-lettered plaque specially made by the Grand Tutor's Mansion for this ceremony, which was both a pass and an invitation; those who received this were all VIPs in the mansion.

"My family has old ties with General Hong, and I heard that he has returned to the mountains after many years of seclusion and is fighting in the Yuan Kingdom. I would like to ask the two about General Hong's recent situation?"

"That's exactly what we are talking about." An official said, "Hong Chenglue has been reused by the National Master Shanye and is supporting the surrendered general of the Yuan Kingdom on the northern line of the Yuan Kingdom, called what is it, uh, Xun..."

"Xunzhou Shepherd Nian Zanli?"

"Yes, yes, Nian Zanli!" The official nodded repeatedly. "It is said that the battle by the river was fought so that the enemy was defeated, and the Yuan Kingdom's army suffered more than thirty thousand casualties."

Nian Zanli brought about that monstrous flood, which washed away Zhao Pan's military camp and also washed away the momentum of the Yuan army; it would be strange if they didn't lose. He Lingchuan still hadn't figured out how such heaven-defying means were used?

That was far beyond human reach. If battles could be fought like that, wouldn't Beijia be invincible and have no enemies in the world?

His throat was a little dry, and he couldn't help but cough lightly: "And then?"

"The Yuan Kingdom was probably scared to death and sent people to negotiate peace with Nian Zanli, but the envoys sent were all beheaded by the one surnamed Nian." The official said, "I heard that the west side of the Yuan Kingdom is also fighting, and both ends are tight."

"Where has Nian Zanli fought to now?" Thinking of the new home carefully arranged by Lady Ying, He Lingchuan's heart tightened. "How far is it from Dunyu, the capital of Xiazhou?"

"You know the capital of Xiazhou?"

"Yes." He Lingchuan nodded. "I have been there with my family; it is a good place."

The great defeat at Hanhe, Zhao Pan, the commander-in-chief, had to take responsibility, but He Chunhua was also on the front line at that time, bringing the elite of the Xiazhou government.

If you win, everything is easy to say; if you lose... if you lose, everything will be against you.

The foundation He Chunhua had fought for earlier, and the prestige he had finally established among the military and civilians of Xiazhou, would definitely be greatly damaged.

Conscripting soldiers, raising grain, making money, everything had to be increased in difficulty.

Of course, the most terrifying thing was the iron hooves of the northern enemies, who were encroaching on the territory of this Xiazhou Superintendent.

Under such circumstances, what way did He Chunhua have to hold the southern part of Xiazhou and hold Dunyu?

12.29. I haven't tested positive yet, but my 98-year-old grandmother has!! Except for bad knee joints and congenital heart disease discovered at the age of 70, there are no other underlying diseases.

Currently, she is under close care. The whole family is very worried, hoping that she can safely pass the tribulation and live to be a centenarian.

(End of chapter)