Chapter 372: 109. Traveling with a Sword

109. Traveling with a Sword

Not really, even a gentleman guards against craftsmen 109. Traveling with a Sword After the autumn harvest and farm work.

A cold wave arrived, and Prince Xunyang's temperature dropped.

The night leaks are getting longer, worrying about lack of sleep, and the autumn clothes have not been made, fearing the new coolness.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong was not short of autumn clothes, and even had more than enough.

Chen Jun Xie Xie Lingjiang, Wei Mei.

Aunt, Wei Lai.

Perhaps there was also Li Su Guoer... and other familiar female relatives, all of whom had prepared his autumn clothes early, making arrangements properly.

This could be considered the basic conduct of women in this era. Even Xiao Shimei, who was fiery and did not care much about ordinary housework, did not forget.

Besides preparing unlined garments for Ru Shixiong, she also sent a few pieces to her father far away in Shenjing Luoyang. Although the Chen Jun Chen Jun Xie Clan did not lack this bit of money, Chen Jun Xie Xun, as an old father, did not know how gratified he was to receive his daughter's filial piety. It was a real intimate little padded jacket, but unfortunately, it was already worn on a stinky boy... The old father sighed.

And what Magistrate Ouyang Rong did not know was that in the Prince Xunyang Wang Fu, the autumn clothes of his "Tan Lang" were prepared earlier than those of the head of the house, Li Su Xian, and the eldest son, Li Li Fusu, with the highest priority and the best materials.

Even before the White Dew in early autumn, Li Su Xian and Li Li Fusu would actively remind Wei Mei and other female relatives not to forget to prepare for Tan Lang and must arrange it properly.

Repeatedly exhorted.

Just like the fox-white fur shawl, a unique product of Liaodong and a peerless treasure, last year.

It was just that Magistrate Ouyang Rong, surrounded by intimate female relatives with warm fragrance and soft jade, was blown by the cold autumn wind when he went out, and his thoughts could not help but drift to the side of Ah Shan's family in Longcheng, worrying about his sister Ah Qing and Mother Liu.

It was mainly because in this era, the suffering of freezing and hunger had not been completely eliminated. Magistrate Ouyang Rong had read the history books of the previous dynasty and the current dynasty, and it was always "heavy rain and snow, many people froze to death," "heavy snow, pits and valleys were full, many soldiers froze to death," "fish in rivers and streams all froze to death," and other calm descriptions of disasters.

A few short sentences were shocking.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong was also a chief official of Jiangzhou, and only after receiving reports on the people's situation from various places did he truly know how difficult autumn and winter were for poor families.

Although there were arrangements and care left by Magistrate Ouyang Rong, Ah Qing and the others in Longcheng were unwilling to trouble him too much. Unless it was absolutely necessary, Ah Qing and the others were all self-sufficient and worked to support the family.

Every time Magistrate Official Diao came to Prince Xunyang City to report on his duties, or Yan Yan Liulang returned to Longcheng to visit his parents and sister, Magistrate Ouyang Rong would ask them about Ah Qing's affairs.

Fortunately, the news he got every time was quite good.

Ah Qing's family was living quite well. Except for the medicinal materials and medical expenses needed for Mother Liu to recuperate in bed, Ah Qing almost never took anything from Magistrate Ouyang Rong's side.

It was also because he was always concerned about Ah Qing's family that Magistrate Ouyang Rong, who was not short of autumn clothes, could be particularly empathetic to the lives of ordinary people in Jiangzhou.

Most of the ancient words of sorrow for autumn were due to the falling of grass and trees, the desolate weather, and the fact that civilians lacked clothes and food, had the fear of freezing and distress, and added a layer of desolation.

In addition, autumn was also a season suitable for launching wars besides farm work.

The so-called eventful autumn was not an empty sigh.

For civilians with low living standards, how to survive the autumn and winter seasons without clothes and food was an incomparably fearful problem.

At present, Jiangzhou was the most frontline, and the Jiangzhou main hall had to build Buddha statues on one hand and prepare war materials for the upcoming Jiang Nan Circuit Marching Grand Commander on the other, so the finances were quite tight.

Even with the grain harvested recently in autumn, it was stretched thin.

In these days, Magistrate Ouyang Rong calculated carefully, played with the abacus, occasionally stood up, paced in the autumn wind in the long corridor, with a worried face... and then sat back down to continue calculating.

He had some understanding of the difficulties of Master Di mentioned in the teacher's letter.

And in the words of Chen Jun Xie Xie Lingjiang and others from the perspective of bystanders, Magistrate Ouyang Rong, this Jiangzhou chief official who specialized in people's livelihood, was really walking on thin ice, worrying about this and that every day, and they had never seen such a busy Prince Xunyang chief official.

Didn't those in the past all attend Prince Xunyang poetry gatherings and drink and have fun with famous scholars?

Although he heard the heartache in Xiao Shimei's words, Magistrate Ouyang Rong still found it difficult to be idle.

Plus, due to a certain piece of news received two days ago, Magistrate Ouyang Rong began to prepare to leave the city and plan a long-distance trip.

Of course, as a state Registrar, there were quite a few officials in the Jiangzhou main hall revolving around him, and quite a few eyes staring at him, so he could not play disappearing act immediately. He had to plan slowly...

This day, close to the morning departure, Magistrate Ouyang Rong rode his horse through the street early and arrived at the Prince Xunyang Wang Fu early.

"Where are Tan Lang and Su Dalang going this time?"

In a warm pavilion in the Prince Xunyang Wang Fu, Chen Jun Xie Xie Lingjiang, Wei Mei, Li Su Guoer, and several other women were all there. Wei Mei led a group of beautiful maids, surrounding Magistrate Ouyang Rong and Li Li Fusu in the middle of the room, organizing their clothes and luggage. Wei Mei asked curiously, raising her head.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes, organized his cuffs, and explained:

"Inspecting the counties, autumn and winter are coming, so I have to go out for a stroll, supervise, and see if any county officials are neglecting their duties and abandoning the people's affairs in their counties because of the Kuangfu Army war.

"And the task allocated by the court, the matter of mobilizing grain for the expeditionary army, also needs to be supervised to prevent forced requisition and collection in the countryside...

"It just so happens that the Jiang Nan Circuit Marching Grand Commander hasn't arrived yet. Taking advantage of the two days, I'll go out for a walk. Otherwise, when people arrive and the autumn war begins, it will be an eventful autumn, and there will be more to be busy with."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong shook his head.

Except for Li Su Guoer, who was petting a cat, Wei Mei and other female relatives were stunned. Chen Jun Xie Xie Lingjiang interjected:

"Ru Shixiong is just too worried and suspicious. He sits in the main hall all day, listening to the good words from below, but he is always uneasy, fearing that these slippery officials have figured out his personality and preferences and are only saying good things to coax him, so he has to run to see for himself."

"That's part of the reason." He paused, Magistrate Ouyang Rong nodded: "Must guard against it."

Chen Jun Xie Xie Lingjiang's cheeks puffed up: "So Aunt, don't persuade him. Let him go for a stroll. It's just a life of toil."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong smiled.

Wei Mei had to nod, looked at the dull gourd eldest son who was silently organizing his brand-new official uniform beside Magistrate Ouyang Rong, and could not help but worry:

"Tan Lang, must Su Dalang go?"

Li Li Fusu raised his head upon hearing this, his tone helpless: "Aunt."

Li Su Guoer, who had been listening, answered for her brother:

"Brother is not a child anymore and cannot shrink at home to study. He is the Jiangzhou Bieja, the nominal second-in-command.

"Aunt, Brother always has to step onto the stage. This time, going out to inspect with Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan and experiencing the people's feelings is a good opportunity for his first appearance.

"Everyone is watching, and Brother must perform well."

Wei Mei immediately understood the deep meaning of Magistrate Ouyang Rong taking Li Li Fusu with him.

She could not help but sigh.

A mother worries when her child travels far.

But even if Wei Mei were even more short-sighted, she would still understand that in this era where imperial power, wealth, and resources are all stably passed down through family bloodlines and where the succession system of the eldest legitimate son is revered,

A stable and promising faction or force needed orderly inheritance, that is, to let outsiders and potential defectors see the context of inheritance clearly from afar.

Therefore, for the Prince Xunyang Wang Fu to rise smoothly, having Li Su Xian as a shining banner was not enough; the issue of the successor was also very important.

Undoubtedly, the eldest son Li Li Fusu was the successor of the Prince Xunyang Wang Fu. When he was in swaddling clothes, he was granted the special permission by the Great Gan Gao Zong Emperor to be enfeoffed as the Imperial Grandson and enfeoffed as a Prince.

It was just that later, with Li Su Xian's three-month emperor experience card expiring, it ended.

Although Li Su Xian had other sons,

Some were born to concubines during the time he was a commoner, and some were born to concubines before he was demoted.

Just that after being demoted, most of the concubines returned to their illustrious maternal families, and the children followed them, not by his side.

Over the years, the only ones who had been by his side were his legal wife Wei Mei, and Li Su Dalang and Li Su Guoer.

These two children had the highest status among the children in the family.

Besides the feelings of sharing weal and woe, it was also related to the fact that Li Su Dalang and Li Su Guoer were both born to his legal wife Wei Mei.

After all, he was henpecked, having the style of his father Gao Zong.

And the only eldest son Li Li Fusu was Wei Mei's heart and liver.

She did not like other sons born to concubines, who were strong and fierce, and of course, they could not threaten her Su Dalang's inheritance rights at all...

This time, the Empress took another path and enfeoffed Li Su Dalang, who had always been low-key and had no presence, as Jiangzhou Bieja, which implicitly pushed the Prince Xunyang Wang Fu, and in the eyes of the court and the public, the Prince Xunyang Prince line had moved forward one step.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong turned his head, looked at Li Li Fusu, who looked a bit nervous, and patted him on the shoulder.

Li Li Fusu took a deep breath and nodded heavily at him.

Under the packing of Wei Mei and other female relatives, Magistrate Ouyang Rong and Li Li Fusu were ready and got up to go out.

Chen Jun Xie Xie Lingjiang stood up, picked up a zither-shaped wooden box that she never left, and followed.

She was going too.

Wei Mei and Li Su Guoer, mother and daughter, looked at the zither box and the weak Registrar who was calm and ready to go on a long journey.

They tacitly withdrew their gaze.

On the street at the gate of the Wang Fu, the autumn wind was desolate.

The worried Princess Consort and the little princess with plum makeup watched the backs of Magistrate Ouyang Rong and the others leave together...

In the situation where Jiangzhou Jiangzhou Cishi Wang Wang Lengran did not come out low-key for some reason.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong and Li Li Fusu, as Jiangzhou Registrar and Jiangzhou Bieja, left the city together to inspect the counties, and at the same time, under the order of the Jiang Nan Circuit Pacification Ambassador and Prince Xunyang Prince Li Su Xian, pacified the counties that had just returned.

Along the way, their group was warmly welcomed by local officials and gentry.

Thanks to the fact that they had "surrendered" quickly twice before, focusing on flexibility, the people in the counties under Jiangzhou had not been affected much by the war of the Kuangfu Army, and the autumn harvest had not been affected.

For the people in the countryside who were planting rice and harvesting wheat, the tug-of-war between the Jiangzhou Royal Army and the Hongzhou Kuangfu Army had nothing to do with them,

And the so-called great righteousness of restoring the Great Gan was also very far from them.

Instead, it was the family ethics drama that the Great Gan royal family and the Wei Clan Empress had been performing for several terms and were still serializing, which made everyone eat melons for many years and was more talked about.

After all, compared to some great righteousness of the law, this kind of dog-blood family affair that was chaotic and jumping was more understandable to the fathers and villagers who had a literacy rate of less than half, and even sympathetic.

But these were not as important as the problem of how to survive the autumn and winter in front of them.

Therefore, for the people in the Jiang Nan states who had been peaceful for many years, as long as there was no imposition of harsh taxes or forced conscription,

Then these struggles for restoration seemed very far from their lives, at most it was the news of another great victory in the border war in the north that reached their ears, which slightly encouraged people's hearts and stirred up the pride of the Han people in their bones.

In fact, this was also thanks to the Wei Fu Bing system of the Great Gan and Great Zhou,

These wars are all specifically handled by a large group of professional soldiers composed of sons from good families—that is, the garrison troops of each Zhechong Prefecture.

This allowed most of the people to live and work in peace and contentment.

And because the channel for promotion by military merit still existed, facing the war of expanding territory, many Fu soldiers were happy to hear about the war.

After all, the road of reading for imperial examinations, which had just been opened, had been monopolized by aristocratic families for hundreds of years before Gan and Zhou, and the difficulty coefficient was still too high. Not everyone was a scholarly family like Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan.

In the folk, most people could not even be counted as poor families, and most of the ambitious children of the grassroots could only take this path of military merit,

Or like Yan Yan Liulang before meeting Magistrate Ouyang Rong, he was born into a decent family, could have a father who was a small official, could inherit his father's business, and unwillingly took the path of an official with an iron rice bowl.

However, this peaceful era, where one could probably eat a meal as long as one worked, was already much better than the chaos of the Northern and Southern Dynasties for a hundred years, when the world was in chaos and nine out of ten houses were empty.

Great victory in expanding territory, all nations coming to court, opening up trade routes, at least it could reduce internal involution and let the people of the ten circuits share a bit of the cake.

It was worth rewarding a quota of a few strokes in the blank pages of history books for a prosperous age.

This was the current situation of most grassroots people in the Great Zhou Dynasty, hovering on the line of food and clothing, trying hard to row forward.

And there were very, very few people who could purely represent and defend their interests.

Although in the court, almost every moment there were people "pleading for the people," and even using this to denounce the Emperor.

This time Magistrate Ouyang Rong took Li Su Dalang out to inspect the local area, besides letting this Prince Xunyang Prince heir appear and another reason, the main thing was to let Su Dalang, who was dull and did not lack food and clothing, see these true situations.

Instead of staying in the Prince Xunyang Wang Fu all day, surrounded by strategists, guests, and careerists, with only the Li-Wei dispute, the glory of the ancestors, and the sage books of Confucianism in his mind.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong only guided his good friend Li Li Fusu in such a way.

For a certain little princess with plum makeup, Magistrate Ouyang Rong would not waste this effort at all.

Because unlike her brother, she didn't know, she knew too well, and even if she didn't know, she would understand with a point, but she would only say "Oh."

Because she was a smart person.

What is a smart person?

Only caring about the interests of oneself, family, and allies, the more one knows, the smarter one becomes, but the more one will only help that little bit in front.

Li Su Guoer could share weal and woe, could share wealth, and even sacrifice for her family was not impossible, just like when she was chased by Wei Wei Shaoxuan, she turned around to fight for time for her father and brother to escape.

But these were only for the people and allies she recognized.

However, to be fair, Li Su Guoer's changes were also there.

Having personally experienced Magistrate Ouyang Rong's united flood control and fighting against bullies in Longcheng County, and witnessed the death of the Liu Liu Ziwen brothers, who were also smart people, and their being raided and destroyed by Magistrate Ouyang Rong leading the masses,

Li Su Guoer silently agreed with the words of Xiao Shimei that water can overturn a boat and can also carry it, and raised a bit of awe for even a small spoonful of "water."

At least from now on, when her own interests stood on the opposite side of the interests of most people, she would hesitate, and would not dare to underestimate them.

This kind of change made Magistrate Ouyang Rong look at her differently.

At least they were not so "different in Dao."

Inspecting with Li Su Dalang all the way.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong handled more than a dozen corrupt officials who tried to muddle through.

Apart from that, the whole journey was quite smooth.

In addition, I don't know if it was intentional, but the destination of this trip was Longcheng County.

In the next two days, the group passed through counties like Jishui and Hukou,

The carriage team prepared to go to the last one of this trip

This evening, close to the ten thousand years (a long time), the sky was full of fiery clouds, the driving carriage team slowly stopped to rest, Li Su Dalang dismissed the guards and boarded a familiar carriage in the team, only to see Chen Jun Xie Xie Lingjiang alone in the carriage.

At noon when passing the post station for lunch, Magistrate Ouyang Rong was still there, but now he had disappeared.

Also disappeared was the zither-shaped wooden box that Chen Jun Xie Xie Lingjiang had been holding throughout the journey.

Li Li Fusu asked calmly:

"Gone?"

"Hmm. On the Longcheng side, people are gathered, earlier than expected, he has to go over earlier."

"Is it okay for him to go alone? There is no danger here, why don't you go with him, Miss Chen Jun Xie."

"No need, he took his sword." In the seat, Chen Jun Xie Xie Lingjiang leaned forward, elbows on her knees, lowered her head and muttered: "He said last time that he can now kill one Xiao Shimei with one sword."

"..."

Li Li Fusu could not help but ask: "Then we now..."

"Now continue to inspect, these two days as usual, pass through Longcheng, and then pick him up."

"Good." ===== CHAPTER 373 =====