[BL MTL] After being dressed as cannon fodder, he fought with the villain.

371-380

Chapter 371 This is the only obsession for the rest of my life

The emperor saw this book on Yanchong Mountain before the palace banquet. At first, he was apologizing for it, and he deeply reflected, thinking that he had betrayed the trust of the late emperor and His Majesty. Then he changed the subject and said that he was not a qualified person. The King of the Southwest, and he was largely responsible for Daqi's invasion of the Southwest, so he resigned as the King of the Southwest, hoping to hand over the throne to his legitimate son Yan Mu.

This secret was somewhat beyond the emperor's expectation. He thought that Yan Chongshan could not let go of the throne, but he was so decisive and wanted to pass it to Yan Mu.

The emperor left his seat, walked around in front of the case, walked back and forth several times, and finally stopped: "Call Pingnan Gong over. I have something to say to him." "Yes

, Your Majesty."

He was talking to Yan Xiangxi and his consort. Yan Mu, who was talking to Ma Ningyang, was called back by the emperor again. He was still curious, what would happen if he called him again at this time? There is no way the mother-in-law's matter could be answered so quickly.

He honestly followed the eunuch who had delivered the message to the emperor. The emperor didn't say anything, but directly threw the Southwest King's zhezi into his hand and motioned for him to read the zhezi first.

Yan Mu glanced at the emperor strangely, then lowered his head to look at the book. He knew who it was after reading the beginning. He thought to himself what the king of Southwest was up to. The reflection at the beginning put him in a good mood. It turned out that this old guy also knew who he was. It was a big mistake, but he was surprised when he saw the back. He didn't expect the old guy to let go as soon as he said so.

"You didn't expect it either." The emperor guessed after seeing his expression.

Yan Mu nodded and put the fold back: "If he doesn't become the king of the southwest, he will be a really bad old man and a loner." The

emperor was almost amused by Yan Mu, but the description was quite vivid. The emperor asked: "That's it? No other ideas? Your father wants you to take his place. Besides, you are my crowned prince, so you should inherit the throne." Yan Mu rolled his eyes: "I

thought This crown prince is just a temporary measure. In order to cooperate with the next actions, the action is now over. Whoever wants my crown prince can take it. I have no interest in this throne at all. If your majesty wants to reward me, why not Let me take General Ji's place and send me to Yaochang Mansion."

The emperor's black line, this kid wanted to run to Gu Zhao. Listen, he even said such words. Besides, he didn't Award? If he wasn’t already made the Duke of the country, how else could he be rewarded?

"Okay, the position over there is not suitable for you. I called you here because I want to hear your thoughts on the Southwest King."

Yan Mu spread his hands and said, "If your Majesty really wants to hear my thoughts, why not just Withdraw. Now that the foreign troubles in the southwest have been resolved, it is time for the imperial court to send another minister to take charge. The southwest army can also arrange suitable generals to take over. The king of the southwest can be established or withdrawn." The emperor walked to Yan

Mu . , patting him on the shoulder with emotion, I have to say that Yan Mu understands his heart best. Although the Southwest King has never betrayed him, after Yan Xiao's incident, how can he trust the future Southwest King again? Even if Yan Mu lets him now Don't worry, but people change. Who can guarantee that Yan Mu will still be the same as before in ten or twenty years?

Therefore, the solution once and for all is to remove the throne of Southwest, but this cannot be mentioned by him, especially since Yan Mu has just made such a great contribution in Southwest.

"Once we withdraw, there is no way back."

Yan Mu smiled: "Uncle Emperor, I have got everything I want. As for what I want in the future, I will fight for it on my own, and I will do it." As the king of the southwest, I will be bound to the southwest and will not be free. I am not happy about this. I still want to follow my brother everywhere." It has been a long time since the emperor heard

Yan Mu call him uncle, and this call made him even more emotional. , and then heard what he said next, leaving the emperor speechless. How could he still be like a brother even at such an old age?

"...Between you and Gu Zhao..." The emperor is not really blind. In the past, when Yan Mu was still young, he could be regarded as a fledgling when he said such words, but now Yan Mu has long been able to stand alone, or Thinking about Gu Zhao.

The two of them are not too young. There are countless powerful people in the capital who are thinking about getting married to them, but none of them still have a family. How could the emperor not think more about it? After all, one of them was raised by him as his nephew, and the other is that he wants to be his nephew. Trained by important ministers.

Yan Mu said with an extremely serious expression: "This is my only obsession for the rest of my life, please ask the emperor to fulfill it." The

emperor looked into Yan Mu's eyes and knew that he was not lying when he said these words, but spoke from the bottom of his heart. He didn't expect that his nephew would take such a path. As the emperor, he should be happy, because there will be no offspring when the two men come together, so there is no need to worry about the unhappiness that will arise when their status becomes higher and higher in the future. As the emperor's uncle, he hoped that his nephew would establish a career first and then start a family, and that his wife and children would be harmonious in the future.

"You, wouldn't it be nice to have children and grandchildren around you in the future?" The emperor saves others by himself. Now that he is holding his little grandson, everything is enough. He feels that he will have no regrets in this life.

Yan Mu didn't even have to think about it: "It's a pity that they are not Gu Zhao."

The emperor shook his head. This stubborn temper is quite similar to his father. Yan Zhongshan, he hit the south wall and hit it hard. , only then did I realize everything.

But considering Gu Zhao's temperament, I'm afraid he won't listen to advice. Those ministers will not stir up trouble in front of him, but the eunuchs around him and people who specialize in finding information for him will bring some gossip from the outside, including about Rumors about Gu Zhao and Yan Mu's habit of cutting sleeves were brought into the palace and reached his ears. He did not expect that this was true.

The emperor looked at Yan Mu with a headache. This should be his father's concern, but now it was his turn to worry about it. Moreover, if Yan Zhongshan's father wanted to worry about it, Yanmu would probably ignore him because of his temperament. It may even be a straight road to the dark side. The more my father opposes it, the more vigorously he does it.

Coupled with his selfishness, the emperor could only say in the end: "I can't stop you even if I am not successful. I can only say that I can stop you from those who come to me to say goodbye. Others, you You can figure it out yourself."

Yan Mu suddenly grinned and became happy. The emperor couldn't help but feel soft at the joy that came from his heart.

Forget it, this matter is not a big deal. Yan Mu is his nephew, and his surname is Yan. The worst thing he can do is let Xi'er adopt one of his children and grandchildren into their lap. As for Gu Zhao, it doesn't matter. A true family-oriented person will just have to enter the Yan family when the time comes.

Look, it's that simple. When the time comes, all they have to do is run errands for Xi'er and do their best for the court.

"Let's go, get out. By the way, tomorrow's meeting will discuss the southwest throne."

"Yes, I know." Yan Mu happily "get out", and the emperor also smiled behind him. Look, this is still As for the child's character, I don't know if this kid will one day regret giving up the throne, but by then it will be too late.

The palace banquet in the evening was naturally very lively. Princess Heping Nangong was the focus of everyone's attention at the whole palace banquet. Many people were ready to pull Yan Mu into their nest. The people in the clan felt pity for it. Yan Mu also had the surname Yan, they have the same ancestor. It is impossible to marry a girl, but you should try your best. There will always be a suitable girl among the in-laws.

Someone came to the emperor, saying that he had a suitable girl in his family, and wanted the emperor to make a happy marriage. The emperor said to himself, look, there will definitely be no shortage of such things, even among the women in the harem. The emperor felt tired with such thoughts.

"I don't care about this matter. I have agreed to that boy. His lifelong affairs will be decided by himself. Unless he comes to me one day, I will grant him a marriage." The emperor's words spread during the

banquet . , everyone sighed, Ping Nangong was indeed favored by the Holy One. Apart from him, who else could make such a respectful statement from the Holy One?

As for the Southwest King who did not attend the celebration banquet, no one thought that he could be Yan Mu’s master. His son Yan Mu had gained the Holy Favor, but he, the father, had lost the Sacred Heart. Otherwise, such a celebration banquet would not be possible. He will be left in the house without attending.

After the palace banquet, when everyone went back to their homes, there were still many people talking on the road about how the emperor would treat the Southwest King. I am afraid that His Majesty was also entangled in his heart. How should the Southwest King's deeds be rewarded and punished? Or should the merits and demerits offset each other? Did he send it back?

"This matter can be big or small. The key depends on how your majesty handles it."

"Yes, who would have thought that this majestic king of the southwest would fall on a woman, almost involving his family and life."

If he hadn't stopped him in time. Qi's army attacked the southwest, and Yan Mu's son was wiping his behind. He captured Daqi in one fell swoop and signed the treaty. Then things in the southwest are likely to get out of control, and the king of the southwest will lose his reputation in his lifetime. If his son is destroyed, then it will not only be his son Yan Xiao who will be held accountable, but also Yan Chongshan.

"Not distinguishing between legitimate children and concubines is the root of family chaos."

The men were discussing and the women were lamenting. It was a pity that even the Southwest Princess did not attend the celebration banquet due to illness.

The night before, they were still discussing how to deal with the king of Southwest. The next morning, the emperor asked people to read out the words of the king of southwest. The court was in an uproar, and the king of southwest was going to pass the throne to his son.

They were not only shocked by the determination of the Southwest King, but also shocked by Yan Mufei's rising speed. Yesterday he was promoted from earl to Duke, and today he is going to become a prince again? This kid is really going to heaven.

"What do you all, dear friends, think about this matter?"

Yan Xiangxi was also there. Her expression was quite normal, because she had received the news from Yan Mu last night and also knew about Yan Mu's choice. Like her father, she I don't think it is necessary for the Southwest King to continue, so it would be best to take advantage of the favorable opportunity of the right time and place to withdraw.

When asked what they thought, the ministers were speechless for a moment. Doesn't it depend on His Majesty's wishes? He could either reject it or agree to it. Is there a third option?

Chapter 372 Zhennan Gong

The ministers looked at each other. After a while, someone came out and asked: "Your Majesty, compared with the King of the Southwest, is Ping Nan Gong too young? Moreover, he has lived in the capital for a long time and is not familiar with the affairs of the Southwest.

" I wonder if it is too early to pass the throne to Yan Mu now.

His beginning was like opening a floodgate, and courtiers with different opinions came out: "It would be too arbitrary to say that Ping Nan Gong is not familiar with southwestern affairs. How can Ping Nan Gong carefully lay out such a situation?" ? Based on his full understanding of the various ethnic groups in the southwest and outside the border, in my opinion, there is no more suitable candidate than Ping Nan Gong, especially since Ping Nan Gong has the safety of the people in the southwest at heart." Yan Xiao's

age He is older than Yan Mu, but look at what he has done. He has lived in the belly of a dog for so long. He grew up in the southwest and has rarely left it, but his feelings for the southwest are far from flat. Nangong came deeply, even in this crisis, it was Ping Nangong who tried to turn the tide.

All the ministers expressed their opinions, but the quarrel was just two opinions. They couldn't escape this framework. The emperor listened with interest and found that the two sides were about the same size. Is this an even match?

"Yao Aiqing, what do you think?" The emperor brought Yao Shoufu out, and the controversial voices in the palace suddenly died down. Everyone turned their attention to Yao Shoufu, looking forward to his answer. Yao Shoufu said that the pressure was a bit high.

Yan Mu, as the newly promoted Ping Nan Gong, was also on the list, and the Lord of the Duke still stood in the front, but he stood there calmly, as if the quarrel in the court had nothing to do with him.

Li Changgeng was also on the list and did not express any opinion on the matter. When others asked him, he would shirk everything and listen to His Majesty and resolutely not express his position. His nephew was so close to Yan Mu, so he had to avoid suspicion.

Yao Shoufu glanced at Yan Mu, who was pretending to be a big-tailed wolf, and said: "Your Majesty, Ping Nan Gong has grown up by your Majesty's side. Of all the people in this court who understand Ping Nan Gong the most, you and the princess are the only ones, so I I think your majesty knows best whether Ping Nangong is suitable to take over this position."

The emperor and Yan Xiangxi were almost amused by Yao Shoufu's answer. They kicked the ball back, and Yan Mu also glanced at Yao Shoufu with a half-smile. , I think that when he was young, he even plucked Yao's chief minister's beard. Oh, by the way, he was not the chief minister at that time.

However, Yao Shoufu's words also reminded the ministers that the position of the Southwest King is very important, but more importantly, the person placed in this position must be loyal enough, otherwise he will support his own troops, or even collude with foreign tribes to surrender. In terms of the possibility of his long march, in terms of loyalty to His Majesty, is the current Southwest King better than Yan Mu who grew up beside His Majesty?

Obviously far less than that, otherwise the Southwest King would leave his princess alone, turn a blind eye to Yan Mu's situation, and continue to indulge his eldest son? The emperor tried his best to persuade him several times, but didn't the King of Southwest still go his own way?

Some of the ministers who had just objected to Yan Mu's succession to the throne suddenly overturned their ideas. There were also ministers who thought they had seen the emperor's thoughts and thought that the emperor had long been dissatisfied with the Southwest King. They immediately stood in line and stood in front of Yan Mu. On Mu's side, he was very complimentary to Yan Mu, as if Southwest could not live in peace without Yan Mu.

Many people's eyelids twitched. This guy had previously jumped out and said that Yan Mu was too young and not suitable for such a big responsibility. But turn around and listen to what he said? Did you think you farted before?

Because of Yao Shoufu's words, most of the court turned to Yan Mu's side. Also, why offend a prince or the future prince for nothing? Even if Yan Chongshan and Yan Mu are at odds, they are father and son after all. Who is in charge of the southwest? Is there any difference?

No difference.

The emperor chuckled: "So you all think that Yan Mu is suitable to succeed the king of Southwest?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Then Duke Ping Nan came forward to listen to the order."

Yan Mu stepped out and respectfully gave The emperor saluted, and handed over the imperial edict prepared early in the morning to the eunuch to read out. The ministers looked at it and said, indeed, His Majesty is inclined to let Yan Mu inherit the throne. He is more comfortable with Yan Mu than Yan Zhongshan. Yao Shoufu is indeed an old fox. In the end, I understand His Majesty’s thoughts.

He seemed to have said nothing, but in fact he had said everything.

After the eunuch read out the imperial edict, he looked at Yan Mu and said, "Ping Nan Gong, please accept the edict." Yan Mu

took the edict and stood up, holding the edict in one hand while looking at the emperor, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I have an idea. "

Speak."

"Your Majesty, I believe that the mission of the Southwest King has ended. The Southwest King is dispensable. Wen, Your Majesty can send effective ministers to govern the Southwest. Wu, Your Majesty can send effective generals to command the Southwest." Garrison, the southwest is no different from other places in the Great Zhou Dynasty."

As soon as these words came out, the whole court was in an uproar. The ministers couldn't believe their ears, and they accepted the imperial edict and became the new king of the southwest. This guy still has to dig himself out. Wall root, let the court withdraw the Southwest King?

Yan Mu still stood there, ignoring all kinds of looks, including those who thought he was a fool: "Your Majesty, why did Taizu establish the king of the southwest? There are two reasons. First, the forces in the southwest are complex and mountainous. The Tu nationality, and secondly, the southwest was seriously invaded by foreign invaders, so strong force was needed to deter all parties. At that time, it was very appropriate for the imperial court to establish a king of the southwest. However, the situation was developing. After several generations of kings of the southwest, now the southwest The situation has greatly improved, the Daqi royal family has returned to me, Dazhou, and the southwest should be handed over to the unified control of the imperial court."

There is one more thing he has not said, that is, allowing the king of southwest to continue to exist will not shock the place, but You must support your troops and respect yourself, your ambitions continue to expand, and sooner or later you will become a serious problem for the court, but smart people can hear it.

At this moment, at that moment, just as Yan Mu said, the mission of the Southwest King can indeed be ended, so as not to end up with a big result.

Yao Shoufu glanced at Yan Mu. This boy had grown to this point under their noses. It was a pity that he was from the same lineage as His Majesty, otherwise he would be more suitable to sit in that position than those clan members.

However, this thought flashed through his mind. Now that the situation has been settled, it is not suitable for any further fluctuations. Princess Yongfu is not bad. The Great Zhou Dynasty is booming. Besides, Yan Mu will not stay away from the court. With him and the princess relationship, he will definitely assist the princess in the future.

The emperor was also a little surprised that Yan Mu said such words. After thinking about it carefully, he laughed and walked down from his seat, walked up to Yan Mu and patted his shoulder: "Good boy, well said! I am very happy." I'm glad to see Mu'er that you have grown to this point. Ping Nangong received the order again, and I ordered you to command the Southwest Army and assist in the smooth transition of the Southwest. This matter must be handled by you." Don't think that he doesn't know that

this kid Yan Mu is He wanted to be lazy and didn't want to take the throne, but the fact that he could give such a reason showed that he had put a lot of thought into it, but he forgot that he was the prince of the Southwest Prince who was personally canonized by me, and he had responsibilities to the people of the Southwest. In addition, he sent other The local people may not be convinced if someone goes there, but Yan Mu has just solved the foreign troubles for the people in the southwest, and his status is high in the eyes of the people in the southwest, so who should he be sent if not him?

Sure enough, as soon as the emperor finished speaking, Yan Mu's face fell. Unexpectedly, he still couldn't push it away, so he had to bite the bullet and accept the order. The emperor laughed again and returned to the dragon throne above.

After the Tianchao meeting ended, it was like a vegetable market at the entrance of the downtown area. It was very lively. The development of the court meeting today was really beyond everyone's expectations. When the news spread, the powerful people in the capital were in an uproar.

Yan Mu was so arrogant that he turned down all the thrones he had already obtained, but he was entrusted with important tasks by the emperor. This shows that his status in the eyes of the emperor is even more intense now.

However, that is the throne, and it is hereditary. As long as there is no rebellion, the emperor has no reason to revoke the throne. Is Yan Mu stupid or stupid?

Many people have also speculated on the emperor's intentions. Perhaps the emperor has been training Yan Mu as his nephew, and his intention is to do this today. Does the emperor really feel at ease with the Southwest King? It's impossible. Several generations of Southwest Princesses were given by the emperor and came from the capital. Their intention was to tie up the Southwest King. As long as the Southwest King was around, the emperor couldn't sit back and relax.

Look at now, the emperor has solved this serious problem without using any soldiers. The reason why Yan Mu did this is not because this is exactly what the emperor expected. Yan Mu is the chess piece that the emperor placed in front of him. , Southwest King Yan Zhongshan has lost a lot of money, no, he has resigned as the Southwest King.

Many men deeply reflect on the fact that Yan Zhongshan has reached this point and lost the throne all because of a woman. Beauty is the only disaster. They must always remind themselves that they must not follow the path of Yan Zhongshan. Destroy the future of the family business.

If Yan Mu heard this, he would definitely refute it. Is that a problem with the beauty? That was clearly a fundamental problem of Yan Zhongshan's own. It was nothing to blame the problem on a woman. Zhu Congxue was a ruthless woman, but she didn't use a knife to force Yan Zhongshan to this point.

"Your Highness, it's not good, something serious has happened." Yan Zhongshan's confidants ran in crawling and rolling, "The Crown Prince... The Crown Prince took over the throne and asked the court to remove the throne." "What

? !" Yan Zhongshan's eyes were splitting when he heard this, "Tell me clearly, what's going on?" His subordinates

didn't dare to hide it, because as long as they sent someone out to inquire, they would know everything, and there would probably be a decree soon. When the news reached the house, he quickly recounted what happened.

Yan Zhongshan was completely stunned when he heard this. Finally he spat out a mouthful of blood, rolled his eyes and passed out.

"Here, call the doctor, call the doctor quickly."

The staff also got the news and rushed over. What they saw was the scene where Yan Zhongshan couldn't withstand the blow and vomited blood and fell unconscious. The steward wanted to invite the imperial doctor to come over, so he quickly If you stop someone and call the imperial doctor over now, what are you telling the emperor? Tell the emperor that their master is not satisfied with the emperor's actions? In the end, we could only call the doctor in the mansion to treat the prince.

Treatment is being done here, but the angels from the court are coming over there to announce the decree.

The doctor hurriedly revived Yan Zhongshan first. The staff told Yan Zhongshan that an imperial edict was coming from the palace. Yan Zhongshan had to cheer up and had someone put some makeup on his face to prevent others from looking too shameless.

Although the emperor took away the Southwest throne, Yan Chongshan has not failed to make contributions in the Southwest over the years. As Yan Mu said, after several generations of Southwest kings sorting it out, the Southwest has its current situation. Several generations of Southwest kings have made contributions in guarding the Southwest. Therefore, the emperor also needed to comfort Yan Chongshan.

The emperor took away the southwest throne and gave Yan Zhongshan a Zhennan Duke as compensation. The newly minted Zhennan Duke had to thank the saint for his grace.

Chapter 373 Yan Mu takes office

The fact that Yan Zhongshan was named Zhennan Gong soon spread in the capital. The emperor's move was regarded as a favor to Yan Zhongshan, but everyone thought that Yan Zhongshan was definitely not willing to exchange a hereditary and irreplaceable throne for an unknown one. When will the Duke of the Kingdom come to an end, and the former has real power and military power, while the latter is just an empty title, and will be raised in the capital from now on.

Of course, for the powerful people in the capital, the title of a Duke is high enough. For people with non-imperial surnames, the title of Duke is the highest title. Many powerful officials may not be able to achieve this honor after struggling all their lives.

Because of this, Yan Zhongshan had to go to the palace even though he was sick to thank the saint, and then fell down again after returning home. The blow he received was too great.

The emperor couldn't bear to see it, so even the princess's plea for peace was suppressed for the time being, lest Yan Zhongshan's injuries would be worsened, and he would die, and he would be suspected of mistreating the hero. He really He didn't want to kill Yan Zhongshan.

For this reason, the emperor specially called Yan Mu into the palace and explained to him. He hoped that Yan Mu and his mother and concubine could take time to bring up the matter again. Yan Mu didn't care, as long as his mother was firm in her determination, she would be able to deal with it once and for all. The document between Feng and Li was just a formality. He didn't think that his mother would want to remarry after the divorce, so he let the old man go for the time being, lest he accidentally get married.

The emperor looked at Yan Mu and said, "You really don't want to go and see Zhennan Gong?"

With the children he raised, the emperor could figure out some of Yan Mu's thoughts. In addition to the considerations in the court, Yan Mu's move was also for Yan Mu. To take revenge on Yan Zhongshan and Yan Xiao, the father and son, I have to say that this revenge was really cruel. It stabbed Yan Zhongshan's heart bloody. A heavy punch hit them within seven inches, killing half of Yan Zhongshan's body. What a fate.

However, his feelings are towards Yan Mu, and he will not say harsh words, not to mention that it will be beneficial to the court. Now that there is a Yan Xiao, who knows that there will not be a second Yan Xiao in the future. He cannot expose the hidden dangers in the southwest. Leave it to posterity.

Having said that, this is also the trouble left by Yan Zhongshan himself. If he had some compassion for Yan Mu, his legitimate son, things would not have come to this point. At the beginning, he, the father, didn't feel sorry for him, and his uncle, the emperor, didn't feel sorry for him. I'm complaining about Yan Mu, so can I blame Yan Mu for going to extremes?

Yan Mu was in a good mood with this move. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Is it really okay to go see him now? Your Majesty, aren't you worried that his condition will get worse after I go there?" The

emperor was choked. This is really possible. It should be said that Yan Zhongshan originally had the idea of ​​​​compensating Yan Mu, but now he probably wants to strangle Yan Mu to death. Doesn't Yan Mu's appearance just remind him that the throne has been deprived of his throne? Seeing the culprit Yan Mu Can Zhongshan be in a good mood? Maybe if Yan Mu says a few more words, Yan Zhongshan will be so angry that he goes to heaven.

The emperor was too lazy to say anything else. He waved his hand and said: "Then get out of here. By the way, leave for the southwest as soon as possible. Don't think about running to Yaochang Mansion all day long, otherwise I will grant you a marriage immediately!" Yan Mu

dared He was so angry that he didn't dare to speak, so he had to leave angrily. Seeing his aggrieved look, the emperor thought to himself that he had finally regained the victory, and he felt much better.

The decree from the court must be sent to the southwest at once. The new king of the southwest, Yanmu, asked to be king. There is no need for the southwest palace to exist, and Zhennan Gong's family members also need to go to the capital.

Emperor Yan Muyi said that he did not stay long in the capital. After saying goodbye to his mother and the other Gu family, Li family and others, he went to the southwest with the person who conveyed the order to make appointments. Otherwise, there would be no one in charge, and the order would not be conveyed. In the past, it would cause panic throughout the Southwest.

Yan Mujiang and Li Zhezi were suppressed for the time being and told their mother. The princess was also in shock these days and could not care about her and Li Zhezi. She saw her son taking over the title of Southwest King, and then she saw her son She asked herself to kill the king, and her mood was extremely complicated.

The former Southwest Palace was a cage that trapped her and her son. Anyway, she did not enjoy any of the honors that a princess should have. Now that the cage collapsed, she felt a little happy. The only thing she had to worry about was whether her son would It's a big loss, after all, it's the throne.

However, Yan Mu also persuaded him. The one who really wanted to cut his rank was actually the emperor. Apart from being troublesome, he also understood that he was willing to go along with the situation. In this way, he also got the favor of the saint and could hit Yan Chongshan and his son hard. Why not do it? , so he has no regrets at all. The title of a Duke is enough for him.

He will stay with his brother for the rest of his life, and there will be no descendants anyway. Whether it is the throne or the Duke of the country, when he and his brother are finished in this life, the title will come to an end, so these two are not of much importance to him. the difference.

If he really wants the throne, he will be jealous of his majesty and the next emperor. He is not very tolerant.

Seeing that her son really didn't care, the princess let it go. If her son hadn't fought for it on his own, then her son wouldn't have a share in the southwest throne, so it would be better to destroy it.

I heard that Your Majesty, no, Zhennan Gong suffered a big blow and was in bed to recuperate. He was afraid that the emperor would find out and it would make the dragon displeased, so he didn’t even dare to ask for an imperial doctor. The princess felt a little happy when she heard that. She could only stay in bed and recuperate. She should ask Zhennan Gong to experience what she had experienced before.

Anyway, His Majesty had no objection to the reconciliation. Therefore, in order to avoid suspicion, the princess had no intention of visiting Zhennan Gong in his mansion. After her son left Beijing to take up his post in the southwest, the princess ordered the door of the palace to be closed. , not accepting any posts or visitors, just living his own little life.

Although she couldn't bear to leave her son, she didn't want to go back to that place in the southwest. It didn't leave her any good memories.

Although the original Yan Zhongshan was middle-aged, he was still able to go on the battlefield and kill enemies, and he looked extraordinary. However, after being hit hard, he now looks more than ten years older.

Now he doesn't hate Yan Mu, his legitimate son, nor does he want to make amends. He doesn't know what evil he has done. God sent two evil sons to torture him. One of them colluded with foreign enemies and did not hesitate to want power for the sake of power. My life was stabbed hard in his heart, and the throne inherited by the Yan family was destroyed in the hands of that evil son.

Yan Zhongshan dared to say that the evil man definitely did it on purpose. He deliberately retaliated against him and Xiao Er. The more Yan Zhongshan thought about it, the more frustrated he became.

"What about the evil son? Where is he?" Yan Zhongshan asked feebly while lying on the bed.

"Master," the subordinate glanced at the Duke of Guo cautiously and did not dare not say, "Pingnan Gong went to the southwest with the imperial edict to take up his post." We can no longer call him

Prince, but calling him Duke is not a way to poke fun at Yan Chongshan. No matter how painful it is, in a compromise, the servants around him now call Yan Chongshan their master.

Yan Zhongshan heard a fit of coughing, and after finally calming down, he said angrily: "He is a good dog!"

He wanted to scold Yan Mu for being a good dog raised by the emperor, but he did not dare to be disrespectful to the emperor. That damn boy Do you understand the significance of the throne to their lineage? The reason why he personally escorted Yan Xiao to Beijing to plead guilty is not for the throne of their lineage. As long as there is no rebellion, His Majesty has no reason to kill the king, but this damn boy would be better off taking the initiative. Please leave.

As expected, that damn boy didn't change at all, he was still so unruly and unruly. In anger, he found that he still couldn't like his legitimate son, no matter how good he was before.

He was born specifically to conquer himself.

Yan Zhongshan dared to speak, but his subordinates did not dare to agree. Now, none of them dared to look down on Yan Mu.

"Master, it's time to drink the medicine."

Yan Zhongshan was discouraged. He wanted to drink some medicine. He was almost mad at the two scoundrels. Moreover, he had lost his throne and he had no shame in going to see his ancestors underground.

"Master, it's important to take care of yourself. After Ping Nangong goes to Southwest, several young masters will also come to Beijing. They can't live without master."

Yan Zhongshan also remembered that he had several concubines, the youngest of which was only six years old this year. He still loved this young son a bit. Because of Xiao'er before, he didn't pay much attention to his upbringing. Leave it to their aunt and the invited gentleman, but now Yan Zhongshan has a different idea.

Does he really not know how to teach his son? No, Xiao'er was influenced by the Zhu family and his mother and concubine. He didn't teach Yan Mu this evil son. He felt choked in his heart. Why should he say that the emperor can teach his son better than him? No matter how you say it, Yan Mu is his son. Although he is rebellious, the emperor only has a princess.

He wanted to prove to the emperor that he could educate his son well. Yes, if the throne was lost, the title of the Duke would still be inherited. He wanted to cheer up and take his younger son with him to educate him carefully when he came to Beijing. In the future, he may not be able to make achievements based on his own ability and surpass that evil son Yan Mu.

Seeing that the master's eyes were bright again, the subordinates felt relieved. They were afraid that the master would collapse and the breath in their hearts would soon disappear. Fortunately, the young master in the house still had some status in the master's mind.

Not to mention how the people in the southwest palace would feel after receiving the imperial edict. The people of Yaochang Palace did not know the news in the capital so quickly. The same was true for Gu Zhao, but as long as they knew that the father and son Yan Chongshan and Yan Xiao would not It's okay to have a happy ending. When I'm busy, I still think about what title Yan Mu will get this time. After the war in the southwest, where will His Majesty arrange him? The less news about Yan Mu, the more likely he will be He missed the days when Yan Mu stayed by his side as a bodyguard.

Although the garrison who stayed behind could not take part in the battle, they were in a good mood. They came in and out every day with smiling faces. General Ji and his party made meritorious service, and they were also honored.

The stall in Gu Zhao's hands was getting bigger and bigger, and there were more and more things to be busy with. He had to write a note and send it to him. He hoped that the emperor would still remember that Yaochang Mansion was short of many officials. When would His Majesty arrange for them? Come here.

Nowadays, many caravans who come to Yaochang Mansion are willing to stop outside to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Yaochang Mansion. The sunflowers planted during spring plowing are all blooming. Looking around, there are large tracts of yellow, not to mention the merchants outside. The queue is here, and the locals often take time out of their busy schedules to come over and take a look. It’s really beautiful, especially some visitors who have heard about the reputation of the sunflowers blooming here and come here specifically for sightseeing. The people of Yaochang Prefecture are all Be proud of it.

Chapter 374 Letter from Yan Mu

"How is it? How are the construction team's affairs arranged?" Gu Zhao asked Gu Yang. During this period of time, Gu Yang has changed a lot. His skin color has become much darker. Otherwise, he often runs out.

The construction of cement roads has been temporarily stopped, but the production of cement workshops and brick kilns has not stopped. There are still a large number of workers who want to continue working with the prefect. They are not afraid of hard work, but what they are afraid of is doing the most tiring work without getting paid. Take, and now when these workers work on the construction site, after these workers take their wages home, many families have built new houses, and some have used it to buy land released by the government. Compared with the past, the quality of life A big improvement.

Gu Zhao wanted to find a new way out for them, so he organized a construction team to undertake the private business of building cement houses, and also expanded the road construction business to other places. As long as other places provided money, their The construction team provides material resources and manpower to ensure that the other party has no worries.

Gu Yang showed the list of statistics to Gu Zhao. Currently, five relatively small construction teams have gone to other places. The ones that remain in the local area are smaller construction teams. The jobs they take are not that big, but they earn a lot of money. Not too little.

Gu Yang smiled and said: "There used to be a lot of singles in the construction team. Now, except for those in a few workshops, the singles in the construction team are the most popular. There are many matchmakers who come to propose marriage." Gu Zhao said narrowly

: "I didn't expect you, Brother Yang, to be such a gossip."

Gu Yang blushed. In the past, he really wouldn't pay attention to these gossips, but now that he has seen the conditions of the people living at the lowest level with his third brother, Gu Yang's mentality A lot of changes have also taken place. Now when he looks back at the past, the hardships he has endured and the injustices he has endured seem no longer worth mentioning. His mind is becoming more and more open-minded.

Sure enough, the teacher and the third brother were right, they should go out more and take a look. Now the articles he has written have made great progress.

"Hehe, I just find it interesting. Seeing that their lives are better than before makes me happy too."

Gu Zhao patted him on the shoulder and understood his feelings. In the words of later generations, it means that Gu Yang is more down-to-earth than before. .

"Sir, there is a letter from the capital." Stingshan brought a letter from outside.

"Let me take a look. There should be quite a lot of movement in the capital." Gu Zhao was a little eager, and Gu Yang couldn't help but stay. He also wanted to know what was happening in the capital during this period.

"Yan Mu has been made the Duke of the country!"

"Ah, the king of Southwest wanted to pass the throne to Yan Mu, but Yan Mu took the throne and asked the court to cancel the king of Southwest." "The

king of Southwest is now It's Duke Zhennan!"

"The princess wants to make peace with him, but for the time being, your majesty has to suppress it."

Each of these news was more explosive than the last. Gu Yang and Shi Dingshan were both shocked and deceived when they heard it, especially Yan Mu. His actions were so beyond their expectations that they were filled with admiration. Even if they knew His Majesty had such thoughts, not everyone could resist the temptation of a throne.

When Shi Dingshan thought about Yan Mu's appearance when he was around the adults in the past, he couldn't connect him with the current Ping Nan Gong. He had grown up too fast. The boy who only knew how to hang around the adults in the past had become a This mature and courageous man calmed down the foreign troubles in the southwest and southwest with one action, and he had no nostalgia for the throne, which shocked people.

Several letters came in succession from the capital. They were sent from different people. In addition to talking about the important events in the court, Song Ze also wrote in the letter about receiving the envoys from Daqi and Anglan. It should be when Song Ze received these envoys. Ze also participated, so the description was very detailed. It was obvious that His Majesty had two attitudes toward Ang Lan and the Daqi envoy.

This is not the first time that the envoys from Daqi have come to Beijing. In the past, the envoys from Daqi were much more arrogant than they are now. The officials who received them had to be careful. But this time, the officials from Daqi were much more confident. If they thought the conditions were not good, They were all indifferent, and this time even the prince of Daqi could only hold it in.

On the contrary, Queen Aung Lan and her entourage were welcomed by everyone in the capital. When Queen Aung Lan went out to visit the capital, she also attracted many people in the capital to watch. Obviously everyone was very curious about the existence of the queen, and Queen Aung Lan also had The female guards around her are all good-looking, which makes people even more curious.

Because of this, the capital also triggered a wave of discussions about princesses' participation in politics. Due to the promotion of newspapers, more and more people are talking about court affairs. Look, other women can be queens and masters of their own families. They are big Zhou The princess is not bad, why can't she be the princess? She criticized those pedantic remarks that women can only guard three-thirds of the backyard.

The female newspapers in the capital also took the opportunity to publish a lot of information about the country of Ang Lan, including the life of the current queen. After the release of this newspaper, the sales increased rapidly, and eventually even men bought it privately or publicly.

Gu Zhao was very happy to see it. Judging from these descriptions, the atmosphere in the capital is becoming more and more open now, and this will definitely spread to the surrounding areas with the capital as the center, and the impact will become greater and greater, just like here in Yaochang Mansion, There are businessmen who deliver newspapers such as Beijing News all the way, which arouses the pursuit of wealthy people. Among them, the newspapers in which Gu Zhao published articles are said to have fetched high prices in private.

Gu Zhao asked Gu Yang to sort out the contents of several letters. The compiled contents were circulated in the government offices and sent a copy to his mother Gu Ren and Brother Qi. However, he still left a letter in his hand that he had not read. Well, that's a letter from Yan Mu.

As soon as Shi Dingshan and Gu Yang saw the signature of the letter, they avoided it in a tacit understanding. Even though Yan Mu was now an upright man and the dignified prince of the Zhou Dynasty, in front of Gu Zhao, he was definitely still the same as before. The sticky boy still looked the same when he was here disguised as Gu Zhao's bodyguard, so this letter must also be written in a sticky way.

Gu Zhao's mood when he saw Yan Muxin was different. He had longing and expectations in his heart. The beginning of the letter was just as Gu Zhao thought. He summarized the situation in the capital in a few simple sentences, and then complained at length about His Majesty's lack of support. He was so kind that he even dumped him to that ghost place in the southwest. When would he be able to meet his brother? He also complained that the emperor had people watching him and not allowing him to run to Yaochang Mansion.

Gu Zhao couldn't help but feel happy. In fact, he was not surprised at all by Yan Mu's choice. What Yan Mu wanted was never the throne, and being able to tear Yan Chongshan off the throne should be Yan Mu's greatest achievement. Nothing could be happier than this, so the throne was secondary.

In other words, when Yan Zhongshan was unhappy, Yan Mu was happy.

Now Yan Mu is asked to go to the southwest to reorganize the Southwest Army. I know that he will not be happy. However, Gu Zhao can also understand the emperor's appointment. If the southwest wants to make a smooth transition, Yan Mu must go there. With that His identity is also justified.

Gu Zhao was the last to read Yan Mu's letter, but he was the first to write a reply to Yan Mu. In the letter, he comforted him. He had to do his business well in the southwest and stabilize the southwest as soon as possible. Then wouldn't he be able to get rid of it earlier? Even in his letter It is also suggested that Yan Mu also build a cement road in the southwest to connect to Yaochang Mansion. In the future, the travel between the two parties will be much more convenient, and it will also be conducive to the flow of commerce and materials between the two places.

Look at him, he never forgets to develop the local economy of Yaochang Prefecture.

After replying a thick letter to Yan Mu, he replied to others. At this time, news about the capital was also spreading in Yaochang City. Everyone was amazed. A few days later, General Ji also came back from the capital. Yes, the emperor continues to send him to garrison here. After all, the outside of the northwest is not stable now. General Ji still has some talents in leading troops in combat. The emperor is not worried about leaving these places to others.

After General Ji came back, he brought more detailed news about the capital. He also came to visit Gu Zhao in person, bringing several large carts of items with him, which surprised Gu Zhao.

Yes, General Ji was very thoughtful. Before leaving the capital, he made a special trip to visit Gu Zhao's relatives and stated that he could bring something to Gu Zhao for them. He always had to make this trip anyway, which made the Gu family Li family very happy. , I packed up all night, and accidentally packed too much. As a result, General Ji waved his hand and took them all with him. There was no need to leave them behind. Now the cement road here in Yaochang Mansion is connected to the area in the border town, so the return trip will be smooth. Very, it takes a lot of effort.

The previous letters from home did not explain this matter, because these letters had already been sent when General Ji went to visit, but another letter was written from home and asked to be sent to General Ji.

Naturally, not all the items in these carts were for Gu Zhao alone, but also Li, Gu Ren, Gu Yang, Qi Yunfei and others. Gu Zhao called them together to thank General Ji and made a delicious meal. Treat General Ji, and General Ji also eats happily.

General Ji was very talkative. He talked about the affairs of the capital at the table and described the situation on the southwest battlefield in detail. Everyone, including Gu Zhao, was fascinated by what he heard. The previous letter from Yan Mu did not go into detail at all, and Gu Zhao also came from several times. When General Ji heard his praise for Yan Mu, Gu Zhao became even happier. Others were also happy for Yan Mu.

The good news kept coming. After learning that Yan Mu was going to the southwest to take up his post, perhaps the information that Gu Zhao sent to him had worked. The emperor finally sent officials to him. The officials sent were all young officials, including Jinshi scholars who were ranked the same as Gu Zhao. There were also Jinshi who were earlier than Gu Zhao. Anyway, they were all young and energetic officials with little background. The emperor sent them to Yaochang Mansion for training. The emperor thought that with Gu Zhao as a leader, these young officials would not only be able to I got started quickly, and I can learn a lot from Gu Zhao, and I can learn from it when I govern other places in the future.

After this group of officials arrived, Gu Zhao expressed a warm welcome and assigned them all the tasks that they had previously taken charge of. After a period of running-in at the beginning, these officials quickly got started. Gu Zhao could finally relax a lot and get started. He did other things that he had planned for a long time, such as education, but it turned out that he still didn't have enough energy.

Chapter 375 Gu Zhao’s new move

None of the officials who came here were younger than Gu Zhao, but even those with some qualifications did not dare to be presumptuous in front of Gu Zhao.

Before they came, they had all inquired about the situation of Yaochang Mansion. It could be said that it was a remote place. It turned out that they heard that Gu Zhao had made some achievements after he went there. They didn't think much about it. It was so difficult to turn a remote place into a wealthy place. , however, ever since they stepped into the territory of Yaochang Mansion, their original thoughts disappeared. The situation in Yaochang Mansion was completely different from what they expected.

Some officials already had experience as local officials, but when they saw the common people walking by in a hurry, talking and laughing without any trace of sadness on their faces, they once doubted whether the information they had received before was wrong. However, after a few days, they finally came to their senses. When the local people learned about the changes before and after, they realized that it had not always been like this, but that great changes had taken place after Gu Zhao came to be the prefect.

It turns out that these senior officials are respectful to Gu Zhao, but that is because of Gu Zhao's background. Who in the capital doesn't know that although he and Yan Mu are not biological brothers, they are better than blood brothers, so good that they don't even have to wear a pair of trousers. , Yan Mu is now a dignified Duke, and a popular person in front of the emperor. They can't think of offending such a person who has the support of the Duke.

Now seeing the straight cement roads inside and outside Yaochang Mansion, the constant traffic of carriages and caravans, and the large areas of rubber grass and sunflowers planted outside the city, these officials' respect for Gu Zhao has become deep in their hearts. They know very well , How difficult is it to achieve this point in just one year? If you give other officials three to six years, they may not be able to achieve it.

As for those fellow Jinshi who have no experience as local officials, they are even more convinced by Gu Zhao now. No wonder he is the Tanhualang, and no wonder he is respected by the saints. He writes well and manages the local area even better, even if he is not under him. Officials, officials with such a bright future, they also have to find ways to build a good relationship. It can be said that it is their luck to be an official under Gu Zhao this time.

With the arrival of these officials, Gu Yang felt a lot more relaxed and could focus more on his studies. After he traveled around Yaochang Mansion and went to the mutual market, he saw that his third brother had help, so he went to Gu Zhao said goodbye. He wanted to visit the southwest, and Yan Mu happened to be there. The situation in the southwest was different from that of Yaochang Mansion, so it was meaningful to go there to experience it.

Gu Zhao did not stop him, prepared a carriage for him, and sent him off with Master Peng. He also sent guards to escort him along the way. Pen Ling did not leave. He was working conscientiously on his errands under Gu Zhao because he had great confidence in his ability. Obviously, if he wanted to pass the Jinshi examination, he didn't know how long it would take to achieve it, so he might as well take advantage of the current opportunity to get an official position first. Of course, he must get the title of Juren, and he was still somewhat confident that he would succeed in the examination.

It is very difficult to appoint officials in other wealthy places, but Yaochang Mansion is a good opportunity for him because there is a shortage of officials here. Scholars can enter the government office without looking at his former colleague Fang Jixin. Origin.

After having helpers, Gu Zhao focused on the education, agriculture and economy of Yaochang Mansion, which also included workshops.

Someone sent over the government's account books for this period. Gu Zhao checked the balance on the books. He was gratified. In addition to the money he got from ransacking the house, now that the local government relied on workshop and tax revenue, there was still a little left on the government's books. Silver.

"Sir," Mr. Fan reminded Gu Zhao, "the money that your Excellency initially invested has not been recovered yet."

Gu Zhao looked at the money on the books, although there was a lot of money, but he also had a lot of things to do and places to spend money. , think about it and say: "Forget it, I am not short of this money, so there is no need to withdraw it. This money should be used where it should be used."

Master Fan said in his heart that only an adult can say that he is not short of this money. , No matter how greedy the officials around them are, they still can't control their greed to get money into their own pockets. Only the adults are the ones who give money away.

"Then what do you want to do next?" Master Fan thought to himself. He had made preparations in advance, but he knew that he would not be able to take any more leisure time. If this was not a little leisurely, he would find something to do for himself again.

Gu Zhaoqu tapped the table with his fingers and said, "I plan to use the money to build more schools so that children of the right age can enter the school to learn literacy, and those with talent can continue to read." Master Fan was surprised: "All

children of the right age? "

If this is the case, no wonder you don't want to take out the money, because the investment is too big, and there is no profit to recover. It is completely different from the meaning of running a workshop, but it will obviously benefit all the people of Yaochang Mansion. Great act of kindness.

"I have this plan, but I still need to examine whether it is suitable. Moreover, there is no need for the Yamen to spend all the money. We can mobilize the wealthy squires. This is a good deed. The construction of Yaochang Mansion is not the responsibility of this official alone, but the responsibility of all It is the top priority for the people of Yaochang Mansion." Therefore, it should be no problem for everyone to participate.

Master Fan thought the same thing. Your Excellency allows those merchants to do business, so it is reasonable for them to give back to this world.

After the two discussed it, they did not immediately ask the wealthy squires for money. Instead, when Gu Zhao was taking people to visit various places, Master Fan let some people know what they were thinking.

The news spread quickly, and people were extremely concerned.

"I heard that our magistrate wants to build more schools so that children can read and write." "

Is this true? I also want to send my children to learn a few words and have the opportunity to enter a workshop. There will be more than others, but there are only a few schools in Yaochang City, and the threshold is not low, and there are many restrictions. If you want to learn how to read, there is no place to go." "Now in the several workshops run by the adults,

I spend my free time. There are literacy classes. The more literate workers are, the greater their chances of promotion and processing income. Unfortunately, we were not able to enter and there is no way to participate in this literacy class." "If it is really established by adults, I will be the first to support it. Your

Majesty, accept it. Your cultivation will definitely not be too high. Nothing you do will benefit our people."

"Yes, yes, I also support it. My son will be sent to school for two years. When he comes out, he can see if he has the opportunity to enter a workshop. Now, it would be best if you can enter a rubber workshop."

The people now unconditionally support Gu Zhao, the prefect. They are not stupid, and they can distinguish which officials are sincerely good to their poor people, and which officials are just They were superficial and said a lot of pleasant things, but they said more and did less. In fact, they looked down upon the people in their hearts. How is it like their prefect, who had some candies in his pocket when he came down to see their living conditions, and when he saw the children, he would take out candies to comfort them, without any airs.

The common people were discussing, and the wealthy businessmen were also discussing.

"The news came from the government office. I'm afraid there's no truth to this. And it sounds like it means children from poor families can go to school without having to go to school." "

How many schools do you want to build? No. Shuishu Xiu, can the government government have so much money to support it?" "

Now the government office is not poor on its books. I heard that it has a lot of revenue, but I need to find out more about this matter. What does it mean to take care of the master?" "

Yes. To find out, it is better to ask the head of the Yan family. Among us businessmen, he is the one who is closest to Mr. Gu and knows Mr. Gu best. Let’s hear what he has to say." One person took the lead, and many people ran to

the Yan family. , ask the head of the Yan family about building a school.

The head of the Yan family couldn't help but smile bitterly when he saw so many people coming to his door. They had indeed gone to the wrong place, because Mr. Fan had specially found someone to give him a break. He had to admit that Mr. Gu was really good at twisting things, but it was hard to let people know. There was no way not to take the bait.

Of course, when faced with these people, the head of the Yan family would not tell his true thoughts, but said: "You also know that our Yaochang Mansion can't produce many talented people, and there are too few people who can study. Mr. Gu wants to make political achievements." , we cannot let go of this aspect, education must start from childhood, so in my opinion, there is nothing wrong with building a school, and if the school is built, it will be a great charity that will benefit the future."

"Of course we know this is a good thing, but how many schools will be built? How will the schools enroll students?"

"Yan once heard Mr. Gu say that he wanted more children to have books to read and attend school. ."

"Can you afford to read?"

"Have you ever seen literacy classes in several workshops?"

"You mean free literacy? Do you really want to do this?"

"Maybe other officials don't have this courage, but Mr. Gu doesn't see you. Come on, have you ever seen an official like Mr. Gu before?"

They all shook their heads. Not to mention their territory, even in other areas, it is very rare to hear of officials like Gu Zhao. I have to admit, As long as they abide by the rules, doing business under Gu Zhao is much more enjoyable than elsewhere. Although they cannot pay less tax, their income this year has increased a lot compared to before, so they can pay the tax willingly. , they also hope that Gu Zhao can stay here for a few more years and lead them to grow bigger and bigger.

"Then what the Yan family leader means..." Many people found that there was something in the Yan family leader's words.

The head of the Yan family smiled and said: "As you know, when Mr. Gu first came to our Yaochang Mansion, there was not a penny in the government office account. It was Mr. Gu who used his own money to support the government office. Later, he built a workshop. Mr. Gu To be able to do this for our Yaochang Mansion, we, as Yaochang people, can't just sit back and watch, right?"

Someone realized the meaning of the Yan family leader's words, and what he said was nothing more than the word "silver".

"Master Yan, what are you going to do?"

"Haha, Yan plans to donate a sum of money to build a school and find a wife. Mr. Gu does things for pleasure. He will never forget Yan's good deeds, as long as they are recorded in the local chronicles. If you make a note, Yan and the Yan family will also be remembered by the people of Yaochang in the future."

This made other businessmen feel excited after hearing this. If they businessmen have a good reputation, it will also be extremely beneficial to their business, because Others are willing to trust them and do business with them, so many wealthy households will spend their own money to pave roads and build bridges, spreading a good reputation in the countryside, and Gu Zhao's move is exactly the same.

"Mr. Gu has gone out. I don't know when he will be back. At that time, can the head of the Yan family ask Mr. Gu for more details?" For example, will there be any awards from the Yamen?

Chapter 376 Donating money

The head of the Yan family thought to himself that there is no need to worry about this. Lord Gu has always been very generous in this regard, but he did not say such thoughts. Instead, he promised those present that Lord Gu will go there when he comes back. I asked you to see your lord to clarify this matter for you, and everyone expressed their gratitude.

After seeing everyone off, the head of the Yan family was in a good mood. He didn't mind having such an opportunity to deepen everyone's understanding of his good relationship with Master Gu. In this way, when doing things in normal times, each family would give the Yan family a little more face. But when he turned around and saw his two children, he had a headache again. The son had no business acumen, so he was not the right person to take over the family business. The daughter was even worse. It was even more difficult to find a satisfactory husband for her, and because of Mr. Gu With Zhuyu in front, my daughter is even more picky, what should I do?

The good mood just now disappeared in a blink of an eye. The head of the Yan family seriously thought about the future of the Yan family, and finally decided that it was better not to count on his son's lumpy head. It was better to let him have more sons, and he would raise his grandchildren in the future. As for Daughter, forget it, it’s up to her to marry or not. If she wants to die, she will die in her own pot, so as not to let her out and harm others.

Because of the matter of setting up a school, the head of the Yan family also had some ambitions. After he had a few more grandchildren, he wanted to see if any of his grandchildren had good academic talents. Then he would vigorously cultivate them. If the Yan family could become an official, he would Well, even if you don't succeed in the examination, at least you will become a scholar, and your reputation will be better.

Since Mr. Gu wants to vigorously develop the school, the trend of studying in this area will definitely become stronger and stronger in the future. The Yan family cannot miss this trend.

Gu Zhao has been wandering around for nearly a month, and has visited all the areas under the jurisdiction of Yaochang Mansion. He wants to take care of all the people as much as possible, especially those in remote and poor areas, so that they can study and be sensible. There are many ways out for the children there.

The people in the government office and the merchants headed by the Yan family did not expect that Gu Zhao would be gone for such a long time. At the same time, they also knew that Gu Zhao was really doing things down-to-earth and not just seeking fame.

Only after the horse thieves were eradicated and the garrison patrolled frequently did the area become much more peaceful than before, did Gu Zhao dare to run out for such a long time.

Gu Zhao, who returned to the government office again, convened a meeting with people from the government office after a short rest to inform the whole government office of his ideas and the results of the inspection. He also made preliminary statistics on how many schools needed to be established and the plans for each school. The number of students to be recruited does not include those who come to audit, because he wants to target more than just children. Adults who are willing to learn literacy can also come to learn. Of course, the time will be different from that of children, such as opening evening classes. , or use your time off to study.

Everyone here was shocked and admired Gu Zhao's plan. If such a school continues to operate, it is conceivable how much the Yaochang Mansion will change in a few years and decades. It also requires courage, and the construction of such a school cannot produce results in the short term and cannot be included in political achievements. On the contrary, the future prefects, especially the prefects in ten or twenty years, are tantamount to sitting on the credit book.

Would Gu Zhao know about this situation? He must have known it, but he still decided to do it, how could one not admire him.

Later, Gu Zhao assigned tasks to everyone. He no longer had to shoulder them all on his shoulders. Problems would definitely arise during the process. We would discuss them later and solve the specific problems in detail. The officials present also reported on the recent trends of those merchants, and many wanted to get information from them.

Gu Zhao said he understood. Not long after the meeting, he received a message from the head of the Yan family. Gu Zhao didn't delay to meet with him. After listening to the question from the head of the Yan family, Gu Zhao answered on the spot. Which family donated the money at that time? When a school is built, the school will write it on the stele, so that every student who enters the school in the future will remember their merits.

Not to mention other people, even the head of the Yan family was very moved when he heard this. This means that as long as the school does not collapse and continues to recruit students, their merits will always be remembered by these students and passed on to future generations. This is comparable to It would be better to make a note in the local chronicle.

The head of the Yan family was so excited that his face turned red: "I will definitely convey your words to others. I believe that many people will actively support your good deeds."

Gu Zhao smiled and said: "We are working together to benefit the people of Yaochang Mansion. ."

"Yes, yes, Yaochang Mansion is the place for us Yaochang people. Each of us has the responsibility to build Yaochang Mansion better." The

head of the Yan family expressed his attitude in front of Gu Zhao, and then with excitement The mood left, and other people were staring at him. As soon as he returned, they hurriedly came to visit. The head of the Yan family did not whet their appetites, and straightforwardly repeated Gu Zhao's original words. As expected, just like him, he was on the spot. Many people were very excited, saying that it was a monument, but in fact it was equivalent to a merit monument. Thinking that their names would be engraved on the monument, they wanted to spend money to build a school as soon as possible.

After the head of the Yan family sent these people away, he turned around and took his servants with him to carry the silver to Master Gu. This gesture made the people curious, what was the Yan family carrying? It couldn't be that they wanted to bribe their lord openly and openly. Their lord was not a money-minded person. Who didn't know how generous Mr. Gu was.

When Gu Zhao heard that the head of the Yan family was carrying something to the Yamen, he shook his head and laughed. The head of the Yan family is really smart. Even if he does good deeds, he does not do it silently. Of course, this is what he meant, so he decided to give the head of the Yan family the face and gave some instructions. Later, he went out of the Yamen in person to greet the head of the Yan family.

Seeing Gu Zhao come out, the head of the Yan family was a little flattered: "Why are you here, Mr. Gu?"

Gu Zhao smiled and said, "I know the purpose of the visit of the Yan family, and I feel that the head of the Yan family is a kind person. The head of the Yan family is a citizen of Yaochang Mansion. If you donate money, I will personally greet you. Master

Yan, please come in." "Thank you, sir. Thank you very much, sir. It's because Yaochang Mansion has sir, we people have hope." "

Yes, Master Yan is a great benefactor. , Mr. Gu is also the eldest master of Qingtian, the head of the Yan family is so right." Only then did the people around understand what the Yan family did, and ordered to echo his words.

The people in the yamen quickly counted the silver for the head of the Yan family. After the results came out, before the people at the yamen gate dispersed, they reported the results of how much money the Yan family had donated, and explained where the money would be used. The people clapped their hands and applauded.

"It seems that what I said before is right. Mr. Gu really wants to build a school for us, and we people don't have to pay for it ourselves." "

God, I never dared to think that our children would be able to enter a school one day, haha, Maybe we can have a scholar in our family in the future."

"Yes, after my child enters school, I will remind him every day that he will never let down such a great opportunity given by Mr. Gu."

What happened at the Yamen Gate quickly spread throughout the city. , the other merchants immediately regretted that they had allowed Yan to take the lead and get most of the benefits. What are you waiting for? He must not let his family be the only one to be beautiful. So other merchants followed the example of the Yan family owner and went to the Yamen carrying money. Some of them even came all the way beating gongs and drums to complete the ostentation. Even if their net worth is not as rich as the Yan family and the amount of money donated is not as much as the Yan family, they still have to compete for reputation in this ostentation and cannot lag behind the Yan family.

Of course, except for the first person who donated money, the others who came back were not personally greeted by Gu Zhao, but just like the Yan family, whenever they came to donate money, the guards would sing their names loudly at the yamen door, and the words of their money donation. The crowd of onlookers never dispersed, cheering and cheering from time to time.

The common people also know that the more money they donate, the more pressure they can reduce on their prefects. If they don’t have enough money, they should always let their prefects pay for it out of their own pockets.

At the end of the first day, a red list was posted where the notices were posted in the Yamen. The names of the donors were listed in the order of strokes. The purpose of this move was to reduce the comparison between businessmen and gentry, and make this competition Good deeds have changed.

As soon as this red list came out, regardless of the fact that it was getting dark, everyone gathered under the notice and a literate person read it out for them. It is conceivable that the reputation of these families will quickly rise to a higher level.

For example, if your family's shop sells the same goods, from tomorrow onwards, people will definitely be more willing to go to the store of the person who donated money to buy things. If this continues, the business gap between the two families will definitely become wider and wider.

"Look, I didn't expect that this widow also donated money. I almost thought I heard the name wrong." "

She must have run a small snack shop by her crafts, and she also had to support her two children. I didn't expect that she could still donate money. " It's not easy to donate money."

"I also know Widow Zhang's snack shop. Although the shop is not big, her craftsmanship is excellent. Business used to be very light, but this year the number of customers in the snack shop has become more and more popular. As she came more and more, she was able to hire two workers to help her. The government officials were very strict and no one dared to bully their orphans and widowers, so Widow Zhang often said that the prefect was the benefactor of their family."

"Yes, yes, the Zhang Family Restaurant maliciously suppressed Widow Zhang before, falsely accusing her of spoiling the customers' stomachs by eating food in the restaurant. Later, the prefect also found out about the matter. The Zhang Family Restaurant was behind it. For this The Zhang family restaurant was fined a large amount of money. If it weren't for the prefect, Widow Zhang's snack shop wouldn't be able to open at all. So it's not an exaggeration to say that the prefect is the benefactor of their family." "And Widow Zhang's.

The child is almost ready to go to school. Widow Zhang’s life will get better and better in the future.”

“Let’s go, let’s go, I’m greedy again when talking about her snack shop, so I’ll go to her snack shop for dinner.”

Even if I know Zhang The widow donated money because she was grateful, but she also knew that even if the business was good this year, the foundation was still shallow. No matter how much money was donated, if she could donate the money she had in her pocket, the people would admire Widow Zhang and be willing to take more care of her. Her family's business.

As a result, the business of Widow Zhang's snack shop was booming, so she had to hire someone to do the work, otherwise she would be paralyzed from exhaustion.

For Widow Zhang, maybe the prefect didn't even remember who she was, because there were too many situations like hers, but she was still very grateful to the prefect, so as soon as the silver donation came out, Widow Zhang planned her savings After a while, I left the money needed to expand the snack shop and the children's education, and donated the rest.

Chapter 377 I’m full

Widow Zhang thought Gu Zhao didn't remember her, but Gu Zhao did remember her because she would occasionally ask people to buy food from her shop and bring them back. After knowing that she had donated two hundred taels of silver, Gu Zhao also asked people below to persuade her. , I also knew that these two hundred taels of silver were probably half of her family's net worth, but Widow Zhang turned around and ran away.

Gu Zhao was also grateful for this kindness. In addition to asking the yamen servants to pay more attention to her shop to avoid being bullied, he also deliberately led others to lead the scene at the yamen gate, pushing Widow Zhang's reputation to a high level. This would allow her to be respected more in the future instead of being looked down upon because of her status as a widow.

The common people have their own accounts in their hearts. They keep them in mind which people are kind and righteous, and which people are stingy. Over time, they will ferment out.

Some people sneer inwardly when they see others giving away money. They think the money is too hot to hand and give it away in vain. Anyway, their family will not donate even a penny. If the school is really built, it will be free of charge as said outside. , they then send their children in, and this time they invisibly earn double the money, and they feel even more proud.

Of course, when my business becomes less and less in the future, I wonder if I will reflect on my own practices, or if I will blame others and feel that it is everyone else's fault.

These donations only accounted for a small part, and most of them were allocated by the yamen. Gu Zhao immediately asked people to select a location to start building the school. He designed it himself, and the construction team also used his own. When the school started construction, the workers of the construction team They found that the construction period would be much shorter than they expected because people nearby came to help.

The common people don't have much money to donate, but they can work. They go to the construction site to help for free, which is considered as doing their best. Moreover, this school is built near their homes. What does this mean? It means that their children can Those who go to school nearby, not counting others, but only for their own children, must build a school early and build it well.

The school is still under construction, and the sunflower harvest season has arrived again. Gu Zhao naturally took care of the harvest of the first batch of sunflowers in person. A large number of sunflower seeds were peeled off from the flower trays and transported to a wide and flat cement floor to dry. , as for the remaining poles and flower disks, there is no waste. Some of them are left in the original field after treatment and can be used as fertilizer, and the other part can be used as feed for cattle and sheep after treatment.

Nowadays, more and more people are raising sheep. No matter how many workshops they raise, it will not be enough. However, excessive breeding will cause a burden on the land, so Gu Zhao often publicizes the correct feeding methods to the farmers. Increasing the source of feed and vigorously promoting the cultivation of forage on the other hand cannot eat up all the naturally growing forage. Then desertification of the land will be an inevitable trend.

His publicity was obviously very effective. The farmers knew that the stems and flower disks of sunflowers could be used as feed after being processed. No one doubted it, and they were not worried about eating their own animals to death. How could the prefect harm them?

Sunflower seeds were dried and transported into bags to designated locations. In order to process sunflower seeds, Gu Zhao specially set up a workshop, a food processing workshop, to fry sunflower seeds, squeeze sunflower seed oil, and other food processing. In this workshop, although there are not many workers recruited and there are still requirements, it cannot stop the enthusiasm of the people.

After the sunflower seeds were harvested, the harvest season has arrived. The people are very enthusiastic. They are burning under the sun every day, but they are still very happy. They follow the prefect. Their harvest this year is higher than in previous years. Quite a few. As expected, the prefect was right.

When the harvest was over, the school was almost completed, and every family could send their children to school. Therefore, the people became happier and happier as they thought about it, and they exerted endless energy.

Gu Zhao asked people who were good at cooking to study spiced melon seeds, and the cooks at home also played their role. Spices produced in Daqi and Anglan were also used. The seasonings in this year were not as abundant as in later generations, so Gu Zhao Zhao felt that after these five-spice melon seeds were produced and transported to the capital, they would definitely be very popular.

While Gu Zhao was busy harvesting and studying spiced melon seeds, Yan Mu, who was in the southwest, was watching people working overtime to pave roads and build bridges so that they could realize the plan to connect with Yaochang Mansion as soon as possible.

It has to be said that the emperor made the most correct decision by sending him to the southwest, because his layout solved the major differences in one fell swoop. In addition, the treaty was also widely spread among the southwest army. Maybe the literati would pay attention to such a treaty. However, those military generals praised it greatly and thought that it should be like this. It would be better to let Daqi lose his pants and see if they still have the strength to attack Dazhou again in the future. This is the best way to completely solve the foreign troubles in the Southwest. .

Because of this, before Yan Mu arrived in the southwest, many people in the southwest army praised him and even worshiped him, including some generals. It can be said that his favorability was much higher than that of Yan Xiao before, and even In Yan Chongshan now, Yan Xiao was the one who brought this disaster and tried to kill so many soldiers. Others felt the same way. If Yan Xiao could push others to die, who knows if he would one day kill them too? Push it out.

His feelings for Yan Zhongshan are also very complicated, because Yan Xiao is the son that Yan Zhongshan values ​​the most, and the Zhu family is also the family chosen by Yan Zhongshan himself. But look at how far they were manipulated in the end. If there is such a disaster in the southwest, it can be It is said that Yan Chongshan must also bear a certain responsibility.

In this case, knowing that Yan Mu was coming to the southwest to lead the Southwest Army, most people had no objections and raised their hands in approval. Therefore, when Yan Mu arrived, their attitude was completely different from the last time.

Of course, there are some who are dissatisfied, because the significance of the Southwest Army and the Southwest Garrison are very different. The latter has obviously been downgraded, and from now on it will be subject to the constraints of the court, and the constraints will be much greater than before. Yan Mu's resignation as the Southwest King is equivalent to the general They were all sold, to the court. This was a good dog raised by an emperor, and it was dedicated to obeying the emperor's command.

It is a pity that Yan Zhongshan became the Duke of Zhennan and never looked back once he went to the capital. Otherwise, they would secretly contact Yan Zhongshan and find a way to remove Yan Mu from power, regain the throne, and continue their life in China.

Unable to contact Yan Zhongshan, they secretly approached several concubines who were preparing to move and started to stir up dissension among them, hoping to instigate the concubines in Yan Zhongshan to cause trouble.

They didn't expect that Yan Mu was not happy at all when he came here to take up his post, and he still had resentment in his heart. Can these people get something good if they hit the muzzle of the gun? Yan Mu very rudely asked people to take them down. After throwing out the evidence, he was kicked out of the military camp on the grounds of provoking trouble and would never be hired.

This caused quite a stir in the southwest. In addition to the middle-level generals in the army, there were also local families involved. Those families, Yan Mu, were directly left to Mr. Liang who was sent by the imperial court to deal with them without showing any mercy. Caused quite an uproar.

Most of the Southwest Army is on Yan Mu's side. As the legitimate son of Yan Chongshan, whether Yan Mu wants the throne or not is Yan Mu's own business. What does it have to do with others? Or do they have the same idea as Yan Xiao and really want to establish themselves as kings? Moreover, Yan Mu's resolute actions also shocked other people with some small thoughts. How dare they have any more thoughts and listen to Yan Mu's words honestly.

Not many local people are on the opposite side of Yan Mu. The last time Daqi invaded, none of the people knew that it was Yan Mu who saved everyone. This allowed the people in the southwest to avoid the war and avoid being displaced and leaving their homes. Although they also felt It's a pity that Yan Mu doesn't want the throne, but this is Yan Mu's own business after all. If the throne comes back, it won't fall on them, so let's make a fuss, everyone is full.

Yan Mu heard people talking while she was bored shopping. Was she full? Yan Mu had an idea as soon as his eyes rolled. He turned around and ran to find Mr. Liang, asking if the arrested people would be sentenced?

Master Liang respected Yan Mu very much. He knew very well after he came here that without Yan Mu's shock, he would never be able to sit in his current position. He was stunned by Yan Mu's question and said: "They are all in prison, Ping Nan Sir, do you want to see them?"

Yan Mu waved his hands and saw what they were doing. He said: "I just want to build a cement road. After you finish the review, send those people to the construction site and let them do labor. Anyway, everyone will be full. Well, you might as well go to work. When you are tired, you will have nothing else to think about."

Mr. Liang was almost happy, thinking that those people were discovered and arrested by Yan Mu before they took action, and they would be sentenced if they really wanted to. Many of them were serious, as Yan Mu said, it would be better to punish them all to do hard labor. Those who did the previous work were indeed full of food and had nothing to do.

Mr. Liang responded: "Okay, Mr. Liang will handle this matter as soon as possible. Does Pingnan Gong really want to build cement roads?" "

Yes, you see that Yaochang Prefecture has built cement roads everywhere, and our southwest is too backward. , I have to learn from Yaochang Mansion, I will personally supervise this matter." Yan Mu said with a serious face, then turned and left.

It's okay that he didn't mention Yaochang Mansion. But when he mentioned Yaochang Liang, how could he not know why? Before he came to take office, His Majesty told him to keep an eye on Yan Mu to prevent him from running to Yaochang Mansion. Because Mr. Gu Zhaogu was in Yaochang Mansion, Mr. Liang thought that His Majesty was joking, but he did not expect that Yan Mu was real. This thought came to mind.

What is the purpose of building roads? Isn't it convenient for him to run to Yaochang Mansion? Ping Nangong's feelings for Master Gu are really deep, and he can reach such an extent.

In fact, road construction should not be within the scope of Yan Mu's responsibility, but Master Liang knew that Yan Mu's status was extraordinary, so he turned a blind eye. Besides, the repair of the road would also be of great benefit to him and Southwest. So why block it.

Well, when we are full, we may need to add one more person.

Chapter 378 School starts

Ping Nangong personally supervised the road construction, who dared to be careless? Therefore, the progress of road construction is very fast.

Mr. Liang looked at the cement workshop placed under the name of the government office and squinted his eyes happily. If not Yan Mu, how could this cement workshop be built? If he wanted to build it, he would have to hire knowledgeable people from the capital. This was also the beginning of the workshop. After producing cement, he realized that cement was made from these items.

In the letter Yan Mu wrote to Gu Zhao, she complained that the people who built cement roads were not very skilled. Gu Zhao saw that two construction teams were idle and asked them if they were willing to take over the work in the southwest. What are you waiting for? , they were used to being busy and felt uncomfortable when they were free, so they immediately went to the southwest to build cement roads. This was their old profession, and their skills and speed were very good.

Once these two teams came, they were all skilled workers, so the speed of building cement roads in Yanmu was greatly accelerated. Mr. Liang had specially understood the operation mode of these construction teams, and secretly thought that it was no wonder that His Majesty valued Mr. Gu. This brain is definitely very quick. , How can other people think so far ahead.

Occasionally I go to the construction site to listen to people from Yaochang Prefecture talking about the situation in Yaochang Prefecture. I heard that Mr. Liang wanted to see it. The products produced there were not available in the southwest, and they could only go through those well-connected merchants. Team, transport the items produced there, but the price is really not low.

Look, the items produced in a workshop in Yaochang Prefecture are all sold to the southwest. You can imagine how much money you can make. In the past, Yaochang Prefecture was a poor place that no one wanted to go to.

The road has not yet been repaired, and another special product of Yaochang Mansion has been transported to the southwest. Master Liang first got a pack of snacks called spiced melon seeds from Yan Mu. He was very strange: "This is what Master Gu made again." ?"

Yan Mu was very proud of this: "Of course, if my brother has any good things, he will be the first to think about me. This is for Master Liang to have a taste. Master Liang should have heard of a wonderful scene in Yaochang Mansion, Summer At that time, large tracts of bright yellow sunflowers bloomed outside the city of Yaochang Prefecture, attracting many literati to come and watch them. Many poems have been circulated. These melon seeds are the seeds of sunflower blossoms." Mr. Liang immediately understood, you must know

This beautiful scenery has even spread to the capital. Several wealthy and leisure young men did not believe that such a ghost place could have any beautiful scenery. In order to verify their views, they went to Yaochang Mansion to see it in person, but they did not want to see it. After leaving, I also gave Yaochang Mansion a lot of publicity when I came back.

After the poem came out, Mr. Liang specially found some excellent works to appreciate, and he also yearned for the beautiful scenery described in the poem. Now when he saw the seeds of the sunflower flower, he felt very different: "It turned out to be sunflower seeds, Mr. Gu." Sure enough, I have a way of doing it, and I won’t plant crops that are only for appreciation.”

Then Mr. Liang tasted it with great care, and it tasted very good, so it is most suitable for killing time, and I think many people will like it.

Seeing Master Liang's praise, Yan Mu was also very proud.

On the other side, Gu Zhao packed a lot of fried sunflower seeds for Qi Yunfei and Gu Ren and asked them to take them to the capital and Qingling Mansion respectively. Yes, they were going back. Such a long time was enough for them to cultivate a set of The team and the workshop will not be unable to operate without them, not to mention that Gu Zhao, a knowledgeable person, is here, so the two of them can leave with peace of mind.

They had been away from home for such a long time, so they missed their family. Gu Zhao also urged them several times, and they stayed again and again. This time, they took advantage of the opportunity to help Yaochang Mansion sell sunflower seeds and set off.

Qi Yunfei patted Gu Zhao on the shoulder: "Don't worry, such delicious spiced melon seeds will definitely be very popular when they are delivered to the capital. We will come to see you when we are free."

Gu Zhao hugged him and Gu Ren, and they both said nothing. He said that the person who put down his own affairs and came to help him was here because of him. He had delayed so many things. Gu Zhao would always remember this friendship in his heart, so there was no need to say anything more.

After hugging them and letting them go, Gu Zhao took a step back and said, "Have a good trip. Send me a safe letter when you get home." "

Okay, you should go back early."

Qi Yunfei and Gu Zhao got on their horses and faced Gu Zhao and his party. With a wave of his hand, the motorcade began to move with shouts, and continued to move away from Gu Zhao and the others' sight.

The departure of his friend's nephew made Gu Zhao feel a little sad, but he was soon filled with busy life and could not think about it anymore.

Gu Zhao wants to mobilize the people to send their children to school, not only boys, but also girls. Gu Zhao takes workshops as an example. Nowadays, in several workshops, except for the construction team, the male and female workers are divided in half. There are more male workers in the workshops, but the wool workshops recruit almost all female workers. Anyone who can enter these workshops is extremely envious by the people, so many people are wavering on the question of whether their girls should go to school.

A man from a family said to his wife: "Send it away. If you want to send it, just send it. Don't look at who said it. This is what the prefect said. The prefect said yes. Isn't it bad?" "

Then the family said it." Who will do the work? Our family has raised several more sheep this year."

"Then it will be harder for us parents. Besides, they can also help the family when they come back from school. We are not a wealthy family. It's not like we have studied. You don't have to work in the fields to read the book. Even the dignified prefect will work in the fields if you don't read. I heard that the prefect is also from a farmer's family, and we can't afford to support a delicate young master."

The younger daughter quickly promised that before going to school and after returning from school , will work hard to help the family, and the brother nodded repeatedly, and he will do the same. In the end, the wife had no choice but to nod and agree, just like the man said, she can't go against the prefect.

There are many cases like this, so on the first day of school, there are also a lot of female students in the school. This is also because the atmosphere in Yaochang Mansion is not as conservative as in the capital and the south. In other places, the Yan family girls would dare to Fighting for men on the street has long been drowned in the saliva of the literati, and Gu Zhao's prestige here is now extremely high, and the people are willing to respond to Gu Zhao's request and send the girls at home to school to wait until they can learn some words. , if you have the opportunity to enter a workshop in the future, you will not earn more money than if you stay at home and do housework.

The difficulty of assigning concubines to all these schools is no less difficult than persuading parents to send girls to the school. Gu Zhao not only increased the monthly salary of these concubines, but also included it in the evaluation, and also offered to teach them in person. .

He implemented a weekly system, instead of having a day off every ten days. However, the students and masters all had six days of classes and one day off. He started classes every Sunday and made those masters his students. In addition, he no longer taught in the private schools. It has to be said that some scholars went to the school to become teachers for this reason. Those who listened to his classes felt that they had gained a lot and were reluctant to stop here.

For scholars from poor families, this opportunity is even better. This monthly salary can definitely allow them to continue their studies.

After that, Gu Zhao introduced preferential measures in taxation, and tax reductions were given to those who had a wife in their family, etc., which indeed attracted many scholars to become wives.

Because the level of masters varied widely, Gu Zhao also gathered people to compile teaching materials during this period. His original purpose in promoting education was to make more people literate, rather than letting them all take the scientific examination. Therefore, this textbook belongs to the general education category. At the same time, in order to broaden students' horizons, those students who perform well in various schools will be screened and given the opportunity to further their studies, which is to take the imperial examination.

Hearing about this, Gu Yang and Master Peng, who were traveling in the southwest, came back. They participated in the compilation of teaching materials with great interest, and they all volunteered to become masters in the school. They were not paid much. care.

With them joining, Gu Zhao would certainly not push it out. In addition to the regular Three Character Classic and Hundred Family Surnames, Gu Zhao added arithmetic as a course. This is a course that can be used in people's daily lives. Gu Zhao asked himself He is strong in arithmetic, so this textbook was compiled by him personally.

Finally, a Gewu course was added. This textbook was even more difficult to compile. Gu Zhao had to come in person. According to his idea, the Gewu course was a hodgepodge, integrating later generations of physics, chemistry, etc. into one, or equivalent to It is a science course for later generations, but it is not taken seriously in this era. How many people with excellent craftsmanship can only be reduced to craftsmen, and how many craftsmanship has been interrupted in the historical development.

Gu Zhao wanted to enlighten these students on the study of objects, and also wanted them to learn one or two skills in the future so that they would not be unable to make a living after leaving school.

For this reason, Gu Zhao also hired many craftsmen to join the teaching in the school. He also wrote a letter to the craftsmen he met at the Ministry of Industry to ask if they would be willing to come out to teach students. He did not expect everyone to come. But it would be good if one or two could come and train other teachers. It would be enough for the professors to provide these students.

Before the start of school, all these cumbersome matters were finally completed. Many students happily walked into the newly built cement building carrying schoolbags made by their parents, and received books distributed by the school without charging them. , the students were even more happy. They cherished the books and chatted with each other. Every student kept in mind that it was because of their prefect that they had such a good literacy opportunity.

After these textbooks were compiled, Gu Zhao also sent several copies to the capital, always reporting them to the emperor to avoid being caught by others.

So, the emperor, who was in the palace in the capital, received a big package from Gu Zhao of Yaochang Mansion. At this time, everyone in the capital was talking about the spiced melon seeds delivered from Yaochang Mansion. Even the emperor could not receive it. Young Master Gu Zhao came here as tribute. I didn't expect to receive something from Gu Zhao again so soon.

The emperor smiled at the princess and Yao Shoufu and others who were present: "I wonder what Gu Aiqing has sent me this time. The five-spice melon seeds from before were delicious. Have any of the Qing family tasted them?"

Chapter 379: Textbook Matters

Yao Shoufu thought to himself, how many of the powerful people in the capital have never tasted it? Even if I have never tasted it, I will try my best to get some to taste.

Although he was vomiting in his heart, Yao Shoufu still looked cheerful on his face, and the flavor of these five-spice melon seeds was really good. Gu Zhao ran to Yaochang Mansion to get another good thing that can make money. In the future, there will be other five-spice melon seeds in the capital. After the place became popular, Yaochang Mansion was waiting to make money.

Yan Xiangxi also thought it tasted pretty good.

The emperor no longer worried that Yaochang Mansion would continue to be poor, and he knew that Gu Zhao had not relaxed his focus on food cultivation. Gu Zhao had written in his previous book that after the trade routes to the southwest were opened, Yaochang Mansion could start from Food was transported from the southwest to solve the problem of food shortage in Yaochang Mansion.

Unlike Yaochang Prefecture, the southwest has a suitable climate and abundant rainfall, so food production has always been high.

Everyone was a little curious about Gu Zhaoxin's package, but when they opened it, they found several books. The emperor did not read the books first, but first looked at the booklet Gu Zhaoxin sent him. After reading the booklet, he raised his eyebrows and did not publish anything. He passed the excerpt to others to read, and he flipped through the books, which were the so-called general textbooks in Gu Zhao's excerpt.

After reading this, Yao Shoufu and the others were extremely shocked. Looking back at this, Zhao's handiwork was not small. He actually dared to let all school-age children go to school, and not only boys could attend, but girls could also attend. This would have been criticized in other places. It's bloody bloody, but in Yaochang Mansion, to put it harshly, maybe Gu Zhao's words are more useful than the emperor's orders. Gu Zhao led the local people out of the predicament and made their lives better and better. people.

Yao Shoufu looked at the princess, but he didn't say anything against girls entering the school, and Gu Zhao also wrote in the book that they would be taught separately.

Yan Xiangxi was overjoyed when she saw it. She actually had the idea of ​​setting up a girls' school recently, but it was difficult to realize it. So she had thought that when she took power in the future and issued such an order, the obstruction would be much smaller, but she didn't. Thinking that Gu Zhao was in Yaochang Mansion, he promoted it first.

Yan Xiangxi believed that after the success of Yaochang Mansion's model, it could be promoted throughout the Zhou Dynasty.

"Wonderful!" Some ministers praised. This is a very good thing for scholars. How could they object? The only objections they had were to the issue of women studying, but in front of the princess, they would not shout out loud, "It's just that this The expenses are not small. Can Mr. Gu support it?"

Yao Shoufu was amused: "Whoever can't support it will not be able to support Mr. Gu. Isn't there spiced melon seeds again? Isn't he known as the God of Wealth? It's all for nothing."

Well, the rumor among businessmen that Gu Zhao was the God of Wealth spread to the court.

Others were also happy: "Yes, this method is only suitable for Master Gu and Yaochang Mansion. It cannot be promoted in other places. The investment for one year is too great." "If the imperial court can afford

this expenditure in the future What?" Yan Xiangxi said.

"This...that is of course good, but where does this large amount of money come from?"

Yan Xiangxi glanced at her father and did not continue. At this time, everyone was paying attention to the teaching materials sent by Gu Zhao. The Three Character Classic and Hundred Family Surnames are illustrated with pictures and texts, which adds a lot of interest. The arithmetic and investigation of things are clear, concise and easy to understand. Even they were fascinated by it.

In the arithmetic textbook, Gu Zhao used Arabic numerals that he had never used before, because using these numbers made arithmetic more concise and clear, making it easier for students to learn. He explained in the book that the origins of these numbers are traceable. .

The numbers at this time were not called Arabic numerals, nor were they invented by the cannibals, but came from Tianzhu. However, they did not attract much attention in the Zhou Dynasty. Later generations were discovered and adopted by the cannibals, the Arabs. It was brought to the West and spread to this land from the West.

Although he was a little uncomfortable with it at first, the emperor studied it and found that arithmetic problems seemed much simpler with these numbers. He also looked at the origin of this number in Gu Zhaozhe and said curiously: "This number is really that of Tianzhu." Did it come from the side?"

Yao Shoufu has lived for many years and is knowledgeable. After Gu Zhao's reminder, he did have an impression of this matter: "I have seen it before, but it is slightly different from the number written by Master Gu. The difference is that the figures written by Mr. Gu look more concise and clear. I think they have been improved." "

Then Yi Aiqing, do you think these figures are suitable for promotion?"

Yao Shoufu suggested: "It is better to send this textbook to the Ministry of Household Affairs. Let's see if they are used to it."

The emperor thought the same thing. The Ministry of Revenue is the place that deals with numbers the most: "Then leave this matter to Yongfu. Yongfu happened to have stayed in the Ministry of Revenue for a while."

Yan Xiangxi accepted the answer happily. Order: "My son, I obey the decree."

Gu Zhao's matter was approved by the emperor and the cabinet without saying anything in the court, so the courtiers did not know about it. In the emperor's view, this was just a good way to take advantage of Yao Chang. The government made a pilot project. Later, the emperor and the princess specifically discussed the matter whether it was suitable for promotion in other places. The father and daughter also discussed the source of the expenses. Yan Xiangxi's first idea at that time was to develop maritime transportation, but he also needed to do it first. To develop maritime transportation, we still have to look at Yaochang Mansion first.

Gu Zhao received a reply from the emperor. The emperor gave him permission to use the teaching materials sent to him and supported his approach, but also asked him not to take too big steps to avoid being unable to follow up.

What could Gu Zhaoneng do? He had to be honest and obedient. This step was indeed too big a step, but he didn't know how long he could stay in Yaochang Mansion. He only hoped that when he left, he could lay the foundation well for the successors to take over. If you can continue to develop on this basis instead of giving up halfway, you will be sorry for your hard work.

As time goes by, the children in Yaochang Mansion are becoming more and more accustomed to the life of going to school every day, and they all learn very carefully. Some children will teach their parents what words they have learned in school when they go home. , let everyone follow along and learn together. At the same time, evening and Sunday study classes have also been opened. There are many adults who are willing to learn, especially those teenagers who have passed the school entrance age and are more motivated to learn.

When the weather got cooler day by day and the cement road between the southwest and Yaochang Prefecture was about to be connected, Gu Zhao led students to practice making paper together in a school.

Paper at this time was very expensive, and it was expensive for scholars to buy books. The cost of paper, ink, pens and inkstones was even higher. Therefore, children from poor families could not afford to study. The Gu family also tightened their belts to support Gu Zhao in studying. Although the government still has money, Gu Zhao does not have the luxury of letting the students in the school use paper to practice writing. Instead, he asks the students to make their own sand tables.

But this is not a long-term solution. Learning to a certain level still requires pen, ink, paper, and inkstones. Therefore, Gu Zhao planned to let these students do it on their own. Moreover, the Gurwu course requires students to do their own hands-on practice, so the first step of these students' learning is A craft is not something like carpentry, but learning to make paper.

Not to mention, not only the students, but also the teachers in the school were extremely excited. Can they really make useful paper themselves?

Of course, Gu Zhao cannot guarantee this. What he said is that it should be made first, no matter whether it is rough or not, as long as it can be used first. In the future, people who are interested in this can focus on research, improve the papermaking process, and create a paper that is more convenient for writing. paper.

This day was the time to test the results of many days. Gu Zhao was surrounded by a circle of students and teachers. He personally used a bamboo curtain to scoop out the paper pulp from the pool, and then squeezed out the excess water. The wet paper he peeled off Paste it on a sunny wall. The sun is just right and the climate is quite dry. It can evaporate the moisture in the wet paper and let the paper dry.

"Wow, it's really paper. It becomes paper when it's dried."

"Yes, yes, we can use the paper we made ourselves in the future. Sir, you are really awesome."

After Gu Zhao finished uncovering the first piece of paper, he handed over the position to others. He happened to hear this and said with a smile: "This is not just me alone, it's our ancestors who invented this papermaking technology. We You have to have this writing tool, so everyone must study hard. There is a golden house in the book. This is not a lie."

"Is this true, Mr. Gu?"

"My parents have said that Mr. Gu never tells lies. By the way, Mr. Gu is a good official different from others, a great official."

Seeing these children chattering, Gu Zhao was in a good mood. These children will embark on a different path than before, and there may be some among them in the future. Many people left the boundaries of Yaochang Mansion to see more scenery in the Zhou Dynasty and even in the outside world.

Before Gu Zhao left, the paper was dried in the sun and peeled off the wall. The people from the yamen who came with Gu Zhao and the wife gathered around to look at the freshly baked paper and comment on it.

Compared with the paper they bought themselves for writing, the newly made paper is a bit rough and not suitable for writing with a brush. But it doesn't matter. You can also use charcoal. The method is always figured out by people. Besides, there is such a It's an excellent start. In the future, with the concerted efforts of everyone, we will definitely be able to improve the technology and create better paper.

When he went back that day, Gu Zhao took all the achievements of the day with him. This was the result of the insistence of all teachers and students. The paper produced for the first time should be given to Mr. Gu as a souvenir, and he would give it to him when better paper is available in the future. Master Gu was not late, and Gu Zhao did not refuse at all. On the contrary, he happily accepted it, which was also very memorable for him.

After returning home, Gu Zhao cut the paper and stapled it into small booklets. He also prepared charcoal pens and put them on his body so that he could jot down anything, such as inspiration that suddenly occurred to him, so as not to forget it later or suddenly think of it. Something about people's livelihood.

Not only did he prepare it himself, but he also gave it to people around him. For example, Mr. Fan also got a copy. He thanked the adults with a smile and said that he would make good use of it.

On this day, Gu Zhao took a charcoal pencil and started drawing unconsciously on a booklet. When he woke up, Gu Zhao wiped his face, and he actually drew a portrait, and you could tell who it was at a glance.

"My lord, my lord, look who's here."

Before the book was put away, Gu Zhao looked up and saw that the person who was striding towards him was not the person he was writing about.

Chapter 380 Yan Mu is here

Yan Mu's appearance means that the roads on both sides have been connected. Of course, there is another possibility, that is, Yan Mu couldn't hold himself back and ran over in advance. Master Liang couldn't keep a good eye on him, and he couldn't keep an eye on him. live.

Seeing Yan Mu appear, Gu Zhao was extremely pleasantly surprised, and then the next moment he suddenly felt guilty and wanted to hide the pamphlet in his hand. He didn't have time to think about why he had such a mentality, but when Yan Mu saw his actions, he Feeling that his brother was hiding something from him, he took a few long steps and rushed to Gu Zhao. He took a clear look at the portrait in the booklet that Gu Zhao had not had time to cover up. His eyes suddenly opened wide, and then, his mouth Gradually, the smile on his face grew bigger and bigger.

Seeing Yan Mu like this, Gu Zhao's face became hot, and he gave him a fist rather uncomfortably: "Why are you laughing? I haven't asked you yet, why did you come here now? I don't want to do the errand over there. ?"

Yan Mu wanted to laugh even more now. His brother is so slow. He clearly wants to draw his portrait. Isn't it better to put himself in front of his brother so that he can see enough? There is no need to be shy. of.

But considering that Gu Zhao was thin-skinned, Yan Mu did not say what was in her heart. Instead, she hugged Gu Zhao, rested her head on his shoulder, and said, "I miss my brother, so I came to see him. Brother Don't worry, no one will dare to cause trouble over there."

He would kill anyone who dared to cause trouble to see who had the guts.

For some reason, the more crude and simple he was, the more people in the Southwest Army obeyed him.

If Yan Mu had said something embarrassing to him, Gu Zhao would have been furious, but Yan Mu's tone was soft, and Gu Zhao had no temper at all. Not only did he not push him away, he even reached out and touched his head: "You!" , and I'm not afraid of His Majesty's reproach. Those ministers are doing whatever they want because of your

pampering." "Don't be afraid," Yan Mu hummed. "It just so happens that I can take off my errand, and from now on I will be my brother's guard. I don't have to go anywhere. ."

"You're talking silly again. You must be tired from the journey. I'll take you to wash up and have something to eat."

"Okay." Yan Mu smiled and narrowed her eyes.

When Gu Zhao pulled him to the back, Yan Mu watched Gu Zhao put down the booklet in his hand, quickly picked it up and hid it on himself. This was a portrait his brother had drawn for him, so of course he had to treasure it.

Gu Zhao clearly saw his little move, but his face was hot and he couldn't say anything to stop it, so he had to pretend to be blind and pretend he didn't see it, and continued talking to Yan Mu as if nothing had happened.

As for the other people in the yamen, they had voluntarily left when Yan Mu came in, including Shi Mao and the other two. Seeing Yan Mu's stickiness towards Gu Zhao would break Yan Mu's impression of Yan Mu in their minds during the Southwest Battle. The image created.

Mrs. Li was very happy to know that Yan Mu had come, and quickly ordered the kitchen to prepare delicious food for Yan Mu. I don’t know how hard it was for this child to travel so far away from Anglan country. Look, he has lost a lot of weight since he hasn’t been seen for a while. , it should be replenished.

This child has a mother, but Yan Mu has always taken care of his mother. Having a father means not having a father. His situation is not much better than that of Gu Zhao. Gu Zhao has at least grown up with the love of the two elders of the Gu family.

When Yan Mu washed up and sat at the table to eat, Gu Zhao asked him: "Master Liang knows you are coming? Has the road been repaired?" Yan Mu replied while eating: "It's

almost repaired. Master Liang knows that I want to come." Come, I told him, I came to ask my brother about the trade with this place."

Gu Zhao sweated and said, "It's just an excuse to send Master Liang away, you. But the way over there is It is more troublesome to repair than here. There are more mountain roads than here and it is difficult to repair."

Yan Mu nodded: "No, so I can't wait any longer. I'll come over to see my brother first. It won't be long anyway."

Gu Zhao laughed. , there are really not many people who can stop Yan Mu from doing anything he wants to do. As long as he has this intention, he will always try his best to come over. To be honest, Gu Zhao is a little surprised that he can endure it until now.

Gu Zhao asked: "You didn't use those things to open the mountain?"

Yan Mu put down his chopsticks and looked at Gu Zhao: "I did think about it, so I wanted to come over and ask my brother. Your Majesty also went to Zhezi to ask." "

That's right. It would be better if you ask Your Majesty."

Gu Zhao prepared something for Yan Mu before he left the capital. This thing was not a telescope. The telescope was already prepared when making glasses. The real trump card prepared for Yan Mu was to explode, Yao, when the Southwest Army and Daqi fought before, Gu Zhao had been paying attention to the movements there and found that Yan Mu had not used the trump card he had prepared, otherwise it would be impossible to hide such a big movement. This also shows that everything is Under Yan Mu's control.

Of course, this thing has also been reported to His Majesty, but it is very well hidden. Except for a few of them, the outside world has no knowledge. But once it is used to open mountains, it will obviously not be hidden, but it can also play another role. One function is to deter ambitious aliens outside the border.

Yan Mu and Gu Zhao were talking here, and there was a lot of discussion outside about Yan Mu's arrival. This time, Yan Mu did not come alone with his identity hidden, but came with his personal guards. Looking at the battle, it was no small matter. , and he went towards their magistrate as soon as he came. How could the people of Yaochang City not pay attention to his identity and purpose of coming?

Even the people in the yamen may not all recognize Yan Mu. After all, Yan Mu didn't use an identity other than his own last time, and his face was also modified.

It happened that Yan Mu bumped into Stingshan when he came over. It was Stingshan who ran all the way in to inform Gu Zhao. So as soon as Stingshan came out, everyone surrounded him and started asking questions.

Seeing how much they cared about you and Ping Nan Gong, Shi Dingshan laughed: "Don't you always admire Ping Nan Gong who defeated the Daqi Kingdom? Why don't you recognize him now when he comes in front of you? I have followed you for so long, will you? Do you know that your Excellency has a deep relationship with Ping Nangong?"

"Ah!" Everyone exclaimed, as if they had missed hundreds of taels of silver, "It turned out to be Ping Nangong! I would say that the momentum was extraordinary, except for Ding Ding Who can take on the role of the famous Ping Nangong?" "

So this is Ping Nangong! Ping Nangong is so young, has extraordinary bearing, and is very handsome. We adults are born well, and your friends are also born well. Those who are capable All are well."

What kind of logic is this? Stingshan couldn't laugh or cry when he heard this. It turned out that they were not capable enough because their parents didn't give them a good appearance.

So soon, the news that Ping Nangong appeared in the government office spread in Yaochang City, and everyone was in an uproar. This also made everyone's admiration for Gu Zhao rise to a higher level again. In the past, they only heard about it, but now they saw it with their own eyes. It is true that Zhao and Ping Nangong have a close relationship, but Gu Zhao's status in their minds has quickly risen several levels. Not only does he have the ability, but he also has a strong background. Not only must he not offend such a person, but he must also find ways to fight well. relation.

As a result, the head of the Yan family received another wave of envy and jealousy. How could this rude guy be so lucky to climb a big tree like Master Gu? He would really benefit a lot in the future.

Mr. Gu was so grand that he was almost snatched back by the tigress of the Yan family, but later he did not punish the Yan family and even asked the head of the Yan family to follow him to the stock market. Others may not be able to do this.

Not to mention other people, even officials such as Tongzhi who were later transferred from the imperial court were also very curious about Yan Mu and sent messages one after another wanting to meet Ping Nangong.

Yan Mu is the most impatient of these interactions. If it were on his own territory, he would have sent these people away long ago without giving face to anyone. This is what he does in the southwest. However, the more he seems to have a bad temper, the southwest local Those families are becoming more and more afraid to provoke him, for fear of running into his gun, but this is Gu Zhao's territory, and he can't go too far, which will make it difficult for his brother to be a good person.

Gu Zhao knew that Yan Mu was impatient with these things, and he was actually not keen on these social interactions, so when Yan Mu didn't want to, he pushed all the posts and said that Ping Nangong was just here to visit friends on vacation, so he didn't want to be disturb.

The head of the Yan family also contributed to the post, and his son was behind it. Since the Battle of Southwest, the eldest brother of the Yan family has admired Ping Nan Gong very much. Now the figure he admires is right in front of him, and he hopes to meet him. The head of the Yan family also had his own considerations, so he tried to send a post.

But when Gu Zhao refused, the head of the Yan family immediately stopped making any moves and said to the boss: "Just calm down and calm down. Your three-legged cat skills will be able to show off among your bunch of friends. Don't worry." It would be embarrassing to run in front of Mr. Ping Nan and Mr. Gu." "

Besides, this Ping Nangong's temper is different from Mr. Gu. He is a powerful figure who can transform himself from King of Southwest to Lord Zhennan. Go to the southwest and suppress some of the thorns, and you can clean up Daqi. I don’t know how ruthless a person is."

The head of the Yan family used to run business abroad, and he also heard about the behavior of Daqi people, but now this The Daqi Kingdom can't find Yan Mu's palm at all. It can be seen that this Pingnan Gong is a more ruthless character than the Daqi Kingdom. Looking at his own son, for the sake of his life, it is better not to go to Pingnan Gong. I went to jump in front of me.

Boss Yan shrank his neck, admiring and fearing Yan Mu. After all, they were just a small group of people, and they didn't make a fuss on the battlefield. He muttered: "Then he has such a good relationship with Lord Gu?"

Yan The head of the family glared at him: "That's because when Ping Nan Gong was being plotted to kill by his concubine brother, he happened to be rescued by Mr. Gu, and he has been taken by Mr. Gu to raise him. This kind of kindness makes Ping Nan Gong Treating Mr. Gu is naturally different."

Because of Yan Mu's arrival, many people in Yaochang City are gossiping about Ping Nangong, and a lot of information about his past has been uncovered. The locals may not know much about it, but Nowadays, there are many foreign businessmen in Yaochang City. They bring news from outside and even the capital, as well as newspapers circulated from outside, which makes the locals talk and lament for a while.