Chapter 272 Big Change
Chapter 272 Big Change
Liangqu's retreat failed.
Jianghu is not about fighting and killing, it is about human relations.
The invitation in his hand was heavy and thick, with gold-plated patterns that highlighted its uniqueness. In the lower right corner of the red booklet was engraved the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce’s ship logo.
Read the content.
The servant who delivered the visiting card ground the ink, respectfully handed over the brush, and held the small inkstone in his hand.
Liang Qu took the brush, licked the ink on it, wrote "Respectfully accepted" at the bottom of the invitation, and handed it back to the servant.
"We are looking forward to seeing you, Lord Liang."
The servant put away the invitation and calligraphy, bowed and stepped back, and was led out of the hall by Fan Xinglai.
Liang Qu looked at the empty courtyard and sighed.
"Oh, I have to go out again."
Four days ago, He Bo returned victoriously.
The next day, he received the invitation at home.
Pingyang County Magistrate Jian Zhongyi planned to hold a grand banquet on the third floor of Tianbo Tower to welcome the soldiers and boost the morale of the people.
Today is the banquet day, so Liang Qu received another invitation.
Three invitations are required for a formal banquet.
The first invitation is sent to the guest's home three days in advance. The second invitation is sent on the day of the banquet. The third invitation is sent one hour before the banquet.
After sending it, if you want to go, fill in "know"; if you want to be polite, fill in "respectfully accompany you"; if you don't want to go, fill in "thank you" or "thank you for not going"; the errand boy will collect the invitations and send them back.
Now is the third notice, one hour before the banquet starts. In other words, Liang Qu is about to attend the banquet.
I originally wanted to stay at home and retreat, soaking in water to accumulate all 1,400 points of water essence in one go.
God does not fulfill one's wishes.
Whatever.
It took about two hours, and I could just stop by Tianbo Chamber of Commerce to see if there were any underwater precious plants for sale. Maybe I'd be lucky and wouldn't have to hold it in for the remaining seven days, and could complete them in one go.
Liang Qu returned to his bedroom to change his clothes and tidy up his outfit.
He took out another stack of silver bills from the box and wanted to count them, but then he thought again and decided to put them all in his arms.
A huge sum of more than five thousand taels!
The bulk of the money was from Xiang Fangsu for buying his hot pot recipe, a small amount of more than two hundred taels was the rent from the big beaver, and a small amount was the salary from the river and the daily income from fishing.
Unprecedented extravagance.
Liang Qu changed his clothes and shouted to the window: "Ah Xing, prepare the horse!"
"okay!"
Fan Xinglai put down the broom and ran to the stable, combed Chishan's hair, put on the horse harness, and led Chishan to the side door.
Liang Qu took the reins and climbed onto the horse.
Tianbo Chamber of Commerce.
The horse's hooves stepped on the stone slabs, moving slowly, casting long slanting shadows.
It was already dusk, and the Tianbo Tower was decorated with lights and colorful decorations, red silks fluttering, and the aroma of cooking wafted everywhere.
People in short shirts gathered at the door and lined up to receive celebratory rice. It wasn't much, just one pound per person, but it was a surprise enough.
"Don't forget the emperor's kindness! Don't forget the emperor's kindness!"
The manager of Fenmi shouted at the top of his voice.
The people in the queue nodded repeatedly, and those who got their tickets didn't even look back and hurried home to cook.
Liang Qu shook his head.
This operation involves two Martial Saints, and the higher-ups must have known about it in advance, but the reward will never come so quickly.
He turned around and saw a large red notice posted at the entrance of the Chamber of Commerce, with a celebration message written in a flamboyant style.
In the lower right corner of Qingwen is the seal of the Pingyang County magistrate and Jian Zhongyi's private seal, proving who the author of this article is.
"How vast! The plain is boundless, and no one can be seen. The river is winding, and the islands are tangled. It is dark and miserable, and the wind is sad and the sun is setting.
The weeds are broken and the grass is dry, it is as cold as a frosty morning. The birds cannot fly down, and the beasts are dying in droves..."
Good writing skills.
Liang Qu himself could not write poems or essays, but he had basic appreciation skills.
The whole article begins by describing the difficulty of war, mourning the deceased soldiers, and denouncing the ghost mother's atrocities.
Then he changed the subject and elaborated on the great achievements made by Hebo this time, and said that the people would surely live and work in peace and contentment in the future.
Reading the whole article is inspiring.
The last time the Ghost Mother Cult caused a big disturbance, it caused panic among the people in several surrounding counties and resulted in a large number of refugees. This really needed a shot of adrenaline.
Next to the Qingwen, there are several new policy notices listed.
The first one is about the refugee issue.
The notice stated that before the autumn harvest in October this year, as long as the refugees came and had not committed serious crimes such as murder, robbery, and rape, their past sins would be forgiven and they would be re-registered and start over.
When many refugees came to Pingyang County, most of them were resettled, but many of them fled to the mountains and forests and chose to live in seclusion.
Some even choose to become bandits, adding a lot of burden to the trade routes.
This move was clearly intended to further expand the population, reduce unrest, and increase caravan circulation.
The next two points are about the second round of farming this year, including that if you don’t have seeds or tools, you can go to the government office to borrow money and pay it back after the harvest.
The fourth article is about several townships around Pingyang County. It is planned to clearly coordinate and establish four large towns, located in the four corners of southeast, northwest, northeast and southwest, to prepare for the establishment of a government and their integration in the future.
Yixing Town, where Liangqu is located, belongs to the planned East Town, the future "Dongcheng District".
The above four have little to do with Liangqu, but the fifth one is more interesting.
Pingyang County is preparing to build a temple.
All counties and cities in Dashun have Confucian Temples, Martial Temples and City God Temples. Most of those near large lakes and the sea also have a Water God Temple or a Sea God Temple.
Previously, it was only available in Chaojiang County, but not in Pingyang Town. It also did not exist after Pingyang Town was changed to Pingyang County. Now it is obviously necessary to make up for it and improve the functions of Pingyang County as a county.
The meaning of the notice is that the people are hoped to sign up actively. As long as they come, they will be given food to eat and will not work in vain. It means that they will work in exchange for relief.
"Water Temple..."
Liang Qu's thoughts were in turmoil. He wondered if after the temple was built, his worship would be more favored.
"Well written. If I had this level of writing, I wouldn't have been beaten by my father."
Ke Wenbin stood quietly beside Liang Qu, folded his arms and sighed to Qingwen, obviously recalling some sad memories.
Xiang Fangsu, who was following along, nodded: "It's not easy for Magistrate Jian to get to where he is today."
Liang Qu raised his eyebrows and asked, "It's not easy for Magistrate Jian to come from an aristocratic family."
He remembered clearly that Jian Zhongyi was the direct descendant of the Jian family in Qingzhou.
How can such an identity be related to being difficult?
Seeing that there was no one around, Ke Wenbin whispered, "It's just rumors, just listen for fun, don't take it seriously."
Liang Qu became curious: "Please elaborate."
"The Jian family has three masters, did you know that?"
Liang Qu nodded. He had heard about it at the auction.
"County Magistrate Jian is the direct descendant of one of the great masters. He has been gifted since childhood and is very popular. However, behind closed doors, there are always some conflicts. Jian's biological mother and that old ancestor..." Ke Wenbin signaled with his eyes.
Liang Qu lowered his voice and asked: "Stealing ashes?"
After saying this, Liang Qu himself felt a little hesitant.
Does it count as adultery if it's several generations apart?
"I never said that."
Ke Wenbin took a step forward and drew a line on the ground with his toes, indicating that he was severing ties with Liang Qu and drawing a clear line between them.
Xiang Fangsu patted Liang Qu on the shoulder and said, "It's just some rumors, don't take it seriously. But in the imperial examination that year, I heard from my father that the top scholar should have been the county magistrate Jian, but the current emperor considered the bad influence and changed it to the second place."
"If you live too long, it's easy for trouble to happen in a rich family. We are not surprised. We don't understand, we don't understand." Ke Wenbin said he didn't understand twice and put his arm around their shoulders. "Let's go, let's go upstairs to eat!"
(End of this chapter)