Chapter 708 Home and Work
Chapter 708 Home and Work (Part )
Yu Liang is thirty years old this year.
Scholars of this age generally do not show any signs of aging. After all, aging is mostly caused by the hardships of life, the ravages of illness, mental stress, or simply by the harsh natural environment.
Yu Liang looked older than other scholars of the same age, but that was only an appearance. If you looked closely, you could see the healthy vitality beneath Yu Liang's dark face.
He stopped being dissatisfied and drank less. He went back and forth to the construction site every few days, exercising quite a lot. He was in a very high spirits - or so he thought.
In such a living environment, Liangzi could not be healthier. He was much stronger than his scholar friends who took drugs and drank alcohol, had pale faces, and were strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
"Yuan Gui looks like a warrior and also like a farmer." Shao Xun joked.
From next door came the sound of a child crying and the "snapping" sound of a ruler.
Yu Liang couldn't help but look.
Shao Xun smiled and said, "Mu'er was beaten."
Yu Liang also laughed, and the emperor and his minister then sat down.
"How's the palace? I haven't had time to see it yet." Shao Xun asked.
"Lingbo Hall has been completed. It has more than 120 houses, surrounded by water on three sides, with a long embankment, more than ten pavilions, two rockeries, three ponds, and a garden..." Yu Liang began to introduce it seriously. At the end, he added: "Your Excellency can lean on the railing to look at the pond, go boating on the lake, and entertain the ministers."
Each palace has a specific function.
Guanfeng Hall is the place where court meetings are held and government offices are handled. In the future, some institutions will be relocated here, mainly the "secretary-type" functional departments serving the monarch.
Huangnu Palace, located west of Guanfeng Hall, is a relatively independent building, mainly used to house women and children.
Lingbo Hall is located northwest of Guanfeng Hall. In addition to being a place for the monarch to rest and recuperate, it can also be used as a banquet place for ministers.
Forests, lakes, ponds, rockery and houses hidden among green trees and red flowers are perfect for team building.
"That's right." After listening, Shao Xun smiled and said, "When I return after defeating the enemy, I can hold a grand banquet here and have fun with all the ministers."
"Your Excellency can also gather learned people from all over the world in Lingbo Hall to discuss metaphysics and philosophy, compose poems and answer questions. If this is spread out, it will also be a good story." Yu Liang said.
Shao Xun hummed and said nothing.
Of course he doesn't like to talk about metaphysics or philosophy, but scholars all over the world like it.
Holding a few events, apart from other things, will help increase legitimacy and cohesion, which is a positive aspect politically - it will subtly let people know where the orthodoxy in the world lies.
"What are your construction plans for next year?" Shao Xun asked, "Don't do too much. I still have to fight the war."
Yu Liang hesitated for a moment and said, "Build Mingde Hall to the northeast of Guanfeng Hall, build Lengquan Courtyard behind Huangnv Palace, and build a larger garden to the north of Lingbo Hall..."
"Stop the gardens." Shao Xun said bluntly, "Give priority to Mingde Hall. Lengquan Courtyard doesn't require many workers, so it can be built. Also, find a way to build government offices in front of the palace. For several years, they have been squeezed into the county town and the manor to work, which is not very decent."
Yu Liang understood and nodded repeatedly.
If what was built before was the palace city, then what Mr. Liang just mentioned was the imperial city.
The imperial city is where all government offices are located, and the prime minister handles government affairs here.
There are also a few government offices in the palace, but most of them are where the monarch's personal officials, such as the Yellow Gate Assistant Minister and the Secretary, work.
My brother-in-law is going beyond the rules more and more! Yu Liang secretly complained.
"Let's release a group of people who first built the palace, limited to 3,000 households, and send them to Puyang. You and Zuo Min Cao will handle this matter together." Shao Xun added: "A large number of refugees have arrived this year..."
Speaking of this, Shao Xun also sighed.
The refugee issue brings both pain and joy.
The Bianliang construction site obtained a huge amount of cheap labor and could use work as relief.
The fifteen counties of Liang State received additional population, and after being fully resettled, the loss could be turned into "profit" within two or three years.
Where they left off, large tracts of land were left vacant, which could be taken over by the government.
Those are the good parts.
There are bad parts as well, such as public security and even rebellion issues, the collapse of the local economy, relief spending, the impact on people's hearts and minds, and so on.
In short, there are pros and cons, but Shao Xun's biggest headache is the expenditure of money and grain.
While talking to Liangzi, Yu Wenjun finished beating the child and came out from the inner room with a hint of anger on her face.
Shao Xun was stunned.
Looking back to when we got married several years ago, Yu Wenjun was still a child. Now her face is less and less childish, more and more mature and charming, and even a little majestic.
"Husband, brother." Yu Wenjun bowed to them one by one.
Yu Liang returned the greeting.
After a while, Shao Xun's third daughter, Shao Zhen, came out. After seeing her father, the tears that had stopped started to flow again. But when she saw Yu Liang was also there, she felt a little embarrassed, so she sobbed and saluted the two of them.
Shao Xun opened his arms skillfully and picked up the child.
Shao Zhen is the daughter of Yu Wenjun. She was born on a cold winter day five years ago. As it was getting darker, her nickname was "Mu'er".
Unconsciously, five years have passed, and the children who once babbled have grown up and have reached the stage of eating "Seven Wolves"...
In this family, since Shao Xun was away on military campaigns or touring various places all year round, Yu Wenjun took on the role of a strict mother. Not only did she have to take care of her own son and daughter, but she also punished the children born to other concubines with a ruler if they did not study hard. She did not do these things before, but started to do so in the past two years. It seemed that she wanted to show off her authority as the eldest wife. This might have been the idea of her besties.
"Brother, you have worked hard supervising the construction of the palace. Why don't you stay for dinner today?" Yu Wenjun said as she sat down next to Shao Xun.
Mu'er lay in his father's arms, looking very aggrieved. When he saw his mother sitting over, he shuddered and immediately became motionless.
Shao Xun patted his daughter's back gently and said, "Just stay. We don't have time to hunt this year, so just have some simple meals." "Okay." Yu Liang didn't hesitate and agreed directly.
"Is Liang Nu in the Yu Ri Pavilion?" Shao Xun looked at his wife and asked.
"Yes, she is taken care of by the wet nurse." Yu Wenjun replied softly.
Liang Nu was their son, twenty months old, and the eldest son.
Shao Xun's parents now live in Yuri Pavilion, where there is a tall building, a pavilion, and several houses. The old couple thought it was close to the vegetable fields and convenient for growing vegetables and picking beans, so they lived there.
Fu Bao was a frequent visitor to the Yu Ri Pavilion and was very much loved by the old couple. Liang Nu, as the eldest son, was also very valued and was often carried over by his wet nurse to be seen by his grandparents.
After hearing the news about his nephew, Yu Liang became thoughtful and felt quite uneasy.
After Pei Kang's death, his brother-in-law left Bianliang and stayed away for more than five months, with only Mrs. Pei accompanying him and serving him.
Whenever he thought about this, Yu Liang became a little anxious.
Shao Xun only took one look and knew that his brother-in-law was impatient, so he looked at his wife and said, "It's still early to eat, let's go to Yuri Pavilion to see my son."
"Yeah." Yu Wenjun said happily.
Yu Liang swallowed back the words that were about to come out.
******
The Yu Ri Pavilion is not a big place, but it has a vegetable patch.
Shao Xun didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Wherever the old couple lived, there were vegetable fields and melon gardens. They really couldn't stay idle.
Fu Bao was sitting on the doorstep, playing something. When he saw Shao Xun, he kicked up his legs and ran over.
Mu'er felt threatened and hugged her father's neck tightly, refusing to give up her position.
Fu Bao snorted, took Shao Xun's right hand, and said, "Mu'er, come down and play with me for a while."
Mu'er was not fooled and didn't look at her.
Shao Xun put Mu'er down and said, "Play with Fu Bao for a while."
Fu Bao's eyes lit up, and he immediately hugged Shao Xun's thigh and tried to climb up.
Shao Xun quickly stopped him and said, "Grandpa has something else to do, take your sister to play for a while."
Fu Bao blinked her eyes, and seeing that he was serious, she could only respond reluctantly. Then, holding her sister's hand, she went to play in the vegetable garden while Mu'er kept looking back every few steps.
"Grandpa, Mom." Shao Xun walked into the inner room and bowed to everyone.
"My dear." Liu was also there and bowed.
Shao Xiu said little, just nodded and said, "How was the journey?"
"The harvests are good in all the counties, and the government offices are well-fed. During the winter break, the counties also recruited farmers to train them," said Shao Xun.
"We must train. Without training, we will succeed. Back then, the farmers who followed us to fight were not well trained. Their legs were shaking when they went to the battlefield." Shao Xiu said.
"Okay, the farmers are trembling, but you are not trembling?" Shao's mother Liu grabbed Shao's father and said, "You were defeated in the battle that year, and I even lost the deerskin armor I brought as a dowry. How dare you say that? Slow down a little, or there will be no bugs. Come on, follow me to pick turnips."
Mr. Shao looked at his son helplessly and left.
Shao Xun sat down, held Liu in his arms, looked into her eyes, and said, "You know everything?"
Liu threw herself into his arms, tears streaming down her face, and said, "I heard Huifeng mention it."
Shao Xun hugged her tightly and sighed.
Xiaohe is actually a good woman, not as spoiled as a lady from a wealthy family.
At first, he raped her and later slapped her in the face. But after she made up her mind, she worked hard and managed the business in Nanyang until some relatives from her hometown in Pingyuan came to help.
She did not hide her concern for her ex-husband's children and did not consider whether this would make Shao Xun unhappy. She was too kind-hearted.
"I don't want to lie to you. It depends on his luck." Shao Xun said, "Next year, we will attack the Xiongnu and enter from Wuguan Pass to attack Lantian. If he can hold on until then, there may be a turning point."
Liu hummed, and her mood improved slightly.
She had been in Nanyang Kingdom for several years, so of course she knew the Lantian-Wugu Pass.
Starting from Wuguan, you can reach Guanzhong. Liu Bang left from here in the past, and refugees also leave from here now.
"The road to Wuguan is difficult and dangerous..." Liu suddenly thought of something, wiped her tears, and said anxiously: "It may not be good to advance here. My dear, don't do it for the sake of--"
At this point, I can't go on.
"Xiao He, don't let your imagination run wild." Shao Xun gently stroked her back and said, "I won't joke about military affairs. We have to send troops along the way to contain the Xiongnu's army in Guanzhong. Everything else is incidental."
Liu became quiet.
"I'll stay at your place these days." Shao Xun said again.
Liu nodded lightly, feeling warm in her heart.
After meeting his parents and comforting Mrs. Liu, Shao Xun returned to Guanfeng Hall to have dinner with Yu Wenjun and Yu Liang.
In the afternoon, they continued to discuss the construction of Bianliang, and the discussion lasted until the evening.
The next ten days or so were basically spent meeting with officials from all walks of life, which was even busier than when he was on a tour.
In early December, Lu Zhi returned.
(End of this chapter)