At this time, Duan Ling didn't realize that the time in Yecheng would become a powerful turning point in his life. Many people and many things were going on the path destined by fate, rushing away vigorously and never looking back. .
When he woke up, everything seemed like an eternity, and for a moment, he even thought he was back in Beijing when he was a child.
The only difference was that the person lying beside him became Wu Du.
He got up and looked at Wu Du. When Wu Du was asleep, he was always vigilant. Even if someone approached their bedroom, he could open his eyes instantly, but only Duan Ling was undefended, as if it would automatically filter him out. As usual, after Duan Ling woke up, Wu Du moved slightly and continued to sleep.
Duan Ling got up lightly and found that he was naked with all his dirty clothes changed. There was a basin of water beside the bed, and a cloth towel was placed beside the basin. Duan Ling wiped his body and faced him. Look in the mirror.
This winter, he will be seventeen years old. Before he knew it, he had known Wu Du for two years.
Wu Du also woke up when he heard the sound, sat up, looked at Duan Ling with a worried expression. Duan Ling felt a little embarrassed, sat back on the couch, and kissed him.
Before Wu Du had woken up, Duan Ling asked, "How long have I slept?"
"One day and one night." Wu Du obviously slept too much and looked sleepy. In the late autumn and early winter, everyone was lazy.
"Master." Duan Ling said.
"Hmm." Wu Du got up to wash, and when he was done, he went to the hall with Duan Ling.
"Let's deal with the city first." Duan Ling ordered while the guards brought breakfast, "I'll invite guests later."
Lin Yunqi, Yan Di, Wang Zheng, and Shi Qi were all there, and they came to see Duan Ling respectively. Wu Du was still sitting on the throne, while Duan Ling was sitting next to Wu Du and had breakfast, listening to everyone's reply and explaining the matter of Yecheng. .
"The management in the city is the same as usual." Lin Yunqi said, "There is no change. The prefect has been out for too long this time. The messenger has come to the center, but no one can be found."
"It's my fault." Duan Ling replied, "I didn't expect so many things to be involved at first. I'll ask Lord Lin to press it for me first. I can't report it to the court. I'll write a letter to report it later."
Lin Yunqi hesitated for a while, and Duan Ling said again: "It's okay to be there with Minister Mu, Lord Changliu has already returned."
"Okay." Lin Yunqi breathed a sigh of relief. After all, no one dared to give Duan Ling a slap in the face of such a big thing, and said, "The Yecheng Army and the Hejian Army who went on the expedition with the Colonel General have both made great contributions and have been promoted."
"The soldiers who died in battle will be given double compensation," Duan Ling said.
Lin Yunqi took a note and said, "I don't have any here anymore."
Wang Zheng replied: "Civil and people's judgments are all the same as usual. Only when the prefect is not in the mansion, there are occasional cases of corruption and bribery in the three cities."
"Open one eye and close one eye first." Duan Ling replied, "Come on in the winter and settle the account slowly. You can make the final decision on the rest. If you are undecided, discuss it with Yunqi first."
Wang Zheng nodded and replied, "I don't have any here either."
Duan Ling turned towards Yan Di again, and Yan Di said: "The beacon, military affairs, and outposts are all good, and 70% of the repairs to the city wall have been completed. As soon as the food arrives, some people are recruited, and the speed is faster."
"Can it be completed before winter?" The two things Duan Ling cared about most were military power and finances.
"No." Yan Di shook his head and said, "I wanted to draw some more people out to smelt weapons, but now I have charcoal, and there is no shortage of iron, so I have to stock up on weapons during the winter this year."
Duan Ling thought about it for a while, and said, "The iron smelting matter will be put down for the time being, and I will mention it in November. The construction of the city wall must be accelerated, and I will give you twenty days."
Yan Di pondered for a moment, then replied, "Yes."
Duan Ling said: "There are more than 40,000 Yuan troops on the north bank of Xunshui, and they camped just behind the Black Valley.
Everyone didn't react in surprise, obviously they already knew it, so they nodded their heads.
"Where is Shi Qi?" Duan Ling asked.
This is the first time he has officially dealt with Shi Qi. He had met in a hurry before, and he had not taken the exam well, but now he is just to see how he is doing.
"We have 20,000 shi of grain this winter, and we have just started." Shi Qi said, "There is enough to eat, and the treasury is still in deficit. The old bad debts are all owed to the Marquis of Huaiyin and the court. It's time. The main question of the imperial court's envoy was about taxation, and I blocked it for the adults."
"Didn't you say tax exemption?" Duan Ling frowned.
"That's what I said before." Shi Qi replied, "I don't know which lord suggested again, since Yecheng has retreated from the Yuan army and settled down again, maybe it can be increased this winter, so that I can also take care of it, the two of you. You can rest assured."
It must be the request of the Su clan again - Duan Ling really doesn't like this old man.
Wu Du was eating noodles, and when it came time to discuss internal affairs, he basically didn't talk much, just "um".
Since Shi Qi said this, Duan Ling didn't care much because he thought it was sending money. Shi Qi added: "As for what the lord ordered before he left, the lower official thought of some ways. As soon as the first batch of new charcoal came out, he took it and exchanged it with the people for some money. Three cents a pound."
"You can't make much money by burning charcoal." Duan Ling shook his head and replied.
"Charcoal can't be earned," said Shi Qi, "but it can't be given to them for nothing. Only iron can be produced."
"That's what I said." Duan Ling said, "I remember that there were iron mines in the south of Hejian, but I don't know why they were abandoned."
"Xiaguan also went to ask." Shi Qi replied, "It is said that the bandits entrenched in the Baihe Mountain area were once the place where deserters from the three cities and refugees from the south gathered. If the Colonel can lead the army to level this place, it must be ore, we are There is no shortage."
"Let's discuss it later." Duan Ling said, "If there is no objection, we will do this in the spring. What about the grain seeds?"
"Waiting for the court to dispatch." Shi Qi replied.
"I can't wait for the court to give it." Duan Ling said, "We have to find another way."
Wu Du said: "Shi Qi, ask Zheng Yan to write you a letter, you send someone to Huaiyin, and first buy it from the Marquis of Huaiyin."
Anyway, Zheng Yan is here, no need is no use.
"There's no need to spend this money, there's not much silver left in the treasury." Shi Qi said, "The grain seeders will come before the spring."
"You don't understand." Duan Ling said, "If you go to the middle of the court layer by layer, write an official document, and if you get stuck in the Ministry of Household, you won't be able to get down in autumn. If you come here, it will be a second-class seed. Let me say this first, if this time The Ministry of Household is really done, I might as well eat the seeds in front of you."
Shi Qile said: "Okay." Then he reported the profit and loss of the autumn. The large sums of money were all expenditures, and there was little income. Duan Ling was annoyed to hear it. After finally listening to it, he replied: "You have to find a way to make up the shortfall in the spring. superior."
"Yes." Shi Qi said, "As long as the iron ore comes out, there will naturally be a way, adults can rest assured."
"Let you think of a way." Wu Du looked at Shi Qi as if he didn't know him, and said, "You threw the burden back again?"
Shi Qi was busy making promises, Duan Ling couldn't stop laughing, it was hard for a clever woman to cook without rice, it was normal at first, facing a large wasteland, how could he make money? But seeing that Shi Qi is very organized and manages the accounts clearly, if you ask anything, you can report it one by one without reading the book, which is a good ability.
"Let's put it that way for now." Duan Ling said to Wang Zheng again, "These days there are guests in the city, so you have to restrain your subordinates and don't collide."
Wang Zheng nodded with everyone and left.
Duan Ling glanced at Wu Du, and Wu Du said, "Please invite a guest."
"Go to work first." Duan Ling was a little tired and realized that the next thing was trouble.
"Let Mr. Fei come over and listen." Wu Du said.
"Let's find Mr. Fei first." Duan Ling said.
Wu Du nodded, indicating that it was okay. Duan Ling got up in person, made good tea, and asked someone to invite Fei Hongde.
"Whoever realizes the big dream first, I know it all my life." Fei Hongde's voice came first before he arrived. Duan Ling couldn't help laughing, but shook his head helplessly, and continued, "Caotang has slept enough in spring, and the sun is late outside the window, so I'm neglected."
When Fei Hongde came in, Wu Du got up and saluted him with a fist, Fei Hongde hurriedly returned the salute.
"The two of you now have official positions." Fei Hongde said, "Don't be too polite."
Duan Ling knew that Fei Hongde had absolutely no intention of becoming an official, so he still served him with the courtesy of a junior and served him tea with his own hands.
"I'm really happy that Mr. Fei is willing to come." Duan Ling said.
Of course I'm happy, Fei Hongde can handle all the people in the house. Duan Ling had a lot of things he couldn't talk about, so they looked at each other and smiled helplessly.
"Go down." Duan Ling said to the guards.
Wu Du also got up, and Duan Ling said, "You don't have to."
"I'm going to sit outside for a while." Wu Du said, "bask in the sun."
Duan Ling understood that Wu Du's intention was to guard them, lest anyone hear a few words, so he didn't force it. Wu Du walked to the door, closed the door, and stood by himself, still hearing the conversation in the room.
"Please tell me." Fei Hongde didn't say anything, as if he already knew that Duan Ling would ask him a lot of questions.
"The current situation." Duan Ling thought about it, and said, "It's different from the past, many things, please teach me sir."
"It's all about the details." Fei Hongde replied, "As long as the old man can help His Highness, he will naturally be willing to help."
Sure enough, Duan Ling could vaguely sense Fei Hongde's gaze when he was in Tongguan.
"Let me ask you a question first." Duan Ling asked, "How did you know about it, sir?"
Fei Hongde smiled slightly and said, "I didn't recognize His Highness when I first saw it, but after looking at it, I actually felt that it looked like a princess in the past."
"Mister know my mother?" Duan Ling said in a trembling voice.
"There were several encounters many years ago." Fei Hongde replied.
"What kind of person is she...?" Duan Ling rarely heard about his mother from his father. Li Jianhong apologized to Duan Xiaowan before his death, so he seldom mentioned it to his son, even in the short time father and son got along. , almost never mentioned Duan Ling's mother.
And Duan Ling could always feel that his mother was a scar on his father's heart, so he seldom asked questions with understanding.
Fei Hongde said: "Dare to love, dare to hate, she is a good girl."
"There are so many people in the world who look alike." Duan Ling said, "It's incredible that you can judge at a glance."
"I have seen many people." Fei Hongde said, "There is a natural saying in my heart. His Royal Highness's style of galloping on the battlefield is very similar to that of the previous emperor. There is a saying that 'a tiger father has no dog's son'."
"Although it's unfair to say that, people are born with a destiny given by God, and some things are really innate. In this world, some people are smart, some are stupid, some are naturally jealous, and some are content and happy, even young children, It's never a blank piece of paper, and their talents are written in their lives."
"But a stupid person." Duan Ling sighed and said, "It's not necessarily worse than a smart person."
"Each has their own talents, and each has its own responsibilities." Fei Hongde replied, "It is exactly where the 'Mandate of Heaven' lies."
"Mr. Xie for your advice." Duan Ling smiled and regained his senses. He said, "After the capital was destroyed that day, I fled all the way to the south, but when I returned to Xichuan, I found that the sky had changed. Two years ago, I was ignorant and confused, and I wanted to die. , but unexpectedly, the yin and yang still survived, presumably the spirit of the father in the sky is still protecting him."
"It's a dangerous time in the court." Fei Hongde said, "If you take one wrong step, you will lose everything. It is rare for His Highness to hide his light and bide his time in the prime minister's residence, waiting to come out, and never be impulsive. After the farewell, the old man guessed in many ways, confirmed with His Majesty Yelu, and deduced what happened. In any case, I can't believe that a young man of sixteen years old can be so careful and careful. , the achievement must be above the former emperors."
"Mister is overrated." Duan Ling smiled tiredly and shook his head helplessly, "Many things are also due to chance. This time I came to Yecheng, I didn't know what to do next."