When he finally got home, Duan Ling first went up the mountain to soak in the hot springs, and then came back for dinner. The cook was replaced by Wu Du, who couldn't eat Zheng Yan's delicious food, but had a kind of homely warmth. Duan Ling only felt comfortable in Hebei. This may be his last free time. As the spring begins next year, things will follow, and it will not be so simple.
The Chinese New Year is approaching, and people who have left in the north and central plains have come back one after another. Duan Ling issued a resettlement order, allowing every family to settle in the new city.
Many big households still wanted to get their fields back, but Duan Ling changed the land order and allocated some new land outside the city to them, and paid some compensation accordingly.
The next day, Fei Hongde sent someone back to Yecheng to report that Hejian was in good condition, but there were fewer people. It must be the irregular army that Qin Taki brought with him earlier. As for how Mu Kuangda got on the line with Qin Taki, after Jiangzhou asked about it, he would most likely have a report back.
Duan Ling thought about it, and always felt that what Li Yanqiu had to do was probably to kill Cai Yan and Mu Kuangda in one fell swoop.
He discussed with Wu Du for a long time, and Wu Du finally said: "If we first set up a bureau to let the prince and the shepherd unite, and let them step into the trap, it is possible."
"How will you be punished in the end?" Duan Ling said, "Let Lang Junxia do perjury? To identify Cai Yan as Mu Kuangda's arrangement?"
Wu Du sat on the main seat, while Duan Ling thought about it.
Wu Du finally said: "No matter what, let them prepare and put the blame on Mu Kuangda's head, and the court will be more accepting. That night, His Majesty said something, telling me not to worry about you anymore. "
Although this matter is closely related to Duan Ling, after meeting Li Yanqiu, it naturally became the biggest problem that Li Yanqiu wanted to solve. Li Yanqiu and his father have the same stubbornness. Both brothers have a sense of responsibility.
In the final analysis, the matter of the false prince and Mu Kuangda, even when the emperor is in power, is not Duan Ling's turn to take care of himself.
"Look at the letter." Wu Du said, "I found it in your dowry."
Duan Ling: "..."
Duan Ling looked down at the letter, which contained Li Xiao's words and the princess' royal seal. It turned out that Huaiyin's gifts included two large boxes of books, including astronomy, arithmetic, and farming poetry. Li Xiao's calligraphy is almost exactly the same as Li Jianhong's calligraphy, and Duan Ling remembered that his father also said that Wugu had learned a lot, and maybe Li Jianhong taught writing.
When he was in Huaiyin, Li Xiao had no time to talk to Duan Ling for a long time. After a few days, he was too busy to leave, so he could only speak in letters. The first one was the gold bars in the box. After the First World War at Tongguan that year, Li Yanqiu learned the news and sent someone to take out the hidden treasure in the cave.
But Li Yanqiu didn't want to put the money into the national treasury, otherwise it would be difficult to raise money from the local gentry in Jiangzhou to scrape oil and water. Only a few people knew about the existence of hidden treasures. Li Yanqiu's remarks to Mu Kuangda were temporarily kept in the cave.
In order to temporarily avoid the eyes and ears of Mu Kuangda and the cabinets of the DPRK and China, Li Yanqiu asked Yao Fu to inform the people of Xiliang to secretly send it to Huaiyin and store it in Yao Fu's official treasury for emergency.
Now Duan Ling needs money in Hebei. Li Xiao's original words are to give you some money first, and Wu Gu will keep the rest for you. If you want, you can pay by writing a note. The word used is also "return to the original owner", but when the object is returned to the original owner, it is intriguing, meaning "whoever finds it belongs to whoever".
Li Xiao wrote a few more pages, in which he talked about the governance of Hebei, mostly water conservancy farmland, forest fortifications and other matters. Duan Ling couldn't help but applaud after reading it, and he adjusted the direction accordingly after preparing for the spring.
During the time they left, Hebei and Shandong have temporarily established a trade route. Although the weather is cold and the ground is freezing, the road is difficult to walk, but as long as the ice melts after the spring, they can do business.
Duan Ling planned to convert all the 10,000 taels of gold into silver in the form of official loans, and then slowly release it and put it into the hands of the people, so that they can live their lives and pay it back after the autumn harvest.
Then he called Lai Shuluduan. Shuluduan has been under his command for more than two months. He has always been loyal, and he speaks very little. He usually eats and lives with his soldiers, and he is not married. things, never say anything.
Duan Ling first wrote a letter asking him to go to Liao and bring it to Yelu Zongzhen. By the way, he would take some New Year's gifts and see the situation in Liao. In the letter, he asked Yeluzong if he really needed any help, and discussed the matter of Shuluduan.
If he returns to the dynasty smoothly in the future, he still has to tell Shuluduan a marriage, and try his best to let him return to the Liao Kingdom as the prince commissioner.
Shulu received the letter and set off back to Zhongjing.
After Duan Ling finished dispatching the matter, he felt relaxed and wanted to go out with Wu Du for inspection.
"Yo, I have money in my pocket, and my back is stiff." Wu Du said.
Duan Ling chuckled, ready to go to spread some money. Wu Du added: "I originally wanted to buy some New Year's goods, and prepare for the New Year."
Before I knew it, it was approaching the New Year's Eve, everything had been done, and I could finally rest for a while, but I didn't know how things were going in Jiangzhou. Li Yanqiu spent the New Year alone in the palace, and it was very boring.
Duan Ling took a look around and went to the old city where the refugees lived. The old city of Yecheng was originally built in the north, next to the Xun River, and then the Liao Kingdom invaded, and the local talents continued to move south, and the city wall was built in the north.
Most of the northern urban areas are abandoned houses. After some homeless people moved south, Duan Ling planned the old city as an urban area. Originally, it could only accommodate 25,000 people, but now it has 40,000 people, which naturally seems a little crowded.
Among the people who went south, the elderly, the weak, women and children were given priority, and many people were yellow-faced and thin, waiting to be served with porridge. When Duan Ling went back, he asked people to send the rice noodles from the official warehouse to the refugees. Wu Du bought four live pigs and two sheep, as well as various kinds of sugar, white flour and japonica rice, and prepared them for the people in the house to eat during the Chinese New Year.
When the New Year's Day came, the villages under the jurisdiction of several counties in Hebei nominated the squires to pay New Year's greetings to Duan Ling and Wu Du. Most of them were old men with white beards, lining up to kowtow to their parents. Duan Ling hurriedly lifted them up one by one, and said, "For the New Year's rites and tributes, it's just a matter of accepting some meaning. It's not easy for everyone this year, and most of them are brought back."
Wu Du also asked people to take the government's money and seal it over and distribute it to the squires. Throughout the year, everyone's words were full of praise, and Duan Ling couldn't tell whether he was sincere or not. All the people who came picked up Duan Ling's political achievements and said that he couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed.
As the sky darkened, Wu Du left the guests in the prefect's mansion and hosted a banquet. Duan Ling also instructed Lin Yunqi and Wang Zheng to ask one by one if there was anything that the prefect should solve.
In previous years, when the squires came to Yecheng, they could not enter the prefect's mansion. This time, when I came to Duanling, I kept people and gave rewards. The squires were naturally happy.
After finally finishing the management, Duan Ling had to hold a mansion banquet the next day. This time, it was much more casual. Fei Hongde and Sun Ting were still in Hejian, and there was not much situation for the time being.
Duan Ling was so hoarse when he spoke yesterday, when the banquet was held, he said, "Everyone has worked hard. This year, whether it was from Jiangzhou to accompany this official, or from Yecheng, if it wasn't for you, I would Naturally, this prefect can't be so good."
Everyone was busy and humbly, saying that wherever, it was the school captain who had to work hard the hardest.
Wu Duxin thought that these were human words, so Duan Ling laughed and raised his glass first. Everyone watched their words and expressions and tried their best to flatter Wu Du, so Wu Du drank a few more glasses, and the banquet was full of joy.
Duan Ling added: "After the spring in Yecheng next year, it will be the year with the biggest changes, and I will need your full cooperation at that time."
Wang Zheng replied: "That's natural. With the prefect there, nothing will go wrong. Everyone just listens to your orders and does their best."
Duan Ling was a little melancholy, and said with a smile: "If I am not in Yecheng someday, I can still be as usual, so I can rest assured."
Everyone heard some hints, but Duan Ling also went out a lot before. He served as the prefect for half a year, and he was not in the city for at least three months. Fei Hongde took care of him in the city, and everyone was used to it.
But in this way, there is a high possibility that Duan Ling will not be in the city next year. Yan Di naturally understood what he meant and said: "Everyone should perform their duties and perform their duties, so it shouldn't be too troublesome for the adults. Later, I became familiar with it, a city should be like a waterwheel, no one is going to push it, and it should be moved forward."
Duan Ling nodded and said with a smile: "This is true, come on, I'll give you a toast."
Duan Ling and Wu Du clink glasses, and after a round, everyone drank. Although it was a New Year's official banquet, most of the conversations during the banquet were political affairs, chatting and drinking. When the banquet was over, Wu Du drank nearly a pound of wine, closed his eyes and listened to them.
Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and Duan Ling didn't leave them alone. The huge prefect's mansion was empty, and there were only three unmarried soldiers left, whose parents were deceased.
"It's New Year's Eve." Duan Ling said.
"Yeah." Wu Du was drunk, put one hand on his forehead, separated his thumb and forefinger, rubbed his temple, and said, "Last year, I patronized you to urge you to study, and this year can finally have a good year."
It's been another year, and I don't know what Batu is doing. The Yuan people were not on the New Year's Eve of the Han people, and even the Liao Kingdom came to the south to become Sinicized, and the Chinese people gradually celebrated their festivals.
When I was in Beijing in the past, from the first to the twenty-eighth, the most diligent people were the Han people, and the Batu family was always deserted, and there was no festive atmosphere. Lang Junxia would buy some firecrackers and take Duan Ling to set off outside the city.
"You haven't bought me firecrackers yet." Duan Ling said to Wu Du.
Wu Du casually patted Xia Duanling, but without opening his eyes, he said, "I bought it early, I put it in the warehouse, and I brought it with you at the beginning of the year. The snacks for the guests during the Chinese New Year were also bought, and the Spring Festival couplets will be posted tomorrow. , don't move around, be careful of falling."
Duan Ling laughed and lay in Wu Du's arms. Wu Du was drunk, so they cuddled with each other and didn't speak.
"The incense is also ready." Wu Du said, "Tomorrow, you sacrifice your father, and I will sacrifice your master, sister, and sister."
"Okay." Duan Ling replied absentmindedly.
In the middle of the night, Duan Ling was about to fall asleep, and he would call someone in to clean up tomorrow, but he heard another sound from outside and knocked on the door.
"My lord," said the guard, "the Shuluduan has returned."
Wu Du was half sober, and Duan Ling was about to tell him to go down to rest and prepare food for him, but Wu Du said, "Let him come in."