On August 16, Yan Liqiang went to the palace to meet the emperor. Then, early in the morning of August 17, Yan Liqiang officially left the Imperial Hospital and returned to Luyuan with a bunch of elixirs given to him by the Imperial Hospital. He handed over some of Luyuan's tasks and said goodbye to Li Hongtu and Ji Xiaoyao.
Since Yan Liqiang is leaving the imperial capital and has a new appointment to take over the position of Governor of Qiyun, his title of Deputy General Manager of Luyuan has come to an end and has become a thing of the past. At this moment, Yan Liqiang only has an honorary military title of a fifth-rank sword-bearing guard in front of the emperor.
Yan Liqiang felt relieved about this. Supervisor Qi Yun had no rank or grade and could be promoted or demoted, which was exactly what Yan Liqiang wanted.
His Majesty the Emperor gave Yan Liqiang ten years to see his achievements and abilities in this position. But for Yan Liqiang, the Han Empire would face great changes in four years. By that time, if His Majesty the Emperor was still alive, he would probably no longer care about him, a small figure far away in Ganzhou.
After a day of hard work in Luyuan, Yan Liqiang left Luyuan on the 18th, met with Fang Beidou and others, and made some explanations.
Fang Beidou wanted to follow Yan Liqiang to leave Dijing and return to Ganzhou, but was persuaded by Yan Liqiang to stay. Although Yan Liqiang left Dijing City, he would never give up the "Han Empire Times" of Dijing. In the past few years, Fang Beidou's mission in Dijing was to rely on Eunuch Liu after Yan Liqiang left Dijing, and then firmly grasp the dominance of the "Han Empire Times" in his hands, so that the influence of the "Han Empire Times" would spread throughout the capital area.
Yan Liqiang told Fang Beidou that this was related to whether they could save the Han Empire from the disaster in the future. With Yan Liqiang's words, Fang Beidou stayed in the capital with a resolute sense of mission.
At this moment, there were actually two newspapers in the Imperial Capital City. In addition to Yan Liqiang and his colleagues' "Han Empire Times", another "Imperial Capital Times" also quietly appeared in the streets and teahouses of the Imperial Capital City in early August. The layout design, content classification, and even distribution method of the "Imperial Capital Times" were exactly the same as those of the "Han Empire Times". It completely copied the successful model of the "Han Empire Times". The owner of the "Imperial Capital Times" was none other than Manager Gu of Huai Xiang Bookstore, at least on the surface.
However, those who knew the inside story understood that the real boss behind the Imperial Capital Times was actually Prime Minister Lin Qingtian and his party. Since the Han Empire Times was in the hands of the Emperor, Lin Qingtian must also have a newspaper in his hands that could compete with it. These two newspapers became a microcosm of the power struggle in Imperial Capital City.
After meeting with Fang Beidou and others in the morning, Yan Liqiang went to the Ganzhou Guild Hall in person on the afternoon of the 18th and met with Lu Peien and Manager You. Although Lu Peien and Manager You knew before that Yan Liqiang had planned to return to Ganzhou, when the two heard that His Majesty the Emperor actually asked Yan Liqiang to take over the position of Qiyun Governor, they were still shocked and a little bit unbelievable, because such an appointment was absolutely beyond anyone's expectations. No one knew what His Majesty the Emperor was thinking. If you have to use a word that Yan Liqiang knew in his previous life to describe it, the first feeling many people had when they heard this appointment was "nonsense", as if it were a joke.
Especially Shopkeeper You, after listening to what Yan Liqiang said, the look in his eyes when he looked at Yan Liqiang was as if Yan Liqiang was an alien.
"Brother Li Qiang, the position of Qiyun Supervisor is not an easy job. The situation in Gulang Grassland and Qiyun Mountain is no longer what it was before. The current situation is that as long as someone dares to raise this banner outside Baishi Pass, that person will definitely not be able to come back alive. I wonder why Yan Liqiang would accept this dangerous job?"
Yan Liqiang smiled faintly. Because of Nian Snake, he knew exactly what was going on in Shopkeeper You's mind. The reason why he let Shopkeeper You know the news in advance was naturally for his own reasons. Once Shopkeeper You knew about it, within a few days, before he returned to Ganzhou, the wealthy Northwestern family Zhong behind Shopkeeper You would also know about it. If the Zhong family knew about it, most of the Northwest would know about it as well. Before he returned to the Northwest and Ganzhou, he would let the news ferment in the Northwest first, throw a smoke bomb, warm up the atmosphere, and let all parties be mentally prepared, so that it would not be too abrupt if he announced it when he returned. This was Yan Liqiang's strategy, and the considerations involved were difficult for outsiders to understand.
"I didn't expect that His Majesty would give me this position. At that time, I asked His Majesty whether the court would use troops against the seven tribes of Shatu in the near future. His Majesty shook his head at me and said very affirmatively that in the near future, within ten years, the court would not use troops against the seven tribes of Shatu!" When Yan Liqiang said this, he felt that Shopkeeper You was relieved. This news was nothing to others, but it was of great value to Shopkeeper You and the forces behind him, especially from Yan Liqiang. "I asked His Majesty again whether I would lead troops after I arrived in Ganzhou. His Majesty told me that he would not give me a single soldier, nor would he let the Ganzhou army cooperate with me to mess around. It was just because I presented the "Han Empire Times" and the manor of Longqi Mountain to him, and because of my loyalty, he rewarded me with the Pingxi County Artisan and Machinery Camp. In return, he said that I could make trouble and had some ability to investigate things, so he gave me a nominal position to scare the seven tribes of Shatu, which was also a statement of the court's attitude. Let me do the rest, and I can be a rich man in the future!"
"That makes sense!" Shopkeeper You understood all of a sudden, with a look of "I see!" "Reappointing Qi Yun as the Protector General does show the court's attitude towards the Seven Shatu Tribes. The Seven Shatu Tribes have indeed gone too far in the northwest over the years. I guess His Majesty intends to give them a warning!"
"Who said it wasn't!" Yan Liqiang smiled harmlessly, "Otherwise, His Majesty wouldn't have appointed a 15-year-old boy like me to be the governor of Qiyun, and didn't even give me a single soldier, letting me do this deadly job with my bare chest. This is a combination of soft and hard tactics, to give the Shatu Seven Tribes a reassurance. If His Majesty had appointed someone like the Governor of Ganzhou as the governor of Qiyun, then there's really a chance they'd start a fight. If you appoint me, then it doesn't matter, because it'll be a warning to the Shatu Seven Tribes without irritating them too much. Anyway, when I return to Ganzhou this time, I won't easily step out of Baishi Pass. I'm so weak, I still want to live a few more years!"
"That's good. If you, Li Qiang, really want to go outside Baishi Pass alone, I will stop you no matter what. I can't let you go to die!" Lu Pein also seemed to be relieved and put his mind at ease.
Manager You calmed down for a moment, his eyes moved smartly, and he smiled in the blink of an eye. "No matter what, it is a great joy that Brother Li Qiang was chosen by His Majesty and was appointed as the Protector of Qiyun at such a young age. Brother Li Qiang has already gained a great reputation in Ganzhou. Even in this imperial capital city where many talents are hidden, he is not an unknown person. He has earned face for us Ganzhou people. This time, Brother Li Qiang returned to Ganzhou again as the Protector of Qiyun. He will definitely have a bright future. I would like to congratulate Brother Li Qiang here!"
"Hahaha, thank you, Manager You, for your kind words!"
"Brother Li Qiang, please have dinner at the guild tonight. I will ask the chef of the guild to prepare a table of delicious dishes for you as a farewell party!" Manager You said enthusiastically.
"I am here today to say goodbye to Sixth Brother and Manager You. I am leaving soon. I have a few friends in Imperial Capital City and I have to go and tell them about it and meet them. So I won't bother you today. If Manager You returns to Ganzhou another day, how about we get together again?"
"Since Brother Li Qiang has already made arrangements, I won't force it. However, since Brother Li Qiang has been promoted to the governor of Qiyun this time, I have to express my gratitude. When Brother Li Qiang returns to Ganzhou this time, I will give him a carriage. It will be convenient for him to carry things on the road and rest. It is also a token of my appreciation!"
"Haha, then I would like to thank Shopkeeper You!"
…
After coming out of Ganzhou Guild Hall, Yan Liqiang did not stay in Imperial Capital City any longer and went out of Imperial Capital City directly. Because of the assassination incident that Yan Liqiang encountered, many people in Imperial Capital City suffered misfortune in the past few days. The plague god aura that Yan Liqiang carried with him made many people afraid of him, so in the past few days, it was rare that there was no one following him.
After leaving the Imperial Capital, Yan Liqiang did not return to Luyuan, but wandered along the official road for a while, and finally came to a small town called Lihua Town, seven or eight miles away from the northern suburbs of the Imperial Capital, which he had never been to before.
After walking around the town and asking an auntie, Yan Liqiang finally arrived at a place called Shibu Bridge in the west of the town. He stood under a tree not far from the bridge and waited quietly.
As the name suggests, Shibu Bridge is a small stone arch bridge that can be crossed in ten steps. There is a clear stream flowing under the bridge and several stone steps by the river. A group of women in the town wash clothes or vegetables here.
As the sun was about to set, after most of the women who came here to wash clothes and vegetables had left, a thin girl who looked only twelve or thirteen years old, carrying a large backpack that was almost half her height and filled with clothes, came to the riverside of the Shibu Bridge, walked down the stone steps carefully, put the backpack on her back on the ground, poured out the clothes in the backpack, and prepared to wash...
"The unlucky star that brought bad luck to our whole family is here. Let's stay away from her to avoid bad luck..."
There were originally two women washing clothes by the river, but when they saw the little girl coming, the two women looked at each other and moved away from the little girl, with a look of disgust and resentment on their faces...
Hearing the discussion around her, the little girl turned pale. She gritted her teeth and said nothing. Then she picked up the wooden stick in the basket that was thicker than her arm and began to beat the clothes by the river with great effort.
This little girl’s surname is Yu, and her name is Yu Qing…
(End of this chapter)