Fang Yun slowly got off the boat with a warm smile on his face, as if he had no idea that the officials and businessmen in front of him were his enemies.
The same was true for all the people opposite Fang Yun. They all had extremely kind smiles on their faces. If one only looked at their expressions, one would have thought that they treated Fang Yun as a close relative.
As he got closer, Fang Yun suppressed his nausea and smiled, "Greetings to the folks of Ning'an County. From today on, I am a member of Ning'an County just like you. I am no longer Fang Xusheng, but the county magistrate and leader of this county. I will rely on you in the future."
"In our hearts, you will always be the unparalleled Fang Xu Sheng." An elder said with a smile.
"Saint Fang Xu has come to Ning'an County. Ning'an will surely be peaceful forever. We rely on you!"
"Yes, if you come, I, Ning An, will definitely educate Daxing! I also went to your library yesterday."
Everyone praised it.
Fang Yun kept being modest and just said polite words at first. Later, he signaled everyone not to praise him, but those people were very enthusiastic and kept praising him.
After all of Fang Yun's family members and private soldiers had gotten off the boat, and even the carriages loaded with books and household items had disembarked, they were still talking nonstop.
Then a middle-aged man in Hanlin uniform stepped forward and said with a smile, "You have said enough. Let me introduce Fang Xusheng one by one."
Everyone shut up in unison.
Fang Yun continued to smile without any change, Ao Huang just blinked, and Yang Yuhuan didn't think much about it either, but just felt a little strange.
However, the expressions of Su Xiaoxiao and many scholars behind Fang Yun changed slightly, because this was an invisible show of power. Fang Yun talked for a long time but no one listened, but that one sentence from the Hanlin stopped everyone.
Fang Yun smiled and looked at the Hanlin, saying, "If I'm right, you are the chief of the Sanbian Transportation Department, right? It's all thanks to you for dispatching food and weapons in the rear, otherwise the soldiers on the front line would not have a single day of peace."
However, several scholars behind Fang Yun snorted slightly. It was because of Geng Ge's secret operation that the left army of Qing State was defeated last year, with countless casualties.
Be it Fang Yun, Geng Ge or the officials of Ning'an City, no one seemed to hear the cold snorts from those scholars.
Geng Ge smiled and said, "It is my great honor to receive your praise. Come, I will introduce everyone present to you one by one."
Geng Ge looked around at everyone, then pointed to an elderly Hanlin and said, "This is General Ding Haosheng of the Beimang Army."
This elderly Hanlin looked to be over seventy years old, but he was still strong and in good health, except that his hair was very white.
Fang Yun's expression straightened. He didn't just bow casually, but bowed respectfully and said, "Student Fang Yun, I am honored to meet General Ding. Whenever I read about the battle of Wolf Mountain, I feel respect for you. If you hadn't broken through the Hanlin Academy and injured the Wolf King's leg with your loyalty, the 30,000-man army would have been wiped out. You all meet General Ding together."
"Meet General Ding..."
Everyone greeted.
Yang Yuhuan, Su Xiaoxiao and the maids immediately bent their knees and performed the salute, while Nunu and Ao Huang bowed their hands together like scholars. They were serious and very cute.
Ding Haosheng had a resolute expression, he was an experienced and steady man, but when he saw this scene, a fleeting blush appeared on his face.
Geng Ge on the side blinked, but in the instant of blinking, a sharp look flashed in his eyes.
Ding Haosheng said hurriedly: "Fang Xusheng, please forgive me. That was just my duty. It is not a great achievement. Your war poems passed down from generation to generation are the unparalleled great achievements in the world."
Geng Ge smiled and said, "Look, Brother Ding can't help it again. After entering the city, you two can chat by candlelight, but now let me introduce the second person. This is Director Pang from the Transportation Department. In the Transportation Department..."
Next, Geng Ge introduced all the people present one by one according to their status and literary rank.
He first introduced the Jinshi present. Due to the extremely important location of Ning'an County, the official rank or grade here is often higher than that of ordinary counties.
Among the officials in Ji County, Fang Yun’s hometown, only the county magistrate was a Jinshi, and the others were scholars of Juren or lower ranks.
Ning'an County is different. Not only is the president of the county academy of literature a Jinshi, but even the county's chief constable is a Jinshi. Apart from the capital, Ning'an County is the only place like this.
After Geng Ge introduced some officials from the Transportation Bureau, Beimang Army and the County Government, he began to introduce local big businessmen and powerful people to Fang Yun.
Although Ning'an County is only a small county, it has two famous families and seven prominent clans, which is no different from an ordinary prefecture. Moreover, these two famous families and seven prominent clans are closely related to the wealthy families in the capital.
As for those big businessmen, they were all juren (academic juren) and they were truly wealthy people, fully responsible for everything their families did in Ning'an County.
Except for Geng Ge of the Transportation Bureau and Ding Haosheng of the Beimang Army, these big businessmen have the highest actual status.
Fang Yun secretly thought it was a pity, these businessmen were actually very talented, otherwise they would not have been able to stand on their own in Ning'an, but... these big businessmen were naturally close to the eclectic school, because the first semi-saint of the eclectic school, Lu Buwei, was the number one businessman in the Warring States Period. Allusions such as "a word is worth a thousand gold" and "a rare commodity can be found in a large number of places" are all related to Lu Buwei.
Deep down, these businessmen have the same ambition as Lu Buwei, using the monarch as a commodity in exchange for the power to rule the world!
Therefore, these big businessmen are very close to the left prime minister and the Zong family.
After introducing the people of status here, Geng Ge smiled and said, "It is a blessing for us that Saint Fang Xu has come to Ning'an. I cannot express the feelings in my heart. I am willing to whip the horse and take you to Ning'an City!"
Not only were Fang Yun and his private soldiers and scholars shocked, but many people in Ning'an County were also surprised. A dignified Hanlin actually served as a coachman for Fang Yun. This was a treatment that even a king did not deserve.
Xu Sheng was barely qualified, but when a junior Jinshi was taking the palace examination, an old Hanlin drove the carriage for him. This would not look good no matter how it got out.
Fang Yun didn't expect that every step here was planned.
It was not important whether Hanlin's driving the carriage would damage his own literary reputation. What was important was that once Geng Ge did this, it would be seen by the people of the entire county. They would inevitably think that Geng Ge was being too respectful to the other party. If there was any conflict in the future, it would be disadvantageous to the other party.
The old Hanlin is driving the carriage for you, what else do you want
However, Fang Yun thought of a deeper level.
The position of virtual saint, let alone a mere Hanlin, even if the left prime minister or even the four prime ministers joined forces, they could not suppress Fang Yun's literary reputation. Since it cannot be suppressed, then continue to praise him! Praise Fang Yun to a high position, completely cut off the connection with the lower-level people, and undermine Fang Yun's power. If it is combined with other methods to attack, it will continue to form a strong contrast, and the consequences will be disastrous.
"No, no! How could I be so kind to you, old master?" Fang Yun stepped forward and stood in front of Geng Ge.
Geng Ge said righteously: "This is my sincere heart! Fang Xusheng has served the country and the people. I cannot repay him even if I give him a gift. Driving the horse is just a small thing." (To be continued...)