Chapter 400: Great Joy
Changping.

With the arrival of autumn, the fields in the wild are endless golden color.

People walked in the fields in groups of three or four, carrying hoes and shovels, predicting how many days it would take to harvest.

On the road from the official road to Changping, the children were also busy providing various services to the travelers who came to Changping for sightseeing.

From a distance, Yan Shaoting saw Zhou Goudan and Ma Xiaoer walking on the roadside leading their donkeys.

Yan Shaoting immediately signaled Yan Hu to stop the carriage, and he got off.

there.

Zhou Goudan and Ma Xiaoer had also seen the carriage stopped behind.

After seeing that the person getting off the carriage was Master Yan.

Zhou Goudan and Ma Xiaoer immediately put down the rope tied to the donkey, stood on the side of the road with their hands crossed and bowed, looking quite scholarly.

"Students have met guests."

Yan Shaoting looked puzzled and asked, "Why aren't you in the academy attending classes? Why are you out here leading a donkey to attract customers?"

Zhou Goudan and Ma Xiaoer had already entered the academy to study. Although they were not taking the imperial examinations in the classics, they were learning to read and write, and also learning a skill.

It seemed that he was worried that Yan Shaoting would misunderstand him, and therefore became angry.

Ma Xiaoer quickly explained: "Please understand, the gentlemen have to discuss the improvement of the new artillery at the forge today, so we gave the students a day off."

Only then did Yan Shaoting secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

As long as you don't give up your bright future by working hard and secretly skipping classes, it'll be fine.

Zhou Goudan and Ma Xiaoer both learned knowledge about forging and smelting in the academy. The instructor was a master craftsman with decades of experience in the forging factory.

Although the work in the forge is hard, the advantage is that as long as you complete your studies, everyone can have a stable income thanks to the imperial orders in the forge.

Yan Shaoting also smiled a little more: "Is the headmaster in the academy today?"

Zhou Goudan nodded and said, "The headmaster has been leading people in the academy to study the merit mausoleum we are going to build on Jiashan Mountain these days. I heard that the people who died in Changping this time will be buried there in the next few days."

The two children are not children anymore. They are in their teens and can understand most things.

Zhou Goudan had a bit of sadness on his face, and Ma Xiaoer asked in a low voice: "Guest, do you think this kind of thing will happen again in Changping in the future?"

Yan Shaoting sighed softly, walked up to pat the two children on the head and said, "No! This kind of thing will never happen again."

Talking.

He took out a few candies from his pocket, which he always brought with him when he came to Changping, and stuffed them into the hands of the two children.

Yan Shaoting also waved his hand and said, "Lead the way and see how the headmaster and his men handled things today."

Zhou Goudan and Ma Xiaoer carefully put the candies into their pockets. They did not taste them immediately, but prepared to take them back home for their younger brothers and sisters.

Yan Shaoting didn't expose it either.

In addition to carefully protecting such qualities, the living standards in Changping must continue to improve.

Then the two children Zhou Goudan and Ma Xiaoer were jumping and skipping in front, Yan Shaoting followed behind, and Yan Hu and the groom leading the horses were at the end.

On the road.

People kept recognizing Yan Shaoting and stopped on the roadside to salute him.

This was a spontaneous action by the people of Changping.

Although the people are ignorant most of the time, it is still possible to tell who is good and who is bad.

Although he had been doing this for a long time, Yan Shaoting was still a little uncomfortable with it. He stopped and walked along the way, chatting with people on the roadside from time to time about their daily lives.

It's nothing more than this year's harvest, whether there is anyone in the family working in the factory, and what the family needs.

It took Yan Shaoting two or three times longer than usual to sit in a carriage before he finally appeared in front of the academy.

Zhou Goudan and Ma Xiaoer quickly tied the donkey aside.

The two children rushed into the academy like the wind, and ran out again soon.

"Guest, the headmaster is in the academy."

Yan Shaoting nodded and patted the two children on the head. "Today, you are supposed to run errands for me. Let's go to Zhou Shaoqing and see if he can take people to the river to catch some fish so that we can make a fish stew tonight."

As he spoke, Yan Shaoting took out a purse from his sleeve and threw it into the child's arms.

The two children wanted to refuse and were unwilling to take the money.

Yan Shaoting glared and said, "They are all copper coins, not much. If you don't want them, I will have to find someone else to help run errands."

After hearing this, the two children nodded and poured out all the copper coins in the purse, and then returned the purse to Yan Shaoting.

Look at how cautious the children are.

Yan Shaoting smiled and said, "Go ahead, go ahead. You have to divide the money later so you can pretend to be serious. Also, don't go into the water. If I find out, I will definitely punish you!"

Zhou Goudan and Ma Xiaoer nodded happily, then ran away cheering.

Watching the children running away, Yan Shaoting could only shake his head helplessly with a smile on his face.

Wait until he enters the academy.

Finally, I saw Zhu Zaigui and a group of people surrounding a drawing with countless records and descriptions.

I saw that Yan Shaoting actually came from the city.

Zhu Zaigui immediately pulled Yan Shaoting to his side with a smile on his face.

He didn't even ask Yan Shaoting to speak, so he pointed to the drawings surrounded by everyone.

"Runwu, come and have a look. After the last war, you proposed to build a mausoleum for our brothers who died in Changping. Now the plan has been completed."

"Mr. Xu has put a lot of effort into this matter."

"Our Mausoleum of Merit is located on Jiashan Mountain, with its back to the imperial mausoleum and facing the capital. It is surrounded by the Yanshan Mountains. It is a perfect Feng Shui treasure land!"

"This time, sixty-seven people from Changping died. According to the plan, they will all be buried in the Mausoleum of Merit on Jiashan Mountain. From now on, all Changping residents who have made contributions will be buried here after their death."

"I have asked someone to do it. The Gongde Mausoleum will be planted mainly with pine and cypress, the tombstones will be carved with white marble, and the tomb chamber will be built with blue-white jade. We must do our best and make no mistakes."

Zhu Zaigui started talking nonstop.

During the last Battle of Changping, Zhu Zaigui also went to the battlefield in person and even beat the drum for the army personally after the battle.

Although it may seem like a show at first.

But seeing those militiamen who looked familiar and even well known to him in the past dying on the battlefield and lying in front of him, even though Zhu Zaigui was born into a royal family, he still felt uncomfortable.

It was for this reason that when Yan Shaoting said he wanted to build a mausoleum for those who died in the battle, Zhu Zaigui took the responsibility for the matter.

Otherwise, how could we be qualified to use white marble and blue-white marble now?

Seeing that Zhu Zaiqi had finally finished speaking, Yan Shaoting smiled and said, "We should rest assured that Shanzhang is doing his job. If the brothers who sacrificed their lives knew about this, they would certainly be grateful to Shanzhang. I hope they can protect Shanzhang and ensure his well-being in the future." Zhu Zaiqi waved his hand and said, "My greatest wish is to let the brothers rest in peace and their families feel at ease."

The Battle of Changping allowed Zhu Zaigui to see with his own eyes that war would kill people and that countless families would cry uncontrollably in front of corpses.

I saw that Zhu Zaigui looked a little sad.

Yan Shaoting glanced at Xu Wei who was present.

Xu Wei immediately understood, waved to everyone, and retreated quietly.

At this time, Yan Shaoting spoke up, "Today, I am in the capital, and together with the cabinet and the six ministries, the emperor has issued an edict to commend the civil and military officials of the court, and to reward the civil and military officials of the previous dynasty from the inner court. He has also ordered the emperor to summon Ma Mafang, the general of Xuanfu Town, to return to the capital immediately to report on his duties."

Zhu Zaigui immediately looked up at Yan Shaoting.

He looked puzzled: "Ah? Why would the emperor issue an edict to reward and commend the civil and military officials of the court?"

After asking this question, Zhu Zaigui's eyes lit up. He stared at Yan Shaoting and gradually smiled.

quickly.

Zhu Zaigui immediately realized that perhaps only Yan Shaoting could facilitate this matter in front of the emperor.

Yan Shaoting did not hold back and said with a smile: "Shanzhang is wise, but I am only asking the emperor to issue an order because there have been endless arguments in the court recently. This way, there will be less arguments in the court."

Zhu Zaigui nodded and couldn't help but praise: "This is the right thing to do. There are so many tasks to do in the court every day. If we quarrel all day long because of different political views, how can we get things done?"

In this regard.

Yan Shaoting still gave a wise response as the headmaster.

Zhu Zaigui smacked his lips lightly, and then there was a bit of confusion in his eyes: "But why did the emperor summon Ma Fang back to the capital? Isn't it a bit inappropriate to issue an order at this time?"

He felt that if he could understand it, Yan Shaoting would definitely understand it as well, so this matter was most likely not proposed by Yan Shaoting.

But Yan Shaoting just laughed dryly twice.

"Shanzhang, this matter was also proposed by me in front of His Majesty..."

Zhu Zaigui opened his mouth wide and let out a cry, his face full of confusion.

But Zhu Zaigui soon calmed down.

Although I don't know why Yan Shaoting proposed this.

But I think there is a big reason for this.

I only need to teach and educate people in the academy, but there are many things I need to consider when it comes to my younger brother.

Yan Shaoting could only explain once more: "It is already autumn now. In a month or so, it will snow outside the Great Wall. The Mongols will withdraw soon. It won't be a problem to recall Ma Fang to the capital now and have Zhao Kongzhao, the governor of Xuanfu, take charge of him."

Zhu Zaigui nodded: "That's reasonable, but summoning Ma Fang back to Beijing..."

He needed a reason and a cause.

Yan Shaoting understood and explained slowly, "Your Excellency is now responsible for the country, and I have to seek to go south to serve as an official for some reason. At this time, although I will not mention whether Ma Fang and Xuanfu have done anything wrong, I will recall them to the capital to report on their work. You will have the opportunity to meet him, and then I can arrange everything in the capital before I go south. Even if there is another sudden change at that time, you will be able to deal with it calmly in the capital."

Say what you want to say to the person.

Just for the proposal to recall Ma Fang to report on his work, Yan Shaoting gave three different explanations to the old Taoist priest, Yang Weiyou and Zhu Zaigui.

At the same time, he also revealed to Zhu Zaigui his desire to go south to serve as an official.

After all, although Zhu Zaigui was not the crown prince yet, he had some influence both inside and outside the court over the years.

This time, he was not going to use the Yan family to push himself to go south to serve as an official. So, in addition to Yang Bo, the Minister of War, and the help of the Northern Faction, if he could get Zhu Zaigui to contribute secretly, he would probably be able to get a better official position.

But Zhu Zaigui opened his mouth and eyes wide, his face full of shock and surprise.

"Runwu, you want to go south to serve as an official?"

"Why do you suddenly have this idea?"

"But is there anyone in the court who is making things difficult for you?"

"Just tell me, even if I risk being scolded by the Emperor, I will still speak for you!"

No matter what Zhu Zaigui was thinking.

At least the words were spoken.

Yan Shaoting shook his head with gratitude and said, "You have misunderstood, my colleagues in the court may have different political views, but no one has said that they want to drive me out of the capital these days. I have been thinking about this for a long time, and I want to go to the south myself."

Hearing these words, Zhu Zaigui became even more confused.

He couldn't help but frown and said, "Why do you have to go to the south? Runwu is now the prince's military officer, in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, the Imperial College, the Household Affairs Office, and the Changping Public Security Department. He must have a bright future. This time in Changping, Runwu and Mr. Wenchang have not yet received any rewards, but the emperor must be clear about rewards and punishments. In my opinion, it won't be long before there will be rewards. By then, Runwu may be promoted to the six ministers, or the five temples. At this time, why bother to talk about going south."

Yan Shaoting shook his head.

He said sincerely, "Please understand, Master. Although I have made many suggestions and contributions in the past few years, I am still at the top. Most of my suggestions were made in the south. If I can't go to the south to see it myself, how can I really understand the affairs of opening up the sea and the taxation of commerce and land? I am afraid that I will be fooled by the people below in the future. When I understand the situation in the south and have a clear understanding of it, I will definitely return to the capital."

After listening to Yan Shaoting's explanation, Zhu Zaigui nodded although he was still reluctant in his heart.

He looked up at Yan Shaoting with some reluctance.

"I know what you said makes sense. If you want to keep making progress as an official in the court, you still need to have experience in local prefectures and counties. Many things in the south, just like what you said, are caused by you. Only by seeing it with your own eyes can you truly understand it. It's just..."

Zhu Zaigui frowned slightly: "Runwu is still young after all. If I think he really wants to go south, it would be best if he can be appointed as the governor of the southeast... Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Huguang and other places. But I think the court will definitely not agree to it. Then, if Runwu goes south to serve as an official, the positions he can seek will be very few. Not only must the official rank be high enough, but it must also allow Runwu to have a say in the south and be able to make the final decision..."

As he spoke, Zhu Zaigui frowned.

He looked worried, as if he was thinking about how to find a suitable official position for Yan Shaoting.

Yan Shaoting smiled. This Principal Zhu was really bold.

He only held the honorary title of the Crown Prince's guest, and in the final analysis, his actual position was only that of a fourth-rank official.

As soon as Zhu Shanchang opened his mouth, he wanted to get himself a position as governor of seven or eight provinces in the southeast.

But after Zhu Zaigui's analysis, Yan Shaoting also began to think about what kind of official position he should get as a backup during this trip south, and then seek a better official position.

The two of them fell silent, each thinking about something.

It was at this time.

Yan Hu and Yun Niang suddenly rushed in from outside, completely forgetting the rules and starting shouting.

"Lang Jun!"

"Son!"

"pregnant!"

"Great joy!"

"Madam is giving birth!"

…………

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(End of this chapter)