The biting cold wind blew through the bare wilderness, and the farmers went home to hide. The endless stream of business travelers on the official road also bundled up their clothes, covered their faces tightly, and just went on their way.
Xiong Wuliang stretched lazily in the study.
Although it was already a chilling winter outside, his small study was as warm as spring.
Xiong Wuliang lay on his back on a chair he designed himself, with two thick deerskins under him and a thick blanket covering him. The spiritual big yellow dog Wangcai was lying at Xiong Wuliang's feet. His thick fur was close to Master Mi Liang's calf, which was very warm.
When the dog just started to cool down, he rushed to the study and stayed here ever since.
Xiong Wuliang picked up a cup of warm tea on the long table in front of him and narrowed his eyes in comfort.
The door creaked open, and Xiaoyi walked in disgraced, holding a large bundle of firewood.
Although she has been doing this for a while, Xiaoyi still looks very clumsy.
Xiong Wuliang greeted lazily: "Thank you for your hard work, hard work. Let the fire burn brighter."
Xiaoyi rolled her eyes at Xiong Wuliang, lowered her head and started to burn the kang...
Master Mi Liang invented the fire kang, a great weapon used for winter in the north in later generations. He first installed a set in his study and achieved miraculous results.
Later, every house in Quyangjun's mansion was equipped with this convenient and easy-to-use fire kang.
Then, in various farms in Quyang County, fire pits became all the rage.
Anyway, firewood isn’t worth much and is scattered all over the mountains and plains.
Xiong Wuliang raised his head and glanced out the window, and saw Zhong Hua hurriedly walking out of the house.
Since the beginning of winter, although the busy autumn harvest has ended, Zhong Hua has still not been able to take some time off.
As the chief steward of the fiefdom and the commander-in-chief of the Quyang Army, Zhong Hua had a lot to worry about.
From the expansion of Quyang City, to the allocation of money and food, to the myriad of trivial matters on the farm, as well as the training of militiamen and the training of Quyang Army...
The unscrupulous Mr. Xiong is another hands-off shopkeeper who piles all the affairs on Zhong Hua's head and has no intention of personally relieving the pressure for old Zhong Hua!
In the past few days, Zhong Hua's hair has indeed turned a lot gray, although he has been excited about the wealth and growing power of his fiefdom every day.
He was not originally a managerial talent whose specialty was government affairs, but now that he was rushing to the shelves and taking on such a big task, he was extremely busy.
…
Xiaoyi put the firewood into the stove, and the white smoke was discharged down the chimney to the outside of the house. After a while, the temperature in the house obviously increased.
Xiong Wuliang pulled Xiaoyi over and wiped the dust from her face very considerately.
Xiaoyi's face immediately turned red to her ears.
Young Master Mi Liang stared at Xiao Yi, making her face turn red and she didn't know where to put her hands.
Xiong Wuliang became serious: "Xiaoyi, honestly, how do I treat you?"
Xiaoyi was startled and raised her head.
To be honest, Xiong Wuliang treated his servants quite humanely. Although unscrupulous young men often take advantage of others... at least, Xiaoyi feels that she has never been beaten, scolded or bullied in the house.
This reassured her.
Xiaoyi was very worried when she was bought by Zhong Hua to serve in Quyang Jun's Mansion.
She came from the Yue Kingdom and knew how the nobles of the Yue Kingdom treated their servants.
It is no exaggeration to say that many nobles of the Yue Kingdom have the habit of killing their slaves for fun.
But in Xiong Wuliang's case, Xiaoyi received rare respect from the superiors, which she could not imagine before.
Xiaoyi said somewhat submissively: "Master...well, you are a good person."
Xiong Wuliang's eyes darkened. He didn't expect that two thousand years had passed and he still had a chance to be issued a good guy card.
Xiaoyi hesitated for a moment.
The young master Mi Liang in front of me is incredible!
Xiaoyi saw with her own eyes how Quyang County developed from poverty to the present in his hands.
In less than a year, Quyang County has become the largest and most prosperous city in the eastern part of Yingdu.
Even now, large groups of business travelers brave the cold winter wind all the way to Quyang County every moment, making continuous contributions to the prosperity of Quyang County.
But when he saw Xiong Wuliang in front of him, his face straightened and he became serious: "Xiaoyi, you are in Yue country. Which family do you come from?"
Xiaoyi was stunned and speechless.
Xiong Wuliang stood up, put the blanket he was covering on the chair, and said word by word: "You are not Xiaoyi, I should call you Siyi, right?"
Xiaoyi panicked and struggled for a moment.
Looking up, Xiong Wuliang didn't mean any harm on his face.
After spending more than a year together, Xiaoyi became very familiar with Xiong Wuliang's temperament. The young master Mi Liang in front of him will not use his identity to blackmail anything.
Siyi lowered her head and admitted, "My lord, I forgive you...I am in such trouble that I have no choice but to hide my identity..."
Xiong Wuliang took a breath of air.
It's really true!
He had known for a long time that Xiaoyi must come from a prominent family.
But now that the truth is revealed, Xiong Wuliang is still shocked - the surname is Si, which means that Xiaoyi has the blood of the Yue royal family!
During the Warring States Period, the rank and status of bloodline surnames was very important.
Even if it is just a branch of the Yue royal family, Siyi's bloodline is noble enough.
Such a great noble actually became his maid... Xiong Wuliang was inexplicably excited...
Si Yi wondered: "Master...how did you know?"
Xiong Wuliang smiled slightly: "Shaohu told me - the green jade pendant around your neck."
Siyi didn't know what she was thinking of, and her eyes suddenly darkened.
Xiong Wuliang scratched his head: "I didn't know you were a noble before, so I was negligent."
During the Warring States Period, nobles were still polite to each other, and they had to maintain their dignity even if they were life and death enemies on the battlefield. It is indeed rude for Xiong Wuliang to treat Xiaoyi as a maid.
Having said that, there was no apology at all on Xiong Wuliang's face.
Si Yi felt inexplicably touched in her heart: "Young master... just think of me as Xiao Yi."
"Don't you want to go home? I can send someone to take you back." Although he was very reluctant to give up, Xiong Wuliang still said.
Siyi was silent for a moment and slowly shook her head: "I can't go back...it's too chaotic over there, and there might be a war soon."
Xiong Wuliang glanced at Siyi in surprise.
Haven't discovered it before.
This girl actually has such a keen sense of politics.
Xiong Wuliang sat down again and rubbed his hands on Wangcai's shiny and thick fur.
…
The cold winter passed quickly.
During this winter, Quyang County's construction did not fall behind. On the contrary, it was faster because it was no longer busy with agricultural production.
The Quyang Army and the Shaohu Army, two direct branches, have improved each other's combat capabilities after a winter of confrontation training.
Today's Shaohu Army, under the leadership of Shaohu, is no less powerful than the Quyang Army that Zhong Hua painstakingly cultivated. In some mountainous terrain familiar to the Yue people, its combat effectiveness is actually slightly stronger - Zhong Hua sighed. Incessantly.
This Shaohu is really a talent!
The river began to thaw, and the time came to the ninth year of King Nan of Zhou (307 BC)
…
