"Go back home immediately!" Xiong Wuliang immediately ordered.
With Shi Er's reluctant farewell, Zhong Hua and Shao Hu escorted Xiong Wuliang and rushed back to Quyang City and straight back to Quyang Jun's mansion...
…
At this moment.
Qu Yuan was walking slowly in Xiong Wuliang's study, while Zhao Hua put down the government affairs in his hands and stayed with him.
Qu Yuan casually picked up a piece of white paper on the long desk and took a closer look. The writing on it was clear and clean, and the white paper was thin and tough.
Qu Yuan couldn't help but opened his mouth in shock: "What...what is this, so light?"
The white paper in the fiefdom has become a hot commodity in the shops.
Business travelers from Qi, Qin, Wei and other countries, once they saw the blank paper pulled out from the industrial park, they all rushed to buy it like crazy.
This blank piece of paper has become all the rage in various countries.
A fast-moving country like the Qin State has even replaced bamboo slips with white paper as a necessary item for the palace to purchase - greatly improving office efficiency.
Logically speaking, Yingdu should at least know about the goods in Xiong Wuliang's fief earlier than other countries.
But Qu Yuan didn't know what white paper was.
It can be seen that the response speed of Chu State's bureaucrats is indeed much slower than that of other countries...
Zhao Hua coughed lightly: "Doctor Qu, this thing is just a blank sheet of paper, created by my master!"
"This white paper has a soft texture and is easy to write on... Although it is not waterproof, overall it is still much more convenient than bamboo slips."
Qu Yuan nodded slightly and added one more novelty in Quyang County to his mind——
After leaving Yingdu last month, Qu Yuan began to tour the entire Chu Kingdom with three or five personal guards and simple carriages.
First, we headed east from Yingdu, passing through [Yunmengze] and arriving at [Dongting Lake].
Then he went eastward along the Huai River, visiting many counties such as [Sha] and [Xia] along the way.
Although he dare not say that he traveled throughout Chu State in one month, at least the two sides of the Huai River are thousands of miles apart, and Qu Yuan now knows it well.
As for feelings, I can only say...
The more I look at it, the more shocked I become!
You won’t know until you see it, but you will be shocked when you see it!
The farmers and serfs of Chu State farmed with numbness on their faces under the high tax rate of ten-five, even ten-six or seven.
However, the aristocratic princes who owned fiefs in various places were extravagant and lustful, with groups of wives and concubines, and castles with mountains of wealth piled inside them.
Among the dozen or so counties surrounding the Huaishui River, even if one of them is selected for good development, the people there are still impoverished.
As for those slightly poorer counties, or the fiefdoms ruled by some cruel lords - even to the point of starvation on the road.
…
Qu Yuan also knew before that the Chu State was in internal chaos. The royal power was scattered in the hands of noble lords in various places. Government decrees and tax rates were different in various places. The nobles in many places were extorting excessive taxes...
But unexpectedly, the real situation was even more exaggerated than Qu Yuan imagined!
You know, both sides of the Huaihe River are mostly plains. Although there are still floods in some places, overall, it can be regarded as a plain and fertile land in the hinterland of Chu State.
This is the scene even on both sides of the Huai River, so how miserable must those remote areas with high mountains and distant kings be?
Qu Yuan's heart became heavier and heavier.
If this continues, Chu will be destroyed within a few decades!
Qu Yuan gritted his teeth and made up his mind——
When I traveled all over the Chu Kingdom and finally returned to the capital of Ying... I would rather be exiled or executed by the King of Chu than to violate Yan Zhijian!
We must urge the King of Chu to launch a new round of reforms!
Cut off the wings of princes from various places, centralize royal power, unify political orders, and eliminate redundant officials!
This is no longer a question of whether a strong country is strong or not...
Only in this way can the Chu Kingdom survive!
…
Continue eastward along the Huai River and arrive at Quyang County.
Qu Yuan no longer had any expectations - he had been paralyzed by the scenes along the way.
Keep walking forward, just to see - the lower reaches of the Huai River are geographically farther away from the power center of Yingdu. Will the feudal lords here become more tyrannical and oppressive?
I want to see how miserable the people of Chu land will be!
I, Qu Yuan, am mentally prepared!
but……
As soon as he entered Quyang County, Qu Yuan was shocked by the straight and solid gray road!
Qu Yuan was squatting on the ground, picking and touching the road, raising and lowering his hands...
I don’t even know what kind of material this is!
Not to mention the green farmland, waterwheels and canals, all kinds of novel farm tools, and the endless stream of business travelers on the road...
Qu Yuan was shocked and after talking to the farmers, he was even more shocked to find that the agricultural tax here was only tithe!
Blanch!
Who in the world has ever heard of tithing?
"Whose fiefdom is this?" Qu Yuan asked in shock.
The farmer puffed up his chest proudly——
"This is Quyang County, the fiefdom of Quyang Jun Mi Liang!"
"Lord Mi Liang's kindness is higher than the mountains and deeper than the sea. It will never end in a lifetime..."
As the farmer talked, he actually started singing!
If Xiong Wuliang were at the scene, he would know at a glance that this guy must have worked as a handyman in the industrial park...
Qu Yuan didn't care to complain about the tacky and straightforward lyrics in the farmer's mouth, nor did he care to complain about the farmer's off-key singing voice...
At this time, Qu Yuan was completely shocked!
Qu Yangjun? Xiong Wuliang?
At the beginning, Qu Yuan felt that although Xiong Wuliang was known as a playboy, he was quite accurate in seeing things. Coupled with his later achievements in attacking Yue and his prophecy of drastic changes in Qin...
This should be a very wise counselor.
Unexpectedly, I came to Xiong Wuliang's fiefdom and took a look -
What a 'counselor'! ?
Is this called 'Mingzhu'?
Qu Yuan couldn't hold back his shock and didn't care to continue his eastward journey. He went straight to Quyang Jun's Mansion and asked to see Xiong Wuliang by name.
Although Qu Yuan had been demoted to a commoner by King Huai of Chu, no one dared to treat him as a commoner.
Zhong Hua immediately rode forward to invite Xiong Wuliang back, while Zhao Hua reluctantly put down his pile of official duties to accompany Qu Yuan and others.
While waiting, Qu Yuan slowly made up his mind...
Although King Huai of Chu was soft-hearted and indecisive - he always felt that he was extremely smart.
Qu Yuan originally warned King Chu Huai not to be fooled by Zhang Yi... But King Chu Huai didn't! Labor and management must be fooled!
It's okay if he just messes up occasionally, but this king has a lot of face.
Otherwise, we will not be able to do the thing of "raising an army in anger and defeating Danyang", and we will make mistakes more mistakes.
Now that he has been demoted to a commoner by such a thin-skinned king... he probably won't be able to be reused by King Huai of Chu in a short time.
However, Qu Yuan's party in the court who supported the reform and resisted the Qin Dynasty... were being continuously suppressed and deprived of power by Zhaoju.
How can we fight against the powerful Qin without changing the law? How can we strengthen the country?
However, Zhaoju’s conservative faction is now in the limelight!
Qu Yuan was so anxious!
Now it seems——
Xiong Wuliang has a noble title, favor, courage, vision, ability, and supports the anti-Qin line——
Although he is a little younger, he is... the best candidate to replace Qu Yuan and lead the young faction in the court!
Just at this moment, Xiong Wuliang finally rushed back and opened the door panting——
