"Huh~"
Lu Chen exhaled a breath, then slowly opened his eyes.
The next second, he slowly raised his hand, stared at the palm of his hand, opened and closed his five fingers slightly, and felt the substantive spiritual power in his spiritual veins that gradually calmed down. Only cultivators with Guiyuan realm and above could clearly feel it. , sighing inexplicably.
"Is that really the case..."
Just now, when he cleared his thoughts and his mind became clear, the spiritual energy in his body suddenly started to stir wildly, and then rapidly surged and solidified without any warning, just like it did when he accidentally broke through to the Three Talents Realm in Yuzhou.
After a while, he shook his head, put away his thoughts, and left the meditation room.
Squeak~
The moment the door opened, the cold moonlight rushed in, shining on him, covering him with a layer of holy silver.
Before I knew it, night had fallen.
In the night sky, the stars twinkled slightly, and several auroras quickly cut through the night sky, gradually disappearing into the distant sky.
The bright moon lives in it, which is like a peaceful picture of stars and moon.
Lu Chen did not rush to cross the threshold, but raised his head slightly and quietly stared at the vast and deep sky.
At this moment, his heart calmed down like never before.
"Hmm."
A murmur like a whisper suddenly sounded from the side.
In this extremely quiet night, this noise seemed a bit abrupt.
Lu Chen came back to his senses, turned his head and looked around, and immediately saw Luo Xiaoyu curling up her petite body, leaning against the vermillion-colored load-bearing pillar, her eyes slightly closed, and she was sleeping lightly with a naive look on her face. She didn't know what she was doing. What a sweet dream, with a slight smile on her lips.
Seeing Luo Xiaoyu's appearance, Lu Chen quickly realized that this girl had probably remembered what he had told her today and had been waiting for him here to prevent him from being disturbed by outsiders, and then stayed there all day long.
Hmm, very much like this stubborn girl.
Shaking his head, Lu Chen stretched out his hand and gently placed his index finger on her temple. A simple calming technique made her fall into a deep sleep.
At this time, even if there is thunder outside, she can sleep like a pig.
Not even a single move.
Then Lu Chen bent down, picked her up from the waist, put her behind his back, let her lie on his back, and finally walked slowly towards her bedroom.
"Hmm."
Not sure if he felt Lu Chen's breath, Luo Xiaoyu's small hands suddenly tightened slightly while he was sleeping.
"Cousin...Xiaoyu doesn't want anything..."
She whispered softly into Lu Chen's ear, words that only Lu Chen could hear:
"As long as I can stay with my cousin..."
Click…
Lu Chen paused slightly.
After a moment, he sighed softly, a complex look gradually appeared on his face, and then he took steps again.
The moonlight fell on the two of them, dragging a long shadow behind them.
In the cold night wind, the shadows of the two people swayed slightly, gradually drifting away.
…
There was nothing to say all night, and early the next morning, Lu Chen left the house on time as usual and walked towards Xuanji Gate.
Then when he just walked to Zhuque Street, he bumped into Gu Simiao wearing a unicorn suit by "coincidence".
After greeting each other, the two walked side by side again.
"Speak of the word, Huaiyu."
Walking on the hazy Zhuque Street in the early morning, Gu Simiao took the initiative to speak.
"In two days, after the rest, our title documents and spiritual seals will be officially issued. His Majesty's grace allows us to choose our own places to eat within the county. When are you going to go there?"
Hearing this, Lu Chen suddenly remembered this.
To be honest, if Gu Simiao hadn't reminded him, he would have forgotten about the matter of ennoblement and food.
After all, for him, being knighted or something like that is really not a big deal.
He is the official of Shifeng County and can own eight hundred households, which is equivalent to the population of three or four villages.
This is already an extremely high level of knighthood treatment.
You must know that most of the clans even from the royal family do not have a town. They can only enjoy the support and privileges of the court, and can set up a certain number of guards. The feudal nobles can collect taxes from their subjects. The setting of tax items is left to the feudal lord, who only needs to report it to the government.
Lu Chen thought for a while, and then replied: "I have been busy with official duties recently, so I don't think I have much time to go there. I'll go there when I have some free time."
Hearing this, Gu Simiao couldn't help but chuckle.
"Everything is about official business. It's really your style."
Lu Chen didn't answer.
"I'm going to Taihe County in a few days."
Gu Simiao said softly.
"Huaiyu, when you served as the governor of the two states, you governed Yuzhou and Suizhou in an orderly manner. The people lived and worked in peace and contentment. You must have been well versed in the way of government. Do you think that if I want to completely change the situation of the people? In this dilemma, where should we start?”
When Lu Chen heard Gu Simiao mentioning the food fief, Lu Chen immediately thought of the reason why the empress suddenly requested to change the fief when she made Gu Simiao a county official by rewarding her merits.
It can be seen that Gu Simiao's senior sister has indeed become her obsession.
Apart from martial arts, what she probably wants is to fulfill the wish of the senior sister who risked her life to save her.
If it were before, Lu Chen would probably just talk a few irrelevant words to get by, but now, he is thinking seriously, constantly searching for information related to Taihe County in his mind.
Although he doesn't know much about the way of life in a high position, he knows a basic truth.
At any time, we must distinguish between ourselves and the enemy and the interests of all parties.
Moreover, in this position, if you really want to do something, you have to have more and more friends and fewer and fewer enemies.
He still wanted to get closer to Gu Simiao, a powerful general who was loyal to Daxia.
Seeing Lu Chen deep in thought, Gu Simiao didn't speak again, so as not to affect his train of thought.
After some tea time, Lu Chen's eyes gradually regained focus.
"People have all kinds of characteristics, and things have all kinds of shapes. When an official is in charge of government, he should make the best use of the situation, adapt to local conditions, make use of strengths and avoid weaknesses, and seek development based on local characteristics. He should not stick to the old ways and not know how to adapt, otherwise he will make a wrong step and cause endless harm."
His eyes were calm and he was talking eloquently.
"In my opinion, since the land in Taihe County is barren, not much food can be grown, and people's livelihood is in decline, we might as well change our thinking, move our eyes away from farming, and focus elsewhere."
"As the saying goes, if you want to get rich, build a road first. Taihe County is located in the capital. Although it is not an important transportation road, it is at the foot of the emperor no matter what. Miss Gu can report to the court and fund the construction of a transportation road in the name of Taihe County Duke. The road leads directly to the capital, or to other wealthy counties, such as Xingping County, where business can flourish with the help of the prosperity of the capital..."
"Then let's build a road to Xingping County."
Before Lu Chen finished speaking, Gu Simiao suddenly interrupted.
"Forehead…"
Lu Chen couldn't react for a while.
"Well, Miss Gu, although Taihe County is closer to Xingping County than the capital, Luojing is the real world, prosperous and has countless development opportunities. Although Xingping County is also considered wealthy, There is no comparison with the capital."
"I did a quick calculation."
Gu Simiao said calmly:
"I only have enough money to build a road directly to Xingping County. As for the other counties, I don't want to deal with those monks who have always had higher ambitions and have always been at odds with the warriors, and I can't trust them."
After a pause, she suddenly took a deep look at Lu Chen and said word by word:
"Huaiyu, I only believe in you."
Hearing these heavy words, Lu Chen couldn't help but twitch the corners of his eyes.
Why do these words sound so familiar?
"Fine."
Lu Chen shook his head, not entangled in the issue of road construction, and then continued:
"Let the road builders do this in advance, and we will continue."
"Um."
Gu Simiao nodded, and then continued to listen to Lu Chen's talk with a straight attitude, just like a newbie entering the officialdom.
However, Lu Chen didn't notice that there was an imperceptible bright smile hidden deep in the corner of her eyes.
"Every place has its own characteristics. If you want to develop, you cannot avoid these characteristics."
Lu Chen said slowly:
"Miss Gu, you must also know that the reason why Taihe County is an inferior county is because the county seat is located near Heishan. The land there is covered with coal and is extremely barren, making it difficult to grow food. And this coal is from Taihe County. One of the characteristics.”
"I wonder, Miss Gu, if you know anything about this charcoal?"
"Know a thing or two."
Gu Simiao responded softly:
"This pebble is black in color, hard and brittle, and can burn. It is somewhat similar to charcoal. However, it is called pebble because it is a naturally occurring harmful stone. However, charcoal is easy to ignite. It is colorless and odorless when burned, and is harmless to the human body. It can be used as a heating material, but charcoal is not only difficult to ignite, but also emits a pungent yellow-white smoke when burned. If an ordinary person inhales it into the body, it will cause dizziness at least, and death in severe cases. Therefore, this Coal is useless."
After she stated the common sense in her mind, curiosity gradually appeared in her eyes.
"What's wrong? Huaiyu, you specifically mentioned charcoal, but what's the significance of this thing?"
Lu Chen shook his head.
"have no idea."
He gave a catch-all answer.
"However, in my eyes, there is never anything useless in this world. Since everything exists between heaven and earth, it has its own reason for existence. It's just that our knowledge is shallow and we haven't discovered its magical uses yet."
This is the truth.
The nature of this charcoal sounds a bit like coal, but after all, this world is a world of high martial arts where spiritual power and supernatural power exist. The laws of its operation and the nature, composition and laws of matter are not consistent with the Blue Star in his memory. .
The cognition and common sense in his mind may not necessarily apply to this world.
Not to mention that it is impossible for an ordinary person in modern society to remember how to make soap, how to make cement, how to refine gunpowder, how to make sugar, how to extract salt... Even if he has seen it, he may not remember it. Even if he knows these necessary knowledge for time travel, he may not be able to use it.
Who knows if there is any material in this world to make these mass murder weapons.
Of course, although there are differences between the two worlds, they are not completely devoid of similarities.
For example, substances such as wine, salt, and iron still exist, and their properties are similar to what he knows.
Some of his modern knowledge, timeless thinking, and experience in modern society are not completely useless, but some things need to be explored and cannot be achieved overnight.
Therefore, he did not dare to go to Haikou and say that this piece of coal was black gold.
Gu Simiao immediately understood what Lu Chen meant.
"Huaiyu, you mean...this coal is useful and can be sold for money?"
Although it is a bit incredible, after all, charcoal is recognized as a harmful thing, and it is found in many places. Wherever there is charcoal, the land within ten miles becomes wasteland, and the land further away is also extremely barren. Wherever this thing is sold, which place is it? Unfortunately, if anyone said that this thing was useful or could even be sold for money, many people would not believe it.
Even if they were asked to make a bet by standing upside down and having diarrhea, they would dare to bet.
But Gu Simiao did not laugh at Lu Chen's whims, but looked at Lu Chen seriously.
"It definitely has its uses."
Lu Chen nodded and said, "I'm just not sure about the use of this thing, whether it can make Taihe County rich."
Gu Simiao frowned slightly.
"Huaiyu, what do you think pebbles can be used for?"
"Of course it's for burning."
Lu Chen said naturally.
"Although charcoal is convenient for heating and has many benefits as a flammable substance, it is not easy to make and the cost is not low. However, charcoal can be found everywhere in Taihe County. It is similar to stones on the roadside. If you really have to dig it, it will take decades. There is no way to dig it all out, and the cost is low. If it can be used, not only will Taihe County have an economic lifeline, but people everywhere will also have a cheap and easy-to-use heating object."
At this point, he suddenly sighed with emotion, and then continued: "In this way, they no longer have to spend the winter as they did in the past, freezing to death on the roadside due to lack of food and clothing. "
Hearing this, Gu Simiao's eyes flashed with respect and strangeness.
This man really cares about the people as always.
After a moment, she shook her head gently to get rid of the distracting thoughts in her mind, and then reminded with some hesitation: "The poisonous smoke produced by coal burning can cause death if you are not careful."
"People should not stop eating because of choking. If there is a problem, they should find a way to solve it instead of escaping from it."
Lu Chen said calmly.
"Every year in the cold winter, countless people freeze to death on the streets. The benefits of charcoal are obvious, such as low cost and long burning time. If the problem of toxic smoke produced when burning charcoal can be solved, it will immediately become a blessing to countless people. , benefiting the common people."
"How can the imperial court turn a blind eye to such a treasure that benefits the country and the people? When I go to court, I will advise your majesty and implore your majesty to order that manpower and material resources be immediately invested in studying how to turn waste coal into treasure."
As the words fell, a complex look gradually filled Gu Simiao's pretty face.
Well, it was originally a matter of the development of public land exchange between two counties, but now it has become a matter of the imperial court.
As expected of Mr. Lu who served the country and the people, he really has his style.
Although no matter what the outcome was, she would be the one who gained, and at most it would be treated as if nothing happened and it would do no harm to her. However, Lu Chen's behavior made her feel inexplicably unhappy.
The interest in chatting suddenly disappeared.
Unknowingly, the two of them passed through the Xuanji Gate and walked all the way to the front of the Taiji Hall.
The two of them gathered their emotions at the same time and stepped into the palace together.
However, he didn't know if it was an illusion, but Lu Chen always felt that when he passed the courtiers, they looked at him a little strangely.
Especially Wang Qian, who had a hard time dealing with him before, looked at him with an indescribably weird look.
It seemed like something terrible had happened.
(End of chapter)
