In the next three days, it was Zhou Bai's Jinshi celebration, and the area around his ancestral home was bustling with gongs and drums.
There was an endless stream of distinguished guests from all over the place, and the convoy of gift-gifters queued up in front of the Jinshi Archway. Those who didn't know it thought it was a bustling market in a big city that was blocked.
During this period, Zhou Bai would occasionally show up to receive guests, such as powerful representatives from states and counties coming from far away, or many clan leaders from Pingcang coming in person. These were all the help he could win over, and etiquette and respect could not be lost.
Elder Shi Yu even brought his legitimate sons to the banquet, and allowed the next generation heads of the two county wealthy families to pay homage to Zhou Bai in front of everyone.
Not only did they no longer secretly mention the marriage, but they also made the Yu family of the Shi family think that they were inferior to the Zhou family from now on.
This is the first time since Zhou Bai returned to his hometown that a county-level family has made such a statement, only publicly acknowledging the Zhou family's dominant position.
All the guests present were shocked. Could it be that Mr. Shi Yu had inside information? Otherwise, why would he take sides?
The Zhao family is not easy to mess with, and the new county magistrate squeezes out Ji Mingxuan and lands in the air, and they are not easy to mess with.
Before Zhou Bai came back, just a few small actions pushed the Cangshan Alliance's sphere of influence back to the north of the county.
However, the reputation and connections of Mr. Shi Yu caused the small families in the south of the county to further lower their profile. Some of them were even in contact with the deacons of the Qunshi Hall to learn about joining the alliance.
Even in the perception of many people, gods do not interfere in too many mundane affairs.
But given the position of fame, it is natural that the Tianren family is not satisfied with the foundation and influence limited to one village or several villages.
The heads of the other two county wealthy clans, the Chen family and the Qian family, were shocked and doubtful. Shi Yuer was always old Hutu, but he really believed that the Zhou family would expand aggressively and must achieve hegemony.
They asked the two elders to make some insinuations, hoping to get some information so as not to be caught off guard.
I don't know when the balance of power in Pingcang County has been broken. Although the Zhao family was the strongest at first, that kind of strength has its limits. No one at the county level can say how far ahead they are.
But now the Zhao family has an unknown background and has reached a political alliance with the new county magistrate. It is now the overlord of Pingcang, forcing other families to shrink and evade.
What's even more outrageous is that even if the Zhao family is so strong, the Zhou family is not weak in the slightest.
All this is because of one person, Zhou Bai.
As Hanlin Editor and Yunqi Wei, he has official status; as the leader of the forces, he is the leader of the Zhou Clan and the leader of the Cangshan Alliance...
"Old Yu, Mr. Shi, the county magistrate Shou Heng is coming fiercely. You are so confident, can the Zhou family withstand it?"
"Yes, the seventh-grade official Zhou Bai has no real power. If we really have to fight against him, there may be nothing we can do against him, but there is no problem against the Zhou family."
"No family has a clean bottom. The Zhou family occupies the grassland trade route, and it cannot withstand investigation."
But no matter how Chen and Qian tried to test them, the other two old foxes who had become spirits would not reveal anything.
How could the old fox tell them? He couldn't tell them that he was also gambling.
Seeing that the family's decline is imminent, if we don't take advantage of the troubled times to take risks, we may become unfilial descendants.
They are relatively good, and they serve as officials of the sixth rank. Even if their family status declines, they can still be blessed by their official aura and become ancestral spirits.
But the same cannot be said for other ancestors. Once the county tycoon falls to the township level, the spiritual realm will shrink and those who are not qualified will be driven away, and in the end they can only become lonely ghosts.
This kind of ghost will not even be accepted by the underworld.
The competition for survival between families is both realistic and cruel. This was the case for Hu Jiang last night, and the same is true for Mr. Shi Yu today.
How many aristocratic families have fallen into poverty and then disappeared, without making any splash in the long river of history.
Only countries and dynasties that have established the Heavenly Pillar can be enshrined in heaven and leave a trace.
Shi Yu was betting that the future development of the Zhou family would be limitless and that they would be able to take care of both families. The current obstacles in Pingcang County were only temporary.
Zhou Bai was too demanding and failed to seize the opportunity when he Jieyuan. Now he must get on the chariot before the Zhou family takes off.
The two elders didn't see much of Zhou Bai's plan, but it was only on the surface. With the eyesight honed throughout his life, he decided to take a gamble.
For example, before the arrival of various natural disasters, the Zhou family's acres of land increased to the largest in the county, and they had grain and wine, which meant there was absolutely no shortage of food; another example is that when most of Cangbei County fell, Pingcang County suffered a serious threat. The Zhou family has a "strong army" to patrol the countryside.
How could they, who had been in charge of six departments in the Central Center, not see what Da Xu was doing now.
The country's destiny, which originally still had decades to go, was being wiped out by waves of natural disasters. The redundant officialdom in the late dynasty was simply not enough to revive it again.
The Green Forest Rebellion in Dongtai, which the court cannot put down, is the beginning of troubled times.
The core of what a party needs in troubled times is to have food and people, strong soldiers and horses, and the Zhou family just happens to have them all.
Whether it was Zhou Bai's deliberate plan, or he just wanted to protect the family and protect themselves, they couldn't see the ship ahead, so they made a decision.
That night, after the guests had dispersed, letters written by Shi Hongmao and Yu Chang were delivered to Zhou Bai's head.
Their letter directly expressed their intention to join the Cangshan Alliance with their blacksmith shops and mines, and they also hoped to establish a closer alliance with the Zhou family while maintaining the independent inheritance of the family in the future.
At the end of the letter, Shi Hongmao also reminded Zhou Bai that they could announce their joining the alliance now to build momentum.
You can also make a sudden statement when the Zhou and Zhao families are facing each other to attack the rear of the Zhao family. After all, the main industries of the Shi and Yu families are in the county seat and the south of the county.
Zhou Bai smiled after reading "To Integrity". To be honest, he didn't expect these two old foxes to be so decisive.
It just seems to have set a test for him?
"What do you think, sir?" Zhou Bai handed the letter to Chen Zhongbang and asked after he read it.
"My lord, after all, I am from a family that has produced sixth-grade imperial officials, so I am a little bit unwilling to be reduced to a subordinate like this." Chen Zhongbang also raised the corners of his mouth and replied with a smile.
Then he took out two old and yellowed manuscripts, which were the previous works of Shi Hongmao and Yu Chang. Comparing the handwriting of the two letters now, it was obvious that they were not autographed letters.
"It looks decisive, but in fact it is still old and lackluster." Zhou Bai glanced at the handwriting and commented.
Chen Zhongbang bowed and gave his own advice: "Iron mines and forging craftsmen are the resources you have been seeking, so the lord still has to accept their surrender, it just depends on when you choose them to join."
There are various signs that behind Shi Yu's decisiveness, there is still room for swing.
"The two old foxes seem to have both options at my disposal, but the price to pay is different. Since I still have to hold on, let them bleed."
"Reply to the two families and let them choose the time of defection. They are temporarily showing the attitude of falling out." Zhou Bai ignited the so-called investment integrity and asked Chen Zhongbang to arrange the next matters.
After hearing Zhou Bai's plan, Chen Zhongbang thought about it and thought it was feasible. He could use the strength of the Zhou family to fight against the Zhao family. In the end, the benefits transferred by the Shi Yu family would not be up to them.
The next day, following the scene where Shi Yu surrendered to the Zhou family and bowed his head, news spread that the envoys from Shi Yu's family were suspected of being dissatisfied with the conditions and left angrily.
Hearing that the two parties had not negotiated terms for cooperation, the Qian and Chen families breathed a sigh of relief. They had been really anxious these past few days.
They have been inquiring about the Zhou family's next expansion plan and when they will confront the Zhao family so that they can grasp the situation.
The actions of Shi and Yu's family also made the Zhao family's senior officials very angry, and they immediately went to the new county magistrate Shou Heng for discussion.
It is still the property of the Zhao family outside the city, Yuquan Villa. You can soak in the hot springs to ward off the cold in the cold winter months. Now in the midsummer, it has become a summer resort due to the existence of the ice cellar.
The ice mirror was filled with ice cubes and placed in the center. The servants used cattail fans to fan the cold air, and within a moment the temperature in the palace became cool and comfortable.
However, the few people who were enjoying the cooling effect of the ice mirror could not calm down, their bodies were extremely hot, and they kept urging the servants to fan out more cold wind.
Zhao Chun has no descendants, but his younger brother Zhao Xian has three sons, so Zhao Xian has recently begun to take over some of the power of the Zhao family.
It was Zhao Xian who was dealing with other families in the county, so he seemed increasingly impatient.
He took a deep breath, looked at the people in the hall, and was the first to speak angrily: "These two old guys, Shi Hongmao and Yu Chang, don't know what is good or bad. They said they would remain neutral before, but now they actually take the initiative to contact the Zhou family, huh! "
"Well, after all, it is the official position of the capital. Even if the descendants are incompetent, they still have the right to choose the big tree to enjoy the shade." The master next to Shou Heng sighed in a low voice.
Zhao Xian still said disdainfully: "Bah, the Zhou family is also a big tree. If it weren't for that night..."
These words made both Master and Shou Heng frown. How could such secret things be mentioned all the time.
"Shut up, you dare to say anything?!" Zhao Chun quickly stopped Zhao Xian after hearing this.
Zhao Xian has recently received support from many clan elders in the family, and his voice has greatly increased. However, facing his elder brother who has been accumulating power for a long time, he still does not dare to contradict him rashly, so he can only stay silent and say nothing.
Shou Heng's disgust could be reversed. According to his judgment, this master was probably sent by the Sixth Prince, and he had experienced extraordinary things during his several encounters.
Zhao Chun would not tell his guess, but still said respectfully to Shou Heng: "Your Majesty, it is a foregone conclusion that the princes in the imperial court will entrust the states to each other. Now that person is in urgent need of a lot of money and resources, do you think?"
"Well, that person has already sent a message, asking me to wait until the end of the year to open up the grassland trade route. This is a fatal order."
"So it's time to break up with the Zhou family and the tribes in the north of the county, and then use all kinds of methods." Shou Heng frowned and said while knocking on the tea table.
Zhao Chun's expression changed, and there was a hint of joy in his eyebrows: "Okay, then please cover up later. It is inevitable that there will be some places where force is needed."
The biggest suspect in Zhao Liangji's death is Zhou Bai. A man with white hair sent a man with black hair. He will remember this pain all the time.
"The military generals in Kukou Pass have already mastered most of it, and the county captain will just stay out of it. You can do whatever you want."
…
Just when the storm is about to come in Pingcang County, the real heavy rain seems to have come to an end.
Without any warning, the weather continued to clear for three consecutive days, and the same was true for the news coming from other major states.
Except for the coastal areas where wind and rain still persist, most areas have begun to return to normal weather.
It was also the last time to harvest the wheat, so after Zhou Bai held a clan meeting in the Qunshi Hall, he ignored the internal affairs and ordered everyone to go out and harvest.
The Zhou people's basic farmland does not use chemical fertilizers on a large scale, so a small number of chemical fertilizer fields can only make up for the shortcomings of other production reductions in the old farmland.
Of the 20,000 acres of new farmland, only 10,000 acres are planted with wheat, and the yield of this part increased by more than 30%.
When the wheat enters the granary, the total output will only increase by 10% compared to last year.
On August 25th, Zhou Bai formally held a plenary meeting of the inner government. On the civilian side, there were no more than twenty heads of bureaus, departments, workshops, etc., while on the Zhuang Ding side, everyone from head to top was present, totaling ten people.
There were more than thirty people, and the meeting hall of the inner palace was packed to capacity.
Zhou Baiduan sat at the top and looked down at his "hundred civil and military officials" below. Although they were just a grassroots team, they were still full of talents.
Well, it can only be described as complete, but not as generous.
The court hall was full of blue and purple, but here it was full of red and white.
On the general side, apart from Zhou Yuan, who has a red and yellow natal star, and Gao Hu, who has a red natal star that can grow, the others all have white natal stars, and at most there is Dutou Qu Zhi, who has a red natal star.
Why did Zhou Bai desperately want to poach veterans, even the corners of the Yinjiao Army in the state, who were unqualified middle-level generals?
The civil service side is slightly better. The lower-ranked workshop directors, agricultural bureaus, and Xintian manor stewards are basically all in vain, but there are three red and white scribes among them.
The ones in the middle of the ranking do not have pure white natalities, and the worst ones also have red colors. They can at least be appointed as minor officials at the county level in the future.
At the top of the ranking are several talents, all of whom have red lives and can be relied upon for reuse temporarily.
There is only one person who can really follow Zhou Bai all the time, Chen Zhongbang, the director of the Yingtian Department.
At first, there was only a hint of green and yellow in the original life, but now with the support of Zhou Bai's luck, the shackles of Lehu on his body are gone, and all the yellow in the green and yellow has faded away, becoming a straight green life.
Seeing this, Zhou Bai also sighed with emotion. If he hadn't struck first and formed a master-subordinate relationship while he was still restrained, he might have been in a situation where the leader was weak and the subordinate was strong for a long time.
However, Zhou Bai changed his destiny through various levels of imperial examinations at this time, and now he has a serious yellow destiny, so establishing a county and dynasty is not a problem.
There are few talents and a grass-roots team, but there is no shortage of important civil and military personnel, and it can also form a pattern of monarch and ministers supporting each other.
The atmosphere was subtle, with strong "lord" luck and "minister" luck blending and supporting each other, and the luck of everyone in the hall showed an upward trend.
Not only your luck, but your destiny is also changing subtly.
Chen Zhongbang's gloomy destiny is now completely bright, which illustrates this point.
After the system is established in the future, Zhou Bai will not mind wasting some of his fame and fortune to support these original basic teams.
In this way, the success rate of changing your destiny is higher, and you can follow him further.
After observing his breath, Zhou Bai saw that everyone was treating him solemnly and without further delay, he said softly to Chen Zhongbang: "Sir, let's begin."
