At the entrance of Fangzhai, the scene was silent for a moment.
Just as a few people were talking to each other, some carriages were already driving up in front of Fangzhai's door. The drivers were waving their whips vigorously, as if they were racing a horse, but no one shouted out.
The wheels rolled over the stone pavement, making a roaring sound, interrupting the conversation of everyone in front of Fangzhai's door, and giving everyone a time to buffer and digest.
When the subsequent carriages stopped one by one, their owners jumped out one after another before the carriages stopped, and quickly came to the door of Fangzhai. After saluting Zhou Zhongqing, the old Sun Zhongwen, who had been asked by Zhou Zhongqing earlier, He spoke slowly, still with the same feeble voice, "Master Zhou taught you a lesson before, but the little old man got it wrong. Now that even the head of the Meng family has become a minister of our Lijun, there is no such thing as a new dynasty." The old dynasty is said to be the same dynasty."
Zhou Zhongqing clapped his hands and praised, "What Mr. Sun said deeply touched my heart. Whether I am a minister of Lijun or a minister of Yongchang, we are all ministers of Dading. We are officials in the same dynasty, so we are so divided. What? What's more, our Lijun Prefect was appointed by His Majesty the Emperor as the governor of Hanzhou. He was supposed to rule the whole state and govern all the counties. You sirs were once ministers of the Meng family, so you are not the governor. Minister?"
"Today, the barbarians from the south are invading from the north, and chaos is spreading. It is the time for our people to unite as one," Zhou Zhongqing said righteously. "At this time, the head of the Meng family knew that his virtue and talent were not enough for him, so he voluntarily surrendered to Li. County, so the two counties merged into one. In an instant, I Li County had more than 400,000 elite soldiers, and countless strong men on the mountain and down the mountain. Not only could I keep Yicheng and Zhaoshui City safe, but I also had to connect Guang County across the board and the army went south. He Yucheng quelled the chaos in southern Xinjiang and drove the southern barbarians back to the south of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, so that tens of millions of people could live in peace and millions of refugees could return to their hometowns. From then on, the country became rich and the people were strong. Isn't it a great good thing?! "
"That's a great thing!" Sun Zhongwen smiled and nodded in agreement.
Afterwards, the leaders of the noble families nodded in approval.
Zhou Zhongqing glanced at the whole audience, with a smile on his face, then got out of the way, and with a gesture of help to everyone, he said, "My lords, Zhou came to Yicheng for the first time and is not familiar with this place. I heard that the prefect talked about the construction of this square house. There is something interesting about it. It happens to be vacant now, so I invite you all to come here to talk. I think you have been here before, and you have not been able to wander around inside and outside. In this case, we will go inside. Let’s talk as we go, shall we?”
Everyone in front of the door couldn't help but look up at the word "Zhao Mansion" still hanging on the door of Fangzhai. No one spoke easily.
But Wang Quanhu, who had been standing behind Zhou Zhongqing without speaking for a long time, suddenly said, "I am quite familiar with the Zhao Mansion and can lead the way for Master Zhou and all of you."
Zhou Zhongqing said in surprise, "That's great. With Mr. Wang leading the way, we won't make any mistakes along the way."
Wang Quanhu nodded, looked back at the people outside Fangzhai, and stepped into Fangzhai first.
Zhou Zhongqing followed him with a smile on his face. Behind him were Sun Zhongwen, who was still struggling to keep up with everyone while being supported, and several gossips from the Yongchang noble family who had already tried to get around him to flatter him.
Those who followed at the end were the majority who followed silently.
Zhou Zhongqing didn't seem to care at all, as if he had really invited a group of Yongchang nobles to visit this square house. He stopped and pointed along the way, and the atmosphere gradually became relaxed. After wandering around, he really followed what everyone said. I heard a lot of allusions to Fangzhai, as if this house was just a relic of the previous dynasty, and the owner of the house was long gone, so relaxed and leisurely.
I walked around from the front house to the backyard and even downstairs such as the women's boudoir. Except for the escorting Lijun, I didn't see anyone else or anything unusual. All the nobles laughed. What a cold heart lies beneath their skin, a temperature that no one but themselves can know.
When everyone walked back to the front house from the backyard, they just completed a square circuit, and it was time to separate. Zhou Zhongqing sent everyone out the door like the new owner of the house, and then said to everyone, "My lords. , I think there are still many things I want to ask and say in my heart, but Zhou must say that the meeting today is just acquaintance with you, and the days are long. As long as you are willing to talk to me, an old minister from Lijun, well and honestly. Zhou always has time to talk.”
"Frankly speaking, before meeting you all today, Zhou, as the chief official of Li County, is a little worried about the stability of Yicheng and Zhaoshui City." Zhou Zhongqing said this, and everyone present held their breath. , "Although Yicheng and Zhaoshui City are only two cities, it is not easy to manage the current situation with so many people and difficult situations. Only some people who know enough about these two cities and are capable can truly help. I am looking for stability in a short period of time, but after meeting with you all today, Zhou feels much more relieved. There are still many people who are interested in traveling with us from Lijun."
"As for the other things, you don't have to worry," Zhou Zhongqing said with certainty, "In the future, you will know that although I, the prefect of Li County, am young, I am a promising leader. Anling never let him stop, and Yongchang also It won’t be its end point. I can’t say how big the sky is in Lijun, but it will be enough for you and your children and grandchildren to fly.”
"My lords," Zhou Zhongqing raised his hand again and said, "Zhou will not give it away."
This time, all the Yongchang nobles, including Wang Quanhu, raised their hands in return, and then turned around to leave.
Zhou Zhongqing suddenly spoke again, "Master Sun."
After hearing this, everyone stopped and looked back, only to see Zhou Zhongqing looking only at Sun Zhongwen.
Wang Quanhu left without looking back, and the rest of the people also lowered their heads and boarded the carriage. After a while, the deserted entrance of Fang's house was once again at the entrance of Fang's house.
With the support of his servants, Sun Zhongwen returned to Zhou Zhongqing, bowed humbly and asked, "May I ask Master Zhou if you have any other instructions?"
Zhou Zhongqing suppressed the smile on his face and stared at the expression on Sun Zhongwen's face as if unintentionally, and said, "Master Sun, before I came here, I met the prefect. At that time, the prefect came back from Tianlao. It is said that he met Mencius reassured General Meng, saying that southern Xinjiang is now in crisis, and asked General Meng to return to Zhaoshui City first... to take charge of the overall situation."
Sun Zhongwen said "Huh", "General Meng was originally the general of Zhaoshui City, and he is quite familiar with the military affairs of Zhaoshui City. With him back in Zhaoshui City, Zhaoshui City will be as stable as Wangchuan."
Zhou Zhongqing turned his head and seemed to be looking elsewhere. In fact, his eyes were still on Sun Zhongwen's face, "I heard that the Yongchang Navy is now stationed in Zhaoshui City, and Sun Hao, the navy commander, is General Meng's father-in-law? "
"Exactly," Sun Zhongwen said, "General Meng and his wife are very loving. They have a son. With General Meng in charge of Zhaoshui City, they can cooperate seamlessly with the Yongchang navy. The arrangement of the prefect is really amazing."
"But..." Zhou Zhongqing stretched out his voice and asked, "But old General Sun Miao and Sun are also in Zhaoshui City?"
Sun Zhongwen suddenly sighed and said, "Well, my nephew Sun Miao is not much younger than me. He has been in the army for many years and has suffered many injuries. He is already extremely old. He is still living in Yicheng until he is his son-in-law. Tired of it, he violated the ancestral precepts of the Sun family and relapsed. Not long ago, he wrote a letter home, saying frankly that the old illness has relapsed and is very difficult to deal with. Now I don't know what to do." He cupped his hands towards Zhou Zhongqing and said, "Master Zhou, please come with me. The prefect said, if this rebellious son of the Sun family does not die of illness, please tie him back. The young man and other elders will punish him to guard the ancestral mausoleum and never come out. If he has died of illness... then... It is his own fault and he cannot blame anyone else!"
Zhou Zhongqing said in awe, "Master Sun's words, as well as the loyalty of Master Sun and the Sun family, Zhou will convey to the prefect as they are. I think the prefect will be very happy after hearing them."
