Chapter 157 Whoever is caught is who
This time, Kuang Sisi prepared a more interesting new game for him. She called the two young sisters who had accompanied the emperor last time, and then brought in the servants in the house, including the old maid who cooked for her. She tied a small bell on each woman, blindfolded the emperor and asked him to find whoever he caught. He could do whatever he wanted with them.
The emperor was delighted to see the row of women, young and old, dressed in gorgeous clothes. He took the black silk ribbon and covered his eyes. The jingling sounds all around him immediately quieted down. The emperor looked around like a cat catching a mouse, sniffing the perfume and estimating the direction to start looking for someone...
Zhao Yulin was not as good at having fun as the emperor. When he returned to Yibin, he went to find his father-in-law Chen Yun. After giving him a small jar of Emei Snow Buds, he told his father-in-law that he was going to Hanzhong.
Chen Yun said that the situation over there was serious and they should have gone there long ago because they had to face the northern barbarians.
Soon she started to worry about her daughter Chen Chen, saying that she was a weak little girl in charge of so many counties and was struggling to hold on in Jiading.
Zhao Yulin explained that he came here just for Chen Chen.
Chen Chen is still young and inevitably full of youthful energy. He advised Chen Yun to go to Jiading more often, on the one hand to cheer Chen Chen up and support him, and on the other hand to remind her to be cautious in doing things and not to be aggressive.
Chen Yun immediately stopped him and said that he dared not do that. The little girl had such a bad temper and had been spoiled by his good son-in-law. Everyone should clean their own mess.
Zhao Yulin heard the anger in his words, but it was like the stove that had been used to cook at noon and was just being warmed up in the evening. He smiled and said goodbye after asking for .
He walked out and went to the old house to see his children . He saw his father was urging his grandchildren to write.
He knows very well that calligraphy depends entirely on diligent practice.
Zhao Yulin was very pleased to see the cute kids lying on the table and writing seriously. Even the little kid Wu Jing was holding a brush and drawing on the paper and his face, and he was very happy.
His father was a famous scholar in Yibin, and naturally expected his grandson to inherit his legacy. While hitting Ma Yuan's father's butt with a folding fan, he shouted at him to be serious, otherwise he would have no dinner.
Zhao Yulin went into the house to see his mother. After greeting her, he left a small jar of Emei Snow Bud for his father and left in a hurry.
After returning to Cuiping Mountain, he immediately asked Li Chuan to pack his luggage and went to talk to Chen Xian.
Chen Xian is now equivalent to the director of a large scientific research institute. He has thousands of craftsmen of various types under him, who are distributed in dozens of experimental workshops of various sizes in Cuiping Guigu.
What Zhao Yulin is most concerned about is the progress of the production of Kongming lanterns.
A Kongming lantern is a hot air balloon. He was inspired by Chen Xiaomin's flying of a Kongming lantern. He collected information and had Guigu explore and develop this secret weapon.
With today's technology and equipment, it is impossible to build an airplane. He can only rely on hot air balloons carrying thunder bombs to the sky to be used as bombers.
Chen Xian told him that the masters were still working on the balloon cover, which had to be dense, light and airtight while also durable, which was indeed too difficult.
However, there is also good news: there has been a breakthrough in the development of the steam engine. The new steam engine has a strong, sustained and stable output power. Liu Yuru has been asked to arrange a new workshop to connect various types of bed parts processing equipment.
Zhao Yulin felt that this was a great progress. He always insisted on his point of view that if you want to make good things, you must have the best tools.
Chen Xian told him happily that with the steam engine, they would not be affected by the lack of power due to water shortage in winter. The machine would run stably and the processed parts would be more precise. Take the muskets and mortars for example, the shooting accuracy of the new ones was far higher than any previous ones.
That's for sure. Zhao Yulin certainly understood. He accompanied several masters to eat beggar's chicken before going back. But when he entered the study, he was stunned.
Zhen Youmei and Shunzhidi had been waiting in the study with their maids, waiting for him. When they saw him enter the room, they all said in unison that they wanted to follow him.
Zhao Yulin glared at Li Chuan and asked him what he was doing.
The boy was so scared that he stammered and said that he was seen by the real lady when he was packing his luggage, so he had to tell the second lady the truth about the third young master's itinerary.
Zhao Yulin called him Madam, Madam, because they hadn't gotten married yet.
He glanced at the two little girls and said that the weather in the north was terribly cold. If you forgot to wear a hat when going out, your ears would freeze off. You should think carefully, otherwise you would suffer.
The two women were startled and after hesitating for a moment they insisted on going.
He made up his mind and said that they would go together and she would be his maid on the boat first. Zhen Youmei stuck out her tongue and pulled Shunzhidi away.
He asked the captain of the guard to send a message to Master Lu, asking him to go to Fuxing City to take a look.
As soon as the next day dawned, Zhao Yulin boarded the boat and sailed downstream.
The two girls and their maids sat in the cabin, staring at him motionlessly. The atmosphere was a little awkward. It was too strange. Zhao Yulin found it very funny. After all, they had too little contact.
Now that we are all on the boat, we still need to communicate with them.
He said that the sun would soon rise and the river view was beautiful, so they should go out and take a look. He asked Li Chuan to take them out.
At ease, two little maids ran in and shouted: "Third Young Master, let's go to the sunrise together."
Zhao Yulin went out and met a red sun spraying out from the bow of the boat. The golden sunlight instantly spread all over the earth. Several little girls were overjoyed and jumped for joy.
He asked the captain of the guard to sail the boat to Jiang'anba to rest and eat something before leaving.
When Zhao Yulin stepped onto the dock, Li Chuan led him to meet his two uncles. After giving him some souvenirs and greetings on behalf of his mother, he continued to board the ship and headed east. In the evening, he arrived in Luzhou City, where the Luzhou prefect had already prepared a banquet for him.
Zhao Yulin was not polite and took the two girls to have a meal with the prefect. The prefect suggested that he and he should go to inspect Renhuai Fort together.
Haha, his arrangement of this meal is very meaningful.
Zhao Yulin knew what the prefect was thinking, that he was afraid that the Shenwei Army would not provide the local officials with an environment and opportunity to do their jobs. He cheerfully agreed, asked them to bring all the officials who were about to take office, and even introduced two girls from Bozhou to the prefect.
When he got back, the prefect asked Shi Ruyu, the accompanying aide, what was the meaning of the commander introducing the little girl from Bozhou to him?
Shi Ruyu boldly guessed: Bozhou must be intending to ask the Shenwei Army for support. The commander is telling us that his Shenwei Army stationed in Renhuai Fort is very popular among the people.
The prefect hesitated for a moment and asked Shi Ruyu to sort it out carefully again and find anything wrong with the officials who were sent to serve in Renhuai Fort. All the inappropriate ones should be deleted to avoid embarrassing him and causing trouble for the commander.
Zhao Yulin took his people to stay at the inn. Zhen Youmei immediately ran to find Shunzhidi and said with surprise that the young master was not afraid of getting involved and would introduce us to the prefect in person.
Shunzhidi said that the third young master was not afraid of anything at all. She heard that the guards shot and killed Ouyang Feng, the most ruthless man in the underworld, in Jiading.
Zhen Youmei immediately stuck out her tongue and exclaimed in a low voice: "Wow, that's amazing. It seems that whether we follow the young master or not, he will do things for us."
Shunzhidi said calmly that they didn't want us and it had nothing to do with the third young master's actions.
The two little girls continued to coo.
Zhao Yulin returned to the room and saw no one around. He took the opportunity to criticize Li Chuan, saying that he was not careful in his work. If he had not stopped Luzhou from giving him a gift just now, who knows what would have happened.
He had instructed that all items delivered must be inspected. Ordinary fruits and food could be accepted, but valuable items must be refused.
Zhao Yulin was a little worried. This kid's words were unreliable. It was obvious that Zhen and Shun were just the two girls he brought with him temporarily, but he couldn't wait to treat them as his wives.
Is it because he was his man and Zhu Congwen neglected to discipline him?
After Zhao Yulin scolded Li Chuan, he lay down, thinking that the first thing he saw when he came across was the child Li Chuan. He felt a little guilty and thought that he would have to teach him well in the future.
The next day, Zhao Yulin and the official ship of the Luzhou prefect met up, and they turned into the Chishui River and sailed upstream to Fuxing. In the afternoon, the fleet arrived, and a large group of people entered Fuxing City, which immediately became lively.
Lu Youpeng and a group of officials welcomed everyone into the government office. The two wives, Zhen and Shun, were also inside. Zhao Yulin took the initiative to greet them and went into the meeting hall to sit down.
Lao Lu reported that the two columns of the Shenwei Army had grown to 20,000 people, half of whom were from Renhuai and Bozhou, and the situation here had basically stabilized.
What should we do next? Could you please tell me?
Zhao Yulin looked at the prefect and asked him to speak.
The prefect immediately said that the Shenwei Army had made great contributions to the initial pacification of Renhuai. Please ask the commander to make arrangements.
This prefect was extremely smart. He knew that the Shenwei Army was stationed here and would not leave. The local government would definitely rely on the garrison for stability. Meanwhile, the Shenwei Army had many reform measures to develop the economy and make money. How could he not let Zhao Yulin make arrangements?
Seeing that the prefect spoke bluntly, Zhao Yulin did not hesitate to be polite either. He turned around and glanced at Li Chuan, who saw the opportunity after being criticized and immediately handed the small wooden bookcase in his hand to him.
He opened his bookcase, took out a stack of written manuscripts and started talking.
The prefect then realized that the whole thing had been prepared long ago.
He said that Renhuai Fort was initially planned, but the area was so large that it had to be carefully managed. The original castle setting was obviously no longer suitable for the current large population and had to be changed.
He suggested that we first set up a temporary general administration office in Renhuai, which would act at the level of a prefecture, with its seat temporarily located in Guci. It would have several counties under it, and Liuyuan and Fuxing would all be restored to county-level institutions.
Then, he publicly proposed that Shi Ruyu, a guest of Luzhou, be appointed as the temporary chief steward of Renhuai, to discuss and deal with Renhuai affairs together with the two wives Zhen and Shun and the two column leaders.
All of them received a salary of the first level of provincial government magistrate and were supervised by the prefect of Luzhou and the chief steward of the Shunfeng Division of the Shenwei Army, Lu Youpeng.
There were only two positions at the county level: the chief clerk and the county lieutenant. The chief clerk was appointed by an official who returned from Luzhou, and the rest of the deacons and deputy governors had to be recommended by the local authorities. Step by step, the counties here were restored and set up.
Having said this, Zhao Yulin paused for a moment, then picked up the teacup and drank some tea.
The prefect did not expect that the Shenwei Army would not seize power and leave all the chief officers to Luzhou. He immediately supported his suggestion and emphasized that it was necessary to strengthen the constraints on Renhuai Fort after this rebellion.
