Chapter 285: The more capable you are, the more work you will do
Yang Jinhua didn't want to stop Lu Sen from taking a concubine, but she was afraid that he would skip the ones at home.
Even if he wanted to marry a concubine, he had to take the one at home first. There had to be a first come first served order for everything. Although she would be a little unhappy if Lu Sen really took a concubine, as the eldest wife, this was her duty.
It’s not that Yang Jinhua is not progressive enough or independent enough as a woman, but that in this era, normal women think this way and do this.
Lu Sen looked at her and said, "This Empress Xiao and I are not...wait, maybe she is a sly one?"
Yang Jinhua was stunned for a moment, then said helplessly, "Sir, you really don't want to welcome this married woman into your home. This will not be good for your reputation."
"What are you thinking of?" Lu Sen tapped the table subconsciously. "I gave Empress Xiao a small piece of land because she looked very similar to Xianxian, so I just did it. But now it seems... I made a hidden move there without realizing it."
Yang Jinhua has been married to Lu Sen for more than four years, and she is very familiar with some of Lu Sen's little habits.
For example, now is Lu Sen’s expression when he starts to calculate something. Every time this happens, he won’t react much to the things around him.
"I suddenly feel a little sorry for Empress Xiao."
Yang Jinhua's mood became strange. She had thought that Lu Sen had some interest in Empress Xiao, but now it seemed that he only treated her as a 'chess piece'. She suddenly felt that her husband's behavior was too... unkind, or a little heartless?
Women are like this, they are more emotional most of the time, and even Yang Jinhua is no exception.
But sympathy aside, she finally felt relieved, and the next day, she followed Mu Guiying to the front line.
Two days later, Lu Huiqing came to pay his respects. He bowed and said, "Master Lu, we have checked and found that the horse dealer named Zhang really sold good horses."
"Then I'll pay him 10% higher than the market price, and ask him to come to my place again and tell him that I have something I need his help to deliver."
Lu Huiqing nodded. Lu Sen was his superior, so he had to listen to what he did as long as it was not too outrageous.
It's only 10% higher than the market price, which is not much.
Besides, I had a lot of fun ransacking houses recently and have enough money.
Not long after Lu Huiqing left, Zhang Zongzhen arrived. After he came in, he clasped his fists and said, "I heard Master Lu calling me, so I rushed over immediately."
Ten percent higher than the market price, Zhang Zongzhen earned more, so he was naturally happy.
"Please return this letter to that noble man." Lu Sen put the nanmu box on the table and said, "Also, this is your reward."
Three more peaches were placed next to it.
Everyone knew about the immortal fruits of Lu Zhenren's family. When Zhang Zongzhen saw the three fresh peaches, his eyes turned green. He wanted to pounce on them and hug them in his arms, but he also knew that he couldn't act rashly in front of the other party. So he suppressed his urgency and walked forward slowly, suppressing his excitement and said, "I will definitely send the letter back to that noble man even if I risk my life."
Lu Sen nodded with satisfaction: "I still have some official business to deal with here, so I won't entertain you any longer."
"Then I'll take my leave first."
Zhang Zongzhen held the box and peaches on the table in his arms, bent over, and carefully retreated.
The days that followed were very peaceful. News from the northern front came from time to time. It was all about Di Qing leading the Baima Qiangzhen Army to fight and advance step by step.
This was also due to Mu Guiying's constant harassment on the flank.
After two months, Dingzhou City became really cold. Large flakes of fallen leaves were blown in from afar by the cold wind, rolling on the streets like fish scales.
Many poor people in Dingzhou huddled together in a corner sheltered from the wind, shivering.
In the government office, Lu Huiqing and Lu Sen sat face to face.
"Master Lu, the grain and cloth purchased from Xi'an and the capital have all been stored in the warehouse. There was some loss on the way, but it is no more than 10%."
Lu Sen chuckled, very satisfied.
It is normal for food to be lost when transporting it over long distances. As long as it does not exceed 20%, it is actually within an acceptable range.
"Doctor Lu, how is the household registration in Dingzhou going?"
"Ninety percent of the people have been registered." Lu Huiqing was obviously thinner than when he first came here, but he looked more energetic: "There are about 200,000 people in Dingzhou City. If you count the city and the area near Helan Mountain, there are about 300,000 people. Among them, 200,000 people may not have enough food to survive the winter."
A city with a population of 300,000 was considered a big city in that era, but it certainly could not be compared with places like Bianliang and Hangzhou.
Those are super first-tier cities.
"How does Doctor Lu plan to distribute the food?"
"Distribute it to each household according to the name on the list?" Lu Huiqing said slowly and carefully.
"This is not good." Lu Sen shook his head. "If we only distribute food, they will become lazy and think it is natural for the government to distribute food to them. This will make it difficult to manage them later."
"What does Master Lu mean?" Lu Huiqing asked cautiously.
"In fact, you have also done this in Hangzhou, using work as a substitute for relief."
Lu Huiqing thought for a while and said, "The customs and habits of different places are different, and Dingzhou doesn't seem to have any major projects that can require so many people to work at the same time. The city wall has already been repaired."
"Build a road." Lu Sen said, "Build a road from Dingzhou to Xingqing Prefecture, and then to Xi'an."
"That's feasible." Lu Huiqing thought for a while, then said, "But it's almost winter now. It will be difficult to repair the road. The progress will be very slow."
"Finding a reason to distribute food and horses to them is our main goal. Building roads is just a side benefit." Lu Sen chuckled, "And I also know that after winter, the ground will become very hard due to the cold, so it doesn't matter if the road is built slowly, as long as we can reach Xingqing Prefecture before spring."
Dingzhou is not far from Xingqing Road. Two hundred thousand people in one winter... this is a big project.
Lu Huiqing felt his mouth dry and said, "Master Lu, this matter is of great importance. I am afraid I cannot bear this heavy responsibility."
"Don't be afraid. You can manage Hangzhou, a city with a population of nearly one million, in an orderly manner. This is a project with less than 200,000 people. I don't think it will be difficult for you."
Lu Huiqing smiled bitterly. How can this be compared?
Almost all the people in Hangzhou are from Central Plains, and generally speaking, they are law-abiding and polite.
And these Dingzhou people, whether they were Han or Xixia, were inherently unruly. Two hundred thousand people leaving the city to start work at the same time, if not managed properly... it would be difficult to end.
"I know your difficulties." Lu Sen looked at Lu Huiqing's bitter face and said with a smile: "So you can bring 3,000 elite soldiers to supervise the construction. If anyone dares to break the rules and cause trouble, you can deal with it."
Lu Huiqing calmed down now: "I have money, food, and people in my hands now, and I will definitely do a good job on this matter."
"Two hundred thousand people building a road is a huge project." Lu Sen couldn't help but say, "If it succeeds, this will be your most outstanding achievement since you became an official. No one of your peers can do better than you."
Hearing Lu Sen's words, Lu Huiqing's eyes suddenly opened wide. He thought of a person, Wang Anshi.
This is the biggest and strongest 'opponent' in his mind.
If I could really accomplish this, when I meet Wang Anshi in the future, I would be able to stand up straight and confront him.
"Thank you Master Lu for your advice."
Lu Huiqing was very grateful to Lu Sen. Although he had been doing a lot of tiring and sometimes dangerous work in recent times, he also understood that these were real political achievements. The more of these things he did, the better. It was like laying the foundation. When he returned to the court, he would be able to build a taller and bigger "building".
So he was chased by Lu Sen like a cow and tired like a dog, but he never complained, let alone hated Lu Sen.
"Don't remember to thank me. From now on you may want to kill me." Lu Sen said with a wicked smile.
"How dare I!" Lu Huiqing quickly bowed and clasped his fists.
Lu Sen said: "Because next, I will be away from Dingzhou for a short period of time, as short as five or six days, as long as half a month, it's hard to say."
Lu Huiqing suddenly felt something was wrong.
"So in the next period of time, you will not only have to manage the road construction, but also ensure the stability of Dingzhou and the supply of weapons and food on the northern front."
it is as expected!
If other superiors gave up their power, Lu Huiqing would definitely be very happy.
But if Lu Sen gives up power... that means trouble.
Not to mention the significance of Lu Sen being in charge of Dingzhou Prefecture, just dealing with the two great marshals Di Qing and Mu Guiying is a rather troublesome matter.
Because Lu Huiqing was just a minor civil official. Although it is said that civil officials are more important than military officials, these two are the "big bosses" among the military generals, and only civil officials of the same level of big bosses can suppress them.
He, Lu Huiqing, is just a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue. How could he have such qualifications?
"Don't worry, as long as you ensure the supply of weapons and food, these two marshals will not do anything to you. Those who are capable should do more work."
Lu Huiqing could only smile bitterly and said, "I obey your command."
He understood that now he might not be able to sleep for more than three hours a day.
Road construction, internal affairs, and logistics now all fall on his shoulders.
I hope Master Lu can come back before he dies of exhaustion.
After Lu Huiqing left, Lu Sen went to the backyard, took Yaoyao and Kunkun on the aircraft, and sent them back to Hangzhou.
After following Lu Huiqing for a period of time, they also witnessed the ugliness of the world.
I can see many things more clearly than ordinary people.
There is no point in continuing to train them. It would be better to let them return to the cave and practice well.
Then, Lu Sen picked up Xianxian and Xuenv, as well as the shrine sisters, and went to Izumo Michigu Shrine in Japan.
The reason why he left Dingzhou was because he received a secret letter from Xianxian saying that there was a problem in Japan.
Two aircraft landed above the main hall of Izumo Dojo Palace, and several retainers immediately came forward to greet them with a fist salute.
After Lu Sen got off the aircraft, he asked, "What's the situation?"
"They can't come in for now, but they have been surrounding the Taoist Palace for half a month."
In fact, when Lu Sen was sitting in the aircraft and looking down from the air, he had already seen that the Izumo Palace was surrounded, but the question was why the palace was surrounded.
"I don't know either." The leading general's surname was Lin. He smiled bitterly and said, "Besides, we don't really understand Japanese, so it's hard to communicate with them. They don't seem to be willing to communicate ."
Lu Sen walked from the main hall to the city wall and saw groups of short Japanese foot soldiers huddled together for warmth around the Taoist palace.
It was already very cold in Japan at this time. Although it had not snowed yet, the wind still chilled people to the bone.
Lu Sen took a look and found that the word "Source" was hung on their flag.
Lu Sen turned his head and asked, "Xianxian, where is this source...from?"
"It should be Genji." Lu Xianxian smiled bitterly: "My understanding of Japan only stays in more than a hundred years ago. If it is the Genji I know, then he should also be a member of the Japanese royal family."
Um?
There are so many branches of the Japanese royal family, including the Hara, Taira, Genji, Abe... Lu Sen has encountered four of them now.
And the word Genji... Lu Lin had a little impression of it. He heard that there was a pornographic book in Japan called "The Tale of Genji".
Its status in Japan is roughly equivalent to the Jin Ping Mei in later generations. It is said to be quite pornographic, but Lu Sen has never read it and has only heard rumors about it.
Lu Sen thought for a moment and asked, "We have no dealings with the Genji, why did they surround us?"
Although the opponent couldn't attack, this situation was not pleasant to watch.
"My dear, I'll go down and grab someone to ask." The Snow Girl appeared from the side, covering her mouth with her sleeves, smiling happily.
It's winter now, and it's her home turf.
Although spiritual energy will still be consumed, it will not be as much as in spring, summer and autumn.
"Okay, thank you for your help."
"It's a rare opportunity to do something for you, my dear."
After saying that, the Snow Girl jumped down from the city wall... and landed lightly in the distance.
It was broad daylight now. A woman in fluttering dress floated down from the high city wall. She was very conspicuous and naturally attracted the attention of the army below. Soon these people gathered together and surrounded her after estimating where the Snow Girl would land.
The snow woman fell to the ground, and a group of short foot soldiers beside her looked at her with horror.
A woman who can fly from the sky without getting hurt is very dangerous, even if she is beautiful.
If the general hadn't been watching from behind, they would never have come closer.
The Snow Girl looked around and asked with a smile, "My husband sent me to ask why you are surrounding our Taoist temple."
No one spoke.
The Snow Girl twitched her eyebrows. Since no one was willing to answer, she would find a way to capture someone and force a confession.
Just as she was about to take action, someone in the crowd said, "My lord, I am Minamoto no Yoriyoshi, the general of the Minamoto clan."
A strong man wearing armor and a ghost mask walked out of the crowd.
He was very tall, in stark contrast to the short foot soldiers around him.
Then he knocked off the ghost mask, revealing a young man's face, and said kindly: "We didn't come here with bad intentions, but we heard that you have a relationship with the Abe family, so we have to be on guard. "
