Jiuxi

Chapter 986 984 [The Beginning of Change]

Time flies and several months pass in a flash.

By late August, Heluo City gradually regained its vitality.

The prefect Chen Xun is shrewd and capable. He is gentle on the outside but strong on the inside and knows how to relax and work at will. He is more suitable for dealing with the complex situation in Heluo than Liu Yuan.

Under his overall planning and coordination, the city successively carried out matters such as market planning, street leveling, drainage guidance, and outer city repair. The appearance of the city improved day by day, becoming more and more orderly, and the people's hearts naturally became more stable.

As for the states in northern Jiangbei, on the one hand, officials selected by the court arrived one after another, and on the other hand, Lu Chen's confidants had already taken control of the overall situation in the past six months.

The two sides had no time to fight for power, because Lu Chen assigned them an important task, which was to use the boundary law to clarify the land areas in various places, and at the same time force officials, gentry and nobles to pay taxes according to the amount of land they owned.

This task is extremely difficult and was basically impossible to accomplish in the past, but now Lu Chen's prestige has reached its peak, and more importantly, he has an army of more than 200,000 under his command who are eyeing him covetously.

After arresting a dozen typical troublemakers and confiscating their properties, Lu Chen's decree was successfully implemented throughout Jiangbei.

At the same time, the court's plan to move the capital was also progressing in an orderly manner. Minister of Rites Kong Yingdong and Minister of Works Zhu Heng led hundreds of officials to Heluo to make preliminary preparations for the royal family to return to the old capital.

The first thing they did after entering the city was to pay a visit to Lu Chen.

The conversation was unremarkable. Kong Yingdong and Zhu Heng were both old bureaucrats who were Jinshi graduates and spoke like sages. Although they did not dare to put on airs in front of Lu Chen, the decadence in their words was almost impossible to conceal. Naturally, Lu Chen was not in a great mood to listen any further.

After giving them a few simple words of encouragement and asking them to work attentively, Lu Chen served them tea and saw them off.

When he arrived at the flower hall in the back house, he heard clear and pleasant laughter before he even entered the door, and Lu Chen suddenly felt in a good mood.

"The prince is here."

Lin Xi led the way, and all the concubines and maids hurriedly bowed to greet them.

If they were getting along in private, Lin Xi would definitely not be so serious. Even in front of Li Bingxue and Wang Chulong, she would habitually call Lu Chen "you" or "junior brother". However, now the whole family is here, and there are many maids, and she doesn't want to be criticized.

Perhaps it was the in-depth conversation she had with Lin Jie in Guxian that made her consciously learn how to be a good wife.

Lu Chen looked at Lin Xi with a smile, and then said to everyone: "Didn't I say that you don't have to bow at home? You are all pregnant now, so it's best not to get up easily."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the girls blushed, and even a bold girl like Luo Jiujiu glared at him with shame and anger.

After half a year of hard work, Lu Chen relied on his superb internal energy to transform himself into a workhorse and finally reaped the rewards.

In addition to Lin Xi and Gu Wan'er, Li Bingxue, Wang Chulong, Luo Jiujiu and Song Pei became pregnant one after another.

After everyone sat down, they continued what they were doing before. Wang Chulong and Li Bingxue played chess by the window. It seemed that she had let the opponent win a lot, but even so, Li Bingxue frowned and pondered over the chess game.

Luo Jiujiu, Song Pei and Gu Wan'er were chatting in the side hall, and laughter could be heard from time to time.

Lin Xi was just like she was back then, leisurely sitting on a rattan chair, holding a storybook that Lu Chen had someone find for her, with snacks and tea on the small table beside her.

Occasionally, she would look up at Lu Jiusi, who was playing in the courtyard outside with the maids.

The years are quiet and peaceful.

This is the scene Lu Chen wants to see most, and it is also what he requires of his family.

He didn't care how strict the rules were for the wealthy and powerful families in this world. He just wanted his family to be more relaxed and comfortable. Family members should of course maintain due respect among themselves, but other than that, there was no need to be so rigid that they would end up becoming puppets or clay sculptures.

"Daddy."

Lu Xinyi ran over in small steps.

"Eh."

Lu Chen picked her up and gave her a kiss on her pink cheek, making the little girl laugh non-stop.

Holding his baby daughter and sitting on the couch, Lu Chen lowered his voice and asked, "Do you have a secret to tell Daddy?"

"Ok!"

Lu Xinyi nodded heavily, then carefully glanced at Wang Chulong in the distance, and whispered in Lu Chen's ear: "Dad, Sixth Aunt cried quietly yesterday afternoon."

According to the order of entrance within the Lu family, Lin Xi is undoubtedly the eldest lady, followed by Wang Chulong, Li Bingxue third, Luo Jiujiu fourth, Song Pei fifth, and Gu Wan'er last.

Lu Chen knew why Gu Wan'er was crying alone after a little thought. Although she was outstanding in appearance and talent, she was a relatively marginal character in the Lu family. She was not even as good as Song Pei. After all, the latter could manage the trivial matters at home in an orderly manner, and she was the first woman to appear beside Lu Chen.

Now everyone else is pregnant, and Lin Xi has given birth to her eldest son, but there is no movement in her belly, so she can't help but feel sad.

Because she knew that Lu Chen was not a person obsessed with beauty. Although he had not been cold to her in the past six months, he was not particularly fond of her either. Naturally, she felt worried and uneasy.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen smiled and asked, "Then are you willing to go and comfort Sixth Aunt?"

Lu Xinyi nodded and said, "Yes!"

But she didn't know what to do, so she stared at Lu Chen with her big round eyes.

"Well, go to Sixth Aunt and whisper it in her ear—"

Lu Chen said softly: "Just say that Daddy said, keep working hard, and you will get it." "Okay!"

Lu Xinyi got off him and trotted to the side hall. Under everyone's curious gaze, she said crisply, "Sixth Aunt, Daddy has something to tell you."

Gu Wan'er's heart trembled, and she quickly leaned over and asked, "What did you say?"

Lu Xinyi leaned over to her ear and repeated everything word for word. Then she saw Gu Wan'er's delicate skin turn red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

She stood up and glared shyly at Lu Chen who was smiling in the distance.

Seeing this, Luo Jiujiu couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

"nothing."

Gu Wan'er shook her head repeatedly. If she dared to say those eight words, wouldn't she be laughed at by them for several months?
Luo Jiujiu then looked at Lu Xinyi, and the little girl said righteously: "This is a secret, you can't tell Fourth Aunt."

Luo Jiujiu stretched out her hand and gently pinched her cheek, saying angrily: "I love you in vain."

Everyone laughed.

"very nice……"

Listening to the chirping sounds of the girls, Lu Chen couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

But before he could continue to indulge himself, a maidservant's voice came from outside: "Your Highness, General Huo and General Li want to see you."

"Ugh……"

The emotion turned into sigh.

Under Lin Xi's half-smiley gaze, Lu Chen had no choice but to suppress the resentment in his heart, stood up and walked out.

When they arrived at the front hall, Huo Zhen and Li Chengen immediately stood up and saluted, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"No need, sit down."

Lu Chen was very easy-going towards these two trusted generals.

He looked at Huo Zhen and asked, "Are you ready?"

Huo Zhen replied calmly: "Your Majesty, the 20,000 soldiers of the Ruyin Army are ready and can march south at any time."

In the past six months, Lu Chen has completed the framework construction of the New Qi Army. Except for the imperial guards in Yongjia City in the south of the Yangtze River, the army in the north of the Yangtze River was organized into Qixing, Dingbei, Feiyu, Zhenbei, Feiyun, Ningyuan, Lai'an, Guangling, Panlong, Fengfu, Ruyin, Guangji, Heyang, Anping, Qingxu, Taixing, Zhenwei, and Dingwei, a total of 18 armies with a total of 360,000 people.

Each army has one commander, three deputy commanders, five regimental commanders, and twenty battalion commanders, all of whom have been reviewed and approved by Lu Chen.

At present, most of the troops are not fully staffed. The Ruyin Army can be given priority in replenishing troops because it has the responsibility of going south to set up the Jiangnan Camp.

Lu Chen nodded and said, "Let's set off the day after tomorrow. I will see you off at the outskirts of the city. General Huo, you have a heavy responsibility to take on when you go to Jiangnan. You need to remember one thing: don't be blinded by the prosperity of Jiangnan. Keep a good eye on your soldiers. If you cause any incident that violates military law and has a bad impact, I will definitely not let you off easily."

Huo Zhen said solemnly: "Your Majesty, I will never embarrass you."

Lu Chen said: "I believe you will not do anything reckless, but you can't be lenient with the soldiers below. The Jiangnan camp will be fully staffed at around 50,000 people. In addition to the 20,000 people you brought, there will be the remaining 10,000 or 20,000 imperial guards selected by Shen Yulai, and some soldiers will be recruited in Jiangnan. This camp will last for three to five years. As long as you don't make any mistakes during this period, it will be a great achievement. I won't treat you unfairly in the future."

Huo Zhen responded respectfully.

Lu Chen turned to look at Li Chengen and said slowly, "You will lead 10,000 cavalrymen to follow the Ruyin army southward. There are two main tasks for this trip. One is to keep an eye on those wealthy families in Jiangnan and make them cooperate with the court in measuring the land and determining taxes. If anyone pretends to obey or even instigates civil unrest, you will petition the Queen Mother to find those families who are leading the trouble, just like we did in Jiangbei. Those who deserve to be beheaded will be beheaded, and those whose property will be confiscated will be confiscated. Don't be soft-hearted."

Li Chengen said: "Yes, I understand."

Lu Chen continued, "The second thing is, when the Tian family sets out to the north at the end of the year, Shen Yulai will lead 20,000 elite imperial guards to escort along the way, and your 10,000 cavalry will patrol the periphery to ensure that no one disturbs the Holy Carriage. Remember, even if the Holy Carriage is just a little frightened on the way, the world will hold the responsibility on my head."

Li Chengen knew the importance of this matter, otherwise Lu Chen would not have sent him out, so he stood up and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I guarantee that there will be no mistakes."

After half an hour, the two generals bowed and left.

Lu Chen slowly finished the tea in the cup, stood up and walked to the corridor, looked up at the clear sky, and began to think carefully.

The adjustment of land tax in Jiangbei and Jiangnan is the first step and also a crucial step. Only by digging enough wealth out of those big families can we fill the national treasury and improve people's livelihood.

He knew very well that this matter could not be delayed. He had to take advantage of the time when his prestige was at its peak and the country had just been pacified to severely deal with those insignificant clans. Otherwise, in five or ten years, the forces from all levels would be intertwined and the resistance he would face would be countless times greater.

Fortunately, no one can stop his determination and blade at the moment.

By the end of the year when the capital is relocated, this improved version of the land-based tax system will probably be completed at the same time. The next steps will be to build water conservancy projects, encourage agriculture and sericulture, open schools, and develop economy and trade.

The research of the Bureau of Construction, the Bureau of Medical Affairs, and the Academy of Agriculture will gradually produce results, further accelerating the development of engineering and agriculture, and forcing young scholars to pay attention to these disciplines that truly benefit the country and the people.

"Your Highness, Lord Su has entered the city and is heading towards the palace."

Qin Zilong's rough voice interrupted Lu Chen's thoughts.

Su Yunqing is here?
Lu Chen smiled and nodded, "Please ask him to come to his study for a chat."

(End of this chapter)