Troubled times: Start practicing spiritual practice by taking care of your sister-in-law.

In mid-February, the Emperor of Wei decided to make an eastern tour soon to demonstrate his imperial power, inspect the local areas, and understand the people's sentiments.

After Chen Mo came up with the idea of ​​going to Sichuan and Hai, he told Wu Mi about this idea, but Wu Mi had different opinions.

Wu Mi said that since he ascended the throne, he had not often attended court, and was either running here or there. It was okay once or twice, but if it happened too often, it would inevitably make his ministers feel that the emperor was lazy and it would leave a bad example for future emperors.

If you want to go to Chuanhai, you have to find a reason that convinces all the officials.

The reason for the Eastern Tour was a good one. After several years of fighting, Chen Mo cleared Zhongzhou and established the Xin Dynasty. Last year, he "unified" Jinxia. Although the world is peaceful now, the Xin Dynasty still faces multiple challenges, including the separatist rule of local tyrants. In some remote areas, government orders cannot even reach them.

The Eastern Tour was not only a symbol of power, but also an important means to strengthen centralization and promote ruling ideas.

When the time comes, we can just include Sichuan and Hai in the route of the Eastern Tour.

Besides, haven’t all the officials always wanted Chen Mo to go to Mount Ziwei to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth? They can do so during this eastern tour.

After following Wu Mi's advice, Chen Mo brought the matter up at the morning court and received approval from most officials.

The few who oppose it only talk about money.

After all, when the emperor goes on an eastern tour, the ceremony must be grand, as it represents the royal majesty. The tour must not be short, as he has to visit many places, and a grand ceremony would cost a huge amount of manpower, material resources and financial resources.

And whenever the emperor arrived at a place, he would definitely be received by local officials.

When you meet the emperor, you certainly can't make it too shabby.

This will lead to extravagance and waste, and some officials may even profit from it.

In this regard, some officials expressed different opinions, saying that His Majesty could issue an edict that local officials could keep things simple during meetings.

Anyway, no matter what, the Eastern Tour was decided.

The next step is to arrange the route, security measures, etc. for the Eastern Tour. After all these are prepared, the specific time for the Eastern Tour can be set.

……

When the news of the Eastern Tour reached the harem, the concubines all flocked to the Weiyang Palace and found the Queen. It was obvious that they also wanted to accompany the Queen on this Eastern Tour.

The most excited ones among them were Liang Ji, Xiao Yunxi and Xu Ying.

They have all been queens and they all care more or less about fame and fortune.

The Fengshan Ceremony at Mount Ziwei might be a major event recorded in history books, and even the people accompanying them would have their names recorded. If they could accompany them, their names would also be recorded in history books.

As soon as Chen Mo arrived at the Weiyang Palace, a group of concubines surrounded him without even taking off his imperial robe.

Han Anniang didn't care about the reputation of accompanying Fengshan, but Chen Mo's eastern tour this time was not to go out to fight, so it wouldn't be a problem for the women like them to go with him, so Han Anniang also wanted to go.

She also received advice from an expert. She pursed her lips and whispered, "Erlang has led troops to war several times, and even went to the south of the Yangtze River without taking me with him. This time, Erlang, you can't leave me alone."

"My dear husband, from childhood to adulthood, I have never seen the sea. I don't even know what the sea looks like. My dear husband, aren't you going to Chuanhai on your eastern tour this time? Take me with you." Yi Shiyan stepped forward and hugged Chen Mo's arm, acting coquettishly.

"Your Majesty, I have never seen the sea either." Song Min also said in a low voice at this time.

After these three of them spoke, the other concubines naturally couldn't sit still.

Nalan Yiren said: "My medical skills have all been seen by you sisters. If I don't bring me with you, you may not feel at ease."

Yue Ruyan cleared her throat and said, "I am a top third-rank warrior, and I am a girl, so I can protect the Queen and Sister An closely."

Xia Zhining, Xia Zhiqing, Xiao Yunxi and the others also spoke up one by one, wanting to follow.

There were also those who did not speak, such as Zhao Yusu, Madam Gan, Madam Xiao, Zhihua, Wanyan Ya and others.

They were just concubines, and not as shameless as Xu Ying. They wanted to follow, but they didn't have the confidence to speak up.

As they were talking, all the girls' eyes turned to Chen Mo.

Chen Mo didn't care. He didn't have any concubines selected. The concubines in the harem, plus the beauties from the three tribes that Chang'en brought back from Jinxia some time ago, only had about 20 to 30 people anyway. It would be no big deal to take them all with him.

He waved his hand and said, "Go ahead, Mi'er, take the children with you."

As he spoke, he looked at Liang Ji, Xiao Yunxi, Xu Ying and the others, and added: "But Fengshan is not an eastern tour, and there are rules for who to bring along. The Ministry of Rites will draw up a set of rules, and you definitely can't go up with me. When the Fengshan ceremony comes, I can only bring Mi'er with me."

The three girls frowned and felt a little disappointed. They glanced at the other sisters who were silent beside them. They had no choice but to give up and nodded reluctantly.

Concubines like Zhao Yusu didn't have so many thoughts. When they heard that they could follow, their faces were full of joy. They turned around and said, "I'll go pack my things."

Chen Mo was a little amused and raised his hand and said, "Wait for the cabinet to plan the route and then submit it to me for review. It will take at least a month for the final decision and the selection of personnel. There is a long time, so there is no need to be so anxious."

At the end of February, the route for the eastern tour was planned. We would first travel by water, then land in Qingzhou and then travel by land.

On this eastern tour, Chen Mo planned to bring Geng Songfu and Chen Xiu along, with Zuo Lianglun and several other cabinet members assisting in supervising the country, and Chang En would also stay in the capital.

The route has been planned, the personnel have been selected, and the time for the eastern tour has been set for March 9th.

The purpose of Chen Mo's eastern tour this time was to go to Chuanhai, one for the purpose of cultivation, and the other for investigating the truth about the fairy fruit and the fairy island. He planned the eastern tour just for this little bit of vinegar and made a plate of dumplings.

……

On March 9th, six, four, and two horse-drawn carriages were parked outside the palace. After the emperor's procession left the palace, these six, four, and two horse-drawn carriages, carrying the emperor, concubines, civil and military officials, went to the canal to board the ship under the escort of the guards.

At the canal dock, several warships were fully loaded with thousands of Fish Scale Guards.

Of course, the emperor’s guards were more than just these, there were nearly 10,000 infantrymen.

Only they followed on horseback, on land.

After leaving Beijing, whenever they arrived at a planned inspection location along the eastern tour route, Chen Mo would bring Wu Mi, the crown prince, and Geng Songfu ashore.

Local officials came to greet them.

Although Chen Mo had already issued an order to keep everything simple during the reception, the reception at the first inspection point was very luxurious.

When the local officials were asked why they did not keep it simple, they replied: "This was spontaneously organized by the wealthy merchants and gentry in the county, just to see your majesty's face."

Chen Mo frowned slightly and made a few simple criticisms, but did not make a big deal out of it. He then went on a local inspection.

The so-called inspection only involves a few points.

If there are river works, seawalls and other projects in the local area, the first thing to do is to inspect the river works and seawalls.

Then there is the household registration and tax situation.

Then, if there are meritorious soldiers who have retired due to illness in the local area, they will go to visit them and give them condolences.

If there is enough time, I will also visit local people over 70 years old and talk to them.

Go to some more villages to promote the idea of ​​the rule of law, see whether the new policies have been implemented in these places, and investigate the sufferings of the people.

During this period, the queen would take the prince to care for the children of the people in order to demonstrate the queen's virtue and the prince's benevolence.

In this way, by the time they arrived in Qingzhou, it was already June. After arriving in Qingzhou, Chen Mo took Wu Mi and the others to Fuze Village as soon as possible.

This is the first time Chen Mo has returned to his village since he became emperor.

For Chen Mo's children, this was their first time here.

Today's Fuze Village is actually no longer a village. It has been planned as a county town and a village in the city.

As the emperor's carriage arrived outside Fuze Village, the villagers immediately started shouting.

"The Emperor is here."

"The emperor is here, go and see him."

"Mother, come out quickly. Our emperor has returned to the village. All the villagers have gone there. We should go there quickly, or we won't be able to get a good seat."

Chen Mo brought Wu Mi, Han Anniang, Yi Shiyan, Xia Zhiqing, Xia Zhining and their respective children, as well as officials such as Geng Songfu and Zhang He, into the village.

Han Anniang and the others all had smiles on their faces.

Compared to the younger sisters who came in later, they had all lived in Fuze Village, and they even knew some of the elderly people in the village.

For Chen Mo, Fuze Village is his roots.

At that time, the men in the village followed him in the uprising, and fought dozens or even hundreds of battles, big and small, against the county soldiers, Tianshi army, warlords and others of the previous dynasty, and made great contributions to the establishment of the Great Wei.

When Chen Mo, Wu Mi and Chen Jia came down from the imperial carriage, the people gathered around them.

Chen Mo glanced at them roughly and felt a little disappointed. The village was still the same village, but the people were no longer the same as before.

Those who first followed Chen Mo to start the rebellion were almost all ordinary people. After experiencing so many battles, only a few of them are still alive today. And those few who are still alive no longer live in Fuze Village, but have moved to the capital and some big cities.

Of course, there were also some people who moved from nearby villages and made great contributions following Chen Mo.

When Chen Mo walked towards the village, a lame middle-aged man with a cane came to Chen Mo slowly and said with an excited smile: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I am a soldier under General Zhang. After the decisive battle of Songjiapo, you gave me a medal in Linzhou. Your Majesty, you are really cruel."

"Yeah yeah."

"Your Majesty, I also participated in the decisive battle of Songjiapo."

Several middle-aged men stood up. Although they were not the first group to follow Chen Mo, they were also veterans. The common point among them was that they were all disabled and had left the army because of that.

However, although they were physically disabled, they were not disabled in heart. Although their clothes were not luxurious, they were neat and tidy, and there were no patches on their clothes. They did not mention the loss of being forced to leave the army, but were full of admiration for Chen Mo.

Compared with the previous chaotic times, they truly feel that life has become better.

Moreover, Chen Mo beat Jin Xia severely and even "conquered" Jin Xia, making them proud for once.

To be honest, Chen Mo didn't remember them. After all, they were the lowest-level soldiers, and by the time of the decisive battle of Songjiaopo, he was already a first-class duke.

But this is definitely not something you can say.

He smiled and shook the hands of these veterans one by one.

Although they didn't say a word, the excitement and flattery were written on their faces almost at the same time.

Chen Mo asked about their health, how many people were in their family, and how their lives were going.

The old soldier who said Chen Mo was too cruel said excitedly: "Your Majesty, thanks to your great blessing, our family can now have enough food and clothing, and we have extra money to eat hot pot in the restaurant. My son is also a warrior of the Shenyong Guard. Last year, he followed your majesty to fight against the Jinxia barbarians and made military achievements."

After saying that, several veterans rushed to invite Chen Mo to their homes.

For a moment, many emotions surged into Chen Mo's heart.

After that, he went to his old house.

The old house made of rammed earth is still in the same condition as when Chen Mo left the village. It seems that the local officials have put a lot of effort into this house.

Chen Mo asked other concubines to bring their children along.

"Is this the house where my father used to live? It's so shabby." Chen Nuo couldn't help but say.

As soon as she finished speaking, Xia Zhiqing covered her mouth with her hand and said, "What nonsense are you talking about, kid?"

Chen Mo walked up to Chen Nuo, squatted down, pinched his little face, and laughed angrily, "Stinky boy."

"This is a humble house, but I am virtuous."

At this moment, Crown Prince Chen Jia suddenly said this.

Chen Mo was stunned.

All the concubines, including Wu Mi, were stunned.

"Father, was what I quoted wrong?" Seeing that Chen Mo and the others didn't say anything, Chen Jia asked in confusion.

"Yes, that's absolutely right." Chen Mo walked over, picked him up, and said with a smile: "It seems that not all the people in the Imperial College are good-for-nothings."

"Congratulations, Your Majesty." Geng Songfu on the side congratulated Chen Mo for the crown prince's virtue.

Xia Zhiqing glared at her son lightly, with a hint of disappointment in her eyes, as if to say, we were all taught by the same teacher, why can't you say something like that?

Chen Nuo didn't understand what this meant. He just felt that his father was partial to him and pouted his lips in grievance.

"Chong'er, learn more from your brother the Crown Prince in the future." Han Anniang taught her son.

Although it was getting late, Chen Mo was in a bad mood and decided not to endure the hardship. He planned to stay in the old house for one night.

In this regard, Wu Mi and Han Anniang could only accompany him.

Fortunately, the house is cleaned regularly inside and outside, so it is very clean. You can just bring the bedding and go to sleep.

The next morning, Chen Mo took his daughters and children to the imperial mausoleum.

This imperial mausoleum was built at the order of Chen Mo specifically for his deceased parents, elder brother, and grandparents.

Chen Mo brought them to identify their ancestors.

Let the deceased grandchildren kowtow in front of the grave.

After all, Chen Mo is a time traveler and has no emotional attachment to his original body's parents.

However, Han Anniang's eyes turned red and tears flowed as soon as she arrived at the grave.

In a trance, she seemed to have returned to ten years ago, when Chen's father and mother were still alive, and Chen's mother's instructions to her.

(End of this chapter)