The Bad Guys: Everyone, let’s revive the Tang Dynasty together!

Chapter 399: Farmer

After Qian Wu left the temporary villa of Concubine Xu and Concubine Xiao and returned to the government office, Xiao Yan had not returned yet. An official told her that the general had gone out of the city to organize the autumn harvest and might not be seen until the evening.

Qian Wu then went straight out of the city to look for Xiao Yan.

It was August, and the wheat fields were fully ripe. Before, there were military farms outside Nanzheng City, mainly concentrated in the alluvial plains on the southeast bank of the Han River, and there was also some land on the north bank.

When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty developed the Southwest Yi, Hanzhong was already a "land of abundance" and the surrounding areas of Nanzheng were prosperous. Later, during the Three Kingdoms period, when Cao Wei and Shu Han fought for Hanzhong, Xiahou Yuan and Zhao Yun were stationed in Nanzheng to organize military settlements. After that, several generations of Tang emperors fled to Shuzhong and relied on the military settlements in Hanzhong to supply the central government. Therefore, there have always been a large number of official fields and arable land around the entire Nanzheng area.

Two months ago, Xiao Yan led his troops into Hanzhong. Before the Shu army and civilians had time to harvest the wheat in advance, Nanzheng City had already fallen. Afterwards, Xiao Yan strictly ordered all armies and departments not to damage or occupy wheat fields, and assigned officials to be responsible for organizing production. As a result, the wheat in hundreds of thousands of acres of fields around Nanzheng was still growing well after the war.

Before, some officials of the old Shu State had flattered Xiao Yan, saying that thanks to the general's benevolence and strict military discipline, no one had been harmed since they entered Shu. Only after Shu was annexed by the Central Plains could they smoothly carry out the first wave of autumn harvest, and the output was estimated to be even greater than in previous years. This was the general's gift to the people of Shu.

In today's world, food is the only thing that guarantees productivity, followed by people.

This was a truth that Qian Wu understood, so she asked a man named Ye Bushou to take her out of the city to look for Xiao Yan. But halfway through the journey, she suddenly had an idea and asked someone to call a carriage to pick up the two Concubines Xu, saying that she wanted to invite them to go out for an outing outside the city. Wang Jian did not dare to refuse, and in fact, he did not even show his face.

The younger Concubine Xu was fine, but the older Concubine Xu was very surprised. She packed up for a long time, and finally just wore a veil and went out. On the way, Qian Wu asked them many questions in the carriage.

Fortunately, the road was not far, about a few miles out of the city, and Ye Bu Shou asked the coachman to stop the carriage, saying that there was a small road where the carriage could not be driven, and the only way was to walk or ride a horse.

Concubine Xu was in a dilemma. She didn't want to show up in public like this, especially since she was a powerful concubine of Shu not long ago and had always been accompanied by a distinguished guard of honor. However, she couldn't refuse Qian Wu, so she could only get off the car shyly with her veil on.

The group walked along the path in the field for a while, and Qian Wu soon recognized a familiar figure in the field, it was Xiao Yan.

The two maids who followed Qian Wu and the two Xu concubines were all looking over there with incredible eyes. They saw Xiao Yan wearing a short shirt, bending over among the wheat ears, holding a sickle in his hand, and actually cutting the wheat himself!
They have seen Xiao Yan before, so of course they wouldn't make a mistake!
Qian Wu was not too surprised, as if she could accept Xiao Yan no matter what he was like.

There was a large group of officials waiting for Xiao Yan on the edge of the field, but they were all old officials. The rest of the younger ones had gone into the fields. Many of them were clumsy and slow in cutting wheat, and it was obvious that they went into the fields just to please Xiao Yan.

Concubine Xu saw some ministers of the old Shu Dynasty on the edge of the field, such as the former prime minister Wei Zhuang, the secretary Zhou Xiang, and even her father Xu Geng!
At this time, Zhou Xuang was occasionally turning his head and whispering something to Wei Zhuang beside him. Wei Zhuang, who was in his seventies, was sitting on a small stool. It took him a long time to nod slightly, and it was not known whether he heard clearly or not.

Several Ye Bu Shou with swords drawn walked towards Qian Wu and others. The one in the middle was Ye Bu Shou's pacification envoy Gong Yang Zuo. He was often by Xiao Yan's side and was familiar with Qian Wu. However, the two Xu concubines did not have a good impression of him. This old man was very good at scaring people.

The somewhat timid little Concubine Xu looked around and saw in the distance several alert Ye Bushou leading their horses slowly.

Unexpectedly, to the great and small concubines' surprise, and at the same time seemingly within reason, Gong Yangzuo, the pacification envoy of Yebushou, who was hated and feared by the old Shu officials, actually stepped forward and saluted Qianwu: "Master of Qianwu Cave."

Qian Wu clasped his fists in return, then looked at Xiao Yan, who was bending over in the wheat field in the distance, his eyes intoxicated.

Gong Yangzuo stroked his beard, glanced at the two concubines wearing veils, and smiled at Qian Wu, "Do you want me to report to the king?"

Qian Wu waved her hand and said politely, "Don't bother me, my lord." She looked around for a moment and asked, "Do you have anything you need for painting?"

She realized that if she asked someone to go back and get it now, it might be a bit of a delay. She also remembered that the painting of Xiao Yan accepting the surrender of the Shu Emperor, which was liked by both the empress and Ji Ruxue, was painted by Gongyang Zuo, so she asked.

"Yes." Gong Yangzuo laughed loudly, and then sent someone to get it from the carriage outside the field that had not been cleared all night.

During this gap, Concubine Xu had already recognized that among the officials of the old Shu Dynasty in the field, the one who followed Xiao Yan the closest was actually the former Right Servant Zhang Ge. This guy had tried to please the eunuch Tang Wenjian whom she trusted, and because he was good at guessing the emperor's intentions, he had always been powerful in the court. Now that he was here, he didn't expect to be able to thrive like a fish in water, and even things like harvesting wheat were done in a decent manner.

Qian Wu pointed at the people following Xiao Yan in the field and asked, "Who are those others?"

Gong Yang Zuo said: "The one who arranged the wheat pile is Yu Zhong, the commander of the Guide Army's infantry. The one who carried the wheat pile on the cart is Shi Hongzhao, the commander of the Shen Ce Army. The other one is Li Si'an, the commander of the cavalry and infantry of the camp. Most of the others are former Shu officials. They heard that the king was harvesting wheat here, so they came here on their own."

The eldest Concubine Xu was speechless for a moment. Several commanders who actually held military power and so many princes and ministers of the old Shu were actually harvesting wheat in the fields like farmers.

In the past in Chengdu, officials from the Ministry of Revenue would actually suggest that Wang Jian go to the fields himself when he went out to encourage farmers to grow crops. But at that time Wang Jian was just doing it for show, which was equivalent to a courtesy. Moreover, there would definitely be many soldiers, civilians, and officials watching around him, so they could use this to spread the word about him as a monarch.

But looking at the way Xiao Yan did it, he did not allow the people to watch outside, and some ministers just gathered here spontaneously and waited. It seemed as if Xiao Yan suddenly decided to go to the fields, and he was working very seriously. He was really doing farm work.

The younger Concubine Xu found it very interesting and even leaned close to the older Concubine Xu to whisper a few words to her. She was no longer as scared as before.

At this time, someone brought painting supplies, and Qian Wu immediately set up the drawing board on the spot and began to paint. She felt that she should bring this scene back to show Ji Ruxue and the empress.

The elder and younger Xu concubines only watched Qian Wu paint from behind, and no one cared about their identities. Maybe someone noticed them, but they would not come up to recognize them. For example, the elder Xu concubine noticed that their father Xu Geng looked over here several times but did not even move a step.

However, Qian Wu's sketch was only half completed when Xiao Yan spotted her. He glanced over here, put the wheat ears in his hand on the wheat pile behind him, handed the sickle in his hand to a night guard who was about to take over his shift, and walked up from the field.

Xiao Yan first said something to the ministers, and especially patted the arm of Wei Zhuang, the former prime minister of Shu, as if to advise the latter to take care of his health. Some ministers wanted to get closer to him and show their faces more, but Xiao Yan ignored them and walked straight over here.

He smiled at Qian Wu and asked, "Why are you here?"

As he was talking, he had already seen the unfinished painting and realized that it was a painting of himself. He shook his head and laughed, "Why are you painting this? Don't paint it. I'm not putting on a show."

Qian Wu put away his writing brush and ink, but still carefully put away the unfinished work, wrapped it in cloth to prevent it from being contaminated, and then said, "Didn't my lord say that he wanted to set up a dinner party? I came to ask if there is anything I need to prepare."

"Someone will arrange it." Xiao Yan pondered for a moment, and at the same time looked at the slightly reserved Concubine Xu and Concubine Xiao. Seeing him looking at her, Concubine Xu bowed very politely and said, "I greet the general. Since all the gentlemen are here, it is inconvenient for me to show my face to you. I hope the general will understand..."

"It doesn't matter."

Although Xiao Yan was somewhat surprised that these two would get entangled with Qian Wu, after thinking about it, he thought of the story about the Bronze Sparrow Tower that the empress had asked Qian Wu to convey, and he just found it funny, so he didn't take it to heart, but said, "Qian Wu is from Raojiang, and has not been in the Central Plains for too long. If the two ladies can become friends with Qian Wu, they can take care of him when they move to Bian Jing in the future, which is a good thing."

The elder Concubine Xu was preoccupied with her own thoughts. She only talked to Xiao Yan for a few words before running out of topics to talk about. Instead, the younger Concubine Xu suddenly said, "I didn't expect the general to be able to harvest wheat."

"Is it weird?"

Xiao Yan glanced at her and said casually, "But it is not easy to harvest well. It requires careful work. If I ask my generals to do it, they will waste the food and can only clean up the wheat pile. Farmers have been taking care of the crops for decades, and they put in the most effort, but in the end they actually get very little. They are the hardest working people in the world."

Qian Wu looked at Xiao Yan with admiration. She felt that her husband was amazing and was worthy of being the cave god who saved the world.

Young Concubine Xu looked somewhat shocked, but Old Concubine Xu had a complicated expression behind her veil, because she realized that there was actually no falsehood in Xiao Yan's words. This was particularly unbelievable for a noble lady like her who loved luxury and lived a life of luxury all year round. Instead, she found it ridiculous. Why would it be so hard for a farmer?
There are very few big men in this world who even pretend to be so, let alone actually take those lowly peasants seriously.

While her sister was lost in thought, Concubine Xu asked again, "If the general asks those generals and princes to do this, will they be willing?"

Xiao Yan laughed, but it seemed like he wasn't laughing.

"Yes. Because I am doing it."

After he said this, he stopped wasting time here and asked Qian Wu to go back and prepare for the dinner. Then he turned around and called his ministers to go back after harvesting this acre of land, because it seemed that he had to reward the soldiers outside the city.

Xiao Yan earned 50 million guan in Shu. This time, the soldiers who followed him deep into Hanzhong could get nearly 200 guan in rewards on average. With this money, they could buy nearly 100 slaves, or more than 20 cows, or dozens of acres of land. So although the soldiers went through life and death this time, the rewards were particularly generous, which was already a windfall. Fortunately, most of them were Xiao Yan's direct descendants, the Guide Army.

However, Concubine Xu could not care whether the wealth came from the Kingdom of Shu. She was just shocked by Xiao Yan's arrogance just now, and was a little distraught for a while.

When Wang Jiangui was the emperor, Concubine Xu often felt that he had the majesty of an emperor. But when she thought about it carefully, he was far inferior to the domineering aura that Xiao Yan exuded just now with the words "Because I'm doing it". Thinking of this, she felt even more uncomfortable because she found that Xiao Yan really didn't seem to have much interest in the two sisters.

At this time, an old veteran came over here and heard the little Concubine Xu calling her father in surprise. Only then did the big Concubine Xu come to her senses.

However, their father Xu Geng, who had a serious face, did not respond to them at the first time. Instead, he respectfully clasped his fists and saluted Qian Wu: "Xu Geng greets Madam."

Qian Wu hummed, looked around at the father and his two daughters, and walked towards the carriage with the unfinished scroll in his arms.

"The general asked me to come and reminisce with you sisters."

Xu Geng didn't have any emotions. This place didn't allow him to have any emotions. He was surrounded by eyes everywhere. He just murmured, "Although the general is decisive in killing on the battlefield, he is actually quite generous. Although my family is valued by the general, you must not be as arrogant as before... You must have a good relationship with this lady." The eldest concubine Xu had a bitter mouth. Not long ago, her father was always very polite when meeting her, but this time he asked them not to be as arrogant as before. Well, how could they be arrogant now?

Xu Geng didn't say much, just a few words, and at the end he just left a message for the two sisters: "You must know the current situation..."

The younger Concubine Xu might not have understood it very well, but the older Concubine Xu understood other meanings from it, especially when her father’s gaze deliberately lingered on her face for a moment at the end.

------

The night banquet was held in the Nanzheng Palace. The government office was too small to accommodate so many people. All the officials from the entire Shu area who gathered in Hanzhong came, as well as officials from the Tiance Palace who rushed to Shuzhong, and officials sent by the Liang Dynasty to settle Shu and temporarily stationed in Nanzheng.

After this so-called night banquet, everyone will be part of the same circle from now on. Although most of the former officials of Shu Kingdom will go to the Central Plains to serve as officials, at least in name they will all work in the same court in the future, so this banquet can also be used to ease the relationship between the two sides.

As for holding a night banquet in the palace, no one would probably accuse Xiao Yan of overstepping his authority.

Wang Jian took a carriage to the outside of the palace. Before getting off the carriage, he glanced at the majestic palace from the window and sighed.

The one in charge of welcoming the guests was an official from the Tiance Mansion. When they entered the main hall, although the throne was empty, Xiao Yan sat on the high seat without hesitation. There was no one else beside him, only Qian Wu sat with him.

Since Xiao Yan was hosting a banquet for his guests, there were no separate halls for men and women. Everyone was in the same hall and could see this scene.

In the past two days, many former Shu officials have been trying to find out Qian Wu's identity, because Qian Wu actually doesn't act like Xiao Yan's favorite concubine, but more like a personal bodyguard, just not very close to people. But no one has found out yet.

Both the elder and younger Xu concubines changed their attire, which was not so low-key, but not particularly luxurious either. They were no different from the families of ordinary ministers. But after all, the two sisters were favored in the harem with their beauty, so they looked different from ordinary women.

The eldest concubine Xu even cleverly put on a little makeup, but it was actually of little use. There were almost no people around her sisters and Wang Jian, as if everyone was avoiding them. Instead, the ministers of the Liang Dynasty would chat with Wang Jian from time to time, and they would listen to the songs and watch the dances at the banquet.

It was a very boring banquet. Concubine Xu didn't know why she thought so. In fact, the banquets in Chengdu before were no different from tonight's. But she was at the center of power at that time, and everyone would come to curry favor with her, so she was very excited. Now that she was in a low position, she felt how those people who used to curry favor with her felt.

She noticed that Wang Jian's demeanor was a little strange. She glanced sideways at the upper part from time to time. Some of the old Shu officials were constantly welcoming Xiao Yan, especially Zhang Ge, the right servant who had once been his favorite. He kept making witty remarks. Even Xiao Yan, who had never shown his emotions in front of the old Shu officials, was amused by him from time to time.

However, she didn't care about Wang Jian anymore. After all, she herself was the one who felt the huge gap. At this moment, when she looked at Qian Wu, who was accompanying Xiao Yan, with simple clothes but extremely beautiful, she was full of envy and secret jealousy.

Qian Wu was sitting there, but almost no one in the whole hall dared to look up at her beauty. Instead, she and her sister, Concubine Xu, would receive some covetous glances from time to time. Although they were very subtle, they were not unnoticeable. This kind of thing was also something they had never experienced before.

When the banquet was halfway through, Xiao Yan left first, and the ministers in the hall relaxed a little. They began to talk and drink with the people next to them. Some people even went outside the hall to get some fresh air to dissipate the smell of alcohol. This was a normal process at a banquet. Generally speaking, the person at the host seat stayed there, and the people sitting next to them would be more or less restrained.

Wang Jian was already drunk. The younger Concubine Xu was discussing with her sister whether to take Wang Jian away first. After all, it was boring to stay here. The older Concubine Xu was also a little drunk and still feeling depressed. She just stared upwards for a while, only to find that Xiao Yan and Qian Wu were no longer in the upper seats.

"Goodbye." Concubine Xu said dejectedly.

At this time, a woman came over from the corner, bowed to the eldest concubine Xu, and then said, "My wife invites Madam to come over."

The elder Concubine Xu was stunned for a moment, and the younger Concubine Xu was also a little confused. The two of them realized that although the woman was wearing the clothes of an ordinary official's family, she looked very unfamiliar.

The eldest concubine Xu asked: "Who is your wife..."

The woman didn't answer.

The younger Concubine Xu tugged at the elder Concubine Xu's sleeve, vaguely reminding her not to follow. However, the elder Concubine Xu glanced at Wang Jian and said, "Please lead the way, girl."

After saying this, she asked Concubine Xu to wait for a moment, then left the table and walked out.

After leaving the main hall, he saw the woman that the woman was talking about at the corner of the corridor. It was Qian Wu.

"Madam, what are you doing..." Concubine Xu was a little embarrassed, fearing that her thoughts had been seen through.

Qian Wu didn't say much, just said: "Madam, please walk with me."

It was impossible for Concubine Xu to refuse, so she followed Qian Wu. As she was thinking about something, they didn't talk much on the way. It was not until they entered a side hall that Qian Wu said to her, "Madam, please wait here for a while. I'll be back soon."

Concubine Xu looked at the side hall that looked like a study and felt a little nervous. She wanted to refuse, but Qian Wu's tone was unquestionable, so she had to hold back her words.

Qian Wu glanced at her again at this time and said, "Madam, seize the opportunity."

Before Concubine Xu could understand, Qian Wu had already left, and she was the only one left in the study room which was neither too big nor too small.

The sounds of the banquet in front had become somewhat fainter when they reached here. Concubine Xu waited for a while, and after noticing the silence all around, she felt a little scared. She walked a few steps outside, but suddenly heard footsteps coming towards her. She shrank back in fright, and subconsciously covered her chest with her hands.

But she immediately widened her eyes, because the person who entered here holding a scroll was Xiao Yan!
Xiao Yan was also a little stunned. He still smelled of alcohol, but it had been blown away by the evening breeze.

He looked around the study room and frowned, "Why are you here? Who asked you to come?"

Concubine Xu was instantly frightened by Xiao Yan's tone and naturally wanted to bow down, but in a flash, she understood what Qian Wu had just said, and her mind suddenly went blank.

Thinking of this, she slowly lowered her hands from her chest, then faced Xiao Yan's sharp gaze, pinched her sleeves, clasped her hands in front of her abdomen, gently bent over, and said in a trembling voice: "General... your concubine..."

"Get out." Xiao Yan said coldly.

The eldest Concubine Xu shook her whole body, and she said, "Madam Qianwu brought me here..."

"?" Xiao Yan was stunned for a moment, then seemed to have thought of something, and laughed helplessly: "I know, you can go back. She won't ask you to do this kind of thing again."

Concubine Xu's face instantly became hot. She bent forward a few steps and said in a trembling voice, "General, I am willing..."

"Let's go." Xiao Yan was too lazy to say more to her, and just turned around and left without staying here for even a moment.

Concubine Xu panicked immediately. She gritted her teeth and quickly followed him. Then she fell to the ground with her legs and tightly grasped the back of Xiao Yan's clothes. Her voice became more and more trembling: "General, General, give me a chance. I don't want to be buried with Wang Jian..."

Xiao Yan turned his head to look at her, and Concubine Xu also tried her best to raise her head to let him look at her. He saw that her face, which was lightly made up and carefully made up, had a bit of charm, and her jade-white, delicate and shiny skin had a slightly dazzling halo under the candlelight. Her graceful figure, the curve of her waist set off by her well-fitting clothes, and the bulging outline shown by the folds of her clothes, were quite a beautiful image.

It is rare for a woman who is nearly thirty years old and already married to have such a good complexion.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Concubine Xu whispered, "General, let me help you sober up..."

Xiao Yan was speechless for a moment, but Concubine Xu had already begun to muster up the courage to use her slender fingers to untie Xiao Yan's belt, then she put her hair up and said with difficulty, "Thank you, General."

------

When Concubine Xu returned to the main hall, the banquet was almost over. She was dressed neatly and quietly wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, but there was a hint of excitement in her eyes. But when she returned to the table, she saw that Wang Jian had sobered up a little.

She then hurriedly explained: "I just had a stomach upset..."

Fortunately, Wang Jian was in a very low mood and did not care about these things. After she came back, he quickly left and said goodbye.

But Concubine Xu noticed that her sister looked at her differently. She wanted to explain, but in the end she just gave her a reassuring look and sighed deeply. She looked back and saw Qian Wu standing on the long steps outside the main hall, with his hands behind his back, looking at her from afar.

The eldest Concubine Xu instantly looked away as if she was pricked by a needle, and her face suddenly turned red with embarrassment.

(End of this chapter)