Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 452: Shuangdianzi County Established

After Yiktang'a's death, Wenxing temporarily took over the affairs of Fengtian Province.

It was not until March 25 that the court transferred General Zengqi of Fuzhou to Fengtian to serve as General of Fengtian.

After Zengqi took office, it took some time to sort out the affairs, and everything finally returned to normal.

Qu Shaoyang also received an imperial decree from the court, appointing him as the commissioner for establishing county government, responsible for all matters including recruiting refugees and establishing county governments in Mengjiang and Shuangdianzi.

Qu Shaoyang was no exception to this result.

When he was in the Phoenix Hall before, he discussed this matter with Zhang Xiulan, and Zhang Xiulan said that he would do his best to make it happen.

Qu Shaoyang had just received the imperial edict when Zhang Xiulan's letter arrived.

In the letter, Zhang Xiulan reminded Qu Shaoyang to complete the task well, as these were all to accumulate experience.

If there is an opportunity in the future, Zhang Xiulan will definitely find a way to smooth things over and find Qu Shaoyang a real position where he can move up the career ladder.

Even though Qu Shaoyang is now both an inspector and a training commander, in reality, that's just his position and he doesn't have much real power.

This is because Qu Shaoyang is capable and knows how to get along with others. When his superiors ask him to go and suppress bandits, he goes; when he is asked to assist in the Machinery Bureau, he goes and assists. That's why he is able to get along well.

As for the Dingbian Army in Qu Shaoyang's hands, it is also a double-edged sword.

If you develop too well, you will arouse jealousy, and if things go wrong you may even be accused of treason.

If the development is not good, there is no guarantee that the court will change its policies one day and directly abolish it.

For future development, Qu Shaoyang must find more practical jobs so that he will have the opportunity to move forward.

Otherwise, the inspector's career would have ended, with no chance of advancement.

Zhang Xiulan had good intentions, so Qu Shaoyang naturally appreciated it. So after receiving the imperial edict, Qu Shaoyang took care of the affairs of the government office and immediately went home to discuss it with Chen Xiuyun and Meng Lanxin.

"Let Lan Xin go with you. You need someone to take care of you. I can't leave the house and can't go with you.

Lan Xin is originally from Shuangdianzi and is familiar with that place, so she can help you.

Besides, aren't there some things at the ginseng garden and the deer farm that need Lan Xin to take care of?"

Upon learning that her husband was going to Mengjiang, Shuangdianzi and other places, Chen Xiuyun made the suggestion.

"No need? Aren't our parents and Lao Wu all in Shuangdianzi? What will happen to the two children if Lan Xin follows me?"

Qu Shaoyang glanced at Meng Lanxin and said hesitantly.

"Our parents are old and can't even take care of themselves, how can they take care of you?
Besides, you were on duty, so you had to live in Dianzi Street. My parents lived quite a distance from Dianzi Street, and it was too tiring to go back and forth every day.

What's more, no matter how caring others are, they are not as considerate as the people around you. I feel more at ease knowing that Lan Xin is taking care of you." Chen Xiuyun shook her head.

"Lan Xin, pack your things and go to Shuangdianzi with Shao Yang.

You don't have to take care of the child, he's with me, I can take care of him." Chen Xiuyun winked at Meng Lanxin and said.

Qu Zhenzong was born in July of the 23rd year of the Guangxu period and is now one and a half years old.

When the child was born, Meng Lanxin was busy building the Qu family compound, as well as dealing with the deer farm and ginseng garden. She had no time to take care of him, and after the confinement period, she found a wet nurse to feed him.

When he grew up a little, he lived with Zhentang and was taken care of by Chen Xiuyun.

The child has been weaned now and has grown strong. He is very close to Chen Xiuyun, and his brothers and sisters also take good care of him.

"Okay, don't worry, big sister, I will take good care of the master." Meng Lanxin nodded in agreement without saying anything.

One wife and one concubine, that was the deal, and Qu Shaoyang’s objection was futile.

In this way, Qu Shaoyang and Meng Lanxin packed up some things and led the Dingbian Army to Shuangdianzi a few days later.

In recent years, the road from Linjiang to Shuangdianzi has been completed, and it is much easier to travel than before. It only takes a day and a half to reach the destination.

Qu Shaoyang first went to the Qu family compound to visit his parents and his younger brother's family.

Qu Fu got married on February 26th, and at that time he was busy working in the fields, so three days after returning to his parents' home, Qu Fu took his wife and children back to Shuangdianzi.

When Mr. and Mrs. Qu Laokouer saw Qu Shaoyang, they were quite surprised. After asking, they found out that their son had become a member of the Shuangdian County Administrative Committee and had come to prepare for the county seat.

The old couple didn't understand these things. They only told Qu Shaoyang to do his job well, and told Meng Lanxin to take good care of Qu Shaoyang.

They stayed in the Qu family compound for one night and headed straight to Dianzi Street the next day.

The Qu family has their own house on Dianzi Street, and there are usually people to guard the house and clean it.

Meng Lanxin brought the maids and old women and started to clean up as soon as they entered the house. It took them most of the day to tidy up the house inside and out, and put the luggage and other things in place.

Qu Shaoyang took the opportunity to find Li Daishi and his son.

In recent years, Li Daishi still serves as the head of the Tanghekou Club.

However, because Qu Shaoyang served as inspector and tax supervisor, most of the tax revenue was under Qu Shaoyang's control.

The Han family's control over Mengjiang and Shuangdianzi gradually weakened, and Huifang's situation became rather awkward.

"Hey, Master Qu, when did you arrive?
Zhengwen, you too, the master is coming, why didn't you arrange someone to inform me in advance, so that I can go to Dianzi Street to meet the master, how can you let the master come here in person?"

Li Daishi received a report from Huiyong saying that Inspector Qu had arrived, and he hurried out to greet him.

Seeing his son accompanying Qu Shaoyang, Li Daishi couldn't help but scold his son.

"Brother Li, oh, it's been a long time since we last met. How are you?"

Qu Shaoyang was also very happy to see Li Daishi, and he stepped forward and grabbed Li Daishi's hand.

"Don't blame Zhengwen, I didn't let him say it. I should come to visit my brother, how can I let my brother go to see me?"

"Come on, let's go in and talk." When Li Daishi heard this, he couldn't stop smiling and hurriedly called Qu Shaoyang into the meeting room.

Everyone went into the meeting room and sat down. Li Daishi hurriedly asked people to serve tea. After chatting for a while, Qu Shaoyang explained the purpose of their visit.

"Brother, I came here for two main things.

One, I came here in compliance with the imperial court's order as a commissioner for the establishment of a county seat in Shuangdianzi area, to prepare for all matters relating to the establishment of a county seat in Shuangdianzi area.

The second one is related to my eldest brother. Shuangdianzi and Mengjiang are going to be set up as counties soon. I hope my eldest brother can notify the Han family and take the initiative to withdraw from these two places.

From now on, these places will be directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court."

With Qu Shaoyang's current status, he no longer needed to beat around the bush, so he went straight to the point and told Li Daishi his purpose.

Li Daishi heard this and sighed, "Alas, to be honest with you, ever since Linjiang was established as a county, I have been guessing that this day would come sooner or later.

OK, the imperial decree cannot be disobeyed, leave this matter to me, I will return to Birch Dianzi tomorrow."

Li Daishi knew clearly that Qu Shaoyang came here not to discuss with him but to inform him.

He is an official appointed by the court, following the imperial will. No matter how powerful the Han family is, can they still compete with the court? The establishment of a county seat is the general trend, and no one can stop it. "Okay, thank you for your help, brother.

Don't worry, brother. Although the Han family has withdrawn from Shuangdianzi, I can guarantee that Zhengwen's future will not be bad.

After Shuangdian County is completed, I will try to arrange a job for Zhengwen in the county government."

This is not something Qu Shaoyang brags about. After Linjiang County was established, many people in the county government were Qu Shaoyang's confidants.

If he doesn't even have this ability, all these years would have been wasted.

When Li Daishi and his son heard this, they became happy again.

Whether he is the Huifang or the Dadangjia, he is just a manager for the Han family. How can he compare with the officials of the imperial court?
As long as Li Zhengwen can get a position, Li Daishi will do anything.

In this way, Qu Shaoyang convinced Li Daishi and his son with just a few words, thus avoiding a feud between the brothers over the issue of establishing a county seat.

As for how the Han family would react when they learned the news, Qu Shaoyang had no control over it. If he had the ability, he could go and tell the court.

Qu Shaoyang rarely came, so Li Daishi must treat him well. He ordered people to prepare a banquet, and the father and son accompanied Qu Shaoyang drinking and chatting until very late.

Qu Shaoyang did not return to Dianzi Street in the evening, but stayed in the big house. The three of them slept on one kang and chatted until midnight.

The next day, Li Daishi led his men back to Huashudianzi, while Qu Shaoyang and Li Zhengwen returned to Dianzi Street.

After returning to Dianzi Street, Qu Shaoyang ordered people to post notices everywhere on the street, announcing the news that the court was going to establish a county seat here.

After a series of measures such as recruiting refugees to reclaim wasteland over the years, the population of Shuangdianzi area has increased several times compared to the original, and Dianzi Street has become much more prosperous than before.

There are also many foreign merchants who open shops here to purchase ginseng and other medicinal materials.

After the notice was posted, Qu Shaoyang arranged for people to notify the local gentry and wealthy families to hold a meeting.

Everyone gathered together to discuss the establishment of a county seat locally.

Establishing Shuangdianzi as a county is a great thing.

When the county town was established in Linjiang, many people were envious and said that they wondered when a county seat could be established in Shuangdianzi.

Now that the imperial court has really issued an edict, the local gentry and wealthy families will naturally strongly support it.

Nowadays, bandit gangs are like leeks, when one batch is wiped out, another batch will pop up right away.

Although there are forest patrol teams and militia security teams locally, joint defense has also been organized among the villages.

But how can these be compared with the county town? With the protection of city walls, everyone can feel more at ease.

Therefore, most people strongly agreed to set up a county seat, and at Qu Shaoyang's suggestion, they expressed their willingness to contribute money and effort to help build the county seat.

After a final calculation, it was found that the local gentry and wealthy families were able to raise 20,000 taels of silver, which, combined with the imperial court's grant and various taxes, was enough to build the county government office and the county seat.

Afterwards, Qu Shaoyang led his men to survey the county, survey the county boundaries, and draw a regional map.

The county borders from the top of Changbai Mountain in the east to the first section of Songhua River in the west, and is about 200 miles wide from east to west.

It starts from Laolonggang in the south and ends at Erdao Songhua River in the north, and is more than 250 miles long from north to south.

The county seat was located in Dianzi Street. A trench was dug and an earthen city was built. The trench was about ten feet deep and wide, and the city wall was twelve feet high.

The south city wall is 185 zhang long, the north wall is 180 zhang long, the east wall is 250 zhang long, and the west wall is 220 zhang long.

There are five city gates in total, each with an inscription.

The west gate is named Jinjiang, and an inscription reads "Fishermen's Boats Singing in the Evening"; the small south gate is named Huolu, and an inscription reads "Purple Lightning and Blue Frost"; the big south gate is named Anlan, and an inscription reads "The Sound of the River Flowing"; the north gate is named Daihe, and an inscription reads "The River Flowing in a Belt"; the east gate is named Lishan, and an inscription reads "The Mountains and Rivers Are Forever Solid".

There are nine wooden bridges outside the city, built above the moat. Each bridge is 24 feet long and 15 feet wide.

In addition, Qu Shaoyang also built an artillery position on the East Mountain based on the terrain around the county town and named it Zhenbianlou.

At the end of April, the construction of the county town officially started. By July, the county government office was basically completed and the surrounding city walls also took shape. It was estimated that it would be completed before winter.

As the administrative committee member, Qu Shaoyang was not only responsible for building the county town, but also for wasteland affairs, that is, allocating uncultivated wasteland to the people for reclamation.

At the same time, he had to set up primary schools, design and build river embankments, and many other things, and he was busy every day.

Finally, by mid-July, things were looking somewhat settled and he could finally take a break.

So he took Meng Lanxin back to the Qu family compound to visit his parents and visit the two old men.

You know what, those two old men are in really good health and have been healthy for all these years.

However, the two of them are old after all, and it is not convenient for them to live in the mountains anymore.

So this time, Qu Shaoyang and Meng Lanxin went to persuade them to move to the Qu family compound or the county town.

“No, we are all used to living in the mountains, we are alone and don’t like to interact with people.

I appreciate your kindness, but as for the two of us, you don't need to worry about us. Life and death are all determined by fate."

Upon learning the purpose of Qu Shaoyang and the other man's visit, Old Congtou shook his head repeatedly and refused to go down the mountain with them no matter what.

"Yes, yes, what Lao Cong said is true. We old mountain dogs are used to staying in the mountains. We don't like to go to crowded and noisy places.

Just live in the mountains. If you have time in the future, come and visit us.

If someone comes to collect our bodies when we die, we will be very grateful.” Old Liu also echoed.

Qu Shaoyang and Meng Lanxin were at a loss as to what to do with the two old men. It was already late and they couldn't go down the mountain, so they simply set up a tent on the mountain and stayed there for the night.

I'll try to persuade him again tomorrow morning. If he still won't respond, then there's nothing I can do.

In this way, Qu Shaoyang and Meng Lanxin lay in a tent to rest.

In his dream, Qu Shaoyang saw an old man with white beard and white hair but a youthful face, who led him to the top of a steep mountain.

Although there are green pines and cypresses and ancient trees on the mountain, there are also rugged rocks, gravel everywhere, and no grass.

The old man with white beard stroked his long snow-white beard and chanted to Qu Shaoyang, "Now that we are on the platform, please come out, King Shen."

Before Qu Shaoyang could ask the old man what he meant, he saw the old man stretched out his hand and pushed Qu Shaoyang off the cliff.

Qu Shaoyang screamed, suddenly woke up and broke out in a cold sweat.

After careful identification, it was discovered that he did not fall off the cliff, but was sleeping in the tent, and it was just a dream.

"Shaoyang, what's wrong with you?" Qu Shaoyang exclaimed, waking Meng Lanxin up. She quickly sat up and asked.

"I just had a dream." Qu Shaoyang told Meng Lanxin what happened in his dream.

“Lan Xin, take your people down the mountain tomorrow. I want to lead them to the mountain. There must be something waiting for me in this mountain.”

(End of this chapter)