Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 42: Small Place, Big Potential

Eight hundred miles express, three days of foot washing.

If this gets out, Lao Guo's reputation will be in a very bad state, but he is really happy. He spent the first half of his life on the battlefield, so it is inevitable that he will have some hidden diseases. Although the girls in this place are not good at playing music, chess, calligraphy and painting to cultivate their sentiments, they can grab bones and pinch tendons with such precision that people can shout out in comfort.

Lao Guo was indeed a little addicted to this feeling, but he still had serious things to do, so he left reluctantly on the morning of the fourth day.

Hey, it's strange to say, there are no elegant songs, but it can keep people here. During the three days of enjoying here, Lao Guo also met an old man who came from Guangzhou to do business. The old man came in October and has lived here ever since. It's already Laba Festival, but he's still squatting here. When asked, he said he wanted to leave every day but couldn't bear to leave. He also said he was almost sixty years old, so he could enjoy every day, no rush, no rush...

In fact, Lao Guo also wanted to live a very comfortable life, but he did not have the courage of this old man, otherwise why would he be reluctant to leave.

After passing the post station, walk another ten miles to enter the territory of Xinping Township. The scene is different. First of all, the road surface is flat bluestone brick road that can be walked on by cattle and horses. The main road is wide with green mountains and trees on both sides. Occasionally, some flat land has been cultivated into crops and vegetable fields, which has a sense of traffic.

There were many pedestrians on the road, most of them were farmers who took advantage of the New Year to exchange their own products for daily necessities. There were also large caravans of merchants coming and going with the clanking sounds of their horses.

I couldn't see anything up to here until I saw the river. Lu Feng turned around and saw a small town, about one mile in radius.

Looking from afar, you can see the constant flow of ships on the river, some heading east and some heading west. The flow of people and goods on the dock is even more intense. It is hard to tell that this is just a small town of 3,000 people.

When Lao Guo entered the town, he was really shocked. The town was in the shape of a well, with passages around and a market in the middle. There were two-story buildings around, with businesses downstairs and people living upstairs. It happened to be the day of the annual market, and the town was crowded with people, all kinds of goods were flowing in and out, and it looked like a bustling and prosperous town.

A number of scattered houses have begun to appear around the town, some of which are already occupied and some have just begun to break ground. Not far away are workshops with billowing blue smoke. A steady stream of ox carts on the road transport raw materials to these workshops, and outside there are a large number of ships and merchants waiting for new goods to be used to open kilns.

In addition, there is a huge garden-style building complex next to the inconspicuous township government office not far from the town. The abruptness of this thing is no less than throwing a swan into a group of ducks, and this swan has to be black.

This building complex is separated by a wall outside, and the houses inside are lined up one after another. They are neat, beautiful and well organized, with a pleasing beauty.

Old Guo was curious, so he asked a fellow villager passing by: "Come here, I want to ask you, where is that place?"

Seeing that Old Guo was in a good mood, the fellow villager naturally said politely: "That place is the academy in our village, which is specially used for young people from all over the country to study. It's free."

"No money?" Lao Guo was surprised: "Why don't you want money?"

"I don't know. My daughter is studying there. She has never asked for money. But she has to help out in her free time. She says it's a way to earn money for her studies. Now my daughter is the one who does the accounting for our business."

Old Guo nodded as if he understood, but he actually felt it was a bit strange. How could there be a free academy in the world, and it was even possible for girls to study there? Back then, Zhu Yingtai had to dress up as a woman to learn to read.

This time he even forgot about the tax inspection and became curious about the academy, so he asked the guards to stroll around the town while he went straight to the academy.

Unfortunately, today is the three-day holiday for Laba Festival. There is no one else in the academy except some students who stayed to clean. But it is enough to have someone. Old Guo walked into the academy leisurely. When the young people saw him, they immediately came forward to ask: "Old man, is there anything? The academy is closed today, and there is no teacher here. If you are looking for someone, please come back tomorrow. If you want to rest, I can bring you a cup of tea."

Old man... Old Guo's heart was bleeding. He had fought on the battlefield all his life, but now everyone called him old man. He couldn't help feeling a little emotional.

"The most unretainable thing in the human world is the morning glory, the mirror, the flowers and the trees, Mr. Guo."

When Lao Guo heard this, he immediately turned around and saw Xia Lin standing there with his arms folded. He stood up and pointed at Xia Lin: "You kid, you even learned to write poems to tease Shangguan."

Xia Lin walked forward and saluted Lao Guo respectfully. After standing up, he smiled and said, "Master Guo, have you been happy these days?"

Old Guo blushed, but he didn't say anything. He just coughed and said, "You knew I was coming?"

"I know, but I don't know the exact time. But three days ago, the post station reported the arrival of someone, so I guessed it was Lord Guo. There were nineteen fast horses, but no goods or carts. This doesn't look like a business trip, so it must be a high-ranking official visiting incognito. It can't be Prince Teng, because Prince Teng set out to worship his ancestors seven days ago."

"You are well-informed, but are you planning to entertain me at the door?"

"Sorry, sorry." Xia Lin bowed quickly and said, "Please come in, sir." Then he said to the students, "Go and prepare some tea and snacks. This is the governor, Lord Guo. If we fail to treat such a high official well, we will not know how we will die."

"Don't open your mouth, kid." Lao Guo also smiled: "Otherwise I will really let you experience the feeling of being punished for speaking."

In fact, when Xia Lin learned that Lao Guo was coming, he knew that he must be here to check the accounts. After all, the taxes paid this year were really scary, 270,000 taels of real gold and silver. How could he, as a governor, not be shocked?

But when Xia Lin heard that Lao Guo had been washing his feet for three days, he knew that the matter was settled, so he naturally spoke more casually...

As for Lao Guo, although he didn't have much contact with Xia Lin, this kid was actually very much to his liking. His behavior and eyes were exactly like the ones they used to beat when they were young.

However, no matter how pleasing to the eye he is, Shangguan still needs to maintain his authority and adopt the right tone when he meets Xia Lin.

Arriving at the reception area of ​​the academy, Lao Guo was too lazy to ask about taxes. Let alone other things, just looking at the merchants coming and going on the merchant ships docked at the pier, the taxes here can't be low, so it's useless to ask. Anyway, I was just curious about how this kid turned this poor place into this in just two years.

"Well, of course it's taking advantage of the situation. Legend has it that during the Three Kingdoms period, Kong Ming borrowed the east wind to burn down Chibi. He was borrowing this kind of situation."

"Whose power?"

"The power of the Tang family."

At this time, the students brought tea and snacks to the table. Lao Guo took a sip of the tea and said, "Hmm? You, a monkey-like fellow, actually know how to drink. This is the best tea that I can't even get."

"Produced from our own mountain." Xia Lin continued with a smile: "The Tang family is just an above-average business in Luoyang, but it has accumulated a fortune of tens of millions of taels over thirty years. Naturally, they know the principle of being the head of a chicken rather than the tail of a phoenix. After coming here, the Tang family has gained convenience and will naturally find ways to take root here. If you want to take root, you have to invest money. You see, the Tang family has made a lot of money, but in the past year or so, they have invested more than a million taels of silver, all of which are real money. If the money is kept in their hands, it will be a toy, but if it is left in this market, it will be a prosperous fortune."

Lao Guo nodded repeatedly after hearing this, and then asked curiously: "You are good at calculating."

"It's not a calculation, it's a win-win situation." Xia Lin waved his hand and said, "Master Guo, there are no fools in the world. No one will willingly let others exploit them. Only when everyone can see the benefits can this business last."

"Well, that makes sense. Then let me ask you, what is this academy?"

"Of course it's the Tang family's work. Nowadays, there are many powerful families in the world. Even a powerful family like the Tang family wants to become a powerful family. If that's the case, then I will follow their wishes."

"you……"

"Don't worry, Lord Guo." Xia Lin waved his hand: "The Tang family will never become a powerful family."

In fact, Xia Lin hasn't spoken in the second half, because Lao Guo also comes from a noble family, and the second half of the sentence is "Not only will the Tang family fail to become a noble family, but all the noble families now will be suppressed sooner or later."

"Yeah." Lao Guo nodded deeply: "What are your plans for the future?"

"Planning? We have only just started. If it is just Xinping Township, I am somewhat restricted. I am not even a township chief. Sigh..."

Old Guo rolled his eyes when he listened. This kid doesn't even know how to be more tactful when speaking. He starts making demands on himself right away, right?

But judging from what he had seen with his own eyes, it was not a big problem to raise the issue with him. After all, he was the young prince's man, and he was one of his own. However, if he wanted to raise his rank, he would have to abolish the township and set up a county first, which was a bit difficult, because even a small piece of land would involve the foundation of the country.

The reform of just one county would involve four of the six ministries and would require the personal approval of His Majesty. If others usurped the authority, it would be considered disrespectful at the very least and could even be considered a total rebellion.

"Okay, just follow me to that small town and take a look around first."

(End of this chapter)