Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 220 News Brought by Liu Jianguo and Wang Bo

The familiar Sichuan dialect.

Li Xian instantly realized who this young man was—Liu Laosan's son, Liu Ergou.

Or perhaps he should be called Liu Jianguo now.

In the last letter Liu Laosan wrote to Liu Jianjun, he mentioned Liu Ergou's name change. Liu Jianjun even said that with this name, wouldn't he be older than him?

Liu Jianguo jogged up to Liu Jianjun, but before he could even speak, Liu Jianjun slapped him on the head, instantly turning his excitement into astonishment.

"Who told you to come here?!" Liu Jianjun was furious.

"Liu Laosan..."

"You come just because Liu Laosan calls you? Do you even know where you are?!"

"Liu Laosan is my father... I won't listen to him..." Liu Jianguo's voice grew softer and softer as he looked at Liu Jianjun with a pitiful expression. He then secretly glanced around and saw Li Xian. His eyes lit up instantly, and he leaned closer, saying, "Uncle Mutou!"

Hearing this address that he hadn't heard in a long time, Li Xian's heart couldn't help but flutter slightly.

He walked forward with a smile, patted Liu Jianguo's head, and said, "Ergou has grown taller."

When I met Liu Jianguo in Liujiazhuang, he was still a real "mud doll," spending all day rolling around in the fields with other children his age in the village. He was often scolded by Liu Lao Er. But now, although he still looks a bit immature, he is already about the same age as the second son in the old woman's house.

"hey-hey."

Liu Jianguo scratched the back of his head and chuckled, then as if realizing something, he knelt down with a thud and cried out, "This humble citizen is Liu Ergou..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Xian grabbed him and pulled him up, saying irritably, "You didn't kneel before me in Liu Family Village, so why are you kneeling now?"

At this moment, Liu Jianjun seemed to have calmed down a bit. He came over and kicked Liu Jianguo in the butt with a light kick. The kick wasn't very strong, and Liu Jianguo dodged it with a grin, but didn't actually dodge it.

"Didn't you change your name? Why are you still calling me Er Gou?"

Liu Jianguo rubbed his buttocks, making a grimacing face in cooperation, and said, "The formal name is used for registering the household and meeting officials, but at home, Er Gou is still the best."

Liu Jianjun seemed to want to say something more, but at that moment, the main force of eight hundred men had already arrived. Wang Bo jumped off his horse, cupped his hands, and reported: "Your Highness, Chief Secretary Liu has not failed in his mission!"

Liu Jianjun immediately turned his attention to Wang Bo, pointing at Liu Jianguo and saying irritably, "Old Wang, what's up with this kid? What's he doing here?"

Wang Bo explained, "When I went to Chang'an, Young Master Liu..."

"What 'son'? Just call me Er Gou!" Liu Jianjun interrupted angrily.

"When I arrived in Chang'an, Liu... Er Gou was staying at the Prince of Pei's residence..."

After Wang Bo's explanation, Li Xian finally understood the whole story.

The root cause is that Liu Jianjun hasn't been home for too long.

Liu Laosan and his wife were concerned about him, but they also knew that Liu Jianjun was a man destined for great things. They thought that Liu Jianguo was getting old, so they wanted to send Liu Jianguo to Liu Jianjun's side to lend a hand.

Of course, there must also be an element of Liu Jianjun wanting to mentor Liu Jianguo.

Anyway, they sent Liu Jianguo to Chang'an.

But by this time, Liu Jianjun and I had already arrived in northern Xinjiang, so we unfortunately missed each other.

After Liu Jianguo arrived in Chang'an, the embroiderers naturally took good care of him. However, Liu Jianguo was not familiar with the embroiderers and the others. He was fine for a day or two as a guest, but after a while, although the embroiderers and the others still treated him as before, he himself became a little uncomfortable.

At this time, Wang Bo had just returned to Chang'an. Upon hearing that Wang Bo was going back to Yingzhou, where there was a cotton mill, Liu Jianguo immediately had an idea.

"I'm going to Yingzhou too! I'll work at my brother Gou'er's cotton mill!"

Wang Bo couldn't make a decision easily, so after much deliberation, he simply brought him along.

"Chief Secretary Liu, if you feel this is inappropriate, may I make another trip to escort Young Master Liu back?" Wang Bo asked Liu Jianjun tentatively.

Liu Jianguo also watched Liu Jianjun with trepidation.

Liu Jianjun scrutinized their faces for a while before finally giving in, saying, "Fine, we're already here..."

"Wan Sheng!"

Liu Jianguo couldn't help but shout, but was immediately glared at by Liu Jianjun and shut his mouth in embarrassment.

“You can stay, but come with me. We’ll make a deal…” Liu Jianjun said, then looked at Li Xian and said, “Xianzi, you make arrangements for these eight hundred men. I’ll take this kid back first.”

With that, Liu Jianjun grabbed Liu Jianguo's head with both hands and walked into the city.

Li Xian glanced at the departing figures of the two men with amusement before turning to Wang Bo and saying gently, "Zi'an, you must be tired from your journey. The barracks have been prepared. Although they are not as comfortable as those in Chang'an, they provide shelter from the wind and rain, and warmth and protection from the cold. Let everyone settle down and rest well. Food and hot water will be arranged."

Wang Bo bowed and replied, "Your Highness's arrangements are thorough. On behalf of everyone, I thank Your Highness."

Li Xian nodded, and then an official from the army responsible for resettlement stepped forward to guide the hundreds of people to the newly built settlement area in the southeast of the city.

Liu Jianjun specifically chose that place. It was located at the corner between the saltpeter mine in the east of the city and the cotton workshop in the south of the city, making it convenient to go to both places. Although it was a bit simple because it was newly built, the basic living facilities were still complete.

When this area was being built, Liu Jianjun even served as the Assistant Director of Works and was responsible for drawing up the blueprints for the residential area.

He built the houses in a long, narrow shape, with five rooms in each row. These five rooms were separated by only one wall, which greatly saved space. Four of these five rooms were used for living, with four beds in each room. The remaining room was the kitchen for the "manager's" row of houses. The food and washing supplies for this row of houses were all arranged by this room.

The front yard of each group of houses is the back yard of the group of houses in front of it.

So closely connected, the entire camp occupies less than 100 acres, and in the middle of the camp there is even a 10-acre open space, which Liu Jianjun said will be their future training ground.

With Liu Jianjun making this arrangement, Li Xian at least already knew Liu Jianjun's intentions.

Therefore, his gaze towards these eight hundred people also held a hint of fervor.

These eight hundred men were standing behind Wang Bo. Although they were all dressed as artisans, they all looked energetic and were mostly young men in their twenties or thirties.

Li Xian then gave Wang Bo a few more instructions on matters such as personnel registration and assessing the intentions for division of labor, and then told him to go and rest first, while he strolled towards the general's mansion.

He needed to inform Xue Ne of the arrival of the personnel, since Yingzhou City was, after all, Xue Ne's territory.

……

When Li Xian returned to the cotton workshop dormitory from the governor's mansion, Liu Jianjun seemed to have already disciplined Liu Jianguo.

At this moment, Liu Jianguo looked very well-behaved. When he saw Li Xian, he no longer called Li Xian "Uncle Wood" but respectfully addressed him as "Your Highness Prince Pei".

Li Xian smiled and ruffled his hair, then looked at Liu Jianjun and said, "Did you wait specifically for me to come here?"

Liu Jianjun looked like he was waiting for him.

"Yes, Lao Wang will come over later too, let's talk about Chang'an and Luoyang."

Hearing Liu Jianjun say this, Li Xian's heart tightened: "Could something have happened?"

Liu Jianjun waved his hand, looking relaxed, and said, "Nothing's happened, just some latest intelligence."

Seeing Liu Jianjun's attitude, Li Xian relaxed a little.

Liu Jianjun patted Liu Jianguo on the back of the head and said, "When the adults are talking, you go to the side."

Liu Jianguo said "Oh" and obediently went out.

Watching Liu Jianguo walk out, Li Xian asked with a smile, "What are you planning to do with this kid? You can't really send him to work in a cotton mill, can you?"

Liu Jianjun rubbed his head, looking like he had a headache, and said, "I don't know yet. Liu Laosan is really something. He threw Er Gou out at such a young age. If something happens to him, I don't know how I'll explain it to them."

Li Xian smiled and sat down next to Liu Jianjun.

He knew that although Liu Jianjun called his second uncle and aunt Liu Laosan and Liu Laoer, he had very deep feelings for them.

Liu Jianjun continued, "Ergou said that Liu Laosan asked him to pass on a message to me, saying that Liu Ergou has a younger brother, so you can use him without worry. If he's useless, it doesn't matter if he dies out there. Listen to that, is that something a human would say?" Li Xian chuckled and teased, "Your second uncle is just worried that you won't be able to act freely. They say that the eldest brother is like a father. Although you're not Ergou's biological eldest brother, you grew up together since you were little, so you can be considered a 'father' to him."

"The more he says that, the harder it is for me to get him to do anything. Liu Laosan is so cunning; Liu Laoer must have taught him that!" Liu Jianjun said with some indignation, but his expression was full of longing for Liujiazhuang.

Li Xian thought for a moment and asked, "Then... once everything is over, shall we bring Liu Laosan and the others to Chang'an or Luoyang?"

Liu Jianjun was somewhat tempted, but then shook his head and said, "Let's talk about it later. With their personalities, we don't know if they'd be willing to come. We sent Er Gou here hoping he would have a bright future, but they themselves are like old, decaying tree roots, only willing to stay rooted in Liu Family Village for their entire lives."

After a brief silence, Liu Jianjun spoke at length with a sigh, saying that Liu Family Village had changed dramatically, especially Liu Laosan's family. Because of Liu Jianjun, they not only no longer had to worry about taxes and corvée labor, but they even had spare money to send Ergou to school. Ergou could even write the Thousand Character Classic now.

Then, the story goes that the courtyard where Li Xian used to live had been burned down, but the magistrate ordered a replica to be built, claiming that "if His Highness Prince Pei ever thinks of returning to live there, he can have a house exactly like the one he used to live in."

They also mentioned that Liu Jianjun's gardens used to produce large and sweet melons and fruits in the first two years, but later they gradually became no different from ordinary fields.

Liu Jianjun said, "Liu Laosan and the others don't know anything about fertilization. It's already quite good that the soil has retained its fertility for two years. They have to insist on saying that since I left, the land's vitality has disappeared..."

The two chatted for a while before Wang Bo finally arrived, looking travel-worn.

As soon as he entered, Wang Bo grinned and said, "It's been a long time since I've been this busy. It feels so good!"

Liu Jianjun immediately stopped sighing and couldn't help but laugh at Li Xian, saying, "See? Old Wang is destined to be busy. He won't feel comfortable if he's not busy for a day."

Li Xian couldn't help but find it amusing.

Some time ago, because the weather turned cold and the Bailang River was about to freeze, the cotton mill's production work was gradually coming to an end and it was relatively less busy. As a result, Wang Bo's face visibly lost much of its vitality.

Now that I've returned from my trip to Chang'an, I'm finally full of energy again.

"Zi'an, come over and have some water, tell me slowly," Li Xian said with a smile, beckoning Wang Bo.

Wang Bo bowed respectfully, then sat down next to Liu Jianjun and said, "Everything is going smoothly in Chang'an. Chief Secretary Liu... uh, I mean Chief Secretary Liu of Yongzhou, Liu Neyan, Chief Secretary Liu has handled the entry of the cotton ecological park into the government office very well..."

Before Wang Bo could finish speaking, Li Xian asked curiously, "Enter the government office?"

"Hmm, the cotton ecological park in Chang'an is now under the jurisdiction of the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau of the Imperial Household Department. Didn't Chief Secretary Liu tell you about this?"

Wang Bo looked at Li Xian with suspicion. The Liu Changshi he was referring to this time was clearly Liu Jianjun.

Liu Jianjun waved his hand and said, "The cotton matter couldn't be kept secret, could it? At the time, Su Liangsi took the credit and it nominally became the property of the Yongzhou government. Now that Su Liangsi has been promoted and Liu Jianjun has taken over as the Prefect of Yongzhou, the cotton ecological park is such a lucrative business that your mother is bound to get involved. It's all expected."

Li Xian nodded in realization.

Liu Jianjun then looked at Wang Bo and said, "Old Wang, please continue."

Wang Bo then said, "Although the Cotton Ecological Park is now under the jurisdiction of the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau, the people inside are still our people. It's just that there's an additional palace servant in charge of the records..."

"Is it difficult to keep it from him?" Liu Jianjun suddenly interjected.

Wang Bo replied, "It's not a big problem. The ecological park has always kept two sets of books. The real books have always been with Aisha."

Liu Jianjun nodded and asked, "What about the others?"

Wang Bo continued, "Xue Da has now been promoted to the rank of Guoyi Duwei and is quite prestigious among the many imperial guards stationed in Chang'an. He played a significant role in mobilizing these eight hundred men."

Li Xian nodded.

The Guoyi Duwei was the deputy of the Zhechong Duwei, holding the rank of a fifth-grade officer. The Zhechong Duwei of the Chang'an Jingzhao Prefecture was concurrently held by Cui Cha. Therefore, nominally, Xue Da could even be considered the head of the Chang'an Imperial Guards.

Of course, Xue Da was not the only one in charge. The position of Guoyi Duwei was not fixed. As the capital prefecture, Chang'an must have had more than one person in charge.

If we only consider military rank, Xue Da is now roughly equivalent to Wu Youji, who was left to guard Chang'an back then.

"Then there's news from the Prince's residence." At this point, Wang Bo looked at Li Xian and said, "The Princess Consort entrusted me to deliver a message to His Highness, saying that His Majesty has bestowed upon Changxin the title of Princess of Lantian and has brought her to Luoyang..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Xian felt a pang of anxiety and quickly asked, "Is Changxin alright?"

At this moment, Li Xian inevitably thought of many stories about "hostages".

Wang Bo replied, "This is exactly what I wanted to tell Your Highness. The Princess Consort said that Princess Lantian went there on her own initiative, and that Princess Taiping was the one who came to pick her up."

"Taiping?" Li Xian was taken aback.

Changxin and her aunt Taiping have always had a good relationship. If it was Taiping who took her there, then Changxin should be fine.

only……

Changxin had always admired Liu Jianjun and followed the embroiderer to learn needlework, hadn't he?
Why did you suddenly change your mind?

"Yes, it is said that shortly after Prince Pei arrived in Yingzhou, His Majesty sent Princess Taiping to visit Prince Pei's residence and brought news of the enfeoffment of Princess Lantian. Afterwards, Princess Taiping stayed at Prince Pei's residence for some time. When she left, Princess Lantian requested to accompany her."

Li Xian was still puzzled.

But at this moment, Liu Jianjun interjected, "Your mother, that old woman, is still worried about you. She doesn't know our relationship with Taiping and thinks Taiping is still one of her people, so she sent Taiping to Chang'an to put pressure on your sister-in-law."

"But it would be a bit awkward to appoint him directly like that, so Taiping was asked to give Changxin the title of Princess."

"Think about it, if she really wanted to shut down something, why wouldn't she shut down Guangshun and the others?"

Li Xian nodded in realization, then asked in confusion, "Then... why did Changxin volunteer to go to Luoyang with Taiping?"

Liu Jianjun rubbed his chin and hesitated, "Perhaps Changxin has become more sensible? Does she know that going with Taiping will make your mother trust Taiping more?"

It's clear that Liu Jianjun himself doesn't really believe this explanation.

Li Xian was even more puzzled.

At this moment, Wang Bo interjected, "By the way, the Princess Consort also said that Princess Taiping is behaving very strangely, often saying things like 'a woman should be self-reliant'..."

Before Wang Bo could finish speaking, Liu Jianjun slapped his thigh and exclaimed, his face changing drastically, "Oh no! Has Changxin been brainwashed by Taiping?!"

Li Xian was stunned.

But Liu Jianjun's expression instantly turned dejected. He waved his hand and said, "Never mind, Changxin should be fine. You can continue."

Wang Bo nodded and continued, "Next came some news from Luoyang. I did not go to Luoyang, so most of this news is hearsay and I am not sure if it is true or false..."

"It's alright, just give me a rough idea. Chang'an is close to Luoyang, so the information is probably somewhat reliable."

Wang Bo nodded and said, "Since the Zhang brothers gained favor, His Majesty has begun a large-scale construction project, building many courtyards and temples throughout the country..."

"As the Fengchen Mansion grew larger, the power of the Zhang brothers also increased..."

"Rumor has it that the Zhang brothers played a role in the selection of the Prince of Luling as crown prince..."

"The Zhang brothers gradually became arrogant and even confronted Prime Minister Wei Yuanzhong in court..."

"..."

The news Wang Bo brought about about Luoyang was almost entirely related to the Zhang brothers. As Li Xian listened to these stories, an image of a pair of people who had become arrogant and spoiled because of their favor gradually appeared in his mind.

How similar he is to Feng Xiaobao back then.

After Wang Bo finished his report, Liu Jianjun pondered for a while before clapping his hands and saying, "Alright, I have a general idea now."

After saying that, he looked at Li Xian and said, "Xianzi, we need to hurry up here."

Li Xian asked curiously, "Hold on to what?"

"If we achieve a great feat, we can return to the capital in triumph, and your mother will welcome us just like she welcomed Feng Xiaobao last time!"

……

(End of this chapter)