Chapter 284 A Friend From Afar

Emperor Song Mo only found Lv Desheng's request to move the county governor's office to Houcheng annoying. He suppressed it the first time and ignored it. The second time, he was so angry that he issued an imperial edict to reprimand him. But Lv Desheng, who was shameless, didn't know what it meant to be rejected, and repeatedly submitted memorials to Chang'an. Just for one thing, to move the office!

At this time, there was a flood in the south, and Song Mo was annoyed to death.

Bad news was reported back to Chang'an every day.

The villages here were flooded.

The river bank there collapsed.

The grain was either washed away or soaked by water and moldy. The people affected by the disaster were crying for rescue and relief from the court. There were even people affected by the disaster who revolted and robbed the local county government and county governor.

All kinds of bad news came one after another. The court was also arguing about disaster relief.

On this day, he received another memorial from Lv Desheng asking for permission to move the government office. He saw that he said in a single-minded manner that if the emperor refused his request to move the government office again, he would really not move the government office, but he would also post a notice to explain the reason to the people.

Song Mo's face turned green at that time. This was something this guy would do!

He gritted his teeth and waved his hand, approving the request.

At the same time, Song Mo made a serious note of him.

Song Mo certainly knew that what Lv Desheng said made sense. He would move the county governor's office to Houcheng to reassure the people.

He, the emperor, could also worry less.

However, moving the government office was troublesome. If he agreed, with Lv Desheng's character, he would definitely ask the court for money to move the government office. Now the treasury was tight, so how could he afford to give money. So he didn't want to pay attention. The most important thing was that if the government office was not moved, there would be no problem in Liaodong County. It was just that the people would have to live in fear for a while.

But the spies he arranged sent back a secret report that this guy had already moved the government office after killing him first and then reporting.

He was not surprised at all, as Lv Desheng had always been bold and willful.

If Lv Desheng had not made great contributions, he would have really wanted to kill him, fearing that if he was killed, Liaodong would be in chaos.

Liaoyang, Liaodong County

The little steward took the book and called out the names:

"Xiaoji Village, you can leave in the afternoon after serving for a month!"

"Qiaotou Village, you can leave in the afternoon after serving for a month!"

...

The villagers of the villages that were called out were both happy and reluctant. They were happy to go home, but they felt reluctant when they thought that they would not be able to drink the delicious soups provided by the government in the future.

In the afternoon, countless men carried their own bags and walked home in groups of three or five with their fellow villagers, talking and laughing.

They walked on the repaired official road, and they felt very happy at a glance. Such a wide road was built by them, and they were proud.

"This road construction is easier than last year's river construction."

"Of course it's easier for us, the most tiring and hardest work has been taken over by the bandits again."

"Dad, have you gained weight?"

"I shouldn't have gained weight, but I'm not like in previous years. After serving corvée, I feel like I've been drained, tired and thin."

"Dad, go back and rest for two days, and I'll find work in town." The young man was speaking.

This time, if he said he would serve for one month, it meant one month. Unlike in previous years, the corvée period had to be extended before the work was completed, sometimes by one or two months. After serving, it takes a long time to recuperate before you feel alive again. This time, he felt that he only needed to rest for two days to recover.

The old man also felt sorry for his son, "Don't worry about this. Your mother and second brother came to give us dry food a few days ago. Didn't they say that? The family bought a limited amount of affordable grain. There are dozens of kilograms of grain. Eat it sparingly, and with various vegetable leaves, it can last for a long time."

The young man nodded, "Okay, I hope that the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce will still sell affordable grain in a while."

Others heard this and thought, who doesn't hope?

"Everyone cheer up, our lives will get better and better."

"Yes, now the mountain strongholds in our counties have been eradicated, and we don't have to worry about being robbed or robbed on the road, and we can sleep more peacefully at night. The crops are growing well this year, and it will be fine when the grain matures."

"At least now we have hope, not as desperate as before."

"Lord Lu is so good. He came, the Xianbei stopped going south, and the bandits were also caught."

"Not only that, this Liaodong Chamber of Commerce was also established because of his arrival." They can buy affordable grain.

"It is said that the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce was specially approved by Lord Lu."

"I heard that only Houcheng, Liaoyang, Wangping, Wuliu, and Gaoxian counties can buy the affordable grain this time. No other counties sell it."

"So, we must actively respond to the call of the government in the future." Anyway, they just need to be obedient, Lord Lu will not forget them.

Although they are all serving in the service of road construction, their families send them dry food every now and then, and also bring them various news.

There are many people serving together, so they really hear all kinds of news.

After Lu Desheng came to power, several things he did in the name of the government were closely related to people's livelihood, and the effect was immediate, and the people felt it most obviously.

The border between Liaodong County and Liaoxi County

Zhou Congguang said, "Master, Liaodong County is ahead."

They are currently in Changli County. Going directly from Changli, they will reach Wuliu County in Liaodong County.

At this time, Master Zhan's group of four has become a group of six.

The two extra people were picked up by them in Youzhou and Youbeiping County respectively.

One was full of talent, and was noticed by the chief clerk of Youzhou, who wanted to keep him as his clerk.

The other had run out of money, but fortunately Youbeiping County was not far from Liaodong County, so he planned to walk slowly.

After hearing their story, Master Zhan invited them to go with him.

"Finally we are going to Liaodong County!" Master Zhan sighed.

It was really a lot of hardship, and he had a clear conscience to accept the gift from his second sister. You know, when they passed Youzhou, they firmly rejected the chief clerk of Youzhou's strong invitation for them to stay.

When they came out from the foot of Yandang Mountain, they saw a road that was twice as wide as the official road they were walking on now, extending to the front. On the side, there was a boundary monument with the three words Liaodong County written on it.

On both sides of the official road, two rows of houses were built. In front of the houses, there was a dam paved with large stones. Two large trees were left uncut in the dam area, and several bamboo and wooden chairs were placed under the trees.

A sign with the words "Liaodong Wuyou Teahouse" fluttered in the wind.

Seeing the carriage of Master Zhan and his party, Lu Wei came up with a smile and said, "Dear guests, do you need to stop by? We can provide tea, simple meals, and help feed the horses..."

In the eyes of Master Zhan and others, although the man in front of them had a harmless face that made it difficult for people to be wary, he was too thoughtful and enthusiastic.

"Don't worry, our teahouse is a government franchise, not a black-hearted store." As he said, Lu Wei took out a document and handed it to Zhan Ruoshui, who was in charge.

Zhan Ruoshui carefully identified it, and the meaning of the document was indeed a government franchise as he said, and the seal of the Liaodong County Governor's Office was also stamped on the lower left.

While he was watching, Lu Wei said, "If you are still worried, there is a garrison of Liaodong County less than one kilometer away from here. If our store is a black shop, it would not dare to make trouble under people's noses, right?"

This garrison is of course to guard against Liufu Village across the mountain.

Zhou Congguang and others heard what he said, they looked far away in the direction he pointed, and indeed saw the shadowy figures of soldiers in the distance, and the shouts of the generals training the soldiers.

They were relieved.

Master Zhan handed the horses to Lu Wei's people to feed.

They solved the three urgent needs of life here, washed a little, ate some simple meals, and rested a little.

During this time, Lu Wei talked to them.

"Dear guests, are you planning to go to Houcheng?"

"Why do you say that?"

"There are many guests coming to our Liaodong County recently, and you are not the first batch."

"Is your official road in Liaodong County newly built?"

"Yes, it was just built not long ago."

"Are all the official roads in your entire Liaodong County so wide?"

"The government has this plan. At present, only this route connecting Wuliu County, Liaoyang, Wangping and Houcheng has been built."

"It must take a lot of manpower and material resources to build such a wide road?"

"Fortunately, I believe that the adults above will arrange it. At least when the official road from Wuliu County to Houcheng was built, the serving people had no complaints. If you don't believe it, you can look around and ask more in the next time."

Mr. Zhan and others nodded and decided to ask along the way.

When they left, the other party only took a small amount of money from them.

Lu Wei said, "Guest, take care. I hope you have a happy and enjoyable trip in Liaodong County."

"Master, this Liaodong County is very different." As soon as they stepped into the territory of Liaodong County, the wide official road alone was obviously different from other places.

They passed through many places on this trip, some places with simple folk customs, and some bad places. As the saying goes, poor mountains and bad waters produce unruly people, and some people are really unreasonable.

They thought that Liaodong County was not much better, after all, it was too remote.