Chapter Twenty-Three: Confession, Seeking Love (1)
"What happens after that?"
Ye Yongjia sat next to Wei Huai and asked.
"After that, I listened to Renying's advice and put the matter in front of me again to strengthen my momentum. I sent people to Jiangnan provinces to contact scholars and build Sihe Academy, which also achieved certain results. Those 'Yang Party' also changed due to time.
After a while, it disappeared. I was still compiling this "Xing Yao"...and unknowingly several years have passed." Wei Huai sighed deeply and closed his eyes in silence.
"What about you? How are you living in Chenzhou?"
Ye Yongjia shook his head and said with a wry smile: "When I was there... it really felt like I was living in the underworld."
"Then you are relieved when you come here." Wei Huai said calmly.
Ye Yongjia laughed a few times and looked out the window with his profound eyes. The setting sun seemed to become particularly desolate, shining silently.
"Mr. Wei! It's time to come out!" People outside the house were still shouting.
"I have to go," Wei Huai also smiled at him, "I wish my students good luck in their official careers!" After that, he flicked his sleeves and walked out the door.
Ye Yongjia resigned from Weihuai and walked straight back to the Yamen. Fortunately, it was not too late, so he cut his hands behind his back and walked to the court. He said to the officers: "Call a few subordinates in charge and get the books and pictures."
Bo comes to the Yamen and I want to read it in person in the study."
"This is the household registration booklet."
A scribe, about thirty years old, lowered his head, ably placed a few books in front of Wei Huai, and spoke politely.
"This is the field book."
After the man finished cleaning up, he looked up slightly and saw that his face was fair, his eyes were shining, his brows were energetic, his nose was high and straight, and although his beard was thick, it was really neat, and not a single strand was stained with dust. He was really born.
Gentle and elegant.
"What's your name?" Ye Yongjia asked.
The man took half a step back and bowed his body: "My name is Wei Chong, and I am just a secretary in the government office."
"What is recorded in this book? In what year was it compiled?" Ye Yongjia looked at the book and said.
"This register records the size of the fields in Nanjing. The number of fields, the number of harvests, who belongs to them, and where they are located are all recorded in this register. This is the register created by my emperor in the ninth year."
Ye Yongjia nodded, opened the account book, checked it once or twice, and then slowly closed it again.
"I have to read that booklet too, just pick out the important parts."
Wei Chong then took the booklet, selected a few volumes and showed it to Ye Yongjia, and said: "We in Nanjing now have a total of 172,310 households, with a total of 855,735 people."
, divided into military, civilian, craftsman, etc.
The names, surnames, and birthplaces recorded in the book are so numerous that it is not convenient to sort them out at the moment, so I only took one book of households. If the prefect is not afraid of hard work and knows everything in detail, then he will send a servant to the palace to get it.
That’s it.”
Ye Yongjia nodded slightly: "What you said is quite clear. But I won't bother you anymore."
"Yes." He smiled respectfully.
Ye Yongjia lowered his head to read the book, and when he looked up, he saw that Wei Chong was still standing in front of him, not moving even half a step.
"You go and have a rest, I have to watch for a while."
Wei Chong then smiled and said: "I have disturbed your peace here... Then I'll take my leave."
He turned around and walked to the door, straightened his clothes, and was about to go out, when he suddenly heard Ye Yongjia shout:
"Wait! Come here first!"
He was so frightened that he wiped the sweat from his forehead with trembling hands, then turned around, walked up to him, and asked with a forced smile: "What's the matter?"
"This person," Ye Yongjia pointed to a name on the booklet, "do you recognize him?"
Wei Chong looked down and saw the three characters: 'Zhuo Gaoyi', followed by 'Wife Zhang...Nv Lengping'.
"There is indeed such a person..." Wei Chong thought for a while, "Recently, Prince Wan said that he wanted to create a new book, so I went to this person's house a few days ago. Zhuo Gaoyi died three years ago, leaving only his mother.
Although the two women once received government relief, they are now so poor that they can't even afford food."
Ye Yongjia remained silent for a while, then raised his head and said, "When things are almost settled, I'm going to visit Zhuo's house. You need to be ready and bring a few servants with you."
Although Wei Chong couldn't figure out what this meant, he didn't dare to say a word and just agreed: "I know this."
Ye Yongjia stood up and closed the account book, "You are a sharp-tongued and smart person... From today on, you will be responsible for handling all matters, no matter how big or small."
Wei Chong smiled slyly, knelt down quickly and said, "Thank you, Lord Magistrate, for the promotion!"
Ye Yongjia has nothing else to do these days. He just sits in the yamen and reviews official documents. He rarely has any free time. If he has time, he will send Wei Chong to look at houses in various places to choose a residence. Wei Chong will also try to figure him out.
With his thoughts in mind, he chose a river house near Qinhuai, which was exactly what Ye Yongjia wanted, and he bought it immediately.
The apartment has been settled and the official business has gradually become less and less. Ye Yongjia was about to take a good rest when he received a letter at his house. It seemed inconspicuous. When he opened it suddenly, he found that it was a letter written by Wan Heshun himself and delivered here.
.Ye Yongjia had long heard Wei Huai talk about it and knew how difficult Wan Heshun was to deal with. He couldn't help but change his face in shock.
Fortunately, he had the experience of dealing with Lu Deguang, so he did not panic and read the letter slowly:
"Wan Heshun, the king of Jiankang County, wrote to all your officials: Thanks to the great blessings of the emperor, the world is peaceful and the local areas are governed. This year, I am blessed by heaven, and Nanjing is in great condition. As a result, the current affairs are healthy and safe, and I am also happy about it."
Therefore, we will hold a peaceful banquet in the house, put on music and music, and invite you all to share in the grand event. I would like to send a special message to the prefect, the six ministers, the censor of the Duchayuan, the minister of Dali Temple, etc., to come in the day after tomorrow, and do not betray my duties.
see.'
After Ye Yongjia read it, he understood Wan Heshun's thoughts very well. The purpose of hosting a banquet with such great fanfare was just to test the details of him as a leader. Although he was fully prepared at this moment, he thought that he would face such a person.
, he couldn't help but feel a chill that penetrated his whole body from the bottom of his heart, making him unable to suppress his fear.
Wan Heshun wanted to perform the play at the banquet astonishingly and could not allow any mistakes, so he told Cai Xianqing early, so that he could ponder the script and organize the team. Naturally, Cai Xianqing did not dare to neglect, and selected a dozen of his own with his discerning eye.
The 'proud disciple' first went to Laolang'an in Huaiqing Bridge to worship his ancestor.
When Cai Xianqing and the young actors arrived in front of the Qiaobian Nunnery, he strode in first. As soon as the apprentices took a step forward, he shouted:
"Who asked you to come in!"
The people were so frightened that they looked at each other and quickly retracted their feet.
"There are no rules! How can we honor our ancestor if we don't go to the bridge first to buy some fruits as offerings?"
"Then Master, are you..." No one dared to speak, only one bold person asked quietly.
"Me?" Cai Xianqing was beating her waist. When she heard this, she sneered several times and then became angry: "Your master is the servant in front of the prince, but you are not even worthy of carrying someone's shoes! So you say
Got it? Get out of here!"
After hearing this, the actors rushed towards the bridge as if they had obeyed the imperial decree.