Knowing that the Southern Patrol Governor was leaving, many people put down their work and rushed over to say goodbye.
In the past two years of disaster relief in the south, the governance of Wushan County has taken more than a year.
The people of Wushan County have seen this and taken it to heart.
Now that the disaster relief is over, it is time for the officials who have worked hard to provide disaster relief in the south to leave.
Come over and give me a gift to show your appreciation.
"Sir, some people came over and said that they want to see you off together." Feng Buyi said in the yard.
Everyone else looked at Li Changan.
Li Changan stood there for a long time, and then sighed softly, "Forget it, saying goodbye now will only add to the sadness. Let's go quietly."
"Sir, are you really not going to meet me?" Song Siren asked.
Li Changan took one last look at the study and said, "Let's go, don't make any noise."
"I have already given everything I left to the villagers to the county guard. The county guard will hand it over to them after we leave."
After hearing what Li Changan said, everyone stopped insisting, silently packed their bags, and then walked out of the yard.
On the road, it was very quiet.
Everyone was not in high spirits.
After working for such a long time and suddenly having nothing to do, I feel reluctant to leave this land where I have sweated so much.
Li Changan was planning to leave quietly.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I walked out of the intersection, I was suddenly stunned.
In front of me, a group of children huddled together, standing there, craning their necks to look this way.
There are several familiar faces inside.
It was the children that Li Changan saved from the sacrificial platform that day.
"Brother Chang'an..."
A girl standing in front was very nervous and anxious, but finally she mustered up the courage to run over.
She was holding something in her hands, and she was not very stable when running. If she accidentally stepped on a pebble, she was about to fall down.
Li Changan's eyes froze, lightning wrapped around his body, and he disappeared instantly. Then he took a step forward and hugged the little girl.
"Xiao Yuan'er, are you okay?" Li Changan knelt down and looked at the little girl's ankle, fearing that it might be sprained.
The girl cried, looking at Li Changan with big watery eyes, her tears falling down like broken beads.
"What's wrong? Xiao Yuan'er? Are you scared?" Li Changan gently wiped the girl's cheek.
The girl pointed to the maltose candy on the ground and kept sobbing, "I want to give it to my brother, but..."
Li Changan pinched the girl's nose, smiled, picked up the candy on the ground, blew it and threw it into his mouth, "Look, didn't I eat it?"
"Our little Yuan'er is so beautiful, so don't cry, otherwise she won't look good..."
Li Changan squatted next to the girl, turned his eyes to the other children, and asked with a smile, "Are you here to see me off too?"
"Come on, give me a hug." He said and opened his arms.
The other children looked at each other, and then rushed over, swarming into Li Changan's arms.
"Run slowly, run slowly..." Li Changan kept reminding him.
More than a dozen children surrounded Li Changan.
Li Changan hugged them one by one, laughing while hugging them.
Xiao Yuan'er wiped her tears and said, "Brother, we just learned a folk song and we want to sing it to you."
Li Changan touched her head, "Okay..."
A group of children gathered around Li Changan and started singing intermittently,
"The Wushan Mountain is high, and the height is great; the Yan River is deep, and it is difficult to escape."
"I want to return to the east, why don't I harm Liang?"
"There is no way for me to gather my strength, and the water will come back to me."
"Looking from a distance by the water, weeping on my clothes. What do you think of people who have traveled far away and want to return home..."
…
On the Yunxia treasure boat,
Li Changan sat by the window, looking at the sea of clouds outside, and the song he just heard seemed to be echoing in his ears.
Suddenly, he said, "Lower the height and look at the three southern mansions again."
Ran Boping, who was controlling the treasure ship, nodded and quickly changed direction.
Others also came to the window and looked down.
"Hsinchu County...Hengshui County..."
"Look, is that Yungu County?"
"Sir, look at the official road below. You can see it in the sky..."
"And that rock channel, I carried stones all afternoon..."
Looking at the scene flying by below, everyone pointed downwards from time to time and whispered.
Li Changan's eyes were full of emotion. In the past two years of disaster relief, everything seemed to have happened yesterday and was still vivid in his mind.
"Isn't that Zewu County?" Song Siren pointed down and shouted.
"Yes, it's Zewu County." Zeng Shicai nodded quickly, "My lord was there at that time, with the sword pointing at the third rank!"
"Sir, look quickly, Zewu County."
Li Changan had a smile on his face, looking at the earth, and a warm current surged in his heart.
"I still remember that meal..." Feng Buyi's voice seemed to be mixed with swallowing.
As soon as these words came out, everyone's expressions became a little sad.
"I remember it too."
"The meal we had at that time was purchased by the villagers using the disaster relief money and grain distributed by the imperial court."
"..."
"I still remember the taste of the meatballs I ate at that time."
Even though the Yunxia treasure ship had slowed down, it still traveled dozens of miles.
Zewu County quickly disappeared from sight.
Looking at the ground flying below them, everyone seemed to have something stuck in their hearts. They lost interest in talking and just watched quietly.
Those eyes were staring down so closely, as if they wanted to imprint these places firmly in my heart.
Two quarters of an hour later, the Yunxia Treasure Ship arrived over Pingyao Fucheng.
Li Changan took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled.
This is his first stop for disaster relief.
It was also here that he killed more than thirty people with one sword before taking the food out of the hands of those powerful and evil traders.
"We were all still in the capital at that time, and we only heard that your Excellency had killed fellow magistrates here, as well as a large number of grain shop keepers." Feng Buyi said,
"When I heard it, I was shocked and almost didn't dare to come over. I was afraid that if you were in a bad mood one day, you would kill me too."
As soon as these words came out, a little smile appeared on everyone's face.
Xue Shiqing smiled and said, "I still remember that when the master just came out of the government office, I was the first one he asked to lead the way."
"Is there still such a thing?" Others asked quickly.
Most of them joined later.
Only a few people followed Li Changan from the beginning.
Xue Shiqing is one of them.
Li Changan smiled and nodded, "I didn't know anyone at the time. I happened to see Secretary Xue and asked him to show me the way."
"Okay, Brother Xue, it seems you are the most discerning among us." Someone laughed.
Xue Shiqing waved his hands quickly, "Don't mention it, it scared me at the time."
"Tongzhi is ranked in the fifth rank. He is a high-ranking official. He can be killed at any time. He is still suppressed by the grammar of the third rank."
"At that time, the whole city was under control. The master just took the knife and chopped all the way."
"Everyone is afraid, fearing that he will be the next one to be chopped down."
"Haha..." Everyone couldn't help laughing.
The thoughts of farewell in the treasure ship were finally washed away.
Li Changan also couldn't help laughing.
"Sir, what did you leave for Wushan County Sheriff?" Zeng Shicai asked the doubt in his heart.
Li Changan took one last look at the southern land, "A school... Only by reading and opening their eyes can those children go out of the mountains and see the outside world..."
…
Beijing,
Gao Ji, the doctor from the household department, returned to the mansion first, and the housekeeper hurriedly came forward to greet him, "Sir, there were guests who came earlier, and they have been waiting in the living room."
Gao Ji was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "Okay, I'll be there right away."
Arriving at the living room, Gao Ji first saw the person standing with his hands behind his back, looking at the mural on the wall with his back to the door. There was a flash of doubt in his eyes, but he still clasped his fists and said, "I wonder who you are?"
In the depths of the visitor's eyes, a slender black shadow quietly crawled across, then he turned around, cupped his fists and saluted, "Master Gao, I'm Tong Guangtai, your name is not worth mentioning."
Gao Jixian frowned slightly, "I wonder what brings you here this time?"
Tong Guangtai smiled and adjusted his brocade clothes, "For the sake of Mr. Gao's position as the right minister of household affairs..."
As he said that, he glanced around, and then said in a low voice, "Li Changan is about to go to Beijing to report on his duties, and a new department will be built soon. Isn't Master Gao anxious?"
"Among the doctors in the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Gao has the best chance of being promoted to the position of Right Assistant Minister. If Li Changan really builds a new division in the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Gao's right assistant minister may not be stable."
Gao Ji's expression changed again and again, and there was a hint of cruelty in his eyes when he looked at Tong Guangtai, and then he flicked his sleeves, "Your Excellency, you came here just to say this nonsense?"
"Please forgive Gao for sending me so far away!"
Tong Guangtai said anxiously, "Does Mr. Gao think that no matter how great his contribution is, Li Changan can't rise to the top and sit on the position of right minister?"
"This time, if Li Changan wants to stay in the capital, he will probably start at the fifth level."
"At that time, Mr. Gao, do you think White Deer Academy will keep the position of Right Minister for a few more years? Or let Mr. Gao take the position first, and then directly transfer it to Li Changan."
"After all, such a high position cannot be vacant easily. This is the opportunity that we have finally waited for. Zhao Jing, the right servant, will be transferred to the Ministry of Personnel."
"Next time I think of such a good thing, it won't be that easy. What do you think, Master Gao?"
Tong Guangtai paused, cupped his fists and said,
"Tong came here this time on the order of my lord, Sir Gao."
The expression in Gao Jixian's eyes kept changing, but his expression always remained the same, "May I ask who the lord you are talking about is?"
"You will know as soon as Mr. Gao leaves."
——————
The folk song sung by the children was adapted from "Wushan Gao" written in the Han Dynasty.
Among them, "Wushan" was changed to "Wushan", and "Huaishui" was changed to "Yanshui".