Chapter 65: The Gentry Gathered to Discuss Water Sufferers (2)
The royal palace is the layout of the front hall. The three front halls are the main hall, the Chengyun Hall, the back is the Chuan Hall, and the back is the Qiyun Hall. The main hall is where the prince receives angels and meets local officials on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month. The Qiyun Hall is where the prince usually visits.
The place where the internal affairs of the domain are handled.
The companions read Huang Jin and came to the side hall of Qiyun Hall.
The prince took Lu Bing, who was already sitting here. He was wearing a vermilion python suit with a jade belt around his waist. Although he was dressed in ordinary clothes, his solemn appearance also added a lot of momentum. He didn't know what to say to Lu Bing. Lu Bing
He nodded while listening, like a chicken pecking at rice, with a serious expression on his face.
Seeing everyone coming, the prince's expression softened slightly.
Wang Qi took the lead, and everyone performed a half-kneeling ceremony. The Crown Prince was startled when he saw this, and then he started to shout, but he didn't say anything about exempting himself from the ceremony in the future.
When studying in the government, everyone can express their friendship as classmates; outside of the study, it is everyone's duty to decide the master and subordinate early.
He ordered everyone to sit down and said: "The local gentry and elders will arrive in a while. I will temporarily meet the guests on behalf of my father. You can all stay with me. After we finish discussing the official business, there may not be time for everyone to reunite with the elders in the family."
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As he spoke, his eyes slid across everyone and paused on Chen Chizhong, with a smile in his eyes.
It was almost a year after Chen Chizhong entered the palace. For the first time, he changed out of his Taoist robe and put on a straight jacket, adding a touch of elegance.
The Crown Prince is obviously very satisfied with his knowledge and interest. No one cares about him at school, but when he comes out and stands behind the Crown Prince, his identity is different. When he went out of the city two days ago, it was not his official appearance. This time in Anlu
In front of the officials and gentry, all the companions read and accompanied them, which was regarded as a formal appearance.
Lu Bing couldn't close his mouth from ear to ear. He sat next to Dao Chi, put his head in his head, and whispered: "Second brother, I will meet those people later, and we have to leave the palace..."
The Taoist Chi also whispered: "Is the Crown Prince going to leave the palace?"
Lu Bing nodded and said: "We will accompany you, but we won't leave the city."
Dao Chi didn't ask in detail, thinking that the prince was probably going to Nancheng.
King Xing has been in the vassal for more than 20 years, and his reputation is very good. It is common practice to pray for rain in drought years, to prevent floods in flood years, and to provide money and food relief in famine years. In the two heavy rains a few days ago, houses collapsed in the north city, and the situation in the south city was determined.
It's even worse.
After a while, a chamberlain came in and reported: "Your Highness, the gentry in the city have arrived, and they are being led over here by the subordinate officials."
The prince nodded and ordered: "Take him to the west pavilion and wait."
The chamberlain responded and left. The prince did not get up in a hurry, but looked at Dao Chi and said, "How about going home yesterday?"
The Taoist idiot said: "The yard is low-lying, and the rainwater poured in. The water was half a foot deep. It took me an entire afternoon to clear the water. Fortunately, the house was repaired last year. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to get through it."
Having said this, he hesitated and said, "Some people from the backstreet tribe had a big problem due to the collapse of their house."
The prince frowned and said, "The heavy rain has caused disasters. No wonder my father is so worried."
After some time for tea, the prince stood up and went ahead. Everyone got up and followed him into the Hall of Initiation.
The Qiyun Hall is seven rooms wide and three rooms deep, divided into the middle hall, the east pavilion and the west pavilion.
The East Pavilion is where the prince usually summons his subjects, so the prince directly led everyone to the West Pavilion.
All the prominent heads of families in the city are waiting here. Even though they look so majestic in front of the people, they really don't even have room to sit down when they enter the palace.
When Prince Jin came in, everyone knelt down and worshiped.
Dao Chi had already followed the others to avoid it, and glanced around the crowd. The old patriarch of the Wang family and Wang Zhen were there, the second uncle of the Shen family was there, and Father Lu and Father Liu were also there. There were also many second-class families,
Behind the fourth surnamed family, there was also an in-law from the outer ninth house, Zhang Qinghe's uncle, the Zhang clan leader. Wang Qinghong was not seen, so he was a little confused.
There was a arhat table set up in the west pavilion, and the prince sat down. All the companions followed him with breathless voices and stood on the left and right.
The prince called out, then glanced at Patriarch Wang, who was standing at the head of the gentry, and ordered him to sit down.
The two young eunuchs went down in response, brought over a square yellow pear wood chair, and placed it in front of Patriarch Wang.
After Patriarch Wang thanked him, he sat down next to the chair.
Among the dozen or so gentry families who were invited to come, more than one of them was elderly, Patriarch Wang. However, only Patriarch Wang was the one who was given a seat.
The reason why the Wang family has such a good reputation in the palace is not only due to their in-laws in the palace, but the most important thing is that they got help from the Wang family when King Xing established Luchu. As early as when other gentry were waiting and watching the young vassal king, the Wang family had already begun to surrender.
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King Xing went to the early days and received the land granted by King Ye. The official land of the Liang Prince's house in the early years was only more than 400 hectares, so he had to start buying private land.
The Wang family didn't wait for the palace to speak, so they asked someone to deliver the deed to the land of 500 hectares, and then sold another 1,000 hectares of fertile land to the palace at a very low price.
When the palace decided to cultivate land, the Wang family provided money and effort to cooperate with the palace in building dams and cultivating fields.
It seems that the Wang family suffered a loss. They contributed money and effort to the palace, and even gave away and sold 1,500 hectares of fertile land. But in fact, during the more than 20 years of dealing with the Tongxing Palace, the Wang family not only did not suffer a loss, but actually cultivated land.
Thousands of hectares of fertile land were added to the farmland, and the position of the first gentry family in Anlu became more secure.
If the Wang family hesitated at that time and other families turned to the Wang Mansion, Anlu would no longer be in this situation now.
Thinking of this, Dao Chi looked at Patriarch Wang with admiration in his eyes. The local gentry were both fawning and wary of the prince's palace, because it was not a rare topic for feudal kings to invade people's fields.
Most of the reasons for the bad reputation of vassal kings in other places are related to the struggle for property and land. The Xingwang Mansion was supported by the local snake Wang family and did not occupy people's land, which saved a lot of trouble.
By the time other families confirmed that King Xing was a kind man and would not care about the property of this family and that family, and wanted to get involved, it was already a step too late.
There is an additional Mrs. Wang in the palace, and the Wang family is still the number one gentry family in Anlu.
"My father invites you all to come because of the heavy rains in the past few days." The prince cleared his throat and said: "The day before yesterday, I went to the tomb of King Liang on the order of my father. The river valleys and plains overflowed and caused disasters, and the dams were seriously damaged.
Fertile farmland has been invaded; the situation in the city is not good either, thousands of houses have collapsed, and the people are in dire straits."
Having said this, he paused and said, "I wonder what you can teach me about the floods this summer?"
The young prince has a serious face and sincere eyes.
The gentry present felt chilly in their hearts. Although the prince was not yet an adult, he already had some of the demeanor of a prince.
At the beginning of Anlu, the prince encountered a lot of serious problems such as floods, droughts, and various troubles for the refugees. Every time, the prince was like this, inviting everyone here politely, and then he came with a sincere face and worried about the country and the people.
Let’s talk about the first two sentences, and the ending must be this sentence: “What do you guys have to teach me?”
After that, everyone had to spend money and food to "appease the people", and it was the palace that finally gained fame.
Who would be willing to do such a thankless thing?
But many years ago, what was the fate of the guy who violated the prince's will? His family was not destroyed, his people were not destroyed, but he went from a second-rate family to a low-rate one.
The prince seems to be gentle, but as the son of a dragon, how can his dignity tolerate provocation?
Now that the prince is getting older, he no longer likes to do things like "helping the people and benefiting the people" in the past few years, so everyone can breathe a sigh of relief. Why do you still come here to do this when you are here with the crown prince? Can you try something new? ?
For a moment, no one answered the call, and it was a silent scene.
The prince's little face suddenly drooped, and he looked at everyone with annoyance in his eyes. He breathed secretly, directly called them by name, and said, "Mr. Wang, what advice do you have?"
Patriarch Wang coughed twice and said: "Your Highness is so caring for the people, and I admire him endlessly. You should never take advice seriously. If Your Highness doesn't mind that little old man being noisy, I will just say a few words."
The prince's face softened slightly and he said: "Old sir, please speak?"
Patriarch Wang Lao said: "The land of Anlu is not only the land of the royal family, but also the place where our family lives and lives. Anlu is safe, and we are safe. If Anlu is not stable, our life will be difficult. As long as we are here for Anlu If the land is stable, we will naturally be willing to follow the prince and your highness to participate in the grand event."
These few words are not only to the prince, but also to warn others that no one should think of staying out of the matter.
The prince's expression became more and more peaceful, he looked at the other family heads and said, "What do you think?"
The second uncle of the Shen family said: "Your Majesty loves the people like a son, and His Highness is kind-hearted. It is a great honor for the common people to follow the Prince and His Majesty after their death and do their best for the people of Anlu!"
Liu's father said: "It is precisely because the prince and his highness trusted Cao Min and others that they ordered the summons. Cao Min and others will not disappoint the prince and their highness's expectations."
Of the four surnames, the Lu family was the only one left. Even though he was reluctant at all costs, Lu's father could only say: "Wherever we are used, the prince and your highness just give orders and have nothing to say."
The four surnames all expressed their opinions, and the other families could only nod along.
Everyone smiled reluctantly. During these two heavy rains, every farm has also received disaster reports. If nothing else, if it rains like this for a few more times before the rice harvest, the yield will definitely be reduced. The income of the farm this year is not good. Now it's time to cut the meat again.
The Crown Prince was in a good mood. King Xing asked him to come out to meet the gentry and say hello for flood control and disaster relief. As his "greeting" continued, everyone's reaction was pretty good...
After about a quarter of an hour, a chamberlain came over to convey the message that King Xing had finished discussing matters with local officials in the Chengyun Hall, and the king drove to the Qiyun Hall.
When the prince heard the words, he took everyone to the main hall to wait for him.
By the time everyone stood still, the sound of whips could be heard outside.
After a moment, King Xing entered the Qiyun Hall surrounded by local civil and military officials in Anlu.
Everyone, including the prince, knelt down to welcome the king.
Among the civil and military officials who followed the king into the palace, Wang Qinghong was prominently listed, and his position was relatively forward. He wore a black gauze on his head and wore a third-grade official uniform.
After thinking about it for a while, the Taoist idiot understood the reason. Even officials who have become officials are still officials. They have no authority, but they have the status of an official, and their treatment is different from that of ordinary gentry.
King Xing came to his seat, shouted, and then looked at the crown prince.
Seeing the prince nodding with a smile, King Xing said: "Torrential rains have caused trouble this summer, people's livelihood is difficult, and I can't bear it. I just mentioned a few things about disaster prevention and relief with a few adults. It's just that the manpower is small, so I would like to invite you fellow villagers. Helping hand.”
Everyone had expressed their opinions just now, so naturally they stopped being wordy now and bowed one after another: "I am willing to be driven by the prince (I will obey the prince's instructions)!"
The atmosphere was high, the officials and gentry were attentive, and King Xing's face became warmer and warmer...