It was almost evening, in the Yunshan Residence.
Li Zexuan looked at the golden silk in his hand and helplessly revealed a trace of a bitter smile. He could only hear himself muttering to himself:
"Wei Zheng, Wei Zheng, this time it's not me who wants to make things difficult for you. It's His Majesty and the people!"
After that, he picked up the pen and paper on the table and scribbled a few lines of words. Then, he put it in an envelope and left the study. He called Pang Feiji and said, "Feiji, quickly send this letter to the workshop and give it to Ma Zhou!"
It was already the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, and the workshop had already resumed production. Correspondingly, the editorial department of Datang Daily had already started work two days ago. Therefore, some of the people in Chang 'an who had been away for work all year round had taken advantage of these two days to enjoy the "freshly baked" Datang Daily, which was still emitting the fragrance of ink.
"Yes! Marquis! "
Pang Feiji bowed and accepted the order.
…
"Mr. Ma, Marquis asked me to give this to you!"
In the new workshop, in the editorial department of Datang Daily. After Song Xiaosi's report, Pang Feiji met Ma Zhou and handed over the letter from Li Zexuan.
At this moment, Ma Zhou was writing the application materials for the evaluation of professors. After the Lantern Festival this year, the teachers of the academy would start school early. The first thing in the new semester would be the evaluation of teachers' titles. A few days ago, Li Zexuan had asked Ma Zhou to start preparing.
At this time, he took the letter and opened it. He was stunned. If not for the fact that the handwriting on the letter was exactly the same as Li Zexuan's, he would have suspected that Pang Feiji was faking Li Zexuan's handwriting!
"… Okay! Please tell Marquis that there is no problem on my side! "
After putting away the letter, Ma Zhou's expression was strange. He then said to Pang Feiji in a muffled voice.
"Okay! Then I'll take my leave! "
Pang Feiji was confused. However, he knew that some things could be asked and some things could not be asked. Therefore, he just nodded and left.
"Sigh! I really don't understand what Marquis is trying to do. "
After Pang Feiji left, Ma Zhou smiled and sighed.
…
The next day.
The headline of Datang Daily made Chang 'an, which had been bustling for a few days after the Spring Festival, boil again.
"This subject, Li Zexuan, has heard that Your Majesty wishes to bestow upon this subject the land of Lantian County. This subject is in fear and trepidation. As a Marquis, to receive a county as a fief is indeed against the rules. This subject will also be criticized by my colleagues! However, as Your Majesty's subject, I am willing to share Your Majesty's worries and make the following promise:
If within three years, this subject is unable to ensure that the people of Lantian District can afford to wear clothes, eat meat, and read books, this subject is willing to hand over all my fiefs. I welcome all the people and officials of the Great Tang to supervise this subject.
— Li Zexuan, 8th day of the first month of the second year of Zhenguan! "
This short announcement was similar to a modern day inauguration speech. However, this was the first time that the ancient people had seen such a form of announcement. They could not help but find it refreshing. However, what was more interesting was the content of the announcement. It seemed that Li Zexuan was going to bestow all of Lantian District to Li Zexuan? This was big news!
"Did … did I hear wrongly? His Majesty wants to bestow Lantian District to the Marquis of Yong 'an? "
After reading the newspaper, the people exclaimed, especially those who lived in Lantian District or had relatives living in Lantian District. They were so excited that they almost jumped up.
"This … this is great! His Majesty is wise! From now on, I am also a farmer in Marquis's fief! Haha! In the future, my child might be able to attend school and even get into Yanhuang College! "
"Haha! This is really good news. I have to go back and tell my child's mother. We have to celebrate at noon! "
"Hey! Old Zhong, you guys are really lucky this time! I used to say that you guys were too far away from Marquis's territory and couldn't become Marquis' fief. Now, you guys have finally gotten what you wanted! Haha! I have to go to your house to drink some wine later! "
"That's not a problem! Old Yang, whenever you go, there will be wine to drink! As Marquis's farmer, we can't be stingy! "
"Uncle Zhong, there seems to be something wrong with this headline!"
Yu Dejing, the scholar that was saved by Li Zexuan as the "vanguard" of the "Cui Down Movement", happened to be in the city to buy books today. He heard that Qiqu Culture was doing some "discount promotion" recently. Buying books would be much cheaper than usual. On the way, he heard people talking about the headline in the newspaper. He simply bought a copy of the newspaper and then read the contents of the newspaper to his fellow villagers. When the villagers heard the contents of the newspaper, they could not help but be happy. However, he could not help but frown.
"What's wrong? Little Jing? Isn't this a good thing? What's wrong? "
Yu Family Manor's Li Zheng, who was also the Uncle Zhong that Yu Dejing mentioned, was puzzled.
"That's right! Elementary Scholar Yu, you're well-read. Can you help us analyze what's wrong? "
The people of the same village all looked at Yu Dejing and talked at once.
It could be seen that this scholar was very respected in their village.
"Uncle Zhong, think about it. If the Emperor really gave Lantian County to the Marquis of Yong 'an, why hasn't the Emperor issued an imperial edict for such a huge matter? Furthermore, the Marquis of Yong 'an didn't have to put these words in the newspaper. I think there must be a deeper meaning behind this! "
Elementary Scholar Yu frowned and said in a low voice.
Uncle Zhong heard this and fell into deep thought. After a while, he nodded and said:
"… Oh! Little Jing, what you said makes sense! There's something wrong with this! But no matter what, our village is about to be merged into Marquis' fief. This is a joyous matter! "
Yu Dejing shook her head and said: "Uncle Zhong, I'm afraid things aren't that simple! You see, Marquis said in the newspaper that as a marquis, he received a county as his fief. This is against the rules and will cause criticism from his colleagues! Therefore, I'm guessing that there are court officials who are objecting to the Emperor giving Lantian County to the Marquis of Yong 'an as his fief! "
"What? Someone objected? Who dares to object? Isn't this asking for our lives? We finally have the chance to become Marquis's villager. If we lose it because of them, then when will the people of our Yu Family Manor be able to eat meat and wear clothes? "
Uncle Zhong's eyes widened when he heard this and his voice involuntarily increased by an octave, attracting the attention of the passersby.
"Uncle Zhong is right! Elementary Scholar Yu, who exactly is objecting? This is a joyous matter for our village. We can't let anyone ruin it! "
The villagers were all filled with righteous indignation. Faced with the happiness that was about to fall into their bowl, no one wanted to watch it slip by.
Yu Dejing thought for a while and said: "Who exactly wants to stop the Emperor from giving Lantian County to the Marquis of Yong 'an? Let's split up and find out!"
…
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