Old Willow Village, which was mentioned by Tian Mancang and Xu Lin last night, had lost its usual tranquility.
Early in the morning, the new county magistrate, Liu Yan, who had just been in Hongnong County for a month, came to Old Willow Village with a group of people. He brought a notebook with him so that he could write on it.
Liu Yan, who came from Qianzhong, was not as rustic as people thought. After all, Qianzhong Dao was too remote and poor. Any normal Tang person would have a feeling that they had a high status when they thought of that place.
It was the same as the people in the capital who thought they had a high status. Of course, the people in the capital now did not think that they had the highest status. They still had Lu Zhou above them.
Lu Zhou used to be a place where people were sent away, but now, it had become a place where many rich people bought houses. People who came from other places would be conquered by the beauty of Lu Zhou, but Lu Zhou's people came to the capital with their chests held high.
Lu Zhou's people would only restrain themselves when they came to Sanshui County. It could not be helped. Sanshui County was the foundation of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family. It was the first place in the entire Great Tang. Whether it was in terms of scenery, culture, economy, or politics, Sanshui County stood there like a benchmark that had never been surpassed.
In that case, Bajiang County of Qianzhong Dao was the poorest of the poor. Not to mention now, even in the era of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, the development of Bajiang County was slower than other places.
However, as the county magistrate from Bajiang County, Liu Yan did not look rustic at all. He looked like a person from the capital. He had fair skin, a straight nose, and a straight mouth. When he stood there, he exuded a different temperament, like a gentleman.
It would be better if his eyes were not so aggressive. However, people who saw him always felt that his eyes were small and always looked at people intently. The gentlemanly aura of a gentleman was completely destroyed by his eyes.
To sum it up in one word, he was domineering.
"Here, circle this place with lime first. We have to build an octagonal pavilion and paint it red. It will create a strong contrast with the surrounding scenery. However, a red pavilion with green willows will not make people feel awkward. Yes, it has to be like this."
Liu Yan stood beside the river that passed by Old Willow Village and gave the order to the yamen people who followed him.
Immediately, someone came over with a bucket of lime and drew a circle on the ground according to Liu Yan's instructions.
Liu Yan kept a straight face and continued to walk forward. As he walked, he came to the side of an iron chain bridge.
Seeing the state of the iron chain bridge, Liu Yan frowned. Then, he ordered, "Tell them to lay down the boards on the bridge. I want to go over."
This was not his first time here, but his fourth time here. He had just arrived in Hongnong County, but he had specially come to the same village four times. It was obvious how much he valued this place.
However, today's fourth visit was different from the previous three. Today, the plank on the iron chain bridge had been removed. Obviously, the other party knew that he was coming and did this on purpose.
Liu Yan knew that the other party didn't want to let him go because they wanted to go against his plan. They didn't go well the first three times, and the fourth time, the other party didn't want to talk to him anymore.
Liu Yan also knew the situation in Old Willow Village, but he didn't believe it. He believed that what he did was right. As long as it was right, even the Emperor should support it, let alone Xiaobei. The Zhang Family and the Wang Family didn't want to be reasonable?
More importantly, once he succeeded, his status would be improved. Others didn't dare to provoke the Zhang Family and the Wang Family, but he dared. What he did was right. He wanted to tell the world that the Tang Empire didn't only have Xiao Bao and Cuckoo, but also he, Liu Yan.
Originally, he wanted to ask Liu Feifei to go to the yamen directly. However, when he thought about it, Liu Feifei had already been ordered to go to the capital to bring some willow trees and mushrooms in Old Willow Village. At the same time, she had to bring back new seeds from the Sinongsi Temple.
Liu Yan didn't want to wait for a little girl, so he came here first. He thought that he could deal with the problem directly as the county magistrate.
However, the customs in Old Willow Village were different. He had talked with the old guy three times, but the old guy didn't agree. Wasn't it just a few changes? Didn't he hear that poverty leads to change, change leads to success, and success leads to longevity?
The old ways of Old Willow Village had already hindered the development of the Tang Empire. Now that he was in Hongnong County, he had to speed up the development. Before he took office, he had a thorough understanding of Hongnong County. He also made a perfect development plan according to the local situation.
During the flood, the people of Old Willow Village did contribute. However, one couldn't just lie on the book of merit and not strive to improve. His arrival would change everything. In the future, Hongnong County would be a better place than Lu Zhou. It was closer to the capital and developed quickly. It would become another benchmark of Tang Empire.
The more Liu Yan thought about it, the more confident he became. At the same time, he hated all those who hindered his development, and the Old Village Chief of Old Willow Village was one of them.
Liu Yan, who was immersed in his dream, felt something was wrong. Didn't he order his subordinates to call for help just now? Why didn't he hear anything?
"Call for help." Liu Yan ordered again.
"My lord, it's not that I don't want to, but it's useless. They won't lay down the bridge for us. When Xiaobei and the others came, the planks on the bridge were all pulled down. The villagers knew they were coming, but they didn't lay down the planks. In the end, the protection team had to lay down the planks with their bodies."
A yamen runner explained to Liu Yan. What he meant was that Xiaobei and the others were already famous at that time, but they still couldn't do anything. Now that Liu Yan was here, who were you? Who would care about them? You came three times and failed to negotiate. They wouldn't come out no matter how hard you shouted.
"Xiaobei? Hmph! You're not ten years old yet, right? I'm thirty-six years old this year. Hehe, shout. "Liu Yan sneered and ordered again.
Everyone who came with him retreated at the same time. When they were ten steps away from him, they stood still and lowered their heads to look at their shoes.
Liu Yan suddenly felt that his breathing was smooth and his surroundings were empty. He turned his head with a sullen face and squeezed out a few words from between his teeth, "How dare you disobey my orders?"
"At most, I won't be a yamen runner anymore. I'll go somewhere else. I'll move. What can you do? If I offend you, you can bear with it. A county magistrate, a sixth-rank official, and a lower sixth-rank official. I'm thirty-six years old.
I don't dare to offend Xiaobei and the others. You're too powerful. What you said today, I'll tell others. I'm not ten years old yet, but I'm a third-rank official. Sir, you're busy. I'll go back to pack my things and move. "
The yamen runner sneered after he finished speaking. He swaggered back and stopped serving Liu Yan.
Liu Yan immediately realized that his Qi and blood were floating up and his face was hot. He was probably tired from rushing over so early in the morning.
"Stop. How dare you disobey my orders?" Liu Yan shouted at the yamen runner who was leaving.
"What orders? My cheap life. If I don't work as a yamen runner, whose orders are mine? I'll go to the restaurant Between the Clouds and the Water in the county town later and ask the waiter to find me a new job. If I hadn't been a yamen runner in the county before, I wouldn't have taken this job when I saw Xiaobei and Xiao Bao coming over and saying that the Hong Nong Society would develop better. It's only a small amount of money a month. What do I need? "
The yamen runner straightened his neck and said to Liu Yan with his head tilted.
"I don't allow you to leave." Liu Yan stared at him like an eagle.
"Damn, are you the emperor? The Great Tang is not your Great Tang, and Hong Nong is not your Hong Nong. Don't be afraid, I promise that I will spread what you said today. Just be a good county magistrate and see if you can get out of here. Xiao Bei? Humph! You're not ten years old yet, right? I'm thirty-six years old this year. Haha! "
The yamen runner didn't even look back this time. He directly went to find a horse. He didn't want to walk back.
Liu Yan suddenly felt cold all over. He really looked down on Xiaobei and the others, but others didn't think the same as him. If the news really spread, he wouldn't be able to leave the county town, and he wouldn't even be able to go back.
So he quickly stopped him: "Wait, I don't care if you don't work as a yamen runner, but I don't recognize what you said just now. That's what I meant. Xiaobei, my nose suddenly felt uncomfortable and I humphed. Then I said that it's not easy for them to follow you out when they're not even ten years old. I'm thirty-six years old. I can't compare with them, understand?"
"You really make people look down on you. You didn't even finish a few sentences and you're already scared. Don't worry, I don't want to use others to deal with you. Disappear."
After the yamen runner finished speaking, he came to the side of the horse, turned over, clamped his legs, shook the reins, and rode away.
Liu Yan stood there in a daze for a long time before he finally reacted. Since he didn't want to be a yamen runner anymore, why did he ride the horse away?
"You guys …" Liu Yan wanted to point his finger at the others, but when he saw that the others also wanted to leave, he thought about it and finally restrained himself. This was because he didn't know how to drive a carriage. How could he go back when everyone else had left?
Liu Yan felt that it was unrealistic to ask others to call for him. He held the iron chain on the side of the bridge and looked down. He tentatively took half a step forward and retracted his leg. He asked, "How did the people of the protection team go over in the past?"
"They held the iron chain next to them with their hands and stepped on it." A scribe answered in a flat tone.
"I heard that there are many children. Where are the children?" Liu Yan asked again.
"Sir, didn't you already know before you came? The children naturally step on the bodies of the people of the protection team to go over. The people of the protection team lie on the iron chain," the scribe answered again.
"Can they withstand being stepped on?" Liu Yan's gaze began to sweep over the others.
Everyone took another two steps back. A trace of mockery appeared at the corner of the scribe's mouth and said, "It's okay for the children to step on it, but the adults can probably step on it to death."
"Oh ~!" Liu Yan didn't say anything else. In fact, he really wanted the people who followed him to lie on the ground like the people of the protection team so that he could go over. However, he found that his idea obviously didn't work. No one was a fool. Walk over by himself? What if he accidentally fell down … Who would take the position of Hongnong County Magistrate?
"Hello, is there anyone here? I'm here in person. What we're going to talk about today is different from before. We can change it. "Liu Yan shouted to the other side.
After shouting for about ten times in a row, people finally appeared on the road across the river. There were old people and children, but no adults. They were probably busy making willow weaves.
A group of people stood on the other side of the bridge and looked at Liu Yan as if they were watching a monkey show.
Seeing people coming over, Liu Yan breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, he felt very sullen. If it were other places, the boards on the suspension bridge would be removed. As the county magistrate, it was no big deal for him to send the runners again. However, if it was Hongnong County facing Old Willow Village, he couldn't do that because the runners were disobedient.
"Change it. It's a little different from the previous three talks." Liu Yan didn't say anything else.
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