Li Longji and the others did not know what a gunship was. He was not the only one. Even Old Man Pi only knew that the Zhang Family and the Wang Family had better weapons, but he had never seen one before.
Although the officials sent to Lu Zhou were nominally in charge of the entire Lu Zhou, in reality, there were many places that they were not allowed to interact with.
Very few people in Lu Zhou knew about the existence of the gunship, and the people from the Chamber of Commerce had sealed their mouths. In any case, many people who were well-informed knew that the Zhang Family and the Wang Family had something good. As for what it was and to what extent, they did not know.
Now that they heard that there was a gunship, and it seemed like it had been deployed earlier than expected. Otherwise, Lu Zhou would not have received the news at the same time as San Shui County. All of them looked at old man Bi and old man Yao.
Old Man Yao looked at Old Man Pi. When he met the Zhang Family and the Wang Family, he was already in Shuzhou. He had never stayed in Lu Zhou.
When Old Man Pi saw the people looking at him, he felt a lot of pressure. He was also thinking hard about how a gunship would look like. After going through his thoughts in his mind, he said, "A gunship, as the name suggests, is a ship equipped with cannons. The military fleet of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family is called a fleet. As for the cannons, they used something that can only be used once in Tubo. It's called a shoulder-mounted rocket cannon."
"In that case, a gunship would have a lot of people with rocket cannons on it, right?" Zhang Shuo guessed based on Old Man Pi's words.
"I don't think so. Maybe it's more powerful. Who knows? When I was there, the Zhang Family and the Wang Family didn't mention anything about the gunship. Why don't we send someone to Ji Li Province to take a look? We'll know when we see the real thing."
Old Man Pi felt that his intelligence work was too bad. He looked at the people around him and suggested a solution.
Needless to say, everyone had the same idea. But the problem was, why didn't the Zhang Family and Wang Family know beforehand that they had suddenly come up with something so powerful?
Zhang Shuo felt that the opportunity had come again, so he said to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, this subject thinks we should send someone to Lu Zhou to check all the places that the Zhang Family and the Wang Family are not allowed to be seen by the local officials. If the Zhang Family and the Wang Family object, then it means that they have bad intentions."
Li Longji also felt uncomfortable in his heart. Uncontrollable matters were always hard to accept. Just as he was about to agree, he suddenly thought of something and glanced at Zhang Shuo.
"Minister Zhang is right. We should send someone to take a look. Which division should we send someone from?"
"Your Majesty, I think it's better to send someone directly from the Secretariat. After all, it's easy for people from the various departments to shirk responsibility from each other. I'm afraid that the Zhang Family and Wang Family will retaliate, but I'm not afraid."
Zhang Shuo was ready to take control of the power in his own hands, so he suggested that he would be the one to send someone.
Li Longji nodded. While Zhang Shuo was feeling happy, he said, "In that case, I'll ask Minister Zhang to personally go there and check the situation. If it were someone else, I wouldn't believe it. If the news was leaked and the other countries got hold of it, our Great Tang can't afford to lose. When will Minister Zhang leave?"
When Zhang Shuo heard that the Emperor wanted him to go, he was stunned. If he didn't go, wouldn't he be lying to the Emperor? If he went, who would be in charge of the Secretariat? That was Lu Zhou, and this was the capital. Wouldn't it take half a year to go and return? How many things could happen in half a year?
Moreover, after he went there, he would have to check every place carefully and ask clearly. If he went back and forth, he might even miss the Fengchan Ceremony. That wouldn't do.
"This subject thinks that Your Majesty is right." Yuwen Rong agreed from the side. He had contributed a lot and had done a good job in settling the fugitives. He also wanted to find an opportunity to improve his position. However, with Zhang Shuo leading a group of people, it was difficult for him to be promoted. If he could send Zhang Shuo away, that would be great.
Zhang Shuo was afraid. He was afraid that the Emperor would send him to Lu Zhou. Although it was many times better than the other places in Lingnan Circuit, it was far away from the capital after all.
When he thought of this, he could only brace himself and say, "Your Majesty, this subject still has many things to do in the Secretariat. I really can't leave. How about this? Let the Zhang Family and the Wang Family talk about it themselves. It's best if we wait for the gunships to come and send one to the capital so that Your Majesty can see it with your own eyes."
"In that case, I'll leave this matter to you, Minister Zhang," Li Longji said casually, no longer forcing Zhang Shuo to go to Lu Zhou. Then, he put the matter aside.
At first, Zhang Shuo was overjoyed. Now, not only did he not have to go to Lu Zhou, but he could also take some initiative. However, this thought had just appeared in his mind when it turned into worry. What if the Zhang Family and the Wang Family did not cooperate?
No, this matter had to be considered at length.
Zhang Shuo suppressed the excitement in his heart. Then, he lowered his head and began to think.
They continued to eat, but the comfort they felt earlier was gone and was replaced by a sense of melancholy.
After a hurried meal, Li Longji waited for his subjects to leave. Then, he said to Gao Lishi, who was beside him, "Xiao Bao and Cuckoo have revealed their new weapons. What do you think?"
"Your Majesty, this subject feels that Xiao Bao and Cuckoo are scheming something big. Perhaps, they saw the situation over there and want to change it. Since they're using it, it's natural that they don't intend to hide it. Your Majesty, you can send someone over there to see how powerful the gunships are. If they're really stronger than the current navy of Great Tang, we can be more assured about Xinluo in the next few days."
Gao Lishi was also trying hard to imagine what the captain of the gunships looked like. The fleet of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family was already very powerful, and yet, they still transferred weapons from Lu Zhou. It could only be stronger than the current ships, not weaker.
That was exactly what Li Longji was planning to do. When they were eating earlier, he really wanted to send someone to Lu Zhou to investigate the matter. However, he suddenly thought of a problem. If he really investigated the matter thoroughly, which division should he belong to? Would the people in the division be able to keep the matter a secret?
The various countries that came to the Great Tang had left many people behind. Through stealing, bribing, and so on, they had obtained many good technologies from Great Tang. For example, the triangular sail. When the people from Xinluo came over by water, they actually had it. There was also the Japanese ship that appeared in the Four Seas Academy. It was likely that they also had the propellers at the back. It was just that their technology was not good enough and could easily break down.
As for the things that were placed in the Zhang Family and the Wang Family, none of them were leaked. For example, the rocket launcher that could only be used once, the firearms, the grenades, and the hot-air balloon in the sky. The Zhang Family and the Wang Family were better at keeping secrets than the imperial court.
When he thought of this, Li Longji gave up on the idea of sending someone over. Since Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had transferred the gunships in advance, they would have told him about it.
"In that case, Lishi, you'll send someone over to take a look. If it's a good war weapon, Xiao Bao and Cuckoo might really be able to solve the problem that I've been trying to solve."
Li Longji instructed. Just as he was about to lie down and rest, a young eunuch appeared and said to Gao Lishi, "My lord, we've received six pigeons from Ji Li Province."
"I'll go right away," Gao Lishi answered and left.
After a while, he came back with six bamboo tubes with wax on them. He said to Li Longji, "Your Majesty, Xiao Bao and Cuckoo sent six pigeons in three batches, two at a time and sealed with wax. They must be very important. Your Majesty, please take a look."
As he spoke, Gao Lishi put the bamboo tubes in front of Li Longji. Li Longji picked them up and examined them carefully before opening them. There were three letters inside. To be exact, there were six letters, but every two letters were the same.
When he saw that there was no writing on the paper, he passed it to Gao Lishi. Gao Lishi quickly put the paper on the table and took out a small bottle of iodine from the drawer beside him. He dabbed a cotton ball on the paper and saw the writing on the paper. However, he couldn't tell what it was. He rushed to another drawer and took out a book called Selected Works. He started flipping through the pages according to the numbers on the book.
After working for a while, he finally made a letter. He put it in front of Li Longji and said, "Your Majesty, this is what Xiao Bao and Cuckoo wanted to talk about."
Li Longji didn't need to read from the beginning to know what the entire letter was about. When Gao Lishi was looking at the words, he was watching from the side.
It was about the Gunship. It was much more specific than what he guessed when he was eating. It said that the Gunship was a type of cannon barrel made of copper. It was filled with cannonballs that could be fired very far away. Its power was much greater than that of a siege crossbow. If the cannonballs could hit the enemy's ship, then the enemy's ship would be finished. This was because the cannonballs would explode when they hit the ship. It was much more powerful than fireworks.
It also said that the Gunship had been made a long time ago. It was just that the technology wasn't mature at that time. They were afraid that if they were besieged by too many ships at sea, it would be easy to lose the technology if they couldn't escape. Now that the cannonballs had been made, it was just the right time to try it out and see if there were any stupid ships that would crash into the Gunship.
After reading the letter, Li Longji felt much better. He didn't need to send people over himself. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had sent a letter to inform him first.
"Lishi, write a reply letter. Tell Xiao Bao and Cuckoo that I allow them to do whatever they want over there. Don't forget to inform me when they start fighting, so that I can send reinforcements."
Li Longji was happy and asked Gao Lishi to write a letter. What he meant was that if they really helped him to open up a path to that place, unlike the current situation where they couldn't even control the situation by sending people over. Most of the time, they would need to rely on sea transportation. He would support them here.
Gao Lishi nodded and started writing the letter. This letter didn't need to be kept a secret like the letter sent by Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. This was because there were no pigeons if they were sent over. Unless there were pigeons there, they wouldn't need to worry that the pigeons would get tired of flying and fall into the hands of someone with ulterior motives and leak the secret. Moreover, there weren't any secrets in the reply letter.
When Gao Lishi sent someone to send the letter back, Li Longji didn't sleep anymore. He sat there with a tea set and drank Kung Fu tea. He used the best Maojian tea, which he had exploited after drinking Gao Lishi's tea last time.
When he saw Gao Lishi return, he waved his hand and had Gao Lishi fill two teacups. He held one up and said, "I didn't expect that when I sent them over, I just wanted them to think of a way to open up the path and deal with the people over there. However, they set up a posture and prepared to take over by force. I expect that there will be chaos over there for a while."
Gao Lishi didn't need Li Longji to signal him again. He picked up the other teacup and replied, "Your Majesty, after the chaos, it will be even more stable. I wonder if the 600 bodyguards brought by Xiao Bao and Cuckoo, as well as the 500 bailiffs transferred from Sanshui County and Huayuan County, will be able to defeat them after the chaos. That place isn't very peaceful."
"Didn't the gunships go over? I'll wait and see." Li Longji drank the tea in one gulp.
*****
At this time, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan weren't ready for war. The two of them had just found a natural deep-water port to anchor the ship and were directing people to use small boats to move the goods down.
The people near the sea also helped. They were all full. There were more than a dozen ways to cook the fish, including fish skin, fish bones, fish intestines, and fish fins. Many parts of the fish that they had never thought of before were all made into dishes.
In addition to the good seasonings, they didn't even eat rice. They only ate the dishes. When they couldn't eat anymore, they drank the fish soup. They waited until their stomachs were full before continuing to eat.
After they finished eating, the storm was over. They couldn't find their ship on the sea. When they were about to reach the shore, they saw a few planks. They were probably all broken. While they were distressed, they were also glad that they were able to keep their lives.
Now, they were helping to send the things on the big ship to the shore in small boats. This was what the new provincial governor and the military registrar wanted to use.
Seeing them working hard to send the goods to the shore, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan discussed and found Li Cun Zheng. They said to him, "Li Cun Zheng, this time you helped us, but we can't let you do it for free. When the goods are all transported to the state capital, we'll give each of you a fishing boat as your wages."
"Really?" Li Cun Zheng asked in disbelief.
"Really. After all, we have a lot of goods, and it's difficult to transport them." Zhang Xiaobao nodded.
Li Cun Zheng wanted to say no, because his life was saved by them. But then he thought about how much time and money it would take to build a new boat. His family couldn't afford it, so he suppressed the words of refusal. He agreed and happily ran to tell the others.
When the other villagers heard that they could earn a boat, they worked even harder. The money they earned from the boat was many times more than the wages they earned from transporting goods.
Xiaobei was also directing the people to move. Their big house had also come with the ship. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were mainly worried that the state capital here was very dilapidated, and Xiaobei and the others wouldn't be used to living here.
When the big house fell from the ship, the villagers of Near Sea Village were once again dumbfounded. They had seen people move everything with them, but they had never seen people move a house. This big house was beautiful, and it had transparent windows. It was much bigger than a small boat, so they didn't know how to move it.
When they wanted to figure out how to move the big house to the shore, they blew up an air cushion made of leather. It happened to be under and around the big house, so the big house was placed on the water. It was originally made of wood, so it was very light. With the addition of the air cushion, it floated on the water.
Xiaobei and the others went in, pushed open the windows, and waved at the stunned fishermen.
The fishermen didn't have much of an impression of the new official. Their biggest impression was that the new official was very rich. How could an ordinary person afford to live in such a house?
They moved the things in a daze, and their eyes looked at the big house from time to time. Today, they had broadened their horizons. They could actually move a house, and they could tell the villagers when they went back.
"Brother, may I ask how much this house costs?" A young man among the fishermen asked the person who was doing the same work from the boat next to him after sending up another boat of goods.
It's not much. It's not like the house that Little Miss and Little Young Master used to have. That house was worth 100,000 strings of coins, and it wasn't much. This one is only 20,000 strings of coins. The wood outside can be bought with 2,000 strings of coins. There are all kinds of miscellaneous things in the house, and they don't need 5,000 strings of coins.
The house is expensive. "The servant of the Zhang Family and Wang Family looked at the house and said casually.
"20,000 strings of coins? Strings of coins? Not in cash? Let, let them live here? "The person who asked couldn't speak well. 20,000 strings of coins was simply a dream for him.
"Of course, it's for Little Miss and Little Young Master. This time, accompany me to move the things under the house. Be careful, don't break them. Otherwise, when we get ashore, we can't move the house. Little Miss won't be happy."
The person said again. He looked at the empty boat and pulled the fishermen back together. This time, they were transporting big wheels, and they didn't bring the mercury device for dynamic balancing. The road here was not easy to walk on, so it was useless even if they brought it. Besides, they had already adapted to the bumpiness of the boat, so they didn't need it on the road.
Soon, the big house of Xiaobei and the others ran aground. A group of little guys jumped into the water and swam beside to cheer for the people who were changing houses and wheels.
Although they looked small, they weren't bad at swimming. They were all wearing swimsuits, and when they stepped on the water, they revealed more than half of their chests. They weren't afraid of the waves at all, and let the fishermen see the magic of the new official's house again.
"Hurry up and change. Come on. Aiya, why aren't you moving? Are you stuck? I'll go down and take a look. " Xiaobei shouted and waved his little fists. When he saw that the people who swam down to carry the wheels floated up again, he lowered his head and plunged into the water.
The person who asked the question just now asked again.
"Is this Little Miss? She also lives by the sea? Isn't she too good at swimming? "
"Yes, she was born by the sea. She can float on the water since she was young. Little Young Master and Little Miss said that swimming is good for the body." The servants of the Zhang Family and Wang Family were not surprised at all. They had long been used to it.
"Aiya, if only my child could be like her. He's five years old this year and can only show his head when he steps on the water. He's so stupid."
The fisherman said enviously. In fact, he was more envious of the child's good looks. When he saw it, he knew that it wasn't something an ordinary family could have.
Everyone was busy for half a day and only unloaded two ships of goods. There were still other ships that had not been unloaded. This part of them had to go first and settle down in the state capital in advance, waiting for the rest to be shipped little by little.
This was also the reason why Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan gave the fishermen such a high 'wage'. It was estimated that it would take them at least a month to transport the goods. During this time, the two of them had to think of ways to give the fishermen more food. After all, they still had families waiting to earn money to support them.
Seeing that the front line was organized, Wang Juan sat in the car and said to Zhang Xiaobao, "Give them some oil too. They probably don't eat much oil usually. There's no need for salt. If they want to eat it, they can cook it themselves."
"En, also give them some rice wine and seasonings. Let them go back and cook fish. This is a breakthrough for us to get to know the people here. Even if we have to pay more, as long as other people see it, we can achieve certain results."
Zhang Xiaobao was most worried about the problem of getting along with the local people. The people here were not people who came from Shandong or even Henan and Hebei. They were very difficult to talk to. The imperial court basically did not send people to be officials. They only found local officials, especially the Commander-In-Chief's office, which was also moved again and again. The more they moved, the closer they were to Hebei, because it was not easy to govern.
Not to mention the local exclusivity of this era, even in his own time, looking at the county in Yunnan, most of them were locals. If outsiders went there, they would not be able to command at all.
Wang Juan also knew that it was not easy to be an official. The population was already small, and if they could not be mobilized, even if there were ten thousand good ideas, they could only stare blankly. This was the real challenging position.
She asked again, "Xiao Bao, do you think there will be any problems in this handover? For example, the other party obviously embezzled a lot of money but did not take it out. We can't arrest them and send them to the capital, right? I guess the money they embezzled is not enough to pay for this trip. This is a poor place. "
Zhang Xiaobao also felt the same way. "Indeed, someone asked the fishermen and found out that the officials here are so poor that they are exploiting the fishermen. They come here to ask for some shellfish and dried fish. It's sad to be an official like this. Forget it, we'll just hand it over when we arrive at the place. There's no need to investigate. At most, we'll just pay for the hole ourselves.
It's not a big deal. "As the two of them discussed, the team began to gradually speed up. Just as they started to speed up, they slowed down again. The road ahead was full of hills, and there was no normal road at all. The straight-line distance from the seaside to the provincial capital of Jili Province was only seventy to eighty miles. If a horse was fast, it would take less than two hours to run there.
However, in this kind of terrain, no matter how fast a horse was, it would not work. There was no road, and walking on the mountain road made people feel like they could fall at any time. Xiaobei and the others had already come out of the house, and the horse pulling the carriage had also stopped to rest.
Zhang Xiaobao held a telescope in his hand and stood on the top of the mountain to look around. He said, "This is really difficult. If we want to turn this place into the Dalian of our time, I guess it will not be enough even if we throw in all our money."
"Dalian of our time also had many mountains. We have to dig bit by bit, and many roads have to be built on the hills. There are big slopes, so we can't expect it to be like that time. How many people did Dalian have at that time? Think of a way to build a good dock here. When the time comes, we will settle down along the way. "
Wang Juan had already lost confidence in this place. It was not like Boxin County, where they could build as they wanted. There was also a place for tourism. Here, they spent money to hire people, but they might not be willing to come. The population of a province was not as large as that of a county. The previous methods could not be used.
"Let's go. Let's continue moving forward. I don't believe it. No matter what, we have to develop this place, even if it is to develop foreign trade."
Zhang Xiaobao had not thought of a good idea until now. He wanted to engage in local development like Shuzhou, but he could not afford it. The population would not be large.
"Then we have to go. Foreign trade? With whom? There are not many resources here. We just occupy a good place near the sea. There is a lot of limestone, but we can't use that much. Unless we tell others the cement recipe and let them build a cement factory, we will provide the raw materials. "
As Wang Juan spoke, she took the lead and walked forward. She didn't expect to build a bustling place here.
Zhang Xiaobao frowned and followed behind Wang Juan. He was very helpless in his heart. When he came, he wanted to take some measures to develop the local economy first. Now, he had given up.
Fortunately, the purpose of coming here was not to develop the local economy. Instead, it was because the sea here was good. They could build docks and build ships in preparation for the future. Other places like Shandong, Fujian, and Zhejiang were good, but they had their own docks. If they went to the capital, it would affect the local economy greatly.
In the future, they could not send ships from Lu Zhou. It was too far away. Moreover, the people from Lu Zhou were not used to the climate here.
Zhang Xiaobao looked back at the blue sea and said with certainty, "One day, this place will become a strategic location. I'm talking about naval battles."
"I know. This place has always been important. There's also Shenyang. Whether it's land or naval battles, it's a place that the military must fight for, especially Shanhai Pass. Both the capital and the Great Wall are unparalleled. That's the first pass. If we hold the front line at Shenyang, we'll hold the three northeastern provinces.
There's also Jinzhou. It's also important because it's suitable for landing and airdropping. When we're done here, we'll take over all the coastal areas. "
Wang Juan knew the military status of this place very well, but it was not useful now.
Zhang Xiaobao blinked twice and said, "Who said there are three provinces in the northeast? We can have six provinces here, or even more. We need at least a few provinces in Mohe."
"I think that's fine. When there's a chance, we'll go and help the other ethnic group in China develop." Wang Juan knew what Zhang Xiaobao meant when he heard that. There was no Russia or the Soviet Union now. The people there were still tribes.
The fishermen also walked with the group. They were also whispering about how the new official would govern the place in the future.
They were not willing to let the person from Tang's capital manage them, but the person they met was their savior. They had no choice but to change their minds.
Naturally, they were not talking about the world's layout that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan said would scare people to death. They just wanted to judge their own future.
They muttered in a low voice. From time to time, they had to help pull the cart or push and lift it from behind. It was very tiring.
Until it was dark, the group still had not arrived. Everyone had to light a bonfire and prepare for the night. The sound of wild animals echoed in the mountains from time to time.
The fishermen ate the hot food. They had already decided that if the provincial government asked them to do something in the future, they would cooperate.
The only thing they were worried about was that the new official was rich. If he asked for things from the villages, they would not be satisfied with just a little fish.
Perhaps seeing their concerns, Zhang Xiaobao ordered a servant in the family. The servant found a few people to sit next to the fishermen. They sat there and chatted while eating.
They talked about what Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family usually ate, what they wore, and how much a meal cost. Anyway, they just exaggerated a little bit to let the fishermen know that the money that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family usually spent on a meal was as much as they earned in a lifetime.
Then they talked about how much Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family did. Finally, they indirectly reminded the fishermen that the new official would not ask for things in the village, because the things that he asked for were not enough for a meal.
*****
At noon the next day, the group finally arrived at the provincial government. As expected, there was only a broken city wall. It was a very small city. There were not many people going in and out, and they did not look very healthy. Most of them looked like they were hungry.
The local officials did not know about the arrival of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. The imperial court did not send anyone to inform them in advance. They probably felt that they would not be able to catch up with the speed of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan coming by boat.
When the group appeared outside the city, it attracted a lot of attention. Everyone was puzzled. Where did so many people come from? They even brought a lot of things, including houses.
The city gate did not have a door. There was only a fence-like thing made of thick wood on both sides of the city gate. Looking at the worm-eaten appearance, it was obvious that it had not been moved for a long time. In other words, the city gate would not be closed at night.
Needless to say, there were soldiers guarding the city gate. Looking up at the city wall made of mud, most of the battlements on the wall had been worn away by the wind and rain. No one was patrolling on the top.
The group of people strolled into the city. Compared to the road outside, the city was slightly better. At least there weren't so many holes. The main street was quite clean. There probably wasn't a professional cleaning staff. Looking at the traces, it seemed that everyone had cleaned the front of the street themselves.
Xiao Bei had never seen such a place before. This place was even worse than Wing Prefecture. He curiously looked at all the shops along the way. Until now, he had not seen any restaurant, only a few small restaurants scattered here and there.
Xiao Bei tried her best to find a place that sold candy so that she could buy two to play with. Unfortunately, she didn't even find a candy seller, let alone someone who made cotton candy.
The more she looked, the more she felt that it was boring. Xiaobei walked quickly and came behind Zhang Xiaobao. She reached out and tugged at Zhang Xiaobao's clothes, saying, "There's nothing? So poor. "
When Zhang Xiaobao saw his sister's face full of regret, he suddenly smiled and picked her up. As he walked forward, he said, "There will be in the future. You can eat whatever you want here. We can also build a big amusement park at the seaside."
"Yes, if Big Brother says there will be, then there will be. Big Brother is the best." Xiaobei hugged Zhang Xiaobao's neck and said with certainty.
However, Zhang Xiaobao did not have such confidence. He carried his sister and walked forward. After walking for a quarter of an hour, they finally arrived at the magistrate's office.
Fortunately, they were mentally prepared. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were not frightened by the dilapidated magistrate's office. Not to mention the paint on the door, the dregs had begun to fall off. The copper ring on the door was also gone. Even the stump under the drum outside had been taken away by someone.
There were not many weeds in front of the door. It was not because it had been cleaned up, but because the weeds had just started to show, giving people the feeling of a lawn.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Xiaobao nodded and said, "Okay, I will live here and fix it myself. I will fix my house first. Someone, go in and ask where the officials are."
After Zhang Xiaobao finished speaking, two people walked out from behind him and entered the dilapidated magistrate's office. After a while, they came out with two people following them.
When the two sides met, the other side spoke first. "Are you the new Provincial Governor? I am the current Provincial Governor, and I will be handing over soon. Do you want to see the accounts? "
Zhang Xiaobao nodded and let the other side see his identification. The other side also sized up Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. In the past, there was no one here, but now there was one. They thought it was a very old official who had been sent here, but they did not expect to see two older children.
They did not know what this meant, so they introduced themselves. They were also surnamed Li. Now, there were more people surnamed Li here, so everyone thought it was good.
After looking at the identification and knowing that it was not fake, they began to hand over. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were too lazy to ask the other side about things, and did not check the accounts. This made the other side show a regretful expression. The two of them understood at a glance that the other side felt that there might be a new official coming over after the New Year. They were afraid that problems would be found out, so they prepared in advance.
It was likely that the accounts had been done properly, and the treasury in the manor had also been smoothed out. At the very least, it could be matched with the accounts. If he had known that the new official was sent directly from the capital and didn't check the accounts, he would have been greedy.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan did not put their thoughts on this at all. It was better to take over as soon as possible, so they could let the other side be greedy. How much could they be greedy in this poor place? Did they think it was a province?
The handover was very smooth. The other side did not plan to stay in the yamen for long. With the proof of promotion that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan brought, he happily let his family move. This way, they could change to a better place. Even if it was a county magistrate, as long as there was a large population, it would be better than here.
In only two hours, the original Provincial Governor Li let his family prepare his luggage and other things and left happily. Before he left, he looked at Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan with a very complicated expression.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan saw a kind of gratitude, a kind of schadenfreude, and a kind of pity. It was a very strange look that could contain so many things.
"I guess he just wants someone to replace him so that he can leave. He knows how poor this place is and thinks that we can't get any benefits. In addition, we don't look like adults, so he has some pity. He is also a pitiful person."
Zhang Xiaobao looked at the group that was leaving and sighed.
"Yes, look at the things in his house. There are a lot of boxes, but I smell a dry smell from them. I guess it is sea cucumber, dried fish, and shellfish. I don't find a box full of silver coins. If there really is such a box, it is impossible for two people to carry it easily."
Wang Juan summed up from what she saw and smelled.
The two of them talked as they strolled around the mansion. In the future, they would be staying here for a very long time. This time, they would not be able to stay here for less than a year like they did in Bao Xin County. They still had to send people to North America. They still had to build docks and ships here. It was estimated that they could stay here for three to five years.
Xiaobei and the group of little fellows also ran around the various courtyards in the mansion. When they were tired from running, they came to the front hall with dissatisfaction.
Seeing their expressions, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan knew what was going on. It was very clear when they looked at the front hall that reflected the facade.
"Don't be anxious. Our homes will be built with our own hands. Now, think carefully about which courtyard you want and how you want it."
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