Speed ​​Pass starts with choosing a hunter

Chapter 287 Going South
The next day.

Just as Yan Lei said, Li Huan indeed appeared in Huanglong Mansion.

"Brother Yang, Brother Bai, we meet again."

Li Huan walked into the Huanglongfu government office with high spirits.

Yang Fangyu glanced at Li Huan and saw that this kid had gained a lot of benefits since returning to Qingzhou Palace.

"Boy, I heard that the King of Qingzhou only brought you with him when he came to Lingzhou this time. That's fine."

Li Huan chuckled: "It was all my father's idea."

Yang Fangyu sneered: "You are still pretending with us two."

Seeing this, Li Huan laughed and said, "Since we parted in Dingzhou, I have seen my father more often, and this is all thanks to my two brothers."

Yang Fangyu was also sincerely happy to see that Li Huan was valued by the King of Qingzhou.

"Don't be too complacent. You must never fall behind in martial arts."

"Thank you for the reminder, Brother Yang."

Li Huan was unusually serious.

Although it is important to win the favor of the King of Qingzhou, the key is to be strong yourself.

Just like his third brother, he hasn't met the King of Qingzhou for many years and has been practicing martial arts almost all the time. However, relying on his extraordinary fighting power, he still sat on the throne of the third son. Even his eldest brother is quite afraid of this third brother.

Xuanyang was a country founded on martial arts, and those who could rise to high positions were all great masters of martial arts.

Li Huan turned to look at Bai Yuan again: "Brother Bai, I didn't say anything this time. I don't know why my father insisted on asking you to go south with him."

Bai Yuan originally wanted to ask Li Huan about this, but he didn't expect Li Huan to say it first.

However, since it was the King of Qingzhou's intention, he couldn't disobey it.

At this time, Yan Lei also received the news and rushed over.

"Prince, Lord Bai, Lord Yang."

Yan Lei clasped his fists towards the three of them.

"The war is urgent. According to Grandfather's wishes, we need to go to Fengzhou, Luzhou, and Chuzhou."

Although Yan Shaoan is the Xuanyang Taibao, he was a member of the Jiangnan Yan family before he became famous. The fact that he could wield power in the court was inseparable from the support of the Jiangnan clans and sects.

It was reasonable for him to order Bai Yuan and the other two to go to Jiangnan for help this time.

If Bai Yuan and the other two had gone to Central Plains or Hexi, they would probably have been beaten out before they even entered the door.

Li Huan and Bai Yuan nodded.

The three men immediately rode out of the city on horseback and headed straight south.

Xuanyang is a vast land with abundant resources. It is the ancestral land of many three religions in the Central Plains and has a special status. There are also countless thousand-year-old sects with unshakable status, and geniuses are even more numerous.

That is why Emperor Xuanyang said that all the martial fortune in the world went to Xuanyang.

A genius like Yang Fangyu would seem mediocre in the Central Plains, otherwise he would not have chosen to be an official in the remote Lingzhou.

After the Central Plains, the next place to come is Jiangnan.

Because Emperor Taizu made his fortune in Jiangnan, many of the great families in Jiangnan followed him, so half of the great families in Xuanyang are in Jiangnan.

Relying on its fertile soil and developed water transport, Jiangnan, with the power of the four continents, contributed most of Xuanyang's tax revenue.

The strength should not be underestimated.

The war ahead was urgent, so Bai Yuan and the other two did not dare to delay.

In just seven days, he traveled from Lingzhou, where all the trees were withered and yellow, to the green mountains and clear waters of Jiangnan.

Although it is winter now, the south of the Yangtze River is still full of green.

Apart from the slightly chilly wind, there was no sign of winter.

Bai Yuan and Li Huan were both visiting Jiangnan for the first time, so it was inevitable that they felt it was novel.

Yan Lei smiled slightly: "Master Bai, Prince, the scenery will be even better when we get to Chuzhou."

The famous Yan family is in Chuzhou.

"We should be in Fengzhou tomorrow."

Yan Lei seemed to be very familiar with the Jiangnan area and could identify the location without a map.

Just as Yan Lei expected.

After a night of travel, at dawn the next day, the group saw the gate of Fengzhou City.

Compared to the magnificence of Fengzhou City, the city wall of Lingzhou is much more shabby.

There was not a single scratch on the walls of Fengzhou City, they were as smooth as jade.

In addition to the fact that there was almost no war in Fengzhou, the Fengzhou provincial government was wealthy enough that craftsmen regularly replaced the stone bricks on the city walls.

As the chief officer, Bai Yuan knew very well that it was an astronomical sum, and he didn't know how much silver he had to spend every day.

The wealth of Fengzhou can be seen from the city wall alone.

But Fengzhou is already the poorest state in Jiangnan.
Yan Lei looked at the city wall and smiled: "We're here."

He led the crowd on horseback and rode into the city.

Riding horses is prohibited in Lingzhou City, and this is even more so in Jiangnan where rules are stricter.

If he were an ordinary person, he would have been arrested by the officials from the county government and thrown into jail long ago.

The reason why Bai Yuan and his group were able to walk for such a long time without being stopped was because of the jade pendant on Yan Lei's waist.

Almost all officials in Jiangnan knew that it was a token of the Yan family.

The Yan family has now become the largest family in Jiangnan, because the Yan family has produced a guardian who is one of the three highest officials in the country.

Fengzhou City is extremely bustling, and the streets are crowded with passers-by.

Bai Yuan glanced at the skirt of the Fengzhou woman that reached her thighs and marveled in amazement.

Who said there was no fashion in ancient times?

The clothes worn by the women in Fengzhou seemed no worse than those in the previous life, and even had a touch of ancient charm, which was quite interesting. No wonder the officials in Lingzhou were proud of marrying a woman from the south of the Yangtze River as a concubine.

Compared to northern women who are often blown by the icy north wind, southern women are undoubtedly much more gentle and more popular with men.

Bai Yuan and his group finally stopped in front of a luxurious house.

Yan Lei: "This is a property of the Yan family. Let's stay here temporarily."

The corners of Bai Yuan and Li Huan's mouth twitched.

I have heard that the Yan family is very wealthy. It seems that the Yan family has bought land in every state in Jiangnan.

Bai Yuan: "Brother Yan, I have to go to Liuxi County and should be back tomorrow."

Yan Lei: "Would you like me to say hello to the magistrate of Liuxi County?"

"Need not."

Bai Yuan waved his hand.

The reason why he wanted to go to Liuxi County was to send Du Qinghui's relics back to his hometown.

Yes, Du Qinghui is from Liuxi County, Fengzhou.

However, unlike the Yan family where one person's success brought prosperity to the whole family, Fengzhou is still the worst state in Jiangnan, and Liuxi is still the worst county in Fengzhou.

Bai Yuan took the map of Fengzhou from Yan Lei, and then went to Liuxi County alone.

Liuxi County is named after the Liuxi River in the city.

The reason why this river is called Xi actually comes from a county magistrate in the previous dynasty.

When he came to take office along a mountain road, he saw a clear and pleasant stream and became very interested in starting Liuxi.

But I didn't expect the stream to become wider and wider. When I arrived in the city, I found that this was not a stream but a river.

The magistrate was also a clever man. He submitted a petition to the court and renamed the city Liuxi City.

Liuxi City is not big, nor is it rich.

Fortunately, the city is famous for its honest and simple customs. The only person worthy of praise is Du Qinghui, the former second-rank Left Censor-in-Chief of Xuanyang, who should have become a first-rank official now.

Du Qinghui's son was the magistrate of this city.

On this day, the imperial edict from the court finally arrived in Liuxi County. This was the first time in history that an imperial edict had arrived in this city.

Outside the Liuxi County Government Office, there were many people kneeling in a neat row, both men and women, old and young.

"I am deeply saddened by the death of Lord Du, and I remember his words even more. I will give him a thousand taels of gold, a red robe with a golden kirin on the chest and back, and his son Du An will be promoted to the sixth rank."

The old eunuch's sharp voice sounded slowly.

Du An, the magistrate of Liuxi County and the eldest son of Du Qinghui, who was kneeling in the front, became more and more excited.

A thousand taels of gold could be basically ignored, but the bright red gold-woven robe with a qilin on the chest and back was a precious item that could protect the family for a hundred years. Even the Taibao and Taifu, who were among the three highest officials, did not have it, and he was promoted to the sixth rank.

Although he was still the county magistrate, he was undoubtedly much more prominent among his colleagues.

"The Du family sincerely thanks the emperor for his grace."

After listening to the old eunuch's reading, Duan kowtowed three times respectfully, then knelt down to receive the imperial edict.

The old eunuch smiled and said, "Lord Du died for his country. Young Lord Du, please do not become too sad and give up."

He said a few words of comfort casually, then left the city with a group of eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department.

Logically, they should live in the city for a while and wait for local officials to pay tribute.

But Liuxi County is too poor, and they don't even care about the little bit of money that comes from it, so naturally they don't want to stay any longer and get involved.

Duan held the golden imperial edict in trembling hands.

It was the first time for him to touch such a good thing.

Just as everyone stood up, a man's voice rang out: "Brother, do you want to take all the reward from your father-in-law?"

Duan then turned and looked at the middle-aged man beside him.

"It is only natural that the son inherits the father's business. There is no reason for a woman who has separated from the family to interfere."

Duan glanced at the middle-aged woman next to the man.

The middle-aged couple in front of him were Du Qinghui's daughter Du Yan and son-in-law Zhang Yang.

Although Zhang Yang was not an official, he came from a prominent family in Liuxi County and was not afraid of Duan.

When Du Qinghui was still alive, the two families often had contacts.

Now that Du Qinghui is dead, they will naturally no longer show mercy.

Not to mention that this matter involves huge interests and even affects the rise and fall of the family, so Zhang Yang must certainly fight for it.

Duan stared at Du Yan: "Little sister, is this what you mean?"

Du Yan hid behind Zhang Yang timidly: "Brother, when father was still alive, he said that he would give me some of the family property, so it must be counted."

Duan's face turned even colder. He snorted, "There has never been such a courtesy in ancient times. Your Zhang family should stop making trouble."

If it were any other family, he could have used the power of the county government to suppress it, but the Zhang family was not only powerful, but they were also Du Qinghui's in-laws, so no one would be willing to get involved in such a messy family affair.

It is for this reason that Duan is even more troubled.

Zhang Yang showed a sneer on his face: "You are the only son. My father-in-law's body is still in the bitter cold of Lingzhou, and you haven't brought it back. What qualifications do you have to monopolize the benefits?"

Duan's face darkened.

It was precisely because he was afraid of dying on the way to Lingzhou that he had not yet built a tomb for Du Qinghui.

Xuanyang values ​​filial piety, and Zhang Yang took advantage of this to want to divide the family property so blatantly.

Just as Duan was thinking about how to get the Zhang family away, a servant ran up to him.

"Master Du, a young man claims to be from Lingzhou, and he brought the old master's relics."

Duan's eyes lit up when he heard this.

(End of this chapter)