The Legend of the Farm Girl

On April 17, the fifteenth year of Qianyuan, an imperial edict regarding the appointment of new Jinshi shocked everyone.

The emperor actually issued an edict to appoint the new runner-up Li Muwen as the governor of Liangzhou, a sixth-rank official.

He was also required to take office immediately and arrive in Liangzhou within 15 days without any delay.

Along with the imperial edict were delivered the prefect's official uniform and seal, but no other instructions were given.

Not to mention others, even Li Muwen did not expect that the official position he was appointed to would be this.

You should know that in the past, the top-ranking Jinshi would train in the Hanlin Academy for a few years and then slowly move to the center of power. Even if they were sent to local areas, they had to enter the Hanlin first.

However, the emperor broke the convention and directly promoted him to the rank of the sixth-rank prefect. You should know that the prefect has considerable power in the local area and is responsible for the administrative management of the state, including civil affairs, judicial affairs, and financial affairs. He can hear some cases and have a certain degree of decision-making power over local judicial affairs. To a certain extent, he can command the military forces of the state and maintain local security. He even has a certain right to recommend the appointment and removal of some low-level officials in the state.

Li Muwen pondered, was it because of the diplomatic proposal he wrote that the emperor appointed him? Was the emperor trying to make a breakthrough in diplomatic relations?

But it was no use thinking about these things. The imperial edict had been issued, and his going to Liangzhou was a foregone conclusion. He could only take it one step at a time and try to do his best.

Li Muwen had never been to Liangzhou, but had only read about it in books. One travelogue in particular left a deep impression on Li Muwen.

Liangzhou, the remote border state, has gone through countless years of trials and tribulations.

There, the land is barren and sandy. As far as the eye can see, it is a yellow-brown wasteland. The howling wind sweeps through, raising dust all over the sky, blurring people's eyes. Droughts often rage, and the scorching sun hangs high, scorching the earth, as if to dry everything out. Water is scarce, rivers have dried up, and only the few wells have become the hope for people's survival.

The local people struggle to survive in such a harsh environment. The houses they live in are simple and dilapidated, unable to withstand the cold and sandstorms. They wear thin and worn clothes, their faces are haggard, and they are deeply marked by time and hardship. In this land, poverty is always with them, and it is intertwined with the harsh environment, forming a sad picture. They struggle in the difficult environment and fight against fate tenaciously, but they can never get rid of the shackles of poverty. The dark clouds of war often loom over them, making their lives even worse, full of endless pain and suffering.

It takes at least ten days to travel from the capital to Liangzhou, and Li Muwen and Yun Fang don’t even have anyone available.

The two suddenly felt they had no idea where to start. Li Muwen began to doubt himself. Could he really manage an entire state with his abilities?

Liu Zhanpeng stood up and said, "My father also served at the border, and I have experience in border life. I will go with you this time. I will return to Yiqing County after Mu Wen has established himself in the officialdom of Liangzhou."

Yunfang shook her head and said, "Sister Yingying is pregnant. She must be very worried about you. You should return to her as soon as possible."

Liu Zhanpeng said without giving her any room for refusal: "I will write to her and explain it clearly. Mu Wen has no experience in managing a place. I really don't feel comfortable if you two go alone."

For a moment, there was no sound in the room, and everyone felt as if they were caught in a huge net, which would lead to their death if they were not careful.

Liu Zhanpeng continued, "Pack your things first. My father-in-law will probably come over when he hears the news. We'll see what he says then."

Just as Liu Zhanpeng said, Tong Renchu ​​arrived before noon.

Tong Renchu ​​was still wearing his official uniform. When he saw Li Muwen, he looked solemn and said, "The emperor's appointment of you has caused a great uproar. Many people in the court today said that you have no experience and cannot take on such an important position. I beg the emperor to revoke his decision.

But the emperor said that Liangzhou was like a stagnant pool of water, and the people were suffering. Your proposal gave him hope, and he was willing to let you give it a try. "

Li Muwen asked doubtfully: "Why not send someone capable and experienced instead of sending me?"

Tong Renchu ​​sighed and said, "In recent years, three governors have been sent to Liangzhou. Some of them colluded with local tyrants to oppress the people, while others did nothing to protect themselves. In addition, the area is located at the border, and the situation is complicated. No one who is truly capable is willing to go there."

Tong Renchu ​​didn't say anything afterwards, but Li Muwen understood what Tong Renchu ​​had not finished saying. The emperor had sought out this young man, a fool, to propose diplomatic strategies during the palace examination. If he did well, the threat from Liangzhou would be resolved, but if he did not do well, the emperor would not suffer any loss.

Tong Renchu ​​reminded him again: "It's best to bring some people with strong martial arts skills with you. I know you are a recent Jinshi and don't have any family background, but if you go alone, it will be difficult to arrange anything."

Liu Zhanpeng stepped forward and said, "Father-in-law, Mu Wen and I will go together."

Tong Renchu's face changed and he said, "No, you have no official position, it will be extremely dangerous if you go there. If something happens to you, what will happen to Yingying?"

After hearing what Tong Renchu ​​said so bluntly, Li Muwen and Yun Fang looked a little unhappy. This trip to Liangzhou would definitely be extremely dangerous.

Since it was his father-in-law who asked him to do so, although Liu Zhanpeng looked reluctant, he did not dare to say anything about wanting to go with Li Muwen.

Originally, Li Muwen wanted to write a letter to his family, asking the Li family to come to Liangzhou to help him, but now it seems that the best option is to take the job alone and consider other things after the situation in Liangzhou stabilizes.

He looked at Yunfang. They had lived together for many years, so how could Yunfang not understand what he meant? He said, "I will go with you. I will go to the broker to buy a few people. I will also trouble Master Tong to explain the affairs of Liangzhou Prefecture to us in detail so that we can prepare everything."

What Tong Renchu ​​said next was not much different from what Li Muwen had seen in the travel notes, but Tong Renchu ​​said that in recent years, many spies from other countries had infiltrated Liangzhou, and there were many conspiracies among them.

When Tong Renchu ​​left, he took Liu Zhanpeng with him to prevent him from secretly going to Liangzhou with Li Muwen. He told Yunfeng to stay here as he pleased and left Liu Zhanpeng's servant to take care of Yunfeng.

After Tong Renchu ​​left with the depressed Liu Zhanpeng, Yunfang asked Yunfeng to take the servant to buy the cloth and food that Yunfang needed. The quantity needed was a lot, so Yunfang gave Yunfeng five hundred taels of silver.

She and Li Muwen went to find a dealer to buy some people. It would be best if they could buy healthy people.

It was only at this time that Li Muwen realized Yunfang's financial resources. She had always known that Yunfang was able to make money, and all the money he spent on his studies over the years was earned by Yunfang.

But I didn't expect Yunfang to be so rich. A young and healthy man cost 20 taels of silver in the slave market, so Yunfang bought 20 of them. A young and healthy woman also cost 15 taels of silver. Yunfang also bought 20 of them. This cost Yunfang 700 taels of silver.

In order not to delay the journey, Yunfang originally wanted to hire ten carriages, seven for carrying people and three for carrying things.

But upon inquiring, I found out that Liangzhou was too far away and almost no one was willing to go there. Even if there were people who were willing to go, the price they asked was almost the same as buying a horse carriage.

Yun Fang made up her mind and bought ten carriages, each costing thirty taels, which means that Yun Fang spent a total of one thousand taels to buy these things.

When he got home, Yunfeng had already bought everything Yunfang asked him to do. He bought a lot, and the things were scattered all over the yard.

Yun Feng saw Yun Fang coming in with a group of people. These people were all in rags. Although they looked healthy, they were very thin. There were also ten horse-drawn carriages parked outside the yard, almost filling up the alley.

He was very surprised and asked: "Sister, did you buy all these people and the carriage? How much did it cost?"

Yunfang nodded and said, "Your brother-in-law and I need people. Now is not the time to feel sorry for money."

Forty people had already entered the yard. Yun Fang and Li Muwen discussed for a while and said, "You don't have to panic. My husband is the runner-up in this year's imperial examination. The emperor has newly appointed you as the governor of Liangzhou. I bought you so that you can go to Liangzhou with us to take up your posts. If my husband makes some achievements in Liangzhou, you will be the first batch of senior staff under my family. We will definitely not treat you unfairly."

Most of the people here are farmers whose families have suffered misfortunes and who have sold themselves to keep their families alive. They have suffered a lot of torture at the hands of human traffickers. When they first saw Li Muwen and Yun Fang bought so many people, they were very nervous, and they were even more scared when they heard Yun Fang say that they were going to Liangzhou.

But they had to go. Their indentures were in Yunfang's hands and had already been registered with the government. Even if they stole the indentures, they would be treated as fugitive slaves without Yunfang accompanying them to the government.

They could only hope that Yunfang's words would come true. If the master's family really became successful, they would also be able to benefit from it.

Yunfang saw that everyone's faces were no longer so frightened, so she asked, "Is there anyone who is good at cooking?"

Almost all the women said they could make it. Yunfang picked a few who looked clean and said, "First, you take the food and make food for the forty people. Make it soft and don't be reluctant to give up the food, but don't waste it either. After you finish eating, I have something to say. The rest of you take the cloth and make two sets of clothes for yourselves."

A man said he couldn't do it, and Yunfang said seriously: "If you can't do it, just put the cloth on yourself."

After that, no one asked any more questions. Yunfang was not a strict person, but she knew that she had to establish her authority so that these forty people would not be so arrogant and would obey her.

Soon, the simple meal was ready.

After these people had a full meal, they finally seemed to have some strength.

Everyone had a set of clothes sewn, including the cook. Although some people's clothes were not beautiful, they were still wearable.

Yun Fang stood in front of everyone and said, "Next, I will tell you about the preparations and requirements for the journey. Before going to bed tonight, every man must make two rope darts with Yun Feng and practice with him. The women will work with me to prepare dry food for the more than 40 of us on the road."

Yunfang thought for a moment and asked, "Does anyone among you know how to drive a carriage?"

Five men stretched out their hands. Yun Fang looked at them and said, "Too few."

Yunfang picked out ten women and five men and said, "First, learn how to drive a carriage with me, and then we can do other things."

Yun Fang said solemnly: "If you learn more now, we will have a smoother journey. Only when my Li family is doing well can your future be good. I will also keep observing those who perform well on the way to Liangzhou. After arriving in Liangzhou, I will use them. You are all the same now. You don't want to be controlled by others in half a month!"

Those who had some ulterior motives put them aside, and most of them even worked harder, hoping to leave a good impression on Yunfang.

I was busy until the sun was high in the sky and finally finished what Yunfang asked me to do.

Yunfang also ordered people to boil a lot of water, so that the forty people who were bought could take a bath and sleep in the room.

Yunfang and Li Muwen, who were tired after a day's work, had not yet gone to bed. The two were still discussing something. Li Muwen persuaded Yunfang, "My wife, why don't you go back to Yiqing County? With these forty people, there shouldn't be any danger."

Yunfang shook her head firmly and said, "Are you sure you can manage these forty people?"

Li Muwen thought for a moment, shook his head, and said, "I really need you, Fang'er, but I'm worried that you might be in danger."

Yunfang knew what Li Muwen was thinking, and said, "You have to believe me."

She looked straight at Li Muwen, who could only nod and say, "I believe in you. Without you, I wouldn't be where I am today. But you have to promise me that if you encounter danger, you must hide behind me."

Yunfang also nodded. In order to avoid any mistakes on the way, the two decided to set out early tomorrow morning, take the official road, stay in post stations, and try to reach Liangzhou City in ten days.

Yunfang spent the whole night learning how to be a good prefect, how to help Li Muwen gain a foothold in the officialdom, and how to make the best use of the forty people he bought and stimulate their potential.

Yunfang felt that she didn’t have enough time to study, but there was nothing she could do because she could only study in the system for so long.

The next morning, the forty people who were bought got up early. Yun Fang had to be thankful that the people she bought in a hurry were of decent quality and none of them were extremely dishonest. However, she still had to observe on the way to see who was worthy of being used.

Yunfang organized another forty people to stand in the yard, arranged them in order according to their height, and then gave them names, with the men ranging from Li One to Li Twenty, and the women ranging from Yun One to Yun Twenty.

Let them hang on their waists. Time is tight and she and Li Muwen cannot remember so many people. This is the only way Yunfang and Li Muwen can distinguish them.

In this way, Yunfang and Li Muwen set off with ten carriages, and Yunfeng also sat in the carriage to send them to the city gate.

When leaving the city gate, Tong Renchu ​​and Liu Zhanpeng were waiting at the city gate. Liu Zhanpeng was surprised to see that Li Muwen brought so many carriages and people.

I felt a little more at ease.

But he still said with a little sadness: "Liangzhou is a long way, you and Yunfang must take good care of yourselves."

Li Muwen nodded and said, "Zhanpeng, I'll wait for you in the officialdom."

Yunfeng couldn't go any further after he got off the carriage. His eyes turned red. Yunfang comforted him, "You should have faith in your sister and brother-in-law. However, I can't tell mother about your situation. I will write to her, though. Don't worry."

Yun Feng was speechless. He nodded and reached out to hug Li Muwen.

Yunfang knew she couldn't delay any longer, so she said, "My master once wrote a poem, I'll read it to you, 'The city walls support the Three Qins, the wind and smoke look out over the Five Rivers. I'm parting with you, we're both on a journey. A bosom friend is always there, and the world is as close as a neighbor. When you're at a crossroads, your children and children will weep together.' I'll give it to you as well. Mu Wen and I will say goodbye to you all."

Regardless of how shocked the three people were when they heard the poem, Yunfang took Li Muwen to the carriage. The three people stood there in a daze for a long time. After they came to their senses, they hurriedly wrote it down.