Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Unlike other big families, the Laiguo Mansion has very few descendants. By Du He's generation, there are only three brothers.

So their relationship is very good and there is no so-called intrigue.

Du He smiled and told his two brothers the good news of his promotion.

"Brother, Third Brother, I have another good news to tell you."

"I was promoted to Counselor last month and can participate in court affairs every day."

Upon hearing the good news, Du Gou and Du Aitong shouted in surprise.

"Promotion!"

Du Gou said with relief: "Second brother, you are appointed as the Imperial Counselor. This is a sign that His Majesty is ready to use you!"

"You must work hard to repay the emperor's kindness."

My second younger brother served as Shangcheng Fengyu for three full years. I thought his official career had come to an end, but I didn't expect such a big surprise.

The position of Counselor was the fastest to be promoted in the imperial court, without a doubt.

For provincial governors and county magistrates like them, it is extremely difficult to get promoted without substantial achievements over the years.

As long as the Counselor can make a few good suggestions or give timely advice on important matters, the Majesty will be happy to promote him.

Du Aitong continued, "Hehe, now the court and the common people have already built up momentum for my second brother and the crown prince."

"Now we just need to wait for the pinyin and dictionary to be published, and then my second brother will be rewarded for his work."

Du Aitong winked at his elder brother Du Gou and said with a wicked smile, "Brother, I'm afraid the reward for the second brother this time will be quite large. His official position will probably be higher than yours, a governor of the fourth rank."

After hearing this, Du Gou was not angry or jealous, but smiled.

"My second brother has surpassed me and restored the former glory of Duke Lai's Mansion. That is something worth celebrating."

The eldest brother is like a father. He raised his two younger brothers by himself. He is so happy that his younger brothers are more promising than him.

The words of his third brother Du Aitong reminded Du He of his conversation with Hou Junji. If the Laiguo Mansion wants to grow and develop, his two brothers must be supported.

The eldest brother Du Gou is now the governor of Cizhou, a fourth-rank official, and the third brother Du Aitong is the magistrate of Taiping County, a seventh-rank official.

For the once prominent Duke of Lai, this was a serious decline in fortune.

Du He suddenly said, "Big Brother, Third Brother, if the Duke of Lai wants to bring glory to the family, we three brothers need to work together and make progress together."

"Especially my eldest brother, you have been the governor of Cizhou for so many years, it's time to move up."

Although Du Gou's ability was not strong, he was an upright and steady person. In addition, he had the hereditary title of Duke of Lai, so he had a good chance of promotion.

It’s just that ever since he injured his leg, he has lost his fighting spirit.

I've been stuck in that small place for so many years, feeling frustrated.

Du Gou shook his head, with a bit of bitterness on his lips: "Second brother, my chances of promotion are too slim and extremely difficult."

In a lower state with a sparse population and barren land, there is no great opportunity to make meritorious deeds.

It is already a great achievement if he can keep the position of governor and not make any serious mistakes.

Du Aitong also said with a dejected look: "Second brother, the promotion of local officials is much more difficult than you think."

The Taiping County he managed was a lower-class county, and its annual tax payments to the imperial court were always at the bottom, so there was no chance of promotion in a short period of time.

Du He had already considered the situation of the two brothers and even thought of ways for them to make meritorious contributions.

"Big brother, third brother, don't worry, I have made all the arrangements for you."

After saying that, Du He took out two pieces of folded rice paper from his pocket and handed them to Du Gou and Du Aitong respectively.

Du He smiled and said, "Brother, you are the governor of a state. The way I can think of for you to make merit is to castrate and raise domestic pigs."

"After castration, domestic pigs become more docile, eat and sleep, sleep and eat, and they gain weight easily. Most importantly, they don't have a fishy smell!"

"Raising domestic pigs can make the people rich and solve the problem of the lack of meat in the Tang Dynasty. It is a great achievement."

Moreover, according to Du He's understanding, the pigs currently raised by the people are not castrated, so the meat has a strong smell.

The meat consumed by officials and gentry was mainly chicken and mutton. Pork, which was full of fishy smell, was only eaten by the lower class people, and they could not eat it at every meal.

An average adult domestic pig weighs only about 100 pounds, and apart from the internal organs, there is not much meat that can be eaten.

This resulted in a situation where meat prices were very high.

If Du Gou presented this method and had successful breeding cases, the imperial court would promote it widely, and it would no longer be a luxury for the people to eat meat every meal.

This great achievement is enough for Du Gou to be promoted.

Then Du He turned his attention to his third brother and explained to him.

"Third brother, you are the magistrate of Taiping County. The land there is barren, so I am giving you the method of composting."

"The composting method can quickly produce organic fertilizer, increase the fertility of the fields and improve the grain harvest. Reporting it to the court will also be a great achievement."

Fertilizing farmland has been practiced since the Shang Dynasty, but due to backward technology, it could not be used on a large scale.

The composting method developed by Du He is more systematic and can be used for large-scale composting, and can be promoted throughout the Tang Dynasty.

With a way to make merit in hand, Du Gou and Du Aitong looked at each other with shock in their eyes.

Although the method has not yet been verified, what Du He said is very detailed and does not seem false.

Is this brother of theirs still the same trouble-making, uneducated and unlearned playboy?

Judging from what he has shown, he is clearly a capable minister who can govern the country!

Du Gou suddenly burst into tears: "Second brother, you have completely changed for the better. I believe that father will rest in peace in his grave."

Although Du Aitong didn't say anything, he couldn't hide the pride on his face.

The strong rise of the second brother made them all see the opportunity to restore the glory of the Duke of Lai’s Mansion.

The three brothers sighed for a moment, then Du He looked at his eldest brother Du Gou and said with a smile on his face.

"Brother, you have to work hard to have more big fat boys with your sister-in-law."

"The population of the Duke of Lai's Mansion is very small now, and the next generation has not yet been born."

Du Gou is 30 years old this year and has yet to give birth to a child, which was definitely considered late childbearing in the Tang Dynasty.

For example, Crown Prince Li Chengqian is only 24 years old this year, and the eldest son Li Xiang is just over 10 years old.

Facing his second brother's urging to have a child, Du Gou's serious expression was replaced by shyness. He touched his nose and said angrily: "Big brother, try hard."

"Hahaha..."

Seeing his serious elder brother showing a shy expression for the first time, Du Aitong couldn't help but cover his mouth and laugh.

Then the three brothers talked about other things. Because they hadn't seen each other for a long time and Du He had changed a lot, Du Gou and Du Aitong were like two question babies and kept asking all kinds of questions.

At night, Du He did not return to the princess's mansion, but stayed in the Duke of Lai's mansion with Li Yi.

Here is his own courtyard and room.

...

The next day, as soon as the court meeting ended, Du He rushed back to Duke Lai's Mansion without stopping.

Under the guidance of the steward Du Ping'an, the three Du He brothers, Princess Li Yi and the eldest sister-in-law Wen followed the instructions and paid homage respectfully.

After the sacrifice, a grand family banquet was held at the Laiguo Mansion.

During the meal, Du Aitong angrily cursed: "Second uncle is an ungrateful person. He didn't even come to my father's death anniversary."

The honest man Du Gou also had an unhappy expression on his face and was very displeased with his second uncle.

Du He was more open-minded. He gently advised, "Let's not talk about that ungrateful bastard. This relationship ends today. From now on, the three of us brothers should strive for more and not let others look down on us."

"Yeah." Du Gou and Du Aitong nodded solemnly.

As local officials, Du Gou and Du Aitong did not stay in Chang'an for long. They left in the afternoon and returned to their respective posts.