Chapter 1030
: Placing the Imperial Construction Team
Chapter 1030: Placing the Imperial Construction Team
"Kang Jinming, you..." Chief Steward Jie wanted to scold County Magistrate Kang for betraying the aristocratic family, but looking at the murderous eyes of County Magistrate Kang, he dared not do it again. He only said, "I hope that County Magistrate Kang will not regret his decision today when he returns to the south."
County Magistrate Kang laughed: "Go back to the south? A slave is a slave. No matter how well I eat and wear, I still can't smell the world."
"Do you really think His Majesty's ban on migration is a joke? To tell you the truth, if we can't win, you and I will both be buried with the Northeast Province."
what!
Chief Steward Jie's face turned pale and his lips trembled.
County Magistrate Kang said, "So, if you have grain, donate grain; if you have people, donate people; if you have things, donate things. These things are not given away for free; they are buying our lives."
"That's all I have to say. Get out of here!"
The Kang family martial artist came over, grabbed Jie Da Zongguan, and threw him out of the county magistrate's office yard.
"General Jie, let's go." The soldiers of County Lieutenant Zhong picked him up, carried him out of the county government office, threw him into the cart, and then they whipped the horses and drove out of the county.
Chief Steward Jie was so frightened by County Magistrate Kang's words that he developed a high fever that night. In his daze, he kept saying, "Impossible... We are from an aristocratic family... We can leave... We won't be trapped here to death by the ban on relocation..."
The servant who served him was terrified and quickly covered his mouth to prevent him from saying any more head-breaking words.
……
Because the Xie family donated more than 100,000 kilograms of grain, Baofu County and several neighboring counties were very happy, and everyone's New Year's joy became much more intense.
What was even more gratifying was that five days later, the legendary imperial construction team finally arrived outside Taifeng Town.
"Oh my god, this is the imperially-built team! There are so many people in this team, it looks like there are at least a thousand of them!"
"More than a thousand. Look at that huge beam, ten meters long, pulled by three carts, and there are twenty men and horses guarding it!"
The beams were heavy and long, so to prevent any errors during transportation, twenty porters pushed the beams on both sides of the vehicle.
"Oh my God, so many people are transporting a beam. This beam must be more valuable than the official!"
"This was a gift from our Emperor to Mr. Qin's family. It was shipped from the Ministry of Works in the capital. I heard that the Imperial Observatory even offered sacrifices to the beams and pillars before it was shipped here. Isn't it more precious than the officials themselves? Before our County Magistrate Kang took office, he wasn't offered sacrifices by the Imperial Observatory, nor was he escorted to his post by more than a thousand people."
County Magistrate Kang: “…” I’m not dead yet, there’s no need for sacrifices.
Also, could you please be more careful when you talk?
The team only had a few hundred people, but you said that the number of people was over a thousand. Are you going to say later that the imperially-built team had three thousand people?
Hey, no wonder he's the local official, he knows the villagers so well.
"Look quickly, there are more people behind us."
"Oh my god, there are so many people here, I can't even see the end. Oh my god, there are also soldiers in armor escorting him... This lord, plus his entourage, plus the master craftsmen, the team of artisans, the team of porters, and the escorting soldiers, this team is probably going to have over 3,000 people!"
When the team entered the town and met Grandpa Qin and his men, rumors were already spreading: "Your Majesty has sent 3,000 men to build an official residence for Grandpa Qin's family. Grandpa Qin, you have brought honor to our Taifeng Mayor!"
Grandpa Qin sighed, and Guan the clerk was helpless: We have warned the villagers countless times not to spread rumors, but they just won't change.
Fortunately, no rumor was spread that the main beam was worth tens of thousands of taels of gold, otherwise I would have been afraid that all the villagers would have come to touch the beam, and eventually the skin on it would have been worn off.
Boom boom boom!
Amidst the roar of drums, Captain Ling, a man in heavy armor and a helmet whose face could not be seen, shouted, "Your Majesty's imperially commissioned troops have arrived. Kneel to greet them!"
A sound of "jumping into the river" could be heard, and the villagers knelt down and kowtowed: "We, the humble people, pay our respects to your Majesty for the gift!"
After a round of kneeling and bowing, the road was clear and no one dared to make a sound. Commander Ling was very satisfied and called over Lord Shi, the head of the Ministry of Works, Master Bi, the old craftsman, as well as five minor officials and ten foremen from the Provincial Administration Commission, to come and pay their respects to Grandpa Qin.
After some introductions, Captain Ling said, "I greet Captain Qin and ask him to lead us to the construction site of the imperially built mansion."
"Hey, everyone, please come in." Grandpa Qin and the clerk Guan led the imperial team.
Behind them followed men from Qin, Jiang, Xu and Qiao's families, including Jiang Erlang, Qin Xiaomai and others.
Boom boom boom!
"Your Majesty's imperially commissioned troops have arrived. Everyone who sees them should kneel to welcome them!"
The sound of drums and shouts continued, and wherever the imperial troops went, the villagers knelt there.
Building an official residence is a big deal, and it was built by imperial decree from His Majesty. There are all kinds of rituals. In short, it is like walking into a ghost village in the afterglow of the setting sun.
At sunrise the next day, he offered sacrifices to the gods of heaven and earth and the previous emperors of the Wei Dynasty, announcing: "In the third year of the Wuxing reign of the Wei Dynasty, the Wuxing Emperor granted the nine families of Qin, Jiang, Xu, and Qiao a mansion. I now report this to the ancestors of heaven and earth, and ask them to grant this mansion a hundred years of prosperity!"
The master who was in charge of sacrificial offerings in the Ministry of Works brought Qin Jiang's family, officials, master craftsmen, head craftsmen, and other craftsmen to perform the sacrifices.
Half of the villagers in Taifeng Town came to watch the fun and join in the worship, making the ceremony quite grand.
Mr. Shi from the Ministry of Works, Captain Ling, Mr. Bi the Old Craftsman, and Mr. Ren from the Provincial Administration Commissioner's Office did not drive people away... A larger momentum would boost the emperor's power, intimidate the locals, and their project would also be completed more smoothly.
The worship before starting work lasted for three full days before it was completed.
Afterwards, the west side of Gui Village was surrounded, and Captain Ling informed the villagers: "The west side of Wansong Village is the important site of the imperial residence. From today on, no one is allowed to enter within ten meters west of the village. Anyone who violates this order will be considered an insult to His Majesty and will be executed immediately!"
Hiss, a series of gasps were heard, and the villagers were frightened. Some people who wanted to take the opportunity to touch the building materials given by the emperor to get some blessings gave up the idea.
The Chinese New Year is coming soon, and they want to have a good time and don’t want to be caught and beheaded.
"Thank you for your hard work, fellow villagers. Come here, this is the malt candy prepared by our family. Everyone come and grab a handful to share in the good luck!" Qin Ying, Qin Jie, Qin Cunquan, Qiao Songguo and others shouted.
When the villagers heard that there was something to be received, they lined up one after another. After receiving the things, they did not leave but squatted near the west entrance of the village, eating malt candy while watching the imperial construction team.
Ling Baihu: "..."
Why do they feel like they are beautiful young ladies being watched by a group of lechers?
"Fellow villagers, it's getting late, everyone hurry home and stop watching!"
With no other option, Ling Baihu ordered his men to beat gongs and drive the villagers to their homes.
"Hey, hey, hey, let's go home now!"
The villagers were obedient and got up and went home together.
However, the next day, the villagers came to the west entrance of Guicun again and squatted to watch the imperial construction team, just like they were watching a beautiful young lady.
Passionate, bold and unyielding.
The head of the Ministry of Works, Shi Daren, could no longer bear it and went to Captain Ling and said, "Captain Ling, tell those people to stop coming to watch. If they come again, arrest them and torture them. Otherwise, how can we do our job if they are so presumptuous?"
But there's no need to use torture, right?
Ling Baihu was a little annoyed by Lord Shi's domineering attitude, but he couldn't stand being watched by the villagers. So, he seized an opportunity, grabbed someone who looked tough, and gave him a good beating on the spot. After letting the villagers know that the emperor's authority was not to be trifled with, the villagers ran away in fear.
The next day, even if there were people coming to watch again, they would just look for a while and then leave, no longer squatting for half a day like they would to see a girl.