Cui Lie thought quickly, and in the end, he replied to Liu Hong with a bow, “I accept the appointment.”

However, as the court dispersed, Cui Lie couldn’t help but sigh deeply in his heart—

His five million coins!

He had spent a whole five million coins, only to be dismissed from the position of Three Excellencies in less than half a year. What a mess!

Moreover, the position of governor of Bingzhou was not an easy one.

He would have to deal with those barbarians and also teach that troublemaker Qiao Yan, as Yuan Ji suggested.

If he couldn’t even persuade his own son, could he really persuade Qiao Yan, who had dared to detain a governor, usurp his authority.

Cui Lie had some doubts in his heart, but he tried hard to temporarily forget about this matter.

After all, all these troubles would have to wait until he arrived in Bingzhou to deal with.

While Cui Lie was extremely depressed, Liu Hong was undoubtedly much more relaxed.

In his view, appointing Cui Lie as the governor of Bingzhou was both a warning to Qiao Yan and a pampering of him.

What does it mean to warn?

The Cui family of Boling has been a prestigious family for generations, and Cui Lie is a well-known scholar in Jizhou.

In this case, while Qiao Yan’s unconventional methods may be aimed at Zhang Yi, who had a less prestigious reputation before, they cannot be used against Cui Lie in the same way.

Furthermore, with Cui Lie taking on the responsibility of overseeing the Marquis of Leping, he also has a stable position to suppress Qiao Yan.

Although it may not reach the level of making him apprentice under a master, restraining her words and actions is always achievable.

But why indulge?

Cui Lie is similar to Cai Yong in that he can be a virtuous scholar but not a high-ranking official.

While the former is due to ability and the latter due to relationships with colleagues, in the end, Cui Lie is not suitable to be the Minister of Works nor the governor of Bingzhou!

So let him see, this lone minister who pleads for forgiveness and gives himself a courtesy name to clarify his intentions, let’s see how far he can go!

But such calculations need not be made known to anyone.

When Liu Hong heard Zhang Rang cautiously ask why he wanted to appoint Cui Lie as the governor of Bingzhou, not understanding the emperor’s intentions, Liu Hong looked at the scene before him, where palace servants were disguised as street vendors, and replied, “The position of Three Excellencies is worth ten million coins, but Cui Wei Kao only paid five million coins, so he will only hold the position for half the usual time.”

Even though Zhang Rang already knew that Liu Hong’s thoughts were sometimes different from those of ordinary people, he couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment when he heard this answer.

Nowadays, most of those in the position of Three Excellencies are dismissed and reassigned in less than a year.

According to this logic, since Cui Lie only paid half the money, there shouldn’t be any problem with him holding the position for half the usual time.

Moreover, this would also open up the Minister of Works position again for sale.

Zhang Rang had heard that Cao Teng’s adopted son, Cao Song, who was Cao Cao’s father, was interested in purchasing a position as one of the Three Excellencies.

He certainly had the financial means to do so.

Although he seemed to prefer the position of Grand Commandant, if he could get the Minister of Works position at a lower price, he would certainly be willing.

For Liu Hong, this would mean another influx of money.

As Zhang Rang realized this, he almost gasped in astonishment.

But before Zhang Rang could comment on Liu Hong’s meticulous planning, he saw the emperor, who had already changed into the clothes of a merchant, leading a hunting dog with a crown on its head, swaggering into the mock market, showing no intention of dealing with court affairs again.

In the end, with today’s arrangements for the court complete, it was time for Liu Hong to enjoy himself.

That was Liu Hong’s current thought.

The hunting dog with the official hat on its head seemed to have the same imposing manner as its master, appearing more dignified than the officials and ministers in its movements.

Liu Hong was very satisfied with this. He then saw two small eunuchs fighting each other, performing the scene of pedestrians and merchants on the street getting into a scuffle over prices.

He laughed heartily and threw the jade pendant at his waist toward one of the stalls, fetching a wine pot from it.

Let’s deal with these locust disaster matters after getting drunk!

…..

At this moment, Qiao Yan had no way of knowing about Liu Hong’s various actions.

But this unknown did not mean she needed to be flustered.

Since she had already sent out the report on the locust disaster in Bingzhou and the letter of apology, she had done everything she needed to do and had nothing to worry about.

The previous matter of ennoblement, combined with her direct confrontation with Liu Hong over the feudal discussion, was enough to confirm what kind of person Liu Hong was.

The consistency in his actions of balance and control, which was detrimental to the aristocratic forces or those in the position of scholar-leaders, was indeed not a good thing.

After the heavy rain in Bingzhou, she stayed in Jinyang City for seven or eight days.

Then, while Zhang Yi and the Prefect of Taiyuan were still restricted, she led Dian Wei back to Leping.

After all, in mid-August, it was the time for autumn harvest in the north.

Crossing the North Mountain and seeing Leping County, which she had been away from for more than a month, appear before her eyes, Qiao Yan couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment.

This was her territory.

Compared to last year when she first arrived in Leping, this year’s countryside and fields were more prosperous.

Although the locust plague had left traces on some leaves, it did not extend its disaster to the harvest due to its swift eradication.

Qiao Yan walked her horse slowly along the ridges, watching the villagers busy in the fields.

The wheat yield per mu at this time of year was barely over a hundred catties.

It was difficult to see the wheat grains plump enough to bend the stems, as in later years.

However, when the fifty mu fields were connected into a continuous expanse, with the colors of autumn harvest also layered and spread out like a long scroll, it was still visually stunning.

The only special thing was the grass huts that appeared at intervals.

Previously, to prevent the fire from spreading to the fields, the area around the grass huts was empty, only because of the rain.

Perhaps there were birds carrying grass seeds flying over, causing some stubborn weeds to grow in those places.

Qiao Yan found it quite interesting to look at those areas.

After not needing to use fire to attract locusts around, the villagers in Leping County, who were grateful to these grass huts, used their surplus coarse cloth to make decorations and hung them outside the huts.

As a result, from a distance, it looked a bit fancy.

From a certain perspective, it could also be considered as wearing a hundred families’ cloth.

Qiao Yan couldn’t help but smile at this thought.

Just then, a girl who was only about five or six years old crawled out from the side of the wheat field.

She was about to climb onto the ridge when she suddenly met Qiao Yan’s gaze.

The child was not afraid at all.

After looking at Qiao Yan, the horse she was leading, and Dian Wei, who was behind her and looked like a tower, she suddenly turned her head and shouted loudly, “The Lord is back!”

Before Qiao Yan could ask her to speak more quietly, not to look like she was welcoming a triumphant warrior, the next moment,

Because of the child’s shout, on the continuous wheat field, one after another voice seemed to be passing on the message “The Lord is back” and spreading towards the direction of the county town.

It was a very strange sound.

It seemed to follow the rules of advancing waves, mixed with the rustling sound of the wheat field, forming a special and rhythmic pattern.

Until in Qiao Yan’s ears, she could only hear a few faintly distinguishable voices.

Even though it was only five words, she inexplicably felt her eyes become a little sore.

It was like a too grand welcome ceremony.

From a logical point of view, Qiao Yan could understand such behavior.

Because to the people of this era, anyone who can feed them can be considered a good ruler.

It’s just a pity that most of the time, this exceptionally simple goal is hard to achieve.

So, what Qiao Yan did in Leping was indeed a lifesaving grace to them.

But when she personally experienced this strong yet simple gratitude, she couldn’t help but think of some other things.

She had told Xu Fu before that the premise of having compassion for the weak is that one is strong oneself, and she was not at that time.

Can she be considered strong now?

Qiao Yan herself didn’t know.

Her thoughts were swirling in her mind, and she couldn’t help but overlook what was in front of her.

When she lowered her head to look, the courage of the girl seemed to be just a shout, and now she had already run into the wheat field and disappeared.

This prevented Qiao Yan from being able to catch the “culprit” and ask about the harvest.

But perhaps she didn’t need to catch anyone.

Because the news spread like a tide towards the county town, she walked forward for a while and saw several horses coming towards her from the direction of the county government office and the distant mountain fields, each with a few familiar faces.

Fortunately, there was still some distinction between the horses they rode, so they wouldn’t collide with each other on the ridges.

Those who arrived first dismounted and stood aside, while those who arrived later braked earlier.

But after they all dismounted, Qiao Yan glanced at them and couldn’t help but feel that this scene was even more ridiculous than the one of the grass hut wearing a hundred clothes.

“What’s the situation with you all, waiting for me to review?” Qiao Yan raised an eyebrow. “There’s no need to show such a longing look as if we haven’t seen each other for three autumns.”

To avoid implicating Leping, she didn’t even bring the retainers of the Marquis of Leping to Jinyang.

Based on the speculation and judgment of Xi Zhicai and Cheng Li on her thoughts, it was enough to intercept the others in Leping County.

Apart from the group of people who directly traveled with her, only Xi Zhicai, who received a salary endorsed by Qiao Yan but had no specific position, and because he hadn’t settled his household registration before August, came without any worries.

As soon as they heard her words, even Qin Yu, who had always been steady in Qiao Yan’s eyes, couldn’t help but blush slightly, “Why take such risks, Lord Marquis?”

This was what others wanted to ask as well.

Although they knew that Dian Wei and Chu Yan were accompanying her, and from the situation of the various counties’ government orders, they could see that Qiao Yan’s actions were smooth, she did not send anyone back to Leping to report safety.

But not seeing people was still somewhat different.

It’s not clear whether it’s because Qiao Yan has been busy with state affairs these days, her cheeks showing a bit of a lean look.

Even though this made her eyes show more excitement, it also revealed a strong and sharp demeanor.

In the eyes of the people who “rose up” with her in Leping, it was undoubtedly a sign of being overworked.

“Risk is risk, but being able to survive in a whole province is not impossible.” Qiao Yan replied, “You don’t need to worry so much, things are not as bad as you think.”

As she continued walking towards the county town, she said, “Moreover, I didn’t come back to see you all standing here like wooden stakes, but to see the harvest of the potatoes. If you dare to think of excuses while I’m not back yet…”

Qiao Yan glanced at them, facing this group of eyes with indescribable emotions, she couldn’t say anything harsh, and her tone suddenly changed, “Then… let’s plant again next year.”

Cai Zhaohui ( Yan ), who was carried over by Lu Yuan on horseback, laughed out loud, “Lord Marquis, you can rest assured. Even if you don’t say it, several people have been sleeping in the small house next to the potato field these days, afraid that rainwater will accumulate and affect the harvest.”

Zhao Yun and Xu Fu, who were indirectly named by her, turned their heads awkwardly.

Qiao Yan glanced at the two of them, feeling that she should give them some face, “Alright, let’s go take a look.”

The time for potatoes to mature is from August to October.

Most of the harvest is in October.

Unfortunately, although Qiao Yan felt that Liu Hong would not punish her with the deprivation of the title of county marquis because of her behavior of taking control of the state government,

She still thought it would be better not to wait for the Luoyang emissaries to arrive before harvesting.

Fortunately, the potatoes in mid-August were already mature, so there would not be any major losses, at most just a slight difference in taste.

In this month, the sweet potato vines, which had been climbing along the supports, had covered the entire mountain range with lush greenery.

Qiao Yan thought that the harvest would be good.

After she issued the harvesting instructions, the Black Mountain Army responsible for planting the potatoes carefully shuttled between the terraced fields, digging up the potatoes and putting them into the baskets by their sides.

Perhaps because of the fertility of the soil in these terraced fields, Qiao Yan, who watched the digging of the potatoes, felt that they were not much different from the yams she knew.

Although they were slightly thinner, they were still much more robust than the planting samples brought back from the mountains last year.

Perhaps the quantity would be higher than she estimated…

With this in mind, she also paid attention to the movements of the people who were about to settle in Leping.

After a year of hard work, the harvest was now in sight.

Even the most rough-handed fellow who fought during the hoeing stage became inexplicably careful because of the meticulous habits developed during the cultivation stage and the expectation of potato yield.

Looking around at Zhang Niujiao, who had been observing, these rough men seemed to be assisting in childbirth.

But when he saw that these people were harvesting carefully and quickly, he had no distractions.

The Marquis is back now, and it’s still August, isn’t this the time when the household registrations were finalized?

Great! The harvest now is the final battle!

Zhang Niujiao wanted to exert all his strength, to directly finish the harvest with an imposing manner, but there were sixty thousand mu of fields here, and they only had a few thousand people.

This excavation was also a bit of a test of patience…

When all the potatoes in his area were harvested, he felt that his waist was almost out of control.

But when the potatoes harvested from the sixty thousand mu of terraced fields were piled up together, it was truly a spectacular sight.

Due to their curved growth, it was not convenient to estimate the quantity based on volume alone.

Before being stored, these properly dried potatoes were weighed in batches, and then recorded.

As the registered quantity of potatoes accumulated, the surrounding onlookers from the county and the Black Mountain Army couldn’t help but let out exclamations of surprise.

However, when the last batch of potatoes was weighed, the whole scene quieted down.

It wasn’t until a voice suddenly broke the silence.

“Marquis Qiao!”

Zhang Niujiao, who came running in a hurry, had long forgotten about the household registration issue.

A flush of excitement appeared on his somewhat darkened face.

“One million kilo! There is a harvest of one million kilo!”