Chinese New Year

Chapter 491 Private and Public Affairs

The Yu River meanders all the way southward.

Yuyang, as the name suggests, is located on the north bank of the Yu River. More precisely, the Yu River, which generally flows north-south, turns here, and Yuyang is located in the northwest of the river.

Not far south of this river is Xinye County.

Today, there are two major gathering places for the Le family.

One of them is the Henei Le family, such as Le Yang who once served as the prefect of Henei during the Liu Han Dynasty.

The second is the Nanyang Le family, who have lived here for hundreds of years. They were previously unknown and of humble origin. They became prosperous during the Later Han Dynasty, but they were not famous either. It was not until the Cao Wei period that they became truly glorious.

Strictly speaking, this is a relatively "young" aristocratic family that has been powerful for no more than a hundred years.

If history had not changed, Nanyang, a place sandwiched between the northern and southern forces, would definitely not have an easy future, and the gradual decline of the Le family was a high probability event.

Even now, the Le family’s future is uncertain.

If a war breaks out between the North and the South, it’s hard to say what they will encounter.

Of course, this is all a matter for the future. At present, the Nanyang Le family is thriving, and their family power even far exceeds that of Shangshu Ling Le Guang, and they are ushering in their golden age.

As the saying goes, one becomes homesick when close to home. The closer Le Lanji got to the old house of the Le family in Yuyang, the more unstable her mood became.

While sitting in the carriage, I would secretly wipe away tears from time to time.

Shao Xun held her in his arms and comforted her softly.

Lan Ji put her arm around his waist, buried her face in her arms, and occasionally replied.

Most of the time it was quiet, the two of them just hugging each other quietly.

Sometimes, feelings are accumulated little by little.

After crossing a stone bridge, Lan Ji suddenly called for a stop.

Shao Xun took her hand and walked down to the roadside.

Cai Cheng signaled with his eyes, Shao Xun looked at the manor not far away and waved his hand to signal the carriage to leave.

Le Lanji stood beside a forest of pure white apricot blossoms, pointed with her slender hand, and said happily, "It's still the same. There was such a forest when I was a child, and I didn't expect it to still be there now."

Shao Xun was also a little surprised.

Nanyang Le's manor had never been besieged? It was incredible.

This is the difference in how men and women think.

Le Lanji happily walked into the apricot blossom forest, gently picked up a flower and sniffed it.

Shao Xun was thinking about how many private soldiers the Le family had trained. It was something.

If someone told him now that the entire Yuyang County was a large manor owned by the Le family, he would believe it.

Therefore, even though the kings killed officials of the gentry in Luoyang like killing chickens when they were in power, and even Le Guang was killed by Sima Yi, if Le Guang had slipped out of the capital and returned to Yuyang, Sima Yi would not have been able to kill him.

But then again, in order to maintain the family business, members of the gentry still had to go to Luoyang in groups to contribute to the local family construction. There was nothing they could do about it.

Simply put, it is easy to kill scholars but difficult to eradicate the root cause.

It took three hundred years of the Northern and Southern Dynasties to weaken a group of monkey-like families that were barely acceptable to the royal family. There is still a long way to go.

"Is that the young lady in front?" An old man asked with narrowed eyes. There were more than ten gardeners on the edge of the apricot forest, cultivating large vegetable fields for the Le family.

Le Lanji was stunned for a moment, then slowly seemed to recall this person, and asked tentatively, "Zhang Dianji?"

"It is the old servant." Zhang Dianji was overjoyed. After a hasty salute, he shouted to the people who came out after hearing the news, "The young lady has returned home to visit her parents."

The birds in the forest flew up, chirping, then landed on the branches, tilted their heads, and quietly looked at the woman with red eyes.

The people guarding the garden were stopped from a distance by the personal guards.

Le Lanji looked around carefully, and except for a few people, she didn't recognize most of them.

She turned around and looked at Shao Xun, saying, "When I was little, I loved going out to play, and I loved coming to the vegetable garden the most."

"Are you here to steal the melons?" Shao Xun asked with a smile.

Le Lanji rolled her eyes at him and smiled without saying anything.

Shao Xun looked at the gardeners who were whispering to each other. He seemed to hear a Guanzhong accent and suddenly became thoughtful.

It seems that the Le family has also gathered a group of people from Guanxi, but the number should not be large, and they are the kind of people who are unorganized or scattered.

The refugees from Guanxi who came in groups often gathered in groups and huddled together, and would not be accepted by the natives of Nanyang.

The two continued forward.

After passing the apricot grove and vegetable fields, all you can see is endless farmland.

The millet seedlings in the fields were growing well. Some farmers came with hoes, and when they heard that the young lady from the Le family had returned, they all knelt on the ground.

What's outrageous is that when they heard the word "Mr. Chen", they just stood there stupidly without any expression.

Obviously, in Yuyang, "Miss Le" is greater than "Mr. Chen".

The farmhands have a deep-rooted fear and respect for their masters, which has been strengthened from generation to generation.

Some of the country farmers don't even know what dynasty it is, and have never walked out of the ten miles of this manor in their entire lives.

They have no idea what the imperial court is. Whatever their master says is what it is, and they have the power of life and death over them.

Obeying the master's orders has almost become an instinct deep in our bones.

In comparison, those who have followed members of the main family to fight outside are considered knowledgeable people, and they are obviously the more core troops.

There are many scattered villages outside the manor, where many people live.

At this time, they heard the shouting and went out to look. Some people put away the mulberry leaves in the bamboo basket and went out to look.

Someone put down the half-mended clothes and leaned against the door to look at each other.

Someone drove the chickens and ducks into the house and reached behind the fence.

Farmers in the fields, women in the yard, children shepherding...what a grand scene.

Shao Xun strolled leisurely, looking around casually.

Farmers raise poultry and even large livestock, whether they are their own or entrusted to them by the owners, which is very good because after all, the things are real.

There are many fruit trees planted in front and behind the yard, and they are blooming one after another at this time, which is very beautiful.

The fields are planted with grain and sesame seeds, and the ridges are planted with mulberry trees.

By the stream, herds of cattle and sheep are contentedly chewing the fresh grass.

The production and operation are very effective!
No wonder the Le family sent people to manage Guangchengze, and the production increased by several percent at once. This can be seen from their management of their own estate.

They soon arrived at the manor, and Shao Xun even saw the rumbling water mill in operation.

Next to the water mill, there were craftsmen working at the furnace, constantly making various farm tools and even weapons.

Outside the manor gate, Le's troops spread out far away, driving the crowd outwards, leaving a large open space in the middle.

Shao's personal soldiers suddenly arrived and drove the crowd and Le's troops out, continuing to expand the open space.

The open space was soon filled with the outflowing crowd.

Lekai was supporting an elderly woman and was surrounded by the crowd.

The woman had a head full of white hair and she would wipe her eyes with a silk handkerchief from time to time.

When she saw Shao Xun and Le Lanji coming, she suppressed her longing for him, bowed to Shao Xun, and said, "It is a blessing for Le family that Mr. Chen is here. Please come in."

"No need to be so polite, old lady." Shao Xun returned the greeting and said softly.

"Mother!" Le Lanji couldn't stop the tears on her face. She didn't care about losing manners and rushed over, hugged her mother, and cried bitterly.

The old lady was quite presentable. She gently consoled her daughter and then invited Shao Xun in.

Liu Ling strode ahead, leading two teams of soldiers and rushing in.

Shao Xun chatted with Le Kai for a while at the door.

"Yuyang is a good place. Hongxu has managed his land and house in perfect order, which makes my family look pale in comparison." Shao Xun said with a smile.

"You are joking, sir." Le Kai said modestly, "My family is actually nothing. The Yang family of Taishan, the Wang family of Langya, the Pei family of Hedong, these noble families have managed their business well. My family is just a small one."

Shao Xun laughed out loud.

He knew that Lucky was telling the truth.

The Shaws now have a lot of land and farm hands, but they lack talent and their management is a bit rough. Perhaps this is the difference between nouveau riche and old-established families.

But it didn't matter. The old money had pomp and circumstance, and the new rich had sharpness. He didn't care much about the family's property and hardly paid any attention to it.

What he spent most of his time and effort on was actually the army he created, which was the foundation of his survival.

Seeing that most of his personal soldiers had already entered, and the Yicong and Silver Spear armies that had come to protect him had also stationed not far away, Shao Xun and Le Kai walked in arm in arm, acting very close.

There were many boys, girls and even children in the courtyard, looking at him from afar across from their personal guards.

According to Le Kai's introduction, they were all members of the Le clan.

Shao Xun smiled at them. The others were fine, but some young girls who were just beginning to fall in love blushed.

After being shy, she continued to look at him secretly, as if she was trying to see what was so special about this world-famous Mr. Chen.

It seems - it’s nothing!

I don't know what the brave girl said, but immediately a bunch of people burst into laughter. As they laughed, they covered their faces, as if their little thoughts had been seen through.

Compared with the girls, the boys' eyes were much more passionate.

As men, they have more responsibilities on their shoulders. Some of them have even begun to help manage the household business and have a deeper understanding of the world.

They saw the forest of spears outside the yard.

They saw the yard full of Ming Guang armor.

They saw the mighty man who was as strong as a bear, bowing and nodding before Mr. Chen.

This is power! The sweetest thing in the world, it makes people intoxicated.

Perhaps, by climbing up to Mr. Chen, one's future will be smoother and brighter.

Considering what had just happened in Wancheng, their eyes became even more fiery.

If Mr. Chen wants to stabilize Nanyang, he must rely on the Le family.

This time I brought my aunt home to visit the old lady. It was called visiting relatives, but in fact it was all about military and political affairs.

People like him never have any purely private affairs.

The Nanyang Le family is certainly famous for its scholarship, but in this world, there has never been a family with only scholars and no military men.

The Taishan Yang family is such a famous literary family, but it also has a tyrannical warrior like Yang Dan.

Mr. Chen's visit to the mansion was a symbol of his trust in the Le family.

The Nanyang Le family will also be the pillar for Mr. Chen to stabilize Nanyang.

This is a good opportunity. If we can seize it, it may allow the Le family to move out of Nanyang and expand to Xiangyang and even Xuchang.

(End of this chapter)