I am Li Shen and Li Shimin, the free kings of the Tang Dynasty

"Plop!" Zhang Da knelt down.

“Thank you, Your Highness Prince Ji, thank you, Your Highness Prince Ji. I will let Dalang take over my position as soon as possible and work for the palace wholeheartedly.

From now on, I am willing to be a slave for generations and be loyal to His Majesty Prince Ji."

Zhang Da was a little excited.

When he heard Li Shen say that he would find someone to replace him, he felt a little reluctant.

After all, the village chief is also an official, and everyone is greedy for wealth and fame.

A monthly salary of five strings of cash could make their family rich and powerful.

Now that his village chief has been replaced by someone else, he feels somewhat reluctant.

But when Zhang Da heard Prince Ji say that he wanted his eldest son to replace him, he immediately became grateful.

His eldest son was forty years old. Although he could read and write, he was indeed too old as King Ji had said, and it was almost impossible for him to pass the imperial examination.

So I have been working with him all these years and it can be considered as a way to make a living.

Now Prince Ji actually said that he wanted his eldest son to succeed him, which meant that from now on his son also had a future.

You will be able to live a prosperous and wealthy life for at least twenty years, and by the time you retire like him, you will have accumulated a considerable fortune.

In this way, their family can be rich for at least three generations. If their grandson is a bit promising and passes the imperial examination to become an official,

Then from then on, their family could be said to have escaped from being farmers and had brought honor to the family.

"Wake up, you don't have to rush home to retire, I just want to inform you first.

Do you want to help your Dalang get familiar with what a village chief should do?"

Li Shen nodded in satisfaction at Zhang Da's attitude. In Li Shen's opinion, ability or not is not important, loyalty is the most important.

"Don't worry, my lord. Dalang has been by my side all these years. He is very clear about what I have done.

I will make him familiar with it as soon as possible." Zhang Da promised.

The position of village chief did not exist during this period. It was a name given by Li Shen himself.

The reason is that it is convenient.

According to the court regulations, a village was composed of a hundred households, with one village head appointed, and villages were established in areas with farmland and settlements.

For a household with more than 100 households, one village chief shall be appointed.

Mainly responsible for village security, taxation, labor, household registration management, and conveying government orders.

Strictly speaking, Zhang Da should be called Muramasa.

The Lizheng was an official of the imperial court, a meritorious official of the sixth rank or below, or a commoner. In addition to the duties of the Muramasa, he was also responsible for

It also includes many other duties such as teaching agriculture and supervising agricultural production, and reporting to county-level officials.

Zhang Da is just the village chief. He only needs to report to Prince Ji's mansion and does not need to worry about farming.

He was mainly responsible for public security and household registration management. He did not even have to worry about taxes and labor service, as they were all collected by special people from the Prince Ji's Mansion.

The only point is that the salary is high.

"By the way, what's your Dalang's name?" Li Shen asked. He had seen Zhang Da's son.

But given his status, he never spoke a word.

"Your Highness, my son's name is Zhang Gui. He went there on his own after he learned to read. He was also called Zhang Da before."

Zhang Dabing reported that he didn't think it was a big deal that the father and son had the same name.

But Li Shen felt amused in his heart. Both father and son were called Zhang Da. Although these were similar to nicknames, they were also a bit weird.

"How about this, I will give you a name, Darang.

Since he is working for my Ji Palace, I naturally hope that he can bring blessings to my Ji Palace.

Then let's call him Lai Fu. I hope he can bring honor to our family in the future. What do you think?"

Li Shen suddenly became interested, or rather, had some bad taste.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the name, Lai Fu, Lai Fu. I also hope that my son can bring blessings to Prince Ji's Mansion."

Zhang Da hurriedly thanked him, saying that the name was not important, what was important was who gave the name.

The name bestowed by Prince Ji meant that from then on one would be a household slave of Prince Ji's palace, so naturally one's status would be much stronger than that of other fiefs.

From then on, the villagers knew that their son’s name was given by His Royal Highness Prince Ji, so even if he died, the villagers would not dare to disobey.

He is now thinking whether he should ask King Ji to give his grandson a name, even if it is Goudan.

"Your Highness, it's time to take a bath." At this time, the servant came to report.

Li Shen nodded and gave Zhang Da an order:

"Okay, it's getting late, I'm going to sleep, um... let's arrange a heavenly sacrifice tomorrow. Although we can't farm without rain, what if it rains after the sacrifice."

"Yes, I will go back and arrange it right away so as not to disturb the prince's rest." Zhang Da hurriedly took his leave and went back happily to tell his son the good news. From now on, your name is Zhang Lai Fu.

Second day

Li Shen got up early because he had to offer sacrifices today. He took a bath and changed his clothes in a daze. After having his meal, he strolled out of the villa.

Zhang Da had been waiting here for a long time. When he saw Li Shen coming out, he quickly took Li Shen out of the farm and into the fields.

When Li Shen arrived, the place was already crowded with people.

Today's sacrifice is not only for the people from Dahuangzhuang, but also for the people from the other three villages.

There were thousands of males in the four villages, divided into four square formations.

Li Shen walked through the middle, and the people on both sides saluted him.

"See His Highness Prince Ji."

"See His Highness Prince Ji."

The voices continued one after another, resounding through heaven and earth, causing Li Shen to feel a sense of heroism.

He walked with the gait of a dragon and a tiger, with his head held high and his chest puffed out, completely sweeping away the lethargy caused by getting up too early.

"No need to be polite. No need to be polite, no need to be polite." He waved to the people along the way with a amiable smile.

Walked all the way to the front.

The altar, the three lives, the offerings, the sacrificial text, everything had been prepared long ago.

Li Shen led thousands of villagers to read the sacrificial text, praying to God for favorable weather and a good harvest.

And then there are the rituals of worship and so on, and finally the burning of the sacrificial texts.

There is also a step called burning, in which sacrificial offerings such as sacrificial texts, jade and silk, and sacrificial animals are placed on firewood and burned.

This is a key step in the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, allowing the smoke to rise so that the gods can receive the sacrifice.

Sacrifice is a very tiring job, which is why Li Shen has not liked to come here for several years.

This set of steps lasted for more than an hour, and Li Shen felt sore in the waist, back, and legs.

After the sacrifice, Li Shen ordered people to gather these people together. Fortunately, these people were all from his fiefdom.

Otherwise, Li Shen really wouldn't dare to confront so many people. Although the one hundred guards were powerful, they were hard to guard against.

Even so, Li Shen was extremely cautious, fearing that if someone was bribed to stab him, his life would be in danger.

The college's playground is large enough to accommodate all these people. This is the good thing about ancient times, there is plenty of space.

There is a high platform in front of the playground, which is usually reserved for students to give speeches. This time Li Shen can use it.

Li Shen was seen going up to the platform with a megaphone in his hand, which was usually used in the academy.

There were several thousand people, and even if Li Shen shouted at the top of his lungs, they might not be able to hear him clearly.

But it doesn’t matter, someone will probably pass it on.