It's better to be an empress than a county magistrate

Lu Xingchen stepped into the Taoist temple. The little Taoist boy had already gone to inform Master Yuan Tianshi in advance.

They were all smart people and had already expected that she would come to find him.

This Taoist temple only has one main hall. Lu Xingchen stepped into the main hall. Yuan Tianshi was sitting cross-legged on a cushion, holding a dustpan in his hand, with his eyes closed, looking mysterious.

"The county lord has arrived. I am sorry for not coming to greet you. I hope you don't mind."

Lu Xingchen naturally didn't care. He sat opposite him and then pulled the long table next to him and placed it between the two of them.

The little Taoist boy was very clever and quickly served tea.

"I heard that the Heavenly Master sits on the roof every night to observe the celestial phenomena. Has he gained anything?" Lu Xingchen asked with a smile.

"I occasionally gain something." Master Yuan Tianshi replied with a smile.

"What did you get?" Lu Xingchen took a sip of tea and asked with a smile.

"There is an imperial star looming in the east." Yuan Tianshi lowered his voice and spoke mysteriously.

Lu Xingchen raised his eyes slightly. This old guy is even bolder.

"The emperor of Daliang has just sat on the throne, and it's only been two years. I heard that he is still in his prime. Is the emperor going to be changed again?" Lu Xingchen said.

"Who can know? I don't know how many people in the world claim to be kings and emperors now." Master Yuan clicked his tongue a few times.

"But this imperial star seems to be a little different from other imperial stars."

"Why are they different?" Lu Xingchen asked. She wanted to hear what nonsense this old Taoist priest would say.

"Because there is a faint purple glow next to the Emperor's Heart." Yuan Tianshi stroked his beard with his hand.

"Your Excellency the County Lord, do you know that the light around the Emperor Star is yellow?"

"This imperial star is surrounded by purple light, so it must be different from the other imperial stars."

Lu Xingchen smiled faintly, "I hope that Master Yuan Tianshi's words will come in handy one day."

"I came to you today to ask you for a favor."

"The county magistrate has something to do, but please just give me your instructions. It would be a great honor to help you." Master Yuan nodded slightly.

"I want to grow cotton, but the world is in chaos right now, and food is the most important thing. I'm worried that the people won't agree, so I need you to perform a ritual, saying that this winter will be especially cold, and the price of cotton will go up."

"If there are no cotton clothes to keep warm, people will freeze to death," said Lu Xingchen.

Sometimes in this era, we really need this kind of thing that can mislead people.

Yuan Tianshi nodded slightly, "Whatever the county lord wants to do, I will naturally do my best."

Coincidentally, two days later, there was suddenly lightning and thunder in the sky.

Normally, the frequency of thunder in spring is very low.

Yuan Tianshi took this weather as an opportunity, rushed out of his Baiyun Temple, and then came to the center of the county town, where he began to wave the sword in his hand and perform rituals.

Master Yuan Tianshi worked very hard, and his Taoist robe was completely soaked with rain and sweat.

After completing the ritual, he began to spread the word that this winter would be a cold one, and that it would come early and go late, and would be long and cold, and that many people would freeze to death because they had no cotton clothes to keep warm.

Gradually, Yuan Tianshi's words began to spread among the people.

This is also what Lu Xingchen wants to do.

So she found Master Guo and Lu Yunfeng. Lu Yunfeng was Lu Xingchen's uncle, but he had no blood relationship with Lu Xingchen. He was a brother of the same clan who accompanied Lu Kui to Beijing for the imperial examination, but they were very distant.

"We will select some land on the border of Xing County to grow cotton so that the people can withstand the severe cold this winter."

Lu Yunfeng moved his lips.

He felt that Taoist Yuan's words were not worth believing at all. After all, he knew very well what kind of person Taoist Yuan was.

But seeing Lu Xingchen's firm attitude, he didn't know what to say.

After all, he had just had a heart-to-heart talk with Lu Xingchen and decided to assist his niece wholeheartedly.

It would seem a bit inappropriate for him to raise an objection at this time.

"The county magistrate is truly far-sighted and kind-hearted." Master Guo held the bamboo fan in both hands and bowed to Lu Xingchen.

This made Lu Yunfeng feel that it would be better to keep silent for the time being.

"Okay, since Second Uncle and Master have no objections, let's pick a few locations."

Lu Xingchen did not ask for other people's opinions. He took out the map and drew a few circles on it.

"The total land area of ​​these villages is about 1,500 mu."

"It's enough to take out 1,500 acres of land to grow cotton."

Lu Yunfeng didn't expect that such a large area of ​​land would be used to grow cotton. He was a little worried and asked, "What will happen to these villages in the future if they have no food?"

"Wearing cotton clothes can keep them warm, but without food, they will eventually starve to death."

"The county's granary will subsidize each household according to the average amount of grain they produce each year."

Lu Xingchen explained to Lu Yunfeng, "The cotton grown on their fields will be returned to the county for unified allocation."

Lu Xingchen's way of operation left Lu Yunfeng stunned. It was actually possible to do this.

After the meeting, Lu Kui couldn't wait to find Lu Kui.

Lu Kui only knew that Lu Xingchen wanted to grow cotton, but he had no idea how to grow it or what to do with it in the end. After Lu Yunfeng told him, he was also shocked.

"Brother, you don't know either." Lu Yunfeng couldn't control his emotions and blurted out.

Lu Kui couldn't make up his mind for a moment, but thinking that he had already handed over the position of county magistrate to Lu Xingchen, he decided to let her do whatever she wanted.

If he comes out and interferes at this time, how will Lu Xingchen establish his prestige?

His ultimate goal was to help Lu Xingchen establish his prestige so that he could stand on his own.

"Since it has been handed over to her, let her handle it."

Lu Yunfeng moved his lips but said nothing in the end.

After Lu Xingchen, Lu Yunfeng and Mr. Guo finalized the cotton planting, they left the yamen and prepared to look for Zhang Fan and Wei Hu.

Zhang Fan and Wei Hu were the main military commanders in Xing County.

Both of them are Lu Kui's adopted sons, the oldest and most loyal.

Zhang Fan is very tough and Wei Hu is very smart.