All sects work

Chapter 232: Destroying the Heaven (4)

After Chen Jizhi settled down, he chatted with Cao Yu about what he saw and heard when he entered the city, and he seemed quite interested in talking.

Seeing that he was in good spirits, Cao Yu did not rush to leave: "Our place is good in everything except that we are too short of people. I wish I could split one into eight. To be honest, I haven't slept for twenty hours."

"I see that Your Excellency is still radiant." Chen Boan asked curiously.

Cao Yu guessed Master Xuanying's attitude and revealed to him: "Master, you have a magical fruit that can cure diseases, restore youth, and make people energetic."

He then asked, "Sir, why don't you guess my age?"

Chen Boan saw that although he looked very young, since he asked this question, he couldn't help showing a little pride under his calm expression, so he boldly reported a number: "Sixty?"

Cao Yu's expression cracked, and he touched his face in disbelief: "No way?! I'm not even fifty this year?"

"This... is just a random guess." Chen Boan said embarrassedly.

"Hahaha, it's not your fault, sir. I looked older when I was young." Cao Yu sighed after laughing, "Taking a small amount of spiritual fruit can make a person less likely to get tired physically, but it will still make one feel tired mentally over time!"

The three chatted for a while.

Chen Jizhi was not eager to find out all kinds of news. He only confirmed the information he wanted to know most and then stopped asking. Cao Yu also tactfully said goodbye.

In the following days, the father and son were surprised to find that their movements were not restricted at all. Not only could they enter and leave the government office freely, they even once accidentally wandered into the archers' training ground and were not driven away.

The dozen or so guards who came with them lived like ducks in water. They went to the martial arts field every day to practice spiritual energy and their cultivation improved by leaps and bounds.

Chen Jizhi stayed in Tao County for seven days. He had good food and drink every day and could stroll around. He even felt that if he didn't have so many things in his heart, it would not be a bad thing to spend the rest of his life here.

"Lord Cao, is the Grand Master in the yamen now?" During these seven days, Master Xuanying had not shown up once, so even if Chen Jizhi had any ideas, he had nowhere to express them.

"Your Excellency has gone to the river mouth." Cao Yu was worried that he might misunderstand, so he explained, "Since we started to expand our territory, the Xu Kingdom, the Qu Kingdom, the Da Chen Kingdom, and the Restoration Army have all sent envoys to us, with the intention of winning us over. Your Excellency not only has to receive envoys from various countries, but also has to inspect the work of various places. Once he came back, he was so busy that he didn't even have time to go back to the government office these days!"

These words surprised Chen Jizhi and his son. They had thought that it was just a small force in a corner, but they never imagined that it had become so powerful that other countries had to send envoys!
Cao Yu thought of what Shi Xuanying had said, and said thoughtfully, "The Prime Minister has recovered from his injuries, and I seem to be in good spirits. Why don't we go to the surrounding counties to have a look?"

"Is it okay?" Chen Jizhi suppressed his surprise when he heard that.

"Why not?" Cao Yu agreed and suggested, "Piaoyun County is rebuilding a horse farm recently. Why don't you go over there and take a look?"

"Piaoyun County?" Chen Jizhi was well-informed and had a good memory. After a brief recollection, he remembered that he had seen a kind of horse called "Piaoyun Ju" in "The Art of Horse Physiognomy". "It is said that a divine horse was born in the deep mountains of the southwest. Could it be that it came from this Piaoyun County?"

"The Prime Minister is indeed knowledgeable and experienced. This is exactly the place!" Cao Yu complimented.

Chen Boan was a little worried: "Piaoyun County is deep in the mountains. Is it cheap to travel there?"

"It's only three to five days!" Cao Yu said mysteriously, "If you are interested, you may as well find out." Three to five days? How is that possible!
After they changed the water route, they saw the towering mountains on both sides reaching into the sky. Even if there was a road into the mountains, it would not take only three or five days unless there was a water route going downstream.

Cao Yu arranged everything and dispatched sixteen martial artists and seven or eight servants to escort the father and son along the way.

Not to mention how shocked the father and son were after seeing the cave, Cao Yu now felt greatly relieved as he looked at the carriage going away.

He knew that Chen Jizhi would be given an important position, so it would certainly be beneficial to have a good relationship with him now. However, this prime minister was too sharp and wise, and he could get a lot of information out of him during a conversation without him realizing it. He finally lay down to rest for an hour or two every day, but as soon as he closed his eyes and recalled the content of the conversation, he would regret it so much that he would pound the bed.

The adults only told us not to trust Qu Shan, but they didn't say that Chen Jizhi could be trusted completely!

He tossed and turned for several days and finally came up with a "good idea".

——Send the person to Xin County Magistrate Liu!

County Magistrate Liu was Liu Zhubu who was transferred from Linxi County. He was also the first person to surrender.

Although County Magistrate Liu is only the County Magistrate of Xin County now, he actually manages the government affairs of Xin County, Qingshan County, and Piaoyun County. His authority is almost as much as that of a prefecture official! And all the officials he brought with him are his own people!
In Piaoyun County, the indigenous chieftain originally served as the county magistrate, and he has not been replaced until now. However, in order to allow the indigenous people to integrate with outsiders as quickly as possible, Shi Xuanying sent troops to garrison there, and at the same time selected people from outside to fill the positions of county magistrate and chief clerk.

Because of the sacred horses, Piaoyun County and Qingshan County had a brief prosperity, but they were soon abandoned. Those outsiders came and went as they pleased, and the originally large number of wild horses was reduced to only a few. After a hundred years of reproduction, some of them finally returned, and now someone wants to destroy them again? Therefore, some of them are very resistant to the outside world, and it is even more impossible for them to accept the county magistrate from outside.

Shi Xuanying did not force them, but she could not allow them to just take advantage, so she secretly demoted the county magistrates of Piaoyun County and Qingshan County and appointed them as their immediate superiors.

With the miracles of Lady Xi in front and various benefits behind, if they did not even agree to this, one could imagine that there would be all kinds of big sticks waiting for them later, so the two counties had no choice but to accept it reluctantly.

Cao Yu wanted to relax for the moment, but he didn't expect that he would start to regret it within half a month.

In addition to the Xiao family army, the Southwest Army and the crossbowmen, Shi Xuanying also recruited more than 10,000 new soldiers from the local people and new refugees. After the integration, the number of soldiers reached nearly 80,000.

In addition, Yan Cui decided to add a new batch of cavalry, and the cavalry training ground was in Piaoyun County!
Chen Jizhi felt itchy when he saw the three counties that needed to be redeveloped, and often couldn't help but give some advice.

Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Liu immediately and enthusiastically invited Chen Jizhi to jointly build Piaoyun County. He originally wanted to find something for him to do so that he wouldn't have to run around everywhere, but he unexpectedly got a pleasant surprise!
It turns out that Chen Jizhi not only knows how to train cavalry, but is also good at building houses, making various farm tools, farming and raising livestock, and even smelting iron to make weapons...

When Shi Xuanying finished her work and turned back to look for someone, the old prime minister was already working in full swing in Piaoyun County.

Chen Jizhi looked at the houses rising from the ground, the stored hay filling the warehouses, the full ears of rice in the fields, and the joy of the harvest on the faces of the people. He felt unprecedented joy and satisfaction in his heart.

He had tried hard in Qu State, but unfortunately, instead of feeling a sense of accomplishment, he felt extremely tormented. Because the people of Qu State were almost worn out by the war and could not see the future, everything he did seemed to extend their lives and make them suffer for a longer time.

"The Prime Minister must have made a decision?"

Chen Jizhi let go of the wheat ears in his hand and turned around to see Shi Xuanying looking at him with a smile.