People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 640 Adding Charcoal
When the request from Xu Chen was urgently reported to the capital from the southern border, a man in the Prime Minister's Office could no longer sit still.

He was a man in his fifties or sixties. Although he was not young anymore, he was still in his prime for the position of prime minister. He was Zhou Liang, who had successfully drilled through the ocean and led a fleet to find the New World.

Since Xu Chen stepped down as prime minister, Xuanxia has had three more prime ministers, Wang Dang, Lu Ping and Zhao Yun. Each transfer of power was very calm and stable, which has basically set a good example for future generations. There is almost no possibility of a revival of the imperial system. Even if an ambitious person who wants to monopolize power really appears in the future, it will be difficult for him to cross this last red line.

What the founding heroes, including Xu Chen, did not do, the later generations have no right to do.

However, today, the founding generation has entered their old age. People like Wang Dang, who have been fighting for many years and are relatively old, have passed away early in office. The helmsman of Xuanxia cannot help but consider the future.

Zhou Liang, who had made great contributions and was a member of the transitional generation between the old and the new, naturally became the successor.

As a prime minister who represented the transition between the revolutionary generation and the new generation, Zhou Liang did a pretty good job. It was also during his term that the surrounding tributary states finally reaped the rewards after Xuan Xia's long-term management.

King Wei Gong of Goguryeo, who was once Zhou Liang's classmate, was the first to abdicate and submit to the country. This was like a signal that started the trend of submission among other countries and tribes. The few small countries like Japan that resisted stubbornly could only face the military attack of Xuanxia.

Although Zhou Liang is a purely technical person, he is still able to focus on national interests after becoming the prime minister. Whether it is the friendship of his former classmates or the option of launching a war, he can make a choice without any psychological burden.

It was with this awareness that he completed the task he was supposed to complete at the right time. The long-term plan that Xu Chen had buried when the alliance was first established was finally smoothly implemented, which also made Xu Chen quite satisfied with the new prime minister.

But this satisfaction seems to be being tested now.

"What, the leader wants to see me!"

In the Prime Minister's Office, Zhou Liang stood up suddenly, with an expression of surprise and joy on his face. He was happy that Xu Chen, who had disappeared for more than a year, finally showed up on his own initiative, but he was surprised because he clearly felt that the tone of the order to summon him was not right.

Now sitting in this position, Zhou Liang is certainly no longer the simple student he used to be. Just the subtle tone is enough to make him vaguely realize that something must have happened.

"Prepare for the trip immediately. I want to get there as quickly as possible!"

Although he didn't quite understand what was wrong, Zhou Liang immediately prepared to set off.

In fact and in name, Xu Chen has completely moved away from the center of power, but everyone knows that it is just Xu Chen's self-restraint. If Xu Chen is willing, he can dominate the country again at any time. No one will dare to go against his will, not even Zhou Liang, the current prime minister.

Of course, Zhou Liang did not go against Xu Chen's wishes. No matter whether this trip was good or bad for him, he would not have any complaints.

Zhou Liang acted very quickly. After being summoned, he immediately settled the current state affairs and hurried south. On the way, he also immediately began to retrieve information from the small county where Xu Chen was.

Of course, he was not naive enough to think that Xu Chen would show up for no reason. He must have found some problem in the local area, and this problem should be quite serious, otherwise he would not be so strong to ask him to go there. This made Zhou Liang start to have all kinds of wild thoughts. It was hard for him to imagine what kind of thing could make Xu Chen end his incognito visits for more than a year.

Could it be another major event on the same scale as the Guan Hai case in Qingzhou more than 20 years ago?
He really wanted to find out some information before rushing there, but unfortunately there was nothing unusual in the information compiled by the clerks. It was just an ordinary small border county. Not only could he not see any problems, but the government's work was done very well.

The development of the southern border areas is naturally not as good as those relatively developed industrial areas in the north, but the industrial development of this small county is quite impressive. It has the salt, sugar and rubber industries, and mineral mining is also on a considerable scale. This is quite eye-catching among the counties in Jiaozhou.

Judging from the performance of this administration, the officials in this area will be promoted sooner or later.

However, this made Zhou Liang even more confused. Xu Chen's incognito visit for more than a year only showed up because of such a relatively well-developed small county. This did not make sense no matter how you looked at it. The local officials were able to do their job so well, and Xu Chen should have given them affirmation. Why was his tone so wrong that he, the prime minister, had to come forward in person to deal with the matter?

Zhou Liang didn't figure this matter out along the way, so he could only hurry on his way with this doubt.

Traveling by boat and car is not an easy thing. Now Xuanxia has a main road that runs through the north and south and the east and west. However, the carriage is still too slow. In order to get to the destination faster, Zhou Liang took the water route from Wuqing Port all the way south and finally arrived successfully after a few days.

It was also at this time that he finally learned the cause of the incident from the locals.

Without stopping along the way, he hurriedly got off the boat and took a carriage to the county government office, while the clerk beside him reported the information he had found out one by one. Only then did Zhou Liang realize that everything was caused by the workers gathering together to petition.

This kind of thing is actually not a big deal. Although the current Xuanxia business laws are clear, there are always business people who do illegal things in pursuit of profit. The government only needs to maintain the law in this matter. However, what makes Zhou Liang helpless is that in this matter, the local county officials have unanimously chosen the side of the merchants.

"Whoever opposes the entrepreneurs, the government will oppose him." Zhou Liang repeated what the county magistrate had said before, and the veins on his forehead throbbed. Then he sighed helplessly, "No wonder the leader couldn't stand it. I never thought they would do things this way."

The clerk at the side thought for a moment and said, "The local county magistrate's actions are likely to be linked to official business. It would be better to call in the local censor to investigate."

Zhou Liang shook his head and said, "We don't need to do that. These few days are enough for the leader to investigate thoroughly. Just prepare for the next step."

The clerk nodded and looked at Zhou Liang again: "Then you, Prime Minister."

At this time, the carriage that had been traveling for a long time finally stopped. After reaching the destination, Zhou Liang became calm instead: "The people below did not do good things. As the prime minister, I naturally have the responsibility. I will accept whatever punishment the master wants."

After saying this, Zhou Liang got off the carriage. When he stopped and looked forward, he saw a county government office of medium size in front of him.

In the past, the county government would inevitably have personnel coming and going when handling the affairs of the county, but the situation here is obviously unusual now. Not only is the gate of the county government closed to prevent people from entering and leaving, but the people guarding the place are no longer clerks but a group of soldiers.

Others may not be able to tell the soldiers' affiliations, but Zhou Liang could tell at a glance that they were all supervisory guards who were also soldiers of his personal guard team. It was also these personal guard teams that usually performed the task of protecting him. These soldiers in front of him were obviously the ones protecting Xu Chen, the real leader.

This was quite a big deal, and it made Zhou Liang smile bitterly. In fact, he was still a little confused about it. Even if there was a case of collusion between officials and businessmen here, Xu Chen shouldn't have made such a big fuss. This kind of thing should just be done the way it should be done.

With such a nervous mood, Zhou Liang walked into the county government office under the guidance of the guards and then went deeper.

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Guarding outside a house inside was Tian Jianguo with a stern face.

The two men just nodded when they met, but had no intention of exchanging pleasantries. After Tian Jianguo opened the door, Zhou Liang straightened his expression and walked into the room in small steps. As soon as he entered, he was greeted by a faint smell of medicine and incense, which made his heart skip a beat.

Looking again, he saw that although the climate in the south was obviously very hot, there was a burning charcoal brazier in the house, which was a few degrees higher than the temperature outside, which made Zhou Liang feel a little uncomfortable.

But now he didn't care about these feelings at all, but focused his eyes on the figure lying on the couch beside him.

He hurried forward and was about to speak, but saw that Xu Chen was sleeping soundly. So he could only swallow his words back and sat aside waiting.

While waiting, he looked at Xu Chen's gloomy state, as if he had a premonition of something, and his mood couldn't help but become depressed.

Time passed in such a quiet atmosphere. Perhaps because he sensed the presence of an outsider, Xu Chen's eyelids lifted slightly before long, and he finally woke up from his deep sleep. He turned his head slightly to glance at Zhou Liang, and after a brief daze, he finally remembered who this person was.

"You're here. I've been waiting for you for a long time." Xu Chen's voice was particularly low.

Zhou Liang quickly stood up, then bowed to Xu Chen and said, "It is the student who is late."

As the honorary principal of Xuanxia Academy, Xu Chen can regard every student in the academy as his adopted student. At this time, Zhou Liang calling himself a student is just a way of being more intimate.

Xu Chen waved his hand, and Zhou Liang hurried over, carefully helped Xu Chen sit up, and covered Xu Chen with a blanket.

"It's time to add some charcoal." Xu Chen said lightly with his eyelids half closed.

Although Zhou Liang's forehead was sweating from the heat, he did not hesitate at all and immediately added charcoal into the charcoal basin, which made the temperature in the room even higher.

Xu Chen then took a serious look at Zhou Liang, and when he saw that Zhou Liang looked exhausted, he smiled.

"State affairs are already busy, and it seems inappropriate to force you to come here, but there are some things I still want to talk to you about. After I finish talking, I can rest assured."

(End of this chapter)