"You'd rather believe a drunkard trying to sow discord than trust your husband?!"
Yun Lie was slightly annoyed, and lowered his head to bite her earlobe. "Tomorrow I'll bring her over, and you can ask her again in person. If she can really say anything, I'll twist my head off and give it to you."
Seeing his self-righteous and arrogant attitude, Luo Cuiwei suddenly realized that she was in the wrong, so she immediately snuggled into his arms and meowed, "Okay, I was wrong. But what would I do with your head?"
"Hmph," Yun Lie pressed on relentlessly, his thin lips burning with anger as he moved them to her neck, "Your unfounded suspicions just now have damaged my reputation!"
"So...serious?" Luo Cuiwei shrank back, unable to escape, and had no choice but to submit to his demands. "Then, how...how do you compensate me? Ten cartloads of grain...is that enough?"
Her soft voice, which was trying hard to be harmonious, was mixed with broken low moans.
"No, since you're a decent person, I'll give you a discount," a deep, hoarse voice said with a laugh, "I'll give you back a child instead."
"Oh, this..."
As if remembering something, Yun Lie suddenly emphasized through gritted teeth in the darkness, "It has to be the kind that can call me 'Father'!"
If he has a child who dares to call him "uncle," he will definitely throw that little dumpling out to feed the dogs, and he means it!
----2018/3/23 3:25:52|52743761----
55. Chapter Fifty-Five
The fiefdom granted to Yunlie by Emperor Xianlong included Linchuan City within the defense zone, as well as Tongshan, Chengwu, Qinglu, Hengxi, and Changfan.
There are nominally six cities in total.
Linchuan City is located at a border fortress, the site of the defense camp, and the front line of conflict with the Northern Di people. It is a military-controlled area and not suitable for developing people's livelihood. The other five cities are depopulated, and the few remaining people are scattered in various places. The original government offices at all levels have long been ineffective.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this that his ascension to the fiefdom was so smooth, with almost no obstacles.
After all, even if the other princes had any ideas about Linchuan, they only hoped to take away the military power of the Linchuan army to strengthen their own power, and had no interest in taking over the entire impoverished and desolate six cities of Linchuan.
In other words, although Yun Lie was the first of the five princes to receive a fiefdom, he actually inherited a mess of everything that needed rebuilding, which kept him very busy.
After the lively welcome banquet, everyone returned to their places and continued to perform their duties.
The next day, Yun Lie did not go out, but sent someone to summon Song Jiuyuan to the courtyard to discuss the next steps.
After days of hard work and visits, they finally managed to get a rough idea of the actual population and settlement patterns within the territory.
Song Jiuyuan had been accompanying Yun Lie on his visits for the past few days and was aware of these situations, so he had a general idea of what was going on.
“The population within the domain is already sparse and scattered in various places. This is not only extremely detrimental to the revitalization of agriculture and commerce, but more seriously, it will also cause difficulties in the subsequent issuance of government orders.”
Yun Lie and his trusted subordinates all came from the Linchuan Army, and their strategies were more inclined towards military style.
Those who are good at military affairs never act rashly or seek superficial glory; they strive for steady progress and aim directly at the core issues.
In their plan, they are not in a hurry to set up the so-called feudal government offices; improving people's livelihood, building new cities, and firmly establishing their foothold are the first steps they are currently focusing on.
Yun Lie raised his hand to stroke his chin, gazing thoughtfully at the sand table on the table. "If we want to make a breakthrough within one or two years, the best way is to gather as many people in the industry as possible in one place."
Only by quickly gathering the population scattered across the five cities into one place can a new city be built in the shortest possible time.
Once the new city is fully operational and matures, with the local population growing and the influx of outsiders, another city can be gradually built according to their pre-planned layout.
“But right now, government offices at all levels are practically useless. If we try to get people to relocate by issuing decrees, we won’t see much success in the short term,” Song Jiuyuan frowned and sighed inwardly. “Besides, the recruitment order has been out for almost a month, and there are very few people who have responded. Most of the capable people are just watching and waiting. We don’t have many people who are useful for government affairs.”
After pondering for a moment, Yun Lie turned to look at the sky outside the window and instructed Song Jiuyuan, "Immediately send someone on horseback to deliver a letter of invitation to the Fu family of Tongshan. I will personally go to pay my respects to the head of the Fu family tomorrow."
The Fu family of Tongshan is one of the most prominent families in the area, enjoying considerable prestige among the local people.
Yun Lie plans to start by persuading the prominent families in the five cities. As long as one or two large local clans agree to relocate, the other scattered people will follow.
Just as the old proverb says, "If you want to attract phoenixes, first plant a grove of parasol trees"; with a population, cities will soon rise from the ground, and then people will come to answer the call for talent.
****
On the 28th day of the eighth month of the 42nd year of Xianlong, at the hour of Mao (5-7 AM).
As dawn broke, a gentle breeze carried the chill of early autumn, and the night dew rustled softly.
Yun Lie was going to Tongshan in person today, so he got up very early.
After he finished getting ready, he habitually turned back to the bedroom, preparing to say a "not-so-proper" farewell to his sleeping wife, only to find Luo Cuiwei sitting in the middle of the bed wrapped in a quilt.
At this moment, Luo Cuiwei was still dazed, wrapped in the quilt, making her look like a fluffy, round cotton candy.
Yun Lie's heart trembled instantly. He couldn't help but walk over and sit on the edge of the couch, wrapping his arms around her and taking a light bite on her cheek.
Still feeling groggy, Luo Cuiwei's senses were all dulled. After being disturbed like this, it took her quite a while to slowly turn her head and glare at people with sleepy eyes.
Why are you biting me?
A languid, sweet voice murmured into Yun Lie's ears, like someone had grabbed a handful of sugar and gently caressed it along his earlobe, slowly seeping into his heart.
It's sweet, and it's also very tantalizing.
"I didn't bite you? You're dreaming," he chuckled, his large hand gently rubbing the spot on her cheek where she had been bitten, taking advantage of her still-sleepy mind. "Why are you up so early?"
It seems he was too "soft-hearted" last night, tsk tsk.
Luo Cuiwei blinked her still heavy eyelids, and instead of answering, asked blankly, "Why are you up so early?"
"Are you a parrot? You're even mimicking others," Yun Lie couldn't help but laugh, cupping her face in his hands and rubbing it. "I'm going to Tongshan to visit the head of the Fu family, so I need to leave early to make it back before sunset."