Lu Ming stroked his chin after hearing this. He knew that Wang Yi wouldn't harm him, and he was also quite interested in this Fan Li. "So what's the name of Tao Zhugong's descendant now?" "It's Fan Li. Every direct descendant changes their name to Fan Li."
Wang Yi's expression was also somewhat strange, because they shared the same name.
This kind of thing was quite rare.
"Fan Li?" Lu Ming also found it interesting.
If the descendants weren't good enough, wouldn't that be a kind of defilement?
Thinking of this, he became interested too. "Then I'll see them another day when I have time. Sister Yi, come with me. Let's go to Chang Le Palace to see Mother." A few days later.
Outside Chaisang County, before a lake.
A middle-aged man, wearing a turban and coarse gauze clothes, sat on the shore, a fishing rod in his hand, a fish basket beside him. Alone with his rod, his heart was calm.
This was the composure of a scholar, the life a fisherman dreamed of.
Lu Ming only left after witnessing Sun Yi's execution by slow slicing in Jianye.
At least the resentment of the people of Jianye had been appeased. Next, he would focus on inspecting the military farms and granaries.
Every dynasty has its granary tyrants… and he had to investigate them thoroughly.
Because of natural disasters and man-made calamities, many things were unavoidable.
Every city can build unique structures, including observatories.
The observatory could predict disasters within the dynasty's territory, including locust plagues, floods, and earthquakes.
This gave Lu Ming time to react…
However, dealing with any disaster was no simple task; the core underlying logic was ensuring sufficient supplies.
Therefore, local granaries were essential to maintain a stable supply of grain, not granaries emptied and sold off by corrupt officials.
This led to the creation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and a system of oversight among officials themselves.
If they were respectable, fine; if not, then respectability would be given!
Jianye to Chaisang wasn't far, but Lu Ming didn't go there; instead, he headed east to inspect places like Kuaiji.
The unique structures there were salt fields, located near the sea, where… A large amount of sea salt.
The Rebellion of the Seven States, which occurred not long after the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty, was due to the fact that the strongest of the seven rebellious states, Wu, controlled the minting of coins and the salt production.
Such power had to be held by the imperial family and could not be granted to others.
Therefore, Lu Ming had always...
He controlled personnel, commerce, agriculture, the military, and technology, delegating the rest to his subordinates, which saved him a lot of trouble.
With these things, the entire dynasty would be under his control.
After arriving in Kuaiji, Zhang Zhao also came to take up his post.
Demoted to prefect, Zhang Zhao did not complain and gladly accepted the post.
The foundation here is good; he can achieve results in a few years and then be promoted again based on his political achievements.
Official Life is full of ups and downs, not just smooth sailing.
He took Wang Yi, Lin Daiyu, Xue Baoxu, and the four young ladies of the Jia family to the beach. None of them had ever seen the sea before, so they were all incredibly excited.
Not only them, but every day, Lu Ming would have different women come to serve him and accompany him on the beach.
Life wasn't just about inspections; it also included moments of indulgence and escapades.
Now, news of His Majesty's incognito visit had spread, but no one knew his exact location.
Furthermore, news of Sun Yi's affair had been reported throughout the land. Each prefecture was responsible for relaying the message to the county seat, and the county seat was responsible for relaying it to the villages.
Everyone needed to know that any relative of the empress who abused their power was doomed! They played for a whole month before Lu Ming finally left Kuaiji, only after Wang Yi urged him to.
The beach was indeed fun, but even that gets boring after a while. Going to different places and experiencing different things is essential.
That's life. Life is never about staying in one place monotonously; you need to find new excitement.
Xu Yan, who had just succeeded in her affair, became pregnant. Being a young girl, and with it coinciding with her ovulation period, she was easily seduced.
She was a little nervous and lost during her first pregnancy.
In modern times, she would still be a student, and yet she got pregnant. What a beast!
They traversed the deep mountains from Kuaiji, carving out a road that wound its way through the mountains.
This was a paved road. To prevent weeds and thorns from covering it again.
Many people, to make a living, had to go into the mountains to chop firewood and harvest the weeds to make dry grass for starting a fire.
Even if coal were available, ordinary people couldn't afford it; free firewood was more suitable.
In this era, there were not only wild boars, but also leopards and tigers. The deep mountains and dense forests were extremely dangerous, and not a good place at all.
Many times, people were injured without even knowing why, and some even died.
Lu Ming wasn't interested in hunting tigers. The so-called tiger bone wine was very nourishing—that was all nonsense.
They were all the same bones, all from animals; it was just that scarcity made them valuable.
The cost of a handmade watch was only so much; why insist on calling it a craftsman's... Spiritual pursuits and luxury goods are just a waste of money.
Lu Ming, however, had met the Yue people. These people, having lived in the mountains year-round, possessed unique skills in moving through the forests and had much greater endurance.
Dealing with the Yue people required a policy of appeasement. Treat them well, and they will naturally treat you well in return.
Providing opportunities for labor in exchange for things unavailable in the mountains, making life simpler and more convenient, were all persuasive tactics.
As for those who raided and robbed, they could be defeated and captured.
Make them work for a few days, starve them for a few days, and their so-called willpower would crumble.
Then, to fill their stomachs, they would naturally forget about any backbone.
After all, backbone and ambition are spiritual beliefs, but they can't fill an empty stomach.
Lu Ming only made the first move, and Zhuge Liang knew what to do.
After all, historically, Zhuge Liang knew how to pacify the Southern Regions.
However, with Lu Ming's pacification of the Southern Regions, even Zhu Rong was brought home as a bride, establishing a marriage alliance. Furthermore, the lives of the people in the Southern Regions had indeed improved, and the local clan chiefs, such as Lao Ying, Sheng Li, Guang Zi, and Wu Sui, had also benefited. Everyone had a bright future.
Crossing the mountains, the army marched into a sparsely populated area.
The night was spent camping in the wild. Lu Ming was fine, but Lin Dong and his men were extremely nervous.
After all, this place was far from any village or shop; if something happened, they couldn't bear the responsibility.