Chapter 79: The Welcome Spring Seal
Chen Ping'an had not yet left the mountains when he already sensed the earth-shattering changes in the town. Apart from standing atop Dizhen Mountain and overlooking the town, where dust was rising everywhere, he also saw nearly a hundred able-bodied men near Yuanmu Peak, mostly former kiln workers with exceptional strength and a tolerance for hardship, busily felling huge trees.
Chen Ping'an approached and found an acquaintance who had once worked at the same kiln firing porcelain. Upon asking, he learned that the town was planning to build four major structures all at once: the county government office, the Wenchang Pavilion, the Martial Sage Temple, and the City God Temple. The leader was a young newly appointed Supervisor named Wu Yuan. As for the other title of County Magistrate—what kind of official post it was, or what the county government office really was—the townspeople didn't understand and didn't care. They only knew that for now, they had an extra iron rice bowl, with wages so tempting that the earnings were greater than when they used to fire porcelain in the dragon kilns.
Previously, with the kiln business cut off and the kiln fires extinguished, the able-bodied kiln workers had to face the soil and sky all year round, only able to tend to their crops. Making a living to support their families was already difficult, let alone earning a few copper coins. So now, the entire town was filled with renewed enthusiasm, treating Lord Wu Yuan as a god of wealth. Moreover, the wealthy lords of the Four Surnames and Ten Clans, who usually kept to themselves deep inside their homes, showed extreme respect in their behavior toward Lord Wu, who was a generation or even two younger than them. Their words carried a sense of close camaraderie between officials and commoners, and their more subtle gazes hid flattery. The townspeople were not blind—even if they were frogs at the bottom of a well and lacked broad knowledge, they were not bad at reading expressions.
Now, County Magistrate Wu Yuan had the family heads of the Four Surnames and Ten Clans come forward to hire five or six hundred able-bodied young men from the town. They entered the mountains to fell timber and transport it out, and for this purpose, a slide path was specially carved into Yuanmu Peak. Because many of the giant logs meant for beams and pillars would take too much time and effort to carry down the mountain by human strength alone, they could be placed on that slide path, and each log would slide down to the foot of the mountain by itself. However, as a result, Yuanmu Peak now looked as if a scar had been deliberately cut across its face.
Besides going into the mountains, there was also work in the water. Many of the town's male laborers carried sand and stones from the creek, and at the eastern city gate—the chosen site for the county government office—they tore down Zheng Dafeng's rammed-earth hut and re-compacted the foundation. Even the old wooden fence gate, which had endured countless storms, was completely dismantled.
When Chen Ping'an left the mountains, he did not take the winding mountain paths. Instead, he hopped from stone to stone along the stream, heading downstream, which saved a lot of time. Some townspeople, seeing the figure of a youth carrying a basket, were not particularly surprised. Most of them knew that there was an orphan in Niiping Lane who had been skilled at gathering herbs and making charcoal since childhood. Once he entered the mountains, he was like a monkey—no one could catch up.
Chen Ping'an stopped where two streams converged. A little more than two zhang further downstream, there was a pitted stone cliff where a crowd had gathered. On the bank and on a protruding green rock near the cliff, two burly young men stood, each with a golden-thread-wrapped scabbard at their waist. They wore clean, sharp black robes with a thin layer of green gauze over them, their hair tied up with hairpins. Both exuded a sharp, fierce aura.
The moment the straw-sandal youth appeared, the two men simultaneously shifted their gaze, fixing their eyes on Chen Ping'an as he emerged from nowhere, their hands already resting on the hilts of their knives.
Chen Ping'an, carrying a basket of herbs, stood still, his expression calm.
This youth had experienced two life-or-death fights in alleys—one against Cai Jinjian, the other against Fu Nanhua. He had fled in all directions under the pursuit of the guardian ape of Zhengyang Mountain, and finally, he had fought a one-on-one duel with his peer Ma Kuxuan at the Immortal's Grave. His opponents had either been lofty celestial beings, mighty exotic beasts seasoned in countless battles, or destiny-favored lucky ones. Yet Chen Ping'an had survived through it all.
Thus, the sinister gazes of the two knife-wielding men might make common folk tremble with fear, but they could not stir much emotion in Chen Ping'an.
Nevertheless, Chen Ping'an had no desire to stir up trouble. He was just about to step onto the bank and return to town via the mountain path along the creek when he noticed a young man, surrounded by a cluster of people like stars around the moon, smiling as he said something to the knife-wielding attendant standing in the stream. The latter immediately released his grip on the knife hilt. The young man, who had been sitting cross-legged, slowly rose to his feet. He was actually half a head taller than the two knife-wielding attendants, with skin as fair as a woman's and a somewhat effeminate face. He waved at Chen Ping'an, switching to the local dialect of the town, his expression gentle. "Don't be afraid," he said with a smile. "Just keep going the way you were. We're not bad people."
His local dialect was a bit rough and halting, but Chen Ping'an understood every word clearly. After a moment's hesitation, Chen Ping'an gave the tall man a smile, then pointed to the bank, indicating that he would soon come ashore and not disturb their conversation.
Before the man could say anything, Chen Ping'an nimbly leaped a few times, without any hesitation, and landed on the bank. His slim figure quickly disappeared into the lush, tree-shaded path.
The somewhat effeminate man withdrew his hand, looking a bit disappointed. His attendant officials and guards suppressed their laughter, and the man said awkwardly, "That herb-gathering youth has some impressive skills, doesn't he? See, I told you this place is blessed with outstanding people. So don't complain that this place isn't as bustling as the capital. Small places have their own concentrated essence and charm—it's a unique flavor."
If he hadn't said anything, it might have been fine, but the magistrate's protesting too much immediately sparked unrestrained laughter.
The tall man was Wu Yuan, the townspeople's god of wealth, the Supervisor of Kiln Affairs, and the first County Magistrate of Longquan. Faced with the mockery of his subordinates, he didn't get angry. He sat back down and continued their previous topic. "The Longquan County Government Office, the Wenchang Pavilion, the Martial Sage Temple, and the City God Temple—these four buildings alone will need at least fifteen or sixteen plaques, scattered here and there. His Majesty was overjoyed that the Li Zhu Cave Heaven descended smoothly and connected seamlessly with the Great Li territory, preserving seven or eight-tenths of its original geography without a single major earthquake. Thus, he was in such high spirits that he personally granted a plaque inscribed with 'Review the Old and Learn the New' for the Wenchang Pavilion..."
When Wu Yuan reached this point, a young man with an elegant, refined air smiled and said, "Lord Wu, didn't you try to get a piece of His Majesty's calligraphy for our county office?"
Wu Yuan sighed. "I asked, of course I asked. But His Majesty didn't agree. What choice did I have? And you can't really blame His Majesty—if a mere county office got an imperial gift of His Majesty's golden brush, how would the governors and provincial inspectors, those high-ranking officials, survive? Do I still want to navigate the officialdom in the future?"
Everyone chuckled knowingly.
Wu Yuan comforted them. "Fortunately, Mr. Liu and the National Academy's Grand Sacrificial Official Qi have both agreed to send two sets of plaques, to be hung at the county office and the Martial Sage Temple respectively. The problem now is that the Wenchang Pavilion still needs three plaques, and the City God Temple still needs two. So, how about you all think of something? Or do I really have to pick up the brush myself? My handwriting looks like earthworms crawling—even my own teacher despairs of it. Of course, if you're not ashamed of it, I certainly don't mind. This is my one and only chance to have my calligraphy turned into a large plaque!"
The young man with the refined aura thought for a moment, then said, "I'll write a letter to my grandfather. He has a good relationship with that reclusive Mr. Baiqiu. I'll see if we can manage to bring some glory to your face, Lord Wu."
Wu Yuan patted him on the shoulder. "Then I'll entrust my face to you. If the plaques end up insufficient, the magistrate's face will fall to the ground and can't be picked up. I'll hold you solely responsible."
The young man's expression stiffened, feeling as if he had dug a pitfall for himself.
The other colleagues, not much older than him, all showed expressions of sympathy. Everyone knew that Lord Wu's personality was like climbing a pole—give him a little bit of color, and he'd dare to open the biggest dyeing workshop in the capital. Who dares to compete with him in being thick-skinned?
These young men, who didn't carry much official authority, all bore a title prevalent in the northern dynasties of the Eastern Treasure Vase Continent: Secretary-Lang.
This title had two types: civil and military. Civil Secretary-Langs were like aides and strategists, offering plans and solving problems. Military Secretary-Langs were the two robust young men with golden-thread-wrapped knives at their waists, serving as personal bodyguards to protect the safety of their principal. However, the position of Secretary-Lang belonged to the clerk-official stratum and was not included among the clean-stream regular officials of the court. The sons of aristocratic families entering officialdom often hired or employed guest-retainers or patrons to serve as civil or military Secretary-Langs. Of course, the court also allocated slots, ranging from two to twenty people, all of whom could receive salaries from Great Li.
Wu Yuan was of humble origin and couldn't afford to hire Secretary-Langs privately. These civil Secretary-Langs were all allocated by the court. Originally, Longquan County, as a large county on the map of Great Li—not even a prefecture—could only be allocated one civil and one military Secretary-Lang. But the two military Secretary-Langs with golden-thread-wrapped scabbards were clearly high-ranking experts from the Great Li military who had achieved outstanding merit; otherwise, they wouldn't be qualified to wear such knives.
In fact, the very fact that Wu Yuan could become the first magistrate of Great Li's Longquan County already spoke volumes.
The young magistrate's teacher was the Great Li National Teacher, nicknamed the "Embroidery Tiger."
His future father-in-law was a Pillar of State who had spent half his life on the battlefields of Great Li's borders.
After the joking, Wu Yuan said seriously, "These four buildings already represent a massive amount of work. Moreover, regarding the selection of sites for the Immortal's Grave and the Old Porcelain Mountain, the town side—from the Sage Ruan to the Four Surnames and Ten Clans clustered on Fulu Street and Taoye Lane—are all being evasive. Obviously, things won't go smoothly, and there's going to be a lot of trouble. But the truly important and troublesome matter is that the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Observatory, and the Academy will all gather here next to confer the titles of Mountain God and River God. If it weren't for the immense resistance to the matter of the Great Mountain God, which has made even His Majesty hesitate, he would have come to Longquan County in person."
Seeing their increasingly grave expressions, Wu Yuan took out a dry cake, took a fierce bite, and said lightly, "Whether the great temple for the Great Mountain God can finally be built on Piyun Mountain within our jurisdiction, and whether it can become the new Northern Marchmount of Great Li, is really not something we can meddle in. We're just small fish and shrimp in the county office. So don't bite on dry cakes while worrying about the concerns of the central ministers. Let those officials in purple and gold robes fuss over it."
The moods of those around him improved slightly.
Wu Yuan gnawed on the dry cake in silence, hesitated a moment, then said indistinctly, "There's news that's both good and bad. After the fall of the Lu Dynasty, how to deal with the surviving remnants of the fallen kingdom has always been a big problem. Our Longquan County will next receive five to ten thousand convicts—a mixed bag, people from all walks of life. The Great Li military will strictly supervise their migration and be responsible for escorting this group of criminals. This move has both advantages and disadvantages for us. The good side is that Longquan County will finally start to look like a proper large county. The bad side is that it will be a chaotic mess, making it even harder for us, who are already unfamiliar with the place, to get a handle on things. We'll have to work hard to win over the local powerhouses who choose to stay in the town."
The young man from a prestigious family who had become a Secretary-Lang asked, "Can we divide and conquer those large clans?"
Wu Yuan shook his head without hesitation. "Difficult. We've just arrived—who would be willing to trust us?"
Wu Yuan said solemnly, "Rather than making a clumsy move and alerting the enemy, it's better to take it slow. We've come to this place with an extremely complex historical background. Naturally, you have followed me, Wu Yuan, in pursuit of a bright future. But we must clearly understand one thing: it is under great difficulties and great challenges that we can trade for great wealth and fortune. So, if any of you think you can get promoted and get rich in a year or two, I think you can turn around and leave now. I, Wu Yuan, will cover the travel expenses."
The six civil and military Secretary-Langs stood with resolute expressions. None of them showed any sign of fear or hesitation.
Wu Yuan said softly, "Remember this well: do not act rashly."
This was by no means empty talk from Wu Yuan. Shortly after entering the town, he had suffered a silent defeat. When he mobilized the official forces of Great Li to suppress that qi refiner from Ziyan River, it was his stubborn decision, risking censure from the court, to act first and report later, trying to break the deadlock. His aim was to first win the favor of Sage Ruan, then use the Sage's influence to pressure the Four Surnames and Ten Clans.
It turned out that His Majesty the Emperor did not pursue the matter. But the reaction of Sage Ruan at the time made Wu Yuan break out in a cold sweat, and he wished he could slap himself hard.
Someone asked curiously, "Are those exiled convicts going to be used as laborers for the qi refiners, helping them develop the barren mountains?"
Wu Yuan nodded. "Besides that, the court will also have the qi refiners drive two young golden-thread apes over, along with the talisman sect's mountain-moving armored warriors and mountain-opening puppets, striving to open up all sixty-plus mountain peaks within ten years—temples, shrines, pavilions, and pavilions, everything you could want."
The young men around Wu Yuan all showed expressions of longing.
Back in the town, tall buildings were rising everywhere from flat ground. Deep in the mountains, one celestial mansion after another was being built.
Everyone exchanged smiles, understanding without words. As the first batch of officials in the history of Great Li's Longquan County, they were destined to be recorded in the annals of history. How could they not unite with one heart and serve the unwavering pillar Wu Yuan with absolute loyalty?
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At the summit of Piyun Mountain, a handsome young man with a beauty mark between his eyebrows casually flicked his sleeve, parting the sea of clouds around the mountainside. Straining his eyes into the distance, he saw an oxcart and a horse-drawn carriage at the end of his line of sight.
He laughed heartily. "Let the betting begin! Qi Jingchun, if I win this bet, then the two incense sticks of hope you painstakingly left behind will be completely severed. Pitiful, pitiful."
The young man pinched a seal between his fingers, the seal-script characters reading "All Under Heaven Welcomes Spring."
With a sudden burst of force from his two fingers, the seal cracked and shattered into powder, rapidly dispersing into the world.
The reason he could crush the seal so easily was that the true meaning of those four characters had already dissipated of its own accord—like a person whose heart had grown cold and utterly disappointed.
He quickly withdrew his gaze, finally seeing a youth carrying a basket walking alone toward the town.