kvmb Chapter 565 Prefect Li has arrived, and good days are on the horizon.
Chapter 565 Prefect Li has arrived, and good days are on the horizon.
In Li Mingyuan's view, he had always been doing what an official should do, but...
He simply did his duty, yet the people of Taiping County were so grateful to him that they even called him a "righteous and just official." It's hard to imagine just how corrupt the officials in this world really are!
"Old man."
Li Mingyuan held the old man's hand, his eyes welling up with tears: "Don't worry, even if I don't become the magistrate of Taiping County, I will still think of you and make sure you live a good life."
Taiping County belongs to Taicang Prefecture, and Li Mingyuan's promotion this time is to serve as the prefect of Taicang Prefecture. Strictly speaking, he can still govern Taiping County.
"Master Li..."
The old man also knew that Li Qingyun's promotion was a good thing, and he shouldn't stop Li Qingyun.
So, he racked his brains and came up with a few idioms to offer Li Qingyun his sincerest blessings: "May you rise steadily in your career and achieve great success."
"Lord Li, I wish you ever-rising rank."
"Lord Li, may you have a safe journey and rise to great heights."
"A good official like Lord Li will surely rise higher and higher, eventually becoming one of the Three Dukes."
"..."
Other people also offered their blessings. They knew that Lord Li's promotion was a foregone conclusion, and all they could do now was wish him well.
"Thank you, thank you all, fellow villagers."
Looking at those sincere faces, Li Mingyuan was deeply moved and bowed repeatedly to the people. This scene evoked complex emotions in the hearts of the people.
They had seen many officials who oppressed and exploited them, but Li Mingyuan was the first to treat them so politely, even to the point of bowing to them.
"Lord Li, may you have a safe journey."
"A good official like Lord Li will surely live to be a hundred and rise to great heights."
"Lord Li, please visit Taiping County more often when you have time."
"..."
Amidst the farewells of the people, Li Mingyuan boarded the carriage, which was driven by an old servant, and headed to Taicang County to assume his post.
During his ten years as county magistrate, Li Mingyuan was diligent and selfless, never taking a single penny for himself. As a result, he was very poor. Compared with other officials who traveled with a large entourage, Li Mingyuan always traveled with only an old servant and a carriage. His entourage was even less impressive than that of some wealthy families.
…………
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Several days later, Li Mingyuan arrived in Taicang County by carriage.
Li Mingyuan had assumed that the prefectural city would be more prosperous than Taiping County, but he discovered this when he entered the city...
The population of the prefectural city may be larger than that of Taiping County, but the lives of its people may not be as good as those of Taiping County.
After ten years of governance by Li Mingyuan, the people of Taiping County lived in peace and contentment. While not everyone was well-fed and clothed, the number of people who starved to death was extremely small.
In contrast, the prefectural city... although larger than Taiping County, had even more beggars...
Upon entering the city, Li Mingyuan saw many filthy beggars lying idly on the street. What was even more unacceptable was that most of these beggars were able-bodied adults...
Li Mingyuan knew that these adults were not all lazy, but rather that they had no land and could not find work to support themselves, so they had no choice but to beg on the streets.
"grown ups."
Perhaps out of fear of Li Mingyuan's official robes, the older beggar did not choose to beg from him. Instead, a younger beggar with bright eyes grabbed Li Mingyuan's trouser leg and pleaded, "Can you give me some food?"
Li Mingyuan looked down at the little beggar, but saw that the little beggar's face was covered with a layer of dirt, making it impossible to see his face. However, his sunken cheeks and thin body still made Li Mingyuan feel a little pity.
"Child, what is your name?"
Li Mingyuan asked softly.
"My name is Li Qiao, sir."
"It's still my family's."
Li Mingyuan smiled and asked the old servant to take out some dry food and give it to Li Qiao. Li Qiao seemed to be extremely hungry, or perhaps afraid that other older beggars would snatch the food he had worked so hard to beg for. So he grabbed the flatbread that the old servant handed him and wolfed it down. He even ate so fast that the dry food got stuck in his throat and he couldn't swallow it.
Seeing this, Li Mingyuan quickly handed over a water bottle, saying, "No need to rush, eat slowly, no one will take it from you."
Li Qiao took the water bottle and chugged down half of it, then continued to eat the dry rations in his hand at an astonishing speed.
After finishing his dry rations, Li Qiao patted his lower abdomen, knelt down on both knees, and kowtowed three times to Li Mingyuan: "Sir, thank you for giving me food."
"You're welcome."
Li Mingyuan waved his hand and suddenly said, "How about you come with me from now on?"
"Will I be able to get enough to eat if I follow you?"
"of course can."
"Then I'll follow you."
Thus, this little beggar named Li Qiao became a family member who accompanied Li Mingyuan for decades...
To Li Mingyuan's surprise, Li Qiao, a beggar, possessed a talent for martial arts that could be described as monstrous.
After a chance encounter with martial arts, Li Qiao conveyed his idea of learning martial arts to Li Mingyuan.
Li Mingyuan did not refuse, but instead found a martial arts manual for Li Qiao to study on his own. He originally thought that Li Qiao would not achieve anything in martial arts, but unexpectedly...
Relying solely on a low-grade martial arts manual, and without even the help of cultivation resources, Li Qiao broke through to the seventh rank in just three years...
After that, Li Qiao combined his own martial arts insights with the original low-grade techniques to create a martial art called "Wood-Chopping Knife Technique".
Because it was a self-created martial art, neither Li Qiao nor Li Mingyuan knew its grade. However, Li Qiao used this martial art to break through to the middle grade and then cultivated all the way to the third grade...
Li Qiao's talent in cultivating to the upper third rank without any resources was astonishing, even to the well-informed Li Mingyuan!
However, for Li Mingyuan, Li Qiao's talent for martial arts was just an unexpected bonus. The most important thing was to govern Taicang County well.
After taking office as prefect, Li Mingyuan did not slack off in the slightest. He first cracked down on the petty officials who preyed on the people, then enforced strict laws to restrain the powerful families and landlords in Taicang County, and then carried out a large number of water conservancy projects to make it easier for the people to irrigate their crops.
In addition, Li Mingyuan drastically reduced the corvée labor in Taicang County, relieving the people of much of the suffering caused by corvée labor.
Under Li Mingyuan's governance, the entire Taicang County was revitalized, and the lives of the people improved day by day. The people of Taicang County praised Li Mingyuan's wisdom and said that a good prefect had come to Taicang County. With the arrival of Prefect Li, the good days of the people had begun.