From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him

Chapter 489: Chapter 490: Holy Decree

Ever since the snow melted, Ancient Wen Heng had posted men to watch the city gates every day, afraid he would miss the firsthand news of Jin Qianqian’s arrival.

Watching the guards return from their shift change, a faint sense of disappointment settled over Ancient Wen Heng. ’How is it that my wife still hasn’t arrived? Could she have run into trouble on the road?’

He silently calculated the time. Knowing Jin Qianqian’s personality, she should have set out from Fu County long ago.

"Sir, a Holy Decree from the palace has arrived!" Wang Ping came jogging in, not even taking the time to have Ming Feng announce him.

Ancient Wen Heng immediately stood and walked outside. "Have the other officials been notified?"

This decree was probably about the arrangements for the other six officials, so naturally, they had to be present.

"They’ve already been sent for, Sir. Who do you think will get to stay?"

After working together for the past few months, Wang Ping had developed complete and utter faith in Ancient Wen Heng.

The Lu City of today was a far cry from the lifeless city it had been just a few months ago.

The captured bandits had been put to work as hard labor, and he had provided everyone with so many new, labor-saving farm tools. Now, all the common people were full of drive.

On top of that, several nearby cities that had heard the news had resumed contact with them. Not only had the city’s former liveliness been restored, but there were even signs it was beginning to surpass its previous heights.

Ancient Wen Heng said, "You won’t have to be curious for long. We’ll find out in a moment."

Wang Ping was at a loss for words.

Once the Holy Decree was read aloud, everyone’s anxious hearts could finally rest. They had their answer.

Xiao Yuling and the other two were being transferred. It was not a promotion, nor a demotion, but a lateral move to other posts.

The eunuch who read the decree accepted the pouch Li Ping discreetly handed him and nodded in satisfaction.

He didn’t linger. He had another Holy Decree to announce at the General Mansion, so he departed in a hurry with his retinue of guards.

No matter how resentful Xiao Yuling and the others felt, they could only accept the Holy Decree with deference.

They had worked diligently alongside Prefect Gu all this time and had finally started to see some results. They thought their political achievements from this were a sure thing, but they never expected this outcome.

Xiao Yuling said, "Mr. Gu, congratulations!"

The others also chimed in with their congratulations in unison.

Along with the decree ordering their transfers, there had been another one officially promoting Ancient Wen Heng to Fourth-rank Prefect.

In just over a year, Ancient Wen Heng had made such a huge leap. They couldn’t help but feel a mix of envy and admiration.

Even if they had been prejudiced against him before, after spending this time together, they had to admit the man was truly capable.

Ancient Wen Heng replied, "Thank you! Thank you!"

"Mr. He, I will hand over the seal to you shortly." Xiao Yuling forced a smile. Since he had to leave anyway, he might as well be gracious about it.

He Gaofei and the others who were staying felt their minds put at ease. This was an excellent situation for them; they’d be fools to back out. "I’ll have to trouble you then, Mr. Xiao."

With someone taking the lead, the other two, no matter how unwilling they were, had to make their decision on the spot. And just like that, the handover was completed smoothly.

Ancient Wen Heng walked over and patted Xiao Yuling’s shoulder. "You gentlemen have worked hard these past few months. Today, I’ll be the host, as a gesture of thanks for all your diligent efforts."

Xiao Yuling replied, "Mr. Gu, you’re too kind. This was merely what I should have been doing as your subordinate.

"I only hope you can forgive me for the trouble I caused you before."

Ancient Wen Heng said, "To say such things is to treat me as a stranger. We have, after all, worked together. That in itself is a kind of fate. Who knows, perhaps we’ll have the chance to be colleagues again in the future."

Although they all had their own little schemes, their fundamental characters weren’t bad, and they were all highly competent. They had indeed helped him solve many problems recently, so Ancient Wen Heng was naturally willing to show some goodwill.

Seeing their contributions acknowledged, some of the resentment in Xiao Yuling’s and the others’ hearts dissipated.

They were all seasoned veterans of the court. At a moment like this, none of them wanted to make enemies. With a bit of laughter and joking, it was as if all their previous disputes had never existed.

「General Mansion」

Having received the Holy Decree, Zhou Shixiong was in an unprecedentedly good mood, a wide, jubilant grin splitting his face.

Although the decree didn’t explicitly approve the establishment of a Navy, it not only refrained from reprimanding them for their actions over the past six months but actually commended them.

Assistant General Li, however, was scratching his head furiously in the back. ’This isn’t what I expected. Could it be that my secret letter to Shangjing was never received?’

"General, do you think I should go stand guard personally and capture some more of them?" Vice General Wang asked, rubbing his hands together. These past few months had been the most satisfying of his entire career.

Thinking of how the bandits who had once slaughtered and humiliated their people were now paying their debts through hard labor, he wished he could take more men to the coastline and round up even more of them.

This new line of thinking had come from Ancient Wen Heng. In the past, they not only had to feed and house their captives, but in the end, after a period of debate, the civil servants would force them to send the prisoners back. It was infuriating no matter how you looked at it.

Zhou Shixiong knew his gamble had paid off. The Zhou Family had served the Rong Dynasty with their lives for decades, yet they had always been suppressed. Now, with the new, young Emperor on the throne, it seemed he finally had some nerve.

But this was all thanks to Brother Gu. It was his arrival that had brought about such a major turning point.

"No need to rush. Several groups in a row have come and not returned. The next big fish might be about to appear.

"As long as their thieving hearts haven’t died, we can slowly reel in the net."

Vice General Wang said, "But General, it’s only just the start of spring. They shouldn’t be coming this soon."

These bandits always timed their raids perfectly, waiting until after the autumn harvest here to make their move.

It was just as Mr. Gu had said; they were all people driven mad by poverty.

’Don’t they know what their parents gave them hands and feet for? If you want wealth, you can create it yourself.’

"This time will definitely be different," Zhou Shixiong said with a laugh. "They’ve already lost several thousand men. They’ll probably send another envoy over soon."

Assistant General Li was speechless. ’Wasn’t the last envoy detained? They’d dare to come again?’

Vice General Wang chimed in, "Weren’t their so-called envoys from last time put to work farming? Should I go find another patch of wasteland? If there are too many people, they start to slack off."

Assistant General Li felt his sanity fraying. ’We’re talking about envoys, and you’re thinking about farming!’

But Zhou Shixiong actually stroked his chin and considered it. "A small patch of wasteland would be hard to manage. We’ll have to find a larger, more open area to accommodate so many people.

"Those two pieces of wasteland we cleared before have already been planted with crops. We can’t let them stay idle. We’ll send them to the front to repair the city walls."

"Great General, we can’t do that!" Assistant General Li jumped in. "Repairing the city walls is a matter of utmost importance! How can we let bandits take part in it?"

"What’s wrong with it? It’s just grunt work." Vice General Wang was getting really tired of this Li Ji, who was always playing the contrarian. He was always the one making trouble.

Li Ji voiced his concern, "What if they deliberately leave a flaw? It would be a complete catastrophe for the people inside the city."