after being kidnapped by the general

These people had already heard about the changes in Youzhou from merchants, but they were still shocked when they saw the smooth roads and the people living and working in peace.

Today is different from the past, Yuanli got the news just after they arrived in Youzhou.He sent two Youzhou natives with outstanding abilities among his personal soldiers—Kong Ran and Gu Yue—to meet these great Confucian scholars, and took them to visit several places in Youzhou before coming to Ji County. famous view.

Taking advantage of this time difference, Yuanli quickly began to arrange the lantern festival.

As early as a month ago, Yuanli made people publicize that Ji County will hold a Lantern Festival in mid-May every market day.This is the first time that Ji County holds a Lantern Festival, so it must be lively, and all the people should come to join in the fun.

It also allows these southerners to take a good look at the difference between Youzhou and the outside world.

There is an undercurrent surging outside, but the people in Youzhou live in peace, and there is even such a prosperous lantern festival, isn't it implicitly showing the strength of Youzhou?

Lanterns are easy to learn and easy to use. After learning that the government bought lanterns, many people made lanterns with grass and trees to earn some spare money.

The finished lanterns were gradually placed on the market, no matter under the house, beside the road, or by the river... There are shadows of lanterns everywhere.

The people are very excited about this, and when they meet and talk to each other, they always say: "Have you made lanterns?" "Can you take your children to the Lantern Festival?"...

Many businessmen who were interested in the Lantern Festival did not leave after the festival, but found a place to stay temporarily, waiting for the Lantern Festival to start.

Yuan Song soon came to Yuan Li and said, "Jixian County should be expanded. More and more people are coming to live in Jixian County. If it is not expanded, Jixian County will not be able to accommodate people."

Yuan Li agreed immediately, and let Yuan Song decide.

Yuan Song was in a good mood, and said with a smile: "There are more and more people in Guangyang County. I think the harvest this year and next will be good."

Of course it is.

Yuanli divided the 50 victims who flooded into Youzhou after the snow disaster last year among counties and counties in Youzhou, and allocated them barren fields for cultivation.The refugees in Bingzhou were also assigned to the land. The Huanglong uprising army harmed many powerful landlords in the area, allowing Yuanli and the others to take advantage of it for nothing.

Why is the tax collected by the Beizhou government getting lower and lower?It is precisely because of these powerful landlords and aristocratic families, no matter which one is selected, they have occupied countless fertile land and tenants, and they are the emperors of small countries.

That's why ordinary people can't afford to eat, so as long as the rebel army takes down a powerful landlord, it's like breaking through a rat's nest, and they can get spoils for their sustainable development.

Today's Youzhou and Bingzhou have no such powerful landlords, and the land is firmly held in Yuanli's hands, so the grain production will naturally increase year by year.

Yuanli really has no shortage of land, what he lacks is the common people who cultivate the land.

But soon... Soon, in the past few months, more and more people have fled to Youzhou, and the situation in Bingzhou has gradually stabilized. Yuanli believes that by the end of this year, the number of people in Youzhou will double times.

He also plans to recruit again this fall.

The Lantern Festival is scheduled for May [-]th.

This day is not a traditional festival, and there is nothing to talk about, so Yuanli designated this day as the annual Lantern Festival in Youzhou. Autumn can also have a bumper harvest.

Therefore, this Lantern Festival is called "Panfeng Festival".

The day before the Panfeng Festival, Kong Ran and Gu Yue finally arrived in Ji County with the famous Confucian scholars from the south.

Yuanli greeted them personally, and prepared a banquet to drink and have fun with them. During the banquet, he inadvertently mentioned the "Panfeng Festival" that will be held tomorrow, so that these famous Confucian scholars can have fun.

Those who are willing to travel thousands of miles to Youzhou are either those who are extremely curious about Yuanli and Chu Hechao, or those who are curious about Youzhou.They readily agreed, and in the evening of the second day, they went to participate in the lantern festival.

Originally, these great Confucian scholars did not have much expectation for this "Panfeng Festival" that they had never heard of. After all, compared with the prosperity, how can the remote and desolate Youzhou compare with Yangzhou, Xuzhou and other places?

But when I saw it with my own eyes, I was shocked!

Lively, this is too lively, not much inferior to the Shangyuan Lantern Festival!

Before entering the market, you can see the lanterns lit up everywhere. The lanterns are of different shapes and colors, and the slanting lights reflect each other and are colorful.

There are countless stalls on both sides, which is dazzling.There are also many stalls selling masks, which are for shy girls and gentlemen.

On the street, the rich aroma wafting from nowhere makes people who have not had dinner can't help but swallow their saliva.

It was the crowd on the street that caught their attention even more.

The ten-mile long street is brightly lit.The common people stop in front of the lanterns from time to time, including men, women, old and young, and the voices are buzzing.Their clothes were patched, and they wore simple straw sandals on their feet, but their complexions were extremely ruddy under the illumination of the lanterns, with an expression of peace and prosperity.

In a daze, these celebrities and scholars thought they had seen the scene of a prosperous age.

These people can tell at a glance that they are living in a very stable life.

Is this really Youzhou where criminals are exiled?

They were stunned for a while before walking into the street.When you walk in and take a look, your eyes are not enough.

There are many things they have never seen in the south, as well as utensils introduced by the barbarians.As he walked, the money was withdrawn little by little, and the servants behind him carried more and more things.

When they followed Xiang Xiang to the food market, these well-informed celebrities and Confucians could not help but show a dumbfounded expression.

This, what is this food?

How come I have never seen or heard of it?

The diet of Beizhou is too scarce nowadays, only steaming, boiling, stewing, and roasting are available. Even the children of Zhongming Dingshi Family have never seen the food here, and they are both surprised and ashamed for a while.

They have to be like ordinary people who have never seen the world, constantly asking: "What is this?", "What is this?", "What is this made of, and how to eat it? "

After coming out of the food market, these great Confucian scholars did not escape the same fate as Cui Yan, they all felt a little nauseated after eating, and their faces were faintly blue.

It was Guo Mao and Wang Er who accompanied them to play. Guo Mao knew from their expressions that they had eaten too much, but he just held a polite gesture and did not say such a shameful thing.Guo Mao was amused in his heart, and intimately signaled Wang Er to slow down and give them time to slow down.

The night was darker, and the lanterns were like falling stars, covering up the brilliance of the bright moon.

The third day of the Panfeng Festival is a carnival all night, the more lively it is at night, the noise of merchants hawking and playing is noisy.

Yuanli also went to join in the fun.

The crowd was crowded, and Chu Hechao held his arm through his clothes, afraid that he would get lost.

There were too many people, and Chu Hechao was tall and burly, men and women who came and went would always look at Chu Hechao a few more times, and then at Yuanli who was on the side.Not long after walking, Yuanli took a glance from the corner of his eye and saw Chu Hechao's impatient face and heavy eyebrows.

Yuanli bought two masks, one for himself and him.

Wearing a mask can't stop the crowds. Yuanli didn't go any further after walking down a street. He bought a candied haws made by himself, and walked with Chu Hechao to the side of the river, taking a leisurely walk.

There were also people in twos and threes standing by the river, admiring the water and the moon. The sky was dark, and they could not be seen. A few silhouettes were faintly outlined, enough to be painted.

Chu Hechao grabbed Yuanli and walked to a lush weeping willow by the river. The willow branches blocked them like a curtain, cutting off a space where no one was prying.

The water waves flashed by by chance, and the lanterns on the river swayed and floated.

Chu Hechao ate the same candied haws with him, and the shell of the candied haws was made of sucrose, so Yuanli could come up with enough sucrose to make this kind of snack.It was so sweet that it tasted greasy in the mouth, one piece of Chu Hechao in Yuanli, and the sweet and sour taste of candied haws permeated the tip of the nose.

After eating a sour one, Yuanli almost lost his teeth, "It's so sour."

Chu Hechao laughed at him, and said after laughing: "If you can't eat it, spit it out."

Yuan Li insisted on eating his stomach, so sour that tears came to his eyes, "It can't be wasted."

Seeing him like this, Chu Hechao felt hot all over, and cheekily lied to his wife, "This is sweet in my mouth, you try it?"

"Chu Ciye," Yuan Li said, "You are so shameless."

After eating the one in his mouth, there was still the last one left, so Yuan Li didn't dare to try it anymore, so he gave it to Chu Hechao to eat.

Chu Hechao said he wouldn't eat it, "Unless you give me a kiss."

Their voices were very low, and the willow branches even covered up their voices in a trivial way.But those who are familiar with them can vaguely guess who they are from the vague voice and figure.

Yang Zhongfa looked at the two people in the willow branch in disbelief.

When he had just walked over, he felt that the figures of the two were somewhat familiar.He was about to say hello, but what he heard frightened him.

The coldness rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, Yang Zhongfa even felt that he had misheard and read wrongly, how could this be the general and Master Yuan?Impossible, absolutely impossible.

How, how could these two people...

Why did Chu Hechao and Yuanli——

How could this be them!

"Father—" a childish voice came from the shore, telling Yang Zhongfa that all this was not a dream, "Did you get me a lotus lantern?"

Under the weeping willows, Yuan Li and Chu Hechao also recognized that it was Xuan'er's voice.

They froze for a moment, looked to the side, and saw Yang Zhongfa who was stunned not far from the willow tree.

Yuanli's heart skipped a beat.

He swallowed, and followed Chu Hechao out of the weeping willows. The faint light of the lantern was fleeting on the faces of the two of them. Yang Zhongfa's heart sank suddenly, and the last hope he held before was completely gone. up.

Xuan'er: "Father?"

Yang Zhongfa shook his hands, and immediately said: "Let the servant take you back, and father will bring you back the lamp later!"

"But, dad..."

Yang Zhongfa roared: "Go back!"

Xuan'er was carried away by the servant in a daze.

Yang Zhongfa's hands were shaking, and he forced a smile, "General, my lord, what are you doing here?"

Chu Hechao pulled Yuanli behind him, looked deeply at Yang Zhongfa, "You have seen it all."

Yang Zhongfa could no longer deceive himself and others, his mouth was trembling, "... General, how could you, how could you do this... You and Mr. Yuan are uncles, sisters-in-law!"

Chu Hechao said, "It's a fake uncle."

"That's uncle and sister-in-law too!" Yang Zhongfa was furious suddenly, but he kept his voice down tightly, fearing that other people would listen to their conversation, "General, do you want to be scolded by thousands of people! How did Huyan Wuzhu scold you before?" Have you forgotten! Master Yuan is your sister-in-law—how can you do the matter of seizing your sister-in-law! How can you be worthy of the dead Mr. Ge, the dead King and Princess of Chu! Chu Hechao, don’t make me think that it’s you A wolf-hearted man!"

Yang Zhongfa knew that what he said would hurt Chu Hechao, but he still gritted his teeth and said that such a thing must be severely cut off, before anyone finds out!

Chu Hechao's chest heaved violently, and the corners of his lips were tightly pursed, livid.

His unhealed wound was bloodied again by Yang Zhongfa.

His mind was tumbling, and there was something ups and downs in his eyes, pain and forbearance, and his face finally became calm.

"You're right, I'm a wolf-hearted person," Chu Hechao said indifferently, "There are so many people who snatched their sister-in-law in history, and I'm not too many."

Yang Zhong's angry veins burst open, "General!"

"That's enough, Master Yang!" Yuan Li took a step forward, his expression became very calm, "This is not a place to talk, please follow us to Chu Palace."

Yang Zhongfa had no choice but to bear it, and followed them to Chu Palace.

On the way, seeing Yuanli's calm appearance, he felt even more worried.

Yuanli is only 21 years old this year, 21 years old.

He's still young and has plenty of time left.The young man was restless, and he had never touched a woman.Can Yuanli really go on with Chu Hechao?The general is so resolute, but Yuanli is so calm and rational, does he really like the general?

Yang Zhongfa only felt that there was a dark maze in front of him, and he couldn't see the future of Chu Hechao and Yuanli at all.

After returning to Chu Palace, the three of them sat quietly in the study.After the servant lit the lamp and served three cups of tea, he went out and closed the door tightly.

No one spoke, and the tea slowly sank to the bottom of the cup.

Yuan Li closed his eyes, calming down the anger that rose when he heard Yang Zhongfa scold Chu Hechao for being a wolf.

"How long have you been together?" Yang Zhongfa finally asked.

Chu Hechao's expression was hidden in the shadows, his chin was outlined coldly by the lights, and he said, "Two years."

"Two years, you have been together for two years," Yang Zhongfa wiped his face and smiled wryly, "So that's how it is, that's how it is..."

Scenes that once felt wrong came to mind. It turned out that there were all kinds of signs from the time they went to Mangshan to invite Cui Yan to meet Cui's daughter. It's just that Yang Zhongfa deceived himself and subconsciously felt that the general and the adults were impossible.

Yes, how is it possible?

But they did get mixed up.

"Before no one finds out, you should end it quickly," Yang Zhongfa looked at Yuan Li, "Master Yuan, you have always been a person who takes one step and sees ten steps. It is impossible for you not to know the consequences of being discovered when you are together."

Chu Hechao frowned, pressed his hands tightly on the armrest, and said with a sneer, "If you have something to say to me, tell him what to say."

Yang Zhongfa resisted his man-eating look, as if he didn't hear it, he still looked at Yuanli steadfastly.

Yuan Li opened his eyes and said, "I know what the consequences will be."

Yang Zhongfa said in a deep voice: "You are still young, you still have parents at home, your future is limitless, I will advise you to stop here."

Chu Hechao was furious, and stood up in a "crack", "Yang Zhongfa——!"

Yang Zhongfa raised his head and looked at Chu Hechao.The flesh on the veteran's face was trembling, and he said every word: "Even if I, Yang Zhongfa, die here, I still want to persuade you to stop here and finish these words."