Li Zhi, don't be a coward

Chapter 1378 Leaving the camp for inspection
Be consistent on the outside and face the heart directly.

That's right, when men get together, the most interesting topic is of course women, isn't it?Let’s talk about the international situation and oil production reduction?
We are all ordinary people, why are we pretending?
Li Qinzai faced his heart calmly and chatted with Song Sen about what it was like to be a Jiangnan woman.

When men talk about this topic, their eloquence depends on their eloquence. People with good eloquence can often describe every detail vividly and fully arouse the emotions of the listener, thereby achieving an effect that is envied by everyone.

A man like Li Qinzai, who had married four or five wives, was actually tempted after hearing Song Sen's description.

The sky is high and the emperor is far away, and the mother-in-law is thousands of miles apart. The opportunity is rare. Do you want to be willing to fall for it?
It doesn't sound good if word spreads about the dignified Duke's prostitution.

But if you don’t give money after the prostitution, it’s not considered prostitution.

Song Sen's mentality was a little messed up, and it took Li Qinzai a long time to calm down.

Do business first, and then consider depraved matters after finishing them. The gentle and graceful Jiangnan woman can wait a little longer.

"Within three days, I will get a list of officials and prominent families in Jiangnan states and counties. Is there any problem?" Li Qinzai asked.

Song Sen puffed up his chest: "No problem, Baiqisi can do anything in heaven or on earth."

Li Qinzai sneered: "What the hell, the leader of Baiqisi just finished prostitution with a girl from Jiangnan, and as soon as he pulled up his pants, he said he was omnipotent. How can I trust you?"

Song Sen smiled shyly and said, "The official is still very serious when he handles business."

…………

More than a thousand troops were stationed outside Jiangzhou City, and there was no movement for several days.

It's as if Li Qinzai and his colleagues are really here to enjoy the sights and don't seem to be doing anything serious.

The governor and other officials in Jiangzhou City were suspicious and invited Li Qin to the city several times for banquets, but he refused. This meant that the imperial envoy himself had cut off communication with local officials and did not abide by all the rules in the officialdom, which made the local officials confused. He was worried and became more and more panicked.

In a peaceful and peaceful atmosphere, the two sides seemed to be in a stalemate, which was strange and subtle.

While Jiangzhou officials were watching Li Qinzai's every move, Li Qinzai suddenly left the camp with more than a hundred troops and headed south.

The sudden move alarmed Jiangzhou officials, who hurriedly sent people to follow him from a distance.

Li Qinzai seemed oblivious to the men and women in official uniforms who were following him. He led his troops all the way south, galloping along the rough country roads.

An hour later, Li Qinzai suddenly reined in his horse on the rural road and watched a puff of smoke rising in the distance. It was dinner time, and farmers in a distant village were lighting a fire to cook.

Li Qinzai rubbed his stomach and smiled at Prince Teng next to him: "Are you hungry, father-in-law? How about we go to a nearby village to have a meal?"

Prince Teng glanced at him and said, "You are the imperial envoy, and I will listen to you."

Li Qinzai seemed to have remembered something and said, "This place seems to be not far from my father-in-law's fiefdom, Hongzhou, right? Has your Tengwang Pavilion in Hongzhou been completed?"

Prince Teng stroked his beard and smiled: "Last year, the steward of the palace sent a letter saying that Prince Teng's Pavilion has been built and it looks quite elegant and majestic. It's a pity that I have been busy with work in the past two years and have been running around so much that I have no time to go to Hongzhou to climb the tower and enjoy the scenery."

"This place is less than a hundred miles away from Hongzhou. How about we stop by?"

Prince Teng hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: "Let's do business first. The errand entrusted by the emperor is important, and we can't create extraneous matters."

Li Qinzai gave him a thumbs up: "If you are enlightened, you deserve to be promoted."

Prince Teng was so angry that he raised his riding whip: "What bastard words are you talking about? How can I be promoted to an official position? If I get promoted, I will die. Do you want to kill me with these words?"

Li Qinzai actually wanted to visit Hongzhou. After all, he heard that his "Preface to Prince Teng's Pavilion" was carved on a woodblock and hung in the hall of Prince Teng's Pavilion.

How can we not pay homage to the first parallel prose of all time created by the great talent Li himself?
But what Prince Teng said made sense. It was better to get down to business first, and admiring his own great work would probably come second to prostitutes from the south of the Yangtze River.

After everyone stationed their horses on the country road for a while, Li Qinzai squinted at the village with smoke rising in the distance. After greeting everyone, they all galloped towards the village.

Prince Teng and Li Sujie followed Li Qinzai. They didn't quite understand why Li Qinzai suddenly left the camp today and why he avoided contact with local officials. Instead, they quietly found a barren village and went in.But Li Qinzai always did things according to rules. King Teng and Li Sujie trusted him very much, so they followed him without saying a word.

The country road became increasingly bumpy and difficult to navigate, and finally turned into a narrow path, so everyone had to dismount and walk.

After getting closer, Li Qinzai discovered that this village was pitiful and poor, far inferior to Ganjingzhuang in Guanzhong.

There are rows of houses in the village, but they are generally as short as pigeon cages. The materials used to build the houses are also stone blocks, and the gaps are filled with yellow mud walls.

After a long time, after the yellow mud was dried, there were still many holes exposed, so I continued to paste it with yellow mud.

The roof was made of sun-dried coir grass, and there were some old men and women sitting in groups in front of the door.

These old men and women were dark and thin, with numb eyes. They wore shabby and leaky clothes, and some of the women were even half-clothed.

They seemed to be basking in the sun leisurely, but they showed deep fatigue. This fatigue did not seem to be physical, but came from deep in the soul.

It's as if they have lost hope in life, and there is only a desert left in their hearts, like a group of dead people who can only breathe.

After Li Qinzai and others approached, they looked at the houses in this village and felt frightened.

What kind of village is this? It clearly looks like a gathering place for beggars.

It is undeniable that the people of the Tang Dynasty are indeed very poor today, and most areas do not even have enough food and clothing. The lives of the people of the Tang Dynasty will naturally not be easy.

But only now did Li Qinzai know what real poverty looks like.

That's what they saw at this moment.

So poor that they have nothing, so poor that they have lost all hope in life, and only the word "living on" is left.

He was secretly shocked, but a warm smile still appeared on Li Qinzai's face, and he stepped forward and saluted several old people gathered together.

"Old men, Wansheng and I have been traveling for several days and happened to pass by this place. We have eaten dry food for a few days and want to have a warm meal. Can you please help me? Wansheng will give you the money."

After Li Qinzai finished speaking, several old people still looked at him with numb expressions, and there was silence all around.

After a long time, an old man stood up and sighed before saying anything.

"It's not difficult for distinguished guests to eat something hot, but the food in Zhuangzi is vulgar and the distinguished guests are all wealthy people, so I'm afraid they won't be able to eat it."

Li Qinzai smiled and said: "It doesn't matter. I am actually from a poor family. As long as I can eat something hot, no matter how vulgar it is, it doesn't matter."

The old man hummed, turned around and entered the house with an indifferent expression.

After lighting the incense for an hour, the old man brought out several bowls of steaming food.

Li Qinzai, Prince Teng and others took it and then carefully observed the hot food in the bowl.

At first glance, Li Qinzai was surprised again.

What the hell is this bowl of?
The dark soup in the bowl had a handful of finely chopped wild vegetables floating on it, and a black mass of batter-like stuff. It exuded a rancid smell, like the pig water that I had smelled in my previous life.

Li Qinzai just smiled and said he didn't mind the vulgar food, but now he was holding the bowl and his face turned green.

This... is really a test for cadres.

Even the pigs raised by farmers in Ganjingzhuang wouldn't be able to eat this thing, right?

"Old man, is this what you eat on weekdays?" Li Qinzai asked with a smile.

(End of this chapter)