Qi County is located at the southern end of the Taiyuan Basin, at the northern foot of Huotai Mountain, on the east bank of the Great Lake Zhaoyu Qi, the terrain here completely transitions from mountains and hills to plains, and the soil changes from red to black, which is a good place for agriculture and animal husbandry. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

Thanks to the continuous moisture of Zhaoyu Qi, Qi County has a good year this year, after the beginning of spring, the rain is sufficient, the newly planted millet seedlings in the field are lush and green, as far as the eye can see, the fields are boundless, emerald green like the sea, the wind blows, the cyan millet seedlings are undulating, the farmers in the fields are busy with farming, only stop the work when more than 100 cars ride by the roadside, straighten up and look.

Mingyue also rode on a horse and looked at those farmers, seeing that Su Miao was gratifying and the farming was not delayed, he turned his head to Cai Ze, who was riding a white mule beside him, and said, "It seems that this Qi County is not as dilapidated as Mr. imagined. ”

Cai Ze said: "Having said that, but the population is not as dense as Yuci, let alone compared with the surrounding areas of Handan. ”

Mingyue took a closer look, and sure enough, she had to say: "After all, it is a border county, and it has suffered two major military disasters in the past twenty years, and as a front line, the people often have to be conscripted to serve, or sell most of the grain to the government at a low price, without much savings, and many people have gone to Jinyang and Yuci." ”

At this time, Lu Goujian, who was sent to the front, came to report that there was a small pavilion in front where he could rest.

This pavilion is not a separate pavilion, but a common grass-roots security unit of the princes during the Warring States period, which was originally only set up on the border of the two countries, such as Chu and Wei, because of the contradiction between the two side pavilions, there is the story of "Chu Gua Liang Guan". Slowly, the pavilion also spread to the mainland, responsible for guarding the road, checking passers-by, and if you have to compare it with the institutions of later generations, it is like a rural police station. There must be a post station, which not only has the function of public security, but also has the responsibility of receiving passing officials and providing accommodation for the people who travel far away.

Coming to this pavilion means that they have officially entered the boundary of Qi County, and they can reach the end point after walking another twenty or thirty miles. But now that the sun is shining fiercely, the horses also need to drink some water, so Mingyue ordered everyone to stay here, and also asked the people in the pavilion about this county by the way.

This small pavilion in the border county obviously belongs to the smallest and most humble post station, with only one old pavilion chief, and only two pavilion guards under his command to take care of people and livestock. The premises were already dilapidated, crooked, and full of holes waiting to be repaired. Fortunately, the weather is good, and if it catches up with the rain and snow, this place will not be able to shelter the wind and block the cold snap.

The three of them didn't know how long it had been since they had seen so many people come to rest and drink their horses, seeing that more than 100 people were violent, all of them were fresh, and the warriors were all dressed in armor and swords, and they were taken aback first, and immediately closed the door of the pavilion, and the white-haired old pavilion chief only dared to stand in the wall, looked at them vigilantly, and asked them in a trembling voice who they were and where they were going.

Lu Goujian and the others laughed, feeling that this country pavilion was uninformed and timid. Mingyue didn't bully people, according to the custom, let people show them the passage talisman, and showed that he was from Handan and went to Qi County, but he didn't say that he was the feudal lord here.

When the two pavilion guards heard this, they looked at the leading noble son's extraordinary bearing, and the good horse under his crotch was worth a lot of money, and he knew that he must be a nobleman, so he was busy opening the door to greet him, warm soup for warm soup, and water for fetching water.

At the moment of resting, Mingyue also asked the old pavilion chief who respectfully came with warm soup to ask some things, such as how old he is, his children are at home, how is this year's harvest, and so on.

The old pavilion chief was cautious, and after answering a few words casually, he excused himself and said that he was going to the county to report. However, the other two pavilion guards were enthusiastic about the rich and noble dress of this group of people, and they also coveted the noble son's unstingy bounty, so they knew everything, and said everything that Mingyue wanted to know like pouring beans.

However, when Mingyue asked how the county commander and county lieutenant of Qi County were called, and where they were from, the two pavilion guards couldn't answer.

The young pavilion soldier with a little fluff on his lips scratched his head embarrassedly: "The county commander, the county lieutenant, and the pavilion chief may know where they came from, but how can we know it?" ”

Another slightly older pavilion guard also quipped: "Yes, we have been taught by our father and brother since we were children, and we only know the Qi family, as for what county orders and county lieutenants, there is no need to remember at all, there is a local nursery rhyme, I don't know if you have heard it." ”

Mingyue smiled: "Let's hear it." ”

The pavilion guard half-hummed and half-sang in the local dialect: "Handan officials, flowing water in front of the door; The clan of the Qi clan, the big tree in the vestibule......"

He said this unintentionally, he didn't think about it, but it made Mingyue feel shocked, and he glanced at Cai Ze.

Waiting for the two pavilion guards to help drink the horses, Cai Ze put down the scoop of water in his hand, came to Mingyue's side and said solemnly: "Lord, as expected, the Qi family is in Qi County, and it is really a big tree with deep roots......

Mingyue bowed her head: "The rumors are true, it seems that the words of the head of the Qi family are much more effective than the county order, the county lieutenant, and even me." ”

It turned out that during the Spring and Autumn Period, Qi was the territory of the Qi family, the doctor of the Jin Kingdom, and the Qi land at that time was not just a county now, but almost the entire Pingchuan in Jinzhong. As the prince of the Jin Kingdom, the Qi family ruled here for a hundred years, until the decline of the Jin State Office and the dictatorship of the Six Qings, the head of the Qi family, Qi Ying, was murdered by the Wei family and the Zhi family, and the Lingyi was confiscated. The Marquis of Jin divided the land of the Qi clan into seven counties: Wu, Qi, Pingling, Jiaoyang, Tushui, Mashou and Yu, which were divided by Liuqing......

At the beginning, he consulted the classics and counted the former territories of the Qi clan one by one, Cai Ze couldn't help but be speechless, there were seven counties of territory, which was equivalent to half of Taiyuan County! This Qi clan's power is not small!

"After all, it is the second only family to Liuqing."

Mingyue groaned, now more than two hundred years have passed, although the territory of the Qi clan has been divided by Liuqing, but the Qi clan has not been extinct, and their descendants are still tenaciously surviving in Qi County, multiplying, and deeply rooted.

As far as Mingyue knows, the Qi clan's clan is all over the townships and towns in the county, half of the land in Qi County is under the name of the Qi family, and almost all the officials in the county are the children of the Qi family, and the people here are more or less related to the Qi family.

Of course, Handan can send county commanders and county lieutenants here, but as sung in the nursery rhyme, they are all flowing water in front of the door, coming and leaving, and they can't leave the slightest mark, but the Qi family is becoming more and more flourishing......

This kind of big family, known as "Haochang" in the Warring States Period, most of them evolved from the clan of Qing Dafu in the Spring and Autumn Period, and these Haochang forces were more prominent in the Qi State and Zhao, Wei and Han Kingdoms, and most of them were descendants of the Jin Office, the Lu family, and the Tian family. Their strength is not as good as the old husband clan before the Qin State Shang Yang changed the law, and they are not as good as the Qu, Jing, and Zhao clans who are still in power in the Chu State, and they cannot affect the central decision-making at all, but at the local level, they are well-deserved local snakes.

"If Childe wants to do things in Qi County, this Qi family will definitely not be able to get around, I don't know what Childe plans to do with it?"

Cai Ze felt that this was the most troublesome point in establishing territory in Qi County, in addition to being close to the border and too far away from Handan.

He advised: "Historically, the officials of the nations have dealt with local tycoons in two ways! One is to make good friends with them and use their strengths to govern the locality. But the most convenient thing is to kill, just like when Simon Leopard ruled Ye, kill! Ximen Leopard took the matter of Hebo as an excuse to cast the local Wu Zhu, the three elders, the Hao Chang, and the Li Father into the river, and the Yecheng Hao Chang was almost empty, so that the people could obey the order to build the twelve canals, and after a few years, the drum beat and came in an instant! ”

Mingyue shook her head: "It's not proper, Ximen Leopard is Wei Wenhou's official, he can only do things for the country, and he doesn't have to think about himself." No matter how drastic the means are, with the support of Wei Wenhou, it is a big deal to dismiss the official and transfer to another place to take office, so he dares to wipe out the local heroes. But I came to Qidi, not for my brother Wang to eradicate the local forces, but to turn this place into my cunning rabbit's cave, how can I become a fire and water with the Qi clan before I have a stable foothold? What's more, the prestige that the Qi clan has accumulated in Qi County for three hundred years is not comparable to the little elders of Yecheng and the elders of Li, if they are not handled carefully, they will betray Zhao and join Qin...... If I'm not sure that it will be wiped out in one fell swoop, it's better not to act rashly. ”

Cai Ze bowed his head and also felt reasonable: "That son thinks, how to start with the governance of Qi County?" ”

"We are new to this place, so we will visit many places to understand the details, but the most important thing is to find out the attitude of the Qi clan towards me coming to be the feudal lord of this county......"

At this moment, the sound of the sword unsheathed outside the door sounded, and a rapid sound of horses' hooves stopped outside the pavilion.

Mingyue heard the scolding of Lu Goujian and others, and there was a young man's immature voice: "Strong man is slow, slow!" I am a disciple of the Qi family, and I came to meet Chang'anjun on the orders of my family! ”

……

PS: Thinking about the plot, there's only one chapter today, and it has become 2 sadly, by the way, there are no readers surnamed Qi to raise their hands......