Yecheng City East Camp.

More than 50 well-known gentry and wealthy businessmen with gloomy faces and apprehensions, under the guidance of the officers and soldiers of the guard battalion, entered the splendid main hall of the Shuai Mansion one after another, and suddenly saw Yan Liang, Jiao Rong, and Zhang Shuo, the fierce generals who were famous in Hebei, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute respectfully after being shocked.

Yan Liang was very familiar with these rich gentry landlords who represented the middle class of Jizhou and had a high reputation, although they had different statuses with each other before, and there were high and low nobles, but under the same situation, Yan Liang and the three of them all abandoned their previous modesty and humility, and modestly met with the rich gentry landlords who kept coming, without the slightest arrogance.

Many people looked depressed, their hearts were uneasy, and they spoke absent-mindedly, not knowing that their fate would be the next one.

And those gentry and merchants who were more energetic and bright-minded saw the lavish feasts neatly arranged on both sides of the hall, and the guards successively served the Langya wine placed in front of each low table, and realized that it was likely that they were about to meet the world-famous Han emperor, the general of the chariot cavalry, and the Jizhou Mu Liu Cun appointed by the imperial court, and the moment to decide the future and fate of themselves and their families would soon come.

A burst of footsteps and the sonorous sound of armor suddenly sounded, and everyone, including Yan Liang, looked at it together, and saw Liu Cun, who was wearing a white embroidered robe and wearing a crown of the prince, walked out of the side hall and entered the lobby in the crowd of generals.

Liu Cun couldn't help but show a wry smile, walked forward, helped up Yan Liang and Zhen Yi, the head of the gentry and the future old man, who were prostrate at the front, and said loudly after greeting them cordially:

"Everyone, please get up, because of the urgency of the war. After the destruction of the city, our army urgently needed to clear the remnants. Suppress outlaws who take advantage of the opportunity to plunder. In order to quickly stabilize the order of the whole city, in a hurry, it is natural that he has not been able to properly distinguish between loyalty and treachery, if there is anything offended, I beg your forgiveness, Liu Cun is here to apologize to everyone! ”

No one expected that Liu Cun, a chariot general who was the emperor of the Han Dynasty and held the power of life and death in the two states of Qingji and Hebei, would solemnly apologize to himself on such an occasion. Immediately frightened, they fell to their knees again, and shouted loudly and couldn't bear it, and many people were already sweating profusely and trembling all over.

Liu Cun was very helpless when he saw this, so he had to ask everyone to get up, motioned to Min Chun and others to lead the guests into the banquet on both sides, took Yan Liang's hand by himself, and walked directly to the main seat, no matter how Yan Liang, who had mixed feelings, twisted it, and directly arranged Yan Liang at the bottom right of his head. Sitting with Tai Shici, Xu Sheng and Geng Wu, Zhao Yun and Li Zai were also happy to invite Jiao Rong and Zhang Shuo, who were deeply surprised, to sit at their table.

Wait for everything to settle down. Liu Cun's gentle words sounded again: "Please don't be restrained, you don't need to pay attention to so many false courtesies, I am not Yuan Benchu who is full of morality and etiquette, the purpose of today's hurried banquet is to apologize to you, this does not need to be hidden, right is right, wrong is wrong, admitting mistakes and quickly correcting them is the way for a husband to stand, and I still have this mind." ”

After Liu Cun finished speaking, he raised his glass with both hands, stood up and saluted from afar, drank it all in the eyes of the full hall of shocked or grateful, and then sat down calmly with a smile, and repeatedly ordered everyone to be polite and casual.

After three rounds of drinking, the atmosphere in the hall quietly turned relaxed and peaceful, and the rich gentry saw that Liu Cun was so humble and frank, and the majestic and famous generals under his command were all smiling without a smile, and they couldn't help but sigh secretly, and the deep vigilance and worry in their hearts were gradually eased.

Liu Cun was relieved to see that the rich gentry had finally started eating, and asked in a low voice to Zhen Yi, the dignified old man on the lower left:

"Is Lord Zhen willing to go out of the mountain again to help Lord Changshi restore people's livelihood and revitalize all industries in Jizhou as soon as possible?"

Zhen Yi, who was clinking glasses with his old friend Min Chun, was slightly stunned when he heard this, and hurriedly put down the wine glass, raised his hand, and looked at Liu Cun with blazing eyes: "Thank you for the general's kindness, I am willing to obey the call and do my best for Jizhou Sangzi!" ”

Min Chun, who knew the inside story and handled it single-handedly, laughed and congratulated Liu Cun, and Liu Cun, who was full of joy, paid tribute to Zhen Yi three times in front of everyone's eyes.

Who knew that the handsome and suave old white-faced Zhen Yi couldn't drink at all, and after three glasses of wine, his face was red and his ears were red, and he slowly sat down under Min Chun's support, panting and unable to say a word, which attracted bursts of chuckles from many people.

Liu Cun turned to the people in the hall, solemnly announced the three major decisions of Jizhou tax exemption for three years and supporting the revival of agriculture and industry, and then suddenly stood up in the full hall of exclamations and praises, stepped down from the main seat, and told everyone loudly:

"In fact, the potential of Jizhou and absolutely not under Qingzhou, since the founding of this dynasty, Jizhou has been above Qingzhou in any field, the reason why it has been left far behind by Qingzhou in just a few years is that there is no stable and peaceful living environment, there is no set of reasonable systems, there is no first-level diligent and honest government, and there is no government that is sincerely supported by the people, and there is no army with strict military discipline to protect the interests of the people!"

"I don't say this to praise the Qingzhou New Deal or myself, I believe you all have your own personal feelings in all aspects."

Everyone pricked up their ears and stared intently at Liu Cun, who was walking and talking.

Liu Cun put his hands behind his back and talked while walking: "Some people may say that Jizhou, which is located in the land of the four wars, is not Qingzhou in a corner of peace and near the sea, you Liu Cun is just painting a big cake for us, how can you quickly restore the people's livelihood in Jizhou, which is full of devastation?" ”

Speaking of this, Liu Cun stopped his steps, looked around and returned to the front of the main seat: "I can understand all the doubts, because I have been reflecting on what I have done, and I have been summing up experience and learning lessons, but the more this is the case, the more confident I am in the future of Jizhou!" ”

"Jizhou has always been regarded as the important grain production area of the Han Dynasty, with endless fertile land, many rivers crisscrossing and abundant water, and uncultivated land and pastures with a total of more than 10 million acres, etc., these are the wealth and advantages of Jizhou."

"However, this seemingly huge agricultural advantage is too thin, for thousands of years to see the sky to eat, once encountered locust plagues, droughts, floods, military disasters and other disasters, Jizhou will be turbulent, poverty is like washing, and the reasons for this situation are varied, the most important of which is that Jizhou's industry is too single."

"I'm afraid you don't know that there are huge treasures in Jizhou, which are enough to support the development of agriculture and industry, and they are enough to be mined for hundreds of years, but they have been ignored by everyone."

Everyone looked at Liu Cun in disbelief, then looked at each other and couldn't help but whisper. (To be continued......)