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墨書 Inktalez
Hearing the Retainer leader at the Prime Minister's Residence refer to himself as "my lord," Luzi wiped the sweat from his forehead. He repeatedly insisted that he was just an ordinary merchant and did not dare to use such a term. As for the identity of the Retainer leader, who was a nominal general of the State of Chu, that seemed to be correct.
Luzi bowed in return and said, "Scoundrel is fortunate to accompany our Prime Minister to the capital, and I hope General Huang will take good care of us along the way."
"Of course!"
Seeing Luzi being so polite, Huang Yong nodded in satisfaction. Adjusting the jeweled bronze sword sheath at his waist, he boldly promised, "Since Lu the Shopkeeper is a friend of our Prime Minister, there is no need to worry about personal safety in the State of Chu!"
At this moment, Luzi did not want to dwell on whether there was any need for concern regarding safety in Chu. So he clasped his fists and bowed again to Huang Yong, looking at Huang Xie to inquire whether they should proceed or stay. If there was nothing else to delay them here, it would be better to set off.
"Prime Minister! Scoundrel just calculated the time; today is an Auspicious Day, perfect for setting out!"
Upon hearing this joke, the previously gloomy Huang Xie rubbed his hands together vigorously. "Good! Today we shall take Lu's words about this Auspicious Day and set off immediately!"
The guards at the Prime Minister's Residence were waiting for this cue and promptly followed the usual travel protocol. "Chancellor of Chu... Crown Prince's Grand Tutor... Left Minister... also Grand Marshal of the Chu State... King Wu departs... all of you quickly step aside!"
As the announcements echoed one by one, the flag-waving convoy officially left the Chancellor's residence and entered the bustling streets. Even if one did not catch all the titles mentioned earlier, this display made it clear who was leaving.
Upon learning that their king was departing the city, the common folk along the street hurriedly moved aside to clear a path down the center. When they saw Chunshen Jun standing on the carriage, they collectively knelt down and bowed their heads in greeting to Huang Xie.
Hearing the thunderous cheers of "Your Majesty" from the crowd, a proud Huang Xie stood on the carriage and waved in acknowledgment. What does public sentiment mean? This scene surely exemplified it! What does it mean to be a feudal lord? Only those who can enjoy fiefdoms and establish their own states can claim such titles!
Though I, Huang Xie, am a dignified Chancellor of Chu, I also possess my own fief. According to traditional hierarchies, I am now a lord with my own territory! And these common folk before me are naturally my subjects!
Before the convoy set out, Luzi planned to follow behind the Guard of the Prime Minister's Residence. After all, his current status did not allow him to join the Chancellor's convoy, but he could not resist Huang Xie's warm invitation. Huang Xie invited him to ride together and did not see anything inappropriate about it.
Seeing Huang Xie frequently greeting those around him from the carriage, Luzi suddenly understood why the Retainer of Chunshen Jun liked to compare himself with the Retainer of the Plain King. It seemed that this Huang was particularly fond of showing off, and there was some truth to the saying that a bad example leads to others following suit.
Since King Wu established Zhou Tianxia, the practice of granting land and founding states had elevated former tribal leaders to the status of feudal lords. The prerequisite for becoming a feudal lord was that one must possess their own fief. Regardless of size, even if it was just a city owned by oneself, it counted as a fief.
However, this so-called feudal lord should be understood in separate terms. Later generations habitually referred to the kings of various Feudal States during the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period as feudal lords, possibly because the term "feudal lord" rolls off the tongue more easily.
"Zhu" refers to many individuals. When one person speaks to many people, they can use terms like "zhu wei" or "lie wei" to remind everyone to focus their attention. "Hou" refers to a marquis official position. Combining these two separate characters can be understood as a collective term for all those marquises who received fiefs during Zhou Tianxia.
A fief is a permanent private property of the feudal lords, and naturally, all mountains and rivers within its territory are under their name. The population living in their territories at that time was also considered their subjects.
Thus, it is clear that Chunshen Jun had his proud capital. The lands of Huai Bei, encompassing over a dozen counties and townships, belonged to his fief, collectively known as Wu Region. The common people in these counties were his subjects, which could still be understood in that era.
Proudly, Huang Xie continued to show off until they left the city gate before sitting down to talk with Luzi. In his view, it was necessary to walk through the most prosperous streets of the county led by the Big Shopkeeper of Prosperity Pavilion.
In fact, not only that, but the Guard ahead didn't even need reminders on how to proceed. Following an established tour route from ancient times was certainly correct; the well-maintained greenery on both sides of the road and glimpses of the county's most beautiful corners along the way clearly showed that considerable effort had been put into it.
Only after leaving Wu Region did this carefully constructed welcoming avenue connecting various counties come to an end. While there might be some shortcomings, looking at it comprehensively revealed that any flaws were minor compared to its overall quality.
If compared with Qin State's Heavenly Road, this expressway located in Wu Region was equally impressive. However, when discussing the purpose of roads, these two similarly wide roads had essential differences.
The design and construction purpose of Qin State's Heavenly Road was to enhance transportation efficiency for military readiness. In contrast, Wu Region's welcoming avenue seemed more like a service for certain individuals' image projects at this time.
Traveling from the Wu Region to the capital of Chu actually has another route that is closer and saves more time. However, Huang Xie insists on taking this detour along the welcoming avenue, intending to show Luzi the prosperity of his territory.
What does it mean to have ability or not? Just look at this welcoming avenue to see how well the Wu Region is governed under its wise leadership!
Chunshen Jun uses national reserves to build his own image project, which has little strategic significance. If danger arises in the capital, his command structure would still choose to take that shorter route rather than this one.
In Luzi's view, this road has no real value. Aside from the quality of the construction and the commendable greenery along the way, there is nothing else that catches his interest. It is not even on par with Qin State's Heavenly Road, which makes him feel drowsy while sitting in the carriage.
Walking on such a spacious avenue can be refreshing. Huang Xie is not sleepy; he sees a group of common people kneeling by the roadside. "My dear brother! Look at how wonderful my place is! These are our subjects; although they haven't studied much, they still understand how to follow etiquette! This is the power of education, something you won't see in other places!"
Just as Luzi was about to doze off, he was abruptly awakened by Huang Xie's excited words. Upon seeing the common people by the roadside, he knew that nonsense was about to begin again. It's just a welcoming avenue wide enough for eight carriages to drive side by side; it cannot stabilize a nation or secure peace, and it lacks any strategic significance—what's there to boast about!?
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