Chapter 339 - Arrangements

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Xiao Hanzheng did not expect the emperor to ask him this question.

He replied without hesitation, “I will listen to the emperor’s arrangements.”

The emperor smiled. “You are a talent. I feel that it is too much of a waste to place you in the capital now.”

Then, he changed the topic and asked, “Do you want to go to the northern border?”

Xiao Hanzheng was not surprised by the emperor’s question.

After all, he interacted with the emperor for a long time in his previous life and had a good understanding of him.

He replied, “If the emperor wants to arrange for me to go, I will definitely do my best.”

King Jin from the northern border was a thorn in the emperor’s heart.

It would be difficult for him not to pull it out.

But now that King Jin’s wings had hardened, if he rebelled directly, it would definitely cause some chaos in Daliang and give their enemy a chance to take advantage of it.

In his previous life, when the two armies fought, although they killed the traitor King Jin, the imperial court of Daliang still invested a lot of time and effort in it.

Following that, the Ge Kingdom sent troops and the residents at the northern border were in the very abyss of suffering.

In his new life, Xiao Hanzheng still wanted to try his best to see if he could change things and do something practical for those at the northern border.

Moreover, he understood the emperor’s words.

If he were to be transferred to the northern border, he would definitely have a heavy responsibility.

The emperor discovered that although Xiao Hanzheng was young, he was really smart.

He knew what he meant instantly.

“As you know, be it the Ge kingdom eyeing the northern border or King Jin striving for independence, they are all bad debts.

“I want to dig a hole in the northern border. I think you can do it, but there will definitely be many dangers, so I want to ask for your opinion on this.”

The emperor valued his talents, so he said this.

Xiao Hanzheng seemed to think for a moment before cupping his hands to the emperor. “Your Majesty, I am not afraid of danger. I am willing to shoulder your worries.”

If he did not think before saying it, he would appear to be too rash.

The emperor smiled. “Very good.

“Then go back and make some preparations. In less than half a year, you will go to the northern border.

“I will first arrange for you to go to the Imperial Academy and then transfer you to the northern border.

“Recently, there are no vacant positions in the northern border. I still have to think about your arrangements.”

The emperor was willing to say a few more words to show his favor to a smart person.

Xiao Hanzheng nodded. “Yes, I will definitely not let you down, Your Majesty.”

The two of them chatted for a while more before Xiao Hanzheng left the imperial palace.

The emperor also immediately ordered someone to investigate Zhuo Jun.

The next day, Xiao Hanzheng’s posting order was also out.

The three people who were first-ranked were all arranged to go to the Imperial Academy.

Xiao Hanzheng knew that the emperor had arranged for him to be gilded.

As for Zhuo Jun’s arrangement, she was to be gilded on the surface, but in reality, the emperor was probably still deciding what to do based on the investigation’s results.

On this day, Xi Rui and the others took the initiative to run to the Xiao residence.

Shi Qingluo looked at the things in Xi Rui’s hands and her eyes lit up. “Your family extracted rubber already?”

Xi Rui smiled proudly and said, “Yes, our family extracted the rubber first.”

He added, “But a few days ago, the emperor sent a batch of rubber back to the capital.”

Shi Qingluo knew about this, but she couldn’t ask for the rubber in the emperor’s hands.

Then she saw the shoes on Xi Rui’s feet and said with a smile, “You could even make rubber-soled shoes. Not bad.”

Xi Rui was wearing a pair of leather boots with black rubber soles.

Xi Rui said proudly, “Of course. When the rubber was delivered yesterday, I followed your instructions and asked someone to make rubber-soled shoes to try them on.

“It’s indeed comfortable to wear, and it looks good.”

Liang Youxiao asked, “Didn’t you ask someone to make a few more pairs to buy some favors?”

Xi Rui said with a smile, “Of course I did.”

He had already asked the maids in the courtyard to make a few more pairs.

He was going to give them to his grandparents and his biological father in the afternoon.

Liang Youxiao raised his eyebrows. “Have you forgotten about our friends?”

Xi Rui rolled his eyes at him. “It’s not like your family doesn’t extract rubber. When your rubber is ready, you can make it yourself.”

He wanted to be the first person in the entire capital to wear rubber-soled leather shoes.

In a while, he would wear them to show off.

Liang Youxiao thought to himself, what kind of friend did he have? !

He despised his family’s efficiency in his heart.

The Xi family’s rubber was already sent here, but their rubber wasn’t ready yet.

Fei Yuzhe also curled his lips at Xi Rui. “Look at how cocky you are.”

It seemed that Xi Rui was going to steal the limelight with the rubber-soled leather shoes this time.

Xi Rui looked at their sour faces and his smile deepened. “Of course, I’m the prettiest boy in the whole of Beijing today.”

He had learned this from Shi Qingluo, but they all loved to use it.

Shi Qingluo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “It’s just a pair of rubber-soled shoes, it’s not enough to make you the prettiest boy in the whole of Beijing.

“If you ride a bicycle, you’ll be the most watched in the whole of Beijing.”

Xi Rui heard this and immediately came over. “Qingluo, then let’s hurry up and get a bicycle. I will provide the rubber.”

“You will provide the parts too. After building yours, I will also need a few.”

Although she did not spend much time riding a bicycle in modern times, she still missed it in the ancient times where transportation options were limited.

Now that all the roads in the capital were paved with cement, it was much faster to ride a bicycle than to walk.

In road sections where carriages were prohibited, she could also ride a bicycle.

Her young husband could also ride a bicycle to town, so that he would not have to experience horse carriage congestion every morning.

Xi Rui immediately made the decision. “No problem. How much rubber do you need? I’ll get someone to deliver it.”

Shi Qingluo replied, “It won’t take too much to build a bicycle.

“But you have to find a few skilled craftsmen. I can’t build it myself.”

She was in the agriculture field and roughly knew how a bicycle was built.

However, if she were to build it herself, it would be very difficult.

Even if she were to build it, it would probably take a long time.

She might as well hand it over to a professional.

She was in charge of providing the blueprint of the bicycle and giving some suggestions.

Xi Rui looked at Liang Youxiao. “Old Liang, it’s time for you to show off.”

Ever since they got used to calling him old Xiao, they had learned to call each other like this and felt that having a close relationship was good.

Liang Youxiao rolled her eyes. “You didn’t remember me when you were making the shoes, but when you are short of craftsmen you did.

“I can provide the craftsmen, but I also want a bicycle after it is built.”

He said meaningfully, “We can ride it together when the time comes.”

The rubber-soled leather shoes’ limelight was about to be stolen by this guy, his bicycle had to keep up with the limelight no matter what.

Fei Yuzhe immediately said, “I can also provide a few craftsmen. I also want one.”

Because Qi Yiyang was involved in cutting rubber, Xi Rui also called him over this time.

Of course, showing off the new shoes in front of Qi Yiyang was the key.

He immediately said, “Yes, yes. It will attract more attention if we ride it together.

“I can also provide a few craftsmen.”

He didn’t have them with him, but he definitely had them at home.

Xi Rui uttered under his breath, these people all wanted to steal the limelight from him, not something else.

However, after thinking about it, it did seem quite cool for them to ride out in a row on those bicycles.

So they agreed. “Okay, each of you will provide two craftsmen. You will also get a bicycle.”

Of course, all of them did not have any objections.

Now, they all wanted to see how a bicycle looked so that they could ride them out to show off.