Chapter 94

In the midst of the cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

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Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

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After receiving the enthusiastic hospitality of these two unexpected visitors, I inquired about the affairs of Borneo in recent years. It turned out that my stepfather, who was still in good health, continued to lead hunting expeditions in the mountains or inspect the remote borders. However, the people around him had changed significantly; many familiar elders had either retired or been reassigned, or like Chu Bai, had been sent away with some pretext and marginalized.

Moreover, wherever he went, he always brought my stepbrother, who seemed to be receiving careful cultivation. However, because the main senior or powerful vassals within the domain, including the three generations of the ruling family, had not changed their attitudes and positions, my stepbrother, who had appeared out of nowhere, would not easily be able to covet the position of successor. At least, the genealogy of the main family was not so easily altered, especially after I had returned safely.

It is important to understand that the system of establishing fiefs overseas originated from the复古版 of the "Rites of Zhou," where the various feudal lords, led by the Duke of Liang, gathered before the Lingde Hall in the capital to swear allegiance to the Tang Emperor and pledged to defend the empire and expand its borders.

From ancient times, the principle of primogeniture, which has been almost unshakable from the imperial family down to the common people, also originated from this "Rites of Zhou." This principle was particularly emphasized and valued in the overseas fiefs, which were established by the Tang people and their descendants as a ruling minority, with a pyramid-like ruling structure composed of various assimilated immigrants and local tamed or enslaved people.

This was an important guarantee and bond to maintain the superiority and cohesion of the ruling class, surrounded by foreign barbarians, and to prevent the so-called "Han people becoming barbarians." It was also a protective measure to ensure that the bloodline of the ruling families of the fiefs would not be gradually transformed by the majority of the assimilated and indigenous populations.

Of course, in the history of the overseas fiefs, there were precedents for mixed-blood or low-born offspring, or illegitimate children being legitimized and inheriting the family business. However, this was only considered when the main family had no other children or blood relatives, and there was a real risk of the family line being cut off or the fief being taken away. Such a situation often brought significant turmoil and unrest.

Therefore, under this traditional system and inertia, the benefit for me is that my position is not easily shaken. Unless there is concrete evidence of my death, even if my stepfather is biased, he cannot act arbitrarily. He can only use a gradual and subtle approach to change the views of the people and vassals, and then propose the possibility of changing the successor.

In fact, the news of my safe return to Guangfu was enough to erase the advantages my stepbrother had accumulated. This is one of the reasons why these two people went to great lengths to come and find me, openly declaring their stance.

The corresponding drawback is that even after I take over as the head of the family, I will need to show sufficient courage and achievements to make a difference among the traditionally conservative vassals and people. For example, I will need to spend more time and energy to promote innovative ideas and proposals.

Therefore, one of the reasons my predecessor left the disputes and limitations of western Borneo and came to Guangfu to seek development is that as long as I can achieve something significant in Guangfu, the center of the Southern Dynasty, the internal disputes and conflicts of the fief will have no impact on me and will be meaningless.

However, if I continue to stay in front of my stepfather, there will always be opportunists around me, and various conflicts and rifts will be pushed to become focal points and pawns in the disputes between the head of the family and the vassals. According to traditional principles of filial piety and loyalty, disobedience and rebellion are also serious offenses.

For me, as a穿越者, the internal family struggles are a boring and unpleasant thing, but I have to face it, which is undoubtedly a painful and conflicting matter. The support from the vassals and my maternal uncle's family also has their own interests and positions, which may not be what I want.

Here, I can not only avoid the malice and interference from within the fief but also have a broader and more open new world. The usual methods of internal family struggles are less effective here.

After all, within the fief, one might still be able to create some accidents and variables, but on the stage of Guangfu, where various forces are intertwined, it is a different matter.

Of course, this reason is also due to a certain experience and lesson left by a mixed-blood servant girl, who was raised from a young age and used for warming the bed and physiological enlightenment, after an "accident."

After a series of talks, they were quite pleased with my "transformation," even to the point of shedding tears.

After all, my predecessor had left in a huff with a group of people to Guangfu to study and establish a career, showing a tendency to start from scratch and establish a separate household. Therefore, he was quite indifferent to the affairs of the fief.

According to their accounts, during my absence, the people of the fief missed my benefits even more and became increasingly dissatisfied with the half-way emerged illegitimate son.

After all, although my predecessor was somewhat unconventional, he could start his own business, help vassals and people expand their businesses and make money, and even solve employment problems within the fief.

In contrast, my stepbrother, limited by his early environment and education, could only use empty promises and future expectations to win people's hearts under the old man's favor, which instead made the vassals and people worried. After all, he had no foundation to fulfill these conditions.

The resources within the fief were limited, and once he took power, to fulfill these promises, someone would inevitably suffer in the redistribution of interests. This is why the conservative and steady faction felt uneasy.

Otherwise, he would have to use the savings from the head of the family's treasury to buy people's hearts, but if he did so, he would be seen as a typical wastrel, and the Luo family would not sit idly by.

In this world, at least on the surface, after I take over, it will not have a significant impact on their current situation and may even bring some benefits.

Therefore, this led to a collective action to express their stance and position, and this time it was just a preliminary move.

The conversation continued until the sky was dark and the lights were on, and they bid farewell. The next day, when they came again, a pile of miscellaneous things was brought in, quickly filling several warehouses I had cleared out. Among them were various finished and semi-finished products left by my predecessor, including a suspected steam engine model, a primitive Volta battery, and a hand-cranked coil set.

The most eye-catching were the sailboat models wrapped in cloth, several sets of hand-made tin and iron soldiers, and a small cannon model made of pure copper, with a precisely scaled gun carriage, firing port, and threaded breech, looking like a high-quality toy from the future. There were traces of gunpowder and bullets having been fired.

There were also various books and notes collected by my predecessor through various channels and at great cost, filling at least a dozen large boxes, which I had not yet had the chance to unpack.

This way, I could accelerate some of my plans.

However, the most numerous were the various daily necessities and tools brought by these two acquaintances, all new except for a few old items with my personal marks. There were also gifts from former vassals and my maternal uncle's family to show goodwill and congratulations.

There were dozens of styles of clothing for each season, with different colors and patterns, including several fur coats made of fox, beaver, and otter fur, which were not even needed in Guangfu, along with bedding, handkerchiefs, shoes, socks, belts, and accessories.

There were over a hundred bolts of silk, satin, and brocade, ranging from common South China cotton, Indian gauze, and Guangfu cotton to rare bird feather fabric and velvet, all available.

There were various sets of silver or gilded tableware and tea sets, with at least seven or eight different materials for spoons and chopsticks. There were redwood tables, desks, and cabinets inlaid with crushed carnelian, mother-of-pearl, and mica, along with beds, chairs, and other furniture, enough to furnish at least a dozen rooms. There were also decorative vases, jars, screens, paintings, curtains, and potted plants, all counted in sets.

A lacquered bed frame alone took up half a room, with storage cabinets and drawers for large and small items, enough for seven or eight people to roll around on. When I tried it out, it took a while to hear the thud and a "ouch."

Among the household items, I even saw a pair of large wooden bathtubs made of nanmu, with an inner diameter of at least ten feet and over ten feet high, requiring a ladder to enter. However, they said that the fief had plenty of such large timber, so the cost was mainly for the labor of cutting and transporting and the carpentry work.

There were also a dozen large bags of snacks and fruits I liked from childhood, and enough daily necessities like firewood, rice, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, sugar, and alcohol to last for a month, filling several large carts.

There were various types of rice, such as Champa rice, Indian glutinous rice, Sarawak rice, Japanese rice, and various types of charcoal, coal, and preserved foods, making it hard to take it all in.

Transporting all these items only took three ships, and some were damaged due to the rough seas and needed to be replaced.

I suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed, as if I had gone from a single man living in a dormitory to a wealthy household where everything was provided, with whatever I needed brought from home by sea.

There were also a dozen slaves, said to be bought from the famous slave market in Jiaozhou, Anam, because they considered that I might not like using people from the fief. These were skilled workers who could speak both the local language and Guangfu dialect, read a few characters, and had at least one life skill. They were middle-aged men and women, with the kind of service skills that take at least ten to twenty years to perfect.

They had been in the service industry for generations, but were recently sold due to the decline of their masters to reduce expenses. They would quickly adapt to the new environment and had no ties to the local Borneo forces.

Under my scrutiny, their expressions were humble and restrained, standing there with their hands folded, giving a sense of reliability and stability.

Of course, the main reason was that, as the old vassal Cai Liao said, the place where I was staying was too simple and cramped, with only rough men for security. The quality of life was a concern, and there was only one personal servant, which was not proper for a head of the family. There should be a clear distinction between inside and outside, and the basic etiquette should be re-established.

This was the minimum symbol of authority and prestige for a person in a high position.

Such thoughtful consideration left me speechless. My predecessor must have been very conflicted to leave these conditions and environment to go north for a covert study.

Looking at the transformed residence, I felt like a child with a new toy, eager to share and show it off.

Perhaps I could host a small tea party.

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