Chapter 601: The Protectorate General’s Authority
“My lord, Lord Wang and others are long gone, should we head back?”
Hu Haihe’s voice sounded by him and only then did Yan Liqiang move his gaze back. Wang Jianbei, Liu Yucheng, and the others were long gone now. One could barely see the dust from their tracks.
Yan Liqiang looked around at the people around him. Hu Haihe seemed very excited and so were Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng. Looking at the others, everyone looked at him with respect whether it was citizens or soldiers. Quite a few people lowered their heads, not daring to look at him.
“My lord…” Yan Liqiang mumbled. Before, Hu Haihe called him Young Master but now Hu Haihe called him Lord. As the Qiyun Protectorate General, he deserved this lord title!
Now that his title changed, how was he to do this job properly? Yan Liqiang immediately felt the burden of these two words.
Seeing Yan Liqiang nod, Hu Haihe immediately drew over Yan Liqiang’s Snowstorm Cloud but Yan Liqiang didn’t get on it. He walked up to Sixth Grandfather and held his hand, “Grandfather, thank you for today!”
This whole parade was actually just a ceremony but it had to be done. At least it allowed them to leave comfortably in a good mood.
“Liqiang, my bones won’t collapse so don’t worry about me. just do what you need to do. I was able to show my face to the Prefectural Governor because of you. I may not be capable, but I can watch over the Yan Fortress for you every day. My eyes are still pretty good. If some bad person dares to come, he can’t escape my eyes. I’ll notify the law enforcer to capture him immediately!” Sixth Grandpa said shakily, “I’m still going to live on for another decade or two. When you take back the Gulang Plains, I’ll call my son to take me there once and I’ll be satisfied. I’ve been there twice when I was young. The waters are beautiful and the land is fertile. Lamb and cows are all over the land. Liqiang you must let me see…”
“Grandfather, don’t worry, there will be such a day!” Yan Liqiang shook the old man’s hand.
“Good, good…”
“Bring my carriage over, and use it to send Sixth Grandfather back to the Yan Fortress…”
“Yes!”
Yan Liqiang then bid farewell to Sixth Grandfather and got on his horse to take his men back to Pingxi City.
“Greetings, Protectorate General!” The two rows of soldiers saluted to Yan Liqiang.
“Good work everyone!” Yan Liqiang waved to the soldiers at the gates and then went into the city. The city streets were still under strict orders — soldiers were on the sides of the road with people behind them looking everywhere. When Yan Liqiang rode back into the city, huge exclamations of joy exploded from the sides of the streets. Some people threw down flower petals. Quite a few girls saw Yan Liqiang for the first time and those young ones especially were very excited.
Yan Liqiang kept a straight posture and smiled as he waved his hand. When he returned to the estate, the guests there were gathered at the door waiting for Yan Liqiang to come back.
When Yan Liqiang left, the prefectural governor’s office banner was still there. But now, it was taken down and there was a new one there covered with a red cloth.
“We’re waiting for you to reveal the banner!” Liang Yijie smiled.
Yan Liqiang looked up and said nothing. He jumped ten meters across and then reached up to the banner and pulled down the cloth before letting it fall to the ground.
He looked up and the banner was shown. There were three shining words: Qiyun Protectorate Office!
“Greetings, Protectorate General!” Everyone saluted Yan Liqiang and looked at him as though they were waiting for him to say something.
Yan Liqiang looked at everyone with a serious face and said, “I’m old friends with some of you and with some of you it’s our first time seeing each other. Some people might not be familiar with me, but time will tell. Today, I am opening my estate and officially starting in the Qiyun Protectorate General position. I won’t say much but today I need to make three points. Since I’m in this position, I will do what I’m responsible for and protect my land and citizens. I promise everyone that no matter what, Qiyun will always be part of the Great Han Empire’s land, never the land the thugs ravage. No matter how chaotic the Gulang Plains are, I won’t let a foreign race take half a step over White Stone Pass and Mount Jade Dragon regardless whether it’s the Shatu or Black Ram people!”
With these words, people cheered, “Great!”
“The second point I need to make is, I have a mountain of wealth and good future. Those who want it please be straight forward, don’t go down a shady path. I’ll let go of the shady things the officials here did in the past. All the citizens in the prefecture are my family. If anyone abuses them, it will be the same as abusing me. If anyone dares to abuse citizens behind my back or conspires with foreign enemies, I will cut you down!”
These words made some officials sweat. When they saw Yan Liqiang’s sharp eyes, their hearts shivered. Yan Liqiang was from Pingxi Prefecture — he wasn’t a foreigner like Wang Jianbei. The Yan Clan was a big family within Qinghe County. Yan Liqiang had 3,000 archery academy students all over Pingxi Prefecture. Their families and friends were everywhere whether it was in bureaucracy or the military. It was impossible to hide something from Yan Liqiang as he had eyes and ears all over the prefecture. Thinking about this, some problematic officials felt their legs go soft and almost couldn’t stand up.