The world of film and television begins with the God of Medicine.

Chapter 1665 The right choice
As someone who had been doing business with Wang Yan for a long time, and as the person in the capital who was most familiar with Wang Yan, and whose status was also considered relatively high, Li Wantang was chosen to represent him.

Wang Yan politely bowed and said, "I've heard about what happened in the city. You've taken care of maintaining order and suppressing those who want to die."

During this period, the departure of the royal family, members of the imperial clan, other members of the Eight Banners, as well as a large number of officials and merchants, created a power vacuum in the capital, leading to a great deal of chaos.

After all, there have been accumulated conflicts here for more than two hundred years. At this time, some people who have become bolder have become wicked. They seek revenge for grievances, settle scores, and rob people when they have no money... The order has been greatly disrupted.

At this critical moment, Li Wantang stepped forward and, together with some military and political figures who had already defected, stabilized the situation in the city.

"Wan Tang dares not take credit. It was all thanks to my own power and influence, the manpower that you had arranged, and the presence of many righteous and benevolent people that the situation in the capital was stabilized."

"You're too modest. I've arranged quite a few people, and many have already written to pledge their allegiance. How come they can't shoulder this responsibility? Knowing when to do what is a sign of talent. Not only knowing what to do, but also doing more and succeeding—that's true talent. You, Li Baiwan, are a true talent."

Li Wantang waved his hands repeatedly: "You flatter me, sir. If we're talking about great talent, I've heard that you have a subordinate named Pang Qingyun. He used to be a battalion officer under Lord Chen, and now he's the deputy commander of the Southern Route Army under your command. General Pang has truly risen through the ranks. That's what you call great talent. I, Wantang, am far from that level."

The so-called Southern Route Army was the force led by Shi Dakai that fought against Di, Jiang, and others in the south. Shi Dakai was the commander-in-chief, and Zhao Erhu was the deputy commander-in-chief, in charge of logistics. Pang Qingyun, the deputy commander-in-chief, was actually a vanguard general, holding the title of deputy commander-in-chief, and could be considered the third-in-command of the Southern Route Army.

However, apart from Shi Dakai and Zhao Erhu, the deputy commanders and generals below them did not have a clear subordinate relationship; there were a lot of so-called third-in-commands.

"Then do you know how he came to be under my command?"

"It is said that the entire army was wiped out..." Li Wantang said, recounting the information he knew.

Shi Dakai, Lord Chen, and Pang Qingyun—these are the three role models that Wang Yan set up, so the things that circulated were all true. In fact, there were no secrets; everything just happened as it was.

Wang Yan shook his head: "You are different from Pang Qingyun."

"Sir, to be honest, it's all gambling. May I ask what the difference is?"

"He's gambling with other people's lives, while you're gambling with your own. Who's right and who's wrong is a matter of opinion."

"I am but a humble son-in-law..."

"Being born into poverty is not a disgrace; what makes a man is the ability to bend and stretch. You know what you want, and you are willing to endure people's scorn and contempt to do it, bringing the Li family to where it is today. What does that have to do with you being a live-in son-in-law? You have the ability, but you just don't have the opportunity. Being a live-in son-in-law is your opportunity."

Wang Yan glanced at him and said, "You're just too ruthless. The Li family is completely under your control, why are you so afraid? You even sent your own son to the border, leaving your old wife at home to live a hard life. They're lucky they weren't swept away by the Taiping army when they passed through."

Li Wantang trembled slightly, stiffly forcing a forced smile, unsure of what to say.

Wang Yan continued, "Don't worry, this is your own business, I don't mean to blame you. After all, you've even gambled with your own life, you're even more ruthless to yourself, so your unfairness to your wife and children seems to have lessened a bit."

"You gambled your life and succeeded. The situation in the capital has been maintained very well, and you'll certainly reap the rewards. I have a Bureau of Commerce under my command; you'll be its head from now on. You'll be a high-ranking official with real authority, much better off than working for Yixin."

Li Wantang instinctively wanted to pat his sleeves twice and kowtow, but stopped himself under Wang Yan's smiling gaze. He simply bowed and cupped his hands, saying, "Thank you for your promotion, sir!"

"It's a new dynasty now, all the old rules are bullshit, the etiquette needs to be redone."

Wang Yan patted Li Wantang on the shoulder, "Let's go. I've heard that the capital is great, but I've lived for so many years to get here, so I have to take a good look around."

"The old man will probably get tired of seeing this in the future."

"The land is vast, and the world is full of life. When is there ever a time for trouble? Take the city walls for example. Look at all those potholes and puddles on the ground. Where is the grandeur of an empire? No wonder a mere 20,000 foreigners were forced to sign the treaty!"

Li Wantang said with a forced smile, "Old man, you're really tough. You beat the foreigners so badly they ran away with their tails between their legs."

"We'll have plenty to fight later. Let's go, into town!"

Amidst laughter and conversation, the army marched into the city in neat formation, lining both sides of the road. Wang Yan, introduced by Li Wantang, met with a group of officials and gentry representatives from the capital at the city gate, and then entered the city unhurriedly through Yongding Gate.

Soldiers, armed and positioned every few meters, had completely blocked off the long street; anyone who dared to cross would be in danger. The civilians thronged behind the soldiers, chattering and jostling to see who was walking past.

Leading the way were the guards, followed by Wang Yan, who had long since lost his shaved head and now sported a neat short haircut. Next came the bald Li Wantang and Wang Yan's subordinates, most of whom had the same short haircut as Wang Yan, with a few having medium-length hair tied up. Behind them were the officials and gentry of the capital, all sporting bald heads like Li Wantang.

In the past, the saying was "keep your hair or lose your head." Although it hasn't reached the point of "losing your head" yet, the label of harboring resentment towards the Qing dynasty is still unpleasant. So, one by one, they all shaved their heads.

Of course, the barbers are too busy to handle the business right now, so some people have cut off most of their braids and are wearing their hair loose, which looks quite comical.

Many of the crowd watching the spectacle had this hairstyle, with a long back and a front that looked like it had been growing for several months.

"Hey? Who is so-and-so?"

"Are you stupid? It's the one waving up ahead."

"She looks so young, probably in her early twenties."

"Who says it isn't?"

Who's that over there?

"Li Baiwan, he's the richest businessman in the capital. He's always in the public eye. You've never seen him before?"

The common people pointed and gossiped about Wang Yan and other important figures who passed by. Except for Wang Yan, whom they respected and dared not name, they generally made casual comments about the others.

With so many people crowded together, no one knows who said what bad things, and no one bothers them—the law doesn't punish the masses, right?

However, having so many people also presents problems.

Excitement often means danger.

As Li Wantang dutifully introduced things to Wang Yan, Wang Yan suddenly stopped and pulled Li Wantang back a few steps.

Before Li Wantang could react, several gunshots rang out. The civilians panicked and tried to flee, but the soldiers standing guard held them back, preventing them from rushing towards Wang Yan. Guards fired at the second floors of nearby buildings, suppressing the fire while forcefully pushing their way through the fleeing crowd and into the shops.

After a burst of gunfire, the guards returned within minutes, some still covered in blood. The officer nodded to Wang Yan, and upon receiving a response, organized the men to regroup and continue marching along the central axis of the capital.

"What, are you scared?"

"Sir, you shouldn't have done that..."

"You weren't afraid when you were risking your life, but you're trembling after just a few shots?" Wang Yan chuckled, continuing to wave to the surrounding crowd. "You know, I've survived hundreds of assassination attempts this year, I'm used to it. With such a good opportunity today, how could no one take action?"

Li Wantang glanced back and, seeing no one go in to investigate, asked curiously, "Are you just... going to leave it like this?"

“Those guys are already dead. Investigating them would be too much trouble and a thankless task. I don’t lack assassins. I have plenty of opportunities to catch them by the tail and kill all their people.”

Those who assassinated him were nothing more than the Manchu Qing dynasty, officials, merchants, and foreigners with lingering ambitions—all groups with significant vested interests. Therefore, the mastermind behind the assassination isn't the main focus; the investigation should be on the arrangements made by these individuals. Since he's been assassinated, we can't simply ignore it; we must uncover as many people as possible who are involved.

In fact, ignoring it is fine, but if he doesn't eliminate those people, the staff turnover will decrease. After these people discover that they have planned dozens of assassinations with great fear but have no effect, the inner torment and huge work pressure they feel might drive those with low psychological resilience to suicide, and even those with high resilience are prone to depression.

So in this respect, wasn't Wang Yan a kind of salvation for them in a way...?

It took Lord Chen thirty years to walk from outside the palace gates to inside. Wang Yan entered the city through Yongding Gate, then passed through Zhengyang Gate, Tiananmen Gate, and Meridian Gate into the palace, finally standing at the entrance of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, which took him almost half a day.

He walked and stopped frequently, surviving three assassination attempts along the way. Those who had surrendered with him were now trembling with fear, and his officials were no better off, all subjected to fair suppression. Physical fitness was something that couldn't be cheated.

This is a public display of his bullying of old men.

No, it's not just old men. Even young people would find it difficult to keep going for this long...

Although the palace was in chaos, it was also very quiet. Various items were scattered on the ground, and the palace eunuchs and maids stood obediently in rows, awaiting their orders, unmoved by the various silks and satins on the ground.

Clearly, there had been some turmoil in the palace. Some were taken away to the border regions, while others took advantage of the chaos to steal and escape. Most of the remaining people tried to hide some things, but had nowhere to go, so they could only kneel in the square of Taihe Gate, waiting for their fate to take its course...

Looking back and hearing the desperate gasps of those behind him, Wang Yan smiled slightly and stepped into the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

This is the largest hall in the palace, the place where important ceremonies are held, and the dragon throne is located here.

Under the watchful eyes of the many virtuous and righteous people behind him, Wang Yan walked step by step toward the dragon throne...

"Breaking news! Wang Yan has already reached the capital!"

In Tianjing, the princes of the Heavenly Kingdom and other high-ranking officials gathered together.

"what?"

"Your Majesty, I beg you to gather troops immediately, otherwise Your Majesty may come to attack us."

"Would it be useful to gather troops? Could we win?"

A group of people were making a ruckus, shouting and cursing incessantly.

Some said they wanted to fight, to fight Wang Yan to the bitter end. Others fully recognized the disparity in strength between the two sides and said they should establish a nation overseas, starting with a campaign in Southeast Asia, where Wang Yan would surely sell them weapons, and they wouldn't be afraid of the foreigners. Still others neither advocated fighting nor against fighting, but simply expressed their current predicament.

After arguing for quite a while, the scene finally quieted down.

Sitting in the front row, Li Cheng, who had not spoken until now, coughed twice: "Gentlemen, I think we should surrender in order to preserve the unity of our Han dynasty."

"What did you say? Surrender?"

Li Cheng's words caused a huge uproar.

These people had been arguing for so long, saying they would fight and not fight, but no one was willing to surrender. Now that Li Cheng had started this argument and clarified the situation, some people began to attack him with a clear conscience.

However, at the same time, those who had previously said they wouldn't fight, or who had remained silent, all began to support Li Cheng.

After arguing for a while, things quieted down again. Li Xiucheng bowed to the Heavenly King sitting high above and said, "Please, Heavenly King, reveal the will of Heaven."

"What talk of destiny? We can't win a fight, and we don't want to leave. What other choice do we have but to surrender?"

The Heavenly King waved his hand, silencing the others, "I'm getting old and don't want to make a fuss. That's my business. I can't force you all to surrender with me. This Heavenly Kingdom doesn't belong to me alone; you all have a share too. I can't act unilaterally. I'll discuss it with Wang Yan recently and come up with a plan."

Those who want to surrender will be given a good position; if not, they'll at least be wealthy enough to live comfortably for the rest of their lives and benefit their descendants. Those who don't want to surrender will be given an opening: you can take your willing soldiers to Southeast Asia. I have nothing to say about that, and I believe Wang Yan should have the courage to do so…”

The king roughly stated his thoughts, which can be summarized in two words: vote.

Those present were all shrewd individuals; even the loudest shouters had no intention of actually fighting Wang Yan, they were just arguing. Many actually wanted to surrender, but none of them wanted to be the first to say it. Li Cheng, understanding the greater good, took the responsibility upon himself to serve the Heavenly King.

In fact, adhering to the principle of holding meetings for major and minor matters, the Heavenly King had already communicated with his core subordinates. Li Cheng's initiative to surrender was in line with the Heavenly King's will.

The fall of the Qing Dynasty, the retreat of the foreigners, and Wang Yan's entry into the capital have clearly demonstrated absolute strength to them. If the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were to launch a military campaign, it would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Rather than doing that, it would be better to take advantage of the fact that Heaven now has some power and strive for better conditions for ourselves. This is the sentiment of everyone, and also the sentiment of the Heavenly King.

Even if a king, as a leader, had a thousand thoughts in his mind, it would have no effect whatsoever. Those below him were convinced; he had no choice but to submit.

They had no other choice but to make the right historical choice...

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　　(End of this chapter)