lady, please calm down

On the sixth day of July, there was a sudden rain in the morning, which relieved the summer heat in Lin'an.

At noon, the officials of the Sansi Yamen inside Chaotian Gate had just arrived on duty. As usual, they made a cup of tea and waited for the newspaper to be delivered.

What was different from the past was that today the officials gathered in groups of three or five to discuss something. Some looked excited, while others were skeptical.

After discussing for a long time, it seemed that no unified understanding could be reached, and many people could not help but look towards the Sansi Panduzhi Office. Although this place nominally belonged to the Sansi Yamen, for officials who often visited each other's duty rooms, this Panduzhi Office was almost a restricted area, and they seldom visited each other on weekdays.

This is because the chief official here, Liu Changqing, and the second official, Zhu Chun, are both from Huaibei.

Last year, under pressure from the Qi army, the Great Zhou signed the Shaoxing Peace Agreement, a treaty under duress, and paid 80 million silver coins in compensation, to be paid in 15 years. In addition to the tax silver as collateral, Liu Changqing's Pan Duzhi Fang was the agency responsible for supervising the Lin'an Dynasty to reduce fiscal expenditures and raise compensation silver.

Since he took office last year, he has not only stopped all palace construction projects in the Great Zhou Dynasty, but also laid off tens of thousands of local soldiers and even slightly reduced the salaries of officials.
By doing this, money was saved, but there was widespread complaint in the court, and Liu Changqing was naturally unwelcome.

But today, officials from various departments not only looked into the Duzhi Office from time to time, but finally could not help it and nominated Cao Wande, the Zuo Cao Lingshi, who was well-known for being a good man in the Sansi Yamen, to go to the Duzhi Office to inquire about the news.

The people in the Pan Duzhi Office, which had always been deserted, were very enthusiastic about Cao Wande's arrival, and Liu Changqing personally entertained him.

"Judge Liu, it is rumored that you are a disciple of the King of Jin. You must be well aware of the affairs in Huaibei."

"Haha, Master Meng did not despise me despite my stupidity. In my early years, I did become a disciple of King Jin."

Liu Changqing admitted it openly.

Chen Chu put him in this position in order to thoroughly implement the will of King Jin, but this kind of assignment would easily cause dissatisfaction and disgust among the entire court of Da Zhou, so revealing his relationship with King Jin was also a means of self-protection.

To prevent some people from taking risks that would harm him. The sign of being the disciple of King Jin still has some deterrent effect.

After the two exchanged a few pleasantries, Cao Wande, who was entrusted by many colleagues, finally got to the point. "Judge Liu, there are rumors that the Prince of Jin annihilated Wanyan Liang's 100,000 troops in a battle on the banks of the Daling River. Some even say that the Prince of Jin has entered Huanglong Mansion. Is this true?"

Liu Changqing seemed to have known that Cao Wande came here to find out this, but he was not in a hurry to answer. Instead, he smiled and asked, "Master Cao, in your opinion, is this true?"

Cao Wande pondered for a moment and said, "We have seen the bravery of the Jin prince's men. However, the Jin Kingdom has dominated the world for 20 to 30 years, with many brave generals and strong soldiers. The Jin prince may have a slight advantage by forming a coalition of four countries, but Wanyan Liang is not an ordinary man. Even if the Jin prince wins, he shouldn't win so quickly."

This is exactly what the officials of the Sansi Yamen have doubts about. The Huaibei Army defeated the Jinxia Army at the gate of Dongjing City, and then went straight to the gate of Lin'an City with an unstoppable force. In their hearts, they have recognized the combat effectiveness of the Huaibei Army.

But the Jin Dynasty was able to turn the world upside down in just 20 to 30 years, relying on its strong army. In this war, they have no way to retreat, and the two sides should be fighting a fierce battle with tit-for-tat and equal strength.

But the Prince of Jin sent out his troops in April, and now it’s only been three months in July. How can he directly capture Huanglong Prefecture?
Liu Changqing did not respond directly to Cao Wande's doubts, but asked again, "Master Cao, regardless of whether this is true or not, do you hope that the King of Jin will take over Huanglong Mansion?"

"."

Cao Wande was stunned. He did not expect Liu Changqing to ask this. Then his face gradually turned red. He said excitedly as if he was humiliated: "What do you mean, Lord Liu! Although Qi and Zhou belong to two dynasties, the great shame of Dingwei in Tokyo eighteen years ago is the hatred of all Han officials in the world! If the King of Jin really led his army to break Huanglongfu, it would be avenging the shame of Han officials in the world! How could I not hope that this is true!"

"Don't be upset, Lord Cao. I was just assuming."

Liu Changqing's consolation did not work, but made Cao Wande even angrier. "Judge Liu was born in Huaibei, how can he understand the pain in our hearts! Now half of the civil and military officials in the court and the people of Lin'an fled after the fall of Tokyo in the Dingwei period! My second brother's family of 15 people were slaughtered by the Jin people before they could escape!

My old boss, the daughter of the Zuo Cao Si Shi, Lord Zhong, was abducted by the Jin people. There has been no news for 18 years, and we don't know whether she is alive or dead. Lord Du, the Salt and Tea Manager"

After Cao Wande listed many colleagues in the Sansi Yamen whose relatives were killed, he finally said: "In the past, our army was weak, and the thought of revenge was like the moon in the well. We could only sigh and cry in the night. But if there is a chance, who would not hope to avenge the blood feud, family feud and national hatred! Although you and I serve different masters, we are also Han officials!"

Cao Wande was so excited that his saliva flew onto Liu Changqing's face. Liu Changqing had little education and a humble background. Even though he had become a fifth-rank official because of the relationship between Prince Jin, he was somewhat unconfident when facing those officials who had been promoted through the imperial examination.

But his deputy and fellow apprentice Zhu Chun had no such concerns about Cao Wande. He only heard him say quietly: "Master Cao, your dynasty was not only 'weak in the past', but it is still so now. This time, we broke through Huanglong Mansion thanks to my teacher's planning and the dedication of my Huaibei soldiers! If it weren't for my teacher, your thoughts of revenge would still be like the moon in the well, and you would still only be able to sigh and cry in the night."

"."

Although what Zhu Chun said was true, Cao Wande felt extremely embarrassed to be ridiculed by a young man in his twenties.

But before he could open his mouth to refute, he suddenly reacted, "This time, we will break through Huanglong Mansion!"

Did the Prince of Jin really conquer the capital of the Jin Dynasty?
Cao Wande opened his mouth to ask, but his lips trembled and he couldn't utter anything.

At this moment, Zhong Che, the left Cao Si Shi of the Sansi Yamen, was late for duty, but met the newsboy who delivered newspapers every day at the gate of the yamen. The newsboy put a thick stack of newspapers at the gatehouse and quickly ran away.

Zhong Che, who was passing by the gatehouse, took a newspaper as usual. He glanced at it while walking towards the duty room, and saw the words "Great Victory" in the headline.

In light of recent rumors, Zhong Che immediately stood still and looked carefully. "The King of Jin defeated Huang Long, and today the eighteen years of hatred are finally avenged!"

After about dozens of breaths, a cry that was not like a human voice suddenly sounded in the solemn Sansi Yamen.

"Victory, victory! The King of Jin has entered the Yellow Dragon Palace and won!"

The Sansi Yamen was such an important place that officials usually did not dare to speak loudly. The ghost's howl immediately attracted countless people to come out of the duty room to inquire what was going on.

However, Lord Zhong Che, a third-rank official who was known for his calm character and inexpressible emotions, was like a madman, waving a newspaper in his hand and shouting at the top of his lungs. Although he had a smile on his face, his face was filled with tears.

Because of his movement, more people quickly picked up the newspapers to read, but then more people went crazy like Lord Zhong.

Some cried bitterly, some laughed, and some knelt down and kowtowed, facing the north in the direction of Tokyo, "Father, the King of Jin has conquered the capital of the Jin Kingdom. Rest in peace, father."

The solemn Sansi Yamen suddenly became like a vegetable market.

Such noise naturally attracted the attention of the chief officer, Chen Bokang. When he saw his subordinates going crazy and before he could get angry, he heard the shouts of "Prince Jin breaks Huanglong".

Chen Bokang quickly ordered someone to bring a newspaper.

Unlike most of his subordinates who only read the title, Chen Bokang read it very carefully, and naturally saw a series of follow-up arrangements made by the Tiance Mansion officials.
'. The captured officials and nobles, including Wanyan Liang, Wanyan Hushe, Gao Zhen, totaling 318 people, will be taken to Tokyo today and executed in the twelfth month to apologize for the crime of Dingwei. I specially invite all those who have grudges against the bandits to come and watch the execution in person.'

'Empress Xianren of the Great Zhou, Wei, died in Wuguo City in the ninth year of Fuchang. The King of Jin ordered that the empress be buried in Tokyo according to the rites of the empress, so that she would not drift in a foreign country, and invited the Emperor of Zhou in Lin'an to go to Tokyo to pay tribute.'

"The 17 heirs of the emperor, including the prince Kai and the princess Fuyi, who died in the Jin Kingdom, and the 120 Han officials who accompanied them, all of whom have inscriptions that can be found, have been reburied in their hometowns. Family members can claim their remains and pay homage."

'More than 40,000 abducted men and women were rescued. Their names and household registrations were compiled and published in batches in 21 newspapers in Qi and Zhou starting from the tenth day of the seventh month. Family members were invited to come and recognize them.'

After reading each item carefully, Chen Bokang breathed a sigh of relief.

It is said that from this time on, no one in the world could match Chen Chu's reputation.

The already precarious Lin'an Dynasty was in an even more awkward position. There were countless people in Lin'an who had grudges against the Jin Kingdom or whose families were separated from them.

The King of Jin not only helped them to avenge their deaths, but also helped him to find his relatives and reburied the royal family and ministers who had died in a foreign land.

If the Lin'an government does not intervene, I wonder how many people will run to Tokyo during the twelfth lunar month.

If you want to stop it, there is no reason at all.

Furthermore, Empress Xianren was the legitimate mother of the Emperor Lin'an, and the reburial was a big deal. Chai Chong should definitely go to pay respects in person, but would he dare to go? The Great Zhou was founded on filial piety.

If I don’t go, I’d be unfilial; if I go, can I ever come back?
More importantly, the Prince of Jin helped the Zhou royal family relocate the royal burial site. If the Emperor of Zhou did not even dare to show his face, then who is the legitimate heir to the throne?

Chen Bokang put himself in Chai Chong's shoes and thought that if he were Chai Chong, he would probably be annoyed and afraid at this moment.

What was annoying was that the Prince of Jin directly made the matter public through newspapers, leaving Chai Chong in a dilemma.

What was frightening was that Chai Chong could do nothing but watch the Prince of Jin gradually erode the reputation of the Great Zhou.

Chen Bokang didn't know that the planning of the public opinion was all done by the little girl from the same clan as him.

I read the headlines of the Business Daily two or three times, and then turned to the second page.

Today's newspapers are almost all about reports on the war in the North.

Chen Bokang's attention was immediately attracted by a piece of news on the second page, about immigration to the outside of the Great Wall.

At the beginning, the report praised the bitter and cold north in the public's impression, saying things like "you can hit roe deer with a stick, scoop fish with a ladle, and pheasants fly into the iron pot", and "the land is so fertile that you can survive by sticking a chopstick in it".

The speech style is very straightforward, and it is obvious that it is designed to attract the lower-class people.

Chen Bokang continued reading, and as he expected, the report mentioned the new policy formulated by the Tiance Mansion: all adult men can sign up, a family of three will be allocated 30 mu of land, a family of five will be allocated 50 mu of land, tax exemption for three years, and 10 taels of land will be available for resettlement.
In addition, there are also policies for wealthy business owners. For businesses with more than 1,000 acres, a 20-year contract can be signed, and there will also be a three-year tax exemption.

The local government will provide supporting services such as security, road construction, and well digging, and the Luliuwei Agricultural Reclamation Association will provide high-yield grain varieties, agricultural technical guidance, and so on.

Below is a series of policy details.

Chen Bokang could clearly feel Chen Chu's eagerness to develop areas outside the Great Wall.

The two had a detailed discussion about this matter many years ago. At that time, Chen Chu said that the population in Jiangnan was too dense. If they could not migrate, this structural contradiction could not be solved by relying solely on the market.

However, Chen Bokang was not optimistic about the migration of people to the areas outside the Great Wall. On the one hand, the Chinese people valued not leaving their homeland. On the other hand, he was a little skeptical that the areas outside the Great Wall were really that good. If the areas outside the Great Wall were really as the newspapers said, why would the Jin people still be so obsessed with the Central Plains?
For a moment, Chen Bokang actually had the urge to go outside the Great Wall to take a look in person.

"Whoo~"

Chen Bokang let out a breath and slowly put down the newspaper.

Regardless of the content on the second edition, just the various measures taken by the King of Jin after conquering the enemy capital have won the hearts of the people all over the world.

Inside the court, the officials' expressions were so excited that they could not be described as celebrating.

Yes, the depression that had been suppressed in my heart for eighteen years has finally dissipated today. In addition to countless emotions, I also feel a rare sense of happiness in my life.

Chen Bokang stood up and looked out the window, only to see that the most unpopular rebel Duzhi House in the past was now surrounded by officials from the three departments inside and outside.

Even officials from other neighboring yamen also ran into the Sansi Yamen in groups. When they saw others, whether they knew them or not, they would smile and bow to each other and say, "Congratulations!"

Then, he asked, "Where does the Jin Wang student Liu work?"

The Sansi Yamen was in a mess, and the neighboring government offices were also in chaos. Chen Bokang could even hear a buzzing sound coming from outside the Chaotian Gate in the distance.

One can imagine what the scene in the city is like at this moment.

Indeed, at this moment, Lin'an City is like a boiling oil pan.

It seemed that all the people in the city had poured into the streets, making it even more lively than during the New Year.

The first to respond was the Huai Goods Store owned by Miao Kui, a wealthy merchant in Lin'an, which offered to sell all its goods at a 50% discount until they ran out of stock.

However, the ones who stood out the most were the students from Liuhuai Preparatory School in the west of the city.

The Liuhuai Preparatory School was funded by the Prince of Jin, who was the honorary principal. This school had no tuition fees, but provided food and accommodation.

Since the beginning of the year when students began to enroll, the school has been crowded with poor students.

Due to favorable conditions and the fact that all the teachers and teachers in the school were either from Huaibei directly or were local scholars close to Huaibei, the students in the school had a fascination and yearning for Huaibei as if it were their spiritual motherland.

Today, they suddenly heard the news that Prince Jin had annihilated more than 70,000 enemies in one battle and galloped into the capital. They were the happiest and most proud of it.

At noon, more than a thousand excited students, wearing the same long school uniform, took to the streets of Lin'an under the leadership of young teachers such as Gu Yuntang and Xue Zhongyi.

The people of Lin'an also knew the relationship between Liuhuai Academy and King Jin, so they praised it generously. Wherever the students went, there were flowers and colorful brocades.

Although Gu Yuntang and others were excited, they felt guilty for claiming this honor. After all, it was Prince Jin who was fighting on the front line, and they were merely his students in name. Many of them had never even seen the Prince Jin.

So, under the guidance of his subconscious mind, Gu Yuntang took his students to Meiyao Cottage again.

Mrs. Mei is from Qi and has an affair with the Prince of Jin. In fact, she is more qualified to receive this honor.

Thinking of this, Gu Yuntang was happy for Mei Dajie, but also felt a little sad.

At 2:15 pm, more than a thousand people blocked the alley where Mei Yao lived.

Mei Yao had no choice but to meet Lu on the second floor, but in the noisy environment, no one could hear what she said below.

Someone in the audience shouted first, "Avenge our family, wash away our national humiliation, and restore the Han and Tang dynasties!"

This sentence seemed to find an outlet for the students' excited emotions that they were eager to release. Soon, one person's shout turned into a thousand people shouting in unison.

Shouting alone seemed unable to fully express their high spirits. Every time the thousand-plus people shouted, they would wave their fists rhythmically upwards.

The scene was extremely passionate, and the shouts spread throughout the city.
However, the phrase "recreating the Han and Tang dynasties" is a bit inappropriate.

The one who avenged their family and washed away the national hatred was the King of Jin. If he could recreate the Han and Tang dynasties, then half of the Zhou Dynasty would be unified!
I don't know whether it was intentional or unintentional, but everyone was cheering very excitedly.

Outside the alley, the bailiff in charge of maintaining order pretended not to understand. Even if he understood, what could he do?

Mr. Mei was treated as a poet specially presented by the King of Jin.

Those enthusiastic students were all from the Huai Preparatory School. Generally speaking, they could all call themselves disciples of King Jin.

I'm a runner in the government office, and I only earn a little over a thousand dollars a month. Is it worth it to work so hard?
Didn’t you see that even the imperial palace not far away was silent, turning a deaf ear to the calls.

Even the Emperor is afraid of the King of Jin. We are just a small messenger. Isn't it shameful to be afraid of the King of Jin? (End of this chapter)