After being exiled, I led my whole family to rebel.

Chapter 302 The Sad Empress
"Take a look at this too." Although Zhou Zhong has a cowardly character, he is still quite open-minded.

The Great Zhou Dynasty had organized training to strictly prohibit those in the harem from intervening in politics, but extraordinary measures should be taken in extraordinary times. He did not want the queen to be unable to protect herself.

Only a strong mother can protect their two young children.

So Zhou Zhong handed over the newspaper from Jinzhou Prefecture, "This thing is called a newspaper, and it is a novelty from Jinzhou Prefecture. It is said that there is an issue every month, and somehow it spread to Bianjing City. It records the latest wars and other news from the Great Zhou Dynasty, and some of the news is even more accurate and faster than what our hidden stakes can bring back."

Queen Yuan Chun was naturally literate. She read it quickly, and then swayed, unable to hide her shock: "Is the situation in the Zhou Dynasty really like this?"

"Yes, the one from Jinzhou Prefecture has occupied eleven cities. The King of Zhoushan in the west was beaten to a pulp by her, and is now leading the crazy believers below to resist desperately. It is said that there is someone very powerful in the east. The firearms used to attack the city were as smooth as walking on the ground, leaving Zhou Heng unable to fight back, so he could only retreat steadily. At present, the eastern front was completely defeated. In a few months, they might reach Zhou Heng's home base of Qiongzhou. go!"

Queen Yuan Chun was silent.

Eleven states!

This is equivalent to half of the entire Zhou Dynasty!
Nowadays, their great Zhou Dynasty orthodoxy is only surviving in this corner.

That female queen is really amazing, but in just a few years, she has already occupied half of the country without any trace!
If Zhou Heng's side continues to lose ground, the kingdom of the Zhou Dynasty will really change its master!

"Firearms?" Queen Yuan Chun bit her lip, "Are those weapons really that powerful? I remember His Majesty said that the soldiers under Zhou Heng are not weak in combat power, and in battle they are on par with General Zhao Yi's army. Why? Are you so vulnerable now?"

"Today's news also caused an uproar in the court. You should know that in the past, all the civil and military officials laughed at the people in Jinzhou Prefecture who specialize in these trivial skills. Now that firearms are released, those ministers in the court who have always said that they want to cut down gold immediately immediately Dumbfounded. Now I just wish I didn't have the chance to go to Jinzhou Mansion. I looked at the ministers in the court today, and my father became furious and lost his temper. All the officials came out and slapped dozens of boards——"

Just by listening to this, Queen Yuan Chun was aware of the turmoil in the previous dynasty.

Although they are emperors and empresses, they are like duckweeds in troubled times. They have to rely on others for life and death.

How sad.

Empress Yuan Chun said sadly: "Is it possible that there is no one who is loyal to the emperor and patriotic in our great court?"

"Then Sun Qingchen is considered a loyal and patriotic person, right? Look what happened to him in the end?" Thinking of when Sun Qingchen came to report the crisis in Jinzhou Mansion four years ago, regardless of danger, no one in the room took it to heart, my father. In order to punish him for lying about military intelligence, Zhou Zhong murmured, "Whether he runs away or he runs away, if he stays in Bianjing City, he will be just like me, and he will die."

Sensing the wailing coming from Zhou Zhong, Empress Yuan Chun felt as if her heart was being cut by a knife. She wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and helped him sit down. The couple sat face to face, holding hands, and leaning on each other for warmth like dying animals.

Zhou Zhong smiled ugly and stretched out his hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, "I have known this day since the day I ascended to the throne of God. It's just that I was greedy and thought that my two children were young, so I had the courage to fight with the sky. "It's a pity that I am not a talented person like Xu Zhenying. Even if I have the intention, the ending is not what I want."

Queen Yuan Chun sobbed: "Your Majesty, don't say that. We don't know who will win. Didn't you say that General Zhao Yi is loyal to you? There must be ministers loyal to you in the court, and the outcome is still unknown."

Zhou Zhong forced a smile and said, "The queen is right, I shouldn't feel sorry for myself."

Thinking that she had persuaded Zhou Chong, Empress Yuan Chun looked happy and wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, "Yes, Your Majesty should think of the bright side. Are you hungry? I have snacks sent from the imperial kitchen in the afternoon. , please take a few bites first——"

Seeing that Queen Yuan Chun no longer looked sad, Zhou Chong smiled and said hello.

After Queen Yuan Chun left, Zhou Zhong still looked gloomy. He read the newspaper that Queen Yuan Chun put on the table again and again, looking horizontally and vertically, with mixed feelings in his heart.

It was said that Jinzhou Prefecture was prosperous, but he could not imagine that there was a more prosperous place in the world than Bianjing City. If so, what kind of life it would be like.

But just from the novelty of the newspaper, Zhou Zhong knew that the manufacturing level of Jinzhou Mansion far exceeded theirs.

Let’s not talk about other things, let’s just talk about this newspaper. The handwriting is so small and beautiful, but there is no blur of ink. Every word is the same size, but it is arranged so neatly.

Not to mention that tens of thousands of copies of this newspaper were printed and sold throughout the Zhou Dynasty. Even many children from poor families could afford it. They only needed one newspaper to grasp the general trend of the world.

This not only requires strong intelligence capabilities, but also money.

It’s no wonder that as soon as this newspaper reached Bianjing City, it caused a stir in the entire scholar circle. Scholars were proud to own a newspaper. Many scholars even formed a book club to study the war, people’s livelihood, and other issues mentioned in the newspaper. economy.

Even though the imperial court had listed it as a forbidden book and did not allow it to be circulated in the Zhou Dynasty, it was banned repeatedly. Scholars still circulated it privately and collected it, which became a common practice.

Who knows that the editor-in-chief of this monthly newspaper is the famous Lin Han.

Lin Han, the great literary figure who was initially said to have been kidnapped by Sun Qingchen, is now prospering under Xu Zhenying of Jinzhou Prefecture, and even becomes the editor-in-chief of a monthly newspaper.

By the time the court reacted, Lin Han's family members had long been secretly sent to Jinzhou Mansion by people from Jinzhou Mansion——

hateful.

Really hateful.

This Lin Han is a thousand times more hateful than Sun Qingchen!
When Zhou Zhong was studying in the Imperial College, he knew that Lin Han was not upholding his duties. He thought that he was a celestial being who didn't like officialdom and only loved romance. Who knew that he would surrender to Xu Zhenying and stab him in the back? Zhou Dynasty's sword.

Zhou Chong was very anxious.

The power of the female queen was growing. Seeing the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty shrinking day by day, a single newspaper caused a stir in Bianjing City. In addition, the orthodoxy that advocated equality for everyone made the lower class people in Bianjing City even more upset. Ready to move.

He is the emperor, and although he loves the people, he also despises them.

The reason why we love the people is because only by loving the people can we consolidate the power in our hands. He even scoffed at the notion that lowly people had personalities mentioned by Jinzhou Mansion.

What kind of personality do ignorant people who have no education or enlightenment have?
Do they understand what personality is?

But until now, he seems to have come back to his senses.

Any orthodoxy exists for the emperor.

No matter what the female queen's true thoughts were, as long as she put forward the concept of equality for everyone, she was tantamount to seizing the hearts and minds of all the suffering people of the Zhou Dynasty.

Who had the most people in the Zhou Dynasty?
Those are naturally the people at the bottom.

Scholars are always in the minority.

With just one move, all the people's hearts could be turned towards her.

Zhou Chong looked at the newspaper and had to sigh in his heart: Xu Zhenying is a terrible enemy.

He really regretted not listening to Sun Qingchen's advice and neglecting to raise tigers. Now I'm afraid it won't be that easy to deal with this big tiger.

What about him.

Where is his way out?

----------------------

In a small alley in Jinzhou Prefecture.

The Fang family has become torn apart since Fang Ruyu surrendered to the enemy. The clansmen hated the Fang family, expelled them from the Fang family branch, and cut off all contact with each other.

Even if they met, they would pretend not to see them. Some even had a bad temper and would curse and spit on them before leaving.

The Fang family almost became mortal enemies.

Therefore, except for the Fang family's big house, everyone else moved to this alley called Calabash Lane. It was during lunch time that the second wife of the Fang family made some simple meals and invited Fang Xun and his son to come out for dinner.

Although the Fang family has some savings, their status is now embarrassing.

Fang Ruyu's escape caused a storm in the city. They couldn't stand the criticism of others, so they gave up on going out to work.

Mrs. Fang's second wife spent time at home playing with some flowers and plants.

Mr. Fang Er was not a person who was obsessed with fame. He had previously cooperated in doing some educational things. Now that he had some free time, he and Fang Xun spent all day in the room studying, tutoring and compiling teaching materials.

Apart from the fact that the family's life is a little more miserable than before, and there are occasional gossips and criticisms, the family's life is going well.

It's just that sometimes when she thinks of the glorious past, Mrs. Fang can't help but complain a lot about the big house.

The father and son could only pretend not to hear.

On this day, the three of them were eating, and suddenly they saw Fang Ningmo's figure wandering outside. Mrs. Fang naturally had a bad look at the people in the main room.

Especially when Fang Ningmo was still shouting Fang Xun's name at the door, Mrs. Fang's second wife made a face, pretending not to see Fang Ningmo outside the door, and placed the dishes and chopsticks loudly.

Fang Ningmo also knew that she was not welcome, so she did not enter the house and only greeted Mr. Fang outside.

Fang Xun said casually: "My cousin is here, I'll go out for a while."

Mrs. Fang Er murmured bitterly: "People who have separated their families, why do they come here so often? Isn't it enough that they dislike us and cause us trouble?"

Mr. Fang Er said: "That thing was done by Fang Ruyu, not Ningmo. My brother and the others were also innocently affected."

"Are they innocent? If they had found out earlier and tied Fang Ruyu at home, what happened today would never have happened! Besides, Fang Ruyu had a criminal record and said he didn't teach his son. It was the father's fault. I think the Fang family is in trouble today. It’s the fault of your elder brother who is obsessed with arithmetic and ignores worldly affairs!”

Mr. Fang Er naturally felt guilty and had no choice but to lower his head and remain silent.

Mrs. Fang's second wife was still angry in her heart, and she kept mumbling: "My son's life is miserable! Now that His Highness has captured eleven states, he is only one step away from the supreme position, but now! Alas! Fang Xun will also be there next year. I’m eighteen, I’m afraid I won’t even be able to find a good in-laws!”

Mr. Fang Er felt uncomfortable whenever this matter was brought up, but he and his eldest brother had been close friends since childhood. Although there was resentment in his heart, he felt pity for the other people in the eldest family.

He could only stay in the middle and say nothing.

However, Fang Xun walked outside the fence and saw Fang Ningmo running away in a dusty state, so he asked, "But what happened to Grandpa?"

Fang Ningmo shook his head, "Grandpa is fine, but just like before, he hides and refuses to see people. I came today to ask my cousin, didn't I say a few days ago that a breeding factory wanted to hire my brother as the deputy director? Why not?"

"So that's what happened..." Fang Xun smiled slightly. The boy's appearance had turned into a young man, and his every move seemed more calm than before. "That person was too utilitarian in doing things and thought that we, Fang Xun, would still have a chance to recover. Pan Gaozhi'er asked me, but you should know that if something like that happens to our family, His Highness will never use us again, so why bother letting others down? "

Fang Ruyu's face was filled with shame and anger, as if ever since Fang Ruyu left with the people from Qiongzhou Prefecture, their big house couldn't avoid this shame and humiliation. This humiliation seemed to have grown behind her, no matter where she went or what she was doing. , there is a feeling like a thorn in the awn.

It's okay now.

In the first month or two after the incident, there were always some nefarious people throwing things into their house. Sometimes it was night incense, sometimes it was stones, and sometimes it was even mourning objects such as paper money and white flags.

No matter where their family goes, there are always people pointing fingers.

——Traitor.

She heard these three words clearly.

Like a sharp sword piercing the heart.

It was then that Fang Ningmo experienced what it was like to be exempted from the death penalty, but unable to escape from a living crime.

Xu Zhenying exempted them from the death penalty and did not even punish them. He only expelled them from the official team. However, the shame and humiliation lingered in her heart for a long time, causing her to toss and turn at night, unable to sleep, and her pillows were wet with tears. , I just wish I could spread my wings and fly to Qiongzhou to catch Fang Ruyu back.

When the incident with the Fang family was mentioned, both brothers and sisters fell silent.

Fang Ruyu had no choice but to say: "Didn't Brother Daniu ask you to do the cement business with him? He is now very well-off in Jinzhou Prefecture, rich in wealth, and has connections with the Ministry of Commerce. You follow him, It’s better than writing some guidance books for examiners now, right?”

Fang Xun still shook his head, "That's even worse. Brother Daniu is a friend of His Highness, and he probably treats our family well for His Highness's sake. His Highness has tried to save our family's lives against all the opinions, and has already endured a lot of criticism. How can I accept His Highness’s favor again?”

Fang Ningmo was speechless for a moment.

Fang Ruyu's escape affected everyone in their Fang family.

Seeing Fang Ningmo picking her fingers at a loss, Fang Xun smiled indifferently: "Don't shrug, you didn't do this, why are you being so coy? Your Highness is not angry with you, and I How could you be angry?"

Fang Ningmo's eyes turned slightly red, as if her tears were about to burst because of Fang Xun's words, and she said aggrievedly: "I really hate her."

She raised her hand to wipe her tears, "My father said that he would publish it in the newspaper to sever the relationship between father and daughter. My mother cried all night last night and didn't say whether she agreed or not. She just kept saying that the family was unfortunate. I just went out and my father also went to promote it. It's over there. It seems serious to me."

Fang Xun sneered, "She deserves it for bringing us to this end."

"Yes, she is confused! She doesn't even want to think about what Zhou Heng is. I'm afraid that she is just fooling her with sweet talk for a few months based on the firearm blueprints, and she is the only one who will suffer for the rest of her life!"

"Let's not talk about her. Let's talk about you. I heard that the eldest aunt is preparing to recruit a wife for you recently?"

Fang Ningmo smiled bitterly, "How can I still feel like this? In the past, maybe people still liked me. Now that the Fang family has been ruined, they can only find idle men. What my grandfather meant that day was for us to consider moving away from Jinzhou Mansion - —”

"You are leaving Jinzhou Mansion?" Fang Xun was a little surprised, "Where are you going?"

"I don't know. We had some savings on hand before. Whether we go to the countryside to buy dozens of acres of land or start a small business from scratch, it's better than being criticized every day in Jinzhou Mansion."

"I'm afraid it's hard to buy land now. People in Jinzhou Prefecture have money, and there are almshouses. Very few people are willing to sell their fields."

"Who said it wasn't? We can only take it one step at a time. There are acquaintances everywhere in Jinzhou Prefecture, and it's inconvenient to do anything. Although the city lord didn't hold us accountable, my father is too shy to bear it. He feels so uncomfortable every day that he hardly even goes out. It seems that he is about to get sick. My grandmother said that we should just move to another place. After all, Your Highness now owns eleven states and the policies are so good, he can live anywhere."

Fang Xun said: "Jinzhou Mansion is the important place of the emperor, and the dragon energy gathers, so it naturally has unique conditions. What's more, there are wars in the east and west, where are you going to move? I don't want to go anywhere, just In Jinzhou Mansion, I have a hunch that it is almost time for His Highness to dominate the country. You and I have worked hard these past few years, so don’t you want to stay here and watch His Highness ascend to the throne? "

Fang Ningmo hesitated, "Of course I did."

"Ningmo, do you remember what His Highness once said? There are people in the world who slander me, bully me, insult me, laugh at me, underestimate me, despise me, hate me, and lie to me. How should I deal with it? Just tolerate them , let him, let him, avoid him, be patient with him, respect him, ignore him, stay for a few more years, you see him. What is suffering?"

Fang Ningmo looked at Fang Xun with a wry smile, "I never thought that my cousin would be the mentally toughest among our younger generation. What you said makes sense. I'll have a good talk with my grandparents after I get back."

"Okay, if you still insist on leaving, you must tell me."

Fang Ningmo nodded, glanced at the long-faced second aunt in the room, and said with some embarrassment: "In that case, I'll take my leave first."

Not long after Fang Ningmo turned around, she heard her second aunt cursing behind her. She had no choice but to shrink her shoulders, slow down her steps, and leave quietly.

Her shoulder lines were tense all the time, and she lowered her head to stare at the shoes, like a bereaved dog, and then quietly disappeared into the gourd alley.