Chapter 58 Two-in-One: The Mess After the Chaos (Including Nutrient Solution and...)

Mingyuan Pass has been under martial law for more than half a month.

Zhou She and Yu Suisheng rushed to the border, took out the documents they carried with them, and handed them to the soldiers guarding the city. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, someone hurried over.

This man is Zhuang Ziqian, who was dragged to this spot before his shift ended.

After Zhuang Ziqian read the documents and imperial edict, and examined the fish-shaped tally proving their identities, he allowed them to enter.

“You’ve come at a bad time.” Zhuang Ziqian led them into the city. “The Northern Di just happened to arrive at this time, so the whole city is under martial law. If it were any other day, we would be able to relax a bit.”

Zhou She knew that Zhuang Ziqian was only using "we" to save face for him. After all, he was the only one who knew nothing about military affairs; everyone else present was a seasoned veteran.

Zhuang Ziqian: "Fortunately, General Cheng is here, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to come."

As he spoke, he glanced at Zhou She discreetly, then recalled the imperial edict he had just read.

This is the future ruler.

The sky spoke of the future, while he saw the present. We'll soon find out what happens.

Zhou She smiled and said, "General Zhuang, you don't need to worry about me. I'll just take a walk around the city and check the situation. I certainly wouldn't dare to interfere in these matters."

Zhuang Ziqian responded, but upon seeing this face, he didn't know how to address it, so he simply cupped his hands in greeting and hurried away.

Zhou She and Yu Suisheng found a place to stay, put their things away, and then went out.

Zhou She's main purpose in going out was to observe. He couldn't become an expert overnight; he could only learn by observing.

If I were to fight in the future, I would be trained with real swords and spears; I couldn't expect to achieve a perfect "conquering the world" outcome on my first battle.

He has a basic understanding of himself.

*

On the sky, brilliant light burst forth.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, unable to tell whether it was divine light or the glow of the sunset.

But none of that matters; the dazzling light seemed to pass through the screen and fall squarely upon them.

In the celestial canopy, Emperor Zhongzong, dressed in imperial robes, led his civil and military officials in a sacrificial ceremony to Heaven and Earth at the Taiji Hall, formally receiving the jade seal that symbolized power.

Emperor Zhongzong slowly walked up to the high place and sat down on the throne. The assembled officials knelt three times and kowtowed nine times, shouting "Long live the Emperor!"

Emperor Zhongzong sat facing the light, the rosy glow of the sky falling upon him, making him appear as if he were truly the Son of Heaven descending to earth.

Emperor Hong'an looked at Emperor Zhongzong on the sky. He could indeed see that Zhongzong and Zhou She had a striking resemblance in appearance. He could vaguely imagine what Zhongzong would look like in the future.

Everything looked thriving and prosperous, a sight that was truly delightful.

The sounds from the sky curtain grew increasingly pleasant:

The wonderful Jinghua Dynasty has begun!

As was customary, Emperor Zhongzong first rewarded his officials, then pulled out his maternal grandfather's former ministers and reinstated them. Xiao Yichun remained prime minister, and Xie Chaoxian, after a few months of despondency, returned to work. Everyone was full of energy, declaring, "For the cause of the youth—I can still do it!"

Emperor Hong'an nodded in satisfaction.

Although Xie Chaoxian was incredibly audacious and insulted him mercilessly, he had to admit that Xie was indeed as capable and virtuous as he had described him.

This is an affirmation of his vision.

All the civil and military officials acknowledged Emperor Zhongzong's abilities, and felt that a prosperous era was just around the corner, and that they would surely be a part of the success.

It's a great pity that if Emperor Hong'an had handed over the throne normally, the Ning Dynasty wouldn't have wasted four years of development. Now, Emperor Zhongzong, upon ascending the throne, faces a mess left after four years of turmoil, and the first problem he faces is: how to deal with the former officials.

All the civil and military officials understood that the old officials Tianmu mentioned were not all of Emperor Hong'an's officials.

Instead, they were people who had previously followed the Fifth Prince, Zhao Shuming, He Jingcheng, and others.

The new emperor has ascended the throne, and he has not yet made any announcements, but these people are already starting to wonder whether he will seek revenge later.

After all, Emperor Jungjong was truly capable of ruthless killing.

After ascending the throne, King Jungjong immediately declared a general amnesty, releasing all criminals except those convicted of serious crimes. He also dispatched ministers to govern the former strongholds of Zhao He and his associates.

Before Fang Jingruo and her entourage set off, the former subjects who had served Zhao He had already knelt down, but bearing the mark of their former master, they were terrified upon hearing that the new emperor had sent people, unsure if they were to be executed later in the autumn.

Fang Jingruo yawned as she got out of bed.

Upon waking up to such shocking news, he carefully reviewed the whole story and realized that things were completely different from what these people had imagined.

The most important thing a new emperor should do upon ascending the throne is to appease the people. What's the point of him settling scores later?

This is not a good thing for local governance either.

Zhou She was strolling through the city with Yu Suisheng when he heard Tian Mu's words and couldn't help but laugh: "It seems that my love of killing has been imprinted on their minds."

Yu Suisheng expressed his support, saying, "It's only natural to take drastic measures against villains and traitors."

Zhou She shook his head: "But this time, it's definitely not about killing people."

Although he doesn't like to think, after listening to the heavens for so long, he has made some progress. The officials' trips to the provinces, combined with the previous decisions, must be aimed at appeasing the people.

As a strategic location once heavily favored by He Jingcheng, the officials of Zhuozhou were naturally terrified when they heard the news of the envoy's arrival.

After Zhuozhou fell, the prefect of Zhuozhou, Li Mingyan, quickly knelt down and surrendered to Emperor Zhongzong. The envoy now heading to Zhuozhou is Prince Huai, Zhong Jin. Li Mingyan secretly said to the commander of the Zhuozhou garrison: "You think Zhong Jin is coming here to find a legitimate way to kill us?"

Why do I say this? Although King Jungjong and Hongan are related, compared to these other members of the imperial clan, they are worlds apart. If King Jungjong truly wanted to kill them, Jong Jin, to demonstrate his loyalty, would certainly have done so ruthlessly.

Wang Zhuo, the commander of Zhuozhou Guard, was also a talented man. After much thought, he came up with a brilliant idea.

He told the prefect: "The new emperor has only recently ascended the throne, and the situation is unstable. His sending Zhong Jin to Zhuozhou is surely ill-intentioned; we're probably in trouble now!"

This passage left everyone speechless, with only one thought in their minds: Emperor Zhongzong was really unlucky. He finally managed to conquer the country, but now he still had to clean up the mess.

Shen Mingzhe gave a slight sneer: "Since Wang Zhuo has surrendered and is making such unfounded speculations, how can he be entrusted with important local responsibilities?"

Without his awareness, he had completely changed the direction of his thinking.

Not only that, he also thought Wang Zhuo was incredibly foolish, being suspicious and paranoid. What was the point of telling Li Mingyan all this now? Did he think that scaring Li Mingyan to death would stop Zhong Jin from coming?

If Zhou Xuyan heard these words, he would definitely mock Shen Mingzhe for being inhuman: What do you mean by being suspicious? This is clearly an attempt to sow discord!

Wang Zhuo's words were not without ulterior motives.

Whether Emperor Zhongzong would pursue past responsibilities was unknown. But he could gain merit! Although this was a tactic Zhao Er had already used, there was no shame in copying others' ideas.

He was determined to get credit!

After listening, Li Mingyan found it very reasonable, but he thought to himself that he wasn't stupid. If he really wanted to rebel, wouldn't he have done it years ago? Why wait until now?

So he went back to consult with his advisor, a truly brilliant strategist who went a step further than Wang Zhuo: "Precisely because Emperor Zhongzong has just ascended the throne, we must seize this opportunity; we cannot sit idly by and wait for our doom. My lord, you possess a province; you can coordinate with both sides. Then, you can contact the Northern Barbarians and lead them from Ganzhou in the west directly into the Central Plains..."

Wow! That's incredibly clever! Li Mingyan thought it was highly feasible and immediately went to prepare. Just then, Zhong Jin arrived, and they quickly locked him up.

Zhong Jin: "???"

What is this all about? This is an undeserved disaster!

Xiao Yichun frowned: "Li Mingyan is so easily swayed; he's no good either."

What does this show? It shows that people's hearts are in turmoil; they may outwardly comply but inwardly resent it. Given the opportunity, these people will spring up like withered trees receiving timely rain!

The four years of turmoil ultimately caused a huge blow, both to the nation's strength and its economy.

Upon learning that Zhong Jin had been arrested, Wang Zhuo exclaimed "Good!" three times and immediately led his troops in, catching the group of people who were having a secret rendezvous red-handed.

He then turned around and released Zhong Jin, showering him with praise and shamelessly flattering him to curry favor.

Xiao Yichun's expression was complicated, and a word that Tianmu had used suddenly came to mind.

Entrapment by law enforcement.

This must be entrapment!

Wang Zhuo personally extinguished the turmoil he had caused. Although it was a small spark, it clearly revealed a very large hidden danger. Emperor Jungjong issued a decree stating that all officials he had accepted would be pardoned for their past actions, and those who had served the rebels would serve him well in the future.

At the same time, he discovered that Zhong Jin, as a member of the imperial clan, would find it difficult to appease the people. Therefore, he replaced him with Yu Suisheng, who had previously surrendered, to be responsible for reading the central government's policies.

Just as Yu Suisheng was about to speak, Zhou She stopped him.

He looked at the soldiers around him who were quickening their pace, his eyes gradually becoming serious: "The Northern Barbarians have started attacking the city again."

He only recently learned about the composition of the Northern Barbarians.

The highest ruler of the Northern Barbarians was the Khan, who advocated succession by brother to brother, and three deputy Khans were appointed under the Khan.

The one leading the troops south now is the son of Dong Qahan, one of the deputy Khans.

He took a deep breath and said to Yu Suisheng, "Let's go take a look too."

Cheng Zhuoran and Zhuang Ziqian stood side by side. Zhou She hurried up the city wall, but was stopped by two soldiers.

Hearing the commotion, Zhuang Ziqian turned around and saw Zhou She standing not far away. He quickly said, "Let them come over."

Zhou She had once witnessed the Northern Di's siege from the sky. But seeing it with his own eyes was a completely different experience. The swirling sand was suffocating, and the endless crowds were even more awe-inspiring.

Cheng Zhuoran kept observing Zhou She's reaction.

Surprisingly, Zhou She remained relatively calm, his breathing only quickened for a moment before he regained his composure.

"You can only observe this battle; do not make any rash moves." Before leaving, Cheng Zhuoran did not forget to give this instruction.

"Rest assured, Lord Cheng."

Zhuang Ziqian then moved closer to Zhou She. He knew he was clearly marked as belonging to one faction, so he tried his best to explain every command decision he made, sharing all his knowledge.

The battle was fierce, and they had no interest in listening to what Tianmu was saying.

[Yu Suisheng's inspection tour of various regions perfectly exemplified his goal of appeasing the people. The ultimate result of Li Mingyan and his group's rebellion was that it created new positions for Jing Huachao—let us say, thank you, Li Mingyan!]

Emperor Hong'an took a deep breath, gaining a further understanding of the confinement of the sky.

The people were overjoyed and enthusiastically echoed Tianmu's words, "Thank you, thank you!"

"Thank you, Li Mingyan!"

Xiao Jianhe couldn't help but wonder if he could do the job if he took Yu Suisheng's place.

Announcing policies may seem easy, but the challenge lies in making timely and correct decisions in the face of various changes.

It must be very difficult for me right now.

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt somewhat discouraged.

Xiao Yichun noticed his dejection and gently patted his head: "Don't worry, you'll have your place in the future. You're just too young now."

Xiao Jianhe nodded, slightly invigorated, and said, "Yes, I will definitely work hard!"

Xiao Yichun chuckled and added, "And guess why Emperor Zhongzong chose Yu Suisheng? Isn't Zhong Jin capable of this important task?"

“The Crown Prince…” Xiao Jianhe frowned, “He was even captured by Li Mingyan…”

In any case, it sounds like they're not very capable.

However, Xiao Yichun simply shook his head: "The Crown Prince of Huai is by no means a fool. But Yu Suisheng's identity dictates that he has other uses. Yu Suisheng comes from the countryside and is more able to connect with the people, that's one reason. But that alone is not enough to convince Emperor Zhongzong to appoint him."

Xiao Jianhe understood somewhat: "If we only consider his background, Fang Jingruo is more suitable."

“That’s right.” Xiao Yichun nodded in satisfaction. “Therefore, the more important reason is that he once worked under Zhao Shuming.”

Even though Yu Suisheng had a poor relationship with his colleagues, they were still acquainted with each other. Moreover, after Yu Suisheng killed Zhao Shuming, historical records say that he "chatted and laughed with the palace guards," indicating that he was not a serious or reserved person, and that he had at least some friendship with a considerable number of people.

People are more likely to listen to what someone like that says.

Although Emperor Zhongzong was criticized by the emperor for being inept at domestic affairs...

Xiao Yichun sighed inwardly: He didn't know exactly how high the requirements were for those skilled in internal affairs, but at least for now, the decisions made by Emperor Zhongzong were correct.

Before Emperor Hong'an passed away, not to mention that people didn't lock their doors at night or pick up lost items on the road, everyone had enjoyed a few good years in terms of having enough to eat.

However, the four-year-long chaos severely damaged the entire Ning Dynasty's national strength. In this nationwide uprising, He Zhao naturally used the granaries for military supplies or to win over the hearts of the people.

So now, the second issue they have to deal with is national strength.

Emperor Hong'an's expression changed slightly.

Although Tianmu was referring to what happened after his death, these questions are clearly related to him, and very closely related at that.

The solution to this problem is simple and clear: reduce taxes and corvée labor, allow the people to recuperate and thrive through benevolent governance, and strengthen economic production, rather than governing the country with harsh punishments.

Of course, the powerful clans had no objection to this. Chu Shan was a ruthless man; he beat a group of people to the ground and made them kneel and sing "Conquest." Besides Chu Shan, there were also some scattered small forces, all of whom were commoners who rose up in rebellion. The first thing they did after the uprising was to kill people, first killing the gentry, then the officials, killing until heads rolled and blood flowed like rivers.

The common people used force to teach the high and mighty nobles what it means to not mess with honest people and what the power of the masses is.

Looking at it now, it's a very good idea. For everyone's sake, let's behave ourselves for a few years.

As soon as Tianmu said this, the people spat and shouted.

"What a bunch of despicable people!" someone scoffed. "They won't be afraid unless they get themselves killed!"

"Can we scare those old men?" They are so arrogant and fierce, how can we be afraid of them?

"I think we need to kill them again, otherwise they won't remember the pain!"

The nobles' gazes froze; they looked at each other, at a loss for words.

After a long while, someone gave an awkward laugh: "Hehe, the sky is too biased towards them."

The crowd responded enthusiastically, filling the hall with a deep sense of resentment.

As the first year of Jinghua was drawing to a close, and with the regions gradually stabilizing, Emperor Zhongzong made a not-so-unconventional decision: he would hold a special imperial examination.

This is indeed a very normal decision.

After all, according to the timeline of the Heavenly Curtain, Emperor Hong'an died four years ago, during which time the imperial examinations would certainly not have been held. Moreover, with all the major powers fighting like idiots, the students probably wouldn't be in the mood to take the exams either.

But things are different now! The political situation is gradually stabilizing, and there are quite a few vacancies, making it the perfect time for promotions and raises.

As everything gradually got back on track, Emperor Hong'an gradually felt relieved.

Although his eye for talent was not very good, some of his descendants were still able to take on important responsibilities. Hehe, that's what you call being blessed by fate.

His brothers, who were eyeing him covetously, hadn't even realized this yet.

The ministers were in complete agreement with the decision and were ready to move on to the next step: arguing to determine the examiners and securing benefits for themselves/their faction. Then they realized, wait a minute!

Emperor Hong'an's heart, which had just been at ease, was now on edge again.

Xiao Yichun: "..." He felt that not being prime minister was fine, he just hoped that no one would cause trouble.

Many female officials had already come into the public eye when Empress Renzhao was in charge of domestic affairs. However, they were only regarded as special cases during wartime, and they followed the same path as the Empress's inner court in normal times. The officials did not take them seriously at all.

But now King Jungjong specifically pointed out: Why should only men take the exam? He now wants men and women to take the exam together, competing for the position of Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), and to receive equal treatment in all future official positions.

Shen Mingzhe: "..." He was about to faint.

Seeing him struggling to breathe, his two assistants were terrified. In a panic, they rushed forward to support their superior and shouted towards the door, "Go and fetch a doctor—!!!"

Lord Shen couldn't catch his breath, and the phrase "a hen crowing at dawn" stuck in his throat, ultimately preventing him from raising his arms and shouting it out.

Xiao Yichun glanced at his grandson beside him and found that the grandson had no reaction and was even eager to try.

He had a premonition.

This decision instantly caused an uproar. The entire court was in an uproar, with officials arguing fiercely and nearly coming to blows. That's right, our Jinghua Dynasty is full of martial spirit and persuades people with reason.

After the court officials, including Emperor Zhongzong, finished arguing, he leisurely asked, "Tan Lichuan, is my decision blocking your way?"

Tan Lichuan, the Minister of Rites, was also a former official of Emperor Hong'an who later followed the sixth prince to join Emperor Zhongzong. Upon hearing this, his confidence surged, and he declared righteously, "This has never happened before in history; how can we change the laws of our ancestors?"

Just recently, Emperor Zhongzong had had a quarrel with the Empress Dowager, so he casually passed on this line to him: "My ascension to the throne is also unprecedented. The ancestors will not change, but the change will begin with me!"

These words nearly knocked Shen Mingzhe unconscious again, even as he slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes widened, and he was about to close them in grief when two assistants shook him frantically: "Lord Shen, look! Isn't that you in the sky?"

Shen Mingzhe: "..." What is this? How come he still has a role in this?

He could tell with his toes that he couldn't possibly win an argument with King Jungjong. But he still kept his eyes open, determined to remember the conversation, to be constantly vigilant, and to ponder it deeply.

In this way, he can refute it again in the future.

But... as he looked at it, he realized that it wasn't quite what he had imagined.