Chapter 73: Literary clamor fills the court and the countryside; academies are closed.
The Dingbei City of Suzhou, the Qilian Road of Youzhou, and the Shuofang Trade Road of Wuzhou are three strategic locations in the northern border region. Located twenty li from the Dingbei City gate of Suzhou, at the border between Suzhou and Youzhou, lies a range of mountains even more continuous and majestic than those around Bogong Ridge. This area is known as the Qilian Road.
The mountains are split in the middle, forming a giant canyon. Shaped like a horseshoe, it is named Horseshoe Valley.
Horseshoe Valley is the gateway to the Qilian Mountains.
In the valley, a stone forest stands solemnly. The stone tablets are carved from the local rocks, some high, some low, some straight, some slanted, all mottled from ten years of wind and rain. No grass grows here, there is no overgrown scene, but there is wind, and the sound of the wind fills the ears.
Chen Liangyu, carrying several jugs, dismounted at the mountain pass and walked on foot. In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, she reached the forest of steles. The names and places of origin on each stele were no longer legible. She walked easily to a particular stele.
"I've come to see you."
As she spoke, she placed several wine jugs in front of the monument, saying, "Fruit wine, sweet."
There were many wine jars, pottery and porcelain, large and small, lying overturned in front of the stele. Chen Liangyu picked up a flask of wine, uncorked it, and slowly poured it into the stele forest. She sat down, leaning against Jing Rong's stele.
I wanted to drink a whole pot by myself, but I only drank half of it.
"I'll come back in a while. I'll bring someone with me. I think I should bring her to meet you, so you can meet her too."
Xie Wenjun was still in Wuzhou. After their one night of passion, Xie Wenjun dressed and then displayed his heartless, ruthless, and ungrateful nature to the fullest extent!
She said that Chen Liangyu's presence was distracting her and delaying her from handling agricultural affairs in Wuzhou, so she waved her hand and said, "Daiqing, Rongjun, see the guest out."
After being expelled from the Garden of Beauties, Chen Liangyu summoned Jingming to take a detour around the central axis of the Yaocheng and Shuofang trade routes to redeploy troops and defenses. Afterwards, they returned to Dingbei City.
This land survey began in Wuzhou, then moved on to Suzhou and Youzhou. The three northern prefectures had little arable land, but vast expanses. Some fields were scattered in small plots, while others stretched for dozens of miles, seemingly endless. Measuring every inch would take a considerable amount of time. Xie Wenjun would need to stay in the north for several months to complete the land survey and tax settlement for the three prefectures. If her subordinates were slow in their work, she might be allowed to spend a frugal New Year in Dingbei City. The New Year celebrations in Dingbei City were not as grand as those in the palace.
Chen Liangyu was in an exceptionally good mood. Humming a little tune, he summoned all the scouts on the southern border of Wuzhou and gave them a beating.
"The Princess has already arrived in Wuzhou, yet no one has come to inform us! When did the defenses of the northern border become so porous?"
The scout protested, "General, we had already written a secret note and sent it to the Flying Horses."
In military strongholds, messages were typically relayed via postal relays and beacon towers. However, messages from spies sent from various regions via these relays were easily intercepted. Chen Liangyu reorganized the Flying Horses and wove a spy network across the northern border, with Dingbei City as its terminal. This spiderweb-like network covered the three prefectures and sixteen cities of the northern border, with messages being delivered directly from one node to the Suzhou camp and the Xuanping Marquis's residence in Dingbei City.
Jinghe suddenly remembered something, "Miss, there is news."
Chen Liangyu looked at the spies, a dark mass of them, who were being pressed down on benches and wailing. They had only been beaten twice, and most of them were already struggling like lambs to the slaughter.
"Stop, stop hitting him."
Once their shackles were loosened, the spies scattered like caged birds, bowing and pounding their fists in gratitude.
Chen Liangyu said, "Jinghe, what's wrong with you lately? You've never made such a mistake before."
Jinghe lowered his head, his large head drooping as if pulling on the muscles and bones of his whole body. He bent his legs and knelt in front of Chen Liangyu.
Chen Liangyu said, "Get up and speak. Don't kneel down all the time."
Jinghe dusted himself off and stood up. “There was news from Fei Meng, but when I was about to report to you, you were asking the kitchen to fetch water, saying that the Princess would be coming to the manor today. I thought you had already received the news, so I didn’t say anything more.”
The wind in Horseshoe Valley hadn't stopped. Chen Liangyu was still sitting in the valley, his back against Jing Rong's stele.
She spoke to herself, facing the forest of steles covered in scars and dust, "Jinghe has never been able to get over my brother's death. Jingrong, how can I tell him that my sister-in-law and I really don't blame him, no one blames him. He has such a big head, he can never figure things out."
“We now have an academy. Yongdu has one, and the Northern Border has one too.”
"Ping'er will still lead the Yunhui Army. Lin Yin has a good talent for breaking formations, but her martial arts are lacking. If she can break through the thirty formations in the Spruce Forest this time, we will make an exception and give her the Eagle Cloud Pattern Blade."
A half-finished pot of fruit wine stood crookedly on the stone tablet.
It is called a stele because it is both a tombstone with inscriptions and a solid rock. The stele forest was not carved by craftsmen who spent time and effort to carve it. They just picked up a piece of stone that looked like a stele and used it directly.
The sound of horses' hooves echoed through the valley. A woman in a dazzling red dress rode a spirited horse, cracking her whip, and galloped further and further away.
Xie Wenjun was unable to spend the New Year in the northern border region as Chen Liangyu had wished. With more than half of the agricultural work in Wuzhou still unfinished, Xie Wenjun hurriedly prepared his carriages and set off day and night to return to Yongdu.
Chen Liangyu spurred his horse and galloped at full speed, only catching up with Changning Guard at the border of Wuzhou and intercepting Xie Wenjun's carriage.
She climbed onto the carriage shaft and slipped into the sedan chair, handing Xie Wenjun a piece of silk with a map drawn on it. "Your Highness, although the Southern Continent is small, it is rich. Although its soldiers are few, they are well-trained. If pushed too far, they might seek help from the Eastern Yin. We must not allow Heng Miao to attack rashly. Before the Rebellion of the Five Kings during the Ying Tong era, there was something called the Wanhe Festival."
The carts and horses continued their journey forward without stopping, leaving long tracks on the boundless loess soil.
Chen Liangyu did not ask any questions. The imperial gazette would arrive at the beginning of each month, and she knew why Xie Wenjun was in such a hurry to abandon most of the agricultural work in Wuzhou and return home.
The term "guest star" brought criticism to women's education. Officials advised that Lingjiu Academy be shut down and female students of the Imperial Academy be expelled.
"Women are responsible for the essential task of procreation. Studying and seeking official positions are not their inherent duties. Books, classics, and history are mostly related to the important affairs of the country and the ambitions of men. If women study them, they will only increase their delusions, which will inevitably disrupt the court and disturb the country, which is contrary to the order of heaven and earth. I hope Your Majesty will consider this carefully and make a decision quickly."
"Serving as an official and governing the country is a matter of principle. If women get involved, it will disrupt the natural order and morality. What will become of the social order? It may lead to chaos in the court and a decline in social morality. This is a grave mistake and must not be done!"
Xie Yuan delayed issuing the decree and even suspended the morning court session on the grounds of being unwell.
The civil officials, not satisfied with their demands, were naturally unwilling to give up.
In March, Xie Yuan ordered the Ministry of Works to rebuild the Yanzhi Mountain Palace. As expected, this once again stirred up an uproar among the officials.
After Xie Yuan suspended court for seven days, the officials in red and green robes of Yongdu agreed to gather together in the square in front of Chongzheng Hall.
This civil dispute, unilaterally instigated by civil officials, eventually escalated into a confrontation between ritual and law and between the emperor and his subjects. Cheng Lingdian, the prefect of Yong'an, became a prominent target in the eye of the storm.
"Your Majesty, there are treacherous officials in the court who slander and flatter you, misleading your ears. The empire has just been pacified, and agriculture and sericulture should be the foundation. We should develop water conservancy and cultivate virtuous talents. This is the key to consolidating the foundation and strengthening the nation. Cheng Lingdian has instigated Your Majesty to waste the people's resources on building palaces. His heart is worthy of punishment! He should be dismissed from his post and beheaded!"
The caution of civil officials lies in the fact that when they remonstrate with their superiors, they do not list specific reasons, but rather use moral pretexts to take responsibility and blame themselves.
“Such large-scale construction projects have exhausted the people’s resources and are not the work of a wise ruler. He can neither persuade the emperor nor save the people from suffering. He is an incompetent official and would be better off going home to farm.”
"Without the departure of the guest star, how can the emperor maintain his power? We are incompetent, and we beg Your Majesty to grant us the privilege of retiring from the army and returning to our hometowns."
This unequal standoff lasted for several days, until Xie Yuan was finally defeated.
After the start of summer, southern China experienced a severe drought.
Even Huzehechi, a region with abundant rainfall, was not spared from drying up. Much of the land in the south cracked, resulting in a complete crop failure.
Xie Yuan issued decrees for disaster relief, but none of the six ministries heeded them. With no one to do the work, the decrees couldn't reach the local areas, and the relief funds and grains couldn't reach the people.
The emperor was furious.
This only provoked even more stubborn resistance from the officials.
The disaster is extremely urgent; if it is delayed even for one day, who knows how many more people will die.
In June of this year, when Xie Wenjun set foot in Wuzhou, Yongdu issued an edict to the whole country, ordering female students of the Imperial Academy to cease their studies and be barred from taking the imperial examinations and entering officialdom.
This grand literary commotion did not end with the issuance of this imperial edict.
The civil officials remained dissatisfied with the status quo, and another round of infighting ensued, with factionalism and the elimination of dissidents. The conservative faction occupied the moral high ground, demanding the closure of all women's colleges throughout the region and the investigation and accountability of those who had supported their establishment.
Chen Luan was reprimanded. Wen Xuan's actions even affected Gu Changxue, the Grand Tutor of Cangnan, who had been retired for many years.
Subsequently, it was pointed out that Gu Changxue's granddaughter, Gu Xie, married Qi Xiu, who was actually Yao Jifeng, the eldest son of the Yao family. He was the former Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy and the author of the banned book, "On Women." He was Yao Jifeng, who should have been beheaded when the entire Yao family was executed in the sixteenth year of the Xuanyuan era.
Xie Wenjun's thin lips were pressed tightly together, and her face was ashen.
"If you're tired of living, then die! Do you really think the court has no one to use without them? If you are not willing, there are plenty of others who are!"
Chen Liangyu gripped her hand tightly, held it for a while, and then her fingers nimbly slipped between her fingers, their ten fingers interlocking.
The car body swayed.
She could only see her across this part of the road.
Chen Liangyu asked, "Your Highness, do you have the iron-tipped letter tube with you?"
"Take it with you."
"The border garrison commander is not allowed to return to Yongdu unless he is on duty and summoned. I am too far away to handle matters there. If there is any danger, send me a message as soon as possible."
Chen Liangyu lifted the carriage curtain, and as far as the eye could see, the sky was clear and blue.
Long hoof and wheel tracks extend into the loess sand.
Xie Wenjun grabbed her collar, pulling her closer. He licked her tongue between his teeth and lingered for a long time before finally separating, panting.
Chen Liangyu pinned her against the wall of the room and reached his hand into her clothes.
"The court and the public are all clamoring. That's all they're capable of."
Xie Wenjun grabbed her restless hand, "The trick may be old, but threatening the monarch is the most effective, especially against a monarch like Third Brother who is not deeply rooted and not ruthless enough. If it were Your Majesty, you would definitely make these ministers understand what it means to be a subject of a monarch! It won't work here, another day."
The elder brother Xie Wenjun mentioned was Crown Prince Yizhang.
Chen Liangyu composed himself and kissed her cheek. "Wenxuan has seen it all. If Your Highness and the Emperor find it difficult to handle the affairs of Yongdu, let those civil officials who are only good at empty talk see something else."
What do you want?
"As a last resort, we will resort to military remonstrance."
A huge rock stands in the wilderness, the boundary marker of Wuzhou. Further ahead, Chen Liangyu would have been derelict in his post.
The wheels slowly came to a stop, leaving deeper ruts.
Amidst the swirling sand and dust, Chen Liangyu stood beneath the clear sky where heaven and earth met, her shadow stretching long from short to long. She stood atop a hill, its terrain undulating, and she was high above it. In her field of vision, the Changning Guard, clad in dark, close-fitting armor and fine scales, marched south, gradually disappearing into the distance.
Author's Note: Xie Yuan: "Jiang Ning, I can't hold on any longer, return immediately!"
Thank you for reading this far! (Heart emoji)
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