Chapter 146
After the big red list of rewards, the City Lord’s Mansion posted another big red list, but it was posted on another wall. This was the list of recruiting talents.
The call for talents reads: "We wish to pursue great principles and raise our ambitions, but human resources are insufficient. We are now desperate for talent, and so we have posted this notice throughout the land, seeking no one who is unappreciated. All those with unappreciated talents are welcome to apply. Here, only the talented are selected, and the capable are given positions. Over there, there are Bole, waiting for a thousand-mile horse; over there, there are phoenix trees, hoping for the arrival of a phoenix."
This recruitment notice addressed the imperial court's policy of selecting filial and honest officials. The phrase "Only the talented are selected, and the capable are given positions" was enough to attract suppressed talents like Xu Chong.
I'm afraid Wang Lang himself didn't expect that the first person to reveal the list would be Gu Bin.
After their conversation, Yao Chunnuan had a favorable impression of Gu Bin. However, he looked rather familiar. Upon inquiry, she discovered that Gu Bin had been in Yichun for over a month, accompanying his father to Ba Yuan for medical treatment. His father had liver disease, and after a month's treatment, his condition had improved significantly.
Having been here for over a month, he must have witnessed the entire process of Yichun's change of leadership and could be considered a witness to their uprising. Yao Chunnuan thought to himself that he understood military tactics, possessed rationality, a clear mind, courage, and a long-term vision—a rare talent. So he took him to see the city lord. After a round of questions and conversations, the city lord recognized his talent, bestowed upon him the title of Military Advisor General, and assigned him to assist Meng Yi.
A series of measures such as the great rewards and recruitment list of new Yichun were spread intentionally or unintentionally, and the response was quite great.
For a time, New Yichun was a place full of attraction for both ordinary people and talents.
For ordinary people, having land to work for, light taxes, kind officials, and a place where they can afford medical treatment and have their lives guaranteed, it is like a paradise.
For talented individuals, a fair and just environment where meritorious service is rewarded and faults are punished, with clear distinctions between rewards and punishments, is what they need most. Coupled with the new spring recruitment list, which indicated the new Yichun standard of employing only the most capable, countless talented individuals packed their bags and prepared to head north.
******
Bang! The wine bottle on the coffee table was swept to the ground.
The third prince was in a mess and couldn't even stand up. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at the prince viciously, "You are cruel, cruel enough!" The key point is that the prince is cruel to others and to himself, otherwise he would not be fooled.
The prince was not in much better condition at this time. His health was already poor, and with the damage done by the poisoned wine, even though he took the antidote immediately, his internal organs were still churning violently.
But it was all worth it after I killed the third brother.
His personal physician strongly advised against the use of this poison. One of the most direct consequences of the poison passing through his body was that it would shorten his lifespan. The prince didn't care. Lifespan was unknown. Who knew if it was a few years more or less?
"Third brother, don't blame me for being cruel. You know what? Daliang can no longer withstand your torture."
"Haha." The Third Prince said disdainfully, panting, "I don't know! Are you blaming me for my inappropriate response? Where were you during these crucial three or four days?"
"I was in Yichun, but unfortunately, I arrived a step too late and didn't have time to stop Xing Changfeng from starting a rebellion..." The prince chattered on and on as he told the third prince about his mental journey in Yichun.
"You know what? My only thought right now is that I can't let Daliang perish in the hands of my generation. I've even thought that if my health fails, Daliang will have to be handed over to you."
The Third Prince was a bit surprised, then he snapped, "Don't try to trick me!" If the Crown Prince dared to touch him, he would be ready to fight to the bitter end! Don't even think about getting him to give in with just a few words?!
The prince smiled and said, "I'm not lying to you. Is there any need for me to lie to you at this moment? Because compared to you, the others are even worse. Although you have a perverse personality, your abilities are much better than the others."
After the prince finished speaking, he struggled to his feet with the help of his confidant. "I'll have the imperial physician come and treat you later. I don't want your life, so you can stay here peacefully. If I can one day turn the tide and save Daliang from the fall of Daxia, I will release you."
The prince stood at the gate, seemingly in unbearable pain. After a while, when the pain subsided, he said, "If I am unfortunately killed by the rebels, I will have you released. No matter what, I will give you freedom in the end." After saying this, he slowly left.
The third prince was left alone in the room, his expression changing constantly. Finally, he couldn't help but smash the whole room to pieces.
All these movements were reported to the prince.
The Crown Prince's expression was cold, as if he had anticipated this. As the third prince, he still had a soft spot in his heart, but he still ordered the continued monitoring of the Third Prince's forces.
Then he went to see his father.
At that time, he had just finished drinking the medicine and was lying down. When he learned that the prince was coming, he opened his cloudy eyes. His body, which had been hollowed out by alcohol and sex in his early years, could no longer stand up. He looked at the prince, sighed, and said in a rare lucid voice, "Do whatever you want. I will bear all the blame for you."
As soon as the prince came out of his father's bedroom, he started to get busy.
"Prince, please take a rest."
"There's no time to rest."
Then, the prince dragged on and began to mobilize troops and generals.
As Yao Chunnuan had predicted, Daliang's manpower was limited, making it impossible to wage war on multiple fronts. This was especially true with the troops in the northeast essentially depleted, leaving them stretched to the limit. The Yichun military settlement had rebelled, and Marshal Zhu's wavering was now being suppressed by Xing Changfeng's forces. The troops in the northeast could no longer be relied upon.
Even if fighting on multiple fronts was not an option, the rebellion had to be suppressed. This was a matter of prestige for the imperial court and the prestige of Daliang, which could not be compromised. Therefore, the crown prince could only deploy heavy troops to attack the culprit, the Prince of Ruyin, while deploying light troops in Annan and Yichun. Yichun, in particular, had fewer troops, so its focus was on defense. Furthermore, he ordered the governors of Huanhua, Huining, and Songhua Prefecture to guard against the new Yichun.
The prince knew very well that each of these people was a tough opponent, and if possible, he really wanted to wipe out all three of them.
In fact, during this fight, the prince knew that keeping Xing Changfeng would cause endless troubles, but reality did not allow it.
The Southern Barbarians are ready to make a move: the Northern Di can be ignored for the time being because they are blocked by the Yichun camp and Xing Changfeng: the Northern Rong are in the middle of a war: the prince is somewhat comforted by the fact that the Eastern Yi are relatively well behaved.
External and internal troubles, real external and internal troubles. The prince was determined. If the rebellion was not suppressed, he would no longer mobilize troops to suppress it. To resist the external attack, he had to maintain internal peace! He would not give up on eradicating these traitors!
In addition, the Crown Prince also ordered a blockade of the salt and iron reserves in Ningzhou (Annan), Xuzhou (Ruyin), and Youzhou (Yichun), strictly prohibiting the flow of salt and iron into these three areas. With this order, the Crown Prince felt relieved. His only concern was the private salt owner who sold iodized fine salt...
******
Zhu Yongnian returned from Wangyatan to the City Lord's Mansion in the main city of Yichun to report on his work. The City Lord and the Gongcao met him at the same time.
Looking at the city that now belonged to them and the land beneath their feet, Zhu Yongnian was filled with excitement. As early as when he took over Wangya Beach, he had privately speculated about it. Unexpectedly, his speculation came true, hahahaha.
After taking over Xinyichun, Wangyatan now belonged to them. Next, the development of salt and iron became the top priority for Xinyichun. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, these two projects would undoubtedly be blocked by the imperial court. Therefore, they needed to become self-sufficient.
Finally, the city lord said to Zhu Yongnian, "Just go for it."
Zhu Yongnian responded loudly. He had been eager to get to work, but the generals and Chief Secretary Yao had told him to take it easy, so he had been forced to do so. Now, he had finally received the order to go all out. He was determined to make Wangya Beach covered with white sea salt!
*****
On this rare day, Yao Chunnuan and Qi Yingshan both returned to the Yao Mansion. Previously, due to their busy schedules, they often stayed in the main city.
They came back this time to move. After all, the Yichun military settlement was too far away from the city lord's mansion where the main city of Yichun was located, and going back and forth was a waste of time.
After Yao Chunnuan took over the main city of Yichun, she had Shuyuan Street, two streets away from the main city, tidied up. The people who originally lived on this street were considered the rich and powerful in Yichun's main city, and their houses were all good.
The main reason was that all the officials of the former prefectural government were caught in one fell swoop, and there were very few good ones among them, so all the houses on this street were requisitioned without any guilt at all, and even no compensation was required.
The houses on Shuyuan Street were awarded by the city lord according to their military merits. Yao Chunnuan undoubtedly received one. The Qi family also received one, mainly due to the promotion of Qi Laosan to Lieutenant General. While this was still somewhat insufficient, considering the merits of the four Qi brothers, a house was certainly a good enough reward.
After distributing them to the higher-ups, there were still some left, so the city lord simply put them in the exchange building and allowed them to be exchanged for merit points.
Because Yao's father and eldest brother Yao had run Yao Ji, and second brother Yao had made great contributions this time, they also exchanged for a smaller house that was a little further away with the help of Yao Chunnuan.
There is also Uncle Yao's family. Because Uncle Yao and his cousins had worked in the military settlement before, they had accumulated a lot of merit points. In addition to this great reward, they earned a large amount of merit points. Therefore, with the help of Grandfather Yao, they gritted their teeth and exchanged them for a small house.
Only Uncle Li's family came late and the accumulated merit points were far from enough, so they could only buy a house two streets away from Shuyuan Street. Fortunately, it was not too far away.
On their day off, Yao Chunnuan and Qi Yingshan put aside their official duties for a rare time and accompanied each other in the yard to drink tea, appreciate flowers, read books, and spend time with little Yao Xi.
After that night, the two would spend the night together depending on the situation. Yao Chunnuan kept his spare clothes in her closet. In the new house, Yao Chunnuan also prepared a study for him. Their studies were adjacent, intimate, but not interfering with each other.
Qi Yingshan and little Yaoxi get along well. He is quite skilled in taking care of children, and little Yaoxi is willing to follow him. The little guy is often amused by him and laughs so much that his face is covered with saliva. He just smiles faintly and takes care of the child.
Just when the three of them were relaxing, the doorman came and said someone was looking for them. The other party said it was an old friend from the South District.
When Yao Chunnuan heard this, she probably guessed the identity of the visitor. When she arrived at the door with her family, she found that Old Man Luo, Aunt Yun and the eldest of the Zeng brothers, her former neighbors, were all there.
They came to thank her this time, and none of them came empty-handed. Now they were no longer criminals exiled from Daliang, but had become ordinary people in Xinyichun.
Aunt Yun and Old Man Luo were both very emotional. If Daliang didn't pardon them, someone else would! They wouldn't leave either. They would stay in Xinyichun, in the military settlement, live a good life, and be well fed.
After the two old men finished speaking, Zeng Laoda said a little embarrassedly, "There were some bad things about Taohua in the past. I hope you will be magnanimous and not take it to heart."
Yao Chunnuan laughed. How long had it been since she met them? If she hadn't met them, she would have almost forgotten about this person.
"The two brothers of the Zeng family are planning to join the army." Aunt Yun also said.
After Aunt Yun finished speaking, she couldn't help but look at Qi Yingshan, who was holding the child next to Yao Chunnuan. She nodded secretly as she looked at him. The young man was tall, handsome, and had a gentle temperament. He was a good match for Yao Gongcao.
From the three of them, I learned that these pardoned prisoners, after becoming citizens of the new Yichun, did not leave. Some directly joined the army, while others planned to come to support them. With so much trust and expectations, Yao Chunnuan felt a heavy responsibility.
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