Chapter 158
The prince is worthy of being a prince. With his skills and courage, he is worthy of being an excellent crown prince. His first move is to offer the temptation of being crowned a king and having fiefdoms, which is hard for ordinary people to resist.
This news was so important that the City Lord's Mansion held a meeting overnight. Everyone was very enthusiastic about speaking.
"The prince has really made a good deal, rewarding the general with the territory he conquered?" This is not the way to offer flowers to Buddha.
"That's not right. The prince only gave Yichun to the general as a fiefdom. What about Huining? Does he want us to return Huining? If so, this deal is a loss."
After the joke, Yao Chunnuan clapped his hands, signaling for silence, and then said, "Tell me, the Crown Prince has taken this step and has tricked the City Lord. How can we break it?"
The members of the City Lord's Mansion present were completely disgusted by the Crown Prince's move. If the King of Zhenbei and his fiefdom accepted it, it would mean the rebellion would end. If not, they would no longer be victims and would be labeled traitors.
Meng Yi was the first to speak up, "Those who steal a hook will be executed, those who steal a country will be made marquises. It's come to this, so why should you still be afraid of a bad reputation? If you do it, what's the point of not accepting it?"
"That's right, once you raise the flag of rebellion, there's no turning back. You either die or reach the top. There's no giving up halfway. Those who surrender halfway will have a bad end!"
"I also don't agree to accept the court's surrender!"
"Me too!"
…
Yao Chunnuan said, "Okay, since no one accepts this, let's find a way to counter the Crown Prince's upcoming checkmate!"
As soon as Yao Chunnuan finished speaking, the generals began to ask further questions.
"Yao Gongcao, do you have any ideas?"
"Yes, Yao Gongcao, you are always resourceful, so you should have a solution, right?"
"Yao Gongcao, if you have a plan and need us to do something, just tell us. We can fight a war, but we are not good at dealing with such shady tactics."
Wu Zongguan scolded with a smile, "I called you together to discuss matters so that you can use your brains more. But you are relying on Yao Gongcao for everything."
"We are counting on not only Yao Gongcao, but also you, Chief Steward Wu."
"roll!"
Yao Chunnuan shook her head in amusement. Public opinion warfare was certainly not the generals' forte. This meeting wasn't really about them coming up with ideas or solutions, but rather about unifying their thinking and persevering through the rebellion. The meeting had achieved its purpose, and she had a plan for dealing with it. All that mattered was waiting for the Crown Prince's men to arrive in Yichun before they could make their move. Admittedly, the Crown Prince's tactics were brilliant, but his thinking was a bit naive. She had never seen anything like framing someone and then blaming them. This time, she was determined to teach him a lesson.
After discussing this, they turned to the current military operations. Currently, there was only one battlefield, and that was in Jiayin County, where they were fighting fiercely with the Diluo tribe.
Ganhua City stationed troops in Suihua, waiting for news from the prince, so they remained on hold.
Xing Changfeng, Yao Chunnuan and others were happy with his behavior. After they ordered people to monitor the movements of his troops, they could have more energy to deal with the Di Luo tribe.
Just then, Yao Chunnuan's intelligence officer handed in a letter.
It was a letter from Ruyin. Yao Chunnuan opened it and saw it was a friendly letter from the Prince of Ruyin. The letter informed them that the imperial court had dispatched approximately 30,000 troops from the northwest, who would soon arrive in Huanhua to join forces with Ganhua City. Furthermore, the Crown Prince would definitely notify Songhua Prefecture to increase its vigilance, and urged them to be extremely cautious when attacking Songhua Prefecture.
After reading the letter, everyone understood that this was a letter for sharing intelligence, and the purpose of King Ruyin was to show goodwill to Yichun.
The contents of the letter left them looking at each other in bewilderment. No, they did plan to attack Songhua Prefecture, but that was after repelling the Northern Di. Despite their ample supplies and a strong army, no matter how confident they were, they wouldn't dare start a war on three fronts in Yichun. But how could these people have anticipated their intention to attack Songhua Prefecture so quickly?
If the Prince of Ruyin and the others knew their doubts, they would definitely tell them that anyone with eyes could see the importance of the Songhua Prefecture Records to Yichun and the inevitability of your sending troops. He could even imagine how panicked the Songhua Prefecture Governor was at this moment!
Jiayin County, Yichun Daying
A general was selecting elite soldiers, "Zhang Yun!"
"have!"
"Yu Feng!"
"have!"
…
Soon, three hundred soldiers were selected. Yu Feng looked around and found that everyone he saw, including himself, was an elite soldier, a clever warrior on the battlefield, and had performed more meritorious deeds than ordinary soldiers.
As expected, they heard General Mu Ye say to them, "The fact that you can stand here proves that you are elite soldiers in the army. Later, this general will take you to the Xing Family Army camp to reunite with the elite soldiers of the Jing Family Army. There is a mission tonight, and your main purpose is to cooperate with the Xing Family Army. Do you understand?!"
Yu Feng shouted along with everyone else, "I heard it!"
When we went to the Xing family army, we found out that they had dispatched seven hundred elite soldiers.
That night, the Xing family army provided meals, but the food was average. As the captain put it, "Everyone, just eat something to fill your stomach first. We'll have a proper meal when we get back from work."
After the meal, weapons and equipment were distributed.
"What's this?"
"nice one!"
"Two bottles per person, tie them around your waist. Remember, don't let them touch the fire, okay?"
Later, Yu Feng found out that this thing was indeed a good thing, and it was also the secret weapon poison of the Xing family army.
********
That day, Yao Chunnuan had some free time, so she went to visit the great scholar Zhu Hongtao whom Ba Yuan had mentioned two days ago.
Zhu Hongtao lived in the west of the city. After Yao Chunnuan handed over the visiting card, she was led in.
In addition to Zhu Hongtao himself, there was another visitor present.
When the other party saw her, he looked her over with a critical eye.
Yao Chunnuan hadn't felt such an unreasonable gaze in a long time, and her brows furrowed slightly. Meanwhile, Axia, standing beside her, clenched her fists.
"Yao Gongcao, please take a seat."
"Hello, Mr. Zhu."
Zhu Hongtao introduced the two men, "Dong Zhao, this is Master Yao, the Minister of the Yichun City Lord's Mansion. Master Yao, this is my friend's nephew, Dong Zhao, who has come to visit me today."
Yao Chunnuan nodded slightly as a greeting.
Feeling neglected, Dong Zhao frowned unhappily.
"Mr. Zhu, I'm sorry to have come to your door this time because I have an important matter to ask for your help." Yao Chunnuan was really busy, and there was nothing much to exchange between the two strangers, so she just spoke directly.
"Please continue speaking, Yao Gongcao."
"Then let me get straight to the point. Our City Lord's Mansion wants to establish a public school in Yichun. I've come here to ask you to come out of retirement and take charge of the school to train some talents for China. I hope Mr. Zhu will not refuse."
Zhu Hongtao didn't say yes or no, but instead asked, "I wonder how the Yichun Public School charges tuition?"
Yao Chunnuan said, "The original idea of Yichun Public School was to divide it into two parts. One part focuses on elementary education. After completing elementary education, those with good qualifications can continue their studies and go to university." For those children who cannot continue their studies, a technical school will be opened in the future to let them go in and learn the skills they are interested in!
"As for the tuition..." Yao Chunnuan said a relatively low figure, "Of course, the salary of the teachers and others will not be lower than that of other places. The rest will be subsidized by the City Lord's Mansion."
Zhu Hongtao gave her a meaningful look.
"Winning people's hearts!" Dong Zhaoze next to her said bluntly that the purpose of her action was to win people's hearts.
Seeing that Zhu Hongtao didn't say anything, Yao Chunnuan just looked at the junior Dong Zhao with disapproval.
In reality, Yao Chunnuan didn't bother to pay any attention to Dong Zhao, but seeing the look in Zhu Hongtao's eyes just now, she felt compelled to explain, "Don't even think about our purpose yet. Even if it's to win people's hearts, aren't the people the ones who benefit from what we're doing?"
Yao Chunnuan wasn't angry either. She kept in mind her goal: to invite Zhu Hongtao out of retirement. Of course, her every word and action had to be directed toward that goal. Getting angry with a stranger would only vent her emotions and would not achieve anything. Moreover, given her status and the other person's status, his affirmation or denial, approval or criticism, meant nothing to her.
Zhu Hongtao repeated her words in his mouth and nodded. Indeed, when people contribute money and effort, the common people will also benefit. It is like winning people's hearts, and the common people are happy to be bought in this way.
Before Zhu Hongtao could speak, Dong Zhao, as if he had discovered something truly significant, asked, "How could such a major matter as office studies be decided by you alone?"
Yao Chunnuan raised an eyebrow. Is this a big deal? She's made decisions on bigger matters, right?
Understanding her expression, Dong Zhao exclaimed, "Hens crowing at dawn and rams giving milk, and you don't think it's strange?"
"Dong Zhao!" Zhu Hongtao called out in disapproval. This was too much. After saying this, he turned to apologize to Yao Chunnuan, "Don't blame me, Master Yao. He's a talented man, but his thinking is a bit pedantic."
Yao Chunnuan ignored Zhu Hongtao and finally looked at Dong Zhao straight in the eye. She felt that the name Dong Zhao sounded a little familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.
Before Yao Chunnuan spoke, Axia, who was standing beside him, took a step forward and spoke for the first time. He said to Dong Zhao angrily, "Do you dare to say that out loud outside?" The people of Yichun were no joke in their love for their master. If he dared to curse his master in the street and refused to admit his mistake, he would be killed before he could even reach the end of the street.
"What am I afraid of?" Dong Zhao said stubbornly.
Zhu Hongtao knew very well that in Yichun, Yao Chunnuan was second only to General Xing Changfeng in popularity. What Dong Zhao had just said was really disrespectful!
At this time, Yao Chunnuan spoke up, "Judging from your features, you're not from Yichun, are you? You have the characteristics of someone from the southwest. Are you here to escape disaster, seek a position, or visit relatives? Regardless, you've taken refuge in a city governed by a woman like me. What qualifications do you have to look down on me? You pick up your bowl to eat, then put it down and curse. Is that polite? Aren't you ashamed?"
Zhu Hongtao was solemn.
After Yao Chunnuan finished speaking, she turned to Zhu Hongtao and said, "Mr. Zhu, I have a straightforward personality. Please don't blame me."
Zhu Hongtao was a little amused and helpless. He had finally experienced Yao Chunnuan's unwillingness to suffer any loss.
Yao Chunnuan's words made Dong Zhao's face turn pale. He understood her implication: it was because of her and others' efforts that Yichun was favored by so many people and became one of the most popular sanctuaries.
Dong Zhaoshi couldn't stay any longer, so he said goodbye to Zhu Hongtao in a hurry and walked out with one foot deep and one foot shallow.
Yao Chunnuan used her good memory and finally remembered who this person was. He was the one who had applied for an official position on the recruitment list but was rejected.
Yao Chunnuan finally gave him a piece of advice, "Dong Zhao, we in Yichun recruit people based on their talents. You need to let go of your prejudice against women. Otherwise, you won't be able to treat everyone equally. No matter how talented and capable someone is, it's easy to be biased when making judgments."
Dong Zhao paused, then left in embarrassment.
After this little episode, both sides were silent for a while.
Zhu Hongtao asked one final question, "Cao Yao, frankly, you're running this public school, aren't you afraid that the talents you cultivate will eventually become valuable to others? Or are you so certain that you and the City Lord and the others can achieve ultimate victory?"
Yao Chunnuan said, "Education is a long-term plan. Cultivating talent benefits the present and future generations. Regardless of whether this world ultimately belongs to us, we must ensure that future leaders of China have talented individuals to rely on and will not be bullied by foreigners." Some unyielding ideas need to be passed down from generation to generation. In the post-modern and modern eras, the pain of foreign invasion was too deep.
Zhu Hongtao was filled with awe. At this moment, he believed that Xing Changfeng, Yao Chunnuan and others were people with great love.
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