Chapter 100: Good News
The soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty advanced like a hot knife through butter and fought their way to the vicinity of the king's tent.
After understanding the movements of all the Turkic troops and confirming that the Turks would not raid the border cities of the Great Zhou, all the soldiers of the Great Zhou stationed on the border went out, determined to defeat the Turks.
For the Turks, they had spent several days like hell. The Great Zhou had sophisticated weapons, explosives, and armor. The elite armor of the Great Zhou even wrapped tightly around the neck. No matter how brave the Turks were, what could they do?
For hundreds of years, the Turks, known as the wolves of the steppe for their bravery and fighting skills, have been defeated one after another.
Most of the Turkic nobles were completely devoid of righteousness. Their daily indulgences had already filled their bellies with fat intestines. The sight of them gathering together and howling like ghosts and wolves was truly shocking. Yuan Kang took a cold look at them and ordered his men, "Deal with them as you will."
The most important thing now is to catch Ashina Ziluo.
Yan Xuanyu had already provided the best hardware facilities to the best of his ability, but war, of course, meant bloodshed and death, and the Great Zhou soldiers had also suffered losses. After viewing the Turkic royal captives, Yuan Kang ordered his men to count the wounded and the casualties on his side. For those who had died, the barracks would provide a generous pension to their families and provide ongoing care for their loved ones.
Every name is registered.
Wang Qingyun was amazed watching from the side. After so many years of military service, he was used to seeing soldiers leaving, but Yuan Kang's distribution of pensions and care for the families of the dead soldiers surprised him.
"Is this also the will of our Majesty?" Wang Qingyun said. He thought for a while and suddenly laughed.
"Yes... Only in this way can the soldiers fight without worries and fight with all their might."
He used a smile to hide the tears that suddenly appeared in his eyes.
Only people like this can make them fight for their lives!
...
Good news comes in frequently.
Everything that happened pointed to one result - in all those years of fighting with the Turks, the Great Zhou ultimately won.
Looking at the current situation, who could have imagined that just over a decade ago, the Great Zhou had reached the point where it had to offer gifts to the Turks in order to gain good relations? And the Great Zhou of today is no longer the same.
It has not even been ten years since His Majesty ascended the throne, but the people of the Great Zhou feel as if many years have passed.
In the past, how could the people have a warm winter? How could they have enough food to eat?
In the present Great Zhou Dynasty, everyone has a goal to live. As long as they are not too lazy, they can earn a living by their physical strength. Even women can find sewing work. Some sewing shops only recruit women and pay them by piece. The better and faster the work, the more money they get.
Not only did the common people of the Great Zhou Dynasty live better, but even those with a little more money also enjoyed a more affluent lifestyle. There were theaters and teahouses, needless to say, but the theaters were still packed to the brim, and private rooms were still incredibly expensive. Some theatergoers would watch the same play over and over again, never getting tired of it, and would even say it was always new.
Recently, the Beijing Daily reported that the "park" would start selling tickets.
With the theater in front, everyone is now familiar with what "ticket sales" are, but they still don't know what a park is.
Since this is the only park in the whole Zhou Dynasty, Yan Xuanyu was lazy and just named it Park.
After listening to Yan Xuanyu's explanation of what a "park" was, Han Yuan praised it a few times. "Park, park, a garden that belongs to the public and is open to people all over the world is not bad," he said, and he kept looking at Yan Xuanyu with approval.
Upon hearing this, Yan Xuanyu had no choice but to look profound and say, "Yes, that's what I thought."
As for why he thought of building a park, it was because the Zhaixing Tower had been idle after the imperial examination ended this year. Yan Xuanyu usually didn't have the hobby of climbing high to see the sights, and because the tower was extremely tall and large, people had to be sent to clean it every day, which was an expense all in all.
So Yan Xuanyu simply thought of building a park with Zhaixing Tower as the center.
Zhaixing Tower was the place where the emperor awarded the top scholar in the first imperial examination. It was truly extraordinary, so why not buy a ticket to go inside and take a look? Besides, the ticket price wasn't expensive at all, just a few coins. Of course, if you wanted to go higher, you had to pay extra, but high-rise buildings were beyond the reach of ordinary people.
What Yan Xuanyu didn't expect was that after the building was opened, countless scholars came in to touch it. The stone tablet in front of the building, which read "Zhaixing Tower", was obviously made of ordinary stone, but it was touched so much that it reflected light. The scholars said it was a sign of literary luck...
There are already dense gardens around the Zhaixing Tower, and many flowers and plants have been transplanted. Now it can be turned into a place for viewing and entertainment. Yan Xuanyu knows that many people in the capital are fond of elegance, so he also set up a Qushui Liushang that is very much in line with their aesthetic taste. There are also various recreational activities such as boats and pleasure boats on the lake, as well as various recreational activities, such as a Cuju field, etc. It is a large-scale activity center for the ancients.
When Yan Xuanyu first proposed to build a park, because Zhaixing Tower was also within the scope, it attracted many different opinions - they did not directly refute Yan Xuanyu, but instead stated their reasons one by one.
This is also one of the commonly accepted rules among officials today, that is, when they have different opinions from the emperor, there is no need to say nonsense such as "Your Majesty, you must not do this", but they need to state their reasons and then discuss it.
For example, regarding whether the Zhaixing Tower should be open to the public, officials who hold opposing views believe that the Zhaixing Tower is where the emperor conferred titles on Jinshi scholars. How could it be tolerated if everyone could enter?
Yan Xuanyu certainly had a way to respond to this statement, but before he could open his mouth, an official stepped forward and said that the imperial examination was open to everyone in the world, and there was nothing wrong with opening the Zhaixing Tower to the public, which could also encourage people all over the world to study.
Yan Xuanyu has already made a plan. After the park opens, Zhaixing Tower can also offer a top-floor package. By spending a certain amount of money, you can enjoy the park's fireworks every few days from the top floor.
Yes, ever since the fireworks were made in the camp outside the city, Yan Xuanyu has been using them to his advantage. Fireworks were also used in the border war with the Turks this time. However, they were improved versions of fireworks used to transmit signals. Different colors and sounds had different meanings, and they played a huge role on the battlefield, making up for the disadvantage of untimely information exchange during marches and battles to a large extent.
If it is for viewing, then the fireworks need to be more spectacular, preferably colorful and dazzling, in shapes like chrysanthemums or fountains!
Another reason for the opening of the park is to celebrate the victory in the border attack on the Turks. Now most of the Turkic areas have been taken over by the Great Zhou, and the rest are only scattered. Compared with the army of the Great Zhou, they no longer pose a threat. The only problem is that Ashina Ziro is still missing.
Yan Xuanyu pondered for a moment and moved forward the annual population census that was to be conducted in the Great Zhou Dynasty by a few months, just in time to update the identity cards of the people.
Because he strongly suspected that Ashina Ziro believed that the most dangerous place was the safest place, and he might come to the territory of Da Zhou. After all, according to the confessions of the prisoners who had been interrogated before, the man in the bamboo hat who had appeared before might be Ashina Ziro himself. He had half Central Plains blood. Not only did he look no different from the people of the Central Plains, he was also very familiar with the habits of the people of Da Zhou.
...
Yan Xuanyu planned to take Li Zhongxian and select a few ministers to take a look at the park on the day it was officially opened.
Because this trip was casual and there was nothing to hide, Wang Qinyao and Li Zhiwei also wanted to go together, because it would save a lot of trouble if they went with Yan Xuanyu.
The two of them came here not only for sightseeing, but also planned to write down their experiences and publish them in the Lanzhou Daily.
Even though Wang Qinyao and Li Zhiwei's names haven't appeared in front of Yan Xuanyu for a long time, they have done just as much.
Lanzhou Daily only accounts for a large part of it.
The two of them are simply the most tacitly coordinated partners. The Lan Bao is to make a name for them in the circle of noble ladies in Beijing. Although their identities can make Lan Bao influential among the female relatives in Beijing, that is ultimately because of the relationship in the palace. What they want is to truly allow Lan Bao to enter the lives of the female relatives.
From makeup to clothing, Yan Xuanyu didn't know much about it, but he knew some makeup that was popular in history, such as the pearl makeup of women in the Song Dynasty, and the painted flower hairpins, etc. He only mentioned them a few times at most, but he didn't expect that Wang Qinyao and Li Zhiwei did it so well in the end, which surprised Yan Xuanyu.
They not only sparked a trend for pearl makeup in the Great Zhou Dynasty, but also sparked a pearl craze. Pearl powder could be used as a facial mask, pearls could be inlaid on jewelry as decoration, and small pearls could even be made into tassels...
Pearls were not a very rare thing in the Great Zhou Dynasty. However, since the pearl craze began, the economy of coastal cities has been instantly boosted.
The fishermen on the coast now had a job, and several governors of coastal cities decided to cooperate and set up a pearl "assembly line" that was dedicated to opening clams and transporting pearls. This prevented any chaos anywhere and made the coastal area more organized.
Not only pearl makeup, but also various flower ornaments, jewelry, and skirt styles. Until today, just as Wang Qinyao and Li Zhiwei imagined, Lanbao has penetrated into the lives of female relatives, not only the upper class. Now Lanbao has opened a new section and plans to expand its audience.
What surprised Yan Xuanyu was that they also made bags...
Yan Xuanyu was sure that he had never told Li Zhiwei and the others anything about bags, which meant that this kind of handbag was something they came up with on their own...
This is nothing. Yan Xuanyu remembered that there were records of ancient people carrying shoulder bags in Chinese history. However... he still looked at the bags they made with a mixed feeling of shock.
They came up with cross-body bags and handbags with trendy patterns and styles, and they are very convenient to carry.
However, they are not so popular now, and are only popular in the upper circles. Moreover, noble women do not carry them themselves, but let their servants carry them, mainly to show their status.
Yan Xuanyu really wanted to say, there are so many surprises that he doesn't know about...
In fact, Yan Xuanyu also thought about whether promoting Lanzhou Daily would also be a manifestation of his not treating women as equals. But he soon figured out the key.
This era is not as good as the environment in later generations. In this case, it is better to promote Lanbao first and let them have their own voice.
Yan Xuanyu read every issue of Lanbao presented to him by Wang Qinyao. Many articles published in Lanbao had a delicate feeling that was unique to women. He also found that some serialized stories in Lanbao - which came from selected submissions - really thought about things from a woman's perspective. This was a very good phenomenon.
For example, one story that left a deep impression on Yan Xuanyu was about a woman who worked hard to support her parents-in-law, and it fully expressed the bitterness of some women.
Although they knew that Lan Bao was published by the empress in the palace, most men disdained to read it, thinking that it was full of girlish stuff. But gradually, more and more people began to read Lan Bao and circulate it.
Even the story serialized in Lanzhou Daily appeared in the "Top Ten Favorite Stories" selection held at the Jixiang Theater.
Everything is slowly getting better.
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