In autumn, the Anxi Palace sent troops to the Western Regions.
Liu Yu led his troops and started the first war in his life.
There was blood and broken limbs on the battlefield.
The city was broken, people died, and refugees fled.
The cruelty of the battlefield is fully revealed.
Liu Yu took steady steps and advanced slowly.
He doesn't have the impulsiveness and passion of young people who are eager to show off. Instead, he is like a seasoned veteran, very steady.
Pei Meng was ready to charge into battle and save people, but Liu Yu didn't give him any chance at all.
MMP, you are so young, why do you want to be so steady?
Makes him feel useless.
Smoke of war raged in the Western Regions, while the land of the Great Zhou was peaceful and prosperous.
As taxes were reduced, people had more food reserves and the number of births increased.
Some local officials wrote poems praising the emperor and the empress and openly flattering them.
He was denounced as a flatterer by his colleagues in the officialdom.
Unexpectedly, once this poem was published, it was like opening a floodgate.
Flattering articles praising Liu Zhao's merits and calling him a wise king popped up like mushrooms after a rain.
Officials were not satisfied with simply singing praises in memorials.
They would rather sing praises in newspapers, letting the whole world see their talents and determination to flatter the emperor.
Everyone in the officialdom had heard a rumor that Emperor Liu Zhao read the newspaper every day, and it had become a habit.
The emperor may not even see the memorial you submit to flatter him.
But the emperor would definitely not miss the flattering articles published in the newspaper.
ah!
The official praised himself for his wit!
I am such a clever little fellow!
Your Majesty will be very pleased when he sees the article praising my achievements published in the newspaper, and will promote me above my level.
In the blink of an eye, I will be able to reach the pinnacle of life, divorce my poor wife, and marry a girl from a wealthy family, hehehe...
There are many officials who hold the same idea.
For a time, space in major newspapers and magazines in the capital was hard to come by.
Officials paid for space to publish their own articles.
…
Liu Zhao looked unhappy.
Open a newspaper and it's full of articles praising one's achievements.
When I opened the next newspaper, it was still full of articles praising his achievements.
There were more than a dozen newspapers, all neatly arranged, with absolutely no valuable content.
He complained to Gu Jiu, "Do these people think I'm a fool? They think they can coax me into giving them promotions and wealth by writing a couple of meaningless articles. It's a pipe dream."
"They are flattering you, and you are not happy?" Gu Jiu teased him.
Liu Zhao snorted, "How could you be happy if it were you? I wanted to read something new, but I couldn't find anything in the newspaper. How ridiculous."
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled, "Let the Newspaper Bureau handle it. This trend is indeed not good. Praising one's merits should be stopped in moderation. It's so shameless. No wonder some old officials say that the trend has been corrupted."
"Those old men were pointing their fingers at me at the morning court today, calling me a tyrant and accusing me of greed and vanity, as if I were the one who had the local officials write articles praising my achievements. I've been wronged to death, and I have no place to seek redress."
Liu Zhao looked unhappy and aggrieved.
Gu Jiu laughed heartily. "Alright, alright, we're not angry. Lin Shuping, why don't you quickly order the Newspaper Bureau to rectify the chaos in the newspaper industry? Local officials aren't diligently managing local civil affairs, but are obsessed with taking shortcuts all day, thinking they can get promoted and make a fortune with a few articles. Do you really think Your Majesty is a tyrant?"
Lin Shuping looked at Emperor Liu Zhao and got his permission, then he hurriedly arranged for someone to go to the Newspaper Bureau to convey his order.
"I've heard that some officials are willing to spend a fortune just to buy a piece of advertising space. I'm a hot-tempered person, and I really want to take this opportunity to investigate where these officials who published these flattering articles got their money from."
Liu Zhao was furious and unhappy.
Gu Jiu comforted him: "Ruyang and Lao Er will be back soon, don't start a big prison at this time."
Liu Zhao hummed twice, very annoyed.
If he is not allowed to vent his anger, he will feel uncomfortable all over.
Gu Jiu laughed at him, "If it were anyone else, seeing someone writing articles specifically to brag about themselves, they would probably be smug and secretly happy. But you, on the other hand, look unhappy. Don't you like being flattered? I think these articles are quite well written, worthy of being a Jinshi. The language is gorgeous and beautiful, and the words are meaningful."
Liu Zhao pointed at his face and said, "Do I look like someone who loves vanity? Besides, why should I be happy when a group of people with bad intentions flatter me? Unless it is the Queen herself who flatters me, I might even smile."
Gu Jiu rolled his eyes at him and said, "I don't want to flatter you. You're already so cocky, if I flatter you again, you'll be cocky even more."
Liu Zhao was very proud, looking like a large dog wagging its tail for praise.
"You also think I'm great, right? I know you must be jealous of me in your heart. But don't worry, I don't care."
Gu Jiu laughed, she didn't even want to complain.
Liu Zhao pestered her and insisted that she speak.
Gu Jiu pinched his ear and said, "Look at how shameless you are. I have nothing to say."
Liu Zhao laughed heartily, feeling extremely proud. "Since you are willing to admit defeat, I will, with all my reluctance, let go of your pinching of my ear."
Pooh!
Very thick-skinned.
…
With the intervention of the Newspaper Industry Bureau, all major newspapers and periodicals finally returned to normal operations.
Half a month later, a huge fleet consisting of hundreds of large and small ships anchored at the Jiangnan port, attracting onlookers from the city.
They were all worldly-wise people, and in this season, fleets returned every few days, so no one was surprised.
But a fleet consisting of hundreds of ships of different sizes like today is rare.
The last time there was such a large fleet was decades ago.
I never thought that this grand occasion would happen again in my lifetime.
Men, women, young and old, all flocked to the dock to see the wonder.
The fleet blocked out the sky and the sun, and the entire coastline was occupied by the fleet.
“It’s so big!”
“So many boats!”
"How much cargo does this have to carry?"
"It is said that there are thousand-year-old golden nanmu trees on the ship!"
"I'm rich!"
“And hundreds of years of red sandalwood.”
"Whose fleet is this? I think this is the first time I've seen the pattern on the flag."
"I've never heard of any trading company in the city that has the ability to organize such a large fleet."
"Could it be a new rich man?"
"He must be a mine owner who made a fortune overseas."
“It’s possible!”
People were talking about it and were curious about who the owner of this fleet was.
Not only the public was curious, but colleagues, customs, and local government officials were all curious.
It was not until Eunuch Rong Xinrong walked through the crowd and stepped onto the largest ship that many people suddenly realized.
"That's the fleet formed by Princess Ruyang and His Royal Highness the Second Prince!"
"Is she the Princess Ruyang who refused wealth and glory and chose to endure hardships at sea?"
"Besides her, is there another Princess Ruyang in this world?"
“Amazing!”
Everyone looked at it in surprise.
They were curious about why Princess Ruyang gave up the noble and comfortable life in the capital and went overseas as a girl to work hard like men.
However, compared to Princess Ruyang's thoughts, everyone is more curious about Princess Ruyang's appearance and what the royal princess looks like.
"The royal princess must be extremely beautiful."
"That's not necessarily true. People who go abroad are all tanned. I've never seen a good-looking one."
"That's true!"
"How can the royal princess meet people with such a dark face?"
Princess Ruyang, the person being hotly discussed by everyone, was standing on the deck with the second prince Liu Heng, looking at the coastline.
“I’m back!”
"Finally back!"
The brother and sister smiled at each other.
Princess Ruyang has grown taller, but she does not have a dark face.
Her skin color is neither the fair color of a pampered life nor the dark color of being exposed to the sun every day, but a wheat color in between the two.
There is a heroic look between his eyebrows. He is dressed in men's clothes. With his tall figure, at first glance, you might mistake him for a handsome young man.
She has thick calluses on her hands, which are the result of years of martial arts training.
She looked around with a radiant look, and there were stars twinkling in her eyes.
Standing there, he was full of heroic spirit and had a cold temperament. He was like a sword drawn from its sheath, ready to drink blood at any moment.
Looking at the second prince Liu Heng, he was taller and darker, and looked mature and steady, yet he also exuded a hint of ferocity and murderous intent.
He has a very contradictory temperament.
He exudes nobility, yet also reveals a sense of gloom.
When he looked around, his eyes were so sharp that they seemed to be able to penetrate people's hearts.
Eunuch Rong Xinrong brought his men to the boat.
"This old servant pays his respects to the two highnesses. Your Majesty and the Empress are looking forward to your return every day. As soon as this old servant received the news, he sent a messenger to deliver the news to the capital at full speed."
"Has the messenger set off?" asked the second prince Liu Heng.
"Exactly!"
"Oh! I was going to send two little trinkets to my father, the emperor, and my mother, but since the messenger has already left, forget it."
Rong Xin broke out in a cold sweat.
The Second Prince Liu Heng's aura was too fierce, and just one look from him was enough to scare people to death.
How many people must he have killed overseas? His heart must have been so cold and hardened that he could cultivate such a powerful aura.
"Sister, let's get off the boat!"
When Liu Heng spoke to Ruyang, his cold tone changed to a gentle and warm one.
Ruyang nodded. She was not a talkative person.
"Your Highnesses, please come this way! The courtyard has been cleaned up, and the servants are ready to serve. They are all trustworthy and tight-lipped."
Rong Xin led the way in front and introduced the situation in the city.
The brother and sister listened in silence without interrupting.
After getting off the boat, we took a carriage to the villa in the city.
After washing and resting, there will be a banquet.
Ruyang refused directly: "I am tired, so the banquet is over! Make a few side dishes and send them to my room."
"yes!"
The second prince Liu Heng did not refuse the banquet.
After three days of banquets, I got to know everyone I needed to know and understand everyone I needed to understand.
The brother and sister then packed their luggage and set off back to Beijing.
"It's a pity that my brother is not in the capital!" Ruyang was quite regretful.
Second Prince Liu Heng smiled and said, "Brother Xun is in the capital! I heard he's already the deputy director of the Audit Department. He's the one who audits the accounts of all the properties under our mother's name, and he's doing a great job."
Ruyang pursed his lips and smiled, "Brother Xun has been a money-grubber since he was young, and he has a plan in mind. It's quite suitable for him to join the Audit Department."
Liu Heng asked her, "What about you? Are you still going to go out to sea?"
"Of course! My roots are overseas, so I definitely have to go back. I came back this time just to deal with the major issues in my life."
After saying that, Ruyang smiled, showing a rare gentleness and sweetness.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－
Three o'clock will be later
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