Chapter 238 The King of a Lost Country 38
When Nan Liujing was revising the blueprint, he specifically told Yao Rong not to peek. As
soon as he made this request, Yao Rong could not guess his intention: [So... Zhaixing Palace is also a surprise for me?]
Nan Liujing was immediately anxious.
"Keep it secret."
Yao Rong said decisively: [Okay, I don't know anything.]
Nan Liujing was even more resentful.
Couldn't his mother pretend to be a little more attentive?
But that's right, with his mother's intelligence, it would be strange if she couldn't guess. Nan Liujing could only comfort himself. Anyway, before Zhaixing Palace was completely completed, his mother didn't know the specific appearance of Zhaixing Palace, and there would still be surprises.
After handing the revised blueprint to the chief steward of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Nan Liujing also ordered someone to find the supervisor of Qintianjian.
Qin Tianjianzheng has been in high spirits recently.
The image of the coronation ceremony made him famous. Now, all the civil and military officials in the court are polite to him and no longer question his professional ability as before. Of course, it would be better if those colleagues did not always ask him to calculate their birth dates and wedding dates. Hearing
that the emperor wanted to see him, Qin Tianjianzheng did not dare to delay. He packed up and followed the eunuchs who summoned him into the palace.
Nan Liujing was discussing the spring plowing next year with Jiang Ding. When he learned that Qin Tianjianzheng had come, he let him in and gave him instructions directly.
"The Ministry of Internal Affairs is going to build a palace soon. You calculate an auspicious day for the construction to begin and hand the calculation result to the chief steward of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He will know what to do."
Qin Tianjian did not dare to delay and delivered the result to the chief steward of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that afternoon.
It took a long time to overthrow and rebuild. After the construction of the palace started, Nan Liujing shifted his attention to other places.
As the emperor, there are too many things in the world that need him to worry about and be busy.
But no matter how busy he is, Nan Liujing maintains his original pace of life and will not let himself be too tired.
He is still so young and does not need to rush.
As long as he walks firmly on the right path, it doesn't matter if he walks a little slower.
He has enough time to reach the end.
Nan Liujing's calmness and experience, which was totally inconsistent with his age, were seen by other ministers
as being able to handle things with ease. No matter how complicated the political affairs were, Nan Liujing didn't spend much time and energy on them, but he was able to handle them well and perfectly, leaving no room for faults. It was even a pleasure to read the official documents he approved.
Those ministers who had come from the Yongqing Emperor's era admired Nan Liujing's talents to the extreme.
Any minister who was honest, did not use crooked means, and did not rely on flattery to rise to power would like such a powerful and calm king.
"Your Majesty is ruling his country with ease." Qu Jianbai said this to Liang Guangyu privately, his words full of praise.
Liang Guangyu deeply agreed.
Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. Although their majesty is young, he knows how to govern a country.
***
In the first and second years of Zhaoming, the weather was good and there were no major natural disasters.
I don't know if this is the novice protection period given to Nan Liujing by God. After the novice protection period, in the third year of Zhaoming, the Yellow River, which had just calmed down for a short time, burst its dike again.
This time the dike burst was not as serious as a few years ago, but the damage caused was not small.
After learning the news, the court sent various disaster relief supplies as soon as possible.
When the disaster gradually eased, Nan Liujing made a decision that would benefit the present and future generations: to control the Yellow River. It
was not a small-scale operation, but a large-scale operation that would involve a large amount of manpower, material resources and financial resources.
Nan Liujing attached great importance to this matter.
He sent Jiang Ding to take charge of the river control, and reluctantly exchanged one thousand points from Yao Rong for information about the Yellow River control in various dynasties, and sent it to Jiang Ding for reference.
Yao Rong found his distressed look funny.
[You have eight thousand points, and you only spent one thousand, and you feel bad?]
How could Nan Liujing not feel bad? He felt so bad that he was bleeding.
Because there was no one else in the palace, he lay listlessly on the table, his eyes, which were always bright and lively, drooped, looking a little pitiful.
"It took me ten years to save these eight thousand points, of course I feel bad."
Yao Rong was curious: [Why have you been saving them all this time?]
Except for the time when Nan Liujing spent them once in the early days, he has not used the points in these years.
"Ah, alas, alas." Nan Liujing decisively changed the subject, "Spend when you should and save when you should. The main point is that he is a frugal family."
Yao Rong narrowed his eyes, always feeling that something was wrong.
But it is normal for a child to have his own secrets when he grows up.
Yao Rong did not ask Nan Liujing about it, but just thought about arranging more daily tasks for Nan Liujing in the future so that he can earn back the one thousand points he spent.
Things that cost money are definitely different. The information that Nan Liujing bought provided great help to Jiang Ding. Many of the governance methods mentioned in it may be useful after a slight adjustment and local investigation.
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will never let your Majesty down. As long as the Yellow River flood is not over, I will not dare to slack off."
Jiang Ding took the information and several subordinates from the Ministry of Works and left Kyoto with high morale.
However, within a few months, Jiang Ding quickly sent a letter back to Kyoto through the secret channel of the Ange. After
receiving the letter, Qi Si immediately went to the palace to meet Nan Liujing.
Nan Liujing tore open the envelope, took out the letter inside, quickly scanned it, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his lips.
Qi Si quickly asked, "Is there any trouble with the third brother?"
He usually liked to argue with Jiang Ding, but it didn't matter if brothers argued with each other, but it was another matter if outsiders dared to hurt his brothers.
Nan Liujing handed the letter to Qi Si.
What Jiang Ding said in the letter was very simple.
Some aristocratic families in Jiangnan occupied rivers, reclaimed land, and annexed fertile farmland. When Jiang Ding visited the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, he accidentally discovered this and had some conflicts with the local officials.
In order to quell the conflict, he had to reveal his identity. Then the next day, many officials in Jiangnan sent him invitations to visit their homes, and even gave him beautiful women, asking him to keep the matter secret.
Qi Si put down the letter suddenly: "Great, these people actually bribed my third brother. Don't they know that my second brother and I like to catch corrupt officials the most?"
Nan Liujing: "..."
Nan Liujing complained in his heart: Is it you and Second Brother Li's favorite thing to catch corrupt officials? What
you like is obviously to confiscate property!
But soon, Qi Si's words pulled Nan Liujing back to his senses: "Your Majesty, what should we do?"
Nan Liujing lowered his eyes and thought.
He had been managing the North for four years and had already turned the North into his base.
He dared not say that there was no more land annexation and hidden fields and households in the North, but under his successive attacks, the situation had indeed improved greatly.
Later, he took the opportunity of the palace coup to suppress the noble families and officials in Kyoto and the surrounding towns, forcing them to spit out all the land they had embezzled.
Only in the Jiangnan area, Nan Liujing had not yet taken action to govern.
Now, the Jiangnan issue and the Yellow River governance issue collided...
Nan Liujing pondered for a long time, looked up at Qi Si, and asked with a smile: "Fourth Brother Qi, are you interested in going to Jiangnan to investigate this matter, arrest corrupt officials, and raid their homes?"
Qi Si's eyes lit up.
The eagerness and ecstasy in his eyes could almost flow out.
His heart was pounding with excitement: "Very interested."
"If Your Majesty is determined to clean up the officialdom in Jiangnan, I and An Ge will become the sharpest blade in Your Majesty's hands."
As a result, after Li Guanqi heard about this, he pestered Nan Liujing to play chess for three days. Nan Liujing was troubled by his poor chess skills and said speechlessly: "Second Brother Li, if you have anything to say, just tell me directly. As long as you don't play chess with me anymore, everything can be discussed."
Li Guanqi immediately threw away the black piece in his hand and rubbed his hands embarrassedly: "Your Majesty, I think you need to think more about the candidates for the Jiangnan group."
He said "think more" in his mouth, but his eyes were full of "look at me".
Nan Liujing burst into laughter and put the white piece he was twisting between his fingertips back on the chessboard: "Brother Li, do you also want to go to Jiangnan?"
Li Guanqi said righteously: "The situation in Jiangnan is far more complicated than in the north. The third brother is reckless and impulsive, and the fourth brother's methods are more extreme. I am not boasting, but with the minister mediating in the middle, it will definitely take a lot less time to clean up the officialdom of Jiangnan."
He invited himself to Jiangnan not just to find the joy of confiscating properties.
...Well, of course, hobbies often make people more motivated. So no conflict, no conflict.
Nan Liujing responded directly: "Okay, then you can go too."
"Your Majesty agrees now?"
Qi Si had been rolling his eyes since Li Guanqi said "The fourth brother's methods are quite extreme". He finally couldn't help it and complained: "Your Majesty originally planned to send you to assist in this matter. As a result, the decree has not been issued yet, and you came to the palace to play chess with His Majesty."
Li Guanqi coughed softly: "So that's the case. I was a little impatient. I should have waited another day or two."
Nan Liujing smiled helplessly: "The trip to Jiangnan is full of difficulties. The situation of officials protecting each other is definitely more serious than in the north and the capital. I'm afraid there will be a lot of trouble on your trip."
After thinking about it, Nan Liujing took off the Emperor's Sword and handed it to Li Guanqi and Qi Si: "This is the Emperor's Sword. Anyone who holds this sword has the right to kill any official below the fourth rank first and report later."
"And this token, with this token, you can mobilize 5,000 soldiers and horses."
"Second brother Li, fourth brother Qi, just go for it on this trip. Even if you poke a hole in the sky of Jiangnan, I will cover it for you!"
In the endless space, the system gloated over the misfortune: [I have begun to mourn for those officials and aristocratic families in Jiangnan.]
Yao Rong said: [Li Guanqi, Jiang Ding and Qi Si joined forces to deal with them, they should feel deeply honored.]
The system clicked its tongue and was already looking forward to that scene.
And Li Guanqi and the other two did not make the system wait too long. They had only been in Jiangnan for a few months, and they really pierced the sky of Jiangnan -
Li Guanqi used the Emperor's Sword to kill 18 officials in a row.
Jiang Ding wrote a memorial to accuse 53 Jiangnan officials, including the Governor-General of Jiangnan, of occupying good farmland and oppressing the countryside.
Qi Si led the people of the Ange to surround the Governor-General's Mansion of Jiangnan.
Any one of the above three things would cause an uproar in the court.
What's more, all three things happened at the same time!
At noon that day, memorials flew into the palace like snowflakes. In addition to the impeachment of Li Guanqi and three others, many officials were pleading or defending the Governor-General of Jiangnan and others.
Nan Liujing wrote down the names of those who pleaded, then threw the impeachment memorial aside and suppressed all the voices of opposition. He knew very well that the more intense the reaction of these people, the more it showed that Li Guanqi and others were close to success.
At first, the court officials were still very excited, but slowly, the court officials all tasted the taste.
Jiang Ding, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Works, went to Jiangnan to govern the Yellow River. Why did Li Guanqi, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and Qi Si, the leader of the An Ge, go to Jiangnan?
Li Guanqi still had the Emperor's Sword in his hand. There was no doubt that they must have followed the order of His Majesty on this trip, and everything they did was probably instructed by His Majesty.
After figuring out this matter, many ministers who were originally jumping around quietly shrank back to be quails, but what they didn't know was that their names had been recorded in Nan Liujing's little notebook.
As time passed, the situation in Jiangnan became more and more complicated.
Jiangnan is a bit far away from Kyoto. In the past, every ten days, Nan Liujing would receive letters sent back by Qi Si and others through secret channels, but this time, thirteen days had passed and Nan Liujing had not received any letters from Qi Si!
Fortunately, on the fourteenth day, the letter finally arrived.
Nan Liujing felt relieved, and when he finished reading the letter, he laughed happily.
In the letter, Qi Si briefly described their experiences during this period.
After they confronted the Jiangnan officials, they were under the surveillance of the Jiangnan officials.
Some time ago, they accidentally discovered the account book of the Jiangnan officials' private communications.
If they got hold of this account book, the court would have the solid evidence of these officials' crimes, so Qi Si and his team used all means to fight for the account book.
As a result, those Jiangnan officials were desperate and trapped them in a villa, trying to silence them all.
Fortunately, with the token given by Nan Liujing, Qi Si and his team had already secretly dispatched troops, and at the critical moment, 5,000 soldiers and horses arrived and successfully rescued them.
Now they have turned danger into safety, and all the officials involved in the case have been arrested, and they will set off for Beijing soon.
...
Although Qi Si did not say it in detail, Nan Liujing could sense the danger from those few words.
"Fortunately, everything is safe." Nan Liujing heaved a long sigh of relief, with a strong sense of the situation in his words, "If Second Brother Li and his men had died in Jiangnan, even if I had pacified the Jiangnan officialdom, I would have felt that I had suffered a great loss."
Yao Rong listened with a smile.
In this world, there are many people who can only share adversity but not wealth, but her child really did everything she had promised.
And his trust was all rewarded.
Li Guanqi and his men are his best friends, his best helpers and his most loyal subordinates.
He and Li Guanqi and his men will definitely write a story of monarch and ministers in the history books that will be passed on by thousands of people.
***
A month later, Li Guanqi and Qi Si escorted the criminal official back to Beijing.
Jiang Ding's river control mission had not been completed yet, so he remained in Jiangnan.
With his current status, Nan Liujing could not go out of the city to welcome Li Guanqi and Qi Si, but he still insisted on waiting for them at the palace gate.
When he saw them for the first time, Nan Liujing sighed, "Second Brother Li, Fourth Brother Qi, thank you for your hard work."
Compared to before leaving Beijing, Li Guanqi and Qi Si were much darker and thinner, especially Qi Si, who was a little unrecognizable.
Fortunately, they all looked energetic.
After reminiscing about the past, Li Guanqi returned the Emperor's Sword and the token to Nan Liujing, and then told Nan Liujing about their gains from the confiscation of property: "I thought Ji Yushan was already extremely greedy, but I didn't expect that the officials in Jiangnan were not much behind."
Nan Liujing said: "Jiangnan has been a land of fish and rice since ancient times. With the convenience of water transport and the profit of salt trade, it is indeed as rich as the families in the capital."
Qi Si said coldly: "It was these people who almost destroyed Daye."
Nan Liujing smiled and said: "So if we get rid of them, Daye's fortune will increase."
Just as Nan Liujing's voice fell, he heard a prompt from the system.
[The north is the gateway of Daye, the capital is the hinterland of Daye, and Jiangnan is the granary of Daye. 】
【Congratulations on successfully cleaning up the stubborn diseases in these three places and eliminating the most corrupt parts of the Daye Dynasty. The system detects that Daye's current luck value is 80. 】
Nan Liujing's lips curled slightly, and he told Li Guanqi and Qi Si to go back to the mansion to rest first: "I will ask the imperial physician to go to your house later to check your pulse and prescribe some warm and nourishing prescriptions. You must take good care of your body to avoid any hidden dangers. Don't take advantage of your youth and don't take your body seriously."
After Li Guanqi and Qi Si left, Nan Liujing asked Yao Rong: "Teacher, what is the completion standard of the last main task?"
The last main task requires him to become a wise monarch and create a prosperous era, but what standards are considered wise monarchs and what standards are considered prosperous eras.
Nan Liujing felt that the standards were very vague.
Yao Rong repeated what the system had said: [The North is the gateway to Daye, the capital is the hinterland of Daye, and the south of the Yangtze River is Daye's granary.]
[Now that you have successfully solved the problems in these three places, you only need to continue to implement policies to comfort the people, develop the economy, agriculture, and education, and wait until the management of the Yellow River has achieved certain results, then this mission will be completed.] It will
take at least twenty years to build a prosperous dynasty.
This main task does not need to wait until the prosperity actually appears to be completed. As long as Nan Liujing can make Daye's luck value return to 100, he will be considered to have completed it.
"This request is much easier than I thought." Nan Liujing said happily.
It will take some time to see the results of the management of the Yellow River, but the other thing has been almost done.
——It took exactly two and a half years to build the palace according to Nan Liujing's request, and it is about to be completed!
After hearing the news from the chief steward of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Nan Liujing immediately pushed all the documents on hand aside: "Take me to see it."
When he was about to reach that place, Nan Liujing suddenly remembered something. He called out: "Mother."
Yao Rong was helpless and amused: [I understand what you mean, I will block it.]
Nan Liujing was relieved.
For a period of time afterwards, whenever Nan Liujing had free time, he would always run to that palace, constantly giving new revision opinions and ideas, and commanding the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
He also went to Dingguogong Mansion to find Yao Shengan.
In the past few years, Yao Shengan has been busy sorting out the rare military books and the manuscripts left by General Yao. Although he still often stays indoors, he no longer has the decadent air he used to have.
Nan Liujing didn't know what he talked about with Yao Shengan, but when he left, his face was full of smiles.
Seeing that Nan Liujing didn't need him for the time being, Yao Rong stayed in the endless space and took care of his own things.
Winter passed and spring came, and the years and months changed. When the sycamore tree outside the window once again rang with the long-lasting cicada sounds, Nan Liujing finally decorated the Zhaixing Palace to the way he wanted.
At the same time, Nan Liujing received another good news.
Jiang Ding wrote him a memorial.
The section of the Yellow River where the flooding is most frequent and most serious has been effectively improved under Jiang Ding's governance. In the next few decades, the people near that section of the river will no longer be troubled by floods.
When Nan Liujing closed the memorial, he finally heard the prompt tone he had been waiting for:
[The system detects that the current luck value of Daye is 100. You have successfully extended the luck of Daye Dynasty for at least 100 years.]
[If there is such a thing as destiny in this world, then you are the one who is truly supported by the people and the destiny of heaven.]
[Congratulations, Liu Jing, you have finally completed the last main mission and received a reward of 5,000 points.]
The long-awaited task was finally completed. Nan Liu Jing felt a surge of wild joy, but then came the unrelieved nervousness and anxiety.
He held his breath and asked Yao Rong: "Mother, I want to confirm first, my total points are more than 13,000, right?"
In order to redeem the relevant information on the management of the Yellow River, he spent 1,000 points, and later he did some tasks sporadically, which brought his points back to more than 8,000.
Yao Rong said: [Yes, you have 13,200 points. Do you want to use them now? ]
Nan Liujing's eyes lit up with a strange light: "I want to use it."
So why didn't I use the points before? Is it because I haven't accumulated enough points? Yao Rong thought to herself, and at the same time, she was a little curious about what Nan Liujing wanted to redeem.
[The system mall has been opened, you can search for the products you want to buy.]
Then, Yao Rong saw the product that Nan Liujing searched for for the first time: [Wishing Star]
She also saw the brief introduction under the product:
[Wishing Star: The owner can make a wish. There is no limit to the wishes, but there is no guarantee that they can be realized.
Once used, no refunds or exchanges.
Price 10,000 points. 】
A strange emotion suddenly surged into Yao Rong's heart. Before she could say anything, she saw Nan Liujing stretched out his hand without hesitation, trying to pick the wishing star.
To Nan Liujing's surprise, the star that he could never touch before actually became real this time and was touched by him.
With a little force, he picked the star and held it in his hand.
Yao Rong watched his actions quietly, and asked after a while: […After buying this thing, what wish do you plan to make?]
"I didn't expect that I would save enough points in advance to redeem this product."
Nan Liujing looked down at the star in his palm and held it tightly.
"Mother, I have already decorated the Zhaixing Palace. Tomorrow is your birthday. I will take you to visit the Zhaixing Palace and then tell you my wish."