Chapter 145
Qin Su spoke her last words in a low voice next to Emperor Jingxi, and only Ye Yan and Liang Danxin could hear them, besides her and Emperor Jingxi.
Outsiders didn't know what the little princess said, but they were all quite shocked to hear Emperor Jingxi, who had just been furious, suddenly smile.
It is rumored that Princess Zhaoyang was extremely favored. Emperor Jingxi took her everywhere he went. She could enter the imperial study as soon as she could walk, and she could participate in politics as soon as she started reading. There were even some veiled rumors that the emperor was raising her as the crown prince.
I used to think these claims were just jokes, but now that I've seen them with my own eyes, I know that the rumors are not unfounded.
It was getting late, so Emperor Jingxi ordered someone to take Ye Yan and Qin Su to rest.
He was about to meet with the officials of Yangzhou to arrange the management of the plague in Yangzhou. Qin Su's instructions were just the beginning. There were countless complicated matters to deal with and countless accounts to settle.
Qin Su stepped out of the courtyard, took Ye Yan's sleeve, and looked back.
The servants were washing away the blood in the hall with water. The pale pink blood mixed with dust dripped down the steps, giving off a cold feeling under the lamplight.
Qin Su withdrew her gaze and silently returned to their resting place with Ye Yan.
Seeing that she seemed preoccupied, Ye Yan had someone prepare some honey water and said softly, "Are you tired? You should rest for a while. I'll stay here with you."
Qin Su shook her head and said, "Father is going to kill someone."
Ye Yan hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Don't you want His Majesty to kill someone?"
"Our ancestral precepts forbid rulers from excessive killing, especially of civil officials," Qin Su said, her voice heavy with worry. "People always hope that the emperor is a benevolent ruler who doesn't easily resort to violence, but my father never considered this. I worry that scholars will write things like this..."
Ye Yan understood what she meant.
Qin Su wasn't worried about Emperor Jingxi killing too many people, but rather about his bad reputation.
Emperor Jingxi ascended the throne at a young age, and by the time he reached this point, he had killed far too many people. Compared to previous emperors, he was, in some ways, even close to being a "tyrant."
Ye Yan thought for a moment and suggested, "How about we start a newspaper?"
Qin Su looked bewildered: "Newspaper? I think we discussed this before."
The proposal was rejected at the time because the level of cultural education among the people was too low, many people were illiterate, and it was felt that newspapers would not be able to achieve the desired effect.
“Yes.” Ye Yan took out a charcoal pencil from the table and roughly sketched some layout on the rice paper. “Times have changed. Back then, we were considering that newspapers wouldn’t work for ordinary people, but if we were targeting intellectuals, we could do it.”
"The imperial court lacks outlets for cultural output, and the exchanges among literati mainly rely on this poetry society and that literary gathering. There is too little intellectual exchange, and the literati are too idle."
When later generations discussed why the Song Dynasty had so many officials, one explanation was that the higher-ups felt that scholars were prone to causing trouble, so they preferred to keep them in the court and receive salaries rather than let them go out and stir up trouble.
Unlike modern times, there are no internet or mobile phones in ancient times, so people need to find something for scholars to do and, incidentally, help Emperor Jingxi win over the hearts of the people.
Ye Yan said, “We can start by producing official media content, such as government decrees, answering questions, and providing commentary on poems and essays. The first few issues should ideally be written by people from our own court, which will help guide public opinion and also make the newspaper appear prestigious.”
Unlike in modern times, there is no need for timely news in ancient times. Newspapers do not need to be published every day. They can be published twice a month, with text and pictures, and famous calligraphers and painters can be invited to write and paint.
Qin Su suddenly realized, tilted her head slightly, and accurately summarized: "To sneak in some personal agenda, to elevate one's image?"
Ye Yan suddenly started coughing.
Qin Su: "Isn't that right?"
"Yes..." Ye Yan hesitated, secretly reflecting that he shouldn't have taught Qin Su to say such strange things.
Qin Su accepted these terms well and clapped her hands: "Then we don't need to ask anyone else for this matter. The best candidate is Grand Tutor Zhao."
As the saying goes, "Mastering both literary and martial arts skills is the ultimate goal of scholars, who aspire to serve the emperor."
Zhao Changde perfectly fits their expectations.
If Zhao Changde were to take the lead in this matter, it would definitely attract the attention of intellectuals and elevate the event's prestige.
Ye Yan: "Last time we asked Lord Zhao's student to write the script. Are we asking Lord Zhao again this time?"
He felt a little guilty for always managing to fleece one sheep at a time.
"Isn't that perfect? Grand Tutor Zhao is definitely more experienced in accepting these new things." Qin Su said excitedly without any qualms, "Oh, it's so good to have Grand Tutor Zhao as my teacher."
Ye Yan thought to himself, "I heard that Zhao Changde hasn't taken on any students in the past few years. Could it be because of Qin Su?"
In the days that followed, Qin Su and Ye Yan focused on finalizing the preparations for the newspaper.
Because of the plague, they couldn't go out freely, which gave them plenty of time.
Emperor Jingxi was so busy that he could barely keep his feet on the ground. He could only visit his daughter briefly in the morning and evening, and he was constantly seeing people day and night.
From the first day the head of the Xuanling Prefect was hung on the Xuanling government office, a new head was hung up every day afterward, leaving the vermilion gate stained with blood, and every official who passed by was silenced.
Doctors from Yangzhou, being nearby, quickly arrived at Xuanling to examine the illness, consult ancient texts, and verify the various measures proposed by Qin Su. Imperial physicians from the capital arrived a few days later and immediately began expert consultations and collective discussions on medication.
Many people advised Emperor Jingxi to leave first, as it was not advisable to stay in the plague-stricken area for too long, but Emperor Jingxi ignored them all.
With the emperor in charge, all departments and personnel worked at their highest efficiency, and the epidemic was effectively controlled in just over half a month.
There was a little hiccup during this.
Because there had never been a case of smallpox vaccination before, although the imperial physicians all said there was no problem, the general public had many doubts and dared not take the risk.
Qin Su and Ye Yan were vaccinated in public, and then went out to walk around for several days. Only after the people saw that the princess and the general's son did not show any abnormality did they swarm around them.
Afterwards, Emperor Jingxi severely reprimanded Qin Su, but Qin Su successfully evaded the reprimand by using her charm.
They stayed in Xuanling for more than twenty days before continuing their journey.
Because they lingered here for too long, their schedule became much tighter, and Qin Su's plan to stay a few more days when she first arrived in Yangzhou was ruined.
Emperor Jingxi felt sorry for his daughter and couldn't bear to see her disappointed, so he stayed an extra day in Chunrong City under the pretext of resting.
He changed into casual clothes and took Qin Su and Ye Yan out shopping, pretending that they were his two children.
Ye Yan didn't feel anything about suddenly becoming a prince, but Qin Su kept calling him "brother" in a sweet voice and "elder brother" in a crisp voice, making him dizzy and disoriented.
Emperor Jingxi, unaware of the reason, teased, "You, who are destined to be a general, can't even tell which way is which. Do you want to be a flying general someday?"
The Flying General was Li Guang. There are rumors that he was terrible with directions and lost the battle in the Battle of Mobei because he got lost.
Unable to explain, Ye Yan could only memorize the explanation and whispered, "Your Majesty, I will practice more when I get back."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Qin Su tugged at his sleeve and asked curiously, "Brother, there are so many people queuing up over there. I wonder what they're selling. Let's go take a look!"
Ye Yan mumbled in a daze, "Okay, okay, I'll take a look."
Emperor Jingxi: "?"
He asked the person next to him curiously, "How does Ye Hongtao raise his son? Doesn't he usually allow Ye Yan to go out? Ye Yan doesn't seem to go out much."
Ye Hongtao, far away in the capital, sneezed, rubbed his nose, and put down the letter in his hand with dissatisfaction: "That brat, he only wrote a few lines in his letter home. He's just trying to appease his father."
Madam Ye was reading another letter word by word when she heard this. Without looking up, she said, "One letter written in detail is enough."
Ye Hongtao glanced at the handwriting in the letter in his wife's hand, then looked at the paper in his own hand, and felt inexplicably indignant: "I was so worried about the plague in Xuanling City that I even got blisters on my lips, but all my concern was for nothing."
"Who told you to worry? His Majesty is there, what problems could there be?" After reading the last line, Madam Ye carefully put the letter away and sighed, "Princess Zhaoyang's reputation has become even more prominent this time."
He remained calm in the face of great events, and even in his childhood, he was able to think things through when confronted with a plague. He was fearless in the face of slaughter, and he braved bloodshed to remonstrate against treacherous officials who were misleading the country. He dared to do what ordinary people would not, and he was the first to be vaccinated against smallpox, even at the cost of his noble status.
Nowadays, storytelling, singing, and ballads throughout the city have made this matter seem incredibly fantastical, with some even saying that Princess Zhaoyang was a reincarnation of an immortal, which is why she had so many ingenious ideas.
People love to idolize gifted teenagers, and Qin Su's reputation soared. As a result, Ye Yan also became famous. Whenever Ye Hongtao and his wife went out to socialize, they were asked how they raised their children.
Everyone was thinking, if we can't learn from Emperor Jingxi, can't we at least learn from General Ye?
Ye Hongtao was completely bewildered, and then resorted to the all-powerful Versailles quote: "We didn't put in much effort. My son usually stays in the palace, and it's probably because of the great teacher Lord Zhao that he has some intelligence."
Then everyone thought about it and realized, "Oh yeah, Qin Su and Ye Yan are both Zhao Changde's students. It seems Zhao Changde is really amazing."
This indirectly helped Zhao Changde launch his newspaper smoothly and achieve great success.
Recalling what Madam Ye had said before, Ye Hongtao murmured, "Throughout history, even crown princes have rarely achieved such a great reputation at such a young age. Princess Zhaoyang is just a princess; if this continues..."
If this continues, people will only know that the emperor has Princess Zhaoyang, and who will care about the other princes?
Without the support of the people, how can the princes compete for the position of crown prince? Or rather, they can't even get the chance to participate.
Most importantly, His Majesty seems to have no intention of stopping the current situation from developing in the first place. What does His Majesty want to do?
"His Majesty holds immense power and is a rare and wise ruler. I see that none of the civil and military officials in the court are able to contend with him." Madam Ye smiled meaningfully. "In that case, Princess Zhaoyang is a princess today, but who knows if she will still be a princess tomorrow?"
She saw that her husband's expression had changed, and he stopped talking, lowering his head to slowly sort through the letters.
This dynasty has had an empress, which was a special choice during a special period. However, it is undeniable that the status of women in this dynasty was higher than that of women in previous dynasties. So what if another empress were to emerge? Would women be more free?
Madam Ye thought back to how she had been well-versed in literature and poetry since she was a young, unmarried woman, yet her elders often lamented that it was a pity she was a woman…
A surge of excitement coursed through her heart. She thought, "I really hope that in my lifetime I can witness this upheaval and the transformation of the world."
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