Chapter 46: The princes successively proclaimed themselves kings and officially entered...
Shen Zhiwei really didn't expect that there would be watermelon at this time.
The watermelon was small, and there was nothing red inside. Most importantly, it had a lot of seeds, so Shen Zhiwei found it very painful to eat.
The name of watermelon tells you that it is not a local product. The palace servant who bought the watermelon said that the farmer only had this one watermelon. He said that a businessman who passed by and asked to stay overnight gave him some seeds, and he planted it randomly.
It's amazing. This thing can be planted randomly, and the key is that it can grow and produce fruits in the first year. It has a strong talent for planting.
Shen Zhiwei took two bites and couldn't eat any more, so he put it aside.
Wen Tao had already come to her and bowed. Shen Zhiwei asked her to stand up and sit aside, and then asked her to taste the watermelon that was even more unpalatable than a raw egg.
Wen Tao accepted it well. She had never eaten a seedless, thin-skinned, large red watermelon. The unique texture of the watermelon and its inherent coolness were enough to impress the taste buds of this native Zhou Dynasty person.
Seeing that she liked it, Shen Zhiwei gave it all to her.
"Leave the seeds here. Send them to Ms. Meng later. Let her study them and see if she can improve them."
Since high technology is not available, we can only use the clumsy method of screening from generation to generation.
Shen Zhiwei felt sad when she thought of this. She really wanted to eat a big watermelon!
Shen Zhiwei was in a bad mood, and his expression became even colder. Seeing this, Wen Tao couldn't help but start to wonder if she had done something to displease the king.
She didn't seem to do anything special, did she?
Perhaps it was because she called too many fellow disciples.
If all the ministers in the court were from the same school, the emperor would certainly be worried about her and doubt her loyalty.
Wen Tao had thought about this problem before, but she was extremely busy at the time and had no time to think about the future monarch's suspicion. She just wanted to call all her classmates to work and share the pressure.
Recalling that her father mentioned in the brocade letter that the emperor had not yet granted official positions to her fellow disciples, Wen Tao became more certain of her guess.
From the king's perspective, she had indeed gone too far.
Wen Tao resolutely knelt down and confessed his guilt: "I, your humble servant, acted without authorization and invited my fellow disciples to work for me, leaving Baishen to handle government affairs. I beg for your forgiveness, Your Majesty!"
Shen Zhiwei was grieving over the watermelon she couldn't eat, when she suddenly heard the minister who had stabbed her in the back confess his guilt.
Hmm? You asked your friends to come over and do free work for me, what's wrong with that?
Shen Zhiwei pointed fingers at Wen Tao in his heart, "What you really should admit is why you are so stubborn! Hurry up and apologize to me, a salty fish, for your stubbornness!"
After complaining in his heart, Shen Zhiwei still timidly let Wen Tao get up.
"I've been a meritorious official for the country, so what's wrong with that? It's just that Bian is a vast land, and the number of officials needed is too great, so I'm having a hard time deciding."
Wen Tao was relieved to see that Shen Zhiwei did not seem angry. He stood up and replied, "This humble servant is willing to share the king's worries."
"Well, tell me, do your fellow disciples have any favorite places?"
This allowed Wen Tao's fellow disciples to choose the place themselves. Shen Zhiwei was very generous.
Wen Tao felt something was wrong when she heard this. How could an official choose where to go by himself?
Then she thought that most of her fellow disciples were not from Bianguo, and no matter where she chose, it would not violate the king's previous rule that officials should not be allowed to serve in their ancestral land. As long as she avoided Yongming City, there would be no risk at all.
Thinking of this, Wen Tao relaxed a lot. Her fellow disciples didn't say where they wanted to go, so she chose a place for them based on her understanding of them.
After listening to this, Shen Zhiwei didn't even think about it, and directly said "good", and it was settled.
When she is not allowed to use her brain, she really doesn't use it at all.
This is actually not a good thing, as it is easy to be cheated by others. However, Shen Zhiwei just wants someone to cheat her so that she, the emperor, will not be able to move up to a higher level, so she acts like a rotten person without any scruples.
However, they don’t know that this not only makes it easy for them to be cheated by others, but also makes it easy for them to be cheated by themselves.
Shen Zhiwei, who threw out a bunch of silver cards at once, had no idea what she had just decided.
The originally slightly unstable Bian land was firmly fixed by those silver cards. The silver cards were like rivets, and no one could cause any waves.
After arranging the Wen Tao fellows, it’s time to talk about promoting simplified Chinese characters.
Shen Zhiwei first said that she intended to send Gui Yang to Yongming City as a county governor and let her come back to be the prime minister.
Wen Tao was a little puzzled. Yongming City was a good place, but when Gui Yang went there at this time, she always felt like she was being "exiled".
"Yongming City is of utmost importance to the stability of Biandi. I am uneasy if someone else goes there. We must send our own people."
Shen Zhiwei lied without blinking an eye, and if Gui Yang were present, she would be ignited again when she heard this.
Wen Tao understood that Yongming City really needed a confidant of the emperor to govern it.
But she originally thought that she would be the one to go over, but she didn't expect that it would be Gui Yang, who had no experience in governance.
"The position of Grand Chancellor is extremely important, Your Majesty. Tao is still young, having served in the court for only a year. To be promoted to the rank of County Governor is already attracting considerable attention. Please revoke your order."
Wen Tao was not being modest, but she really felt it was inappropriate. How old was she this year? Before Gui Yang became the Prime Minister, many people talked about it behind his back. Gui Yang was five or six years older than Wen Tao, and it was still like this. If Wen Tao took the position, it would definitely be another bloody storm.
Shen Zhiwei even wanted to consider whether to abolish the position of Taizai. Why didn't anyone want to be Taizai?
One wanted to be the Prime Minister, and the other wanted to continue to be the County Magistrate. They really "loved the new and disliked the old". They liked new official positions and hated the old ones.
"Once the king has issued an order, how can it be revoked at will?"
Shen Zhiwei was determined, and as a minister, Wen Tao was unable to resist. In the end, he had no choice but to nod and accept this hot potato-like official position.
The official position of Taizai is the same as that of Taifu. Wen Tao never dreamed that after serving as an official for more than a year, she would be at the same level as her father.
Does the king dote on her too much?
Wen Tao never thought of herself as a favored minister, but now she really suspected that she had become the favored minister that the king favored too much, as countless people said.
She must strictly regulate her behavior in the future. She can be a favored minister, but she cannot be a sycophant!
When Gui Yang learned that he was not the Prime Minister but the mayor of Yongming City, he was dumbfounded.
The county magistrate's official position was lower than that of the prime minister, so he was demoted!
Does the king no longer favor him?
Gui Yang really wanted to go to the palace to ask, but when he thought about the conversation with the king some time ago, he backed off, because he guessed that this was the king's punishment for his desire to become the prime minister.
If you don't want to be Dazai, there are plenty of people who do!
Gui Yang shed tears silently, she cried at the wind, she cried at the moon, anyway, she was extremely sad, and her heart was silently broken in the lonely night.
The next morning, they had to put the clothes on again and go to the palace to attend court, and when the king's order was issued, they had to kowtow to thank the king for his grace.
It hurts so much.
Shen Zhiwei went to court today and felt a little stressed because someone kept looking at her as if she was some kind of scumbag who had abandoned her husband and children.
As God knows, she really didn’t do that.
Shen Zhiwei had long guessed that Gui Yang would have some different reactions, but she didn't expect Gui Yang's reaction to be so big. She almost cried and shouted that she didn't want to leave Jingchang.
The crying scene was completely Shen Zhiwei's imagination. In fact, Gui Yang behaved gracefully and was very calm throughout the whole process, which made many officials who thought that Gui Yang was a minister disliked by the king change their minds and believed that this was a deliberate arrangement by the king, not "exile".
Because he felt a little guilty, Shen Zhiwei specially gave Gui Yang a thick stack of freshly made paper when he left Jingchang. The paper did not smudge and felt good, indicating that it was a very stable product.
When Gui Yang saw that the box sent by the king contained a stack of papers, he almost cried. He knew that the king would not give up on him!
This was to urge him to make more friends with outstanding talents when he arrived in Yongming City. Those talented people who were devoted to learning all liked paper very much. With this box of paper, those talented people would definitely come to him and let him choose.
Gold, silver and other valuables are not as valuable as these papers. Gui Yang deeply understood the king's intention and swore to heaven that he would complete the task given to him by the king. When he found enough talents, the king would definitely let him return to Jingchang and become the prime minister.
After all, the king had not allowed him to be the prime minister because he was worried that he would have no one to rely on.
The more Gui Yang thought about it, the more she felt that she had understood the king's true intention. She swept away her previous decadence and went to Yongming City with great ambition.
On the other side, Hu Youan was standing in front of the Yongming Pagoda, looking up at the largest night-shining pearl on the top of the pagoda.
"You really won't let me take it away?"
Qiu, who was standing behind Hu Youan, shook his head and said with a bitter face, "He really wouldn't let me. He even said that anyone who wanted to take the Night Pearl would have to step over his body first."
"Tsk, a man whose country has been destroyed should be like a dog that has lost its home. Why is he so stubborn?"
Hu Youan kept clicking his tongue and became very impatient.
"He's the teacher of the county governor and the county magistrate, and he also has a student. His old friends are all over the world. If I had this background, I would be tough too."
"What are you mumbling about?"
Qiu quickly shook his head, indicating that he didn't say anything.
After glaring at Qiu, Hu Youan looked at the night pearl on the top of the tower. The faint glow could be seen even in broad daylight. What a wonderful treasure it was. If he presented it to the king, he would definitely be very happy.
If the night-shining pearl with strong radiation was really placed in front of Shen Zhiwei, Shen Zhiwei would probably scream.
"Forget it. There's no point in tangling with an old man who has one foot halfway into his coffin. I'll be returning to Jingchang soon to accept the king's reward. This time, I've returned in triumph, taking over most of Bian in one fell swoop. There's no better gift than this."
Hu Youan said this, but his eyes were still full of greed as he looked at the Night Pearl.
Qiu didn't dare to speak. He was afraid that if he said another word, Hu Youan would change his mind and fight to the death with Changzi.
Not far away, an old man with gray hair and a strong body was staring at Hu Youan with his round eyes without blinking. He waited until Hu Youan led his troops away before he suddenly relaxed.
The woman following him laughed out loud when she saw this.
"Hahahaha! Is the teacher scared?"
"Who's afraid? Who's afraid? You crazy monkey, you brought these evil spirits to seize the pearl. Ancestors, are you not afraid that they will come to trouble you at night?"
Changzi turned around and glared at his most mischievous disciple, only to see that instead of feeling ashamed of angering his master, the disciple laughed even more wildly.
"The Bian Kingdom is gone. If they have the guts, they can come find me, an unfilial person."
Ever since Bian Xiao learned that the entire Bian area belonged to the emperor, the smile on his face has never faded.
I laugh out loud every day.
Changzi was so angry that he had a heart attack. He didn't think it was wrong for students to serve the emperor. He just couldn't stand Bianxiao's style of doing things.
After all these years, the one who made him most angry was this disciple.
"Hurry up and go! Don't hang around in front of me and bother me."
"Master, there's no need to chase Xiao away. Xiao will naturally leave when he sees someone."
Changzi frowned upon hearing this and said dissatisfiedly, "Your junior sister is only fourteen this year. It's not enough to call all of you fellow disciples. Why are you so anxious to let your junior sister go out?"
Bian Xiao spread his hands, rather shamelessly: "It wasn't Xiao's original intention, it was Junior Sister Wen Tao's idea. She wanted to take Junior Sister to Jingchang. Junior Sister is all alone, always staying by your side, Teacher, and not interacting with outsiders. It's really not good."
Changzi kept wanting to refuse, and finally he sighed, "Alas, that child has such a miserable life..."
The "junior sister" that Bian Xiao mentioned was not Changzi's apprentice. Wen Tao was Changzi's youngest student. That junior sister was an orphan girl rescued by Changzi's junior brother when he was traveling outside.
Some time ago, Changzi's fellow apprentice died in a foreign land. Before his death, he entrusted his child to Changzi and sent the child who had been with him for seven years to Changzi.
Although she was called a student, she was actually no different from his own daughter. When Changzi saw her, he thought of his junior fellow apprentice and his heart was filled with sadness, so he paid more attention to the child's training.
"She did have a hard life before, but she was lucky enough to meet her uncle. There are children with such hard lives everywhere now. Ah Tao wants to raise her well, so please let her go, Master. When it comes to raising children, no one can compare to Junior Sister Ah Tao."
Bian Xiao didn't feel much sympathy when talking about his junior sister. In these troubled times, everyone has their own regrets. Just being alive is already better than many others.
Changzi sighed deeply and nodded, saying, "You are right. Then you can take Qiongyu away today."
Qiong Yu is a very precious name, symbolizing good character. Whenever this name is called out, Bian Xiao will sigh at his uncle's expectations for his junior sister Qiong Yu.
Qiong Yu was not reluctant to follow Bian Xiao to Jingchang, and even had some anticipation.
In the past, she traveled around with her master and rarely stayed in one place for a long time.
She had been in Bian State for more than a year, and she was actually a little bored. She had not been to Jingchang yet, which was really exciting.
The girl with double buns looked out the window at the azure sky. A few flying birds left faint traces in the sky and disappeared in an instant. Her gaze followed the birds as they flew away, as if she wanted to see through the mountains and rivers to see the old friend who had appeared in her dreams several times.
——
After sending Gui Yang away, Shen Zhiwei only felt that the sky was bluer and the water was greener, and she was fine again!
Before, she stared at the military newspaper every day, fearing that she would be backstabbed again by accident. Now, she doesn’t have to look at it anymore, because the person who backstabbed her either has gone far away or is right under her nose, so it is impossible for them to backstab her.
Sometimes, when people are too happy, bad things will happen, and at this time, the more you don’t want something to happen, the more likely it will happen.
Shen Zhiwei thought that she could put an end to the backstabbing by throwing Gui Yang away, but she didn't know that the sky is high and the sea is vast, and birds can fly freely outside, and people will go out and have fun.
On the first day Gui Yang arrived in Yongming City, he delivered paper all the way. Chen Zhiwei not only gave him a box of paper, but also promised to give him three boxes every month in the future, so that he could use it as he pleased, even to go to the toilet.
Shen Zhiwei definitely wouldn't have mentioned going to the toilet in her original words, but that was the meaning.
When Gui Yang heard this, the unspoken meaning was that you can use paper to win people's hearts, there is no upper limit, use it as you like!
The generosity of the monarch is the glory of his ministers. Gui Yang's behavior of scattering paper along the way was praised by countless scholars. They were indeed rich and were of aristocratic origin, but being rich did not prevent them from thinking that paper was expensive, nor did being rich prevent them from thinking that the paper they picked up for free was a good thing!
In their eyes, people who scatter paper are truly wealthy.
In the eyes of the nobles, scattering paper is very elegant and is a fun thing that only scholars can do. It can satisfy their desire to show off their wealth without appearing too high-profile and ugly. It is not something that ordinary people can do.
The nobles saw Gui Yang's wealth, and those who felt their talents were not appreciated saw Gui Yang's desire for talented people, so they even gave her precious paper, showing her sincerity.
Moreover, everything in Yongming City is new now. Everywhere are the ruins left after Hu Youan led his troops to quell the noble rebellion. Too many nobles in positions were dismissed by Hu Youan, and there are too many vacant official positions. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. How can they not be tempted?
If it was An Guo who occupied Yongming City, the outcome might have been different. The people of Bian State were naturally hostile to An Guo, and there were too many blood feuds between the two countries. If An Guo wanted to completely suppress the disloyalty of Yongming City, the only way he could do was to massacre the city.
Now it is the emperor who occupies Yongming City. The world belongs to the emperor. If the people of Bian State are asked to defect to the emperor, they will not have the slightest intention of resisting, but instead think it is their right.
Shen Zhiwei didn't know yet that her title of emperor had saved her from many detours that other princes had to take.
After Gui Yang settled in Yongming City, the door was almost broken down by talents who came to recommend themselves. They came to find Gui Yang with great enthusiasm, and Gui Yang did not disappoint them. No matter how high or low their official positions were, she found suitable positions for them.
With new jobs, there is motivation, and the people of Yongming City are full of hope for the future.
Those princes who contributed money, manpower and effort but got nothing in the end were almost angry to death when they saw this.
The King of Anguo was the angriest among them. Even though he captured Jiangcheng and saved Anguo's face, he was still angry.
At the surrender ceremony, he was about to get angry, but he didn't expect the emperor to suddenly announce that he would take back all the rewards that the king of Bian State had given out in the past. This made him a little confused. Before he could make a move, the enemy stabbed himself first. What kind of trick was this?
Then came the news of the rebellion of the nobles of Yongming City and their swift suppression.
Only then did An Zhuo understand that the emperor was just bluffing. The order was decisive and sounded terrible, but in fact she was just using it to tell the world that the emperor was still the emperor and the world was still the emperor's world. Once anyone was unfaithful, his fate would be like the nobles in Yongming City, with his entire family slaughtered.
An Zhuo felt that the emperor was digging his own grave by doing this. In the past, when countries went to war, the nobles felt that it had little to do with them. After the emperor did this, wouldn't the nobles fight to the death to defend their own monarch?
As a monarch, An Zhuo naturally thought that the nobles should think this way, but he didn't know that although some nobles did think this way, more nobles were afraid.
They were afraid that one day in the future, Anguo would also be conquered by the emperor, and they would become the next nobles of Bianguo.
Because they were afraid that they would become one of the nobles whose entire families were massacred, they secretly began to contact Jingchang in order to leave a way out for themselves.
In a corner that An Zhuo couldn't see, a crowd of people was surging.
The days pass by quickly and autumn is here again.
Both Yunguo and Ningguo bowed their heads obediently, and the war was completely over. Shen Zhiwei didn't know if it was an illusion, but he rarely heard of any vassal states being destroyed recently.
I thought the days would just pass slowly from then on, and Shen Zhiwei would occasionally urge me to learn simplified Chinese and Mandarin, just waiting for the simplified Chinese that I was familiar with to be everywhere.
Who knew that by the end of autumn, one piece of news after another would bombard me.
First, the King of Anguo proclaimed himself king, followed by the King of Yunguo and the King of Ningguo. Seeing this, the King of Beiguo was unwilling to be outdone and also proclaimed himself king.
At the same time, Prince Rong was sent to the capital of the Northern Kingdom by An Zhuo as a treasure, becoming An Zhuo's "gift" to win over the Northern Kingdom Alliance.
The brotherhood that had been envied and talked about by countless people openly and secretly before, now all vanished into thin air. An Zhuo's heroic act of desperately saving his cousin was now a complete joke.
Shen Zhiwei thought she was watching a documentary full of historical regrets. When Wen Tao asked how to deal with the situation of a great prince declaring himself king, she suddenly realized that she was also one of the protagonists in this historical film.
"Alas, if only one person claimed the throne, he could unite with the other princes to fight against the enemy. But now that each country has claimed the throne one after another, it has become difficult to fight against the enemy."
Shen Zhiwei said this in a distressed manner, but in her heart she was very happy. She had indeed not misjudged An Guo. The King of An Guo was now the most reliable person in her mind! She needed someone like this to help her.
I believe the day of our country’s demise will soon be here!
"All the thieves in the world who have stolen the king's power deserve to die!"
A fierce look appeared on Wen Tao's face, and Shen Zhiwei could sense her murderous intent to kill all the princes at this moment.
My Dazai seems a bit fierce.
Shen Zhiwei coughed dryly, suppressed the ecstasy in his heart, and said softly: “It is not a bad thing for you gentlemen to declare yourself king.”
"The King"
Wen Tao thought she had heard it wrong.
Then she heard the king say in a slightly cold voice: "Before, you were my subjects. From now on, you are all rebels against me. No need to consider others, you can all be killed."
After the king of Bian State surrendered, he was imprisoned in the courtyard of Jingchang. Although he was imprisoned, it did not really prevent him from strolling around Jingchang. Even his living standard was not too low, which was considered an honor.
From now on, Sen can live a good life in Jingchang without having to worry about food and drink.
The reason why he had such a good life was that he was once a duke and later surrendered voluntarily, so Shen Zhiwei could not kill him and had to treat him well according to the ancestral system.
There will be no more princes who will claim to be kings with such good treatment in the future.
From now on, you can beat them to death without holding back, and you don’t have to worry about failing to gain any recognition. Their betrayal of the emperor is a grave crime.
Wen Tao understood what Shen Zhiwei meant, but she was still in a bad mood. For so many princes to declare themselves kings at the same time was definitely not a decision made overnight, but rather a process of private communication for a long time. For such an important matter, she hadn't heard a single word about it.
Could it be that all the spies she planted in various countries were useless?
Wen Tao planned to go back and make careful arrangements. She would make those ignorant princes pay the price!
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