In the crowded town, there exists a teahouse graceful and quiet. The famous scholars of Tan County love to enjoy tea, and thus often meet here.
This is the fairyland on earth as opposed to desolate fields outside Li County.
Thus, this group of scholars, with the most exquisite dishes and snacks in front of them, discussed the plight of the people outside the city who couldn't make a living. They showed a compassionate attitude, strongly criticized the current chaos of the imperial political situation and scorned the incompetence of the ministers far away in Shengjing.
"When the new emperor ascended the throne last year, the world was thrown into chaos," a fat-headed and big-eared scholar took a sip of tea, looked up at the sky, and sighed.
"The sudden death of the previous emperor left the new son of Dabao, who was still young—less than twenty-nine. How could the princes and vassals, who had been in charge of their own territories for many years, be willing to bow to a young child? So, they each became ambitious. Now the imperial court can't suppress them, and the kings refuse to listen to the emperor's orders and do as they please. It is inevitable that the world will fall into chaos. The scholar shook his feather fan and sighed.
"In the early spring of this year, the King of Lu and the King of Yuchuan fought a battle, and the King of Yuchuan was completely defeated. The twenty-eight counties under his jurisdiction in Yanzhou were looted by the King of Lu like a swarm of locusts. The soldiers burned, killed, and plundered the city. Yanzhou is now in purgatory! " another scholar said angrily. He took a sip of tea, slapped the teacup on the table, and scolded, "Now those exiles outside the city have fled from Yanzhou, the fief of King Yuchuan!
King Lu will not end up with such a miserable and inhumane outcome!
"The culprit is still the King of Yuchuan! In order to compete with King Lu, he started a war, but lacked the ability to win. He was overwhelmed and lost his lands! He fled quickly and defected to his mother's brother, King Qingyang. He's truly a man whose life is short, and the disaster will last for generations."
"In the end, the Son of Heaven is incompetent and unable to restrain the kings, which leads to the beginning of the omen of chaos in the world. After the battle between the two kings, the situation worsened. Heroes in various places have risen, and the imperial court can no longer command the states and counties under it."
"In early winter, I heard that there was a barbarian thief surnamed Wu, who led 100,000 iron cavalry and charged straight in. He made his way toward the imperial city of Shengjing!"
"And this question? Isn't it only a step away from marching directly into the imperial city and endangering the safety of the emperor? Up to now, no single prince or nobleman from all over has ever come forward to aid him, but just sat back and watched while the Son of Heaven became trapped? True?"
"Yes it is!"
Such a brazen thief exists! Indeed, the Son of Heaven is an incumbent ordained by Heaven—who would presume to set him at naught? The civil strife of the Wen royal family is a matter for the family surnamed Wen. How dare a minister with a different surname covet the imperial power? Are they not afraid of Heaven's retribution?
"Indeed!" The fat-headed and big-eared scholar affirmed. "My second uncle is in Shengjing, serving as an official in the Dahongyin office. According to the news he sent back, the court ministers have negotiated with the thief Wu Kui. As long as he agrees to unblock Shengjing, he can be granted the position of prime minister."
This fat-headed and big-eared scholar, called Wang Ji, was from the Wang family, a wealthy and influential family in Tan County. His second uncle was a high-ranking official in the capital, groomed by the Wang family with the support of their entire clan.
However, before the second uncle left Tan County, when the chaos of the world erupted, it was also the Wang family's luck.
The scholar wielding the feather fan arose in fury and roared, "The Son of Heaven was indeed bullied by a barbarian thief! How is it that the Son of Heaven can be so ineffective with such great national might?"
When such news was brought to their ears, scholars became even more bewildered.
A quick-witted scholar, thinking aloud, exclaimed, "How did the situation become so bad? The Wen royal family is on the verge of collapse. The vassals from all over the world have grown powerful, and a turbulent time is about to arise. Isn't this a good opportunity for us to make a name for ourselves?"
What the scholar said sparked new ideas in everyone.
They started to think about the temperaments, lives, and forces of various princes. It might be a good time to defect early in order to make a contribution to the dragon, marry into noble families, and elevate their own to first-class status, securing a family legacy for a hundred years.
Everyone lost their composure for a moment and began to think about how to profit from the situation.
They might not be able to control the large-scale affairs of the world and could wait and see for now, but matters that concerned their own interests should be well planned.
Wang Ji's family was in the grain and money business. Eighty percent of the grain shops in Tan County were run by his family. Now that the people were displaced, it was a good opportunity to hoard land and take people into servitude!
Such people starved and could not continue for much longer. Now one only needed to trade half a bucket of rice for a young and strong laborer. What a beauty!
The distressed people outside the city should be carefully searched. It's not too late to act on this matter. Wang Ji touched his fat chin, secretly calculating, and smiled like a Maitreya Buddha.
At the back house of the county office, Lin Zheyun and his family members were having lunch. Once the meal was over, the housekeeper rushed in. After bowing to Lin Zheyun, he presented an official document from the imperial court.
Lin Zheyun opened the official document, sealed with red lacquer, and looked at it.
Lin Zhihuang, who sat beside her, glanced at the content of the document. The characters on it were all unfamiliar. Although she recognized the words, she didn't understand them.
Lin Zhihuang: I never thought that after living for 31 years, I would have a day where I was illiterate.
When she entered this world, it was a small consolation that her memory became exceptionally strong. She had glanced at the official document earlier, and although she didn't understand it, she had remembered all its contents, as if her mind had taken a snapshot. Although she didn't understand the meaning of the words,
Lin Zhihuang could copy the content of the document whenever she wanted to. Even more surprisingly, she was clear about her memories of past life too. The books that she had read and the words spoken were now stored in her mind like videos.