The rebellion in the eastern lands had already been quelled. Among the forces sent to suppress it, some were stationed directly at the Right Camp, while others gradually returned to the Central Camp. As the General of Charlots and Cavalry, Tao Jia should have long returned to the central command to report to the Emperor. However, the troublesome matter of dismantling the fortified manors had delayed him until now, with summer nearly approaching. Finally setting out on his journey back to the capital, he entrusted the task of relocating the soldiers inland to the younger men under his command, offering them an opportunity to gain experience.
Tao Jing, Qin Cuiwei, Ruan Mingfan, and others each led two thousand troops to escort the powerful clans and surrendered rebels from the eastern lands to the vicinity of Tuoqing River in Yong Province.
In truth, the number of men under their command was far less than the captives they were escorting. However, their advantage lay in superior training and complete armor and weaponry. Even if the number of surrendered soldiers were several times greater, they could easily crush them in actual combat.
But being able to win in battle did not necessarily mean effective control.
Along the journey from the eastern lands to Yong Province, many escapers appeared among the relocated groups. Such occurrences have always been common throughout history, and even strict military laws could hardly completely curb this situation.
Tao Jing came from a family of military generals and understood that such incidents were inevitable. All they could do was minimize the number of escapees.
His adjutant said cautiously, “Although the fighting in the east has ended, based on past experience, there will likely be a surge of bandits in the eastern lands in the coming years.” Though Dian Wue had been killed, remnants of his forces remained, and completely eradicating them could not be achieved overnight.
Tao Jing nodded slightly and then said:
“Please invite Attendant-in-Waiting Ren and Supervisor Li over.”
The “Supervisor Li” he referred to was Li Chuhuang, who, like Yang Dongxi and others, had distinguished herself during the eastern campaign. She was highly resourceful and had previously been recommended for the position of Supervisor in recognition of her merits.
When Ren Feihong arrived, she was fanning himself with a copy of the Capital Gazette that had just been delivered. Though the Great Zhou did have official gazettes, the information they contained was inevitably somewhat outdated due to the speed of message transmission. However, recently, because of the talent selection examinations, the central government had sent many Wind-Catcher Envoys to this region to gather information. These Wind-Catcher Envoys belonged to the City Bureau and had their own system for transmitting messages. Back when Ren Feihong was in Jianping, she had become quite familiar with Chi Yi, and now, relying on their past acquaintance, she unabashedly took advantage of this connection to read the gazettes within their department.
Upon hearing Tao Jing’s question, she replied without blinking an eye, smiling as she said, “It’s not that troublesome. The truly powerful clans wouldn’t choose to flee now anyway. As for the scattered deserters, they’re easy enough to handle.”
Though they had received the Emperor’s decree to strike hard against the powerful clans in the eastern lands and had conscripted many able-bodied men to dig canals, during the selection process they only took the strong laborers. The elderly and children of these clans remained in their original places of residence. If these people chose to flee during the relocation, Shi Zhuhe and his men, upon receiving word, could take action against their family members left behind in the eastern lands.
Therefore, most of those who secretly fled now were originally soldiers under Dian Wue’s command.
“Overawe them with authority, entice them with benefits – Young General could select those with prestige among them and grant them official positions, thereby reassuring the people.”
They couldn’t formally bestow military ranks upon ordinary soldiers, but they could offer some temporary appointments, such as promoting several acting company commanders. If these acting company commanders truly fulfilled their tasks, they could later petition the imperial court to convert their temporary positions into formal ones.
It wasn’t that Tao Jing couldn’t think of this himself; rather, he primarily wanted to involve Ren Feihong in the decision-making process – as someone personally appointed by the Emperor to accompany the army, she clearly enjoyed imperial favor and was well-suited to share both the credit and the risks.
The strategy they devised proved quite effective. With someone stepping forward to offer reassurance, the number of escapees noticeably decreased, and they also incidentally obtained a piece of intelligence: among the surrendered soldiers was an elderly man who commanded considerable respect among the people of the eastern lands – he had previously served as Dian Wue’s shaman.
That old shaman held an extremely deep faith in Xuanyangzi, one that could not be swayed by official positions or material wealth.
Li Chuhuang cupped her hands in salute and said with a smile, “I too am from the eastern lands and understand such matters somewhat. I would be willing to relieve the Young General of this worry.”
Tao Jing politely returned the salute: “Then I shall trouble you.”
After receiving her orders, Li Chuhuang specifically asked Ren Feihong to borrow the gazettes obtained from the City Bureau. After carefully reading through them, she sent people to spread rumors among the surrendered troops, extensively promoting the example of Lu Zhongmao, who had been directly cured after taking a single pill from the emperor. As for the specific details, she did not elaborate too deeply, trusting that they would fill in the gaps themselves.
By midnight, faint sounds of weeping could indeed be heard coming from the camp.
The old shaman was, after all, something of a healer and believed more strongly than most in the power of the mystical. In their usual practice of treating illnesses and saving lives, they would mostly boil some herbal concoctions and have the patients drink them. If the patient recovered, it meant their heart was devout and their fate had not yet run its course. If the treatment failed, that too was simply a matter of destiny.
Following this line of reasoning, if the young emperor in Jianping could casually cure one of her ministers with a pill, didn’t that prove that the Mandate of Heaven truly rested with her?
In the darkness, Ren Feihong and Li Chuhuang heard the weeping from the camp. They exchanged glances, both breathing a sigh of relief.
Both were well-versed in strategy, understanding the principle that attacking the heart is superior to attacking the city. Their actions were not only meant to reassure the people but, more importantly, to gradually dispel the influence left by Xuanyangzi.
As the Emperor of the Great Zhou, every move Wen Yanran made attracted the attention of millions. News of her refining the Muzhong Pill and Liu Pill had not only reached the army in the eastern lands but had also spread to the northern regions.
Wen Hong and the others immediately understood what the emergence of these life-saving pills signified – since the Muzhong Pill and Liu Pill had pulled Lu Zhongmao back from death’s door, they could naturally be used on others as well. With such miraculous substances available, the subjects of the Great Zhou no longer needed to worry about the Emperor suddenly dying one day and could begin planning for the long term.
He felt a headache coming on and promptly summoned his advisors to jointly analyze the situation ahead.
Zhang Bingshan was the first to speak. “I believe this matter must be false.”
Wen Hong nodded. “Pray enlighten me.”
With his lord being so courteous, Zhang Bingshan did not hold back and said directly, “I have heard that the young emperor suffered a serious illness before ascending the throne, which suggests she is not in good health. Though young in age, she likely already fears for her lifespan. Now, to reassure her ministers, she deliberately promotes the matter of these divine pills – my lord, think carefully: In all the years since the Great Zhou was established, has anyone ever actually refined any effective immortal elixir?”
Throughout the Great Zhou’s history, many emperors had sought longevity, yet none had succeeded. Many of these rulers had only lived to their twenties or thirties before passing away, serving as practical proof of the backwardness of current medical and health standards.
Others always assumed that the Emperor, receiving offerings from all under heaven, would have every conceivable miracle drug at their disposal. However, Wen Hong, as a member of the imperial clan, knew very well that such notions were either deliberate guidance by the court or mere hearsay.
In truth, Zhang Bingshan’s speculation was not unreasonable. Under normal circumstances, no matter how diligently the alchemists in Jianping studied, it was indeed impossible for them to refine effective antibacterial drugs in this era. However, Wen Yanran herself was a transmigrator equipped with modern chemical knowledge. Even knowledge that seemed particularly simple to modern people, when placed in ancient times, was at a bug-level advantage…
Zhang Bingshan said, “The young emperor is so fearful of death; my lord might as well go along with this current.”
Back then, one reason Emperor Li had incurred criticism from both the court and the public was his fondness for recruiting alchemists to refine immortal elixirs for him, spending enormous sums of money in the process – to extend his life, Emperor Li even allowed alchemists to use gold and jade as ingredients.
Zhang Bingshan sneered, “My lord can gather alchemists and send them to the capital, thereby demonstrating Wuzheng Commandery’s loyalty to the Sovereign.”
Wen Hong hesitated slightly. Demonstrating loyalty was fine, but going too far might appear somewhat sycophantic. If he gained a reputation for currying favor with the emperor’s wishes, that would not be a good thing.
Seeing his superior’s hesitation, Zhang Bingshan added fuel to the fire, lowering his voice and saying, “According to news from the capital, the young emperor has gradually begun showing signs of extravagance lately, frequently visiting the Gui Palace and Yao Palace areas.”
These tidings confirmed an earlier conjecture of his: the reason the Sovereign had been so diligent in governance right after ascending the throne was merely that the situation at court had been critical, forcing her to muster her spirits and attend to state affairs. Now that the western lands and the eastern territories were pacified, it was only natural she would seek some amusement. As long as she continued down the path of seeking pleasure, it was only a matter of time before she revealed the demeanor of a benighted ruler, just like Emperor Li before her.
Zhang Bingshan’s words did not reach Wen Yanran’s ears; otherwise, they would likely have further solidified her assessment of him as “infallible in his calculations.”
Inside Jianping City.
After spending over a month at Jingyuan, the Sovereign finally returned to the Taiqi Palace. Upon learning of this, officials from various ministries and departments collectively felt a sense of relief.
In the final years of the Changxing reign, many ministers had mistakenly believed that the Sovereign was completely ignorant of state affairs. Some had even considered waiting to see which way the wind blew, while others, out of self-regard, prepared to gauge the new emperor’s attitude before deciding whether to serve her, lest their talents be wasted on an unworthy ruler. Now, less than two years into the Emperor’s reign, the situation at court had undergone a dramatic transformation – many ministers who once prided themselves on their abilities had instead come to rely on the Emperor herself to guide them through their work…
Western Yong Palace.
The hall was utterly silent, the fragrance of benzoin incense wafting from the burner, creating a soft and tranquil atmosphere.
Having just returned to the city, Wen Yanran was taking an afternoon nap in her bedchamber.
If any palace maid were to draw back the bed curtains at this moment, they would discover that the Sovereign actually had her eyes wide open.
Wen Yanran was recording data.
The game interface had a notepad-like recording function. This screen was visible only to herself, and the contents were comprehensible only to her.
The top portion of the recording interface contained matters related to state affairs, while the bottommost part stored the knowledge she had learned before her transmigration. The middle section was filled with experimental logs.
Wen Yanran’s gaze swept over the heading titled “How to Obtain High-Concentration Alcohol.”
During her experiments in medicine preparation, she had encountered many problems she had never imagined before.
Take ethanol acquisition, for instance. Wen Yanran knew that through distillation, one could only obtain a mixture with an alcohol content of up to 95.57%. To increase the concentration further, quicklime needed to be added to the alcohol. However, she eventually discovered that such effort was unnecessary – due to the technological limitations of the era, the so-called “strong liquor” produced through distillation actually had a very low alcohol content.
Moreover, it wasn’t until she obtained the finished product that she realized she had no way to determine its exact ethanol concentration. In the end, she could only resort to rough estimation: generally speaking, liquor with thirty to forty percent alcohol content could be ignited. Wen Yanran had people take the strong liquor from the containers to an open area and set it on fire, observing how much of it burned to roughly estimate the ethanol content.
After detailed comparisons, Wen Yanran discovered that freshly distilled liquor had a higher alcohol content, though it contained more impurities. She had the palace attendants in Jingyuan repeatedly distill it over forty times before finally obtaining strong liquor of approximately eighty percent alcohol.
Another headache-inducing issue was the quality of the vessels used for extracting medicines. The Great Zhou still primarily used pottery vessels; items such as glassware were exclusively reserved for the nobility, with most currently stored in her treasury.
After reviewing her records from this period and making some revisions and additions, Wen Yanran sat up energetically from her bed – the truth was, she wasn’t particularly passionate about experimentation either. It was simply that entertainment options were too scarce at present, and the activities available in Jingyuan were the most interesting ones she could find.
When the inner attendants in the bedchamber saw the Sovereign rise, they hurried over to draw back the curtains. Then the palace maids waiting outside brought in basins of water, face cloths, bean powder for washing, and other items. A eunuch bowed outside the door and said respectfully, “Reporting to Your Majesty, the envoy from Qingyi Tribe has arrived in the capital.”
Wen Yanran nodded. “Let them rest for now. Summon them to the palace tomorrow.”
The reason she had returned to the palace was twofold: the medicine extraction work had reached a temporary conclusion, and also because Qingyi had sent representatives.
The purpose of relocating the Qingyi Tribe from the north to the south was not only to disperse the power of the northern minority peoples but also to defend the border regions.
The southern lands bordered the sea, below which lay several small states collectively known as the Southern Coastal States. Relations between the two sides had never been particularly good, and the Southern Coastal States would periodically send raiders to harass and plunder the border regions of the Great Zhou.
In response to such incidents, tribes like Qingyi typically adopted a passive defensive stance – the central government did not trust border peoples and, wary of Qingyi growing too powerful, was unwilling to grant them too much authority.
After the current chieftain of the Qingyi Tribe, Xiao Xichi, returned to her people, she broke from past practices and planned to take the initiative. Having heard of some internal unrest among the Southern Coastal States, she believed it was time to make a move and accordingly sent a report to the central government.
Xiao Xichi dared to act this way because she enjoyed the Emperor’s trust and also wished to repay Wen Yanran’s kindness.
[System:
Interface updating.
Due to the vassal relationship existing between the [Southern Coastal States] and the [Great Zhou], the [Diplomacy] interface update has failed. The [Tributary States] interface is now enabled.
The vassal relationship between the [Southern Coastal States] and the [Great Zhou] has weakened. The [Tributary States] interface cannot display specific information.]
