After confirming that the images in the teleportation circle were enough to prove Lu Chen's innocence and that Chai Hongyu did not hesitate to put aside their opposing positions and risk her life to save Lu Chen because she admired Lu Chen, the empress was completely relieved.
In this way, not only will this incident not leave a stain on Lu Chen, but it will greatly enhance his reputation.
After all, Lu Chen's noble conduct and extreme benevolence could even influence the chief general of the world's biggest rebel!
How outrageous is this? !
How many people have been able to do this since ancient times? !
Unparalleled national scholar, well deserved!
However, after the dust settled on Lu Chen's matter, the empress recalled Chai Hongyu's tragic childhood experience, and her mood suddenly became a little heavy.
Although she was not the one who was in power at that time, no matter what, the people suffered so much under the governance of the imperial court. Those scenes of hell-like scenes would be added to Daxia's national destiny.
I recall what Lu Chen once said, especially the sentence "The king is like a boat, and the people are like water. Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it."
It may sound a bit alarmist, but the empress believes in it.
And now, Chai Hongyu, or the rebels now entrenched in the northern part of Tianlan Province, as well as the mobs and rebels everywhere who are constantly shaking the foundation of Daxia's rule, have fully proved this point.
Although these rebels are still unable to overthrow the sky, and Yu Jiuyuan, Chai Hongyu and others do not have the power to fight against the imperial court, but if one can't do it, what about two? What about three?
If the court does not pay attention to the people and allows the corrupt officials in Chai Hongyu's hometown to do whatever they want, or if they focus on cultivating Taoism without caring about people's livelihood, sooner or later more Yu Jiuyuan and more Chai Hongyu will appear until the Daxia Dynasty is overthrown.
Realizing this, the empress quickly fell into deep thought.
She couldn't help but think about what the Great Xia had become in the past thousand years due to various accumulated abuses... Even if the "revival trend" created by the late emperor's hard work was like this, then six years after the Demon Queen's chaos, the people of Great Xia , how many ways are left to survive?
At this thought, a solemn look quietly appeared in the empress's eyes.
The heavy burden on my shoulders seems not as simple as imagined.
If we want to create the real prosperous age that Lu Chen hopes for, we still have a long way to go...
Shaking her head, she prepared to stop the Yuanling technique and interrupt the soul-searching technique at the same time.
It's not that she couldn't hold on any longer.
Although the Ji Dao Secret Technique consumes a lot of money, she is the master of the Ji Dao Secret Technique after all, and the Tai Chi Palace is equipped with various magic circles that can provide enhancements to the world's supreme masters who practice the way of emperors. Therefore, she naturally does not need to use the Ji Dao Secret Technique to activate the Ji Dao Secret Technique. Lu Chen risked his life like that.
Just a little tired.
The main reason is that now that Lu Chen's innocence has been proven, there is no need to continue searching for souls and let Chai Hongyu continue to suffer.
However, just when she was about to take back her spiritual power——
Wow! !
Along with a sudden burst of heat, Chai Hongyu's body suddenly bloomed with a dazzling red light.
Immediately afterwards, the red light suddenly shrank rapidly, forming a fiery red translucent energy body in the blink of an eye.
"Qiang Qiang!"
A sonorous chirping suddenly sounded, and the translucent energy body turned into a two-foot-wide divine bird, wrapping Chai Hongyu tightly in the energy body.
Seeing this sudden scene, everyone was shocked.
"Escort! Escort!!"
"Protect Your Majesty!!"
"Your Majesty, stand back!"
“…”
Xuanji Guards and a group of imperial guards took action one after another.
Facing the reminders from all the courtiers, the empress raised her hand with a calm expression and said calmly: "It's just a small matter, there is no need to panic, everyone retreat. With Gu Aiqing here, I am very safe."
After hearing this, everyone still reminded him again hesitantly.
However, the empress just held the sword of the extreme, walked silently to Lu Chen, and then said in a solemn voice:
"Back off!"
Feeling this unquestionable order, everyone immediately looked stern and did not dare to say another word.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The riot stopped there.
The next moment, as if to prove that the empress's judgment was correct, the fiery red bird-like energy body suddenly and quickly condensed towards Chai Hongyu. With the influx of this energy, the originally painful look on Chai Hongyu's face began to gradually fade away. Slowed down.
"oh?"
Gu Simiao on the side suddenly let out a light sigh.
"Rebirth from the fire, immortal spirit body..."
She slowly put down her hands that were holding the hilt of the long sword at her waist, and the surging spiritual power in her body gradually dissipated and returned to her spiritual veins.
"A descendant of Suzaku...Tsk, tsk, no wonder she can lead a group of rabble to cause such ferocity in the three provinces of Qingning and Ningxia. Even Wang Qian can't do anything to her. So that's what happened..."
After hearing this, the empress also recalled a certain record in the Royal Secret Code, and then for some reason, she glanced at Lu Chen with a subtle look, with a hint of meaning in her eyes.
This little episode passed quickly.
At the same time, the picture on the imaging circle changed again.
What appears inside this time is the changes in various places in Yuzhou after Lu Chen left Yuzhou.
After confirming that Lu Chen was safe and sound, Chai Hongyu did not immediately leave Yuzhou and return to the rebel camp in Tianlan Province. Instead, she traveled around Yuzhou from the perspective of a bystander and witnessed with her own eyes what Lu Chen had brought to Yuzhou. Change.
Especially in the county where the acting magistrates who claim to be Lu Chen's disciples are located.
At this time, the light screen of the teleportation array showed a scene of dozens or hundreds of people in an unknown field, waving hoes and driving cattle.
Among them, a tall man with a height of nine feet and a beard one foot long, sweating with his bare arms, stood out particularly.
He was conspicuous not only because of his tall stature, but also because he was wearing robes that could only be worn by county officials.
Obviously, he was one of the acting magistrates sent by Lu Chen to govern the counties.
After a moment, Chai Hongyu's eyes moved forward, and soon she came to the burly man.
"Lord County Lord."
"Um?"
The big man was stunned for a moment, then turned around. When he saw Chai Hongyu, his face clearly showed surprise.
"Are you... Miss Chai?"
"Sir, do you know?"
"Well, the commander has given me an explanation."
The man explained briefly and then asked:
"What is Miss Chai looking for?"
certain?
Hearing this claim, some of the courtiers' faces turned dark. What Ye Shilang said was indeed true. The people sent by Lu Chen really didn't have any formality at all!
How does the court lose its face by allowing these people to serve as officials?
If this continues, will the local people still treat the government like gods as they did in the past?
However, when the empress saw this scene, her inner thoughts were completely opposite to theirs.
Because she noticed that when the big man stopped and talked to Chai Hongyu, the people around him were attracted by the movement here and looked over one after another. Although the people looked at the big man without much fear in their eyes, there was no fear either. As numb as a zombie.
Their spirits were obviously much better than the people she had seen in the various intelligence collected by Xuanji Guard.
Living under the Queen Mother's nose for six years made her extremely sensitive to people's hearts. From the eyes of those common people, she instinctively felt a different kind of vitality.
At this time, Chai Hongyu in the light curtain asked straight to the point: "Your Excellency, if you are not staying at the county office, why do you condescend to come here and do such vulgar things?"
"Oh, this."
The big man put down the hoe in his hand and said without hesitation:
"There is nothing important at the county government. Spring plowing is about to begin. I heard that there is a labor shortage in some places and the work may not be completed, delaying the spring plowing. So I brought someone over to see if I can help."
Chai Hongyu was silent for a while and then asked: "But sir, you are the lord of the county and you go to the fields yourself..."
"What's this?"
The man was unimpressed.
"Mr. Lu said that in life, you must position yourself correctly and do what you should do within the scope of your responsibilities. Only in this way can you have a clear conscience, hold your head high and stand between heaven and earth. What a county parent official has to do , which is to benefit the local people.”
After a pause, he continued: "He is a rough man who doesn't understand any big principles. He is not like those monks who descended to the earth from Wenquxing, who are full of ink and have many plans. He only knows that since he became the official of the parents, he will If you think about what the people think and worry about their needs, since the people are short of labor, I will come over and do what you can to help them."
Hearing this, Chai Hongyu was stunned for a while.
"If Miss Chai has nothing to do, I'll get busy first."
Chai Hongyu reacted immediately and cupped her hands towards him.
This memory ends here.
In this scene, only Lu Chen, who was using the soul-searching technique at this moment, knew how Chai Hongyu felt after hearing the answer from the sturdy county magistrate.
Then, the next memory resurfaced.
This time the scene in the light curtain turned into a bustling county town.
Although there was no burly magistrate or magistrate wearing official robes doing rough work, the scene this time was still very strange.
For example, this is obviously just a small county town, but it is not much worse than the capital city!
On both sides of the not-so-spacious street, there is a vendor shouting and selling every half a foot. In front of them are various products, such as jewelry, pots and pans, candy figures, rouge, oil umbrellas, etc. There are also many items along the way. There are many special snacks from various places.
These snack bars were full of people, and there were long queues at the door, but there was no commotion. Although they were a little impatient, they still waited patiently. During this period, from time to time, a waiter came out with tea and handed it to them. Laugh with them and relieve their impatience.
But the most concerning thing is that at the corner of the street, there is neither a variety of odds and ends nor food, but a table with a banner with the words "Job Recruitment" written on it.
"Come, come, come and have a look. Mr. Li is looking for workers. The monthly payment is two thousand dollars, six days off and one day off, and one meal is included!"
"Wang Yuan has a bodhisattva heart and is willing to donate generously to the poor people in Ping County. He only needs to work in Wang's cloth workshop in the west of the city for one month, and he can get enough for one family for one season. If you are interested, please come quickly. The number of places is limited. Please give it a try first." Come first served!”
"Yanping Pier is recruiting twenty laborers, with a monthly guarantee of five hundred yuan. The more you work, the more you will get. One meal is included. You are required to be strong and hardworking..."
"..."
Many people with patched clothes were attracted by these shouts and gathered towards the recruitment office.
Clearly, they are more interested in making money than spending money.
With hope on their faces, all the people asked the recruiters one after another, and soon they signed the contracts.
Immediately after confirming the acceptance of the employment, the recruiter actually took out a small bag of rice and one hundred dollars from under the table and handed it to the people who were about to start work. Then, in the eyes of the other people with surprise on their faces, they smiled and said that this was the new county employee. According to the decree issued by Lord Lingfang, all those doing business in Ping County must give them some money and food as settlement expenses after recruiting workers.
Chai Hongyu just watched quietly as the people thanked the people at the recruitment office, and then happily left with a small bag of money and food.
Seeing this scene, the courtiers had different reactions.
Qian Yiqian and others were naturally dismissive, thinking that it was not a good thing for a county to have too much commercial affairs. The county magistrate must be a mediocre official who has lost his mind in yellow and white things, and he must take a look at it when the time comes.
But Liu Dongyang, Fang Ping, Xiao Yun and others looked thoughtful.
At this time, the picture in the light screen flashed, and then suddenly appeared a scene that made everyone feel familiar.
At the gate of the county government office in Ping County, a ridiculously handsome young man in county robes handed over his hand to a middle-aged businessman with a big belly in brocade clothes, and sent him away with a smile on his face.
That's right, it was the scene in the photo talisman when Ye Sheng sued Lu Chen's disciples for doing evil in various counties.
And now, the follow-up to that photo-keeping talisman is displayed in front of everyone.
Chai Hongyu walked over.
"Master Fang."
She naturally knew Fang Yu. After all, when she rescued Gouer Village, Fang Yu promised to give her a reward as a righteous man.
It's just that she never went to Ping County Yamen to ask for it.
"It's you, Miss Chai."
Fang Yu looked at her deeply, and then said softly: "Is Miss Chai here to receive the reward?"
"No, I have something unclear, and I would like to ask Mr. Fang to help me clarify my confusion."
"Miss Chai is serious. You are the savior of hundreds of villagers in Gou'er Village. As their parents, you are also my benefactor. If you have anything you want to ask, just ask me directly. You must tell me everything you know.”
Chai Hongyu nodded slightly, and then asked straight to the point like before:
"Lord Fang, I remember that officials don't seem to like dealing with businessmen, and they despise businessmen. If you are so close to businessmen, aren't you afraid that word will spread and you will be ridiculed by your colleagues?"
Fang Yu shrugged.
"It doesn't matter, they can laugh if they want. Anyway, I don't intend to deal with them."
After a moment of silence, Chai Hongyu then asked: "Sir, why do you want to practice business as a merchant in the county?"
Fang Yu said without hesitation: "Because business can benefit the people."
Upon hearing this familiar answer, Chai Hongyu couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
"But Governor Lu's teachings?"
"Um."
Fang Yu nodded, and when he mentioned Lu Chen, his eyes gradually showed reverence.
"Master Lu once said that officials should pursue the greatest principles. Although there are countless ways in this world, as long as it is beneficial to the people and can bring benefits, whether it is the way of merchants, the way of investigating things, or the way of The way of medicine and the way of food are all great ways."
"I am not very talented. Apart from the holy way and the martial way, the only thing I can use is the way of merchants."
Chai Hongyu suddenly understood.
After the trip to Ping County, Chai Hongyu went to several other counties. In almost every county, she saw these acting county magistrates who had received Lu Chen's words and deeds and claimed to be Lu Chen's disciples, using their own skills that had always been despised by the monks. The trails bring benefits to the local people.
The counties in Yuzhou are also changing bit by bit towards the prosperous age in her mind with their governance strategies that are incompatible with today's mainstream.
I finally finished my end-of-month work and will resume normal updates tomorrow.
(End of chapter)
