Chapter 290

Chapter 290

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 9: The Calamity of Drought and Locusts, Flying to Liaodong Chapter 290: The Choice of an Era

A… what a brand-new era!

Zhong Changtong pondered in his heart, is the Grand Marshal only aiming to cultivate those students from Leping Academy who are directly loyal to her?

Perhaps not.

They can form a talent pool to counter the Hongwen Hall system’s selection for the court, but they are clearly not enough to create a qualitative change to impact the tradition of judging people by their family background for three generations.

More people are still confined to their original class, not even knowing that by following the laws of nature in their work, they can achieve more abundant yields, let alone transcend their current class.

But before the budding reforms now, they seem to have another possibility of being awakened.

The existence of the Leping Monthly Report provides an easier way to obtain “books,” and these books are made more accessible by pairing images with text to reduce reading difficulty.

Today, they only know the number of locusts remaining after layer-by-layer screening, and the phrase “man can conquer nature.” Tomorrow, they might know more words, more sentences, even a complete article.

In this mass production method, these newspapers might become more easily obtainable and widely spread, making it impossible for some to block them, forcing acceptance of this widespread fact.

In the past, even with dedicated scribes, only a thousand copies of the Leping Monthly Report could be produced in a day.

But even in the Guanzhong region, with a population of six to seven hundred thousand, most people get the news from literate individuals who have bought the newspaper.

Under the trend led by the Grand Marshal, these people might choose to “generously” share the newspaper’s information with those around them. But if one day, the news conveyed is not favorable to them, can they still maintain such generosity?

Zhong Changtong thinks not.

So to truly counter this situation, what Qiao Yan can do is to continue increasing the distribution of the Leping Monthly Report, formally impacting the book market, and making more people clearly understand every word in the report.

This is such a dangerous attempt, yet such an exhilarating one!

Even if he doesn’t know whether this reform will truly enlighten the people, making them no longer blindly believe in praying to gods and buddhas, or whether those involved in the reform will choose to retreat or be crushed under the pressure of noble family interests, he wants to follow this trend and give it a try!

“I want to go to Chang’an to seek an audience with the Grand Marshal,” Zhong Changtong suddenly said to his friend.

Chang Lin, who became friends with this young man more than ten years his junior, never considered his words as mere youthful folly. Hearing his desire to meet the Grand Marshal, he didn’t see it as an act of disrespect.

At this moment, he clearly saw the rebellious persistence against fate that Zhong Changtong had written on paper, vividly reflected in his eyes.

Chang Lin simply asked, “And after meeting the Grand Marshal?”

Zhong Changtong replied earnestly, “I want to meet more like-minded people and hope to complete this work against the current.”

Chang Lin looked at him for a long time, then smiled genuinely, “Alright, I’ll write you a letter of recommendation.”

Perhaps, it’s a good thing for the lord that Zhong Changtong is not a member of Leping Academy.

Just like how Ni Heng not being a member of the Grand Marshal’s residence can sometimes turn waste into treasure.

In today’s Chang’an city, everyone knows that Ni Heng once publicly reprimanded Chunyu Jia for the preparations of the spring drought. But after such a stance in favor of Qiao Yan, he showed no intention of pledging loyalty to her.

This man remains as unrestrained as ever, even giving the Yamen General a comment like “not only can guard the Yamen but also the kitchen.”

Initially, some thought Ni Heng’s actions were extremely arrogant, and many admirers of the Grand Marshal in Chang’an considered giving him a beating with a sack.

After all, even if he was beaten, it would likely be blamed on Chunyu Jia.

However, the efficiency of the Imperial Guards has been increasing, and one might be caught on the spot just as the sack is put on.

Now, in the third month of spring, due to the locust prevention propaganda in the Leping Monthly Report, Ni Heng’s unruly behavior suddenly became seen as visionary and unconventional.

Hearing that half a bag of wild vegetables was left at his doorstep, Ni Heng’s hand holding the newspaper trembled.

This simple gesture of gratitude was the first time Ni Heng had seen it, and it made him extremely uncomfortable.

“Even if I hadn’t done this, the Grand Marshal wouldn’t let anyone ruin her plans,” Ni Heng muttered.

The people of Chang’an city need not think that it was because of a madman like him scaring the opposition into retreat, allowing Qiao Yan’s policies to proceed smoothly.

He doesn’t have that much influence.

“Can’t say that,” Yang Xiu replied, “For someone like Doctor Chunyu, who has the chance to rise to the position of one of the Three Excellencies, you, Ni Zhengping, had the audacity to intercept him on the road and berate him until he vomited blood, even causing him to faint from the loss of face. Who knows if those below him can withstand your tongue? Rather than being said to not cherish their reputation and thus not love their ruler, it’s better to wait and see the situation first.”

So Ni Heng did contribute a bit.

Ni Heng wanted to argue that Chunyu Jia fainting wasn’t because of his sharp tongue, but because the Grand Marshal, in the most calm and composed tone, delivered the most straightforward condemnation of Chunyu Jia’s stance.

Who could withstand that…

It’s said that due to recent weather conditions and the distribution of the Leping Monthly Report, Doctor Chunyu took a sick leave in today’s court meeting, which surely wasn’t caused by him.

However, although Chunyu Jia might have learned from the experience two months ago and chose to retreat, the Grand Marshal still has troubles.

Ni Heng’s gaze shifted between the identical handwriting on the two monthly reports in his hands, his brow slightly furrowed as he said to Yang Xiu, “I see you have the leisure to praise me, why not go to the Grand Marshal’s residence and take a stand for your lord.”

Zhong Changtong could see the reform represented in this newspaper, and Ni Heng, standing outside the situation, also saw it clearly.

The signs of this reform are not as straightforward as the calamity of drought and locusts, but smart people will still notice.

Now it’s up to how these people interpret Qiao Yan’s move.

At this moment, the Grand Marshal’s residence indeed welcomed a visitor after the court meeting.

“Minister Wang’s visit is quite a surprise,” Qiao Yan looked at the visitor and gestured for Wang Yun to take a seat.

It’s not too surprising that Wang Yun came to her first.

Qiao Yan could clearly see Wang Yun’s attitude towards her.

In the middle of Jian’an year one, when she directly appointed Zhang Yi as the Governor of Xuzhou and stationed troops in Hailing, Wang Yun had criticisms of her actions.

What particularly made Wang Yun think that her high authority would cause disaster was that Zhang Yi’s subordinates chose to directly approach her, the Grand Marshal.

But at that time, whether it was because of Qiao Yan’s life-saving grace when she entered Guanzhong or for the sake of stabilizing the situation, he did not express this dissatisfaction in public.

Only now did he truly come to her.

Although his first sentence was not to inquire about the newspaper printing, but to say, “Grand Marshal, having the students of Leping Academy study how many locusts a nest of swallows can eat in a month, and what soil moisture percentage is more conducive to locust hatching, seems to be putting the cart before the horse.”

“In the academy, there are great Confucian scholars like Lord Zheng, Lord Xun, Lord Lu, and Lord Cai. It should be a place of thriving scholarly atmosphere and high moral integrity. How can these things become the mainstream?”

Wang Yun thought of the students of Leping Academy, holding a square zhang of land, carefully calculating how many locust egg masses were in it, and felt a sense of darkness before his eyes.

Thinking that among them were also descendants of the Wang family from Qixian County made it even more so.

If the content of study has become what is shown in the newspaper, it would be better to have those great Confucian scholars return to Chang’an to reopen the Imperial Academy. Then, Guanzhong would surely attract more talents due to the gathering of such great scholars.

After all, the current Chang’an city is no longer the disaster it was under Dong Zhuo, but has long since rebuilt order, considered a place of peace, and under the feet of the Son of Heaven.

The nearby Chiyang Medical Academy can also meet the health needs of these elderly great scholars.

Calculating, if the transition from Leping Academy to Chang’an Imperial Academy could be completed, it would undoubtedly have a slight effect of weakening Qiao Yan’s authority.

However, Wang Yun did not hold much hope for this, and he saw Qiao Yan sneer, giving him a meaningful look, “Minister Wang, I see you’re not here because of what the students of Leping Academy are studying, are you? If you have something to say, why beat around the bush?”

Wang Yun took a deep breath and directly asked, “May I ask the Grand Marshal, how is this Leping Monthly Report produced?”

Qiao Yan has been running the Leping Monthly Report for a long time, even before she invaded Liangzhou.

When the Prefect of Wudu County, Gai Xun, arrived in Bingzhou with Jiang Jiao to seek aid, what they encountered was the first issue of the Leping Monthly Report.

Now, more than four years have passed.

During the first two years of its operation, even when Wang Yun saw the Leping Monthly Report in Chang’an, he merely thought it was a tool used by those in power to convey political decrees to the masses.

Moreover, she initiated a call for poetry and calligraphy submissions alongside the construction of the Chang’an Road, and with the establishment of the medical academy, she also began preparations for an art academy. The various reasons she presented made Wang Yun feel no issues, especially regarding the optimized content in the monthly report.

However, when these seemingly normal elements were combined, they seemed to transform into a terrifying presence that unsettled the mind.

Was this a sudden invention and improvement, or was it Qiao Yan’s long-planned scheme?

Unable to reach a conclusion on his own, Wang Yun dared not delay and decisively chose to seek clarity from Qiao Yan.

After observing his expression, Qiao Yan replied, “Minister Wang should know how currency is produced. This new issue of the newspaper is quite similar.”

She had no reason to hide it from him, for if not today with Wang Yun, another would come tomorrow.

But this answer caused Wang Yun’s expression to change.

Although he had harbored such suspicions before visiting Qiao Yan, he had held onto a faint, unrealistic hope before she confirmed it herself.

Yet now, she provided a clear answer, one that Wang Yun did not wish to hear—

Just as currency is produced, so is the Leping Monthly Report!

Implied was that just as currency can be endlessly replicated through molds, so too can newspapers.

What a terrifying prospect!

And if newspapers can be replicated, what about other books?

Before the existence of the low-cost bamboo paper named by Qiao Yan, this method of replication might have been limited, but now it presents a horrifying future.

Bamboo paper, art academy, minting institutions, Leping Monthly Report…

These elements, connected in an unimaginable way by Qiao Yan, left no room for contemplation.

Wang Yun immediately asked with a grave expression, “Does the Grand Marshal understand the implications of this action?”

This is only the first issue of the Leping Monthly Report. What comes next?

The impact on the noble class is almost devastating.

Amid the standoff between the eastern and western courts, her sudden introduction of such a thing would only make unifying the realm more difficult! Officials in Ye City would undoubtedly oppose it, forcing them to rally even more closely around Yuan Shao.

Yet, facing Wang Yun’s blunt and sharp condemnation, Qiao Yan’s gaze remained unwavering.

She simply replied, “I would like Minister Wang to see a few things with his own eyes.”

Wang Yun followed her from the reception hall to the study, where a transparent box was placed.

Inside this box, made of several pieces of polished white crystal, was a soil slice model.

The thin, polished white crystal allowed a clear view inside the box, particularly of a diagonal tunnel left by a locust’s egg-laying, longitudinally cut on the side facing them.

Even knowing the box was sealed, Wang Yun couldn’t help but feel a chill at Qiao Yan’s decision to keep such a thing in her study.

Qiao Yan tapped the lid without turning to Wang Yun, and continued, “Minister Wang is not so foolish as to ask why people don’t eat meat when they suffer from locust plagues and lack food. So you should know how many such tunnels filled with locust eggs exist in the fields during drought years!”

“Indeed, they may not all hatch, but in past locust plagues, even if only those in the capital region were recorded due to the Emperor’s presence, they were undoubtedly calamities that plagued the realm.”

The weight in her tone was suffocating.

Wang Yun suddenly heard her sigh.

“Minister Wang… I went through the same in the seventh year of Guanghe. If not for the suspicion that I had contracted a plague, I might have been the food consumed in that year of great famine and cannibalism.”

“If we can minimize the impact of droughts and locust plagues, what does it matter if some actions are criticized or openly opposed!”

She took two steps in the room, pulled a neatly arranged document from the shelf, and handed it to Wang Yun, “In fact, the idea of mass-producing monthly reports and other books in this way did not emerge with this issue.”

Wang Yun opened the document to find a proposal from two or three years ago.

The paper and ink were not recent.

It was a formal report from Zhaoji suggesting this method to expand the newspaper’s circulation.

The report also mentioned that if possible, teaching materials from Leping Academy could be printed this way, reducing labor costs for textbook production and allowing for expanded enrollment.

“Since you asked, I might as well tell you that as early as nine years ago when paper was first made, its cost was not as high as you might think. So when this invention was first developed, I could have produced tens of thousands of copies of the Leping Monthly Report, just as I do today.”

Wang Yun had no energy to ponder whether Qiao Yan had deceived even Emperor Ling of Han back then, focusing instead on her next words, “In Minister Wang’s view, is there a better way than this to inform people how to deal with locust plagues and droughts?”

Wang Yun instinctively shook his head.

If he had such a method, he would have mentioned it in his first question to Qiao Yan, not waited for her to ask.

Qiao Yan pressed on, giving no respite, “If we can preserve our strength through such natural disasters, perhaps within two or three years we can take Ji Province, Qingzhou, and Youzhou without bloodshed. Isn’t that worth the risk?”

Wang Yun remained silent.

From Chunyu Jia’s performance earlier this year, it seemed Qiao Yan’s decision not to mobilize troops last year had already drawn criticism. While Chunyu appeared to have retreated after vomiting blood and fainting, the pressure on Qiao Yan might have been immense.

The longer the standoff between the two courts of Han lasted, the more necessary it became to break the balance and make changes.

The decision to preserve strength during locust plagues was indeed necessary.

But…

He still felt there were unstable factors.

After all, the conclusion that Qiao Yan was “forced into this” didn’t quite align with her usual demeanor…

She didn’t seem like someone who would be pushed to such extremes.

Yet, as Wang Yun was somewhat dazedly escorted out of the Grand Marshal’s residence, he encountered Yang Xiu at the gate.

As a scion of the Hongnong Yang clan, Yang Xiu should logically stand on the same side as Wang Yun, given his family’s prestigious status spanning four generations and three dukes. He should be more concerned about the impact on his family’s foundation.

But Yang Xiu showed no signs of questioning Qiao Yan’s actions, calmly greeting Wang Yun before entering the Grand Marshal’s residence.

This made Wang Yun wonder if he had overthought things.

But he didn’t know that as Yang Xiu stepped into the study, he asked Qiao Yan, “Did you fool Wang Zishi?”

Qiao Yan, fiddling with a water bowl and paper boat, casually replied, “There are surely others as sharp as him, but the current situation favors me. Before I could present the third item, Wang Yun excused himself.”

When the lives of the people, the opportunity to unify the realm, and the interests of the noble families were weighed on the same scale, with Wang Yun misunderstanding Qiao Yan’s stance, it was easy for him to reach the wrong conclusion.

But who said that just because she hailed from the Qiao clan of Yanzhou and, with Liu Yu’s support, branched out to establish the Leping Qiao clan, she had to side with the noble families?

This reform, a decade in the making, would not allow history’s wheel to roll back!

However…

Qiao Yan looked up at Yang Xiu and asked, “Aren’t you afraid?”

Didn’t he share Wang Yun’s concerns?

Qiao Yan’s subordinates weren’t all from noble families, but in the current context, those who could access knowledge and become talents were mostly from noble or humble backgrounds.

The truly low-born were trapped in life’s hardships, hardly daring to dream of leaping over the dragon’s gate.

Facing Qiao Yan’s question, Yang Xiu smiled, “Your Lordship underestimates the confidence of the Hongnong Yang clan.”

And underestimates his own confidence.

There will always be those who, rather than fearing the loss of their livelihood due to the printing press, rejoice at the chance to have their writings reach thousands of households.

With decades or even centuries of accumulated heritage, if they couldn’t ride this wave to soar, or if they clung to these hidden fears and became obstacles to Your Lordship’s path—

Then they had no reason to exist.