"I made the decision to hand over the Han Empire Times to the court. It was a mistake. If there is any responsibility to be taken, it is my responsibility, not yours!" Yan Liqiang looked at Fang Beidou with a sad expression on his face. "I should have thought of this earlier. All newspapers controlled by the court have no function other than lying, deceiving the people and praising the court..."
Fang Beidou looked at Yan Liqiang with burning eyes and shook his head. "It's not your fault. Under the circumstances at that time, if you didn't hand the newspaper over to the court, we wouldn't have been able to get past Lin Qingtian, and we might have been eliminated in the end..."
On the balcony on the second floor of Qi'en Courtyard, Yan Liqiang and Fang Beidou looked at the snow scene of the Deer Garden outside while chatting and exchanging what had happened to both sides in the past few days. In the yard, everyone was jubilant, and many people were already preparing to pack their bags, ready to leave at any time. Those who were arrested this time were all Yan Liqiang's diehards in the newspaper. In addition to Fang Beidou, Xu Enda and others, what surprised Yan Liqiang was that there were several writers responsible for writing articles and several craftsmen in the printing workshop. At the last moment, they also stood firmly on the side of Fang Beidou and their own conscience, and were finally arrested.
Fang Beidou hadn't shaved for many days, so at this time, the beard on his face and chin was very long, covering most of his thin face, which inexplicably added a bit of rebellious temperament to his face.
"No, you don't understand. If this happened to someone else, it could be forgiven, but it's the biggest irony when it happened to me!" Yan Liqiang smiled bitterly and shook his head. He had reason to blame himself. As a man who had lived two lives, he felt that he had enough experience and judgment to control this matter. However, at the critical moment, he still made a mistake and pinned his hopes of resisting the heavenly calamity on an illusory mistake. Throughout history, all official and government-controlled media outlets will eventually become the system's trumpeters, the source of false news and junk opinion, standing against the public and trying to blind the public's eyes and block the public's ears. He thought that the "Han Empire Times" would be an exception, or that the court would not be able to learn to control the media so quickly, but in fact, for the court, this kind of thing would happen without being taught, it would be almost innate, just like an animal that knows how to eat and excrete from birth.
"What should we do now?" Fang Beidou asked.
"Do you think there is any other way?" Yan Liqiang sighed. "Even if I have great ability, I can't create the food needed to relocate more than 10 million people. Even if I am willing to raise a flagpole in the Imperial Capital to rebel, how many people do you think I can save? How many people are willing to follow me to fight for their lives? Now facing the court, I am just a small governor of Qiyun, with no soldiers around me. Do I have any chance of winning..."
Fang Beidou lowered his head, but his hands slowly clenched into fists, making crackling sounds. After a long while, he raised his head, with sparks dancing in his eyes, and said faintly, "That means... everything we have worked hard for in the past few years... has... has failed. The tens of millions of people in the capital who cannot escape will eventually... eventually die in the catastrophe..."
Yan Liqiang was silent for a while. "They didn't die in the calamity, but died at the hands of this imperial court, at the hands of those corrupt officials who embezzled and eroded the national granaries. It was not until today that I realized that the greatest enemy of the Han Empire was not the Shatu people, the Heijie people, or the Shaman people..."
"Now what?"
"Go back to Ganzhou, you go back to Ganzhou first!" Yan Liqiang looked at Fang Beidou and said firmly, "I sent people to the Imperial Capital before. I originally wanted to bring some of the craftsmen and artisans in the Imperial Capital to Ganzhou Qiyun County to settle down during the chaos. It was also considered to be doing my part to save people. I would save as many as I could. But after the people I sent arrived in the Imperial Capital, they found that the people here needed official travel permits to leave, and this could not be done. So they have been in the Ganzhou Guild Hall these days, running around for this matter. I met Sun Bingchen yesterday and talked to him for a long time. Sun Bingchen has agreed that I can send people to take people out of the capital in batches. From now on, he can give me 5,000 travel permits every month. As long as I find people who can provide food for those people on the road, he will let me take people away..."
"Only 5,000 travel passes per month?" Fang Beidou frowned. "With so many people in the Imperial Capital and the surrounding areas, how can these travel passes be enough?"
"This is already the largest share I can get. The court is worried that too many people will leave, and the scale will be too large, which will make the people who stay behind unstable. At the same time, we don't have the ability to evacuate too many people at once, so this matter must be done quietly, and we must not make a big fanfare. This matter is handed over to you. The people I sent to the Imperial Capital before are also under your command..." Yan Liqiang said, and he took out a folded paper with names on it and a golden waist badge from his arms and handed it to Fang Beidou. "This paper is a list of cloth merchants from all states in the Han Empire who have business dealings with my No. 1 Factory under the Heaven. These cloth merchants are all people with backgrounds in the local area. This waist badge is the identity certificate of the general manager of foreign affairs of the No. 1 Factory under the Heaven. When the No. 1 Factory under the Heaven cooperated with these people before, it had already initially explored and established a logistics network from Ganzhou to the states of the Han Empire, with dozens of freight caravans, all of which can be used by you. Using this, you can establish a personnel evacuation channel between the capital and Ganzhou in the northwest. Save as many people as you can. Don't worry about the money. I will fully support you..."
Fang Beidou silently took the list and the golden badge from Yan Liqiang's hand and asked, "What are you going to do? Are you going to stay in Imperial Capital?"
"The Emperor wants me to be by his side during this hunting trip, so I will be in Imperial Capital until the beginning of next spring. With me by your Majesty and Sun Bingchen's side, I can keep you safe. At the same time, I also want to see if there is any chance to convince your Majesty to save a few more people!"
"If the catastrophe comes next year, and the area within a thousand miles of the imperial capital is really reduced to ashes and millions of people are killed, can the court still be saved? Even if the emperor and all the civil and military officials are still alive, can the Han Empire still be the same Han Empire..."
"They think that as long as they are still here, even if tens of millions of people die, the court will still be the court, and it can recover after recuperation!" Yan Liqiang looked at the snow-white mountain in the distance with a mocking smile on his face, "The scapegoats are the people who now control the two newspapers in the Imperial Capital. They have good ideas, but they forget that some things, once lost, can never be restored to their original state. The court is just like a person. If its credit is completely bankrupt and no one believes what it says, it will no longer be the court..."
Fang Beidou's voice trembled a little, "You said that after the catastrophe next year, the Han Empire will... enter a chaotic era!"
"This is unavoidable. The Han Empire has encountered such a big event. The country is in crisis. With such an opportunity, do you think the Shatu people and the Chaman people will just sit aside and do nothing? When the time comes, the enemy is at hand and the court is surrounded by enemies. What do you think the governors and generals will do? Moreover, the masters of the White Lotus Sect are almost out in full force and lurking in the capital. It seems that they are also going to cause trouble. The Han Empire's national destiny... I'm afraid it will be over soon! So you must hurry up now. If the capital really gets in chaos, even if we have the pass, it will be useless..."
"I understand..." Fang Beidou nodded, and then suddenly asked Yan Liqiang a question, "If the Han Empire really enters a chaotic era in the future, with countless lives lost, foreign enemies invading, and endless wars, what do you want to do?"
"Give me some time, and I will set some rules for this world!"
"What rules?"
"A rule that will allow all those who are kneeling in this world to stand up forever!"
These words shocked Fang Beidou!
Yan Liqiang said, without further explanation, but stood up and walked downstairs, because he had seen officials from the Ministry of Justice led by several soldiers walking towards this side. The amnesty promised by Sun Bingchen had arrived very quickly. Yan Liqiang did not look back, but continued to pass on the message to Fang Beidou, "You can leave here and return to the Imperial Capital this afternoon. The rest of the matter is left to you..."
(End of this chapter)