The incident in the south did not happen quickly. In ancient times, long distances meant that information was transmitted slowly, plus the time it took to process it. By the time the incident broke out, Mingyun's convoy returning to his hometown would take another day or two to reach Zhoujia Village.
The King of Chu and the two princes, Rongchuan, took the military order and ended the attack quickly, accurately and ruthlessly. The news was first sent back to the capital. In order to stabilize the south, Rongchuan personally escorted the prisoners back to the capital, and the King of Chu continued to stay in the south.
The news reached the capital first and shocked the court. When the retired emperor was in power, he only cleaned up the families involved in the salt administration, but did not make any major moves on the important families in the south.
When the emperor ascended the throne, a fire set off a prairie fire that spread like wildfire, burning the southern nobles with unstoppable force. What are nobles? They are families with generations of accumulated heritage and complex forces. Some nobles control an entire state and are truly local tyrants.
Especially in ancient times when information was not well developed, it was too easy to hide things from the court.
When the retired emperor was in power, even though the imperial court gradually grew stronger, he was unable to take action against some of the aristocratic families who were like a thorn in his side because of hidden dangers such as the remnants of the Zhang family.
But the new emperor was different. The retired emperor left a very good political situation to the new emperor. After the new emperor sat firmly on the throne, the retired emperor went to investigate personally. The emperor acted decisively, and each move was a big one.
This wave of powerful men intimidated other clans in the south, but also stayed within a certain limit so as not to push the clans into a corner.
Therefore, the families that were chosen were those with heinous crimes. Their crimes were made public, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that they were full of evil.
The court was as quiet as a chicken. If the nobles could hide their true intentions in the local areas, they must have ministers protecting them or accomplices in the capital. Several seats in the front of the court were left empty.
The emperor took drastic measures. At the first grand court meeting, Zhou Shuren looked at the vacant positions. In fact, not many top-level officials had been removed, but many positions below the fourth rank had been cleared out.
Zhou Shuren thought quietly that the emperor's intention was too obvious and he would have to deal with it after the provincial examination. The emperor's every move did not have a single meaning. In order to clear out the official positions, the emperor planned to promote some children from poor families.
However, the vacant positions still cannot be given to children from poor families, and the remaining positions will still be divided among the wealthy families.
It is not easy to reshuffle the new court. The new emperor can achieve what he has now thanks to the good cards left by the retired emperor. Tsk tsk, this is what it means to have a good father!
The emperor's face was cold and he issued decrees one after another. This time, the new emperor was worthy of being taught by the retired emperor. He was never hesitant when picking up a knife. The capital's vegetable market would be covered with blood again.
Zhou Shuren couldn't help thinking, it's a good thing it's not mud, the blood will stain the soil.
After the morning court session, ministers came out in groups of three or four. At this time, no one cared about choosing a crown princess. They were more concerned about whether they would be implicated in the aftermath.
Li Zhao walked beside Zhou Shuren, "Your Ministry of Revenue is busy again."
The Ministry of Revenue has confiscated my house again. Well, I don’t miss it at all.
Zhou Shuren, "It has been shipped back to the capital by sea. No officials from the Ministry of Finance will be sent there this time."
Li Zhao smiled and said, "The King of Qin is personally escorting the shipment. I'm not afraid of anyone having bad intentions."
Zhou Shuren lowered his voice and said, "Not only is the King of Qin personally escorting the shipment, everyone is basically scared this time. Who would dare to have any evil thoughts at this time?"
Li Zhao thought so too, and said in a lighter tone, "There will be peace after this time."
Everyone likes to be an official in a stable environment. He is not young anymore, and it is great to see the peace in the future.
Zhou Shuren also laughed, "Yeah."
In Xuzhou, Chang Lian received the letter from his father. He read it carefully without missing a single word, with a smile on his face. He was not afraid of danger, but of not having opportunities. Having a place to move his hands and feet was what people with ambitions desired.
Chang Lian counted the days. Since his wife and he were not walking fast with their youngest son, he estimated that they should have reached the capital by now. Thinking of his youngest son's health, Chang Lian was still a little worried.
In the capital, at Zhou's house, Zhulan has already hugged her little grandson. The little guy had just woken up when she got home, and now is the time when he is most energetic.
Zhulan looked at her grandson carefully, "Ming Ling looks like Chang Lian. These father and son really look alike."
Mrs. Dong was happy to see her youngest son doing well. He didn't cry or make a fuss when he saw so many people, and he could even nestle in his grandmother's arms. She said in a light tone, "The father and son are becoming more and more alike. The child especially likes to imitate Chang Lian."
Zhulan had never seen Changlian's childhood. When she came, Changlian was already a teenager. Now there was a baby who looked like Changlian. Zhulan was so happy that she said, "My dear grandson, call me grandma."
Ming Ling didn't cry or make a fuss, but that didn't mean he was not afraid. If it weren't for their blood relationship, he would have cried a long time ago, but he kept his mouth tightly shut and said nothing.
Zhulan did not continue to chase her grandson. Instead, she patted his back and handed the child to Yuyi. It was easier for siblings to get along with each other. "Yuyi, take Mingling and the others out to play for a while and get familiar with each other first."
The children get along well with each other quickly, and Yuyi is the gentlest girl in the family. Zhulan believes that Mingling will be able to speak soon.
Mrs. Dong waited until her daughter took her son out before she said, "There are only three of us in Xuzhou, so it's a bit inappropriate to go home suddenly."
Zhu Lan raised her hand, "I know how old Ming Ling is. It's already very good that he can perform well now. You should stay at home for a while and slowly get used to it."
Li continued, "Yes, boys are the easiest to play with. With Mingjing leading Mingling, he quickly adapted."
Zhao smiled and said, "Yes, Mingjing is the most cheerful and the source of happiness in the family."
Her son Mingfeng, on the contrary, is an introvert. This child has inherited her personality. He is a small person and no one knows what he is thinking all day long.
Everyone in the room laughed out loud after hearing what Zhao said. They had to laugh. Mingjing was a real tough kid. Even Mingteng had to admit defeat. The noisy Mingteng would hide when he saw Mingjing, which showed how powerful she was.
This child is smiling all day long. Well, he is really naive, not a smiling tiger. Everyone in the family likes to tease Mingjing.
Sure enough, after a while, there were children's laughter and exclamations outside, followed by bursts of laughter.
Dong's eyes became softer. It turned out that home in the capital was home. The small home in Xuzhou was cold and deserted. It still felt better to be home.
Mingyun arrived at Zhoujia Village in the afternoon and went straight to the houses in the village as soon as he entered.
Ran Wan has always lived with her grandparents. She did not follow her parents when they left Beijing. This is her first time traveling such a long distance.
Because of the fast journey, Ran Wan, although in good health, felt weak in spirit. Her legs felt a little weak after getting off the carriage. She held her husband's hand and stood for a while before she recovered.
Mingyun asked with concern, "Are you okay?"
Ran Wan exhaled, trying not to worry her husband, "I'm much better now, don't worry, I'm fine."
Mingyun got off the carriage first and listened to the steward's report. "The hot water is ready and the food is being cooked. Go take a bath and refresh yourself."
Ran Wan, "Okay."
Mingyun had other things to arrange so he sent his wife back to her residence and went to find the manager.