On July 29th, there was a violent storm all over the small Baekje Peninsula, and the clouds were different from the vast land and abundant resources.
Star City.
It was early autumn, the sun in the sky was still scorching hot, and the entire imperial capital felt like it was on fire.
The palace of the Prince of Jin, the rear residence.
Although there were ice trays everywhere, Princess Jin still felt unbearably hot.
She repeatedly urged her maid, "Lanzhi, I'm so annoyed. Go and see if the newspaper is here?"
"Princess," the maid rolled her eyes, "A calm heart will naturally cool down."
The master and the servant grew up together, and they talked casually when there were no outsiders.
"You have urged me one hundred and eighty times. Didn't my disciples say that the newspaper can only be delivered to the palace when it is first obtained?"
"Just take a good rest first. As soon as the newspaper is delivered to the doorman, my slave will fetch it and show it to you as soon as possible. Okay?"
snort!
Princess Jin snorted noncommittally.
"Youshi Youshi." She looked angrily at the glazed hourglass on the Baibao Pavilion: "Moshen Youxu, how come this Poshen Shi hasn't passed yet?"
Star City has been in a state of chaos recently, and entertainment and mutual visits between the major sects have basically been cancelled.
Because she was pregnant, Princess Jin couldn't move even more. So the two newspapers every month became her only pleasure and expectation.
Chen Xiulan walked in sweating profusely.
He had just finished practicing martial arts, and now he was a little disgusted when he heard it, "Princess, my beautiful article will not appear in the newspapers until August."
"Who wants to read your crappy articles?" Princess Jin didn't even bother to glance at her husband. "I want to read Master Hongguang's Yun Chui Manji."
"..." Chen Xiuzhu was speechless.
Today's transportation is underdeveloped, and the media is almost non-existent.
If the people wanted to know what happened elsewhere, they would either listen to rumors from passers-by or caravans, or wait for the court to issue an announcement.
It is easy to exaggerate or spread lies when hearing rumors. As for waiting for the official announcement from the court, I don't know, I have to wait until the Year of the Monkey and the Moon of the Horse.
Now there is finally a dedicated newspaper. Although this newspaper only has two issues a month, it is much better than what I heard before.
Most of the people in ancient times were illiterate. Based on their feeling, there were usually three types of people they trusted the most, the first was the stable woman, the second was the doctor, and the third was the eminent monk.
The stable woman determines the survival of the heirs; the doctor determines the length of life; as for the attained eminent monk, it gives people vague hope.
Master Hongguang of Longshou Temple has profound Buddhist teachings and superb medical skills. He has accounted for two of the three and is highly respected and trusted by ordinary people.
In previous years, when he was at Longshou Temple, he opened the door to Buddhism, helped countless people, and took in orphans from all over the world.
Later, a tragic epidemic occurred in Yunzhong County. Master Hongguang went to the epidemic area in person, regardless of his advanced age, and worked with many doctors and doctors to spare no effort to save ordinary people.
After the epidemic was eradicated, Emperor Changxing summoned him to the capital many times to commend him for his contribution. However, Master Hongguang was unfazed by the honor and disgrace, and turned around and went to the four western counties where the people were in dire straits...
Now he is serializing in newspapers what he saw and heard when he traveled around Yunchui in the past, and because of the detailed description and down-to-earth content, it has attracted everyone from high-ranking boudoirs to ordinary people to follow.
After all the disturbance, the Youshi finally arrived belatedly.
As soon as the hourglass broke, Princess Jin immediately became energetic.
"Lanzhi, go and see if the newspaper is here?"
The maid went out for a walk and soon brought back two thick newspapers with a smile.
The bored Chen Xiulan and his wife immediately took a copy and started reading.
It's just that one starts browsing directly from the front, and the other starts browsing after turning to the back.
Tsk tsk.
"There are actually pictures?" Chen Xiulan just opened the front page headlines, and her eyes lit up.
"That's right," Princess Jin nodded in agreement, "The paper quality has also been improved, and there are detailed patterns painted around the newspaper! It's worth the money."
The previous seven issues of the newspaper were all pure text, but now they are becoming more and more sophisticated and formal. At least when you pick it up now, it no longer looks like the vulgar reading materials in the streets.
Soon Chen Xiulan frowned.
The pictures were only in black and white, but he could see the contents clearly at a glance.
A solemn-looking general stood silently in front of a long row of graves, with his command flag erected behind him.
There is a word floating on it: Huo!
When she looked up at the big title, Chen Xiulan's heart skipped a beat.
"The western frontier is in crisis, and the Zhenguo government is on the verge of annihilation!"
real or fake?
Chen Xiulan quickly read the text.
Although he is a prince, he doesn't know much about the real military aircraft in order to avoid suspicion.
He only vaguely knew that Xiliang had launched another large-scale attack some time ago. As for Yunchui's results, they should be quite optimistic. At least the six troops seemed to be smooth and stable.
The text is not long, and Chen Xiulan read it quickly.
When his eyes fell on the picture again, he suddenly became gloomy.
Zhenguo Gongfu has royal blood.
According to regulations, when a direct descendant dies in battle, the body can be protected in an ice coffin so that it can be transported back to Xingji City or Xingluo's hometown for burial.
However, in the past two or three years, people in Zhenguogong Mansion have been killed in battle from time to time, and the east-west post road has been blocked for a long time. The Huo family who died in the battle had to be buried first, and then transported back to their hometown together after the war.
However, the war never ended, and the clan members were buried one by one, unknowingly forming a long row of graves.
Huo Ping, Huo Qian, Huo Geng...
Chen Xiulan read the names above one by one, her face getting darker and darker.
Some of these people are his peers and have played together in previous years; some have only heard their names but have never met them.
But now they have all fallen near the Yancheng Fortress!
As she thought about it, Chen Xiulan's eyes fell behind the text again.
"The tribes in Xiliang once again increased their troops to the east on a large scale. The eagle of the grassland, Xue Yue Yingxiang, even clamored to completely attack Peishi City and take the heads of General Huo Yun who was guarding the city and the more than 300,000 people in the city.
Pay homage to the prairie men who died in the war."
"Under such circumstances, Xingji City has turned a blind eye for unknown reasons. It is reported that the imperial court has no reinforcement plan."
"Is it because Yun Chui doesn't have enough troops?"
"No."
"Let's not mention the local garrison. At least the empire's central army, a total of 100,000 people, has been stationed on the southern outskirts of Star City."
"Is it because the imperial treasury is too empty to support the major border defense forces in fighting?"
"Similarly not."
"In the first seven months of this year alone, thirty-two wealthy families in the entire Star City have renovated their homes and purchased new farms and shops. The money has been spent like water."
"It is said that the Zhenguogong Mansion is also decorated like other high-rise gates, and it is unique. They have hung up one after another soul-calling banners..."
Xingningfang, Xuanwu Street, Yongan Hutong.
Ordinary people usually stay away from places where wealthy families gather.
In the past, this area was mostly quiet. Even if there were occasional cars and horses coming and going, they would try to be as gentle as possible, for fear of offending the nobles living nearby.
This day was a rare noisy day.
Groups of people in gorgeous or ordinary clothes gathered out of nowhere, almost filling the wide Yong'an Hutong.
These people looked at the numerous soul-calling flags outside the gate of the Zhenguo Palace, and they all whispered to each other and discussed.