The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 840: Winner and loser
Chapter 840: Winner Takes All
Old Fang turned around, sat down and nodded, then he smiled and took out some change from his sleeve and put it on the table to reward the waiter, and whispered, “Is this Shuoyang Army… the army trained by the Zhenguo Princess to suppress bandits?”
The waiter accepted the tip and smiled even more brightly, his tone becoming more flattering: “Oh! Thank you for the tip! The patrolling Shuoyang Army you mentioned… is exactly the soldiers trained by the Zhenguo Princess to fight bandits for the Shuoyang people. Now the Shuoyang soldiers are patrolling the city all day long. Not to mention those bandits… even those villains who commit crimes in the city dare not come out!”
Mr. Fang nodded and asked, “That fifth girl… is she the fifth girl of the Bai family?”
“That’s right! Isn’t it said that the Bai family’s direct line has an ancestral precept that all the descendants of the Bai family, regardless of gender, must be trained in the military camp? Later… didn’t the men of the Bai family die in the battlefield? The matter of the fifth and sixth girls joining the military camp was delayed. Later… our Shuoyang Army was established, and the two girls trained with the Shuoyang Army. The two girls started as the most ordinary soldiers, and now… they are centurions! In the end, they are descendants of the Bai family, so they are powerful! Look at our Zhenguo Princess and Gaoyi County Lady… they were invincible in the battle against Liang State!”
The waiter talked about the Princess Zhenguo and Princess Gaoyi… When he talked about the Bai family, he could not hide his admiration for them. He smiled and said, “Who said that women are inferior to men? Don’t you agree?”
Old Fang’s heart sank. He had not expected that the prestige of Princess Zhenguo was so high in Shuoyang.
“I’ve been walking around the city for a long time, but I don’t think I’ve seen any beggars…” Old Fang asked with a smile, “I remember hearing that all the refugees from Huayang City had come to Shuoyang City. Have they all left?”
Speaking of this, the waiter’s eyes brightened even more: “Why leave? We in Shuoyang did receive a large number of refugees from Huayang City before, and the Zhenguo Princess was thinking about how to settle these refugees in the future. Later… the strong ones were cured and sent to the military camp, and the weak ones, you say… we in Shuoyang saved your lives and it can’t be in vain! These people were settled in Shuoyang City or outside Shuoyang City, and their labor paid back the medicine and food consumed in saving them!”
“In fact, the Princess Zhenguo didn’t want them to pay back the money for medicine. She just didn’t want the disaster victims to think that they could get something for nothing by coming to Shuoyang! They can pay back the money for medicine and food with their own labor, and they can also earn money to live.”
“Later, the Zhenguo Princess introduced a reward system. Those who settled down in Shuoyang would be rewarded no matter where they performed outstandingly. For example, Wang Ren, who improved the irrigation method of farmland and increased grain yield per mu two years ago, has been employed by the government. The Zhenguo Princess also arranged a place for him to live. His family, young and old, now have a small courtyard! Their lives are so comfortable!”
“The original beggars in Shuoyang have all been properly arranged. Those who didn’t have household registration… were re-registered. After these people are registered, their household registration books will be filed separately. Every half a month, the Shuoyang Army will check what these people are doing now. Even if these re-registered beggars want to sell themselves or do business, the local officials and the Shuoyang Army will not interfere! The only thing is that the people of Shuoyang are not allowed to give money and food to beggars, so as not to encourage the trend of being lazy and greedy! Of course… if there are people who are too old to work and have no children, the Shuoyang Army will also make proper arrangements for them.”
The waiter said a lot because of the reward from Mr. Fang. He smiled and said, “In Shuoyang, everyone is living a prosperous life now. Just like what Lord Bai Qingping, who is in charge of the Shuoyang Army, said, as long as they are willing to work hard, everyone in Shuoyang can live a good life! Customer… Please enjoy your meal. If you need anything, please call me! I’ll be busy now!”
Old Fang nodded. The more he listened, the more frightened he became. The local governor of Shuoyang… and Bai Qingyan had not reported these things to the court. Bai Qingyan wanted to make Shuoyang the private property of her Bai family!
Old Fang was thinking about how to tell the prince about this matter when he heard the people at the nearby tables discussing things about the capital city.
“I heard that Prince Liang, together with the Left Prime Minister Li Mao, and the commander of the imperial guards Fan Yuhuai, are rebelling! They want to kill the crown prince and the emperor! You just came back from the capital city, is this true?” someone asked his friend.
The man who had just returned from the capital was surprised and nodded repeatedly: “Your news came so quickly! Things are going to change! I was already at the gate of the capital that day, and I heard that all four gates of the capital were sealed! Only entry is allowed, not exit! I didn’t dare to go in, so I asked the waiter to deliver the tea into the city, and I found an excuse to turn back! I was just about to tell you about this today!”
“What are you talking about! I just came back from the neighboring county, and the news spread everywhere… that the prince and the emperor are now trapped in the palace, and it seems that the second daughter of the Bai family is leading the troops to resist!”
“Yes, it has spread all over the place since I came back from the capital. Even the teahouses and restaurants where I rested were talking about it!”
“I find it impossible. If the King of Liang really wanted to start a rebellion, how could the news spread everywhere as soon as he made the move?”
“I heard that the Crown Prince noticed the actions of the King of Liang, so he sent someone to pass the news, hoping that someone would lead troops to defend the King! He also wanted to let the people know that if one day… the King of Liang killed Your Majesty and pinned the crime on the Crown Prince, he hoped that someone would be able to clear his name. The Crown Prince was afraid that he would be infamous for eternity after his death!”
“In fact, even if the prince didn’t send anyone to spread the news, I still don’t believe you when you say that the prince killed the king! You said that the prince is already the prince, and as long as Your Majesty leaves… the throne will belong to the prince! Why does the prince have to do such a thing as killing the king? It doesn’t make sense!”
“The struggle for power in the royal family is fatal. The winner always wins and the loser always loses…”
When Mr. Fang heard this, he could no longer sit still. He stood up abruptly, and the stool behind him fell to the ground. Everyone in the restaurant looked at Mr. Fang.
Mr. Fang looked pale and his breathing was unstable…
King Liang rebelled?
He didn’t dare to stay any longer, so he turned around and ran downstairs.
The four guards who were escorting Mr. Fang to Shuoyang and eating downstairs had not finished their meal yet. When they saw Mr. Fang hurried downstairs, they wiped their mouths, put down their silver, stood up, took their swords and said to Mr. Fang: “Sir, where are you going?”
“Go back to the capital! Now! Right away!” Old Fang’s voice couldn’t stop rising and trembling. He couldn’t imagine… If Fan Yuhuai and Li Mao both became members of the King of Liang’s party, and the King of Liang took advantage of the time when Liu Hong and Princess Zhenguo brought the main force of Jin to Daliang to rebel, how long could the prince hold on?
“Yes!” One of the guards rushed out to pull the carriage.
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