Chapter 653: Wine Policy

The Heavenly Luo Star, which had been invisible for more than half a year, also lit up. The mirror was happy: "It's shining like this all night, it hasn't flickered!"

Unlike the previous two times when it flickered, this time its brightness was very stable, just like the other nine stars.

"The long-bright period of the Heavenly Luo Star has finally arrived." He Lingchuan let out a long breath, "Great, our operation has a chance."

Only when the Heavenly Luo Star shines brightly will the array eye of the Spirit Gathering Array emerge from the void.

All their plans to invade Mount Xu were built on this foundation.

In fact, He Lingchuan still had a suspicion: Since the Heavenly Luo Star shines brightly in autumn and winter, does it synchronize with the opening of the sandstorm season in the Panlong Desert?

According to Mitian, the Great Fang Hu was originally part of the Heavenly Luo, and they had a sense of each other. When the Great Fang Hu moved, it would cause the hidden star Heavenly Luo to flash.

The sandstorm season in the Panlong Desert every year is caused by the Great Fang Hu, which is a quite intense energy release.

The Heavenly Luo Star sensed it, so it shone brightly.

And in the Panlong world inside the Great Fang Hu, the Heavenly Luo Star didn't have a long-bright period, because at that time the Panlong City hadn't perished, and the Panlong Wasteland didn't have a sandstorm season at all.

Not long after, Fu Shanyue came back from outside and said excitedly to He Lingchuan:

"Bai Ziqi has taken action."

"Did he go personally?"

"After the opening ceremony of the Grass Sea event yesterday, someone saw him leading a team out of the South Gate, but no one knew where he went." Bai Ziqi wanted to do confidential work, and others almost couldn't find his whereabouts. "He was really impatient, not even willing to wait for one night."

"The Qingyang National Teacher acts meticulously. Bai Ziqi has all the skills, but he is like a mouse pulling a turtle when handling this case, with nowhere to start." He Lingchuan could understand Bai Ziqi's frustration; after all, the opponent was the Qingyang National Teacher. "He rushed to arrest people personally because he was afraid of long nights and many dreams."

Fu Shanyue laughed: "I think, he is also afraid that the Emperor will soften his heart."

From then on, time seemed to speed up.

He Lingchuan's life here was calm, besides socializing with aristocratic families, he was wandering around Lingxu City, especially visiting the Lingxu Imperial Academy and several famous academies.

The Imperial Academy is the highest institution of learning in Beijia, run by the official, with more than 30,000 students, but usually, the teachers lecture and the students listen, and they are not allowed to express opinions.

The six major academies each occupy a mountain, gathering talents from all directions, encouraging debate, and often having collisions of

Overall, the academic atmosphere was free and ideas were exchanged; it felt like a different world from the Lingxu City outside.

Stealing a few days of leisure amidst his busy schedule, He Lingchuan felt a sense of emotion—this was the life ordinary people should be living in Lingxu City.

Of course, such a superficial tour was meaningless.

Jiang Tao and Gao Jilin, whom he had met during his tour of Mount Xushan last time, had repeatedly sought out the gibbon Old Ge to act as a go-between, wanting to "pay a visit to He Yun."

He Lingchuan thought about it; although his work was proceeding at a frantic pace, one still had to eat, so he gladly accepted the invitation.

These two government-sponsored exchange students from the Zhi Nation happened to be at the Imperial Academy, and upon hearing of He Lingchuan's arrival, they were overjoyed and even brought several classmates along.

Compared to Jiang Tao, He Lingchuan felt that Gao Jilin might have better judgment, and he wanted to see what kind of people he associated with.

Who would have thought that among the eleven or twelve people who newly arrived, eight had been brought by Jiang Tao? They opened two tables at the Xiangman Restaurant directly across from the Imperial Academy, making for a lively scene.

It seemed this fellow Jiang Tao was more enthusiastic in his social interactions than Gao Jilin, which was also a strength.

Jiang Tao introduced them to He Lingchuan: "This is Zheng Zewu, grandson of the Grand Tutor of the Nie Nation, and top of the Imperial Academy's inner-court spring examinations this year. Recommended directly by the Boss Situ of Agriculture, he is set to take up a post at the Waterways Bureau next spring."

The number of exchange students studying at the Imperial Academy was vast, but very few could truly remain in Lingxu City to serve as officials, even in minor or scattered roles. Most either returned to their home countries or, like Fang Canran, served high-ranking nobles or official subordinate agencies.

As He Lingchuan understood it, it was a case of being fully staffed with too many monks and too little gruel—the competition was fierce. Everyone had to start from a minor position, and Zheng Zewu's career path was already the envy of others.

"This is Wang Mao, from the Jinzhen Nation, who will also enter the court as an official next year. Brother He, you must have heard of the Wang family of Jinzhen, right?"

He Lingchuan nodded: "I've heard of them; the premier noble family of Jinzhen." They had plenty of money.

Jiang Tao continued to introduce the remaining students; basically, all of them came from prominent families in their respective nations, and surprisingly, two of them were from the East.

Seeing that He Lingchuan was handsome, upright, and possessed an outstanding demeanor, these few also had the desire to befriend him.

Only Zheng Zewu, who came from the Nie Nation, had a faint smile, his reserve tinged with aloofness.

Beijia's restaurants were not cheap, and the Xiangman Restaurant across from the Imperial Academy was even more expensive, so business was very good. But it wasn't a holiday season, so there were plenty of private rooms in the restaurant. Why didn't the one surnamed He find them a quiet place, instead of sitting in the lobby where people were coming and going? It was deafening here, with idle chatter flying everywhere, and one had to raise their voice just to speak.

This was a lack of proper courtesy.

He was unhappy in his heart and was indifferent to the words of He Lingchuan and Jiang Tao, replying to only one out of every three sentences.

With his change in attitude, the other four or five students also shifted, no longer as enthusiastic toward the host as before.

He Lingchuan saw at a glance that they followed Zheng Zewu's lead, but he didn't care at all, simply busying himself with urging everyone to eat and drink.

Foreign students like Jiang Tao and Zheng Zewu studying in Lingxu City not only needed to learn advanced knowledge and broaden their horizons, but also to gild their resumes, make wide connections with like-minded people, increase their network, and expand their circle.

If local noble families took a fancy to their talents, they might keep a position vacant for them or even come to their door to recruit them.

In fact, when Zhong Shengguang was sent by the Duke of Western Luo to study in Lingxu City back in the day, he was no different from these students today. Lingxu City was too big, and it had all kinds of strange people and talented individuals; wasn't that where he met the like-minded Shao Jian? Otherwise, why do they say there is no knot that cannot be untied at the wine table? If there is, it's just that you haven't drunk enough.

With a few good dishes on the table and a dozen cups of fine wine down their throats, the thin frost on Zheng Zewu's face began to melt. Besides, He Lingchuan was generous, wealthy, and spoke with substance, making it not difficult to win everyone's favor.

It was just past noon, and the Xiangman Restaurant was packed with guests. He Lingchuan listened to all directions, hearing countless high-minded discussions. Since this restaurant was across from the Imperial Academy, most of the guests were students from within.

Young people, after all—with wine to liven the mood, they became bold and heroic, fond of criticizing current affairs and pointing out the direction of the nation.

They dared to say anything.

The Elixir of Immortality case, the war in the East, and Crown Prince Huan of Lingxu attacking Crown Prince Yue of the Chi Yan Nation—everyone had their own well-reasoned analysis, and six out of ten topics were related to He Lingchuan.

Only then did he realize with a start that he had already become too deeply involved in Lingxu City.

These students even discussed the pros and cons of nations that serve gods versus nations that serve monarchs.

The so-called "serving gods" meant the whole nation revered gods and followed divine decrees, like Beijia.

The so-called "serving monarchs" was like the Yuan Nation, where the monarch had absolute authority.

He Lingchuan listened for a few moments and realized there were still many nations that served gods in the world. Especially after Beijia set an example for the human world after its founding, it had proven with hundreds of years of prosperity how successful a nation serving gods could be.

Driven by this, the number of such nations had steadily increased, especially after divine miracles had appeared in various countries.

However, because the gods they revered were different, they often broke out into disputes over this.

Among the students in the restaurant, there were supporters of every faction, and the arguments turned into quarrels toward the end, with faces turning red and necks thickening.

He Lingchuan wondered: "Can such topics be discussed?"

To actually discuss the drawbacks of serving gods and the superiority of imperial rule in Lingxu City, right under the nose of the Heavenly Gods? And the authorities actually let it be?

He Lingchuan found it inconceivable. In the Yuan Nation, paying homage to gods was a grave crime, and even discussing it too much would get one's mouth slapped.

To talk about it so openly in public, to the point of spitting everywhere—hehe, one would definitely have their tongue cut out as a warning to others.

The common folk jokingly called it: The Great Silencing Spell.

"What's there to fear in saying a few words? Truth becomes clearer through debate," Zheng Zewu smiled slightly. "Beijia is so powerful, why would it fear people discussing or criticizing it? This is what's called 'the strong have no taboos'! Only weak nations are fragile, suspicious, and hysterical, viewing public opinion as a needle and wanting to cover the faces and mouths of their people."

The existence of Beijia was the best response and counterattack to all questioning.

If you say it's not good, why is it still so powerful today? Nations that serve monarchs have had all sorts of strange ways of collapsing, and how many monarchs have they changed? Why has Beijia stood tall for six hundred years as a world power?

A few people at the next table heard this and applauded him: "Well said, that's exactly the logic!"

He Lingchuan smiled. The existence of the powerful itself is the best brainwashing for the weak.

Wang Mao also said: "This is all old news; we hear it three or five times every month, and no conclusion is ever reached."

Another student named Boss Situ He suddenly interjected: "Actually, there are things about Beijia that can't be discussed."

"Oh?" He Lingchuan became interested instead. "For example?"

"For example, the Yuan Nation, the vassal state that rebelled nearly two hundred years ago!" Boss Situ He lowered his voice; if not for He Lingchuan's good hearing, he would have barely heard it. "I heard an old man wasn't afraid of trouble and wrote a book to rehabilitate the Yuan Nation, and as a result, he was..."

He Lingchuan felt as if he had heard of that somewhere too.

"That matter has already been settled; it's not worth discussing." Jiang Tao immediately raised his glass. "Come, let me toast everyone again!"

Boss Situ He was about to say more, but Wang Mao glanced at him, intending to warn him, and he swallowed the rest of his words.

He Lingchuan also shifted to a safe topic: "The Yuan Nation, Beijia's neighbor, has a powerful enemy eyeing it from the north, and rebel armies are capturing cities and seizing territory in the west, with government troops unable to resist. The country has suffered consecutive disasters, with wailing everywhere, and uprisings are popping up one after another in various places. If you were in charge, what good strategies would you have?"

Everyone clutched their wine glasses and pondered; this was actually their favorite topic for political discussion.

Having filled their bellies with knowledge, wasn't it all for the sake of solving practical problems in the end?

Wang Mao was the first to say: "The country is suffering from disasters and commoners are rising up because the people can no longer survive. First, we must reduce corvée labor and taxes, and let the people rest and recuperate."

Another student shook his head: "Isn't there still a war in the west? Once taxes are reduced, where will the national treasury get money? Haven't you heard that the government troops are unable to resist? If we cut clothing and food further, wouldn't they mutiny and become rebels?"

"That's right, making the people suffer a little is fine." Boss Situ He agreed. "I see that countries with constant civil wars are all increasing taxes year after year to fill the deficit in the treasury."

(End of chapter)