Chapter 512: Penalty Notice

After the Mingguang Night Banquet ended, the king hurried back and asked Bai Ze what he had seen. Bai Ze lazily replied, "Xie Yuan judges people well; among the spoiled youths, the first four or five are reliable."

What do you think of my cheap cousin-in-law? He looks as refined as clear wind and bright moon, how does he compare to Xie Tu? These people excel at scholarship and becoming gentlemen, no doubt, and now they have many followers; becoming a minister isn't guaranteed. See who you think has hope of becoming a minister.

If they're not minister material, would you just send them back to be gentlemen?

The king said bluntly: "No way. I'm keeping those two as my billboard! You know how important advertising is? With articles by Xie Yuan and Xie Tu, that issue of the newspaper sells better. These two entering officialdom via the Northern Border imperial exams are more useful than the newspaper running daily ads."

Bai Ze: ……

The next day at court, the top twelve examinees were directly appointed to official posts, while the remaining seventy were assigned to study and observe governance in various departments, to take up positions after a six-month internship. Although the king hated to just throw them out to solve the manpower shortage, this group contained too many spoiled youths, and the court would never agree.

Among them, Zhou Huang, who previously served as an external aide in the Office of Construction, now became a regular official. Xie Tu, who had experience in the Northern Border and was the king's trusted aide, was directly appointed Minister of the Household; the newspaper's acting editor-in-chief became the official editor-in-chief. Yang Fang was put under Dong Fu to work, and the higher-ranked Lu Xin and Liu Wen were assigned to the Ministry of Agriculture. Which position the king values goes without saying; at this stage, whether it's cultural construction or diplomatic etiquette, nothing matters more than making money.

That night, someone who attended the night banquet wrote an essay that spread around; the king's Coiled Dragon Pillar, however, became a hot topic.

A batch of livestock better educated and experienced than the previous low-level clerks arrived, solving most of the king's manpower shortage; now the focus is preparing for next year's spring plowing, earnestly producing grain.

The king also implemented a southern‑northern relocation, rounding up a boatload of refugees and sending them to Liaodong Commandery to reclaim land. He himself never rested, diligently selling off his family assets; any treasure he gained was spent overnight, either sent to Yuehan Pu to buy assorted weapons or to Qiao Yi to purchase medicinal elixirs.

That day the king sold a white jade ornament and then bought a batch of short swords. He thought he couldn't rely on just one weapon, so they could be given to elite troops to carry as a precaution.

"Earn money at the homestead, spend it at the homestead—never bring a single treasure home~"

Just as the king was muttering to himself, he noticed a red light flashing above his head; looking up, he saw four glaring characters: 【Penalty Notice】.

"Huh?"

I haven't taken any missions lately, so why did a penalty appear? Could it be that a new mission was issued but I missed it and it expired? Before, there were timed missions, and overdue ones incurred penalties.

The king hurried out to check the light board;

{Penalty Notice:

Because the lord's new decree—the 'Northern Border Imperial Examination System'—was announced and implemented, it indirectly accelerated the world's descent into chaos timeline by 40%, so the authorities will penalize the lord accordingly. Previously, the lord's issued 'Warning to the World Document' effectively delayed the chaos timeline by 20%, having a positive stabilizing effect on that realm, which will offset half of the penalty.

The penalty is now announced as follows:

One, a fine of 200,000 treasures (to be automatically deducted).

Two, a ferocious beast—the Lion-Dragon—will be released within the realm (marked inside the realm, cannot be recalled).

The king was dumbfounded!

The king slammed the table and stood up, shouting, "Two hundred thousand—why don't they just go rob for it?!"

Bai Ze: …… The point is this?

After shouting in anger, the king suddenly scratched his face and sat down again, continuing to read the penalty notice: "I almost forgot—lucky I have no money! Looks like being a sunlight clan isn't bad either." Anyway, his account is four digits, balance under ten thousand.

As for fines and such, just follow one principle: no money.

Bai Ze couldn't be bothered to remind him that once he had money, they'd automatically deduct it—unless all his future transactions bypass the homestead.

Because poverty had made the king very blunt, he quickly zeroed in on the point: "So the imperial exams indirectly speed up the world's descent into chaos, right? Who's this fragile? Can't even handle a little stimulation? Isn't this harming me?!"

Previously it offset twenty percent, so overall it's still a twenty percent acceleration? Won't the imperial exams be the final straw that breaks the south's back? I'm so wronged—no one in the Northern Border uses this, yet they blame me?

Or could it be that the south has fully erupted into war?

Who started it? The King of Jiangxia or the Marquis of Hanshou? Oh, the Marquis of Hanshou has never stopped… or maybe a formidable rebel army has appeared?

The king paced anxiously around the room, then finally grabbed Bai Ze's leg, pleading, "What do we do? What do we do? Say something!"

The king couldn't stay idle, he started gnawing on his own claws; if the room weren't full of his own stuff, he'd also want to smash some ceramics like his father did—he was anxious!

Bai Ze calmly said, "What difference does it make whether they fight today or tomorrow? Instead, that ferocious beast has been dumped in your territory—why aren't you going to catch it?"

The king: ……

Leaks everywhere, and I don't know where to patch!