Chapter 244: A Hundred Boats Race Downstream — He Who Pulls Hardest Goes First (begging for monthly tickets~)

The new sovereign was generous — the wave of New Governance he had set in motion overflowed with achievement, fame, profit, and rank.

Most people had gradually come to believe that he would never stint on any reward that ought to be given.

This was not born of blind faith or superstition; rather, the clever ones had all perceived that this new sovereign seemed to be following the stories in the history books, step by step.

Ah — could he truly be governing the realm by imitating the tales in the histories?

Yet it was precisely this somewhat callow imitation that had, in fact, solidly strengthened the new sovereign's credibility.

After all, since ancient times, an emperor who grew angry because a promised reward had not been fully distributed, and then chased after the recipients to deliver it — such an emperor was far too rare.

Everyone knew he was staging the old "moving the gatepost" trick, but for that very reason, nearly everyone also believed he would see the act through to the end. The officials of the Great Ming, however, were simply too many, and the door of New Governance, which appeared to stand wide open, was narrower than anyone could imagine.

If one failed to catch the first express train of New Governance, the only thing left to scramble for would be those rumored "Old Governance merit review" slots now in preparation.

A single step slow, and every step thereafter would be slow.

This was a truth understood perfectly by every grand worthy in the court and the temples, down to the lowliest clerks and soldiers.

And so this gave rise to the First Law of Oxen and Horses under New Governance:

One — opportunity seems limitless, but is in truth limited.

To contend for this limited opportunity, every official thirsting to rise would exhaust all his strength to prove his worth.

Through statecraft essays, through concrete tasks, through personal connections — through every channel that could be exploited — they displayed their ability.

From this, in turn, came the Second Law of Oxen and Horses:

For limited opportunity, oxen and horses will inevitably expend limitless effort.

And as this limitless effort piled up, the victors who emerged from the multitude would see their abilities greatly enhanced, enabling them to seize greater opportunities and shoulder more important work.

This, finally, was the Third Law of Oxen and Horses:

Amid limitless involution, oxen and horses shall ultimately complete a transcendent evolution, thereby giving birth to the Super Ox-Horse.

Of course, all of the above was merely the private pillow talk between the Eternal Prosperity Emperor and the Empress after an impassioned outpouring, and was never formally disclosed to the outside world. Lu Zhenfei, jinshi of the fifth year of Tianqi and former County Magistrate of Jingyang County in Shaanxi, was one of these myriad evolving oxen and horses.

As one of the seventy capable county magistrates summoned to the capital for examination by the Ministry of Personnel, Lu Zhenfei, no matter how one looked at him, was utterly unremarkable. In terms of administrative achievements?

He had taken up his post in Jingyang little more than a year ago. He had done a decent job managing tax, grain, litigation, and justice, and the common people could be said to live in peace — yet in the end, he lacked a single major accomplishment that could be placed on the table and make his superiors' eyes light up.

Before receiving the Ministry of Personnel's selection notice, he had been in the county yamen, carefully perusing the latest issue of the Great Ming Times, stirred by the New Governance blueprint printed in its pages, and feeling a touch of regret.

Stirred, because a sage sovereign had descended into the world, and a bright and righteous era was just around the corner.

Regretful, because the wind of New Governance would likely take several more years to blow from the capital all the way to Shaanxi.

But — did the absence of New Governance mean one should do nothing?

Lu Zhenfei was not the sort of man who sat waiting for the right moment.

He immediately summoned the local gentry of the county and delivered an impassioned address, persuading them all to attempt dredging the Jing River channel when spring arrived the following year. Once the work was complete, merchant vessels from the Wei River would be able to sail directly to the seat of Jingyang County, and the trade of the entire region would flourish because of it.

A great undertaking that would benefit the countryside — and, of course, benefit the many gentry even more — naturally met with instant agreement and soaring enthusiasm from everyone.

All were willing to follow this magistrate, whose official reputation had been excellent since he took office, and throw themselves into a grand endeavor.

But just after Lu Zhenfei had initiated the river survey and spent more than ten days racing through the cold wind with his aides and craftsmen, the Ministry of Personnel's selection notice came crashing down upon his head like a meteor from beyond the heavens.

What?!

His Majesty intends to select capable county magistrates from across the realm to fill posts in Northern Zhili and carry out the New Governance?!

What was there to wait for!

Lu Zhenfei needed only a single day to hand over every matter in the county, clearly and completely.

Before dawn on the third day, while the sky was still dark, he took two aides, mounted fast horses, and began a frantic, day-and-night dash toward the capital. Yet when he arrived in the capital full of hope, he discovered that the situation was far crueler than he had imagined.

The county magistrate posts in Northern Zhili numbered little more than a hundred in total.

Yet the court had summoned a full seventy county magistrates to the capital for examination! More than thirty had already arrived, and the number was growing by the day.

Surely they could not replace all the incumbent officials, could they?

Replacing even half would already be a colossal stroke.

Not to mention those capital officials who had long been eyeing these posts like tigers, sharpening their heads to wedge their way into provincial assignments.

Lu Zhenfei had even heard that some officials holding rank-six Bureau Secretary posts in the capital were willing to stoop so low as to angle for a rank-seven county magistracy!

Curs! Heaven-damned curs!

Lu Zhenfei howled in grief and indignation within his heart.

A man who had been tossed off to Shaanxi to serve as county magistrate — what connections or personal networks could he possibly have in the capital?

The only things he could rely on were his own effort and talent.

But here in the capital, who was not a jinshi?

Every three years the Great Ming produced three hundred jinshi; in any prefecture or county under heaven, each was a rare and heaven-favored prodigy.

Yet here at the feet of the Son of Heaven, they were as common as bricks and stones by the roadside.

After entering the capital, Lu Zhenfei had scarcely rested a single day.

Leading his horse, braving the cold wind, he traveled through every county and department in the vicinity of the capital.

He worked himself to the bone, submitting over a dozen statecraft memorials on water conservancy, farmland, crops, banditry — every aspect he could think of.

Yet those painstaking works he submitted all vanished like clay oxen into the sea.

The best among them had earned nothing more than a "three-circle" rating at the Secretariat.

And now, to enter the Secretariat on the strength of one's memorials, a "five-circle" rating was absolutely required. He understood in his heart that the Northern Zhili statecraft memorial solicitation had been underway for months.

With his own superficial, last-minute surveys — what sort of brilliant insights could he possibly produce?

How could he compete with those colleagues who had been in the capital since the very start of New Governance, and had already studied Northern Zhili countless times?

On many a night, he stood at the window of his inn, gazing at the hazy outline of the imperial city in the darkness, and felt only wave after wave of helplessness and dread. He did not know what more he could do; the road ahead was utterly shrouded in fog.

"The great way is wide as the blue sky — yet I alone cannot find a way out."

The state of mind of Li Taibai in those days — Lu Zhenfei found he could now understand it, just a little.

Just as Lu Zhenfei was about to sink into utter despair, a turning point quietly arrived.

The document review of the Northern Metropolitan Region county officials officially began!

Because his native place was Quzhou County, Guangping Prefecture, he was assigned to the "Quzhou County" group, to provide local intelligence reports. When he received this assignment, Lu Zhenfei's hands could not help but tremble.

This was his final chance!

He had no connections whatsoever, nor did he know who the other intelligence providers in his group were, much less how they would present the local conditions.

There was only one thing he could do.

That was to pour out everything he had and seize this chance — perhaps the only one he would ever get in this lifetime!

He shut himself in his room for three full days.

Together with his two private secretaries, he labored with heart and blood, emptying every memory, every figure, every observation about his hometown from his mind and spreading it all across the paper.

He even fully immersed himself in the role of the Quzhou County Magistrate, producing an exhaustively detailed governance plan covering water conservancy, banditry, taxation, land surveys, land reclamation, and the recruitment of refugees!

When he reached the most critical passages, he felt his mind and strength utterly drained, barely able to lift his brush.

But he gritted his teeth, splashed his face with ice-cold well water, and though his eyes were shot through with blood, he still refused to give up.

"The noble person follows the Way and acts; to stop halfway — I cannot do such a thing!"

He rasped in a low growl, pouring the last of his heart's blood into the tip of his brush!

Heaven took pity!

Lu Zhenfei did not know whether it was this blood-soaked work that had pried open the door of destiny for him.

In any case, on the seventh day of the eleventh month, he received the notice from the Secretariat.

The former County Magistrate of Leting County, Yongping Prefecture, had been dismissed for "concealing facts and discussing matters in an intolerable manner."

And this vacated rank-seven County Magistrate post would be filled by him — Lu Zhenfei!

In that moment, Lu Zhenfei, thirty-seven years old, a middle-aged man who had trudged through the cold wind for over a month, could no longer contain his emotions. He and his private secretaries, equally overwhelmed beside him, embraced and wept bitterly, tears falling like rain.

Yet, after the weeping subsided, everything had only just begun.

Obtaining the entry ticket did not guarantee one could laugh all the way to the end.

The problem now confronting Lu Zhenfei had shifted from how to enter the arena to how to fight his way to the front ranks in this great tide!

The road ahead had grown even more arduous.

But also, ever more intriguing!

The twelfth day of the eleventh month, three days before the Northern Metropolitan Region New Governance pledge was due.

In the capital, west of the city, within the quiet chamber of an ancient temple.

The lamplight flickered like a bean, illuminating three faces etched with exhaustion and agitation.

Lu Zhenfei and his two private secretaries were being tormented to the brink of madness by that so-called "New Governance Implementation Pledge."

"No! This won't do! This governance plan is far too mediocre!"

Lu Zhenfei abruptly hurled the brush in his hand onto the desk; ink spots splattered across the paper, instantly painting a blossom of despairing plum flowers.

He felt an unbearable itch on his scalp and scratched at it fiercely several times, whereupon a thin layer of snow promptly settled upon the plum blossoms.

His two private secretaries beside him were in no better shape.

Their eye sockets were sunken, their cheekbones jutting — a gauntness born of having every last drop of mental energy wrung dry.

The elder Secretary Wang let out a long sigh, his voice hoarse and full of helplessness.

"Master, who can say otherwise? This Leting County... ah, it is truly devoid of any redeeming features. To produce dazzling achievements there is harder than scaling the heavens." The younger Secretary Li, of the Li surname, sighed in turn, his brow clouded with gloom.

"The New Governance performance evaluation follows the path of practical achievement. But Leting County, in terms of practical achievement, is truly no favorable place."

Secretary Wang took up the thread, pouring out the agony of their past two days.

"Precisely so. If one is to survey and measure the fields, places like Baodi and Qinghe are the supreme choices. The land is fertile, and the encroachment by nobles and palace eunuchs is severe. So long as one devotes great effort to the investigation, next year's evaluation will surely see one stand head and shoulders above the rest."

Secretary Li added:

"It is not only that. I visited a fellow townsman from Shaoxing today and heard that next year it is not only the county magistrates who must survey the fields — His Majesty personally pledged at the New Governance alignment conference that even the imperial estates would be rectified together!"

"Judging by this new sovereign's thunderous methods, this matter is nine-tenths certain to be true. In that case, those counties with imperial estates will be like a tiger given wings — it will be as if His Majesty himself has stepped in to help them boost their administrative achievements."

Lu Zhenfei pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

"I do not see it that way. His Majesty, in implementing the new laws, weighs every penny and demands that all matters be tabulated and displayed, compared from multiple angles — how could he tolerate such opportunistic tricks? I can see it, and so can the other county magistrates. When the time comes and a single impeachment memorial is submitted, such achievements will most certainly be excluded from the tally." The two secretaries, upon hearing this, nodded and bowed together. "The Master's insight is keener."

"What use is keener insight?"

Lu Zhenfei picked up the booklet before him, nearly worn to tatters from handling, and gave a bitter laugh.

"The counties of the Northern Metropolitan Region differ vastly in their conditions; the distinctions between superior and inferior are laid out plain as day before one's eyes."

"As we discussed earlier, if one wants to survey fields, then counties where nobles have aggressively consolidated land are the top choices."

"If one wants to attract population, then Jingxing and Yizhou, near the Taihang Mountains, are better. After all, people fleeing taxes will surely escape into the mountains; so long as one displays authority, the recruitment of population will certainly show marked improvement." "And if one wants to develop farmland, then places like Jinghai and Xing'an are best. There are river marshes there where one can truly enclose the lakes to create fields and plant rice. Repair the waterworks before spring begins, hire farmers to teach rice cultivation around the fourth or fifth month, and by late autumn next year, doubling the tax revenue will be a simple matter indeed." Secretary Wang's tone grew heavier still.

"It is far more than that. Lulong County to our north has the advantage of coal mines. I have heard that the former Governor Lu Xiangsheng already made a start there, so the new Lulong County Magistrate has picked up a ready-made bargain — once he takes office, he need only follow the established precedent."

"Funin to our east is even closer to Yu Pass and beyond the passes; there is a path to be made there through the military garrisons and the Mongols." "But our Leting..."

He paused here, then could not help but let out a long sigh.

"Let alone comparing with superior counties like Baodi and Jinghai — even within Yongping Prefecture, it only counts as a middling asset. Its sole advantage, perhaps, is merely that it has one more great river passing through its territory than neighboring Changli County."

Having poured out this torrent of bitterness, the three sat facing one another in silence, sighing in unison.

One must never compare, for once comparison begins, all that remains is bitterness.

Compared to those old-guard officials shut out from the New Governance, they were undoubtedly fortunate.

But in this internal horse race of the New Governance, Leting County's starting line was simply too far behind.

For three men burning with ambition, determined to seize the front ranks in this New Governance, Leting County was simply too poor a prospect.

Suddenly, Lu Zhenfei slammed his palm onto the desk with a sharp "Slap!"

"Things have come to this — idle speculation is useless! Only three days remain!"

A faint light rekindled in his eyes.

"Go over the materials in hand once more. We shall confer again in two quarter-hours!"

The two advisors' spirits lifted. They straightened their posture, each picked up a booklet, and forced themselves to focus, studying them in close detail.

These booklets were reference materials distributed by the secretariat along with the "pledge assignment" — three documents in all.

The first was "Implementation Measures for Rolling Out the New Policies in the Northern Metropolitan Region" — a sweeping fifty thousand words, serving as the general framework for the new policies this time. It covered all manner of programmatic objectives, as well as every detail of rewards, punishments, and performance evaluations.

The second was "Reference Template for New Policy Implementation Pledges — Using Liangxiang County, Shuntian Prefecture as an Example."

Beyond the three major categories of farmland acreage, population count, and tax revenue, it also covered banditry, water conservancy, commercial taxes, local specialties, agricultural reform, and other matters. After each item was a dense thicket of administrative strategies, adding up to over seventy thousand words.

The design of the various forms, the enumeration of tasks to be expedited, the statements on key local figures, the analysis of interest-group dynamics — the detail was so exhaustive it was maddening, enough to make one despair just looking at it.

Of course, a plan of this caliber was absolutely not something a mere County Magistrate of Liangxiang could have produced.

This was a complete administrative plan, custom-tailored for Liangxiang County by Xue Guoguan, Governor of Shuntian Prefecture, who personally led the entire Shuntian Prefecture team and dove in himself, provided to all new-policy County Magistrates as a model reference.

And it was precisely because of this reference template that Lu Zhenfei and the others had quickly grasped the exact standard to which a so-called new policy implementation pledge was to be written. In a sense, the capital new-policy faction headed by Xue Guoguan, though also bound by the assessment framework for the Northern Metropolitan new policies, seemed vaguely to transcend it.

Thus, while the County Magistrates everywhere were still racking their brains over their pledges, the capital new-policy team was already in a position to step in and provide pledge templates. This could not even be called favoritism or self-dealing.

Because the many officials entering the capital had seen the changes there with their own eyes.

The capital's new policies had indeed started earliest, progressed fastest, and accumulated the richest experience.

—Although those few wretched roads still had not been finished.

But the reform of the city-gate tax, the curbing of the petty-official ranks' greed and extortion, the suppression of the arrogance of the eunuchs and ennobled families within the city — these actions had truly and tangibly improved the atmosphere in the capital.

To the point that the leader of the capital's new policies, Xue Guoguan, was now the foremost writer of statecraft prose of the age — how could the various County Magistrates even think of comparing themselves? That was why earlier, when Lu Zhenfei and the other two made comparisons, they had compared Baodi, compared the other counties of Yongping Prefecture, but never once mentioned Shuntian Prefecture.

Because there was simply no basis for comparison. The two sides were not even on the same level.

As for the third document, what each County Magistrate received differed.

The one in Lu Zhenfei's hands was "A Complete Survey of Local Conditions in Leting County, Yongping Prefecture — Tianqi Seventh Year, Eleventh Month Edition."

It contained the local-condition reports submitted by the former County Magistrate of Leting, along with four other officials and juren.

As the newly appointed County Magistrate of Leting, Lu Zhenfei's understanding of Leting derived in large measure entirely from this document.

It contained the successive local-condition survey dispatches of five people, over twenty versions in all. Though still like peering at a leopard through a tube, it nevertheless gave Lu Zhenfei and his men a modicum of confidence to sit in this quiet study and imagine the work of governance hundreds of li away.

Two quarter-hours passed in a flash.

The three men set down their materials one after another, each still mulling over his thoughts.

A moment later, Lu Zhenfei slowly spoke.

"I think I know where the problem lies."

The two advisors' gazes instantly converged on him.

"I recall a line from the New Policy Lexicon: 'Without investigation, one has no right to speak.' Now I truly understand it in my bones."

He pointed to the "Survey of Local Conditions in Leting County" on the table.

"Our knowledge of Leting comes entirely from this document. But this official dispatch is, I fear, among the poorest in quality of all the counties. Otherwise, the former County Magistrate would not have been dismissed."

"Therefore, it is not that we do not know how to fill in the targets — it is that we do not know the actual situation, and so have no basis on which to write!"

He grew more confident as he spoke, laying out all the confusion of the past two days.

"For instance: those two great rivers in Leting County — are they prone to flooding or not? Can the banks be opened up for paddy fields? We have no way of knowing." "For instance: that Xinqiao Seaport Inspection Post mentions minor pirates offshore — what kind of minor pirates? We have no way of knowing."

"Another example: the official dispatches say rice was once grown locally, then abandoned due to obstruction by powerful local families. Was it truly abandoned, or ostensibly abandoned but secretly still in operation? We, likewise, have no way of knowing!"

"These 'no way of knowing's — that is our true predicament!"

At these words, Advisors Wang and Li both nodded in unison.

"Indeed!" Advisor Wang nodded. "The pledge stage does not screen people out, but the subsequent interview stage, it is plainly stated, will screen people out." "If we make wild pledges and are stumped on the spot, unable to answer a single question, then it is all over! A journey of a thousand li — we cannot let it fail for want of this last step!" "But rushing to Yongping Prefecture now seems too late. It is five hundred li to Leting; a fast horse there and back would take at least four days."

The younger Advisor Li shook his head.

"Not necessarily. The interviews span ten days. Surely one failed interview does not mean immediate dismissal?"

"There must be room for adjustment and improvement in between. Just like the review stage — they should leave some leeway."

This reasoning was sound. Lu Zhenfei and Advisor Li both nodded.

Now that they had identified the problem, things were manageable. The three exchanged glances, the dejection in their eyes swept clean away, their fighting spirit roused once more. "If that is the case, then there is a solution!" Lu Zhenfei immediately began assigning tasks.

"I will first follow the template and erect the framework of the pledge. Then I will list out, item by item, all the points that are unclear."

"After that, I must trouble you two, sirs, to go into the capital and seek out juren and merchants of Leting origin, and at great expense inquire into the actual local conditions!"

"I have been an official less than two years and have not gained much. Now I have barely a thousand-odd taels left in my purse. I shall keep only..."

Lu Zhenfei gritted his teeth and said, "I shall keep only five hundred taels for subsequent expenses. The rest may be used in its entirety for the cost of these inquiries!"

Advisor Wang, hearing this, was filled with deep respect and made a long, deep bow.

"My patron's act has the air of Lord Xinling of the Warring States! We shall not fail this trust!"

Lu Zhenfei gave a bitter smile and waved his hand, laying his cards on the table for the two of them in advance.

"Once I reach Leting, I will certainly cease collecting customary fees. For the next year or two, I still have some savings for your annual stipends, sirs. But beyond that, it is hard to say." "Perhaps we can only wait and see exactly how much of a salary increase His Majesty spoke of will materialize next year." He paused, then added, "I think an increase is certain, but it likely will not be by that much."

Both of these advisors were of Shaoxing origin. Advisor Wang managed official correspondence, with an annual stipend of one hundred and twenty taels.

Advisor Li managed criminal and fiscal matters; with somewhat less experience, his annual stipend was ninety taels.

Lu Zhenfei was saying this in advance to give the two men a clear sense of the situation. After all, once he took up his post, he would not be taking customary fees, but the advisors' position was less straightforward.

Some things, if not said beforehand, would make things awkward later.

Advisors Wang and Li exchanged a glance and could not help but smile at each other. Advisor Wang said with an air of nonchalance, "Our patron has the spirit of a scholar of the realm; we shall naturally repay it with all our efforts. Mere filthy lucre is not worth mentioning!"

This reply was rather odd — not quite in keeping with the usual manner of these two secretaries.

The thought flickered through Lu Zhenfei's mind, but he could not figure it out at the moment and did not dwell on it.

The younger Advisor Li then directly volunteered:

"If we proceed according to this plan, then leave the matter of inquiring after Leting natives to Advisor Wang, while I go to Leting County in person — that would be better! I am young and strong; I can ride a fast horse there, directly observe the local conditions, and then question the village elders."

He did a quick mental calculation, then said decisively:

"Within seven days, I will certainly return!"

"Good!" Lu Zhenfei was overjoyed. He swiftly spread open that "Investigation of Local Conditions in Leting County," flipped to the "Key Figures" section, and pointed to one of them. "Brother Yuanhui was my fellow jinshi in the same examination year. Unluckily implicated in the Mount Huang case, he was demoted here to serve as Constable."

"If his spirit has not yet fallen, he surely will not be content to sink into obscurity. I will write a letter for you to take by fast horse. Your tone must be gentle and humble. Ask Brother Yuanhui to devise a plan for me."

Adviser Li smiled. "Rest assured, my patron. I understand this well."

The three had settled their plan and were about to go their separate ways when the door of the study was knocked upon.

At the door was a young monk, who personally handed over an invitation card.

—Zhang Woxu, Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, in the name of a fellow townsman from Guangping Prefecture, invited him to his residence for a talk.

The three took the invitation and passed it around to read, all greatly astonished.

Adviser Wang asked in a low voice, "An old acquaintance of my patron's from before you passed the examinations?"

Lu Zhenfei shook his head and laughed coldly. "That man attached himself to the eunuch faction in the past. I have always disdained him and had no dealings with him. For him to put on such airs now—he must be getting rather anxious."

The words were not fully explicit, but the meaning was clear enough.

The New Policies quotas had only just been obtained, the interviews not yet passed, and already these probes and bets were rushing in, unable to wait. Anxious indeed.

Lu Zhenfei pondered only a moment before reaching a decision.

"An old eunuch-faction relic like this—he had every advantage of timing, terrain, and men, yet still could not squeeze his way into the New Policies enterprise. He is already dry bones in a grave, truly not worth plotting with." "Decline it. Say that I am rushing to complete my pledge letter and will have no free time for the next ten-odd days. I shall pay a visit at his residence another day."

"Understood." Adviser Wang nodded, turned, and went out.

Adviser Li also cupped his hands. "My patron, I shall go back now and pack my luggage. I will return shortly to collect the letter!"

With these words, he too departed hurriedly.

In the study, in the blink of an eye, only Lu Zhenfei remained alone.

The wind, outside the study, began to howl in fury, like the roar of a caged beast, battering against the window lattice. Yet Lu Zhenfei seemed not to hear it.

He sat back down at his writing desk, spread out a sheet of letter paper, lifted his brush, and saturated it with ink.

He deliberated a moment; a draft had formed in his mind. The brush tip descended.

Yuanhui, my elder brother, have you been well since we parted? We bid farewell in spring, and suddenly two years have passed. Your younger brother went west into the Qin River lands, while you, elder brother, lingered in the capital. I never thought that the next time I heard your name, it would be amid the storms of Mount Huang, implicated to this extent. Yet for a man to stand in this world and avenge his kin, settling debts of gratitude and vengeance with a joyful heart—when I heard of it, I felt only admiration.

In these passing years, the empire's affairs have worsened day by day. Yet in the deepest night, sparks are at last beginning to rise. Your younger brother has now been newly appointed County Magistrate of Leting, and I intend to ride this wind of the New Policies to accomplish great things. To hear that you, elder brother, are also in this place—truly Heaven is aiding me. I earnestly hope that Brother Yuanhui, mindful of our bond as fellow jinshi, will devise a plan for your younger brother and point out the way through the maze...

The brush tip traveled across the paper, silent and soundless, forming a sharp contrast with the howling gale outside the window.

And at this moment, within the windblown dust of the capital, the New Policies county magistrates scattered among the various temples, Daoist abbeys, and native-place guild halls were all, in their own ways, preparing to meet this great trial that was about to come.

Some, like Lu Zhenfei, brought out heavy sums of silver to inquire into the local conditions of their various posts.

Others were already honored guests in the mansions of high officials, listening amid toasts and goblets to the "lofty and far-sighted" guidance of their seniors.

There were even more impatient ones who, counting on their posts being close at hand, had already prepared fast horses and ridden directly out of the city to personally investigate local conditions.

Countless roads, countless choices—none could know which one led to the summit of the blue clouds.

This New Policies initiative in Northern Zhili was like an unprecedented great gale, blowing everyone onto the same surging, wave-tossed river. A hundred boats race the current; those who bend their oars press ahead.

Only, with Heaven and Earth not yet settled, who shall be dragon and who shall be serpent? In the end, none can know.

Yet all of this—the scrambling, the scheming, the calculations, the ambitions, the efforts—had nothing whatsoever to do with Li Hongji.

The crowd silently shuffled forward, and so he shuffled along with them.

The wind was bitterly cold, freezing his face into a stiff, numb mask. His cracked lips stung at the slightest lick.

In their hearts, every one of his fellow townsmen was cursing that "Li Zicheng." It was precisely that cur who had forced them, in the depths of winter, to leave their homes. What glorious prospects? None of them believed it. If there truly were prospects, they would not be entering the capital in such wretched disarray, treated like convicts. But then, abruptly, the column halted. Li Hongji stopped with it, raised his head in bewilderment, and gazed into the distance.

He stood frozen.

"Wh-what an enormous city!"