Chapter 1054: Preparations

Yanzhou University.

After the daily classes ended, the students went to the cafeteria in twos and threes to eat.

After the Technology Academy, Government Academy, and Medical Academy merged, Yanzhou University became the first comprehensive university in Great Song.

Different colleges were established within the university, with studies taking place in different areas of the campus.

The number of students surged as a result, reaching twenty-six thousand.

At this moment, the cafeteria was filled with students eating.

Just then, a student suddenly rushed in, stepped onto a chair, and imitating the tone of a newsboy, shouted: "Extra! Extra! Big news! The Emperor intends to abdicate to Yan Wang, and the Abdication Ceremony will be held in a few days. His Highness Yan Wang is going to become the Emperor of Great Song!"

As the student's voice fell, the originally noisy cafeteria suddenly went quiet, and then erupted into intense discussion.

Many students immediately went up to the student who spread the news, and someone said: "Xiao Yan, you are too bold. You cannot talk nonsense about this."

"If I am talking nonsense, may I choke to death on my food right now. When my uncle passed by the Prince's Mansion, the officials of the Imperial Court had just come out of the mansion, and they were all beaming with joy. This is what they said."

"So, it is true!" A student covered his mouth in surprise.

The other students were silent for a moment, then suddenly erupted into a burst of enthusiastic cheers.

The news spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred, and a hundred to a thousand.

As the students in the cafeteria returned, enthusiastic cheers rose up all over Yanzhou University.

In the hearts of these students, Yan Wang was their hero.

It was Yan Wang who quelled the internal chaos of Great Song, eradicated the powerful clans of Great Song, and successively defeated Dongying and the Northern Di, recovering piece after piece of lost territory, and even expanding the territory to even further places.

Most importantly, it was Yan Wang who built many Public Schools and established many universities, giving them, the children of humble families, the opportunity to study.

It was also Yan Wang who created the Official Examination system, giving everyone the opportunity to enter the Imperial Court through their own efforts.

Even if they missed out on the Imperial Court, they could still use their knowledge to enter the Research Institute, Workshops, or merchant firms to receive high monthly salaries.

It can be said that it was Yan Wang who rescued them from the darkness and gave them a bright future.

Therefore, with Yan Wang about to ascend the throne, they were even happier than Yan Wang himself.

And this night was destined to be sleepless.

Seeing the students so frantic, the instructors at the Yanzhou University not only did not stop them, but smiled knowingly.

If it were not for the sake of their image, they might have been even more frantic than the students.

After all, Yan Wang had once taught them personally; he was their respected teacher.

Now, they were passing on what they had learned from Yan Wang to generation after generation of students.

At the same time, residential areas, restaurants, merchant associations, shops, Government Offices, military camps, and newspaper offices—every place was plunged into revelry.

Everyone was looking forward to their New Emperor—Zhao Xu.

The next day, the *Yanzhou Daily* officially published the news of the Abdication Ceremony, and the news occupied the entire front page, which left those who were still hesitant about the matter with no more doubts.

Because Mi Wen had set the layout the night before, it was simultaneously sent to the newspaper offices of every prefecture and commandery via telegraph.

At the same time that the newspaper was issued in Yancheng, newspapers in other prefectures and commanderies also published the same content.

The news of the Abdication Ceremony spread throughout the entire Great Song in a short period of time.

The revelry naturally spread from Yancheng to other places.

The Prefects of various prefectures and Commandery Governors sent telegrams to Yancheng one after another, requesting to attend the Abdication Ceremony.

Generals such as Ma Han and Yang Zhen sent messages to the Ministry of War.

Because there were no urgent wars in Great Song at the moment, these requests were all approved.

Once the date of the Abdication Ceremony was set, their itineraries would be arranged for them.

In addition to the officials and generals of Great Song, the consulates of Gaoli and the four nations of Dongying in Yancheng received the news and also sent people back.

With Yan Wang ascending the throne as Emperor, such a major event meant they would certainly come to offer grand congratulations.

"Your Highness, the auspicious day has been chosen; it is on the twenty-second of the fourth month." Just as the Abdication Ceremony caused a huge stir in Great Song,

the various preparations for the Abdication Ceremony were already underway.

Zhu Tuo suddenly became a frequent visitor to the Prince's Mansion, coming every day to discuss the details with Zhao Xu.

"The twenty-second of the fourth month, isn't that still a month away?" Zhao Xu asked.

Zhu Tuo nodded, "Prime Minister Liu said that generals like Qin Shan and Guan Tong are far away overseas, and they need time to return, so I chose the twenty-second from two dates."

After a pause, he continued, "Moreover, Director Chen of the Shipbuilding Department said he wants to give Your Highness a big gift before you ascend the throne, so it cannot be too early. Director Wang Chong of the Research Institute also said he wants to give Your Highness a big gift."

Hearing this, Zhao Xu nodded, "Then let it be set for the twenty-second."

He had his own calculations; the gift Chen Shou mentioned was surely the first Ironclad Warship of Great Song, and what Wang Chong mentioned was surely the first airship of Great Song.

These two sharp weapons, one for controlling the sea and one for controlling the air, were exactly the war weapons that Great Song urgently needed at present.

Because when it came to comparing the number of warships with the navy of the Westerners, he certainly could not compete.

Then the only thing he could compete with was quality.

The emergence of the Ironclad Warship would change the rules of naval warfare.

And although the airship was only a first-generation model, using a combination of old-fashioned Steam Engines and propellers, it was decades behind the electric-powered Zeppelin airships of the First World War era.

But even so, the birth of the airship meant that Great Song had a rudimentary air force.

Taking these airships to fight the current Westerner armies was still more than enough.

After all, although the war in the south was going very smoothly, the casualty rate of the Army and Marine Corps was significantly higher than when fighting the Northern Di and the Southeast Five Nations.

And after witnessing the combat methods of the Great Song army, the Westerner generals would inevitably learn from them and make targeted improvements.

Then it would be necessary to make them despair again in the next war.

For the next month, Zhao Xu, along with Yang Susu, Feng'er, and Luan'er, was busy with the Abdication Ceremony.

It was either Zhao Xu trying on the Dragon Robe, or Yang Susu trying on the phoenix robes.

Officials from the Ministry of Rites also kept coming to explain the various rituals to them.

Besides that, there was another very important matter, which was selecting eunuchs and palace maids.

Once they moved from the Prince's Mansion to Wuji Palace, they would have to spend their days and nights with eunuchs and palace maids.

It could be said that they controlled their food, clothing, housing, and transportation, and even their safety.

Naturally, unreliable people could not be allowed to remain in Wuji Palace.

However, this matter did not stump Zhao Xu; Xu Ke knew the background of the palace personnel like the back of his hand.

After the two of them compared the roster for a while, they decided to let the eunuchs and palace maids who had followed from Jinling continue to take care of Zhao Heng and Mi Huanghou.

The eunuchs and palace maids Zhao Xu had selected for Zhao Heng afterward would remain; their backgrounds were clean, and they were also his eyes and ears in the palace.

He also selected a person from among the many eunuchs to serve him personally.

This person's name in the palace was Xiao Guizi.

Back when he formed the Flame Guard, this Xiao Guizi was among the batch of team members who passed alongside Xu Ke and Chai Wu.

Later, they learned of Xiao Guizi's miserable past.

He was from Yanzhou, and both his parents had died at the hands of the Northern Di.

At the time, the Northern Di could have killed him, but they did not; instead, they viciously castrated him to make him wish he were dead.

Afterward, he was sold to an Agency and then arrived at the Prince's Mansion, finally living like a human being.

Therefore, there was no doubt about his loyalty to him.

After Zhao Heng arrived in Yancheng, he was sent into Wuji Palace to serve as an informant due to his physical condition.

This time, the reason he chose Xiao Guizi was, on one hand, because Feng'er and Luan'er would officially become Imperial Concubines and could no longer serve him, so the palace needed such a Chief Steward eunuch.

Another reason was that Xiao Guizi was originally a member of the Four Courts, which made it convenient for him to understand various intelligence reports.

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