664 Rules

Fang Beidou looked at Yan Liqiang with his burning gaze as he shook his head. “It’s really not your fault. If you didn’t give the publis.h.i.+ng company to the imperial court back then, we wouldn’t have been able to escape from Lin Qingtian. In the worst-case scenario, we might’ve even been killed…”

On the second floor of the Prayer Courtyard, Yan Liqiang and Fang Beidou looked at the snowy scenery in Deer Villa from the balcony while they caught up with each other. Everyone else in the courtyard was overjoyed, many were even packing their belongings and getting themselves ready to leave at any moment. The ones who were brought here were the key people Yan Liqiang had left in the publis.h.i.+ng company. Apart from Fang Beidou, Xu Enda, and the rest, Yan Liqiang was surprised to find a few wordsmiths and artisans from the printing workshop. These people insisted on siding with Fang Beidou out of their clear conscience and ended up being arrested too.

It had been so many days since Fang Beidou last shaved, so his mustache and beard had grown very long. They concealed half of his meager face, making him look somewhat extra tough.

“No, you don’t understand. It’s excusable if someone else had made the mistake, but it’s most disgraceful for me to make that mistake!” Yan Liqiang smiled bitterly as he shook his head. He was blaming himself because he felt he should be able to get the situation under control, given his experience and ability to judge as someone who had lived two lives. Yet, he still made the mistake in placing the hope of withstanding the Heavenly Tribulation on the wrong party at the most critical moment.

Since ancient times, it had been known that any media platforms owned by governments would ultimately become a tool that functioned in favor of the ruling party. It became the source of fabricated news and rubbish public opinions to trick the ma.s.ses. He thought that ‘The Great Han Times’ would be an exception and that the imperial court wouldn’t learn to abuse the media so soon. However, in reality, it all came naturally to the imperial court. It was almost almost instinctive, just as how an animal would eat and defecate the moment it was born.

“So, what do we do now?” Fang Beidou asked.

“Do you think we still have options?” Yan Liqiang let out a long sigh. “Even if I had supernatural powers, I wouldn’t be able to pull enough food out of thin air to feed millions of people. Even if I start leading a resistance party in the Imperial Capital right now, how many people do you think we can save? How many people would actually be willing to take our side and fight for a chance of survival? I am only a lowly Qiyun Protectorate General against the imperial court. I have no troops of my own. What are the odds against me…?”

Fang Beidou lowered his head as he slowly curled his hands into fists in silence. After a long while, he raised his head. His eyes were burning with intensity. “That means.. all our efforts for the past few years… have been destroyed…? The millions of people who cannot leave the capital region… will still die in the Heavenly Tribulation…?”

Yan Liqiang remained silent for a long while too before speaking. “They will either die in the Heavenly Tribulation or die by the hands of the imperial court, by those corrupt officials who are trafficking food from the empire’s food reserves. I only understood today that the greatest enemy of the Great Han Empire isn’t the Shatu people, the Dark Ram Tribespeople, or the Chaman people…”

“Then what do we do now?”

“Back to Gan Province! All of you go back to the Gan Province first!” Yan Liqiang told Fang Beidou firmly.

“I previously sent some people to the Imperial Capital because I thought that I could move some of the artisans and craftsmen from there to Qiyun Prefecture in Gan Province before the great chaos as an effort to save some people because every single person counts. But after they came to the Imperial Capital, they discovered that the people here cannot leave unless they have a travel pa.s.s issued by the bureaucracy. Hence, the plan didn’t work out. They will still be in the Gan Provincial Guild Hall for these few days, trying to resolve the situation. I met Sun Bingchen yesterday and had a long discussion with him. He gave me approval to move people away from the capital region in batches, as long as I can provide enough food for them when they are moving. From now on, he will be issuing me five thousand travel pa.s.ses every month…”

“Only five thousand travel pa.s.ses every month?” Fang Beidou frowned. “There are so many people in the capital region. That’s too little!”

“This is the most I can ask for. The imperial court is worried about the ma.s.s evacuation causing panic among the people. In any case, we are unable to move too many people in one go, so we will have to do this secretly. Keep the lowest profile possible. I will let you take care of this. The people I’ve sent to the Imperial Capital last time are yours to command…” Yan Liqiang explained, then handed a name list and a golden paiza to Fang Beidou.

“This paper contains the cloth merchants that have business dealings with The Greatest Mill from all over the place. They are all very influential people in their areas. This paiza will prove your ident.i.ty as the foreign affairs manager from The Greatest Mill. The foundation of a distribution network from Gan Province to all other provinces was previously established during the cooperation between The Greatest Mill and these people. There are tens of caravans for you to use, so you can build up another evacuation route between the capital region and Gan Province. We will save as many people as we can. Don’t worry about the money, I will provide full support with this…”

Fang Beidou quietly accepted the name list and the golden paiza from Yan Liqiang. “What about you? Are you staying in the Imperial Capital?”

“The Emperor has asked me to escort him on his next trip, so I will be staying in the Imperial Capital until next spring. With me by the Emperor and Sun Bingchen’s side, I will be able to guarantee your safety. At the same time, I’d like to see if it’s possible to convince the Emperor so we can save more people!”

“If the Heavenly Tribulation comes next year, millions will perish along with the Imperial Capital. Will they still save the imperial court? Even if the Emperor and his ministers survive, will the Great Han Empire still be the same…?”

“They think that as long as they survive, the imperial court will remain unchanged even if millions perish because they can still recover from the event given time!” Yan Liqiang gazed at the snowy mountain peak in the distance, as a mocking smile appeared on his face.

“The scapegoats are those people who are currently running the two newspaper offices in the Imperial Capital. They may be optimistic, but they forgot that some things will never be the same again after you lose them. The imperial court is no exception. Once their reputation is destroyed, no one will ever believe them again. The imperial court will no longer be like how it used to be…”

Fang Beidou’s voice was trembling slightly. “You’re saying that the Great Han Empire… will descend into chaos next year after the Heavenly Tribulation?!”

“This is all inevitable. The Great Han Empire will be going through a huge crisis. Do you think the Shatu and Chaman people will just sit idly by and let this chance slip away? While the Great Han Empire gets surrounded by the enemies and the imperial court’s authority crumbles, what do you think the Provincial Governors and Military Governors will do? In any case, the White Lotus Society is nearly going out in full strength right now. They have hidden themselves in the capital region, probably about to do something big. It seems like the Great Han Empire is coming to an end soon! So you must seize every moment you have from now on. By the time chaos sets into the capital region, the travel pa.s.ses will be useless even if we have them…”

“I understand…” Fang Beidou nodded, then suddenly asked Yan Liqiang a question. “If the Great Han Empire really descends into chaos in the future, what will you do?”

“Give me some time. I will establish a rule in this world!”

“What rule?”

“A rule that will allow those who are on their knees to stand up and remain standing forever!”

Yan Liqiang’s words sent a jolt through Fang Beidou!

Yan Liqiang didn’t provide further explanation. He just stood up and went downstairs because he saw a few soldiers leading an official from the Law Enforcement Office toward here. The release letter that Sun Bingchen promised had arrived very quickly. Yan Liqiang didn’t turn back, but the words that reached Fang Beidou ears were, “You may all leave the villa this afternoon and return to the Imperial Capital. I’ll leave everything in your hands…”