Zhu Cunji spoke in a tone so casual that, to someone unfamiliar with him, it might have sounded as though he were merely chatting about some trivial market gossip, yet every word he uttered quietly overturned Ma Shouying's long held understanding of how power and governance truly worked. He said that not long ago, Dao Xuan Tianzun himself had personally visited Yinchuan in Ningxia and given direct instructions to the local governor, and that shortly after that visit, a new policy had been implemented with remarkable speed and without the usual layers of obstruction.
According to what Zhu Cunji had heard, the governor had established a wool purchasing station specifically tasked with buying wool from the herders before reselling it to their own merchants, and under such an arrangement, it had become nearly impossible for the herders of that region not to make money. They could sell their wool whenever they wished, without waiting for intermediaries or relying on luck. If they wanted to earn a bit more, they could simply wait for merchant caravans to arrive and sell directly to them, while those who preferred convenience could sell straight to the government purchasing station at a slightly lower price, trading a small margin of profit for certainty and ease.
As Ma Shouying listened, he could not stop himself from letting out a long sigh, one that carried with it deep regret and suppressed bitterness. He muttered that such humane and practical policies already existed, and that if only things had been like this back then, his subordinates would never have been driven to the point of rebellion merely to survive.
At that moment, the endlessly looping advertisement on the Immortal Treasure Mirror abruptly stopped.
The reaction from the crowd was immediate, as though a collective burden had been lifted from their chests. Voices rang out with relief and excitement, announcing that Gaojia News was finally about to begin. The image on the screen shifted, revealing a woman of dignified beauty, her presence calm yet commanding, the kind that made people instinctively quiet down and listen.
Someone in the crowd cried out in admiration, calling her the Saintess.
Ma Shouying leaned closer to Zhu Cunji and whispered in disbelief, asking whether the woman on the screen truly was the Saintess.
Zhu Cunji nodded easily and explained that the Saintess herself was in Gao Family Village in Chengcheng County, and that what they were seeing now was a remote appearance through the Divine Mirror. Hearing this, Ma Shouying was once again startled, for the longer he stayed here, the more things that should have been impossible elsewhere appeared perfectly normal.
The Saintess smiled gently at the screen and announced that they would begin with an international news report. She explained that a few days earlier, the Jin state had reorganized its Literary Office into three internal academies, namely the Academy of National History, the Academy of Secretaries, and the Academy of Grand Culture, each assigned its own responsibilities.
A wave of confusion passed through the audience, and Ma Shouying was no exception. He asked quietly what such a change was supposed to mean.
With patient clarity, the Saintess explained that many people in their country still regarded the Jin state as a land of barbarians, imagining them as savages who consumed raw meat and drank blood, yet in reality, the Jin state was actively striving toward good governance, continuously learning from others' strengths, and steadily advancing toward a more developed civilization. She emphasized that arrogance had to be discarded, and that their enemy should be faced squarely and honestly, because blind self importance would only lead to being surpassed.
A young scholar suddenly jumped to his feet and shouted his agreement, only to be hurriedly scolded for blocking the screen, prompting him to sit back down in embarrassment and apologize.
The Saintess then moved on to domestic news, reporting that a severe famine had once again struck Henan. She described how starving people, lacking grain, had first resorted to eating tree bark and wild grass, and when even those were gone, had turned to cannibalism. She cited a report from the Prince of Tang, Zhu Yujian, stating that in Nanyang, Henan, the situation was so dire that some mothers had even cooked their own daughters to eat. She added that the emperor had issued an edict allocating 3,500 jin for relief and exempting both old and new taxes in the affected prefectures and counties.
Ma Shouying's face went pale at these words, and he asked in a strained voice whether Gaojia News truly reported such matters every day.
Zhu Cunji answered without hesitation that it did.
Ma Shouying then asked, haltingly, whether this meant that the common people here, without ever leaving their homes, could know the affairs of the entire world, and how such awareness could possibly compare to that of ordinary folk elsewhere.
Zhu Cunji agreed readily, saying that the insight and knowledge of the common people here were genuinely impressive, and that one could grab anyone off the street and have a long conversation about national affairs, each person speaking as though they understood everything.
Even as they spoke, the surrounding crowd had already begun discussing the news among themselves. Some remarked that this time the old emperor finally seemed to know how to provide disaster relief, while others scoffed, pointing out that 3,500 jin meant copper coins, not silver. When someone calculated aloud that this amounted to only three taels and five qian of silver, sarcastic laughter followed, with people mocking the emperor's so called generosity in the face of mothers eating their own children.
Voices grew sharper, criticizing the imperial court for never taking disaster relief seriously, only putting on a performance that forced the people to rebel, while others chimed in, saying that this was exactly how they themselves had once rebelled, only to be captured by Gao Family Village, sent to labor reform, and now finally living a good life.
Some even declared that the militia should move faster to capture all the Henan bandits and send them to labor reform, claiming that only then could there be peace under heaven.
Ma Shouying fell silent.
He turned to look at Zhu Cunji, who met his gaze with a relaxed chuckle and told him not to worry, explaining that they were talking about bandits who had committed genuine atrocities. He added that Ma Shouying's military discipline had always been strict, and that he had not done such things, so there was no reason to fear labor reform. After all, Dao Xuan Tianzun had allowed him to choose his own future path, which was already the greatest affirmation possible.
At that moment, the Saintess Gao Yiye began reporting the next item. She announced an interesting anecdote, saying that a week earlier, the Yellow Pole Military Academy had organized a unique military exercise, dividing students into Red and Blue teams for a mock battle.
The screen switched to footage from the exercise. Flat Rabbit, dressed in red, could be seen brandishing his sword and roaring for his men to charge and take Bai Mao's head, while a group of red uniformed students surged forward behind him, Zheng Gouzi among them. On the other side, Bai Mao, dressed in blue, stood beside an artillery unit and shouted for them to fire and blast Flat Rabbit's rabbit head to pieces.
The cannons did not actually fire, of course, but instead, massive bamboo tubes sprayed streams of blue dye across the field.
The image shifted again, showing Flat Rabbit and Zheng Gouzi sitting dejectedly at the edge of the training ground, both covered head to toe in blue dye, their appearance so pitiful that it was almost comical.
Headmaster Sun Chuanting announced loudly that the Blue Team had won the exercise.
Gao Yiye's narration followed, explaining that Bai Mao had taken advantage of artillery positions to secure a strategic edge, while Flat Rabbit and Zheng Gouzi had attempted to organize a charge to seize those positions, only for it to end in clear failure.
A female reporter appeared on screen and asked Flat Rabbit what he had to say about the defeat.
Flat Rabbit complained loudly that he simply had no cavalry available, that their cavalry had been sent to support the grasslands, and that if he had even a single cavalry unit, he would have broken through Bai Mao's artillery positions and claimed victory without question.
Sun Chuanting immediately struck him on the head and scolded him for knowing he lacked cavalry and still charging artillery positions, asking what difference there was between that and a suicide charge.
Flat Rabbit puffed up his chest and declared that he was utterly fearless.
Sun Chuanting retorted that this was precisely why he had died and gotten Zheng Gouzi killed as well, before ordering him to run ten laps around the drill ground.
The final image showed Flat Rabbit's lone figure running laps under the open sky.
Zhu Cunji burst into laughter, mocking the foolish rabbit and remarking that the militia currently lacked excellent close combat cavalry, and that Flat Rabbit had chosen the tactic least suited to their forces.
The words were casual, almost throwaway.
Yet they struck Ma Shouying like a spark to dry grass.
His eyes lit up.
Lacking excellent close combat cavalry?
Hmm.