The Princess Manor was brightly lit, the servants were rushing about, and the maids outside the delivery room came and went in a hurry with hot water basins.

Guo’er had never felt so much pain before, she was sweating profusely from it. She gritted her teeth, and shouted, “I don’t want to give birth anymore! I don’t want to give birth anymore!”

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The midwife grabbed Guo’er’s hand and said earnestly, “Princess, all women have to pass this obstacle, you have to use your strength and the child will come out soon.”

Guo’er wallowed in regret amidst the pain, she should not have gotten married, should not have gotten pregnant, should not have children.

The pain was unbearable.

The old maids lied to her, how was it easy to have a baby, it was obviously so painful.

Outside the door, Han Ling was waiting anxiously. He was an ordinary man. In addition to being named on the successful candidate list of the imperial palace examination, his top priority in this life was to marry a wife and have children. His obsession with descendants was engraved in his bones.

Hearing Guo’er’s screams in the delivery room, his heart clenched.

In an instant, many thoughts ran through Han Ling’s mind.

If Guo’er had an accident, then he would be finished…..

He had no doubt that if Guo’er died, he could forget about going any further in this life.

“The people from the palace have come.” Han Ling’s personal attendant trotted over. Han Ling turned around, and saw Er Liang who came with an old palace maid and a few imperial physicians. Er Liang hurriedly arranged for the old maid to go help the midwife first, and then had the imperial doctors go to the side room to wait.

Han Ling hurriedly stepped forward: “My lord, I…..”

Er Liang waved his hand: “You don’t need to greet me, I have already instructed, no matter whether the situation is good or bad, guarantee the life of the adult first.”

Han Ling said with unease: “I also thought so as well.”

When Han Ling heard the sound of hooves, he looked at Er Liang in astonishment: “My lord, this is?”

Er Liang said, “The Imperial Infantry has surrounded the Princess Manor.”

Of course Han Ling knew, but he just didn’t know why they were surrounded, he looked at Er Liang anxiously.

Er Liang smiled and said, “The Princess’s Consort, don’t worry, if the Princess is fine, everyone will be fine, if the Princess is not fine, then everyone can forget about being fine.”

Han Ling’s heart pounded in his chest.

What did that mean?

Was he implying that if the princess had an accident, then it was because someone secretly harmed her?

The entire Princess Manor was to be surrounded and controlled.

Han Ling swallowed.

Er Liang said again: “His Majesty said, since Her Highness is working hard in the delivery room, the Princess’s Consort should go in and accompany her, so that the Princess could feel at ease.”

Han Ling said in a daze: “The delivery room?”

Er Liang nodded: “Does the Princess’s Consort feel that the delivery room is dirty?”

Han Ling was speechless. He received this kind of education since he was a child. His mother gave birth to several children. Although the children died young, his father never went to the delivery room when they were being born.

A woman giving birth was inherently unclean.

Er Liang’s face turned dark: “The Princess’s Consort, do you still remember that you are the Princess’s Consort?”

Han Ling looked at Er Liang and felt that this person was so unfamiliar for the first time, when clearly it was not the first time they had met.

Er Liang sneered: “How noble is the Princess? And the Princess is also giving birth to the child of the Princess’s Consort. The Princess’s Consort, His Majesty will soon arrive.”

Han Ling lowered his head and said, “I’m going now, I’m going now.”

Han Ling walked into the delivery room.

As soon as he entered, he was startled by a basin of blood-stained hot water, and looked across the room nervously. Guo’er’s face was twisted, and she looked exhausted from the screaming. The veins on her forehead were popping and the old palace maids grabbed on her hands tightly, while her mouth was stuffed with a cloth to prevent her from biting her tongue in the severe pain.

Was this the princess?

All Han Ling’s nose could smell was the scent of blood. He looked at the woman lying on the bed. Was this woman with a hideous expression his wife?

She…..was she so ugly?

Guo’er also saw Han Ling, she wanted to call Han Ling’s name, but found that Han Ling turned his head.

He didn’t look at her, Guo’er’s eyes widened instantly——what right did he have to turn his eyes from her! She was having his baby! She was in so much pain!

However, Han Ling stood in the corner of the delivery room, neither stepping forward nor turning his head to look, as if he was being punished to stand facing the wall. Only when a maid walked by would he ask, “Is the Princess alright?”

The maid didn’t have the time to spare for him, she only said: “The Princess has an auspicious fate, and will naturally turn bad luck into good luck.”

Guo’er looked at the bed curtains above and then looked down at her big belly.

Why did she have to suffer this pain?

“Princess! Use your strength! I can see the head!” The midwife was overjoyed and said repeatedly, “The child is well!”

Child! Guo’er regained her sanity, yes, her child!

“Ah!” Guo’er held the old maid’s hand tightly, tears streaming from her eyes.

When Lin Yuan arrived, it was to hear the child’s first cry. He rushed in almost immediately, the midwife was wiping the child’s body and had just cut off the umbilical cord. Guo’er was collapsed on the bed exhausted, her head turned to look at the child held by the midwife.

“Guo’er.” Lin Yuan sat beside the bed and held Guo’er’s hand, “Brother has come late.”

Guo’er shook her head, her voice hoarse: “Brother is not late.”

Lin Yuan carefully observed Guo’er and asked the midwife, “Why is her belly still so big?”

The people in this room were almost scared to death by Lin Yuan.

How could the emperor rush into the delivery room?

The midwife was holding the child, not knowing whether to kneel or not. Lin Yuan said impatiently, “Speak.”

The midwife gave up kneeling and said quickly, “Women are like this. It will take some time for the stomach to subside.”

Lin Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

But Guo’er grabbed Lin Yuan’s hand and said with difficulty, “I think there is another one inside.”

The midwife walked over and checked carefully: “Yes, yes, the Princess is right! There is one more!”

“Bring ginseng soup to the Princess, so that the Princess can regenerate her strength.”

It was the first time that Lin Yuan knew of such an operation, drinking soup halfway through giving birth.

The ginseng soup was already prepared, and the maid came in and fed it into Guo’er’s mouth with a spoon.

Lin Yuan waited by the side, talking to Guo’er.

He came in a hurry and changed into clean robes on the carriage——but his robes were changed to different ones every day, and there were a dozen or twenty sets of dragon robes. He used to think that there was only one set of dragon robes. Only when he became the emperor did he find out that that was not the case.

Lin Yuan held Guo’er’s hand and comforted her in a soft voice: “It will be fine soon, the pain will stop soon, just bear with it a bit longer.”

Probably because there was someone who she could act like a spoiled child to, Guo’er cried: “Brother, I don’t want to give birth anymore, it hurts so much!”

“If you don’t want to give birth, then you won’t give birth, from now on you won’t have to give birth if you don’t want to.” Lin Yuan followed her words, “Guo’er will give birth if she wants to, won’t give birth if she doesn’t want to.”

It seemed that it was time he had someone get the condoms out, but he didn’t know if there were talents in this area, anyway, Lin Yuan himself didn’t know how.

After waiting for half an hour, Guo’er started giving birth again.

It was just that this one was easier than the last one.

The midwife smiled brightly. She was scared to death just now, but now that the child was out, she suddenly felt like her life was no longer in danger, and said with a smile, “Congratulations, Princess, congratulations, Princess, they are twins, a boy and a girl!”

Guo’er was also relieved, she finally gave birth to the children, no matter what the fetus was, so long as there was no third one in her belly, she would be thankful.

Lin Yuan smiled and said, “I already thought of the names.”

Guo’er’s eyes lit up: “Imperial Brother, please bestow them their names.”

Lin Yuan said seriously: “The older one is called Lin De, and the younger one is called Lin Xuan.”

Guo’er said happily, “Many thanks to Imperial Brother.”

The two siblings were very happy, but everyone in the room looked down at their toes.

Who could remind His Majesty and the Princess that the child born by a princess should have the surname of the princess’s consort.

But the princess’s consort didn’t dare to speak, let alone others.

At this time, Han Ling was not feeling well. He was already a princess’s consort, but in front of the princess, he could never raise his head, and the emperor did not treat him differently because he was the princess’s consort. He was still in Hanlin Academy now, gaining seniority and had no real power in his hands.

Even his fellow candidate who scored second place in the list of successful candidates of the imperial palace examination was now doing well in the Court of Censors, and already held real power in his hands.

Why?

Was it because he didn’t do well somewhere, or because he was the princess’s consort, so he couldn’t hold too much power?

He wanted to say that even if Guo’er was a princess, the children’s blood was the blood of the Han family. Even if it was the imperial family, the children should not be allowed to take their mother’s surname.

But he couldn’t say it, he could only walk in front of Lin Yuan and saluted uneasily: “This official greets Your Majesty.”

Lin Yuan held a child in his arms and said, “Rise.”

Han Ling also looked at the child, Lin Yuan handed the child to the midwife: “Take care of the children.”

The midwife hurriedly said, “Yes.”

The children were taken by the midwife to find a wet nurse. Guo’er had not yet produced milk, and generally speaking, the female family members of high society families would not breastfeed by themselves, and they must take medicine to stop producing milk after giving birth.

Guo’er regained her composure at this time, her cheeks flushed as she asked, “Brother, why did you come in?”

She was so embarrassed that she wanted to find a hole in the ground to bury herself in.

Lin Yuan said seriously: “Don’t be shy, you were at the juncture of life and death, everything else is trivial.”

Probably because Lin Yuan was too serious, Guo’er was no longer embarrassed, and felt that what her brother said was very reasonable.

Yes, she just walked around the gate of the underworld, and her brother was her family, so what if he accompanied her?

Thinking of this, Guo’er looked at Han Ling again.

When she was giving birth, Han Ling was in the corner and didn’t want to look at her, nor came to accompany her.

Guo’er grabbed the hem of Lin Yuan’s robes, she wanted to take a gamble. If her brother loved her, she would win, but if her brother didn’t love her, she would think of another way to beg her mother, and her mother would definitely accept her request.

“Brother, I want to be divorced from him!” Guo’er pointed at Han Ling who was standing in front of Lin Yuan. Just now she was looking quite weak, but now she looked like a little rooster with a high fighting spirit. Her cheeks were flushed and she said, “He won’t accompany me or look at me after he came in!”

Guo’er’s temper had been cultivated over the years, and she said angrily: “Those are not my children alone, doesn’t he have a share?”

Lin Yuan looked at Han Ling, his eyes were indifferent, neither sad nor happy.

Under Lin Yuan’s gaze, cold sweat began to dot Han Ling’s forehead, and he quickly said, “This official, this official just didn’t know what to do, this was also the first time for this official…..”

Lin Yuan rubbed Guo’er’s head and said with a smile, “Guo’er have a good resting sleep. Your brother will help you handle this matter. When you wake up, I will definitely give you a satisfactory result, okay?”

Guo’er’s belief in Lin Yuan was more devout than her belief in Buddha. After Lin Yuan said this, Guo’er was relieved and soon closed her eyes and fell asleep.

She was really tired.

Lin Yuan asked Han Ling to follow him out, and then asked the servants to retreat.

Han Ling didn’t know what Lin Yuan would say. He was nervous and scared. He hadn’t felt this way for a long time.

Lin Yuan looked at Han Ling: “Zhen thought you were a smart person.”

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Han Ling didn’t dare to speak, bowed his head and said nothing, his legs were shaking.

Lin Yuan said with disappointment: “Zhen does not ask you to be very capable, but you can’t even coax the Princess, what else can you do?”

“You forget, a princess’s consort can only exist with a princess. Without a princess, a princess’s consort like you is worthless.”

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Xie San, who had never entered the palace, was very excited. Their Xie family was only a small family in the capital. Now, only his second brother became a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination in the family, and had become a county magistrate. In the capital, their family did not have much influence, even his eldest brother had yet to marry.

After all, their family was unwilling to marry ordinary common people, no matter what they had to choose from an aristocratic family.

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However, the aristocratic families were more willing to marry a family of similar status to their own, which created an awkward situation wfor the Xie family who was neither high nor low. There were only two generations in the family, and there was no third generation.

Although his brother also had a few servant girls, it was not good to have children before marrying a wife.

Especially now that there was a marriage law, if a man had an illegitimate child after marriage, the wife could sue and ask for a divorce.

So now his brother didn’t even dare to touch the maids he took into his bedroom in the early days, and he had practically become a monk.

Xie San was neither the eldest son nor the second son, so he did not plan to get married. This way he did not have to bear the responsibilities, and he did not have to be a monk before marriage.

At this time, there was no contraceptive method, and the best contraceptive method was separate rooms for men and women.

But as Xie San didn’t want to get married, he didn’t have these troubles. He could play all he wanted with his female confidantes and lovers. If children were born and his lovers were willing to raise them, he had no opinion. If they weren’t willing, he could also take them back home.

The only problem was when he just put forward this idea, it was his lovers who were the first to retreat rather than his family.

After all, it was not difficult to marry someone now, and it was also not difficult to marry a better family. If that was the case, why follow Xie San without a name as a hidden lover who would not see the light of day?

Xie San wasn’t angry either, he felt that it all had to be about fate, and he couldn’t force others to be with him.

Lin Yuan also found that the social atmosphere was much more open now. After the turbulent times, he did not set up the “adultery crime”, and the “seven crimes of a woman” were also abolished. There was no such thing as spouse abandonment, only divorce.

Originally, he thought that in terms of social development, after stabilization, the people’s requirements for female chastity would become higher again.

In troubled times, the people didn’t pay attention to chastity, and nothing mattered other than survival.

But probably because of the influence of recruiting son-in-laws and so on, the people didn’t place as much importance on chastity as Lin Yuan imagined.

Of course, aristocratic families and big influential families still cared about these things, but the atmosphere among the common people was completely different.

This had led to many daughters from aristocratic families starting to fight for their own rights.

Although they now have the right to have blind dates, able to choose their future husband within a range.

This kind of social atmosphere could not be stipulated by law, Lin Yuan could only let them go with the flow.

The people’s thinking had changed from: “A woman must have a pure body before marriage, and a woman who loses her chastity is to be cast aside.”

To: “It’s best if she is pure before marriage, but it doesn’t matter if she is not.”

More and more women went out to work, and the whole society was full of vitality. The idea that so long as you work hard, you could live a good life had been engraved in everyone’s mind.

However, there were still many impoverished areas in the empire, and Lin Yuan also knew that in his lifetime, these impoverished areas might only go from extreme poverty to ordinary poverty, and he could only hope that his successor could continue his will.

Guo’er already had good news.

She was Lin Yuan’s little sister, and one of her children would inherit the throne.

These children would receive the same education in the palace, and they would be sent by Lin Yuan to the various ministries and departments to learn and gain experience when they become adults.

In the end, who would be the successor would be decided based on their final grades and the support rate of officials in the court.

It was the first time Lin Yuan was an emperor and his first time in choosing a successor.

Within the scope of the supremacy of imperial power, he must decide his successor not according to his own preferences.

After starting this lead, Lin Yuan could only guarantee that his own successor would not be an idiot.

If there was a successor who would be controlled by the officials because of this method, it was not something he could control.

Anyway, in a dynasty, there was always a time when its fortunes would be exhausted.

Long live, long live. This was just a beautiful and arrogant wish.

At that time who knew how many years he would have been dead, so it had nothing to do with him anymore.

Xie San was led to Lin Yuan, still holding his hegemonic device in his arms. After seeing Lin Yuan, he hurriedly knelt down to greet him.

Officials only needed to salute when they saw the emperor, no need to kneel if there was no major event, but those without official status still needed to kneel when they saw the emperor, especially Xie San who was not even a scholar.

Er Liang took the hegemonic device from Xie San.

Lin Yuan first asked Xie San to rise and gave him a seat, then he began to examine the hegemonic device.

To tell the truth, this thing was actually not very similar to the trebuchet any longer, but it was not like a modern pistol, it was more like a wooden box. There was a groove at the back to put the small wooden balls, and you have to be careful about the angle, so that the small wooden balls would not fall out again.

There was also a small hole in the front from which the wooden balls were ejected.

It should be a spring mechanism.

Lin Yuan wanted to take it apart and have a look at this wooden box.

“Your Majesty, take it apart from here.” Xie San hurriedly went to demonstrate and took apart the wooden box.

Sure enough, there were indeed springs inside.

Lin Yuan picked up the spring and asked, “You made this?”

Xie San hurriedly said, “Caomin doesn’t dare to take credit alone. This was made by caomin and a blacksmith named Li Liu.”

Then he started to expound incessantly, saying how much time they spent, how many methods they tried, and how many materials they spent to make this seemingly inconspicuous little thing.

There was light in his eyes when he spoke, and it was clear he was proud of this little thing.

Lin Yuan looked at him with encouragement in his eyes, and Xie San felt like he was on cloud nine. Xie San said so much, but Lin Yuan didn’t find him annoying at all, and kept listening quietly.

Although this wooden box was useless, the invention of the spring alone was enough for Lin Yuan to cherish him in his palm.

“Can you still create it?” Lin Yuan asked, “Create more.”

Xie San was confident: “As long as you do it once, you will definitely be able to do it a second time.”

Lin Yuan: “Good, Zhen will give you money to build a spring factory, and you will be in charge of the factory in the future.”

Then Lin Yuan said, “And this hegemonic device.”

Lin Yuan drew the shape of a pistol on a piece of paper: “What do you think of this shape?”

Xie San said quickly: “That’s a good shape! It’s easy to hold! It’s just…..too small.”

His hegemonic device was as long as an adult man’s fingertips to his wrist, so that he could stuff so many mechanisms inside.

Lin Yuan added: “Use iron, or something else that you think is easier to use, stronger than wood, and make the mechanisms smaller.”

Xie San bit his lip. He knew the difficulty, but he finally got a chance to be used by the emperor. He wouldn’t give up no matter what, so he knelt down and said, “Caomin has received the decree!”

Soon, Xie San took office and became the director of the spring factory. Although it was not an official position, it was an industry of the imperial court, and his status became the highest in the family. After all, his brother took up an official post in another province while he was the director of the factory in the imperial city, and even went to the palace to meet the emperor face to face. Moreover, he would be going to the palace to report his duties every month.

But Xie San didn’t have time to be happy, because he still had to experiment with the blacksmith on how to turn His Majesty’s ideas into reality.

The blacksmith Li Liu also benefited, becoming the deputy director of the spring factory.

“What His Majesty said, it sounds similar to a fire gun.” The blacksmith’s words woke Xie San.

Xie San startled: “Such a small fire gun?”

The blacksmith nodded: “But it can be achieved.”

The blacksmith looked into Xie San’s eyes, and both of them saw ambition in each other’s eyes.

“But we don’t know how…..” Xie San thought of this and sighed.

Blacksmith: “Let’s go to the Firearms Bureau to borrow someone?”

Xie San thought about it and felt that this method would work, so he sent Lin Yuan a memorial and asked for a technician from the Firearms Bureau.

The three of them began to experiment without sleep or food. It took half a year and  countless materials were wasted, but they still couldn’t get it out.

On the contrary, the spring factory was doing quite well, the failure rate of the artisans was getting lower and lower, and springs have also begun to be used in many things, appearing in the people’s daily life.

However, when Xie San became successful, those who were the most shocked were not the outsiders, but the Xie family, especially Father Xie. He could not imagine how the useless son in his eyes, the son who would be dependent on himself when he was alive and dependent on his elder brother after his death, would make such achievements.

Since Xie San became the director of the factory, the Xie family’s value on the marriage market improved instantly.

Several of his daughters had people asking for their hand in marriage by families that they never dared to think about before, and their sons also had daughters from aristocratic families who were willing to marry as well.

When he went out to socialize, people’s attitude toward him had become who knew how much better. His wife also began to have a high position among the wives of various families, and was no longer an observer like before.

Xie San’s status in the Xie family was becoming higher and higher.

In the past, even the servants thought that Xie San was a waste, that he just managed to pick a good family to be born in.

Once in power, Xie San’s female confidantes and lovers came back.

Every one of them said that they didn’t want an official name, they were willing to share with other sisters, and they were willing to spend their days with Xie San.

This time Xie San was not willing.

The female confidantes questioned him: “Do you have someone you love? We are willing to share you with her.”

The female confidantes also admitted that they left Xie San because Xie San was neither capable nor willing to marry them.

Now they chose to come back because Xie San was a capable person, and they felt admiration for him for the first time.

Xie San had a headache, but he could only tell the truth: “His Majesty has given me a task, and I will do what His Majesty has entrusted to me well before I get married.”

The female confidantes didn’t believe it, thinking that he was just looking for an excuse to prevaricate them.

“Xie San! Don’t go too far! Then according to your words, those scholars who didn’t pass the imperial palace examinations won’t get married?”

Xie San told the truth, but no one believed him.

His father and mother didn’t believe it, and his father told him with great excitement that there were several young ladies who were willing to marry him, all of them from big affluent families, the kind they couldn’t reach before.

Xie San repeated what he said to his female confidantes again.

This time he was really beaten by his father, and his mother didn’t stop him for once either.

Everyone thought that what he said was a lie, there was a reason he didn’t want to get married, and the reason was definitely not what he said.

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Xie San wanted to cry but had no tears, until he lied and said that he wanted to play around for a few more years, only then did his female confidantes and his family not ask any further questions.

Xie San felt that if one day he was full of lies, it was definitely because he was forced by them.

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“Your Majesty!” The artisans knelt on the ground excitedly, their foreheads pressed against the ground.

Lin Yuan was wearing his casual robes as he stood by the lake. He said to the people around him, “Try it in the water.”

A boat was parked next to them. This boat was not big and looked inconspicuous, but the biggest difference was that it had no oars.

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It was a boat that was powered by foot.

Lin Yuan just told the artisans the theory. It took these artisans two years to get the boat out. Fortunately, Lin Yuan could provide the materials for them to experiment. Otherwise, it would be a loss-making business if they couldn’t make ends meet.

Even Song Shizhao didn’t understand why he kept spending money on these things.

However, Lin Yuan said: “What they have made may not be able to achieve anything in ten years, or even a hundred years, and it would not bring us much benefit.”

“But in the long run, what if one of them was successful?”

“If one of them succeeds, then there will be earth-shaking changes.” Lin Yuan’s eyes were glowing when he said this, “Did the first person who saw a horse thought that the horse could be ridden? Who made the saddle? When there was no saddle, it was impossible to fight on horseback at all! With the saddle, everything was different, but was this change achieved overnight?”

Song Shizhao understood, and since then, he practically tried his best to squeeze out the money and move it to the Artisans Bureau.

The boat went into the water soon, and two crew members were able to pick up the boat. There was also a boat with oars next to it. When the two boats were compared, the boat that could be powered by feet was naturally faster, and both sides used their full strength.

Although the artisans expected this result, when they actually saw it, everyone was excited.

They made this boat!

They didn’t know how much time and materials they spent in order to make the gears turn accordingly, and they didn’t sleep well for many days and nights, but the moment they saw the results, they felt that all the efforts they had put in were not in vain!

Even if they were just artisans and craftsmen, they could see how much benefit such a boat could have!

Lin Yuan was also very satisfied. Now that there was no automatic power, it was a very big improvement to be able to use manpower to the fullest.

As for the steam engine, there were also special artisans building the boiler, but after all, the theory was vague, and they have struggled for a few years without making any progress.

Compared with the steam engine, the results of the gear boat made Lin Yuan very satisfied.

Gears existed as early as before the common era, and there were also gear boats, but the effect was never so good. The artisans used circular gears, which improved the life usage of such gears and reduced the degree of wear.

The formation of the navy was imminent, and whoever had speaking rights on sea could occupy the most wealth in the world.

Great Ming’s silk, cotton cloth, tea spices, etc., could open the door to other countries with maritime trade.

Today, there were only so many people in Great Ming, and it was difficult to pull up poor areas only by domestic demand.

“Very good.” Lin Yuan said with a smile, “Begin building, we have to build a giant ship that you have never seen before, that can withstand huge waves at sea. Each ship must be able to accommodate at least 200 people, and there must be places where cannons can be incorporated.”

“There should also be places to rest and eat, and to store weapons.”

The artisans did not dare to breathe.

“Caomin has received the decree!”

Lin Yuan added: “All who participated in the shipbuilding will be rewarded.”

Everyone was rewarded with five taels of gold and a swath of brocade.

Five taels of gold was enough for these artisans to eat and drink their fill for the rest of their lives. If they spent it without restraint, it would still last them ten years.

Since the rewards increased, the artisans came up with endless inventions.

There were even many strange curios among them that even Lin Yuan had never seen before.

Although he had to affirm the efforts of these artisans, most of them were whimsical inventions. For example, one artisan thought that he could build flying machines, but in fact, it was just tying super-large artificial wings made of feathers on the arms. After a few experiments, he found that it couldn’t fly him up, so he thought it was because birds have tails and people don’t, so he made a tail as well.

Lin Yuan didn’t stop it, mainly because he was worried that the people would stop experimenting.

But after making the tail, it still didn’t fly, so that particular artisan created claws and put them on himself.

Lin Yuan even thought that that person might turn himself into a bird completely in the end. He heard that he had recently started to learn bird calls, and said that he wanted to copy eating insects like birds.

This was just one of them, others were more absurd.

Probably because there were too many positive examples in the court. After all, there were many artisans who have successfully invented things, and were not only rewarded with money, but also gained status. Therefore, people who were not very good at studying books felt that they have found the ladder to heaven, especially some of the hedonistic sons of rich families.

These hedonistic sons didn’t like to read the Four Books and Five Classics, they liked to read some “crooked books”.

Many skills have been lost, so they started to tinker on their own.

There were actually two of them who managed to get results after messing around. Their families turned a blind eye to them, feeling that so long as they didn’t cause trouble for the family, it should be something to be thankful for. If they wanted to mess around then mess around, it was better than going out to spend all their time and money getting drunk after all.

One of them was surnamed Xie, and was called Xie San by outsiders. He was the third son and did not need to take responsibility like the eldest son, nor did he need to forge ahead like the second son. He had chosen a good birth and in this life he didn’t need to work hard like others.

Xie San liked to read all kinds of strange books. When he saw the trebuchet in the book, he wondered if he could make the trebuchet smaller so that it would not be used to attack cities, but to hit people.

Then Xie San went ahead with his idea.

He first found a carpenter, and asked the carpenter to study the details together with him to find the principle and theory of it.

Then he used charcoal to draw diagrams, trying again and again.

In the end, he really managed to get it out. It was all wooden, with some small parts inside.

It could shoot out small wooden balls. This thing was a bit heavy, but both men and women could lift it.

Only children couldn’t.

After the small wooden ball shot out and hit people on the flesh, it would make people feel a piercing pain, but it would not cause any damage to the body.

Xie San also gave this thing a name. He said that since the big one was called the trebuchet, then this small one would be called the hegemonic device.

No one else understood the connection between these two names.

Feeling that he was quite brilliant, Xie San used his hegemonic device to hit people for fun everywhere.

Hitting fellow hedonistic sons who had a good relationship with him. Though some of them ended their friendship with him because of this.

When his parents heard the news, it was because another family came knocking angrily at the door. Only then did they know that their son had come up with this new thing.

Father Xie was about to beat this unfilial son to death, but Mother Xie stopped him and said, “Laoye! Don’t beat him! Our son did not do a bad thing!”

Father Xie had a grim look on his face: “Not a bad thing?! Then tell me what is a bad thing? Could it be that the imperial court would actually send him a pennant! The good reputation of our Xie family is completely ruined by this unfilial son! Many sons have been ruined by loving mothers! Look what you spoiled our son into!”

Mother Xie cried: “What! He is not only my son, but also your son! Now, didn’t His Majesty set up an Artisans Bureau? Just to have those artisans make new things, isn’t this what our son made? Maybe it will be appreciated by His Majesty, and he could really get a pennant?”

Father Xie’s eyes widened: “It’s expected that he messes around! But just listen to what you are saying! Artisans are lowly servants! Have my son be an artisan? The shame!”

“Mother!” Xie San suddenly widened his eyes and said, “You are right! I should go to His Majesty! His Majesty would definitely understand me!”

After saying this, Xie San ran away. Mother Xie hugged her husband’s waist tightly and watched her son run out.

Although Xie San was a hedonistic son, he still had a few friends. After listening to his request, his friends introduced him to Zhao Lin. Zhao Lin was now the head of the Artisans Bureau. Everyone thought he must be reluctant as he was a successful candidate in the imperial provincial exam. But the fact was that he had done a good job in the Artisans Bureau, and they heard that he was quite appreciated by His Majesty.

So Xie San went to find Zhao Lin. He went directly to Zhao Lin’s house and waited for Zhao Lin to come back at the door. After the morning assembly, Zhao Lin still had to work in the palace, and he would not go home until the government office closed.

Zhao Lin didn’t expect Xie San to come to him, and asked curiously, “Why did you think of looking for me?”

Xie San showed his hegemonic device to Zhao Lin, and said seriously: “My father thinks that I am shaming him, saying that I am doing the work of an artisan.”

Xie San: “But I don’t think I’m an artisan, I don’t rely on this to make a livelihood, I just find it fun.”

“I think, if His Majesty can look at me and praise me, then my father will not be able to scold me in the future, maybe I will even be able to honor my ancestors!” Xie San thought happily, “Lord Zhao, you are in charge of the Artisans Bureau, can you help me mention it to His Majesty?”

Zhao Lin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Then tell me, what’s the use of this thing?”

Xie San demonstrated it to Zhao Lin.

Zhao Lin couldn’t understand even more. This thing could only make people feel pain at most. It couldn’t be used on the battlefield, and it couldn’t kill people. What use could it have?

But he still promised Xie San, even if it was to give the Xie family face.

So when meeting Lin Yuan, Zhao Lin still mentioned this matter.

Lin Yuan: “It can hurt people?”

Zhao Lin: “Yes, but it’s just pain, not even a cut…..”

Then Zhao Lin saw His Majesty’s interested expression: “Tell him to enter the palace, and let him bring in his…..hegemonic device, I want to see it for myself.”

Zhao Lin was still in a daze when he brought Xie San into the palace.

One could enter the palace just like this? What kind of sh*t luck did this kid Xie San have?

And His Majesty seemed to be quite interested as well.

…..Maybe he should read more books and make something that would interest His Majesty?

He wondered what he could make?

Xie San entered the palace for the first time. It was just like the palace in his imagination. It was just as splendid, high and gorgeous. Every inch of the floor tiles seemed to be elegant and extraordinary.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

He followed behind Zhao Lin, and asked in a low voice, “Lord Zhao, did His Majesty say why he summoned me?”

“Did you tell His Majesty how powerful my hegemonic device is?”

Zhao Lin’s face was expressionless, thinking to himself, the name of your hegemonic device was quite awe-inspiring, but in fact it was actually a turtle device, completely useless really. (TN: both hegemonic 霸王 and turtle 王八 share a character that means ‘king’ but the latter is used as an insult that mean a cuckolded husband or a stupid man)

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The Mongolian tribes have never lived such a luxurious life.

They could use the gold and silverware of the Han people, and the livestock that used to be worthless could now be sold for high prices, not only livestock, but also slaves.

Every winter, many slaves just froze to death. After the merchants came, the slaves could now bring them a lot of income.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Whether it was sugar or salt, they could now afford it all.

But Dalintai felt that slaves were getting more and more expensive, and he was almost unable to buy more slaves.

Merchants had upped the prices for slaves, cattle and sheep.

More and more nobles chose not to sell cattle and sheep, but slaves instead.

After all, a few slaves could drive a herd of cattle and sheep.

It was useless to have more slaves.

Besides, there was no war now, and even if there was a war, these slaves couldn’t be soldiers.

Slave owners also disliked too many slaves, which cost them too much food. They were just slaves, so long as they could drive and herd cattle, and be able to do some heavy work then that was enough, too much of them could also be troublesome.

So most of the slaves were taken away, and only a small number of slaves remained.

But slaves were still being produced, and new civilians became slaves every day.

There were even nobles who used trumped-up charges to make commoners into slaves, and then sell the slaves to merchants.

The huge profits made people flock over like vultures, and everyone was blinded by the benefits at their fingertips. Some of the nobles still kept their senses about them and warned everyone that it was a conspiracy of the Ming people.

Bayaer was a Mongolian noble who was not blinded by short term benefits.

He also summoned his companions who had the same idea as him, and ran around, trying to persuade the nobles.

But every time they returned without success.

He said: “Without slaves, our cattle and sheep, our palaces and houses, who will build them?”

But the nobles said: “Slaves will have children, they are always giving birth, and there are common people who make mistakes. Even if we sell all the slaves now, there will be more and more slaves soon.”

Bayaer then said: “The Ming people sold us sugar and salt at a low price, and bought our cattle and sheep at a high price. Their intentions are sinister! Once they don’t sell us sugar and salt, and will no longer buy our cattle and sheep, what should we do?”

The nobles replied: “Did we starve to death before they appeared? Now they are paying to buy our cattle and sheep, and they are the ones who are sending good things over to us, how can we not even take advantage of something this easy, are you stupid?”

No matter what Bayaer said, the nobles had something to refute him.

Even Bayaer’s father sold his slaves.

Bayaer asked his father: “You know me! How could you sell the slaves!”

Standing in front of his father, he was already taller than his father. He was so angry that he clenched his hands into fists.

Bayaer’s father was startled by his son’s appearance, and then roared: “What do you want! You run around all day, do you know how much cloth and sugar a slave is worth now?”

“Everyone else is selling, why can’t I sell them!” Bayaer’s father slapped his son.

That slap hit Bayaer in the face, but the pain was greater in Bayaer’s heart. He fell to the ground and looked up at his father.

Was this old and mean man really the indestructible Mongolian warrior he looked up to?

Bayaer’s father also regretted a little after slapping his son, but the father couldn’t apologize to the son. He stared at him and said dryly, “Bayaer, look at our house and outside, everyone else is living a good life, could it be that you want me to eat chaff?”

At this time, Bayaer finally realized that he couldn’t stop it.

No matter how hard he tried to stop it, no one would listen to him.

No matter how reasonable his words were, no matter whether those people knew that this matter was not beneficial to the tribe, they would not stop, the meat was next to their mouths, and no one would give it up.

“Hahahahahahaha!” Bayaer laughed, looking like a madman.

Compared with Bayaer, Toqto’a and Hala Zhang have now become honorable guests of the tribes. After all, they were Mongolians, and they were closer to each other based on that. Toqto’a was a Mongolian after all, and it was not that his heart was not without struggle, but he also saw what kind of life the Mongolians lived in the Central Plains, their children could go to school with the children of the Han people, and they could also live the life of the Han people.

There was no need to worry about going hungry.

But he felt guilty all the same.

This sense of guilt made him feel unbearable pain even with a smile on his face.

Compared with Toqto’a, Hala Zhang didn’t have such a big inner struggle.

Hala Zhang had lived in Dadu since he was a child, which was now Beijing. Although he also received the education of Mongolian nobles, he had become accustomed to life in the Central Plains.

He used to yearn for a life on the grassland, yearning for the feeling of freedom and being able to ride a horse.

But when he really came to the grassland, he realized that this kind of life was not what he longed for.

The Mongolians on the grasslands, only the nobles could live the life he imagined, and the commoners, even the slave owners, couldn’t live a good life.

There were also wolves. For ordinary Mongolians, life seemed to drag on day by day. This year had passed, but who knew what next year would hold for them.

Before the Yuan Dynasty, they might not even be able to buy salt.

Now nobles wore silk and cotton-padded clothes sold by the Ming people, and drank fine wine sold by the Ming people.

They could buy everything except the beauties and weapons of the Great Ming Dynasty.

There were no such days even during the Yuan Dynasty.

Hala Zhang watched the absurd lives of those Mongolian nobles day after day.

They didn’t care what kind of life the commoners lived, they only cared if they lived well.

Even Hala Zhang knew that many civilians could not make ends meet, so they had merchants buy them and let them work like the slaves.

Because so long as the money was repaid, they could enter the city and become the common people of Great Ming.

Their children could go to school, they could also earn money to buy a house, and they no longer needed to rely on the mercy of the heavens to eat on the grassland.

But merchants were reluctant to buy civilians.

So the most absurd thing happened, that was, the common people purposely made mistakes in order to become slaves.

Of course, the nobles would not look closely into the reasons for it. They were only worried that there were fewer slaves, so this was an opportunity to fill in another batch.

The commoners became slaves, and the slaves were bought by the merchants, and these slaves would eventually become the commoners of the Great Ming Dynasty.

Hala Zhang said to Toqto’a, “Dad, I think they are no better than pigs.”

Toqto’a took off his shoes and soaked his feet, bitterness in his mouth, he said, “It is just the circumstances forcing them into this.”

So what if he could see through it?

All the nobles had gone crazy, if he told them now that they must draw a clear line with the merchants and could no longer enjoy luxury, would the nobles agree?

The clearer one saw, the more painful it was.

Hala Zhang handed the towel to Toqto’a: “Dad, we’ll go back after finishing the work, so why be anxious on their behalf?”

Toqto’a: “It wasn’t like this before…..”

The Mongolians in the past were simple and honest. Although there were always battles between tribes, the backbone of the Mongolian warriors never bent.

But now, the nobles spent their days in decadence, and the commoners wanted to be slaves.

Everything was messed up, and it would continue to be messed up until the end…..

Toqto’a sighed: “It’s time for us to go back.”

The longer he stayed, the more miserable he became.

He watched helplessly as his fellow Mongolians walked into the abyss step by step, but he couldn’t say a word.

On the day that Toqto’a and Hala Zhang returned to Beijing, many people came to see them off. The nobles wanted to kill them when they first came, but now they sent them away with ardent expressions. They believed the benefits were brought to them by Toqto’a and Hala Zhang.

With Toqto’a and Hala Zhang there, they could also find excuses for themselves.

They also knew that it was impossible for the Ming people to treat them so well all of a sudden, but they didn’t want to give up the benefits they got, so they found a reasonable excuse.

The benefits were not given to them by the Ming people, but by Toqto’a.

Toqto’a was a Mongolian, and the Mongolians would not harm fellow Mongolians.

Toqto’a also saw their self-deception, but with everyone deceiving themselves, no one cared what the truth was.

Hala Zhang had already been waiting to return to Beijing. The days in Mongolia could not be compared with those in the capital. What was more, he wanted to go back to see Chu Lin earlier, and he wondered if Chu Lin missed him during these days he had been gone? They had made an appointment to go have a bath and drink together.

There were many bathhouses in the capital now, and each one was better than the other. He had wanted to try it for a long time, but unfortunately he had never had the chance.

Going back this time, he must convince Chu Lin to go with him no matter what. What was the fun in staying at home all the time?

When they left, they took a lot of Mongolian food with them, which was a taste of their hometown, although Hala Zhang had never grown up here.

Although the merchants would buy Mongolian cattle and sheep, as well as slaves, they never bought Mongolian food.

The price of cattle and sheep quickly soared, and nobles would rather sell cattle and sheep to merchants than let commoners buy them.

There was no meat to eat, and there was originally not much food in the grasslands. The merchants only sold gold, silver, jewelry and silk brocades, but they never sold food.

The nobles asked the merchants, and the merchants said that the people of Great Ming were in short supply of food right now. If they bought food to sell, the price would not be enough to make a profit.

But the nobles were not short of food. The merchants would not sell them food, but gift them food.

It was not much each time, but it was enough.

The nobles didn’t care how the commoners took care of their bellies.

They have their own food, meat, and countless gold and silver jewelry. Those things that were only available to people in the Central Plains, they now also have them.

With a beauty in their arms, there were countless enjoyments.

Wasn’t life better than before?

Before, they might be called nobles, but they were not much better than the commoners. At most, they just ate better and kept warriors under their command, but the warriors also have to eat, and the warriors also have to enjoy.

The warriors also felt that life was better now.

They ate, drank, and played with women, and occasionally when they hunted they would not encounter any danger.

Hala Zhang made a few friends in the grassland, all of them young people.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

When he left, the group of young people saw him off on horseback, and they also agreed to drink and eat meat together next time Hala Zhang came over.

Looking at the smiling faces of these young people, Hala Zhang couldn’t smile.

If…..if His Majesty’s fist was not as iron-like as before, maybe they would have a chance to meet again.

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“Those people are here again.” Yang Sanmei rolled her eyes. She and her brother were doing business at the gate of the city. They sold food to passersby. The price was cheap, but they could still make a lot of money, and they paid less taxes, so life was getting better and better for them.

But since those Japanese pirates came, the number of peddlers and passersby had gradually decreased. They didn’t enter and exit through the main gate of the city wall. The other entrances and exits have long been occupied by other hawkers, so they would find no spots left even if they moved their stall over.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

To set up a stall, you have to pay a stall fee. If they forcibly took over another’s stall the other party could ask the bailiffs to drive them away.

Nowadays, those who manage hawkers were not called bailiffs, they were called city management officers. They only dealt with hawkers and road traffic, while the bailiffs dealt with fights.

Yang Sanmei was indignant: “We can’t do business because they are here!”

“They should just catch them, throw them all in prison, and don’t let them come out in this life!”

Her brother Yang Da also said, “Yes! Catch them all!”

Cutting off someone’s road to fortune was like killing one’s parents, so it was no wonder they gnashed their teeth in hatred.

Yang Sanmei looked at her eldest brother: “Big brother, it seems that the day of your marriage will have to be delayed.”

They were just a bit short from making enough money to repair the house again, and then add two more rooms. In the future, one room would be given to Yang Da and his wife, and the other room would be given to Yang Sanmei.

If a man married into her family Yang Sanmei would have a place to live after marriage, and if she married into another family she could also have a place to stay during visits at her natal home.

Yang Da sighed.

There weren’t many young women in their hometown. He finally set a wedding date with a Japanese girl, and he had to postpone it.

Yang Da was almost thirty, and he had not been able to marry a wife despite such an old age. It was because of the chaos and unrest in the past years, and then poverty in these current years.

Ai, and he had finally found a way to earn a livelihood.

“Yang Da, Yang Sanmei, why are you two standing here stupidly?” Qian Da who lived next door held a slab of meat in his hand. He had seen them standing still at the door, and asked strangely, “You two have always ever seen money in your eyes. Yet I actually see you two looking idle for once?”

Yang Sanmei glared at him: “That requires if there is any money to be seen. After those Japanese pirates came, our business went downhill.”

Qian Da: “Then you still have to endure. I heard that the lords want the Japanese pirates to build a village outside the city.”

Yang Sanmei was taken aback: “Qian Da! Who are you scaring!”

Qian Da chuckled and said, “Why would I scare you? Go to the city wall and see for yourself, they are all cutting down trees to build houses!”

Yang Sanmei and Yang Da looked at each other and their faces turned pale.

“The lords…..” Yang Sanmei opened her mouth to speak, wanting to ask if there was something wrong with the lords’ brains, but she didn’t dare to say it, so she could only hold it back. Her face turned red, and she was so angry that steam could have shot out of her ears.

Seeing that they were so frightened, Qian Da stopped teasing them and said, “You fools, after they built a village outside the city, where would they get salt and grain from? Of course they must come to us, and they have to buy it with money. Where does the money come from?”

Yang Sanmei and Yang Da asked dumbly, “That’s right, where does the money come from?”

Qian Da was amused by the two of them: “By earning, how could it be so easy for them to go back to robbing and pillaging? Could they break in through the city walls? If they wanted to rob passing caravans, the soldiers guarding the city wall are not straw bags that will stand aside, they have all stepped on the battlefield before, they are this.”

Qian Da showed a thumbs up.

“Those Japanese pirates don’t even enter the eyes of the soldiers! No matter how powerful they are, could they be as powerful as our Ming soldiers?”

Yang Sanmei was still grimacing: “But if they will still be outside the city gates, and the caravans don’t come in from there. Won’t we still have no money to make?”

“Are you dumb?” Qian Da rolled his eyes, “I say you are stupid yet you don’t admit it, just wait and see, keep your stall, and you will earn more than anyone else in the future.”

“I’m going now, come to my house for dinner tonight.” Qian Da smiled at Yang Sanmei, “I have meat.”

Yang Sanmei swallowed her saliva and said sternly, “Who wants to eat your meat! It’s not like my family can’t afford it!”

Qian Da: “Aiyo, you have money, how amazing. I thought you have been saving money for building new rooms, I didn’t expect you to buy meat.”

Yang Sanmei looked left and right, picked up a broom from the door and ran over, saying, “Stop if you have the balls!”

Qian Da ran fast with the meat in his hands, turned his head and laughed: “I won’t stop! I’m not married yet! No need to use my balls!”

After chasing the other down a street, Yang Sanmei slowed down and stopped chasing.

Qian Da was still yelling, “Come to my house for dinner tonight!”

Yang Sanmei laughed angrily: “Just you wait, I will eat you out of your house!”

Qian Da: “Okay!”

The Japanese pirates built a village outside the city, and the people in the city were panic-stricken at first, but after a long time, they found that the Japanese pirates were not so scary. The soldiers were keeping a watch on them and there were even cannons on the city walls. If they really did do something bad, one cannon would send them back home.

The Japanese pirates also knew the danger, but there was no other way.

They couldn’t rush into the city with just knives and swords, but they still have to fill their stomachs.

Komatsubara was the village head of this village. He was originally a samurai, but the lords above were fighting openly and underhandedly and he almost died. He could only bring his comrades and flee to Great Ming because Great Ming was prosperous. They heard that all Ming people could have enough to eat, they didn’t have to drown their newborn infants after birth, and old people didn’t have to go up the mountains to feed themselves to wild animals.

After they arrived, the only way they could think of to survive was to rob.

Just like in their home country, so long as they robbed it, it was theirs.

But while the idea was good, it was very difficult to implement. These city walls were so high that it dashed all their hopes. They also tried to rob the caravans that were about to enter the city, but the caravans brought many good armed escorts, and they did not manage to take much advantage the few times they tried. Instead, more and more of them died.

If they were not really desperate, they would not agree to build a village.

Komatsubara still remembered what that woman told them, so long as they didn’t cause trouble for three years, they could enter the city.

He didn’t believe it, but he had to believe it, because there was no other choice.

“You will be the village head.” When the woman said that, Komatsubara had to believe it even if he didn’t.

Village head! It was almost like being a lord!

Komatsubara never thought that though he had not managed to become a city lord in his own country, he could manage to become one in Great Ming.

So when his subordinates persuaded him against it, he in turn persuaded them for it.

“We don’t have weapons.” Komatsubara said, “There aren’t many people among us. If we really fight them, do we have a chance of winning?”

The subordinates were indignant: “We are samurai! A samurai cannot survive by begging for mercy!”

Komatsubara sneered: “Then why did we escape?”

The crowd suddenly fell silent.

Komatsubara said again: “After we have built a village, we can recruit warriors like us in the future. When we become stronger and stronger, this city will be ours for the picking! Don’t be shortsighted!”

The subordinates looked at Komatsubara and asked, “But those Ming soldiers are right on the city wall, if we make any movements…..”

Komatsubara: “Then we will endure for three years. When we can enter the city freely, we don’t even need to break through the city wall.”

No matter how they thought about it, what Komatsubara said made sense. The Japanese pirates agreed, and they all felt that this was a solution. Those Ming people were all fools, and they would wait for the Ming people to drop a rock on their own foot three years later.

The village of the Japanese pirates was built very quickly. After all, the houses were just grass huts, and some merchants asked them if they needed some furniture, which were quite cheap.

The Japanese pirates were very surprised that there was a merchant who dared to do business with them. Were they not afraid that they would rob him?

The merchant laughed: “Go ahead, those things are not worth a lot of money, if you rob me, there will be no more merchants coming.”

The merchant also brought a Japanese woman with him, who could speak both the Great Ming language and Japanese language.

Nowadays, Japanese women could find translation jobs so long as they were good at the official language of the Great Ming.

After all, merchants have to keep buying people from Japan.

It was Komatsubara who said, “We have no money.”

He said it very naturally.

Merchant: “I know you have no money, so I came to do business with you. I can give you all this furniture, as well as quilts and clothes, but I can’t give it for free.”

Furniture was nothing, but quilts and clothes were indeed what they needed. The winter was coming, but food and warm clothes were still not guaranteed.

Since they had a grass hut over their heads, Komatsubara found that his subordinates seemed to be more relaxed, and they were no longer as anxious as stray dogs as before.

Komatsubara: “What do you want us to do?”

Merchant: “It’s simple! When I travel for business, there are also Japanese pirates on the road. You escort me all the way, and I will give you food, furniture, and clothing.”

Komatsubara squinted his eyes: “Aren’t you afraid we’ll kill you on the road?”

The merchant smiled and said, “After you kill me, don’t you still have to fight other Japanese pirates? You may not win if you fight, and you may not be able to keep your things if you win, but as long as you escort me over, you will be able to get the things you need.”

Komatsubara looked at his subordinates, all with excitement on their faces.

“Besides, if you really killed me, you won’t be able to come back.” The merchant also said, “It’s not easy to live in this grass hut, don’t you think? But if we can keep working together, I can build a brick house for you.”

Komatsubara: “I promise you.”

The merchant stood up: “Then tomorrow morning, I will bring someone to bring goods to your village, and we shall set off together.”

Komatsubara nodded solemnly.

After the merchant left, his subordinates said, “When we’re far away, we’ll kill him! Grab his stuff!”

Komatsubara glared at them: “Then what?”

Subordinates: “Huh?”

Komatsubara: “Then we continue to live the days before, and we won’t be able to come back here. When the things we robbed are all used up, will we continue to live the days of sleeping in the open air?”

Subordinates: “…..”

That was true.

After the merchant left, Momoyo, who was following him, asked cautiously, “Lord, I’m afraid they will hurt you.”

The merchant smiled and said, “Wealth is accompanied with risk, Momoyo, don’t learn from them, live a good life, and marry a good man in the future. Maybe you can even go back and have a look when there is no war in your homeland.”

Momoyo lowered her head, she didn’t want to go back.

Although she also missed her hometown, her hometown had not been her childhood hometown for a long time.

Here, she could earn money by herself, choose a man by herself, without being beaten, without being forced to do heavy work, and without worrying about being bought or sold.

The merchant squinted his eyes.

The lords above asked him to hire these Japanese pirates, and promised him that so long as he hired them, he would have a place in the city’s chamber of commerce in the future.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

At that time, his caravan would be followed by the soldiers of the imperial court. So long as the Japanese pirates tried to make a move, none of them would escape.

What was more, the armed escorts he hired were all retired veterans from the military.

If the Japanese pirates dared to make a move against him, they would be as good as asking for death themselves.

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TN: bonus chapter!💕

Guo’er was going to marry.

The groom was chosen by the Yang shi, Han Ling, the top scorer of the first imperial examination of the new dynasty.

He didn’t have a wife, and he didn’t have a maid or tongfang serving him in the bedroom, so he was still a virgin despite his age.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

After asking about Guo’er’s wishes, Yang shi mentioned it to Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan also asked Song Shizhao to ask Han Ling what he thought.

Han Ling felt trepidation and did not refuse.

Thinking about it, he didn’t dare to refuse.

On the day that Guo’er got married, Lin Yuan suddenly felt that he had become old. He even asked Chen Baisong, “Do I look old?”

Chen Baisong kissed his face and said with a smile, “We are two old men.”

Lin Yuan: “Go away.”

Chen Baisong didn’t go away, he hugged Lin Yuan and whispered in Lin Yuan’s ear, “You’re still quite young.”

The years have given Lin Yuan preferential treatment, and there were no wrinkles on his face. Sometimes Lin Yuan thought that this was a benefit brought to him by his transmigration. After all, in modern times, when he was in his early twenties, there were already wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.

But Chen Baisong did not receive such preferential treatment.

There were already wrinkles on his face, not many, and it even gave him the attractive look of a mature man.

But Lin Yuan sometimes inevitably thought, if Chen Baisong left this world before him, what would he do?

Or perhaps he didn’t need to think about what to do.

Because he would still sit on this throne, remain busy with government affairs every day, and when he was sitting alone on the dragon bed in his spare time, he would remember that someone once made love to him in this room.

But romantic love was always only a part of life, not the whole of life.

He would be sad, but he would stand up again in a few days.

“You have to stay with me longer.” Lin Yuan rarely spoke in such a tone. He had been an authoritative person for a long time, and he always spoke in a commanding tone, but when this sentence came out of his mouth, it was as if he was showing weakness.

Chen Baisong looked at Lin Yuan intently and said softly, “Alright.”

Han Ling became the princess’s consort and had his own mansion, but he lived in the princess’s mansion most of the time.

His parents lived in his mansion, and the Han family still couldn’t believe the fact that their son had become the princess’s consort.

Before he came to Beijing, he was just the son of an ordinary farming and scholarly family, and their lifelong dream was that their son could become a successful candidate in the imperial provincial examination, get a minor official post, and change their family’s status.

But their son not only passed the imperial provincial exam, but also became the top scorer in the palace exam, and now he was married to the only princess of the dynasty.

The Han family were all crazy with happiness, they wanted nothing more than to worship Guo’er to the skies.

Many people in the imperial court also felt that the Han family had reached heaven in a single bound.

But no one felt that Han Ling and Guo’er were not compatible. After all, Han Ling was the Great Ming’s first top scorer of the palace examination. So long as he didn’t seek death by himself, his life would be smooth sailing from now on. Even if he didn’t make any great achievements, he would live a stable life.

After getting married, Guo’er would still often go back to the palace. She usually didn’t go to Lin Yuan, but to Yang shi and her birth mother.

Her birth mother was already an old woman, but she still remained at Yang shi’s side.

According to her own words, she had served the empress dowager half of her life. If she was not allowed to serve, she really did not know how she would live in the future.

Habits accumulated over many years were like imprints engraved on people. One’s appearance might change, but these imprints would not disappear.

Lin Yuan sometimes felt that when the feudal dynasty ended, it was likely that those so-called feudal remnants probably didn’t know how to live either, right?

They only received one kind of education and only knew one way of living.

So at the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were intellectuals shouting for freedom on the one hand, and the old traditionalists who had just untied their braids on the other.

One side was in heaven and the other side was in hell.

During the morning assembly, Song Shizhao named all the neighboring countries that were going to pay tribute after receiving the diplomatic letters.

Korean Joseon, Japan, Ryukyu, Northern Di, Northeast Yi, Jurchen, etc.

Lin Yuan remembered that Japan was still in the warlord period, but he was curious about which warlord would come to pay tribute.

Which warlord would be the first to ask for assistance from the Ming Dynasty.

All the Mongolian tribes would come here this time, they have benefited, and of course they would want more benefits.

All neighboring countries coming to celebrate, it sounded very exciting in the history books, but in fact, many small countries were competing to come and take more benefits. And for the sake of the prestige as a great empire, they could only let them take some benefits.

If there was no benefit, who would ingratiate themselves to others for no reason?

Especially between countries, weak countries depend on powerful countries, just like Goryeo and the Yuan Dynasty.

But this so-called friendly relationship was also false, such as the Korean Joseon today.

Goryeo changed its name, and Lin Yuan knew that until modern Korea split into North Korea and South Korea, it would continue this name.

As for Japan, they were still in a state of chaos. The Japanese warlords were fighting with each other. Because of the war, the samurai in their hands were displaced. Forced by starvation, they all fled into the Great Ming borders, and became pirates.

Fortunately, the soldiers stationed at the borders were not useless straw bags, and these Japanese pirates have never been able to harass the common people.

But they still didn’t want to leave.

After all, they couldn’t survive in their own country. If they left the Great Ming as well, they really didn’t know where they should go.

The relationship between Japan and Korean Joseon was not good, and they didn’t speak Korean. Once they were found to be Japanese, no one knew what the consequences would be.

Lin Yuan also had a headache.

After the end of the morning assembly, he held an internal meeting and only allowed his confidants to participate.

Today’s Zheng Qingfeng already had a place among them.

“How should we deal with these people?” Lin Yuan asked.

Song Shizhao: “Kill?”

Lin Yuan shook his head: “They are good at hiding, when our soldiers go out, they would have already disappeared.”

The group pondered for a long time, and Zheng Qingfeng suddenly said, “If that’s the case, why don’t you ask them to build their own village?”

“Building a village right at the border.”

Song Lian: “This plan is very good!”

Lin Yuan understood. So long as they found a leader among the Japanese pirates and gave him the identity of the village head, he would manage these people automatically and voluntarily. After all, people were quick to adapt to their new social roles.

“They are unruly.” Chen Baisong said on the side, “With insatiable greed.”

After they built a village, should they be allowed to grow bigger? How could they guarantee that they would be honest villagers?

Could they expect these Japanese pirates to farm honestly by themselves?

Lin Yuan: “The Japanese are still warring.”

“In that case, let’s buy some women from them.”

At this time, Japanese women were still living in the shadow of war, and there was no place where there was no war in the whole country.

More and more men were dying, and life at home was long past liveable, and there were human bones everywhere in the wild.

With the promise of profits, the merchants began to flock to Japan.

The women were quickly brought back.

Currently, what all the warlords in Japan needed was food. They had to feed their own samurai, as for women? Especially civilian women, they didn’t matter.

A house was quickly erected, and these Japanese women were placed under the walls of the city, and they only needed to walk two steps to come out of the city.

Before they could feel too much fear and trepidation, they were assigned to work.

They had to learn new things first, language, and work. They were too busy to think.

Saki was one of them. She was born in an ordinary civilian family. Her father and brother died in the war, and her mother starved to death. She only just managed to survive with difficulty. Later, the merchant bought her from the lord.

Because she was too thin and small, she was not worth much food.

It was another morning. Saki woke up very early. She always got up before dawn, went to wash her face, and then ate breakfast with her friends.

At first they were very scared.

After all, this was a new place, and all the people around were foreign people, speaking a language they didn’t understand.

“There are Japanese pirates outside.” A friend told her.

They didn’t even know what Japanese pirates were, but people from the Ming Dynasty occasionally mentioned this word.

Although they didn’t understand the meaning, they also knew that this was not a good word.

They liked their current life very much. They studied Chinese in the morning, worked in the afternoon, and rested in the evening.

When did they ever take a break before?

Work felt very fulfilling now.

More and more women from their homeland were sent over.

Saki, who had learned Chinese, began to take on the responsibility of teaching them the language and helping them get used to living in this new place.

Saki would comfort these women who just arrived in a foreign country.

Soon, the women began to meet local men.

There were very few local women, but many bachelors, and these women were also in their youth.

Without guidance, the natural attraction between a man and a woman would emerge eventually.

Hormones took over this border city.

Soon after the first few newly married couples appeared, there were almost daily marriages in this city.

There was no luxurious wedding, just the couple having a meal with their neighbors and relatives and friends, and then going to the government office to register, and the marriage would be completed.

Saki also had a lover who, like her, was a language teacher who taught the new Japanese women.

He was a very gentle man, he had a pair of beautiful eyes, and he would read poems to her. She liked those poems, they were beautiful and melodic, even if she still couldn’t fully understand the meaning of those poems.

As for the Japanese pirates outside the city, they almost went crazy when they found out that there were Japanese women in the city.

Women could live a good life in the city, yet fierce samurai like them have no food and starve outside, how was this reasonable?

The pirates went crazy.

They didn’t dare to fight, they only dared to harass the city walls.

Once they saw soldiers coming out, they would run away.

But this time, they ran over like madmen, but didn’t take up arms.

Instead, they said, “I want to see your superior!”

“Why can those women enter the city! Could it be that they are more powerful than samurai, and more worthy of respect than samurai?!”

The soldiers could only call the battalion commander. The battalion commander could not understand what the Japanese pirates said, so he could only call Saki over.

Saki was the best at learning the Chinese language, she didn’t even have much of an accent.

After she stood on the city wall, the Japanese pirates below yelled even louder.

“We want to enter the city too!”

Saki relayed this to the battalion commander.

She was very scared. As soon as she saw these people, she thought of the samurai in her hometown. They had no respect for human life. They never blinked when they killed. If these people entered the city, would they destroy it just like they did to her hometown, this new home she finally carved out for herself?

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The battalion commander said, “Tell them that they can enter the city. Currently, a village is being built outside the city, and we can’t let them in until we are sure that they are not a threat.”

Saki was trembling all the while. She looked down at her hideous-looking compatriots, and it was hard to believe that these people were really her compatriots.

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