If such a loud noise could not be noticed, what else could attract attention?
As a result, it naturally caused a commotion.
However, the commotion was still within a controllable range, and the contradiction had not completely intensified.
The agents of Black Water knew it was not good. If it was controlled, how could they make trouble?
So they decided to add fuel to the fire.
Then they fanned the fire.
Li Rusong almost knew what happened next. He cooperated with the people in the city to make trouble, and there was an explosion outside the city. After the explosion inside and outside the city, the residents and refugees also exploded. The situation quickly went out of control.
According to the intelligence gathered by several spies disguised as commoners in the city, it seemed that an extremely tragic massacre had occurred at the west gate last night. Many ministers and nobles had died there, and their deaths were extremely tragic. Basically, their entire families had been killed.
As for the emperor of Country R and the guy named Maeda Toshinaga who was in charge of the city, no one knew whether they were dead or not. Anyway, they could be dead.
Li Rusong suddenly became very nervous.
"Who allowed them to die? I won't allow it! They must be caught alive! "
What a joke. The safety and continuation of the family depended on these prisoners of war. If they died, Li Rusong's achievements would be greatly reduced.
"…"
The agents looked at Li Rusong with a little depression.
Li Rusong asked them very seriously, "Do you know what the guy named Maeda Toshinaga and the bold king of Country R look like?"
A secret agent said, "We all know what Maeda Toshinaga looks like, but we really don't know what the king of Country R looks like. The officials in Country R are basically hereditary. There is no examination. They are all inherited by blood. We can't get into their senior positions."
"Even civil officials?"
Li Rusong looked surprised.
Since the imperial examination was introduced in Huaxia, civil officials who relied on blood were looked down upon. If they did not pass the examination, they would not have a legitimate position.
Basically, the son of an official would be watched by many people even if he participated in the imperial examinations. If he did too well, he would be suspected of cheating. If he did too badly, he would also be ridiculed for not teaching his son well. It was really very difficult.
Zhang Juzheng's son was continuously ridiculed by the world. Yan Song's son became the Minister of the Ministry of Works, but in the end, he was beheaded.
If civil officials who relied on their fathers were looked down upon, it was normal for military generals of the former Ming Dynasty to be looked down upon as well. This was why Li Rusong was so puzzled.
"It's all the same. Nihon has a strict social hierarchy. It's impossible for ordinary people to get promoted. It's much stricter than the Daqin."
Li Rusong scratched his cheek. He didn't know what it felt like.
Now, the main officials of the Daqin were basically promoted from the local areas. Some were Juren, some were Xiucai, and some were even literate scholars. The number of Jinshi was very small. Many of them could be said to have reached the sky in a single step and become a senior official of the new dynasty.
Although the Daqin also had the policy of Yinguan, the position of Yinguan was very low. Basically, they were the kind that received a salary but had no power. Moreover, Xiao Ruxun had also adopted some old policies, such as killing a gentleman for five generations.
After becoming a noble, there was no sharing the same fate as the country. Only five generations could be killed. If the five generations were not promising, they would be returned to being ordinary people.
Not to mention, if they committed a crime, they would be killed in minutes. They would be worse than ordinary people and might not even be able to keep their lives.
The current Emperor did not say anything about reopening the imperial examinations. He especially liked to promote outstanding young people from the local grassroots to the central government to gain experience and learn. Then, they would return to the local government and go around in a big circle again. In the end, it was really not easy to become a real official in the capital.
Compared to this, the officials of Nihon were too lucky. Until now, they were all inherited by blood.
But these were not important. The most important thing was to catch them and use them as stepping stones for one's advancement.
Li Rusong immediately ordered the secret agents of Black Water to lead the cavalry to search for the Nihon high officials and dignitaries in the city, especially Houyang Cheng. They must capture him and never let him slip through the net.
While Li Rusong was taking urgent action, Houyang Cheng was not idle either.
From the chaos outside the city to the Qin Army entering the city, the Maeda family members who were searching for things and collecting information outside had all witnessed it. They were scared out of their wits. Then, they immediately took a shortcut back to the palace and reported the news to Houyang Cheng and Maeda Toshinaga.
They did not bring back good news, but bad news came one after another. Now it was even more terrible. The Qin Army had directly entered the city. They would certainly block the whole city and search everywhere. It was only a matter of time before they were found.
At this critical moment, Maeda Toshinaga's mind went blank again. His weakness of not being able to adapt to changes was once again exposed.
In the end, he relied on the resourceful people in the group of retainers to use their brains urgently. They asked everyone to leave the palace immediately, find an ordinary guest house, change into civilian clothes, and hide.
Even if they were found, as long as they pretended to be civilians, the Qin Army did not start a massacre after entering the city, nor did they destroy the houses. Perhaps they wanted to completely occupy the capital. They could take advantage of this to disperse and hide. After escaping this disaster, they could find a way to escape.
In short, they could not stay in the palace.
This decision was correct. Maeda Toshinaga was not quick to react, but he was not stupid. He immediately gave the order to do so. Then, everyone took action immediately.
They had just eaten something to fill their stomachs. Before they had time to take a good rest, Houyang Cheng, his wife, and Maeda Toshinaga were forced to get up again. Under the protection of a group of guards, they left through the side door of the palace to find a house to hide in.
Soon, they found a suitable place to hide. It was a row of low, dilapidated houses.
No one lived here now. It was estimated that the owner had died in the turmoil from last night to this morning. This would be the best place to hide.
When the door was pushed open, an unpleasant musty and foul smell came out. The guards had to open the doors and windows to ventilate the place. Otherwise, not to mention Houyang Cheng and his wife, even they themselves would not be able to stay here.
Then, they began to look for civilian clothes. They did find some, but they were all tattered clothes. There were patches here and tears there. This was the first time Houyang Cheng and his wife had discovered that the people in the capital were actually so poor.
In comparison, although they did not have much money, at least the Toyotomi regime provided them with enough clothes and food. Houyang Cheng and his family were also given special treatment. They were fed well and dressed well. In terms of status, they were fully respected.
Now, they had to change out of their fancy clothes and put on these tattered and smelly clothes. They had to hide in this filthy, dilapidated place to hide from the ferocious Qin Army, in order to seek a chance of survival.
It was not only the two who found it hard to accept. Even Maeda Toshinaga found it hard to accept the clothes.
Of course, the group of retainers also found it hard to accept.
The only ones who felt it was fine were the other guards.
"Do I really have to change?"
Maeda Toshinaga looked at the dirty short shirt, pants, and tattered shoes in his hands. He found that the clever retainer had already changed into the tattered clothes.
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