The impact of the Chaoming City incident was great. Many people knew that although the city belonged to the protectorate in name, the rulers were actually a group of naturalized natives.
This time, the protectorate had not only succeeded in wiping out the upper echelons of the tribes, they had also restored the city to its original structure. It could be said that both the Commissar and the Xuanfu had gained a great deal of prestige from this incident.
The only one who was unhappy about this incident was probably the Army of God.
But just as Zhang Yu had predicted, the protectorate had given the Army of God a slight grace in order to not push them too hard. They had even agreed to allocate more military funds after the next year's meeting.
However, everyone knew that this was only a necessary means of control. Without their own financial power, the Army of God could only rely on the protectorate's funds to maintain itself.
Of course, this was only under normal circumstances.
Another month passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was the end of the twelfth month.
In order to celebrate the upcoming new year and prepare for the meeting a month later, large amounts of supplies were shipped to Auspicious Light via the sea and man-made canals. The fierce debate in the newspapers over the past two months had also calmed down for the time being.
However, what was different from the past was that whether it was on the docks, inside or outside the city walls, even the peddlers and soldiers were allowed to carry out the slightly out of form of the summer ceremony.
Ever since the newspapers had published the benefits of carrying out the summer ceremony with the breathing technique, as well as the various ways of saluting, this form of etiquette was quickly accepted by the people and spread to the various cities and towns within the protectorate's territory.
Over the past two months, those who persisted in carrying out this set of etiquette could clearly feel the benefits. Not only did their energy recover faster, the strain and strain on their bones and muscles had also subsided.
Near Dan Harbor, a thin old man stood on the wall and watched the people coming and going at the harbor. The white beard in front of his chest swayed in the wind.
A servant walked up to him, seemingly afraid of disturbing him. He whispered, "Duke Mu?"
"Mm."
Yao Hongyi asked without turning his head, "Do you know who this Tao Sheng is?
The servant braced himself and said, "Every time the people from Hanmo Newspaper House collect the articles, they go to An Lu Residence. That's also the property of the Security Council. We can't find out Tao Sheng's identity, but we can be sure that this person must be from Taiyang Academy."
Yao Hongyi was noncommittal. With Tao Sheng's knowledge and experience, Yao Hongyi didn't even need to investigate to know that this person was definitely a teacher or even a student of Taiyang Academy.
He sighed. "I didn't expect that a single article would ruin half of my life's work."
The 'new gift' that he had painstakingly planned was, in the end, easily destroyed by an article!
However, when he looked at the people at the port who were all smiles and performing the Tianxia etiquette, what he felt was not anger, but fear.
This was because he realized that the thing that he had been trying to erase was still deeply rooted in the hearts of the people of the Dongting Protectorate. Even though they no longer spoke of it and seemed to have forgotten it, as long as one person took the lead and shouted, they would immediately recall their original identity and unhesitatingly draw closer.
He closed his eyes and raised his head slightly, waiting for the noise to recede, leaving only the sound of the surging waves. After a long time, he opened his eyes again, a sharp light in his eyes. "Go, give that thing to Vice Commandant Yan. Tell him that I agree to what they said last time."
The servant bowed and said, "Yes, sir."
In the main hall of the Yan Manor, Yan Xulun was sipping tea. His expression was the same as usual, but it was clear that he no longer had that calm expression of having everything under his control.
More than two months had passed, but Almote still hadn't returned.
He could only try to placate his daughter, saying that he had gone on a secret mission.
He was keenly aware that while Almote had said that he was going to kill the giant bull with spiral horns, in reality, he was going to kill Zhang Yu. However, he didn't believe that Almote's disappearance had anything to do with Zhang Yu. Something must have happened here.
Many people now believed that Almote was dead, or else there would have been no news.
But he didn't believe it.
In his mind, unless Marquis Zhu Que or the head of the Xuanfu's Xuanshou personally acted, who could kill Almote, who had a nearly perfect body?
There was a hint of exhaustion in his eyes. Right now, he was relying on his former prestige to temporarily suppress the voices of his subordinates. However, if this dragged on any longer, there would be people who would put Almotey's name on the missing list and choose another marquis.
And he controlled the Army of God mainly because of Almote. If he lost him, then he would once again return to the past, only a commander of the Army of God in name, but without any real power.
This was something he absolutely couldn't tolerate!
At this time, a trusted clansman came in from outside, his face full of joy.
Yan Xulun asked curiously, "What's the matter?"
The trusted clansman leaned close to his ear and whispered a few words.
After hearing this, Yan Xulun's eyes revealed a look of pleasant surprise. He said, "Where is the thing, where is the thing? Quickly bring it over. "
In a short while, a sheepskin scroll was delivered into his hands. He opened it and took a look. It was densely covered with talisman drawings and diagrams, and it looked like a map. However, he didn't recognize the words beside it. He couldn't help but frown, and said, "What words are these?"
The trusted clansman said, "According to Mu Gong's servant, these are some ancient aboriginal characters."
Yan Xulun raised his head and asked, "How many scholars are there in the protectorate who are proficient in ancient characters?"
The trusted clansman said, "Commandant, there's no need to find them. I know someone who can definitely recognize these words."
Yan Xulun also seemed to have thought of something, and his tone was unquestionable. "I don't care what method you use, I want to see this person within three days."
The trusted clansman replied, "Yes."
This time, the subordinates acted very quickly. In less than a day, the trusted clansman came to report that the person had been brought over.
Yan Xulun arrived at the trusted clansman's secret room beneath the manor. Sitting across from him was a person with a hood over his head.
After sitting down across from him, he gestured for someone to come forward. The hood over that person's head was removed, revealing an old and decrepit face. However, his eyes still revealed a shrewd and profound look.
Yan Xulun looked at him and said calmly, "Qiu Xueling, do you recognize me?"
Qiu Xueling glanced at him, revealing a blank expression, and then shook his head.
Yan Xulun laughed. "No, you recognize me." He paused and pointed. "Even though your acting is very good."
Qiu Xueling was silent for a while before saying, "What do you need me to do?"
Yan Xulun nodded and said, "Qiu Xueling, you're very tactful. Then I won't say any more nonsense. We spent so much effort to get you out of the prison of the Criminal and Justice Department. We can't let you go back so easily. I need you to help me translate some words. After you succeed, you can continue to live here. You won't be short of food and clothing. Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. After all, it's not easy to find a scholar like you."
Qiu Xueling said in a low voice, "Shang Xueling of the Linzhi Academy is also a famous scholar of ancient text. Why don't you go find him instead of tormenting an old man like me?"
Yan Xulun said, "We'll go find him. This doesn't conflict with finding you."
Qiu Xueling didn't say anything more and asked directly, "Where's the thing?"
Yan Xulun appreciated Qiu Xueling's cooperation and gestured to his trusted aide. The latter immediately walked forward and placed the parchment on the table in front of Qiu Xueling. He even thoughtfully gave him a pair of glasses.
Qiu Xueling put on his glasses, but he didn't reach out to take the parchment. Instead, he just looked at it.
Yan Xulun asked, "How is it? Can you translate it?"
Qiu Xueling didn't answer immediately. After a while, he took off his glasses and sat back down. He said, "Yes, but most of the words on it are code words. It's also full of the author's own quirks and honorifics to the gods. I'll have to compare them repeatedly. If I'm alone, it'll take some time."
"How long will it take?"
Qiu Xueling said, "Half a year."
Yan Xulun rejected without hesitation. "That's too long, Qiu Xueling. This isn't learning. I need you to produce results as soon as possible. I'll give you a month at most."
Qiu Xueling shook his head. "That's impossible." He thought for a while and raised his head. "Three months. Three months is the minimum. I can't be any faster. Even if you kill me, I won't be able to complete it."
Yan Xulun stared at him. Clearly, he was trying to determine whether he was telling the truth. However, Qiu Xueling looked back at him calmly.
After a while, he retracted his gaze and thought for a while. Then, he looked at Qiu Xueling and said, "You said you can't do it alone. What if we find your disciple, Zhan Zhitong?
Qiu Xueling said, "We can save at least one-third of the time. Two months." Zhang Xuan paused for a moment before continuing, "Actually, if you can invite Shang Xueling or Taiyang Academy's Zhang Shijiao over, we might really only need a month to complete the task."
Yan Xulun's expression changed slightly when he heard him mention Zhang Yu. He said coldly, "Qiu Xueling, you should focus on your own things first. As for the others, you don't have to worry about them. We'll make arrangements."
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