Chapter 1 Kong Xinhua

Kong Xinhua sat in the Lian Yue Tower, the most bustling place in Yanjing City, the capital of Bei Liao. He quietly ate his food while listening to the conversation of a group of people at the next table.

"Hey, why is General Gao so unlucky? He actually ran into the Dongping army. The difference was only a dozen *li*. If he had arrived earlier, nothing would have happened, right?"

"How could it be such a coincidence?" Another patron leaned in mysteriously and said, "It is said that someone betrayed General Gao, telling the Dongping people General Gao's route out of the capital. Otherwise, in such a large territory, how could they have bumped into each other so coincidentally? This is, after all, the boundary of Bei Liao. They couldn't possibly have too many people lying in ambush all over the world. Didn't those adults in the Ministry of War say that? The elite are indeed elite, but there are only a few hundred people in total."

"Why? General Gao has been diligently defending the country against the enemy. Could it be that someone wants to see Bei Liao destroyed?"

"Don't say that. Maybe some people think Bei Liao is cold and bitter, and admire Dongping's wealth and prosperity."

"That's true. Even when they have bad years, I heard that they at least have enough grain. As soon as there's a drought or flood, disaster relief funds are sent down. It's said that local officials everywhere manage it strictly. If there's any embezzlement, taking away their official position is a small matter; having their heads chopped off is normal. ... Alas, not to mention their novel gadgets, like airships or something, even if those are fake, they can at least eat their fill. When will our Bei Liao be able to stop worrying about grain?"

These words caused a collective sigh. Everyone understood the hardship of Bei Liao. Only a few *zhou* and *fu* close to the south had relatively decent grain production, but with the war against Dongping, grain production had declined year after year. Bei Liao was already using a large amount of its reserves to smuggle grain, but this grain had to guarantee the use of the Bei Liao court, and the rest was prioritized for the army, leaving little left. Everyone knew that this was not a long-term solution. Not to mention that Dongping might attack, even if they didn't, this huge consumption of grain could drag Bei Liao down within a few years.

"In the west... Ye Tao has people from their agricultural bureau organizing the restoration of production over there. In the *zhou* and *fu* of the Western Route Army, it is said that many common people are hoping that the Dongping army will attack soon. They don't collect grain locally, and even help provide seeds and oxen."

"Where did you hear this?"

"People died of starvation in Chuzhou, and several censors are impeaching the young general. This is what Censor Zhao wrote in his memorial. Isn't it spreading everywhere now? Censor Zhao wouldn't be lying, would he?" A middle-aged man added helplessly, "Censor Zhao is saying that the enemy treats our people better than we do ourselves. The hearts of the people have been lost. This battle shouldn't be fought like this."

"Then how should it be fought?" A scholar joined the discussion. "On one side, the common people are suffering unspeakably from the scorched earth policy, but those wealthy families are still living it up every night. Many of those with businesses have fled overseas. They say they're avoiding the war, but are they avoiding the war by fleeing to Dongping?"

"With General Gao falling now, if they take the opportunity to attack, we'll be in trouble."

"The Dongping people aren't in a hurry to fight at all. If they wanted to fight, why would they have been resting for several months now? They haven't suffered much loss. They're waiting for the Western Route Army to recuperate before attacking. They don't take our Western Route Army seriously at all. If they want to fight, they'll fight, they're just worried about losing too many men. What's the point of fighting this kind of battle? There's nowhere to hide, whether in the sky or on the ground."

The waiter wanted to come up and remind everyone not to talk about state affairs, but Bei Liao had always been lenient on this issue. The men of the northern kingdom are mostly forthright, talking is just talking, and they won't randomly slander and spread rumors, unlike the restaurants in Chun Nan, where the atmosphere is a bit strange. The waiter wiped the table and whispered, "Don't we have airships too? I went to the camp in the west of the city a few days ago to see my brother, and I saw our own airship flying over. It was quite big. Who says we can't fight this battle?"

"Hey, little brother, do you drink?" the scholar asked.

"Yes, I have to drink a little while working in a restaurant."

"When you don't drink, you don't know which is better, *shaodaozi* or your family's Xishan Chun, right? Do you know now?" The scholar asked rhetorically. The waiter really couldn't answer this analogy. That's indeed the principle. And everyone became a little silent.

The scholar sighed and said, "I just hope General Gao is blessed. Although the scorched earth policy on the Western Route Army's side has indeed harmed the common people, General Gao is at least sincerely fighting the war, unlike some people who have two-faced intentions. If Bei Liao falls, who knows what will happen to us all?"

"Haven't you heard that Ye Tao has always treated the people well?" someone next to him asked, "I haven't heard of Dongping doing anything like massacring cities. At least we can survive. It's fine as long as it doesn't affect us common people."

After several questions and answers, the scholar had become one of the centers of the topic. He sighed again and said, "It's true, but I don't know about other places. But this is Yanjing, after all. When they are at the gates of the city, will they be so lenient to the capital of a country? In Yanjing, even if Ye Tao doesn't like killing people, I'm afraid he won't be able to hold back, right? Those who submit will prosper, and those who resist will perish. If he still had that womanly benevolence, how could he have climbed to the position of pacification commissioner?"

"Young master, these words... are a bit too much." The waiter coughed and reminded him with a slightly flustered expression.

The scholar smiled self-deprecatingly and quickly said, "Yes, yes, little brother is right. I said too much." The scholar took out a string of coins, stuffed it into the waiter's arms, stood up, and turned to leave the restaurant. And this short and lively chat gradually subsided.

Kong Xinhua, who had been listening all along, lowered his voice and said to Chen Su, who was sitting next to him, "You see, this trick is quite useful, right?"

Chen Su smiled and said, "These are all your tricks. Why did you come to listen?"

The various rumors circulating in Yanjing now are divided into several major systems: The first is conspiracy theories, such as Gao Senqi's attack being due to someone in the court leaking information, etc.; the second is the idea of Bei Liao's rise, saying that Bei Liao also has airships, plus strong soldiers and fierce generals, and it is very likely to stand up to Dongping, but everyone must be able to endure the hardship and the hard life; the third is spreading the theory of Bei Liao's demise... Each set of rumors has various statements, each forming a system. And Kong Xinhua spread all these rumors through various people. However, he would repeatedly go to the scene to listen to these words that he himself had made up. Among those who spread these words, few knew Kong Xinhua. But occasionally a few who did know were inevitably uneasy. Spreading rumors is not easy to do when the boss is on the scene. Only the one or two people who were most familiar with Kong Xinhua would very naturally guide the topic around them, sending out the content they wanted to spread silently through them.

Kong Xinhua explained with a smile, "Just practicing, I have to know which words have a good effect and which are not good. It's like when we usually talk. You think you've hit the point, but I don't understand it at all. This kind of thing has happened more than once or twice. I'm not a monster like Lei Huang. I can't know what everyone is thinking."

Mentioning Lei Huang, whose current business content was slightly similar to his, Kong Xinhua and Chen Su exchanged a smile. Under their command were guys specially transferred from Lei Huang's hands. Whether they were planning conspiracies and tricks or spreading various statements, the high level of professionalism they showed was amazing. But Lei Huang was even more magical. Lei Huang is now not only the high priest of the Leiyin Demon Sect, which is faintly contending with the Dao Ming Sect in Xi Ling, but also a socialite who is a trusted figure in the court of Xi Ling. And the most magical rumor is that Lei Huang, through years of trying and exercising, has finally mastered the ability to understand a person's thoughts by observing their subtle facial expressions, often revealing other people's schemes in one word, as if he can see into other people's hearts. Although Dongping's operations against Xi Ling have not yet begun, relying on Lei Huang and others, the Northern Frontier Pacification Bureau has a very deep understanding of Xi Ling. In contrast, the unsatisfactory results of the short-term offensive launched by Dai Yun earlier can be regarded as a cover for these high-level spies.

"Young master, Zhang Ci and Situ Lian, the two adults, are looking for you." A page ran up to the building and whispered beside him.

"I see, I'll go over." Kong Xinhua said with a smile.

"Then I'll go back first." Chen Su nodded and urged, "Pay more attention to yourself. The court is paying a lot of attention to you now."

Kong Xinhua nodded and said, "Don't worry."

Kong Xinhua's movements were considered fast. As soon as he heard that Zhang Ci was summoning him, he went straight from the restaurant. But Situ Lian had already left, seemingly not interested in this kind of meeting. Zhang Ci had contacted Kong Xinhua several times, and also knew the nature of this guy, so he didn't take it to heart. Zhang Ci said to Kong Xinhua seriously, "The airship prototype has been built. There will be a test flight in the northern suburbs tomorrow, and His Majesty will also be present. His Majesty has personally appointed you to watch it together. This time, we all owe you a debt of gratitude for the airship matter. His Majesty will have some rewards at that time. If... there is anything you particularly want, you may as well tell the old man. There is still one night to prepare."

Zhang Ci's mood seemed to be good, after all, this was one of the few good news in Bei Liao in recent years. Situ Lian did not originally agree to conduct the test flight of the airship at this time, because there were still issues of performance and reliability to be tested, but now the atmosphere in the court was dull and pessimistic, and such good news was urgently needed to boost everyone's spirits. No matter how strong-willed he was, he understood what was the best choice in this situation.

"Situ Lian has left, what a pity. How well has this airship been built?" Kong Xinhua asked with concern.

"It's hard to say," Zhang Ci shook his head and said, "You'll know when you see it yourself tomorrow. It's too far from the Snow Owls over in Yunzhou."