A master of comedy!

The carriage continued its journey, and along the way, Bao Ying lifted the curtain and quietly observed his surroundings.

As the Iron-Faced Marquis of Da Xuan, he had received far too much intelligence related to China, covering various fields such as economy, politics, and people's livelihood.

But intelligence is ultimately just intelligence. When cold, hard words are presented vividly before your eyes, the shock is indescribable.

Along the way, even the most remote villages were brimming with a vibrant energy that Bao Ying had never seen before.

In his youth, he traveled all over the country investigating cases and knew how miserable the lives of ordinary people were in many remote and impoverished mountainous areas. But here, the people's faces were not pale and sickly, but rather rosy and radiant.

It's mid-December now, and winter has only just begun to emerge, yet the children are already wearing brand-new cotton-padded clothes, their cheeks rosy, playing in the fields and paths.

"I'll play the Heavenly Venerable! You dog emperor, prepare to die!"

A boy waved a tree branch and played games with his friends, targeting "Old Emperor" and "Tongtian Daoren" with great fanfare.

Finally, a shy little girl stepped forward, dressed as Empress Jinse of China, and kissed the boy who played the Heavenly Venerable.

The boy playing the "dog emperor" suddenly panicked, stood up, patted his bottom, and said anxiously, "It's my turn to be the Heavenly Venerable!"

To everyone's surprise, a chubby little boy with snot on his face grinned and said, "Great! Then I want to be the empress!"

……

Bao Ying stared at the children's playful antics for a long time, lost in thought.

“Brother Zhou strictly forbids the washing of girls and has classified it as a serious crime, so even in remote mountain villages, there are quite a few girls.”

"Brother Zhou also ordered Longhu Mountain to develop a special elixir to help women give birth, greatly reducing the probability of infant mortality. By the way, the elixir is free; it's funded by the Luoyang imperial court, and every pregnant woman can receive it for free!"

Yang Ying looked proud, her voice filled with arrogance, and her cold, murderous eyes seemed to be shining.

Bao Ying nodded. No wonder such a remote mountain village could have so many people.

The carriage continued on its way.

Zhou Sheng instinctively wanted to take him to Luoyang immediately, but he didn't. Instead, he made the carriage move slowly so that Bao Ying could see the Hua Kingdom he had founded with his own eyes.

Merchants and travelers flocked along the way in an endless stream.

What shocked Bao Ying the most was that the people along the way would even spontaneously line the official road to offer food to the passing soldiers and officials.

The smile and enthusiasm on his face were not forced, but came from the heart.

Bao Ying got out of the car himself, took a white steamed bun from an old lady, and started chatting with her in the local dialect of Henan Province while eating it.

This was a skill he honed during his early years of traveling around the world; only by immersing himself in the place could he uncover more clues.

Through the conversation, he learned a lot, but because of it, he was deeply troubled.

In China, soldiers would voluntarily help the people with tasks such as repairing roads, building bridges, fixing leaky roofs, and even cleaning up garbage.

Whenever there is a natural disaster, soldiers are always at the forefront of disaster relief and rescue efforts, and many have even sacrificed their young lives.

Human hearts are made of flesh and blood.

In this way, through repeated efforts and sacrifices, the huge gap and contradictions between the soldiers and the people gradually melted away.

Bao Ying never dreamed that one day, the people, who were terrified of soldiers, would welcome the king's army with food and drink.

This scene only occurred during the reign of the Great Ancestor of the Great Xuan Dynasty.

When the carriage officially entered Luoyang, Bao Ying was taken aback when he saw the golden, wave-like wheat fields on both sides.

"It's already winter, so why is there still ripe wheat?"

Yang Ying immediately replied smugly, "Because Brother Zhou mobilized cultivators from the Five Sects and Three Schools who practiced wood magic to form the Shennong Division, which specializes in researching wheat varieties that can mature in winter. Now, not only can we harvest grain in winter, but we can also eat all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables..."

Hearing Yang Ying's words, Bao Ying was completely amazed and impressed.

To have cultivators serve the people and use their supernatural powers to cultivate crops—such a thing is truly unheard of. In the past, emperors only thought about how to curry favor with cultivators and use their power to consolidate their imperial authority. Only Zhou Sheng, who possesses the great power of heaven and earth, would dare to do such a thing.

Because he alone was enough to suppress everything, and because he held incomparably high prestige in the eyes of cultivators.

Otherwise, any other emperor would have been devoured by those arrogant cultivators long ago.

"Flowers in full bloom, oil sizzling over a raging fire—it's truly like a dream."

Bao Ying expressed his most genuine sigh, but with a far-sighted look and a hint of worry, he said, "But all this prosperity is built on Brother Zhou's absolute power. If Brother Zhou has any problems, I'm afraid this towering building will collapse in an instant."

Bao Ying, as expected of the Iron-Faced Marquis, was deeply shocked, yet he still immediately saw the biggest problem lurking deep within China.

Zhou Sheng made them successful, and Zhou Sheng also caused their downfall.

When the normal operation of a country depends entirely on the power and prestige of a single person, it sows the seeds of enormous hidden dangers.

If Zhou Sheng were to lose or die, those cultivators would likely fall apart and become disaffected.

"Uncle Bao, Brother Zhou will never lose!"

When Yang Ying said this, it was almost with a kind of blind worship.

Not only her, but many people in China today blindly worship Zhou Sheng, including some elderly members of the Longhua sect.

It is no exaggeration to say that although Jinse is the nominal ruler, Zhou Sheng is the true ruler of the Hua Kingdom.

But Jinse didn't care about that at all, because she was the one who started blindly worshipping Zhou Sheng in the first place.

Bao Ying, however, would never blindly idolize anyone.

“You’re right, that’s why I’m asking you to come back.”

Zhou Sheng smiled slightly and said to him, "I want you to be in charge of two things: criminal justice and education."

"Whether they are the children of commoners, the daughters of officials, or the children of monks, they will all study, learn to read, and learn together."

"What I want you to instill in them is not a personality cult of me. On the contrary, I hope that when they grow up, they will dare to criticize my shortcomings and can wholeheartedly agree with the concept of 'the world belongs to everyone'."

After a pause, Zhou Sheng reached out his hand, slowly clenched it as if he were holding the sun, moon, and the universe in his palm, and then gently released it.

"Three generations from now, even if I am gone one day, I want the new generation of China to still be able to fight for true ideals and beliefs, instead of fearing my personal authority."

"I believe in them; the future rightfully belongs to them."

Boom!

These words struck Bao Ying like a thunderbolt. A person who had already established absolute personal authority actually said that future generations should take the initiative to break free from this authority.

This confidence, boldness, spirit, and sincerity deeply impressed him.

"Brother Bao, would you be willing to help me?"

Bao Ying was silent for a moment, then slowly uttered four words, powerful and resonant.

"I would gladly die ten thousand deaths."

Two friends who had been separated for many years finally reunited after decades.

This time, it's not about the case, but about the world.

Yang Ying clapped her hands in praise and said happily, "That's wonderful, Uncle Bao! I've missed you so much all these years!"

“In a few days, it will be the Fengshan ceremony in Luoyang. The dragon vein will soon appear. Brother Zhou often lamented that if you are not here, the Fengshan ceremony will always feel like something is missing.”

...(End of this chapter)