The Young Swordsman of Dalu

After the war between the Great Lu Kingdom and the Northern Dynasty, coupled with the palace coup launched by Zhou Moyao, the court suffered many negative consequences. The lives of ordinary people became worse day by day, and there was widespread discontent among the people. On the surface, there was an atmosphere of peace and tranquility, but in reality, there were many crises.

Emperor Zhou Muyao of the Great Lu Kingdom also sensed that the Zhou Dynasty was now in a crisis. He was determined to change everything and revitalize the Great Lu Kingdom.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. After his brother's palace coup, Zhou Muyao suffered great physical and mental damage, and his health deteriorated day by day. Although he had lofty ambitions, he was powerless to do so.

Zhou Muyao knew that he didn't have much time left, and he placed his hopes for the revitalization of the Great Lu Kingdom on Crown Prince Zhou Shiyao.

On this day, Zhou Muyao summoned the Crown Prince to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. After two hours of heartfelt conversation between father and son, the next day, just as dawn was breaking, Zhou Shiyao, dressed in plain clothes, quietly left the palace with a servant.

The South China Sea is the southernmost territory of the Great Lu Kingdom. It is located by the sea, with a pleasant climate and customs that differ from those inland. In addition to fishing at sea, the local people also do small business with passing merchant ships. They used to live a decent life. However, after the war in the north ended, the imperial court set tax targets for various regions in order to increase the national treasury's reserves. In order to complete the imperial court's tasks, the government disregarded the lives of the people and ruthlessly exploited them, causing the people to live in misery and resentment.

When Zhou Moyao staged a palace coup, Wenwu, who was far away in the South China Sea, was also implicated. He was demoted from the magistrate of Sanyuan County to the assistant magistrate. The new magistrate was Zhou Moyao's man. After taking office, Wenwu was harassed at every turn. Wenwu endured the humiliation and buried his grievances in his heart. He believed that Zhou Moyao's faction would eventually collapse.

Zhou Moyao was exiled to Huangling, and his accomplices were all punished. The magistrate of Sanyuan County was also exiled to the army for several months. The position of magistrate of Sanyuan County has been vacant, and neither Wenwu nor his comrades have received an imperial edict to reinstate them. Unlike the others, Wenwu did not rush to build connections; he simply went to and from get off work at the yamen as usual.

On this day, Wenwu arrived at the yamen on time and saw the yamen runners standing at the door.

"Hey Yang, what are you doing here?"

"Lord Wen, the yamen hasn't paid salaries for months, and we're starving," Yang Tai said.

"Yes! We don't even have money to buy medicine when our children or elderly relatives are sick." Everyone expressed their dissatisfaction.

"Brothers, wait a few more days, I'll go and discuss it with the county magistrate," Wenwu said.

“Lord Wen, you are still too young. I’m afraid the county magistrate is too busy with promotions and making money to care about us right now!” Yang Tai said.

Wenwu knew all this, didn't he? He was helpless. He first wrote a letter to the South China Sea Prefecture, explaining the situation of Sanyuan, but there was no reply. He thought of submitting a memorial to the court directly, but every time he wrote it, it was like throwing a stone into the sea. He suspected that the South China Sea Prefecture had intercepted his memorial.

County Commandant Liu He was a man who wouldn't do anything without a profit. Ever since the county magistrate was exiled, he had been obsessed with taking the position of county magistrate. He relentlessly exploited the people, giving away large amounts of silver and gold as bargaining chips for his promotion, causing the people of Sanyuan to suffer greatly.

"Brothers, let's take care of the security in Sanyuan first, and leave the rest to me," Wenwu said.

"Lord Wen, you can't even take care of yourself, how can you help us?"

“I believe His Majesty the Emperor will know everything that has happened here,” Wenwu said.

"Oh dear! What kind of world is this? There's simply no way to survive."

"Are you all causing trouble here? Get out of here! Go do what you're supposed to do!" Liu He stepped down from the sedan chair, looked at the crowd, and walked up to Wenwu. "Lord Wen, instead of doing your job properly, you're hanging out with these lowlifes and spreading rumors. Do you not want to be the county magistrate anymore?"

"Lord Liu! The brothers haven't received their pay in a long time, and their families are waiting for rice to cook," Wenwu said.

"That's none of my business. That's the magistrate's responsibility. I'm just a county constable, and I'm waiting for my salary," Liu He said shamelessly.

"Shameless," the constables whispered among themselves.

"What are you saying? If you don't want to work here, then get out! There are plenty of people waiting in line!" Liu said angrily.

"Lord Wen, please calm them down. I'll go in first." Liu He said, then slunk into the yamen.

“Lord Wen, look at his shameless appearance. If this man becomes the magistrate of Sanyuan County, how will the people of Sanyuan survive?” Yang Tai said helplessly.

"Yang, take the brothers down and get to work. I'll give them an explanation," Wenwu reassured him.

"Hey! Brothers, let's go! Let's patrol the streets!" Yang Tai said.

The group followed Yang Tai out of the yamen. Wenwu watched them walk away, then turned around and prepared to go into the yamen to confront Liu He.

"Excuse me, is this the Sanyuan County Government Office?" a familiar voice called out.

Wenwu turned around and immediately shouted excitedly, "Fourth Brother! What brings you here!"

“It’s because your second aunt misses you. You haven’t gone back to see her, and she’s worried about you, so she asked me to come and check on your third brother. I also brought you some things.” Wenfei took the package off his body and handed it to Wenwu.

"Fourth brother, it's great that you're here. Come back to our lodgings with me, we need to have a good chat. I've heard many interesting stories about you and your second brother." Wenwu pulled Wenfei towards their lodgings.

At this moment, Crown Prince Zhou Shiyao also arrived in Sanyuan County. He was dressed in a plain-colored robe with a jade belt around his waist. He was tall and imposing, with an extraordinary air about him. His brows exuded a heroic spirit, yet he also appeared gentle and approachable. Behind him followed a personal guard, who was also dressed simply and inconspicuously.

As Zhou Shiyao walked down the main street of Sanyuan City, he saw a shopkeeper chasing a beggar all over the street. He went up to stop him.

"Why is that?" Zhou Shiyao asked.

"You're from out of town, right? It's not easy for me to run a small business. I can barely make a pittance a day, just enough to fill my stomach. I have to keep an eye on them every day. Sigh! Life is getting harder every day," the shop owner said helplessly.

“I’ll buy all the buns the shopkeeper has left,” Zhou Shiyao said to the shopkeeper. “Gao Yuan, give the shopkeeper some silver and give these buns to them.”

Gao Yuan gave the shop owner money and gave the steamed buns to the beggars on the roadside.

The beggars all rushed forward, afraid they wouldn't be able to get any.

"Everyone has one, everyone has one!" Zhou Shiyao felt bad seeing this.

"Thank you so much, sir!" one of the older beggars said to Zhou Shiyao with profuse thanks.

"Old folks, where did you come from?" Zhou Shiyao asked.

“Most of us came from the area around the South China Sea. We thought that since Sanyuan is by the sea, we could make a living here. Who would have thought that life here would be just as difficult? We have no choice but to stay here or go back. We might as well stay here and avoid becoming a burden on our families when we go back,” the old beggar said.

"Are ordinary people living such difficult lives?" Zhou Shiyao asked.

"Alas! Young master, you seem to be someone who doesn't understand the ways of the world. The country has been at war for the past few years, and the people have been squeezed to the point that they can no longer survive," the old beggar said.

“But the war is for the sake of protecting the peace of our people!” Zhou Shiyao said.

“I understand the big picture! But the local government... sigh! I won’t say anything more, it’s no use. The emperor is far away, and no one cares about Sanyuan.” the old beggar said.

"Old man! Don't talk nonsense!" Liu He's advisor, Zhang Ermao, came over with a group of thugs and angrily slapped the old beggar across the face.

"Gao Yuan, take down this bastard!" Zhou Shixian's anger rose.

“You outsiders have become lawless in our Sanyuan County. It seems we need to teach you a lesson!” Zhang Ermao said arrogantly.

“I’d like to see how you plan to manage this,” Zhou Shiyao said.