Pick up a princess to be your wife

Although Li Mu's unauthorized departure from Beijing this time was not as long as last time, he still faced a wave of criticism.

However, Li Mu didn't take this matter to heart.

With Li Ertie and Xu Yi, two people skilled in handling domestic affairs, leading the cabinet, there shouldn't be any major problems with national affairs.

This time, Li Mu committed a tremendous massacre in Hexi Road, which directly led to the paralysis of the leaderless Hexi Road.

This is also the best opportunity for Li Mu to completely control Hexi Road.

He instructed Xu Yi and He Xianzhi to spread the business to Hexi Road, and secretly funded the two of them, allowing them to control the economy of Hexi Road as much as possible.

The Hexi Road has decent industries; the chaos is only temporary.

Li Mu estimated that the order of the entire Hexi Road would stabilize within a year.

Those people who were so poor that they couldn't afford to eat and had to rely on the government to give them moldy grain to survive would soon be able to live a relatively stable life.

The reasons for this massacre are different from those of the Tokaido Massacre.

Some old fogies knew that Li Mu was mild-mannered and would not argue with anyone in court.

Some old conservatives even publicly criticized Li Mu by name at the grand court assembly, saying that Li Mu had committed atrocities and was a tyrant.

As always, Li Mu simply listened to these words and let them go.

In the left ear, out the right ear.

These high-ranking officials left over from the previous dynasty did not actually wield much power.

All these old fogies can do is curse Li Mu in order to gain some fame for themselves.

But Li Mu also gained a reputation for being magnanimous from it.

As for whether Li Mu will admit his mistakes and correct them, that remains to be seen.

If this situation were to occur again, those who deserve to be killed would still be killed; Li Mu would show no mercy.

This massacre did have some positive effects, in fact.

For example, the Shannan Circuit, Beiying Circuit, Xiying Circuit, and Jiannan Circuit, which the imperial court has not yet had time to deal with.

After the Four Horses Case, the local gentry suddenly became as obedient as children.

The imperial decrees are carried out in the morning and evening; no one dares to outwardly comply but inwardly disobey.

Because the imperial court controls the most elite White Horse Army in the entire country, if any local people dare to launch a rebellion for their own selfish interests, all that awaits them is the merciless slaughter by the White Horse Army.

The example of the 200,000 people in Hexi Road serves as a warning to all.

The Great Ning Dynasty was determined to carry out the reforms to the end, and would absolutely not care about the interests of powerful clans, much less compromise with them in the slightest.

Because everyone knew very well that Li Mu hadn't even consulted with them before massacring the Lin family of Hexi; he simply found a pretext to kill them.

Organized a rebellion? The White Horse Army has powerful firearms. They made such a big show of things in the Tokaido, but it was still quelled by the White Horse Army in just a few days.

As a result, granaries were opened in various places to distribute grain and provide relief to the poor.

Although many people are unwilling to spend their own money to help the poor, the pressure from above is too great, and they have no choice.

Regardless of what these people were thinking, Li Mu had achieved his goal.

In the third year of Yongning, after the Four Horses Case, the Daming Dynasty was finally completely unified.

Starting from this year, the Da Ning Dynasty embarked on a period of rapid rise.

Merchants were no longer restricted by location and could travel to various places to do business and exchange goods.

The living standards of ordinary people have improved significantly.

……

Wang Xiaoli, along with his wife and father, went directly to Baiyujing and rented the cheapest courtyard house on the outskirts of the city.

He found his wife a job as a waitress at the newly opened Gospel Tea House.

The Fuyin Tea House offered very good pay, a full two taels of silver a month.

Considering the prices in Baiyujing, this salary wasn't high, but it was enough for his wife and elderly father to live a comfortable life.

He found two jobs. He had more than half a year left to live and wanted to earn as much money as possible for his wife and elderly father.

One day, Wang Xiaoli learned about the Four Horses case from other people and learned that hundreds of thousands of people had died in Hexi Road.

Those high-ranking officials who preyed on the common people and disregarded human life were all killed by the White Horse Army.

Zheng Mao, who had bullied his family, was executed along with his entire clan. Even the Lin family, who had dominated the Hexi region for hundreds of years, were wiped out completely.

At that moment, Wang Xiaoli suddenly felt relieved.

This is the kind of court that truly cares about the people.

He didn't know how to express himself, so he secretly kowtowed three times in the direction of the palace.

Time passed by in such a busy and hectic way.

In the blink of an eye, autumn has arrived.

Wang Xiaoli took out all the money he had saved over the past six months and handed it to his wife.

Forty taels of silver in total. Although it wasn't a lot of money, it was the limit he could manage.

During those seven months, he worked at least two jobs, and occasionally three, seizing every opportunity to earn extra money.

When the woman saw the several dozen taels of silver, she felt no joy whatsoever; instead, she sighed inwardly.

"I want to leave an heir for the Wang family."

For the past six months or so, the woman has been bringing up this matter.

But Wang Xiaoli knew his days were numbered and didn't want to be a burden to his wife.

“You’re a good woman. If you meet a suitable family next year, you can marry him. However, I’ll need you to take care of my husband and see him off in his old age. I can’t make up for anything in this life, but I’ll make it up to you in the next,” Wang Xiaoli said.

The woman looked at Wang Xiaoli, hesitant to speak.

A year ago, she never imagined that she could create so much wealth with her own hands.

If only Wang Xiaoli didn't have to die, wouldn't that be wonderful?

Wang Xiaoli is so hardworking, good at making money, and a good family man.

With a little effort, the two of them will surely be able to live a better life.

The world suddenly became better, but Wang Xiaoli was about to be executed.

She desperately wanted to persuade Wang Xiaoli to take her and her elderly father far away and live in anonymity in a place where no one knew them.

Even escaping to the deep mountains and forests would be better.

But she knew she couldn't persuade Wang Xiaoli.

"The reason I brought you to Baiyujing is because it offers a high starting point and has many good people. As long as you are willing to work hard, you can have enough to eat and wear. In the future, when you have children, you can send them to school."

The imperial court built dozens of kindergartens and primary schools in Baiyujing. Tuition was low, and birth wasn't a factor; as long as you had money, you could register and send your child to school.

Wang Xiaoli explained many things to the woman.

As she spoke, the woman couldn't help but shed tears.

He wasn't just making his final arrangements; he was making his final arrangements.

What Wang Xiaoli mentioned most often was that when looking for a man in the future, one must keep their eyes wide open.

There are many people in Baiyujing, but there are also many bad people. She is a stubborn woman and is easily bullied by others.

"Okay, stop crying."

After kowtowing several times toward his father's room, Wang Xiaoli got up and left.