Chongzhen, Year Two — First Month, the Imperial Palace, Beijing.
Inside the royal study, Emperor Zhu Youjian was buried in memorials, his brows tightly furrowed.
The Governor of the Three Borders in Shaanxi, Wu Zhiwang, had reported that the troops in Guyuan had mutinied, looting the state treasury, and then moved to attack Jingyang, Fuping, and Sanyuan. The general Li Ying had also been captured…
Reading this report made Zhu Youjian's mood feel like he'd just been strapped to a falling tower ride.
It was dated from last December, but he was only seeing it now—because the backlog of reports on his desk was simply impossible to clear.
Thinking of his ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang's tireless handling of state affairs, Zhu Youjian couldn't help feeling a little ashamed.
"Even the frontier troops have rebelled. So, it's true—leaving soldiers unpaid for too long leads to chaos."
He sighed heavily.
Beside him, the eunuch Cao Huachun spoke softly. "Your Majesty, perhaps it's time to find a way to raise more silver, otherwise…"
"But where am I supposed to find silver?"
Cao Huachun presented another memorial. "Perhaps Your Majesty should take a look at this."
Zhu Youjian opened it curiously—it was from Liu Mao, a Censor of the Ministry of Justice. The memorial suggested reforming the imperial postal and courier system, claiming that by eliminating abuses, the court could save tens of thousands of taels of silver each year.
"Cut out excessive travel permits to ease the people's burden!"
Zhu Youjian frowned. "Can merely reorganizing the couriers really save that much money every year?"
Cao Huachun nodded. "Your Majesty, the postal expenses are indeed massive. Officials often exploit the system, demanding extra horses, supplies, and bribes from the courier stations, then pocketing the surplus. The stations later report inflated costs to the treasury. In the end, the losses all fall on the state."
Zhu Youjian's brows furrowed even deeper. "So they've been scamming the treasury for tens of thousands of taels every year?"
"Exactly so."
The emperor slammed his palm on the desk. "Outrageous! In that case, reorganize the entire courier network at once. No more waste!"
Cao Huachun bowed. "Your Majesty need not be angry. Once the reforms are complete, those tens of thousands of taels will flow back into the treasury. You should be pleased."
Zhu Youjian thought for a moment—true enough. The money had been leaking away before, but now that the leak had been found, it would return to him. That meant tens of thousands more taels every year—finally, some breathing room in the court's finances!
His mood rose like a jet taking off.
But the good feeling lasted barely a few minutes—
"Urgent report!"
A eunuch burst in, presenting a sealed dispatch.
Zhu Youjian unfolded it.
"Luochuan, Chunhua, Sanshui, Lueyang, Qingshui, Chengxian, Hancheng, Yijun… Zhongbu, Shiquan, Yichuan, Suide, Jiazhou, Yao, Jingning, Tongguan, Yangping Pass, Jinshuo Pass—all have been ravaged by bandits!"
The list of place names stretched endlessly.
The emperor's face turned black. "What is this nonsense? Why not just say the whole of Shaanxi has fallen into chaos?"
Cao Huachun broke out in cold sweat.
"Are the frontier inspectors Wu Zhiwang and Hu Tingyan just sitting around eating air!?"
Before he could finish yelling, another eunuch ran in, panicked.
"Report! The inspector Wu Zhiwang of Suiyan has died of illness—urgent appointment of a new official is required!"
Zhu Youjian froze.
After a long pause, he sighed. "Summon Yang He to see me."
Meanwhile, in Chengcheng County, prosperity was in the air.
Ever since Dao Xuan Tianzun had manifested before the people, miracles kept happening. First came a divine rainfall over the whole county, then his representative, Mister Wang, appeared to work with Magistrate Liang to restore the local economy—just like what had happened in Gaojia Village.
The first to benefit were the workers in the official workshops.
By decree of the Tianzun, all craftsmen's wages were raised.
Though it broke old imperial rules, Magistrate Liang didn't hesitate—he immediately approved it.
In truth, many enlightened officials in late Ming times had long known that the hereditary craftsman system was broken and unfair. Liang had always wanted reform, but lacked the means. Now, with divine backing and resources pouring in, he finally dared to treat the craftsmen well.
At the same time, Tianzun had opened the granaries, flooding the market with grain.
Liang quickly established a state grain exchange, selling food at normal-year prices. Within just a few days, the grain price dropped from "a thousand coins per dou" back to ordinary levels.
He was so delighted that witnesses later swore they'd heard him laughing in the county yamen's backyard:
"People of Chengcheng! I've beaten down the grain price for you!"
With food affordable again, citizens no longer spent everything just to survive—they began buying cloth, clothes, tea, ceramics, trinkets, even watching opera again.
The town was alive once more—faster than anyone expected.
And amidst that bustling rebirth—
A Daoist priest led three weary travelers through the city gate.
The priest was Ma Tianzheng, and behind him were Song Yingxing—the scholar—and his two servants.
They had walked a long way, tired and hungry.
The journey had been rough: several times they'd run into small bands of rebels, but being a Daoist had its perks—bandits tended to hesitate before robbing a holy man. And when they didn't, Ma Tianzheng's Quanzhen swordsmanship was more than enough to keep them at bay.
"Mister Song, this is Chengcheng County," Ma said, letting out a long breath. "From here, it's only thirty li to Gaojia Village. We'll rest here tonight and set off tomorrow."
Song Yingxing nodded gratefully. "Excellent! I must admit, I'm exhausted. Shaanxi truly is a harsh land—famine and bandits everywhere. Without your protection, Daoist Ma, I'd never have made it this far."
"It was my duty to see you safely here," Ma replied with a smile.
As they spoke, a crowd came down the street toward them. Leading the group were a mother and son—Madam Bai and Young Master Bai—with Teng Yifeng, the Crew Boss, walking beside them.
Teng bowed respectfully. "Young Master Bai, I heard you have a special method for moving heavy objects. Our road-building crew has hit a massive boulder right in the middle of the path. Could we trouble you to lend us your aid?"