Chapter Seven: Enlightenment

  Went to the Du family and found out that Du Wenquan had not yet returned from Shandong, Ye Zhaoliu left a letter with money and scolded young master Du, saying if he dared to gamble again, his legs would be broken. Only then was he sent off by the Du family with gratitude.

  Shandong suffered a locust disaster, but Du Wenquan went to Qingzhou to set up a porridge factory to relieve the victims. In recent years, Du Wenquan's figure has often been seen distributing food and relieving disasters in Zhili and Shandong. The gentry all called him "Du the Great Philanthropist", but no one knew that Du the Great Philanthropist was just an errand boy for someone else, and the real benefactor was a certain Huang Dizi from Beijing.

  Ye Zhao also knew that his efforts were just a drop in the bucket, and even if he managed to rescue some people, what difference would it make? As long as the system didn't change, the tragic scenes of refugees would never change, and all he was doing now was just seeking comfort for himself.

  In the blue-walled palace alley, Rui Si was already waiting there, with his bare arms and a hint of muscle, pulling on the reins as the carriage slowed down.

  Ye Zhaosheng lifted up the small red curtain on the car window, Rui Si leaned over and said in a low voice: "Master, it's done, the person has been sent over."

  Ye Zhaowu nodded slightly and lowered the curtains.

  ……

  Xisi Archway, as the name suggests, is a crossroads with four archways, each painted in bright colors and majestic in appearance. Like Dongsi Archway, it is one of the most important transportation hubs and commercial areas within the Imperial City.

  Ye Zhaoshu's small quadrangle courtyard is located in the Wang family hutong, Xisi Pailou, with a green wall and a dark alley, willows hanging down, it's a great place to go.

  Ye Zha arrived at the quadrangle courtyard on the second day after Su Lao Da was rescued, and he knew that there must be a lot to talk about between siblings who had just been reunited, so Ye Zha didn't come to disturb them.

  When he saw Ye Zhao, Su Lao Da, whose leg meat had been beaten to a pulp, struggled to get up and pay his respects. This man, who was once as vigorous as a living dragon, had been tortured until he was withered and dry, leaving him with only half a life.

  Ye Zhaoye felt embarrassed when he encountered such a grateful scene, so he hastily retreated after saying a few humble words.

  In the courtyard, beside the eaves, there is a thriving pagoda tree, lush and green.

  "Thank you, Master Ye." Su Hongniang also arrived at the courtyard, following behind Ye Zhao.

  Ye Zhao turned his head, but saw a gentle breeze blowing in, a beautiful woman in a red skirt fluttering about, charming and unrestrained. Thinking again of the midst of ten thousand horses, she stood tall with her spear, a beauty like a painting, a fierce horse like a cloud, an heroic spirit that made him infatuated.

  Su Hongniang felt a bit helpless, the few points of respect and gratitude that had just risen in her heart suddenly disappeared into thin air, but there was a sentence stuck in her heart that she couldn't help but ask: "Ye Gongzi, may I ask why you helped us?"

  This sentence is hard to answer, Ye Zhaohui hesitated for a moment, and casually said: "Don't deceive the young lady, my mother was originally a Han person, but she was forcibly taken into the mansion. When I was young, she suffered...". She sighed again and couldn't continue speaking.

  Su Hongniang sighed softly and stopped asking further questions.

  Suddenly, the sound of silk and bamboo instruments came from the east wing. Looking through the open carved flower window, it was Luo Ajiu playing a erhu, singing "Bai Luo Ji, white day chicken, one voice reports dawn to the world's ladder! The Jade Emperor's imperial decree, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is determined to rule the world! Hee-yah!" Then sang "Left hand shield, right hand knife, specializing in cutting horse legs and killing Qing demons! Fengcheng fast horse Li, Jingtong whirlwind Zhang, not as good as Wuzhou Su Hongniang! Ee-ya-hee!

  The melody is majestic and slightly stirring, the hoarse voice is in perfect harmony with the rhythm, leaving a lasting aftertaste.

  But unexpectedly, Luo Ajiu had such skills, Ye Zhaos eyes widened in surprise, but his face quickly changed color. The Hakka dialect's tone and rhythm lingered for a long time before Ye Zhao came back to his senses. What was he singing? This is the imperial capital, with tens of thousands of soldiers patrolling day and night, and thousands of city walls and barriers inside and out. If someone reports him, there's no way to escape.

  Before Ye Zhao could speak, Su Hongniang had already scolded Luo Ajiu a few times. Luo Ajiu stuck out his tongue and put down the erhu with a sullen expression, but in front of Su Hongniang, this fierce man looked like a child.

  "A humble origin, don't be surprised, young master." Su Hongniang bowed her head to Ye Zhao for the first time, as an apology.

  Ye Zhaosheng smiled slightly: "The songs sung by Ninth Brother are all about heroes of the past, Wu State's Su Hongniang... So Miss Su was from Wu State. It seems that a place with outstanding people can produce someone as excellent as her. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will go to Wu State to bask in its spiritual energy."

  Su Hongniang smiled and remained silent. The beauty pondered for a moment, as if she had a difficult problem in her mind. Finally, she looked at Ye Zhao with sparkling eyes and said: "Young Master Ye, I flipped through your collection of books and found several astonishing and extraordinary books. Especially that one called 'The Book of Peasant Wars', who is the author?"

  Ye Zhaoyi was stunned, but didn't think that those few joke books would be seen by her. The so-called "Peasant War" was nothing more than Ye Zhaoyi taking the struggles of a certain great man as a framework and writing a hasty treatise on the current state of rural areas surrounding cities. It was just a temporary loss, uniting the gentry, reducing rent and interest, mobilizing peasants, etc., but the primary condition was to spread faith among the insurgent troops, a faith that could make people sacrifice their lives. If an armed force did not have a firm faith, it would collapse in no time when faced with adversity.

  "Miss, can you understand it?" Ye Zha asked in surprise.

  Su Hongniang gently lifted a strand of scattered black hair at her temple, rarely showing her elegant and quiet demeanor, saying: "I don't recognize many characters, but I can understand the meaning."

  Appreciating the beauty's elegant demeanor, Ye Zhao asked: "Miss, which books do you think are worthy of attention?"

  Su Hongniang sincerely said: "Hongniang doesn't understand these principles of governing the country, how dare she judge, she only dares to say that every word is like a pearl, making people think deeply."

  Ye Zhao couldn't help but feel pleased with himself and chuckled: "To be honest with Miss Su, these few books are just my playful creations."

  "Ah?" Su Hongniang looked over in disbelief, and seeing Ye Zhao's smug expression made her even more disheartened. She had thought that with such a great talent, if she could invite him to be their military advisor and receive guidance from him, there would be no problem achieving their goal. But who would have thought it was this little scoundrel's doing? Could he really have such profound knowledge? As for inviting this little scoundrel to be their military advisor, even if we don't mention whether or not he has the ability, he definitely wouldn't do it.

  Although I have known Ye Zhao for only a few days, I also know that he is greedy for pleasure and is not a hero who can lick blood from his knife.

  Ye Zhao sighed immediately: "The peasant war, even if it becomes a matter of course, is nothing more than changing the dynasty and replacing the master with another person."

  "What's the point of having the world if it's just going to fall apart? The Manchus have retreated beyond the passes, and the northwest and southwest are already showing signs of disintegration. I fear that in an instant, the territory of China will shatter and break apart. If this had happened a hundred years ago, there might still have been a chance for recovery, but nowadays the foreign barbarians would be overjoyed to see China split into four or five pieces. They'll probably take advantage of the situation to stir up trouble, and then how will future generations evaluate us?"

  Su Hongniang smiled and said: "What if the peasant war is supplemented by political theory?"

  Ye Zhao was startled and stared blankly at Su Hongniang, speechless.

  Su Hongniang asked again: "In the gentleman's political party theory, it is said that the head of the United States can be elected by people all over the country. It sounds like a fairy tale."

  Ye Zhaoming smiled and said: "But it just so happens to be true."

  Su Hongniang stopped talking and just stared blankly into space, lost in thought, no one knew what she was thinking.