Jinghong Tower

After King Baoxiang, there was the regent of the Later Zhou Dynasty, Jing Chongguang. After Jing Chongguang was King Dong, Nong Liuniang. Ranked sixth to seventh were generals He Xiulong and Fu Yansheng under He Ran.

Ranked eighth is the Yonghe Emperor of the Later Zhou Dynasty, ranked ninth is the infant Prince of Chang'an Wu Guochang, and ranked tenth is the dark lord Xing Dashan who was active on the Silk Road.

In this ranking, except for He Ran, Zhou Cangyue, He Xiulong and Nong Liuniang, the other six people are on the list for the first time.

Among them, King Baoxiang and the Dark Lord Xing Dashan seemed to have suddenly appeared out of nowhere for ordinary people, and they were all heard of for the first time.

In fact, these two people already existed when Min Man was in power, but they lived in a remote corner and did not attract attention.

The reason why these two people did not make the list in the first two rankings was largely because their power was not enough to make the list at that time. There were many people who were more powerful than them, such as the King of Qi, the King of Kaizhou, and the King of Han Wang Hao.

But now, with He Ran regaining Jiangnan, the world has gradually come together. Those once-invincible rulers have long been a thing of the past. There are vacancies on the list, and King Baoxiang and the Dark Lord are finally on the list.

What's more, King Baoxiang was indeed coming with great force and had already reached Jiaoying. You should know that Jiaoying had already belonged to the previous dynasty, and the previous dynasty had also sent officials to Jiaoying. However, in the last years of the previous dynasty, when heroes were fighting for hegemony, Jiaoying took advantage of the chaos to become independent and out of control. The current Jiaoying emperor is the fourth one, and he has never paid tribute to the court over the years.

As for the Dark Lord Xing Dashan, he was originally the general of Zhangye. Twenty years ago, the court delayed paying military salaries, and the soldiers were starving and cold. Xing Dashan simply took his troops to rob passing merchant caravans, and the court's regular army became horse bandits. When Meng Zhong was alive, he encircled and suppressed Xing Dashan three times, but all ended in failure. Young Master Meng died in Zhangye. At first, even Meng Zhong thought it was Xing Dashan who did it. Of course, it was later found out that this was not the case, and the murderer was someone else.

This latest world power list quickly spread throughout the country. Some people accepted it calmly, some sneered at it, some were uneasy, and some gnashed their teeth.

The ones who accepted it calmly were He Ran and He Xiulong. These two have been on the World Power List since it came out. It’s just that their rankings have fluctuated. No matter, just let it be.

The one who sneered was Zhou Cangyue. He thought, do you know how good I am? He finally put my name up there? Is there any prize money for ranking second? No? Tsk, I ate too much Northeastern food, it's so salty!
The one who was worried was Fu Yansheng.

You have to know that Fu Yansheng is different from He Xiulong. He Xiulong was promoted by He Ran. In the eyes of outsiders, He Xiulong and He Dali are He Ran's direct descendants, and everyone else is a little inferior.

As for Fu Yansheng, he is a surrendered general!

A surrendered general suddenly made it onto the world's most powerful list. In Fu Yansheng's opinion, this meant someone was trying to get him!
In fact, the reason why Fu Yansheng was on the list was related to his capture of Yulin and forcing Wu Dongming away. Wu Dongming was a local overlord, and Fu Yansheng wiped out the Wu family in one fell swoop. With this battle alone, Fu Yansheng became a famous general, worthy of being recorded in history and admired by future generations.

There were two people who gritted their teeth, one of them was Emperor Yonghe.

Emperor Yonghe has recently transformed himself into Young Master Jin and has been having a lot of fun. However, with the appearance of this list, Young Master Jin's happy life has been disrupted.

Why should a dignified emperor be stepped on by a prince?
Because he is the regent?
The regent was also given by me!

That’s right, Emperor Yonghe ranked eighth, while Regent Jing Chongguang ranked fourth.

Others were already laughing when they saw it, let alone Emperor Yonghe, the person involved.

Although they are twin brothers, Emperor Yonghe and Jing Lao San are different. Since childhood, Jing Chongguang would often tell him that you have the noblest bloodline in the world and you are the supreme ruler of the world.

Just imagine, which teenager could withstand such brainwashing, not to mention that it has been going on since he can remember. There is no need to brainwash at all, as he has already engraved these two sentences into his bones.

But when he really became emperor, he found that he was not supreme at all. There was always someone above him, who even demanded things of him like a father treats his son.

And now, these things that were originally known only to oneself behind closed doors were suddenly announced to the world, and everyone in the world knew that in terms of power, Jing Chongguang ranked fourth, while he was only eighth.

For Emperor Yonghe, this was a great humiliation!

He had never been as angry as he was today, so much so that Young Master Jin went to three gambling houses in succession to vent his anger.

But this is only temporary. After all, he can't always be Mr. Jin. The world outside is exciting, but he still has to go back to the palace and be the child emperor who is trampled underfoot by others.

Yes, child emperor. This was the mockery that Emperor Yonghe made to himself. To be honest, he was not as good as the child emperors in history. Theirs were countries against countries and emperors against emperors, but he was just the son of a minister.

He Shuting was also gritting her teeth.

As I said, it happened. I just talked about the world's most powerful list a few days ago, and now it's here.

But she looked carefully three times and still couldn't find her name.

Why, why is she not on the list?

Isn’t it said that men are superior to women?

Then why are there three women on the list, He Ran, He Xiulong, and Nong Liuniang, all three are women. If the list was full of men, that would be fine, she wouldn't be angry, but why are there others but not her?
Even He Zongqun said that the battle of Xixiao was worthy of being recorded in history and was far better than He Ran's battle in Jiangnan.

But He Ran not only made the list, but also ranked first, while she was not on the list.

Of course, these were not enough to make He Shuting grit her teeth. What made her most angry was that she was not on the list, but her son Wu Guochang was.

It is conceivable that the world-famous Battle of Xixiao was blamed on Wu Guochang!
But why?

The money spent on this war was raised with great difficulty by her from the Meng family, the Meng family army, and the entire Longxi County. The military strategist who planned this war was her man, and the generals who led the troops obeyed her orders. This battle was her achievement and had nothing to do with Wu Guochang.

He Shuting lowered her head and looked at the cradle. Wu Guochang was sleeping soundly in the cradle. He understood nothing and knew nothing.

But this damn power list put such a kid who knows nothing on the list, and she didn't even mention it.

Is it because Wu Guochang is a man? Is it because his last name is Wu?

Her last name is He!
He Shuting thought of those people in Jinyang City who were proud of having the surname He. Those people all had the surname He. He Xiulong's surname was He, and not only was she on the list, but she was also known as the number one general; He Dali's surname was He, and it was said that he was the leader of He Ran's personal guards, but he was firmly sitting in Xi'an City.

Her surname was also He, but she had to devote herself to a man named Wu. After Wu died, she had raised a son for him, but now her credit was taken away by a baby in swaddling clothes.

The more He Shuting thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt.

Perhaps, she never knew how to be a mother. All of Yan's maternal love was given to He Shuyuan and He Shuqiao. Her brother He Shuming helped Yan gain a foothold in the He family, and she was just a helper.

Yan Shi secured her position as the eldest wife of the He family with her son, and she also regained her position as the princess with her son. Therefore, her feelings for her son have always been mixed with too many things, and fame and fortune far outweigh family affection.

Therefore, when her son snatched away the fame and fortune she deserved, the family affection that was already small in the first place was once again greatly reduced, and He Shuting looked at her son with disgust in her eyes.

What will Wu Guochang look like in the future?
She thought of Wu Ji, the man she had never liked from the beginning to the end.

At this moment, He Shuting suddenly felt that she was not worthy of herself. She even had to raise a son for a man she didn't like, and eventually she would raise her son into a person she didn't like.

If it was Lu Zhen, everything would be different. Perhaps she would be willing to do it.

People are often like this. The less they can get something, the better it becomes.

Lu Zhen had rejected her before, and he did so with a look of disgust on his face, but in He Shuting's heart, Lu Zhen's status was far higher than that of Wu Ji, who was always obedient to her.

He Ran didn't care what He Shuting was thinking at the moment. She was interviewing this year's new scholars.

A total of eighty Jinshi were selected in this year's autumn examination. The oldest was forty-eight years old, and the youngest was a girl named Shen Yao, who was only nineteen years old.

Now is the time to recruit people, and these new scholars do not even have time to return to their hometowns to worship their ancestors. They only rest in the capital for ten days before rushing to various places to start internships.

Nong Liuniang donated the land, and Zhou Cangyue requested to take over the management. Therefore, there are many vacancies in various places now. Even though the official examinations have been held for several consecutive years, there are still many people holding multiple positions in various places.

He Ran is eager for talent.

Just as these new officials were waiting to be assigned, a letter of denunciation was quietly dropped into the submission box in front of the newspaper office.

He Yamin's subordinates would open the submission box at noon every day and take out the manuscripts. Some of the manuscripts would be accepted that evening.

Today, five large baskets of manuscripts were brought in from outside. More than a dozen people were responsible for opening the letters, and five were responsible for sorting them. They had to classify these submissions and send them to the editors of the corresponding pages as quickly as possible.

Suddenly, Liu Qin'er, who was in charge of the classification, exclaimed, and said to Zhang Xiuyan next to her: "Sister Xiuyan, which group should this be assigned to?"

Zhang Xiuyan is an old employee of the newspaper office and has rich experience. Liu Qiner is the newcomer she is leading.

Zhang Xiuyan took the letter from Liu Qin'er and read it quickly. Her brows furrowed. "This is not a manuscript. This is a report letter. You must give it to Master Yamin immediately."

There is no other way. There are too many people with the surname He. In order to distinguish them, everyone calls them by their names.

Zhang Xiuyan personally handed the letter to He Yamin. When He Yamin saw the name mentioned in the letter, she was stunned.

She knew this person, Shen Yao, the youngest new scholar in this official examination.

If what the letter says is true, then this matter
Without further ado, He Yamin took the letter and went to see He Ran.

He Ran was discussing matters with Nie Chen. When she heard that He Yamin wanted to see her, she let her in.

He Yamin stated her purpose and handed over the letter.

After reading the letter, He Ran handed it to Nie Chen.

Nie Chen finished reading the letter, and said to He Ran thoughtfully, "The most urgent thing is to call Shen Yao over and ask her."

He Ran nodded and said to He Yamin, "You did a great job. Please report this to us in a timely manner if there is any such situation in the future."

He Yamin said goodbye and left. When she went out, she saw Yuan Xiaodong going out right after her. Obviously, Yuan Xiaodong was going to look for Shen Yao.

Although He Yamin had never met Shen Yao, as the youngest Jinshi, Shen Yao had been interviewed. He Yamin had reviewed the manuscript and still remembered the content of the interview.

Shen Yao said that she was from Hangzhou, her father had passed away, and her mother had raised her with great difficulty. Other Hangzhou candidates also said that Shen Yao was a famous talented woman in Hangzhou. Many wealthy families lined up to invite her to be a female teacher in their homes. Some even came to invite her with gold, silver, and valuable calligraphy and paintings. However, Shen Yao was unmoved and insisted on going to Beijing to take the exam. This caused an uproar in the city, and many people thought that she was overestimating her abilities, but in the end Shen Yao really passed the exam.

As soon as the list of successful candidates was announced, the essays of the new Jinshi were copied and posted in the Imperial Academy. He Yamin even went to take a look.

But after reading Shen Yao's article, He Yamin gave up the idea.

Shen Yao is ambitious, so he should become an official.

It was precisely for this reason that He Yamin had a deep memory of Shen Yao. Now, after reading the letter of complaint, she couldn't help but worry for this young girl.

The letter said that Shen Yao's surname was not Shen, and her hometown, name, and background were all false.

Her surname is Jing, her name is Jing Shanshan, her real identity is the eldest daughter of the former Duke of Dingguo, the former Duke of Dingguo, and the current Regent of Later Zhou, Duke of Jing. Her great-grandmother is the benevolent and righteous Lady Meng, her father is the traitor Jing Chongguang, her mother's surname is Li, and all the identities she filled in for the imperial examinations were fake. This person may very well be a spy sent by Later Zhou!

Shen Yao lived in an inn. She did not live with other scholars from Jiangnan, but lived alone in a very remote and deserted small inn. The rent here was cheap, and this was not a place where wealthy families in the capital lived. Here, it was rare to see people wearing silk and satin.

The reason why Shen Yao chose to live here was because no one here knew her.

In fact, she dared to come to the capital after having carefully analyzed the situation with Li. When she left the capital, she was still young. She was one of those who developed relatively late, and only started to grow at the age of sixteen. Before that, she was thin and small, but now, she was a full head taller than then. She had also changed from a skinny little girl to a tall and plump figure. Her face used to be pointed, but now it is round and smooth.

Therefore, she was very calm.

But even so, she was still very careful and still chose a remote inn. Even after she passed the imperial examination, she did not attend the large and small thank-you banquets and celebration banquets for her teachers with other imperial scholars.

But she also felt a little regretful. She shouldn't have accepted the interview with the Morning Post in front of the Imperial Examination Hall. However, there was no portrait of her in the Morning Post, so she didn't have to worry about being recognized.

In a few days, she will be sent to another place for internship. As long as she leaves the capital, she won't have to worry. (End of this chapter)