After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times

Zhao Hanzhang still refused.

At this time, the news of abdication finally spread across the world, and the common people in every corner of the Great Jin received the news simultaneously with their Inspectors.

For the first time, the common people experienced information equality with the officials and nobles.

Shi Le received the confidential letter sent back by his trusted subordinate, then received a bulletin. An official stammered and said, "As soon as the bulletin reached the bureau and was printed, it was sold today and has spread internally and externally. All the people know that the Great General is going to be emperor."

Shi Le clenched the letter and asked, "Who received the bulletin? Why wasn’t such an important matter reported?"

The official bowed his head, "It was the bureau’s manager. He said he received the bulletin in the evening and quickly sent the sample report to the Inspector Mansion because he thought it urgent to print it out. So last night, they worked overtime with the craftsmen, printed it out overnight, and distributed it early this morning. He assumed the Inspector had seen the bulletin since no one was sent to stop it."

Shi Le asked expressionlessly, "Who accepted the bulletin?"

The official’s voice lowered further, "A minor official at the gate. He receives a sample report daily. If it arrives early, he reports it; if late, he submits it the next day, which is usual. Yesterday evening, the lord retreated early, so he couldn’t chase you to the backyard to show you the bulletin..."

Shi Le erupted in anger, "If I don’t see it, can’t he see it? Such a major issue of abdication is on the bulletin. Is he blind?"

The official whispered softly, "Lord, he can’t read..."

Shi Le was even angrier, "How can he be an official if he can’t read? Who appointed him?"

Everyone silently watched him.

Then Shi Le remembered: this minor official at the gate was a soldier who had followed him from a bandit camp, and he was a Jie person who was wounded on one leg. So Shi Le appointed him as a gatekeeper in the Inspector Mansion with a public salary.

Great, after all this, the blame fell on him.

Shi Le gritted his teeth in hate, "Make him literate, immediately teach him to read!"

"The academy, doesn’t the academy offer courses teaching adults to read? Everyone who can’t read should learn. If I can read, why can’t they?" After his outburst, Shi Le asked with a stern face, "Such a big issue, was there no news received by the radio station?"

The officials bowed their heads.

Shi Le ground his teeth and immediately went to the telegram office, glanced around, and instructed them to contact Beigong Chun, "Ask him if he received news of the emperor’s abdication."

At this time, Beigong Chun was holding the bulletin and hadn’t reacted yet. Seeing the paper handed over by the telegraph operator, he slightly regained his composure, "Could it be that Youzhou also received the new bulletin today? But Bingzhou is closer; why did we receive it on the same day as Youzhou? We should have received it one to two days earlier."

Beigong Chun immediately went to question Shi Le about whether there was another source of information.

Shi Le silently looked at the question on the paper. After a moment, he understood, "It was done by Yuan Li. She intentionally controlled the timing. The other states shouldn’t have received the bulletin on the same day, right?"

It was Yuan Li’s doing; she planned it, but the precision in timing was due to Fu Tinghan.

Fu Tinghan, according to her requirements and varying delivery times for each state, arranged different bulletin layouts and content and set different departure and arrival times.

He ensured that the states could receive the bulletins from Luoyang daily without noticing any anomaly, and simultaneously timed these bulletins to arrive around the same time across states. First, let the bureau print them for sale, then delay each state’s Inspector by an evening before seeing the sample report.

Youzhou had Wei Jie, and other states naturally had people Yuan Li could command, ensuring fairness and justice so that both trusted and untrusted individuals received news around the same time.

For some reason, after probing a few states for news, Shi Le felt balanced inside.

Relaxing slightly, he tossed aside the bulletin and sat boldly in his chair, sneering, "No matter the Great General’s trust in Beigong Chun, Zu Ti’s recent return to Jizhou from Luoyang, they received the news on the same day as I did."

Zhang Bin observed his calm demeanor and suggested, "You should prepare to submit a congratulatory memorial and gifts for the new sovereign. This bulletin records the emperor’s first abdication. I estimate the second chance is past, and soon the third, where the Great General will ascend."

Shi Le recalled the critical issue, "Are we required to go to the capital to offer congratulations?"

"Normally, yes, but not now," Zhang Bin said. "The Great General is benevolent, and since half the year is passed, she’ll likely reform next year. With severe floods this year, she probably won’t organize large-scale festivities."

Shi Le disagreed, "Other matters aside, changing dynasties must be grand, or how would the world learn of the Sima family’s fall?"

Mentioning the Sima family filled Shi Le with hatred, "Back then, they treated me like livestock, and now they face their own downfall."

Zhang Bin feared his actions might harm the Little Emperor upon entering the capital and quickly advised, "Please temper your anger. Although the Great General gains through abdication, she will definitely treat him well. If you bully him, she might have to punish you despite favoritism."

Shi Le snorted but heeded the advice.

Zu Ti calmly read the bulletin. His eyes were brighter than ever; Zuo Min almost believed he was unchanged.

Zuo Min asked, "Shall we celebrate, Lord?"

Zu Ti replied, "Celebrate what? Let’s monitor public sentiment; matters are not yet settled. This is a matter for Luoyang. We should merely observe."

After his initial bewilderment, Beigong Chun quickly reacted and summoned Huang An and Linghu Sheng, "Quickly, mobilize the troops to station at the border, move the first and third camps forward by twenty miles, and watch out for the Xianbei."

Huang An and Linghu Sheng understood the urgency and promptly complied.