Covering the sky: Starting with the holy body, the immortal Taoist comes to attack

Chapter 173 Gu Xuan personally takes charge?

The so-called "official gazette" is also known as "official report".

It was an official publication of the Great Zhou Dynasty, specifically used to convey government documents and political intelligence.

Its contents are diverse, generally including imperial edicts, ministerial memorials, and court decrees.

Sometimes, when border conflicts occur, information about the battles is also released.

In general, it was a formal, even somewhat old-fashioned, official newspaper with a relatively limited circulation and an audience that was generally limited to the middle and upper classes of the dynasty.

During the years when the Sima clan held power, they did not attach much importance to the official gazette, regarding it as an ordinary channel for transmitting court documents.

But for some reason, after the current King of Zhou destroyed the Sima family, in addition to attaching great importance to the control of the Imperial Guard system, he also paid special attention to the publication of the official gazette.

Under his strong advocacy, the official gazette underwent unprecedented changes.

First of all.

The circulation of the official gazette increased significantly, and in accordance with His Majesty the King of Zhou's request, it was to be distributed to the general public as much as possible.

Second.

The official gazette also expanded, adding serialized novels in addition to more detailed information on major national affairs.

As for where the novel came from, Gu Xuan himself naturally didn't have time to write it.

To this end, he deliberately sent people to the common people to recruit two or three storytellers and novelists with high salaries.

These people were originally impoverished scholars. Although they had ingenious ideas and were familiar with many strange tales from ancient times to the present, they were already old and frail, and with nothing to rely on, they could only make a living by telling stories in the folk.

Who could have imagined that one day they would be chosen by the government and offered a high salary to serialize ancient stories, with subordinates even helping them to proofread the manuscripts?
but.

These improvements to the official gazette naturally required money.

Gu Xuan went to great lengths to get the Ministry of Revenue to allocate a little more money, and he even used royal funds when he started out.

at the begining of.

Among the court officials, a considerable number naturally opposed these changes to the official gazette. Most of them were scions of powerful families or their representatives in the court.

In the eyes of these privileged sons of noble families, what did those commoners know? Could they possibly understand the contents of the official gazette?
Furthermore, how can a prestigious official gazette be filled with strange tales and supernatural legends? What kind of decorum is this?

However, as is widely known, this change was personally initiated by His Majesty the King of Zhou.

Therefore, the court officials and sons of high-ranking families could not openly oppose it.

It should be understood that His Majesty is the one who turned the tables on the Sima family and annihilated the Jie tribe in the northern border, making him a truly ruthless king.

The court officials still held a certain degree of awe for such a king, and the alteration of the official gazette was, after all, a minor matter and not worth making a big fuss about.

And soon after that.

When the last page of the official gazette began to serialize supernatural novels such as "The Tale of Emperor Gaozu's Pacification of Heaven" and "The Chronicles of Gods and Demons," it attracted the interest of many young court officials.

As for ordinary people, their interest in the official gazette has greatly increased, which has led to a significant increase in sales.

In this way, Gu Xuan would no longer need to use his own private funds to subsidize its publication.

It was through this method that he gradually gained control of the official gazette in the hands of His Majesty the King of Zhou.

The purpose of doing so is naturally very simple: to try to keep the pen in one's own hands as much as possible.

The saying goes, "We must grasp both the gun and the pen, and we must make both strong."

Even for the King of Zhou, getting things done wasn't so easy.

Gu Xuan wanted to take advantage of the fact that the interest groups hadn't completely broken off their relationship before he could prepare for the future and quickly gain control of both sides.

Otherwise, when you actually start doing things in the future, it will be too late to deal with all sorts of slander.

……

Some young officials from humble backgrounds proposed to raise the issue of the "Datong Society" in the official gazette.

This point naturally drew criticism from many court officials, who felt that these officials were stirring up trouble and trying to advocate for the "Great Harmony Society."
In the past, these low-ranking officials from humble backgrounds would naturally have yielded and dared not make any moves of resistance.

But this time, the situation was different.

They were not afraid at all. On the contrary, they argued at a court meeting that the concept of "universal harmony" has existed since ancient times and is within the scope of academic discussion. Why can't it be published in the official gazette?
Such unusual behavior inevitably raises suspicions that these people have powerful backers.

However, although the many court officials representing powerful families were furious and vaguely guessed who their so-called backer was, they ultimately did not dare to expose this secret and could only continue to reprimand them severely.

For a time, the court and the public were in an uproar, yet also in a state of great chaos, with everyone at a loss.

Needless to say, the powerful backer behind these officials from humble backgrounds was Gu Xuan himself.

Moreover, the current chaotic situation in the court and among the people is exactly what he wants!
The time is far from ripe.

He didn't want to immediately break ties with that powerful interest group, so he adopted this delaying tactic.

Otherwise, even someone as strong as him could not guarantee that the situation would not deteriorate.

By then, the entire dynasty would be ravaged by a full-scale war, which was not what he wanted to see at all.

……

Within the Imperial Guard system.

I don't know when it started, but several articles have been circulating.

"On Several Major Relationships," "Why the Great Zhou Dynasty Declined," "How to View Aristocratic Families," "Fairness, Justice, and National Prosperity"...

If the "Great Harmony Society's" earlier ideal of creating a fair and just utopian society gave many poor families and orphans in the Imperial Guards a sense of hope, then...

The spread of these articles caused a huge uproar in their hearts.

Many of them had personally experienced the injustice and cruelty of the world, but few had truly been able to understand the reasons behind it from a deeper and more macroscopic perspective.

Why did the Great Zhou Dynasty decline step by step, to the point that it was bullied by foreign tribes?
Why is it that despite its vast territory and large population, the country is always weak and its military is ineffective? Where have all the country's resources gone?
What is the true face of powerful clans?
Why is it that, despite being born the same human beings, the lower classes starve and freeze to death, while the children of high-ranking families are born with vast resources and live like gods in the heavens?
What is the relationship between fairness and justice and boosting national strength?
The article's exploration of these questions gave these soldiers from humble backgrounds a deeper understanding of the world.

Of course. A considerable number of soldiers were not highly educated and needed assistance to understand these texts.

But the truth is simple and clear. Anyone who has experienced the trials of life and is an adult will naturally understand its true meaning and know that it is not an empty statement.

In addition to daily military training, Gu Xuan has also strongly advocated for literacy education for the Imperial Guards soldiers over the past year.

He was clearly using these tens of thousands of imperial guards as the foundation for his next steps.

Those who helped him carry out these tasks were naturally many core members of the "Datong Society," including many mid-level officers he had personally promoted, as well as the Imperial Guard Staff.

As for the Imperial Guard, many of the former soldiers, spies from powerful families, and others had already been either isolated or investigated and purged by him.

Most of those who remained were from respectable backgrounds and were people who could walk the same path as Gu Xuan.

Needless to say, this took a lot of Gu Xuan's energy, and was even more tiring than when he wiped out the Jie tribe in the northern border.

For nearly a year, he spent most of his time in the Imperial Guard camp, conducting extensive investigations and gathering information, especially regarding their living conditions, such as food, and sometimes even training alongside the soldiers.

The fact that even the King of Zhou lived such a frugal life undoubtedly shocked the many imperial guards!

And this day.

Within the Imperial Guard system, specifically the Eastern Garden Imperial Guard, a secret "bitterness recollection meeting" was held.

This event was held in a rather solemn setting within the military camp, and the arrangements were very elaborate.

Around the venue, there were a few unusual pieces of hemp paper with symmetrical phrases written on them, including "Recount the cannibalistic dark world, and walk forward with your head held high" and "Speak out the bitterness of the past, and smash the iron shackles," and so on.

Obviously.

This is an unprecedented pilot project!
Not only the setup of the venue, but also the text on every piece of hemp paper was so vivid and direct, even glaring!

Even in recent days, all the Imperial Guards who attended the meeting had more or less accepted the ideas of the "Great Harmony Society" and studied articles such as "Why the Great Zhou Dynasty Declined" and "How to View Aristocratic Families".

But at this moment, seeing these hemp paper banners, they still looked at each other in bewilderment, feeling a sense of shock and surprise.

A cannibalistic, dark world?
Smash the iron shackles?
That's way too blatant!

This is why the first "remembering the bitter past" event did not seem to be very effective at the beginning.

Even when members of the Imperial Guard's staff took the stage to recount their past experiences of oppression and bullying, it still failed to generate much excitement.

Many of the soldiers in the audience seemed a bit reserved and unsure of what to do.

Even the staff officer who came up to complain seemed quite reserved.

It wasn't until the second person came on that the situation truly changed.

As all the soldiers looked curiously at the person who walked onto the stage, at first a few people exclaimed, and then almost the entire venue erupted in cheers!
"His Majesty?!"

"This...how is this possible...it's actually His Majesty?!"

Everyone stared in disbelief at the young King Zhou in the center of the platform!

Many of the Imperial Guard soldiers knew Gu Xuan.

Many soldiers had never seen him before, but that did not prevent them from recognizing him from his aura of unparalleled majesty and the exclamations of those around him.

People couldn't believe that His Majesty King Zhou would personally take the stage at this "meeting to recall past grievances." Was he going to personally recount his suffering?
And as expected.

Gu Xuan extended his right hand, signaling everyone to quiet down.

Without much hesitation or coyness, and without any concerns about his status as the King of Zhou, he frankly and directly recounted the pain he had endured over the years as the King of Zhou, suppressed by the powerful Sima family and almost having his power usurped.

In contrast, Gu Xuan used more genuine emotions and space to express his pain and anger at seeing the whole country in chaos caused by powerful families represented by the Sima clan, the people being oppressed and humiliated, and the Jie and other foreign tribes burning, killing, raping and plundering!
At the beginning, many of the Imperial Guards soldiers were still in a state of novelty.

So, when Gu Xuan later earnestly spoke of the nation's decline, the darkness of the world, and the oppression of foreign tribes, everyone was involuntarily drawn into it.

Because all of this is truly relevant to each and every one of them!
The human heart is made of flesh.

Even though Gu Xuan was His Majesty the King of Zhou, and their status was so significantly different, at this moment, they shared the same feelings about powerful families and the cannibalistic world!

It was only at this moment that all the soldiers truly felt a profound shock.

Many soldiers, while listening, were reminded of something—perhaps their own painful past, or the loved ones they had killed—and tears silently streamed down their faces until they were covered in sobs.

That is, until this point.

Only then did they truly understand, to some extent, why His Majesty King Zhou held such a "meeting to recall past suffering," and they became involved in it.

Therefore.

After Gu Xuan finished his recounting of his "bitter experiences," it caused an explosive sensation throughout the entire venue!
Almost everyone was excited, shed tears, and even cried bitterly!

Although it is somewhat unbelievable.

But they still clearly felt that His Majesty King Zhou wanted to lead them to smash the old world that had been ravaged by powerful clans and vicious foreign tribes, and to build a fair and just new world without much oppression, exploitation and humiliation!

It took Gu Xuan a lot of effort to calm the uproar in the venue before moving on to the next person.

With his groundwork laid, the subsequent recollections of past grievances by the other representatives were much more natural and were infused with their own genuine feelings.

Soldier Zhang Gu: He was born in Huainan County, a place rich in coal. However, the coal mines were controlled by the three powerful families of Yang, Shen, and Guo. They had connections in the court and servants in the local area, making them like local emperors. Zhang Gu's father and two older brothers mined coal all day long, but could barely make ends meet. They eventually died in the coal mines, and his mother also died of depression. Only he was left to flee to the capital.

Soldier Liu Pi: Born in Nanyang County, he was an orphan of the Imperial Guard. After his father died in battle, his uncle spent his savings to arrange a marriage for him with a woman from the same village. However, a wealthy landowner in his sixties from a neighboring county took a large sum of money and made her his sixth concubine. His uncle was outraged and went to confront him, but was beaten and injured. The landowner was rich and powerful, with many servants and connections in the court. Fearing for his life, his uncle fled with him.

Xiao Xiaohe's story: Born into a tenant farmer's family, he rented land from the wealthy landlord Zhong. Unfortunately, a year of famine struck, and the harvest was poor. However, Zhong still forced them to pay the rent in full, so they were forced to borrow grain from others. After the rent was paid off, there was nothing left to eat, and his parents and sister starved to death before spring.

……

The soldiers recounted these events slowly, using the simplest words to tell their stories.

In fact, there are many similar experiences among those present, only the time, place, or people are different.

Among the soldiers present, some had endured more hardship than others, but all had survived this cruel world.

(End of this chapter)