I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 419 The New Dynasty's Elegant Governance (Part 1)

Chris was finally crowned King of the Kingdom of Bagnia, becoming the rightful ruler of the country. This event was like a boulder thrown into a lake, immediately causing a huge impact.

This impact did not merely linger in the cheers of the capital and the echoes of the coronation, but rather spread like ripples across a lake, layer upon layer, at an astonishing speed to every corner of the kingdom, profoundly reshaping this war-torn land yearning for new life.

"Long live King Chris! Long live King Chris!!!"

When Dolan El, far away in the city of Highland, heard the news, even though he was cooking in his kitchen at home, he excitedly raised his hands, waved them vigorously, and jumped around wildly to express his joy.

The spatula clattered to the ground, the sausages sizzling in the pan began to burn, but Dolan was oblivious.

This scholar, known for his composure and erudition, was now like a child who had received his favorite toy. His cheeks were flushed with excitement, and his eyes behind his glasses shone with an almost fanatical light.

"It's done! It's done! His Majesty has finally been crowned!"

He shouted loudly at the empty kitchen wall, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

The news was like a torrent of molten lava, instantly shattering Dolan's carefully maintained scholarly composure.

He abruptly stopped jumping, but couldn't calm down. He began pacing rapidly in the small kitchen, his hands waving unconsciously, as if trying to embrace the entire boiling kingdom.

"Fellow villagers of Xila Town, can you see this?"
The future we bet on has come true; the king we followed has ascended the throne!

Dolan murmured to himself, his mind drifting to the fields of his hometown and the familiar faces that had fought alongside him under the banner of the Han-Tang warriors.

It was King Chris's land reform that allowed the villagers of Hilla, who had been slave farmers for generations, to truly own their own land for the first time.

It was the civil service examination strongly promoted by the king that tore apart the promotion network woven by the old nobles and corrupt bureaucrats of the republic, allowing an ordinary scholar like him, who had knowledge but no social standing, to become a planning consultant for the Hegland City Management Office and join the ranks of the new elites based on his real talent and learning.

This act of kindness, this act of breaking free from shackles, made his loyalty to Chris transcend political stance and become almost a faith.

The burnt smell grew stronger.

Just before the fire started, Dolan was finally brought back to reality. He cried out "Oops!" and hurriedly turned off the stove. Looking at the charred sausages in the pot, he was not annoyed at all, but instead burst into laughter.

"Good that it's burnt, good that it's burnt!"

On this day of universal celebration, we should eat new grain and drink new wine; how can we possibly make do with old things!

He muttered to himself with great interest, as if the burnt sausage itself had become a symbol of the decay of the old era.

He deftly swept the burnt sausage into the trash can, his movements carrying a sense of triumphant satisfaction in breaking with the old and establishing the new.

Then, he opened the cupboard and took out a treasured black tea canister that he had bought at a high price from the supply and marketing cooperative... This was a luxury item he had specially purchased with his first month's consultant salary, which he would never dare to drink on ordinary days.

He carefully plucked a pinch of dark, glossy tea leaves, placed them in an exquisite porcelain teapot, poured in boiling water, and the rich aroma of tea instantly replaced the burnt smell, filling the small kitchen.

"Let us offer tea in place of wine to Your Majesty!"

Dolan held up the freshly brewed tea with both hands, facing the direction of the capital, and solemnly performed a slightly awkward fist salute, which he had learned from the instructors of the Han-Tang Warriors.

The scalding hot tea went down his throat, carrying a slightly astringent yet sweet aftertaste, just like his mood at that moment... The hardships of his struggle had finally paid off, and the future was full of hope.

He put down his teacup, still savoring the taste. His gaze swept over the ingredients stored in the kitchen, and a thought struck him. He remembered seeing a prince's guard make a dish called "dumplings," which the prince had described as a symbol of reunion and good fortune.

Is there any food more fitting for this moment?

Dolan immediately sprang into action, turning over the flour, minced meat, and vegetables.

He was not a good cook, and his dumpling-making skills were even more clumsy. The dough was rolled out unevenly, and the pleats he pinched together were crooked.

But Dolan didn't care at all; his face was filled with an almost reverent focus and joy.

As he wrapped the bag, he hummed a hymn he had recently learned at the official school in his heavily accented, but surprisingly clear, Mandarin.

"...Where the royal army marches, the villains are routed; the new king ascends the throne, and the land is restored..."

Each shapeless dumpling placed into the boiling water was, in his eyes, a cornerstone for building King Chris's new dynasty.

The rising white steam blurred his glasses, and seemed to blur the gloom of the old republic, leaving only a clear and visible new Bagnia, founded by that legendary king, full of infinite possibilities.

When the first plate of oddly shaped but steaming dumplings came out of the pot, Dolan carefully placed them on the table.

He did not eat it immediately, but instead took out paper and pen, and under the flickering lamplight, began to write with an unprecedented solemnity and passion.

He wanted to share this ecstasy, this boundless reverence for the king, and this unwavering belief in the future of the new kingdom with his elderly father in Hilla, with his friends from the Han-Tang Warriors who had fought alongside him, and with all those who, like him, had groped in the darkness and were ultimately illuminated by the light of King Chris.

The pen scratches across the paper, imbued with the boundless praise of a newly risen scholar from the ruins of the old era for his sun-like monarch and his fervent anticipation for the new age.

The kitchen was filled with the aroma of tea, noodles, and the incomparably fragrant breath of hope in his heart, the "Chris Era."

……

Chris has ascended the throne. Within all classes and circles of Bagnia, which group is the happiest?
The happiest group was undoubtedly the military, whether they were soldiers of the defense forces under the Ministry of Military Affairs or militia under the management of local armed forces, their land was acquired because of His Majesty Chris.

Now that His Majesty has finally become king, they are happier than anyone else.

Then, just as excited as the military were the scholars.

This was somewhat unexpected for some, but it was also quite reasonable.

Before Chris unified the Bagnian Mountains, the country of Bagnia, whether it was a former kingdom or a former republic, had an extremely rugged character.

This land, renowned for its rugged mountains and fierce inhabitants, is permeated with an atmosphere of nepotism and the supremacy of force in its ruling core, whether it be the royal court or the council chambers of the Republic's Senate overthrown by Chris. The nobles, whether hereditary or newly appointed "elites" during the Republic's reign, firmly control power and resources. Official positions, lucrative posts, and territorial management are all preferentially allocated to their sons, nephews, in-laws, loyal henchmen, or allies who can bring direct benefits.

The primary standard for measuring a person's value is often how many enemies they can kill on the battlefield or how many helpers they can gather in a family feud, rather than how many books they have read, how many principles they understand, or how beautiful articles they can write.

In this environment, the value of knowledge itself is severely underestimated, or even deliberately ignored.

Scholars and intellectuals were in an extremely awkward social niche in old Baghnia.

Apart from scholars who were originally from noble families, intellectuals from ordinary backgrounds had very limited career paths. They either had to rely on a large family to serve as their children's tutors or scribes, and even that was considered a high position by many nobles.

If they did not wish to be affiliated with the nobility, Bagnian scholars could only run sparsely attended private schools in a few major cities of the country, with virtually no respectable path to advancement.

In this country, knowledge cannot be directly converted into power, wealth, or respect.

The long-term low status and low returns have made Bagnia's knowledge transmission extremely fragile.

True scholarly families are extremely rare. Most so-called scholars rely on their personal interests and struggle to explore, lacking systematic education and platforms for exchange.

The intellectual community is small, their voices are weak, and their future is bleak.

Therefore, when King Chris came to power, one of the core aspects of his new policies was to use examinations to determine the recruitment of civil servants, rather than relying on bloodlines and recommendations, thus breaking the monopoly of powerful clans.

For the scholars in Baghnia who had long been suppressed, looked down upon, and had almost no hope, this was like a thunderclap tearing through a long, dark night.

For them, the emergence of the civil service examination system was simply a bright, straight ladder to heaven without any obstacles!
No longer needing a prestigious surname or family for protection, one only needs to be proficient in the subjects designated by the king, especially Chinese language and characters, possess genuine talent and knowledge, and pass a fair examination to obtain official positions, power, and social respect.

This completely overturned their previous despairing perception.

For the first time, scholars discovered that the knowledge they had painstakingly accumulated through years of study was no longer a mere decoration or an adornment for aristocrats, but a golden brick that could unlock the doors of the halls of power. The ecstasy of having its value formally recognized and institutionally guaranteed by the highest ruler of the country was unimaginable to outsiders.

Of course, such a system is not perfect. At least as far as Dolan knows, there are quite a few people who have reservations about His Majesty Chris’s decision to teach “Chinese characters”. Before His Majesty ascended the throne, they thought that the prince did not respect Bagnia’s script and language.

Even a small group of arrogant individuals were still barking wildly in the newspapers of Hegland while His Majesty Chris was on a campaign to conquer the Kingdom of Minicia and expand its territory... and these newspapers were run by players, after all.

To be honest, when Chris learned about this from the player forums, he knew that there must be some shrewd players stirring things up behind the scenes.

He never cared about such things and just ignored them.

However, Chris was tolerant and didn't bother arguing with these idiots who only knew how to wield their pens, while Dolan was furious when he learned about it.

Dolan immediately wrote to the newspaper in Hegland, and the next day it was published. The letter, written in Bagnian and Chinese characters, thoroughly humiliated these guys.

Dolan's criticism was extremely harsh. His writing was exceptional, and he directly pointed out the timing and nature of the other party's remarks in his article... To hold back the country during a time of national survival and development is an act of utter betrayal.

The people being insulted initially tried to talk back, but after at least two rounds, they were rendered speechless and unable to refute the insults.

After Dolan's victory, perhaps still feeling aggrieved, or perhaps acting out of a sense of public duty, he went to the courtroom to report those who had been talking nonsense in the newspapers. In addition, he suggested that the state censor all newspaper content to prevent spies or similar individuals from publishing nonsensical ramblings.

Dolan was no ordinary scholar; he was a highly accomplished scholar with official positions and achievements, and one of the leading figures in the Bagnian cultural sphere.

Following his report, those guys quickly fell into big trouble... The court didn't do anything to them, but the tax officials from the tax bureau took notice of them.

Just as Dolan had predicted, these people did indeed have some unusual income. As a result, they were soon arrested for tax evasion and having their assets confiscated by the tax authorities. They also became notorious in academic circles and were completely unable to continue their careers.

Dolan felt no pity for the fate of these opponents.

In his view, these people were not only stumbling blocks to the new order, but also a desecration of the principles of fairness established by His Majesty Chris.

The learning and promotion of Chinese language and characters is precisely the core and most concrete manifestation of this fairness.

Although Dolan himself felt that the Chinese language system, named Hanzi, was somewhat difficult to learn compared to the crude and simple writing and language of the Kingdom of Bagnia.

However, it is precisely because of this difficulty in learning that everyone in Bagnia starts on the same starting line.

The core subjects for the civil service exam are Chinese reading and writing, law, and arithmetic.

These subjects test standardized knowledge and mastery of standardized tools. The examiners judge the correctness of your answers, not your background or who your teacher is.

Dolan won his position by diligently studying and mastering standard Chinese and knowledge in the official school, thus defeating those old noble children who might have had family backgrounds in learning but were lacking in modern knowledge.

This is institutionalized fairness.

Secondly, the standardization of the Chinese language stripped away the cultural interpretation rights that were monopolized by the aristocracy and attached to the old script.

Knowledge is no longer a decorative or pretentious aristocratic plaything, but has become a pure force that can be quantified, assessed, and used to serve national governance.

How many Chinese characters one knows, how many legal provisions one understands, and how complex calculations one can perform—all these can be clearly measured through examinations. This makes the selection process truly "selection based on merit," rather than "selection based on lineage/connections."

Dolan deeply felt that only when knowledge is no longer monopolized by the privileged class in terms of interpretation, and when the standards of judgment are clear, visible, open, and transparent, does the hard work of studying truly have meaning.

His success is the best proof of this fair system.

Therefore, when Dolan saw his opponents attacking the Chinese language policy as "disrespectful of tradition," his anger stemmed not only from his loyalty to the king, but also from his deep vigilance against the underlying attempt to restore the old monopoly on knowledge and the unjust system.

He reported them not only because they were "barking," but also because they were trying to undermine the hard-won foundation of fairness, which is based on standardized language and testing systems.

Therefore, within the Kingdom of Bagnia, not all, but at least most, intellectuals, like Dolan, wholeheartedly supported His Majesty Chris.

(End of this chapter)