In the following days, Mingzhou was bustling.
Some wealthy merchants in the city found a silk book with the words "King of Mingzhou, world prosper" inside a fish's belly, and were stunned, discussing it endlessly.
Craftsmen heard foxes calling toward the direction of Mingzhou Prefecture at night, chanting the name "Heaven's Mandate, protect the food Yang," bowing toward Mingzhou Prefecture.
Others heard little ghosts crawling out of the chaotic grave on the roadside during nighttime chats: "The true dragon is about to be born, Mingzhou is indeed a blessed land..."
"Alas, it's just that our fate is unfortunate. If we died a few years later, with the King of Mingzhou's protection, we wouldn't be left to decompose in the wilderness..."
"..."
One by one, these incidents spread, from alleyways to storytellers, tea sellers like Wang Po, workers, and traders, everyone was talking about the imminent rise of the food-protection general's mandate.
