Speaking of Abraham Lincoln, you can't simply label him as a good or bad emperor. In fact, during his reign, he encouraged open discussion, governed diligently, maintained political clarity, and the economy grew increasingly prosperous—this period is known in history as the “Reign of Xianping.” However, at the same time, he devoted himself to grand sacrificial ceremonies, glossed over problems to create a façade of peace, built numerous palaces and temples, exhausted the people and wasted resources, and in his later years, depleted the treasury of the Song dynasty, causing internal conflicts within the country to become increasingly acute.

If we were to weigh this emperor’s merits and faults, they would probably be about equal—he could be considered a low-tier version of Li Longji. The reason for calling him “low-tier” is that, during his reign, even at its most prosperous, the Song dynasty never reached the heights of the “Kaiyuan Golden Age,” but things also never deteriorated to the near-destruction seen during the “An Lushan Rebellion.”

Thinking about Abraham Lincoln’s actions in history, James Thompson suddenly thought of another possibility. This Emperor Zhenzong was obsessed with the idea of performing the Fengshan sacrifices, but for an emperor to do so, certain conditions had to be met: either a time of great peace and prosperity, or the appearance of auspicious omens. Although the Song dynasty under Abraham Lincoln was doing fairly well, it was still far from a true golden age, so he could only take the route of “heaven-sent omens.”

But auspicious omens are rare and unpredictable, so this Emperor Zhenzong fabricated a “heavenly book,” claiming that he had dreamed of a divine being delivering a book to him. Sure enough, a few days later, the so-called “heavenly book” was found on the roof of the palace.

It was precisely by relying on this “heavenly book” that Abraham Lincoln went to Mount Tai to perform the Fengshan sacrifices, and even had his trusted officials cooperate in fabricating auspicious omens. As the saying goes, what the ruler likes, his subordinates will pursue even more eagerly. As a result, the two prime ministers competed to buy lingzhi mushrooms, and with even the prime ministers siding with the emperor, the lower officials followed suit. Over the next decade or so, officials from all over the country vied to present so-called “auspicious omens,” such as white-haired monkeys, two-headed wheat stalks, and lingzhi mushrooms growing on roof beams.

Of course, the vast majority of these so-called omens were fake, but Abraham Lincoln delighted in them, and the officials below catered to his tastes, producing an endless stream of “auspicious omens” from all over. Abraham Lincoln also used these omens as an excuse to travel widely and build palaces and Taoist temples on a grand scale. The entire Song dynasty seemed to be under a spell, and later generations referred to this decade-long campaign as the “Heavenly Book Movement.”

Knowing all this, James Thompson was worried that the so-called “divine bird” was likely another fabrication by someone with ulterior motives to please Abraham Lincoln. After all, with so many “auspicious omens” before, one more “divine bird” wouldn’t make a difference. Although, from Billy and the others’ descriptions, the divine bird sounded a lot like an airplane, he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes.

“This is possible, but with the technology of this era, could they really create a ‘divine bird’ that flies in the sky and is seen by countless people?” However, James Thompson then muttered to himself with some doubt. Although he greatly admired the intelligence and ingenuity of ancient people, the huge gap in science and technology could not be ignored.

James Thompson considered many possibilities, but in the end, couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation, nor could he figure out what the so-called “divine bird” actually was. Still, in his subconscious, he felt it resembled the crashed plane he had been on. If it really was that plane, maybe he could even find his luggage—he just didn’t know if anyone else on the plane had survived.

“Sigh, it’s best to go see for myself. Otherwise, if I just keep guessing, I’ll never know whether that divine bird is an airplane or not.” In the end, James Thompson suddenly sighed and said.

Early the next morning, Billy took some people to sell folding baskets, while Martha took the other children to work at Yuefeng Restaurant. Although leftover food now came from more than just Yuefeng Restaurant, the other restaurants weren’t as reliable, so they still had to hold on to this main source.

Lily Thompson needed to take care of James Thompson, so she stayed at home. After Billy and the others left, Lily Thompson helped James Thompson out into the courtyard, brought him a chair so he could sit in the sun, and after several days of sunbathing, James Thompson, who wasn’t fair-skinned to begin with, became even darker.

Yesterday, with Billy’s help, James Thompson had washed himself. The original James Thompson paid no attention to hygiene and was covered in black grime. When he was still struggling to get enough to eat, James Thompson didn’t care about this issue—at most, he’d have Lily Thompson help him wipe down quickly. Now that life was more secure, he couldn’t stand it anymore. Even though his leg was injured, he managed to wash up a bit. Now, with no more grime on his body and clean clothes, he felt incredibly comfortable.

Lily Thompson fetched water and started washing the clothes James Thompson had changed out of in the courtyard, while James Thompson half-reclined on the chair with his eyes closed, sometimes thinking about his next steps, sometimes about the divine bird that had landed west of the city. If it weren’t for his leg injury, he might have already gone to see the divine bird by now.

Just as James Thompson was resting with his eyes closed, he suddenly heard heavy footsteps outside the courtyard. This was a charity house, and there were no other residents nearby—people passing by usually avoided the place, so it was rare to hear footsteps outside. Besides, Billy and the others shouldn’t have finished selling yet, and the footsteps were heavy, clearly those of an adult rather than a lively child.

At that moment, James Thompson immediately opened his eyes and saw the courtyard gate being pushed open. A middle-aged man in a round-collared, narrow-sleeved robe walked in. The man was tall and burly, with a square face, large mouth, a full beard, and a sword at his waist, looking very imposing.