Chapter 23: Granting a marquis is not my intention, simulation ends

【The iron cavalry of the Northern Wind delegation brought the biting cold wind and finally broke the silence of the ancient capital in the south.】

【This news quickly spread among the scholars in the capital, as if a stone had stirred up a thousand waves.】

【Southern scholars ran to tell each other, making the news of the delegation's convoy entering the capital widely known.】

【The streets of the ancient capital were bustling with traffic and noise. The people flocked to both sides of the street, looking forward to seeing the Northern Wind delegation.】

【The delegation's convoy drove in slowly, and the accompanying princess and generals dismounted at the gate of the imperial city, showing humility and respect.】

【This was the toughest day for the Great Daqing in twenty years.】

【The debate between peace negotiations and war in the court lasted for several days.】

【Finally, the current Son of Heaven decided to let the Northern Wind return the six prefectures and set a policy of marriage.】

【The news of letting the Lu Family Army return to the court arrived; in the camp, your father looked at the edict in his hand, a trace of helplessness flashing in his eyes.】

【The Lu Family Army's morale was like a rainbow, and with the addition of the Northern volunteer army, they were one step away from reaching the Huang Long Mansion.】

【However, the imperial order was hard to disobey; he could only let out a deep sigh: "Eight thousand miles of clouds and moon, now all turned to dust and soil."】

【Your father's memorial requesting to fight was like a stone sinking into the sea, not stirring up a ripple, and instead, he was demoted by one level.】

【However, half a month later, a golden decree came, summoning you three father and sons to the capital to be granted titles.】

【Looking at the golden decree in your hand, so... you decided.】

1. Regardless of everything, go straight to Huang Long Mansion.

2. Follow the order and return to the capital to be granted titles.

3. Retire to your hometown and continue to cultivate the Dao in the mountains.

4. Participate personally (1/3)

Yu Ke looked at the four options.

He could not help but ponder; if he chose 1, regardless of everything, go straight to Huang Long Mansion.

So what, after all, if he won, the world would still be the Great Daqing's world.

Rashly attacking, and having to face accountability from the court, was completely unnecessary.

He had changed the world's situation in five years of descending the mountain, and this simulation should have good rewards.

The side quest had been completed.

The main task of the simulation was still to cultivate the Dao.

Yu Ke decided to choose 3: Retire to your hometown and continue to cultivate the Dao in the mountains.

【Your father already knew of your intention to resign; although he wrung his hands and sighed, he knew your determination to cultivate the Dao.】

【Your younger brother also wanted to return to the mountains to cultivate the Dao; he had long been clamoring to return to Mount Zhongnan.】

【Wang Yang learned the news and rushed over overnight, trying to persuade you for many days, but your determination to cultivate the Dao was firm and unshakable.】

【He could only sigh, "The Great Daqing lacks a pillar of the sea."】

【You personally picked up the pen and wrote a resignation, submitting it to the imperial court, wishing to retire to Mount Zhongnan and pursue the Dao of Nature.】

【This resignation was presented to the Son of Heaven by the seal-holding eunuch Ma Bao. Ma Bao took your resignation and sighed lightly: "Shaobao, your future is bright; you only need to flap your wings lightly to reach the blue clouds, be granted a king and prime minister, why do you need to cultivate the Dao on Mount Zhongnan?"】

【Hearing this, you just smiled indifferently: "Galloping eight thousand miles in the north, not for a marquis, but to revitalize the country."】

【Your resignation spread back to the capital, and in an instant, the world was in an uproar, shocking all directions.】

【People discussed it, with mixed reviews of your decision. Some praised your high character, while others ridiculed you for being aggressive, contrary to the imperial will, and dissatisfied, so you did it.】

【Ma Bao deliberately publicized it for you, and for a time, the story of "Granting a marquis is not my intention" spread widely, spreading in all directions.】

【The Son of Heaven was quite gratified by your resignation and issued a decree to take your father to the south, granting him the title of Military Governor of the Dingguo Army, Wanshou Temple Official, and granting him a fief in the capital.】

【Although this position was a leisure position, it was also a dignified first rank, showing the Son of Heaven's great grace to the Lu family.】

【Many generals of the Lu Family Army were granted high official positions, but the key positions had been taken over by generals from the court.】

【Seeing this scene, you knew that the Son of Heaven was still suspicious of the Lu Family Army, which was about to have one hundred thousand people, and could not be completely at ease.】

【This day, you were twenty-six years old, and you and your brother packed your luggage, preparing to set off for Mount Zhongnan.】

【You put on that long-lost Daoist robe again.】

【Unexpectedly, this news inadvertently spread throughout the North. Outside the Lu Family Army camp, countless people flocked from all directions, surrounding the camp tightly.】

【Your father told you that these simple Northern people were all here to see you brothers off.】

【A warm current surged in your heart, and you stepped out of the camp gate, only to see a crowd of men, women, and children, their eyes flashing with reverence and reluctance, shouting your title in unison—"Shaobao."】

【They held eggs, pancakes, clothes, and other items in their hands, wanting to see you off, fearing that your journey would be long and you would be cold and hungry. However, you declined them one by one, feeling warm in your heart.】

【Their eyes were filled with tears; some felt unfair for you. Those in the south who did not know the truth said that you did it on purpose, relying on grace and being arrogant when you resigned.】

【However, the people in the North knew the hardships and difficulties of the Lu Family Army along the way, and they knew the character and responsibility of the Lu family.】

【Freeze to death without tearing down houses, starve to death without looting, was definitely not just talk.】

【They personally experienced the cruelty and ravages of the Northern Wind army; countless homes were turned into ruins in the war, and relatives were forced to separate.】

【Twenty years of national humiliation, how could this weight be compared to a simple marriage between two countries?】

【You looked at those who saw you off all the way, and many generals in the Lu Family Army were covering their faces and crying.】

【At this moment, a sense of shame that could not be expressed surged in your heart.】

【Although you recovered the old mountains and rivers in these six years, you still felt that you had not made any achievements.】

【You took your brother and bowed deeply to the people who saw you off, expressing your gratitude and respect, and then turned and left resolutely.】

【That day, heavy snow fell, fluttering, and it fell for three days and three nights.】

【A nursery rhyme spread in the North: "Who says Heaven is not hospitable, the sky full of wind and snow sends one person."】

【In the late autumn of this year, you returned to Mount Zhongnan, the red leaves in the mountains were like fire, and you had not returned for six years.】

【Liu Jinchan personally welcomed you brothers at the foot of the mountain, his face full of joy.】

【The battle of your three crossings of the Yellow River has now become a legend that disciples in the sect talk about, and they hold you in high esteem.】

【Those disciples who once held contempt for you now put away their arrogance and only have deep worship for you.】

【However, you did not care, still practicing with undivided attention, daily morning work, going up and down the mountain, rain or shine.】

【In the winter of the same year, the Sanzhen Sect on Mount Zhongnan was granted the title of orthodox Daoism by the court, and its reputation grew day by day.】

【In the following three years, you practiced hard every day; although progress was slow, your tenacity and perseverance were admirable, and you were still practicing piles late at night every day.】

【After countless days and nights of hard work, your cultivation finally reached the sixth level of "Great Huangting," finally ranking among the second-rate Jianghu.】

【This day, you are thirty years old.】

【Tip: Today's Heavenly Human Reincarnation is over, please come back tomorrow, it has been saved.】

【One day in the human world, ten years in the cauldron.】

【Archive time, thirty years.】

【Warm tip: You changed the world's situation within ten years, making the Northern people free from the suffering of war, and received the Kunxu World reward, which is being drawn...】

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 24 =====