Chapter 31

【You finally met the Eighth Prince, Prince Jing, who is already known as the "Virtuous Prince."】

【Inside the great hall, the reserved main seat on the left, symbolizing honor and status, was originally reserved for Prince Jing.】

【However, Prince Jing did not take his seat immediately, a move that caused Liu Jinchan on the right to hesitate as well, and in the end, both were left vacant; the others naturally did not dare to have the slightest overstepping behavior.】

【They lined up in two rows one after another.】

【Prince Jingzhou Cheng only brought one servant, Chen Ji, and your uncle whom you hadn't seen for a long time.】

【Uncle arrived only today; he was once a disciple of the Sanzhen Sect, and after returning to secular life, he married and had children.】

【You and Prince Jing exchanged courtesies, and then you and Lu Yu visited Uncle one after another.】

【Zhou Cheng returned the courtesy to you, calling you Shaobao, not in a hurry for you and your uncle to reminisce, waiting silently to the side.】

【Perhaps it had been many years since they last met; the once hearty uncle had grown some gray hair. The hot-blooded man who accompanied Father north three times, saying, "If the Northern Wind is not destroyed, how can there be a home," seemed to have changed and aged.】

【Uncle looked at you brothers, smiling happily, with tears in his eyes.】

【Only then did you learn that Uncle actually had a child, a girl.】

【Uncle smiled, "This girl doesn't like the embroidery and needlework of a daughter, but instead likes dancing with spears and sticks the most, holding military books all day, saying she wants to be the first female general of Daqing!"】

【"Of course, she admires you brothers the most, especially you, Shenzhou."】

【"She often talks about your stories in the north, and every time she tells them, even I am haunted by them."】

【The man over fifty sighed leisurely: "Even I wish I could return to the Lu Family Army, leading troops to the desert north, roasting meat under the banner fifty miles away, and singing songs eight hundred miles outside the border."】

【"But, I can't let go of the mother and daughter in my heart, I want to see her get married, have a family and children, don't blame Uncle."】

【You sighed slightly.】

【In troubled times, national hatred and family grievances, who shoulders the family and country? Big family, small family, in the secular world, who can show the courage of a common man?】

【Uncle's figure looked a bit lonely; he didn't mention too much about how he stepped into Prince Jing's mansion, just gently handed Mother's letter to you brothers, and then, like a shadow, quietly retreated behind Prince Jingzhou Cheng, not showing off, not stealing the limelight.】

【Liu Jinchan greeted everyone, and everyone took their seats, the atmosphere becoming harmonious.】

【Lu Yu stood behind you silently as in the past; this was a habit cultivated by the Lu Family Army for many years.】

【Once seated.】

【You lowered your eyes, your demeanor calm, like the stillness of an abyss, and like the stability of an ancient pavilion, like an abyss and like a pavilion.】

【This is the temperament you cultivated from years of marching, otherwise how could you hold down the three armies.】

【Zhou Cheng saw this and was slightly stunned.】

【The imperial nobility he had cultivated in the capital for twenty-seven years, the royal leisure, was inevitably a bit ridiculous in front of you.】

【Zhou Cheng couldn't help but think of the military records accompanying the court: "Lu Shaobao sat in the tent of the Lu Family Army to supervise the battle, often accompanied by the young commander Lu You'an behind him, and twenty-six generals of the pavilion stood behind, with great momentum. All the generals in the army were focused and did not dare to be negligent."】

【Ten years of gold and iron horses, swallowing ten thousand miles like a tiger.】

【I don't know what kind of style it was when the brocade flags rolled in the west wind and Lu Chen supervised the ten thousand Lu Family Army soldiers going north.】

【Zhou Cheng slowly came back to his senses.】

【Chen Ji, Prince Jing's great companion, was highly favored and often did not look at the powerful officials in the court. The so-called Shaobao was just a minister of one emperor, a vassal of power changes. He hadn't seen the court change six prime ministers in three years, you sing and I appear.】

【Chen Ji saw your clothes fluttering, your face calm, and your expression composed, and secretly thought, "The airs are quite big."】

【Suddenly, a momentum that had never appeared before hit like a mountain, and Chen Ji staggered, almost falling to the ground.】

【Zhou Cheng saw this and frowned slightly.】

【Chen Ji hurriedly pleaded guilty, trembling: "The little one was rude, please forgive me, Your Highness."】

【"Hmm, get up."】

【Chen Ji was terrified; his master was thick-hearted about small things, but couldn't tolerate a grain of sand in big things.】

【Your heart moved, and your gaze turned to Lu Yu, only feeling a strange momentum just now, emanating from Lu Yu, snatching people's momentum, rushing at the eunuch behind Zhou Cheng, and disappearing in an instant.】

【Could this be the realm above the Great Grandmaster, colorless and imageless? If you weren't close, I'm afraid it would be difficult to discover this change in heaven and earth.】

【Lu Yu was natural, as if it had nothing to do with him.】

【You smiled slightly.】

【You and Zhou Cheng started chatting; he was the protagonist of this scene today.】

【You chatted from the doctrines of Sanzhen to the use of troops on the battlefield, from poetry and songs to the general trend of the world.】

【You found that this Eighth Prince was indeed well-deserved, and he could easily use and integrate the studies of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism.】

【When he talked about your battles, his tone was full of excitement and pride, sharing the honor.】

【He took out a scroll and unfolded it gently; it was a map of the world's prefectures of Daqing.】

【Zhou Cheng smiled and said: "Shaobao, I know you have been in the army for ten years and have made great achievements, so I specially give this map to you."】

【Chen Ji heard the sound and hurriedly stepped forward, respectfully taking one end of the scroll with both hands, carefully unfolding this magnificent map together with Zhou Cheng.】

【I saw that this map was one foot long and two feet wide, as if the entire territory of Daqing was condensed on this piece of paper.】

【You looked closely and saw that it meticulously depicted the geographical situation of the five states of Youzhou, Liangzhou, Bingzhou, Qingzhou, and Xinxing, as well as the Yunzhou and Yanzhou recovered by General Lu Chen.】

【Every mountain, river, city, and fortress was clearly marked, as if the entire Daqing was in sight.】

【The detail and value of this map were enough to be described as "worth a city, a priceless treasure."】

【However, such a map of the world's prefectures is undoubtedly a rebellious act in the eyes of ordinary people. If it were privately made by the people, I fear it would bring disaster and implicate the entire family.】

【However, the official seal of the Ninth Prince was clearly stamped on the lower left corner of this map, which made it a truly transferable object.】

【Even Liu Jinchan was drooling over this map; this map was enough to be passed down.】

【You didn't know Zhou Cheng's intention and showed no reaction.】

【Suddenly, Zhou Cheng tore up this extremely valuable map.】

【Even his personal great companion Chen Ji was stunned; he remembered that his master cherished this map very much, and no one else could touch it.】

【Chen Ji hurriedly knelt down and hugged the incomplete map, his voice a bit hoarse: "Master, why is this?"】

【Liu Jinchan also felt it was a great pity.】

【After Zhou Cheng tore it open, he smiled instead: "But I feel this map is still not worthy of Shaobao!"】

【He took out another map with great interest and slowly unfolded it.】

【This map detailed the vast regions of Liaodong in the north, the desert sea in the south, the Western Regions in the west, and Longmen in the east, covering the five countries of Daqing, Northern Wind, Qianyuan, Han, and Chu.】

【Looking down at the world.】

【Among them, Daqing is located in the Central Plains, surrounded by four countries. The terrain is vast, and Daqing only occupies the Central Plains.】

【Zhou Cheng explained: "Although Daqing is located in the south of the Yangtze River, prosperous and wealthy, it is the richest of the five countries, but it is also the money bag of the five countries."】

【"Daqing governs the world together with the southern clans, valuing literature and neglecting military preparations," Zhou Cheng added.】

【"If it weren't for the war between Chu and Han, and the internal chaos in Qianyuan, it would have long been four tigers lying in wait, eating Daqing."】

【"At that time, the Northern Wind would go south to graze, Qianyuan would go north to capture the dragon, and the Chu Flying Tiger Army would have long ago broken the capital."】

【"Back then, Shaobao was only thirty miles away from Huang Long Mansion, just one step away from going straight to Huang Long, which is a pity."】

【Zhou Cheng's expression was sad when he said this.】

【"At that time, I knelt at the door of the Emperor's room for three days and three nights, begging for an edict to send troops."】

【"Can the Northern Wind go south to Daqing, but Daqing cannot go to the Northern Wind?"】

【"This heart is clear, the royal cause does not seek peace in a corner."】

(End of this chapter)