Chapter 226

Hou Jue, even if merely nominal, even if Zhongzhou could no longer offer the great aid it once did when the Red Emperor still lived, was still more than enough—this was the highest title the Emperor of this era could bestow.

As for the rank of 【Gong】 above Hou Jue, it was nearly impossible to attain.

Like Tai Ping Gong, who earned the title of Gong by establishing unparalleled merit, rescuing the Chen state's lineage from the brink of annihilation in a war that nearly saw him trample Jiangzhou city, having bypassed the top general of the realm.

Five hundred years ago, the Duke of Xue and the Duke of Chen were both renowned for their mighty fame.

Hou Jue was already the pinnacle rank for military commanders under normal circumstances.

Not to mention it was personally granted by the Red Emperor's lineage.

Its status and significance were utterly distinct from the noble titles granted by Chen and Ying states; strictly speaking, across this vast world, the rulers of Chen and Ying were kings appointed by Zhongzhou's edict, and between them and Li Guanyi's Hou Jue, there was only one rank separating them.

At banquets, Li Guanyi would sit, while the crown princes of Chen and Ying must rise to pour wine for him.

Though Zhongzhou had now lost its former majesty, its nominal authority still stood; even hegemonic powers like Chen and Ying, so long as they had not resolved their rivalry, would not dare defy the whole realm by launching troops against the region controlled by Qin Wu Hou.

To attack was not to strike at Jiangnan or Li Guanyi—it was to defy the immense legacy and authority left by the Red Emperor's eight-hundred-year orthodox line, a direct challenge to the established order.

Chen and Ying would not launch troops against Jiangnan under such circumstances.

But they would fervently hope the other side would strike first, so they could claim moral superiority.

Precisely because both sides possessed basic judgment and strategic vision, a deterrent equilibrium formed, and the crisis facing the Fire Qilin Army was thus resolved.

My lord is safe!

Even Pang Shuiyun breathed a sigh of relief, his previously taut spirit gradually relaxing.

Due to the tension in his mind, the old man did not at first realize he had quietly changed how he referred to the young general in his subconscious.

With this great momentum secured.

If Chen and Ying still intended to continue attacking Jiangnan, they would gain no advantage on the battlefield, risk being outmaneuvered and stretched thin on other fronts, and face universal condemnation from the realm—Jiangnan would now enjoy a long period of rest and recuperation.

This period of stability would last until the realm underwent great upheaval and Chen and Ying determined supremacy.

During this interval, Jiangnan would be secure.

But if Jiangnan failed to advance during this time and remained at its former level, it would ultimately face destruction—once one of the two great states prevailed, it would immediately turn its full force, fueled by rage, to crush and absorb Jiangnan, unifying the realm.

Pang Shuiyun suddenly conceived another strategy: not to seek dominance over the entire realm.

Merely maintain the balance among the states, keep Chen and Ying perpetually locked in conflict, aid the weaker side, so the realm would remain forever chaotic, and Jiangnan would remain forever safe, with Li Guanyi's faction ruling Jiangnan and overlooking the world.

But soon, the old strategist discarded this strategy.

Such a conservative, self-preserving strategy that relied on chaos and refused to advance was short-sighted, unworthy of a true sovereign; based on his understanding of his young lord, Li Guanyi would never do such a thing.

Pang Shuiyun looked at the young Emperor before him, the Emperor of Zhongzhou, this youth dismissed as merely a puppet in the hands of a hegemon, yet still burning with the hot blood of the Red Emperor; the Emperor of Zhongzhou gazed at Pang Shuiyun and said softly:

"You may return and inform Qin Wu Hou that I wish to meet him."

"The Red Emperor had a tradition of imperial hunting. You may invite Qin Wu Hou to join."

Pang Shuiyun guessed the Zhongzhou Emperor's intent—he had granted Li Guanyi this great momentum, giving the Fire Qilin Army precious time to rest and recover, yet also hoped to leverage Li Guanyi's military prestige to revive Zhongzhou's glory and break free from the control of the Huangzu Sect's elder patriarchs.

Not a foolish man…

Pang Shuiyun thought to himself, smiled, and bowed with polished deference:

"Your servant obeys. I shall inform Qin Wu Hou."

The matter ended. Ji Zichang returned to his palace, holding the Fengwu Sword in hand, silent for a long while. The sword was no divine weapon, merely a high-grade blade; his palm traced its length, pondering the current situation.

The Huangzu Sect's elder patriarchs interfered with and influenced him, the great Emperor.

The six palace masters of the Academy guarded his life but served not his will.

The strongest among them, Master Siming, was lax and unrestrained; Ji Yanzhong, the kind elder, had taken the Chixiao Sword away from here. Ji Zichang sighed long and hard, gripping the blade, gritting his teeth inwardly with bitter hatred:

"All are traitorous rebels!"

He had already sensed Li Guanyi's goal: to leverage the lingering prestige of the Red Emperor's lineage to secure Jiangnan's forces a period of rest and recuperation, elevating them from rebel bandits to legitimate troops.

But whether this was truly upholding the Emperor and repelling barbarians—or merely another ambitious man—he did not know. He walked in darkness; even a sliver of hope, he would grasp fiercely, abandoning all else.

"Li Guanyi, do not let me down…"

……………

Willow branch collided with battle halberd.

The heavy halberd, meant to shatter the supple willow branch, was entangled as if by spider silk; its fierce, forceful energy was layered and dispersed, then guided off-course, finally crashing heavily into the ground.

The earth roared, qi scattered, and jagged fissures split the ground.

Li Guanyi's breath came ragged.

The Fire Qilin spat a torrent of blazing flame.

It merged with Li Guanyi's qi, striking downward with overwhelming force—yet the man merely flicked his wrist, sweeping the willow branch; both Fire Qilin and Li Guanyi received a sharp tap on the forehead, then stumbled backward.

The Fire Qilin lay on the ground.

Li Guanyi's battle halberd, its butt end planted firmly on the earth, raised a hand to his reddened forehead, watching the old man in blue robes withdraw his hand, murmuring slightly frustrated: "Lost again…"

After every major battle, Li Guanyi was required to receive instruction from the Master Jiankuang, Elder Murong.

Master Siming chuckled mockingly: "You think you can defeat this old man by brute force with your heavy halberd? You're naive. Among the ninety-six mystic weapons he holds, several are just as heavy and brutal as yours—he long ago mastered the Martial Path Realm of lifting the light as if heavy, and the heavy as if light."

"Boy, you lost again."

Ding!

A roasted mantou struck the old man's head.

Master Siming's triumphant laughter cut off abruptly.

The old man turned to see a silver-haired girl beside him, her delicate face expressionless, holding a chopstick stuck through the mantou, tapping it against Master Siming's head, her tone utterly flat: "Snack."

"Ah… huh?! Snack?"

Master Siming stared at the thing—charred, cracked, resembling a hard meteor hammer in aesthetic, with honey smeared over the fissures.

The three-hundred-year-old man's scalp prickled.

He chuckled nervously: "Ah, well… I'm not hungry yet. Thank you, little one…"

Chopsticks stuck in a steamed bun were held out right in front of Master Siming's mouth.

Poke. Poke.

The old man strained to turn his head away.

To avoid letting this unidentifiable object enter his mouth.

Master Siming's personality was free-spirited and unrestrained; he got along well with Yao Guang, who had grown up without her father. Li Guanyi raised his battle spear, and the Master Jiankuang pointed out every flaw in Li Guanyi's techniques, then said: "Guanyi, your strength is still insufficient."

"Though your Yuan Shen broke through during this year's campaign, your overall combat power still lies between the peak of the Fourth Heaven and the threshold of the Fifth Heaven."

At this moment, Li Guanyi did not mention anything about the Second Heaven.

He listened intently to the Master Jiankuang's advice.

Elder Murong said gently: "With the Fire Qilin's might, you can wield power equivalent to the Sixth Heaven. And if you are backed by the formation and battle spirit of ten thousand troops, you can, as before, wield a divine weapon and defeat two Sixth Heaven generals head-on."

"But though battle formations grant great enhancement, they are still half an external aid."

"A warrior's true strength ultimately lies within himself."

"If you cannot stand among the world's heroes without the Fire Qilin and battle formations, you are still one step short."

"In this chaotic age, those who rank among the top of the Divine General List all possess the methods of a Grand Master, augmented by the army's formation and the soul of soldiers, wielding divine weapons to dominate the battlefield. You are still lacking a little."

Li Guanyi agreed. Elder Murong thought for a moment, beckoned Li Guanyi to the pavilion for rest, picked up his tea, and asked the young man: "Now that the Jiangnan region is largely pacified, what are your plans after this?"

Li Guanyi reached out, took the chopsticks nearly jammed into Master Siming's mouth from Yao Guang's hand, and casually tucked the girl's arm under his own, like gripping a white cat.

The girl's face remained expressionless.

The girl struggled violently.

Li Guanyi ignored her, yet his movements were gentle; then he looked at Elder Murong and said:

"Hmm. Rest and recuperation."

"We fought outside Beicheng, then marched for over eight months, and spent three more months pacifying this region. It feels like the entire past year has been nothing but battle and slaughter. Everyone has been holding their breath here—no matter how iron-willed a man may be, he cannot fight endlessly."

"Jiangnan is rich in water and grass, and a vital river crossing."

"It is time to fulfill our promise and give everyone a home."

Elder Murong asked: "And then?"

Li Guanyi thought for a moment and said: "Train."

The aged Master Jiankuang gazed at the boy and smiled faintly. He held his teacup, yet seemed to have lost the boundless ambition of his youth; instead, he resembled an ordinary elder, seeking the children's approval, and said gently:

"After this, would you like to travel the Jianghu with me?"

Elder Murong said: "I am old. My old friends and enemies have all passed away. The few remaining elders are no longer in their prime. Jiangnan's situation is now settled. It is time for me to take you to meet them."

"To see the vastness of the world, you must also see the heroism of the Jianghu."

"And incidentally, remove that strange poison on your body."

"The blood poison of the 【Fei】—though you can suppress it now, it remains a latent threat. It may erupt at any moment. So far, I can help suppress it, but if it flares during battle or in a formation, it will be disastrous."

Enter the Jianghu.

The Master Jiankuang had mentioned this before.

But prior matters always interfered, so it never came to pass.

Now, the former Fire Qilin soldiers have been brought here—it is time to revive the plan. Li Guanyi thought for a moment and agreed, promising that once his current duties were settled, he would travel the Jianghu with his great-grandfather, Elder Murong.

A Fire Qilin soldier arrived, saying the military strategist, Mr. Yuan Zhi, had something urgent.

Li Guanyi immediately took his leave from the two elders.

……………………

Li Guanyi met Yuan Zhi, who reported the current state of the Fire Qilin Army once more. The matters were tedious, but the most critical issue was the extreme shortage of civil administration talent—all officials and magistrates in the cities under Fire Qilin control needed replacement.

The administrative backlog from the cities formerly under Chen and Ying states was immense; Yuan Zhi alone could not possibly handle it all, nor could he manage the flood of favors from great clans and the cases piled up in prisons…

The one thing Li Guanyi had done most recently was evade civil affairs.

Then Yuan Zhi would grab his arm and drag him right back.

He would face the documents, his scalp prickling, then slip away again.

Li Guanyi would rather lead troops into battle or venture into danger as he had during the Hunting Qilin Gathering than face mountains of dense, endless paperwork. Yet here, he had no shortage of brute warriors—but not a single person capable of handling such tasks.

He could only leave it to Yuan Zhi.

After listing all matters one by one, Yuan Zhi dismissed his clerks, sat down with Li Guanyi to play weiqi to relax, and said gravely: "As for the matter you mentioned, I have some ideas—if you divide land, link 【Military Merit】 with 【Land】…"

"Similar to a military merit nobility system."

Yuan Zhi pulled out his prepared Juan Sect documents, but Li Guanyi stopped him. The young general carefully reviewed the strategist's proposal and shook his head: "The land division I mean is not done this way."

"A more suitable approach would be equal land distribution."

"Eliminate granting permanent farmland based on official rank or oxen—wasn't this some noble's addition? These bastards—I know what they're planning the moment they shift their buttocks."

"Do not give only uncultivated land. Give good, fertile land. Start with the Fire Qilin soldiers, then gradually expand outward, granting land to every registered civilian."

"Ban noble clans from exploiting loopholes to seize vast public lands."

"Even a Captain of the Fire Qilin Army must not do so… Prevent land consolidation—ah, land consolidation means…"

Li Guanyi set down the Juan Sect documents and laid everything out plainly to Yuan Zhi.

The young strategist, born of poverty, felt his heart pound violently.

Though he excelled in military strategy and formations and was weak in other areas, his comparison was with his peers at the Imperial Academy—in other matters, his insight remained sharp, especially given his humble origins, which made him acutely sensitive to certain issues.

He took a deep breath: "For over a decade, Jiangnan fell under Chen and Ying states and the chaos of the Jianghu. Many great clans fled here. Thus, the fertile land you demand still exists—at least enough to distribute to some. But…"

"Even so, this will enrage the great clans."

"When your decree is enforced, the people of all eighteen prefectures of Jiangnan will flock to claim land. But a problem arises: the land available will be insufficient. Most will be unowned or wasteland. Yet if you wish to give good land to the people, you…"

He stared at the young general before him, feeling dazed, lips slightly parted, and said:

"Are you going to target the great clans?"

Li Guanyi picked up a go stone and replied directly: "They have too much land."

Yuan Zhi said: "You were born into an aristocratic family…"

Li Guanyi put down the go stone and said: "I've already spoken to my great-grandfather; the Murong clan will take this step willingly. Besides, my father came from poverty, and as a child, I traveled everywhere with my aunt. Aristocrats? They don't decide what I will do."

"Give the land to the people."

Yuan Zhi's throat moved; he suddenly felt a vast tide of momentum pressing down on him.

He could almost see how Jiangnan would burn with ambition in the days to come.

But he immediately realized something else and said:

"Will you also enact such policies after this?"

Li Guanyi said: "And if I do?"

The young scholar from a humble family fell silent and said:

"If so, you… will surely stand against all under heaven."

Li Guanyi looked at him, placed a stone, and said: "You're wrong."

"It's not against all under heaven—it's against the aristocratic clans."

"Are the clans all of heaven? Not quite, Yuan Zhi."

Yuan Zhi stared at Li Guanyi, who went on alone: "After this, I'll go to the Imperial Academy. I'll bring back a group of talents, and then return to Jiangnan to establish official schools—but lower the entry barrier, and I'll need a cohort of students."

"Yuan Zhi, help me figure this out."

The young strategist said: "My lord, you intend to…"

Li Guanyi picked up a black go stone and placed it on the board, not answering, only saying:

"I heard a story: a monk raised a fierce tiger, treating it like a cat—feeding it only vegetables. Though powerful, the tiger grew extremely docile. One day, he bled from his nose, found the blood on the ground filthy and disgusting, and pointed with his toe, ordering the tiger to lick it up."

"But he never imagined that once the tiger tasted blood, it yearned for it day and night. At first, it could still suppress its claws and teeth, endure it. But eventually, it could no longer tolerate eating grass and vegetables every day. One day, it pounced and devoured the monk."

"Then it returned to the mountains, and its roar shook the world."

"What do you think this story means, Mr.?"

Yuan Zhi fell silent and answered: "I don't know."

Li Guanyi shook his head and said: "The people are the tiger."

"The people of this world possess immense power, but they are bound. I cannot defy the limits of this world and age, but I want to make this sleeping tiger taste the flavor of flesh and blood."

Yuan Zhi had glimpsed something utterly different; his throat felt dry, his heartbeat raced wildly, as if no longer his own. He watched the young general place a stone, and Li Guanyi continued:

"The clans are resources—military, civil officials, monopolies."

"I will distribute land and resources to the people, shatter the clans' monopoly on knowledge and officials, and return all of it to heaven—just as the tiger took its first bite of blood. The people will learn what it means to own land and resources, what it means to study martial and literary arts."

"The tiger will slowly awaken. If one generation cannot awaken, then the next."

Yuan Zhi stared at the纵横 board, as if seeing the thousand-year rules of heaven, layer upon layer, piled into a fortress with iron walls—then suddenly shattering.

"Even if I fail, Mr., do you know this?"

"They—this tiger—have already tasted meat!"

Yuan Zhi lifted his head, gazing at the young man seated there, his gaze calm, yet within it burned a flame.

The young general said: "Once a tiger has tasted meat, it will never tolerate returning to its former state. The people are the same. Even if I die, heaven will surge like roaring waves, relentlessly moving toward the future…"

"This change won't come quickly, but its power is immense."

"Because it is the will of the myriad people."

"One day, it will reach the golden age we envision."

Someone like Yuan Zhi could clearly see the scene this implied—how vast and magnificent it was. But he also understood: the first to take this step would face unimaginable pressure and resistance.

The Chen and Ying states dared not defy the eight-hundred-year legacy of the Red Emperor by attacking Jiangnan.

What did this boy's dream face, beyond that eight-hundred-year legacy?

Thinking of his own experiences and observations, Yuan Zhi felt longing and desire, yet still gave the calm advice a strategist must offer: "But you will stand against all under heaven."

Li Guanyi emphasized: "Against the aristocratic clans."

He looked at Yuan Zhi and laughed lightly: "Fine, then let's say I stand against all under heaven—I won't correct you."

He paused, then added with disdain and boldness: "So what?!"

The young general placed a stone and said calmly: "The Daoist school says I have three treasures: first, compassion; second, frugality; third, not daring to be first under heaven. But I'm already a general—frugality? I may not be strict, but I'm certainly stingy."

"The third—'not daring to be first under heaven'—must also be broken."

"No wonder Grandmaster Zu refused to take me as a disciple at first."

"I've heard the Imperial Academy's masters teach without distinction. I'm going now to see if the Academy still has such bold words."

"Today, I will call the Academy into the world—not the Hundred Schools!"

"Ha! Mr., you've lost! Today's internal affairs are no longer my responsibility!"

Li Guanyi won the game and laughed loudly, then looked at the dazed humble strategist and called: "Mr.?"

"Mr."

"Mr.!"

After several calls, Yuan Zhi slowly raised his head and saw the young general smiling, extending his hand gently: "Even if I'm a madman who stands against all under heaven, even if I fail and am utterly ruined—will you walk this path with me?"

Yuan Zhi's lips moved; he was no longer the man struck dumb by that treatment.

But he was still dazed, feeling himself kneel in full reverence, and answered:

"For my lord's ambition, I offer my life and service."

"Even death, I will not turn back!"

The young strategist smiled calmly, answering his own vow:

"I will follow behind you."

"If you die, Yuan Zhi will not survive in this world!"

My spine gave out; today it feels like severe lumbar muscle strain, excruciating pain—I went to see a doctor, so I'm late, at peace