Chapter 467: The Art of Geomancy

Liu Zheng listened, chuckled, and remained noncommittal.

In fact, he had already guessed it when Jie Yu urged him to go to the Academy.

The death of Chen Ran was no small matter.

This Wangbei Academy was located in Xiaoliang Mountain, which is near the Li River of later generations. And that Nanzhao Kingdom was just a few hundred miles away in Dali. In terms of distance, the Nanzhao Kingdom was closer than the Longyan Dynasty.

Chen Ran was a Prince of the Nanzhao Kingdom; once he died, the pressure on Wangbei Academy became immense.

Therefore...

If the Academy had invited him up the mountain previously to propose marriage for Qin Zhangfeng, the situation had changed by now. In the Academy's view, he had to go!

Things...

Had become complicated after all.

Liu Zheng smiled and shook his head: "Otherwise, what did you think I brought these few Red Cannons for? Hmm, if I say I want to bombard the Academy, there is a possibility of bombarding the Academy, isn't there?"

"Bang!"

Jie Yu almost fell face-first onto the ground, then looked behind her with a dark face... That's right, this time when Liu Zheng went to the Academy, he brought three thousand soldiers, as well as five Red Cannons urgently borrowed from Chuan Shu...

It was mentioned long ago in the previous text that there were Red Cannons in this era. But because the Red Cannon was truly too heavy... not only cumbersome, but it also took two minutes to load and fire once, and on top of that, the power of this Red Cannon was simply unsightly... To put it bluntly, apart from the sound, it was really not as satisfying to use as a Catapult.

Therefore, Red Cannons generally only appeared on the ramparts of city walls.

This time was different...

Liu Zheng directly deployed five Red Cannons, and all along the way, it had terrified Jie Yu.

Along the way, everyone enjoyed the scenery of this Xiaoliang Mountain. Green hills and clear waters, birds singing and flowers fragrant. The folk songs that occasionally rang out in the mountains were melodic and rhythmic, making one feel as if they could forget the struggles of the mundane world; here, it seemed one could truly cleanse the soul, making people feel peaceful, quiet, at ease, and tranquil.

The gloom brought to these three thousand Liangzhou Army soldiers by a war was swept away during these days.

The difference between here and Daliang Mountain was manifested in the enthusiasm of the Yi people and Yi girls here, which was pure and without any impurities; regardless of age or gender, the people here did not have the wariness on the faces of those in Daliang Mountain, nor the fierce, aggressive energy of those accustomed to internal strife.

Seeing Longyan people, they would become even more enthusiastic.

Some small tribes would even treat them as honored guests, singing and dancing, slaughtering cattle and sheep.

Liu Zheng naturally would not be polite.

He would take out some fine wine from Yintan City, Snow Cream, and Perfume to distribute, which naturally provoked the fiery passion of those Yi girls...

"It's so good..."

Pei Yanran, standing to the side, sighed softly: "If everyone lived under such order, how could there be war in the world?"

Liu Zheng smiled: "If the Nanzhao Kingdom is disobedient and Longyan wants to deal with them, this place will become a buffer zone for war. If we don't make war preparations early, where would these peaceful years come from?"

"You..."

Both women rolled their eyes at the same time and glared fiercely at this man who lacked romantic sensibility.

Three days later.

The Gemu Sacred Mountain, where the Wangbei Academy was located, could already be seen in the distance.

It was indeed a magnificent mountain. The lake in front of the mountain was a branch of Lugu Lake, so clear that the clouds in the sky could be seen. A few flat boats floated upon it, fishermen in straw capes were angling, and white cranes spread their wings. At this moment, Liu Zheng stood on a hilltop looking out, and before his eyes was a living landscape painting.

On that sacred mountain, one could still see traces of white snow, towering into the clouds.

"Hurry up, pick up the pace, we can arrive by dusk!"

Seeing this mountain, Jie Yu became excited.

Who knew Liu Zheng would chuckle and shake his head: "Set up camp!"

"What?"

Several people were greatly shocked.

Jie Yu even looked over with flickering eyes.

We are about to reach the Academy, and you want to set up camp here?

Liu Zheng said indifferently: "At a glance, this mountain is surrounded by water on three sides; the terrain layout is 'Returning Life Constant Victory'. In Geomancy, it is called the land of the 'Snake and Turtle', which is the 'Dragon Head' land. Or it is called 'Coquettish Dragon Playing with Water'. This mountain is magnificent and vast, so it is no longer a 'Coquettish Dragon', but a 'Flood Dragon'! Han Xin's Back-to-Water Formation back then chose such terrain; on the surface, it is a dead end, but in reality, it is easy to defend and hard to attack—a place that can hide, gather, and store!"

He looked at Jie Yu beside him with a smile: "This Academy has quite the momentum of Qi Swallowing Mountains and Rivers. You tell me, you are free from worldly disputes?"

Jie Yu was choked by Liu Zheng again, unable to say a single word.

Pei Yanran and Qin Zhangfeng were also stunned into silence.

This, this, this...

This Prefect Liu actually understands the art of Geomancy?

Liu Zheng continued to smile: "Knowing I was coming, the Academy must have already set up layers of obstacles in this Dragon Head Land. If I go over today, wouldn't I be asking for humiliation? Yu Shi truly has a heart of a scorpion..."

"No, no, I am not..."

Jie Yu was almost moved to tears.

Yes.

She knew that the Academy would definitely make things difficult for this Prefect Liu in various ways, but she only felt that letting Prefect Liu go to challenge the Academy was an interesting thing; she really hadn't thought about humiliating Liu Zheng...

"Set up camp!"

Liu Zheng said coldly: "I am an imperial envoy, yet the Academy has sent no one to receive me, so we wait! If no one comes from the Academy after three days, then bombard it for me!"

Bang!

Jie Yu was between laughter and tears.

Liu Zheng was not stupid.

He had long known that this Academy definitely had tricks waiting for him, but he didn't expect that it would start before he even entered the door.

What is a land of Returning Life Constant Victory? This is an absolute geomantic treasure land! During the Battle of Jingxing, Han Xin relied on this terrain, using only two thousand soldiers to guard the bottleneck side facing the land, while the rest of his troops were hidden outside the formation terrain. The Zhao King's two hundred thousand troops poured out, unable to exert their full strength at a single bottleneck. When the Zhao army became a weary force, the troops hidden outside the formation suddenly attacked from behind the Zhao King. The Zhao army panicked and was defeated, and the entire army was captured by Han Xin.

Anyone who truly understands Feng Shui and Geomancy would certainly appreciate the platform terrain surrounded by water on three sides as a geomantic treasure land of 'Strange Skill Victory'. It is easy to defend and hard to attack, meaning it is a place that can hide power, gather power, and store power. In times of war, this kind of terrain is even more precious. Being surrounded by water on three sides serves as a favorable natural barrier, reducing the probability of wealth being suddenly and accidentally lost or flowing away, while also having water power and irrigation available, bringing convenience to people's labor. Guarding one side of the Jingxing bottleneck reduces the burden on manpower, allowing one to focus on guarding the bottleneck and freeing up hands for other activities. Compared to the wilderness where all four sides are open and there is no danger to defend, its advantages are self-evident.

High!

Just from the location chosen by this Academy, Liu Zheng knew that his trip to the Academy this time was probably not as simple as he had imagined.