Chapter 494: Cooperation for Mutual Benefit

Situ Kong stood up and bowed deeply toward Wang Chao's back: "Dean, you also know that given the current landscape of the Longyan Dynasty, it is already difficult for the Academy to remain aloof. As early as last year, you calculated that the flames of war across the entire Star Plate would sooner or later reach the Academy, so why not plan ahead? Today, you wanted to trap Prefect Liu on the Cloud Platform, preventing him from returning to the Longyan Dynasty; this grudge has already been formed. Just because Prefect Liu didn't say anything today does not mean he won't continue to bombard the Academy tomorrow..."

Back last year.

Through complex calculations and predictions, Wangbei Academy foresaw that the Longyan Dynasty would soon fall into chaos, and at that time, Wangbei Academy, which had been passed down alongside the Longyan Dynasty, would not escape the fallout.

Wang Chao and the others, though they didn't speak of it, had been trying to find a Method to escape this catastrophe.

However...

For several hundred years, the Academy had not produced a peerless genius like those who could once be hung at the top of the Counting Rods, and in the officialdom and military of the Longyan Dynasty, there was no longer anyone who could protect them.

Today.

This Prefect Liu slaughtered in all directions... Today, many people were already excitedly calling him Mr. Liu Zheng on the spot. This truly sounded an alarm for Wang Chao.

Could it be...

That in all the years he had been in office, the Academy had not produced another talent capable of managing the world precisely because the Academy had been too far removed from the secular world for too long?

Had they been detached from the people for too long?

That so-called Worldly Walk, those chess pieces, were already slowly failing to keep up with the changes of the era.

Keeping pace with the times...

Today, the four words "Prefect Liu" often echoed in Wang Chao's mind.

Situ Kong said again: "Dean, Situ Kong knows what making this decision means for you... but... there is only one chance!"

Wang Chao smiled bitterly.

So you also know what it means?

What does it mean?

It means he would become the first Dean in the thousands of years of the Academy to hand it over to someone else?

The worst Dean?

However... do you know that now, I can no longer refuse... This Prefect Liu came with both knowledge and cannons.

He has won on both counts.

Wang Chao suddenly gritted his teeth hard, turned his head, and looked at Situ Kong with burning eyes: "We can only cooperate. I must secure another thousand years of seclusion for my Academy and preserve my thousand years of dignity! I entrust this matter to Elder Situ! Also, for this matter, let us first see the attitude of the students..."

Situ Kong shouted: "Good!"

Attitude?

He was already laughing in his heart.

Perhaps if he took the initiative to find Prefect Liu tomorrow, the Academy would have more bargaining chips. The longer it drags on, the more the students' attitudes will likely lean toward him...

"Young Master, are we setting off tomorrow?"

Over here, Liu Zheng returned to his room, and Qin Zhangfeng asked from the side.

Liu Zheng rubbed his temples and chuckled: "Is Qin Dage unable to wait to marry your wife and bring her home?"

"No, no..."

Qin Zhangfeng's old face flushed red.

Liu Zheng laughed: "Since we have come to the Academy, how can we leave so easily? This old man Wang Chao wanted to trap me on the Cloud Platform today; is this matter just going to end like this?"

He smiled coldly: "We will continue to stay at the Academy and see what kind of explanation this Academy can give us in the end!"

Now that the initiative was in his hands, who did he have to fear?

Sure enough.

For the next two days, Wang Chao did not appear again.

But the Academy's academic discussions continued.

Before Liu Zheng had even opened his eyes, the disheveled Mo Chen had already come to knock on the door...

And then...

He was dragged back to that white marble Square, which was already packed with people.

"Prefect Liu, yesterday you said that we live on Earth. I pondered it deeply and thought that if that were the case, our disciplines would have to be overturned and restarted, but vaguely, there are still similarities..."

"Prefect Liu..."

Liu Zheng chuckled.

Another day of eloquent lecturing, another day of academic discussion.

Another day of letting these people benefit greatly.

It was just that...

While he was lecturing these Wangbei people, the sound of cannon fire still echoed from the mountains from time to time.

Still not showing up?

Liu Zheng smiled coldly.

Wang Chao, he really has a lot of patience.

The third day.

It was the same.

Only today, one of the cannonballs accidentally landed on the Square.

The fourth day...

The fifth day...

Academic crushing on one side, cannon bombardment on the other.

By the sixth day, the dark circles under Wang Chao's eyes were already visible.

You can't play like this!

You can't just bully people like this!

Finally, the seventh day.

Situ Kong visited Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng was naturally overjoyed.

As the first Elder of the Academy, Situ Kong's words still carried considerable weight.

"Master Situ, please, come in, please!"

Liu Zheng hurriedly welcomed him in.

Situ Kong looked at Liu Zheng with annoyance, shook his head with a smile, and said, "Prefect Liu, oh Prefect Liu... to tell you the truth, the Academy hasn't been this lively for many years..."

Liu Zheng laughed and cupped his hands, saying, "It was this young man's impetuousness, but..."

Situ Kong sat down, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes: "But Wangbei Academy is too important to Prefect Liu's strategic plan, isn't it?"

Liu Zheng gave an awkward smile.

This Situ Kong was a wily old fox who had become a spirit.

Situ Kong said indifferently: "Prefect Liu's grand ambitions are admirable. It's just that Wangbei Academy has been passed down for thousands of years and has never cooperated with government officials..."

It's starting!

The negotiations are about to begin!

Liu Zheng smiled amusedly: "Does Master Situ think that the emergence of New Learning is not impactful enough, or that the cannons of my Liangzhou Army lack power?"

Pfft...

Situ Kong spat out a mouthful of tea, the corners of his mouth twitching.

He had considered many ways to negotiate, but he never expected that the very first words would be such a naked threat!

Is he not playing by the rules?

Shouldn't he first praise the Academy, and then, just like when he tried to persuade the Dean, count out the crises the Academy was about to face and the chaos in the world?

This...

Good heavens.

He just choked him to death right away?

Prefect Liu is indeed Prefect Liu!

Situ Kong was caught between laughter and tears.

"Then... Prefect Liu, please state your conditions?"

"Straightforward!"

Liu Zheng laughed heartily.

Two foxes began their back-and-forth...

This highly significant negotiation.

Lasted for a full day.

To express the Academy's sincerity, Situ Kong stated that they would share the Academy's Counting Rods—that is, their database—with the Liangzhou side. Furthermore, the Academy's talents could be utilized by Liu Zheng at will.

Liu Zheng's eyelids twitched upon hearing this, joy appearing in his eyes.

This was already everything he wanted...

Situ Kong's condition was that, once the cooperation began, the Liangzhou side must provide the Academy with sufficient funding.

This was naturally no problem.

Secondly, Liu Zheng had to guarantee that as his territory expanded through future conquests, he would agree to the Academy moving south at any time...

Liu Zheng had no objections to this condition; this could be considered the Academy's final bit of stubbornness...

Situ Kong knew that Liu Zheng had always been eyeing the Southern Barbarian Lands. Therefore, if Liu Zheng truly succeeded in conquering the Southern Barbarian Lands, the Academy would be caught between Longyan and Prefect Liu's territory. At that point, it would no longer be cooperation, but rather a lamb to be manipulated by Liu Zheng at will.

If the Academy could move south at any time, it would be a way to preserve the Academy's final dignity of escaping the world.

Liu Zheng naturally understood and didn't care about this.

To him, manipulating an academy was just a matter of lifting a finger...

In the days that followed, Liu Zheng was kept extremely busy.

First, according to the cooperation agreement with the Academy, the Liangzhou side would establish an office here. This office would be responsible for receiving various information transmitted from Liangzhou, aggregating it here, and inputting it into the Counting Rods. This information included agriculture, commerce, military affairs, finance, and much information regarding Longyan.

Secondly, Liu Zheng would entrust Jie Yu and Mo Chen to jointly develop a new Counting Rod database. This database would be an upgraded version, built with the Binary System algorithm; the first generation of Computer would be born in the near future. This could be said to be a technological advancement for the entire world, and likewise, it was Liu Zheng's original purpose for coming to the Academy... As Liangzhou's financial system became increasingly complex, he needed such a database to achieve overall calculation.

Thirdly, Liu Zheng would provide funding to establish a Scientific Research Laboratory at the Academy and set up a Scholarship to encourage inventions and creations by talents in various fields at the Academy. He would also send people to the Academy to study, pursue advanced training, and collaborate on research—these people would mostly be selected from the Western talents among the slaves bought from the West. With New Learning as the foundation and Western Learning for application, Liu Zheng would push this principle to the extreme here.

Finally.

Liu Zheng also promised that Wangbei Academy would exist as an entity equal to the government within his territory; as long as he guarded Liangshan for a single day, the Academy would not be disturbed by any armed forces.

A state within a state!

This gave Wang Chao a reassurance.

These days.

The people of the Academy were also shocked by the true strength of this Prefect Liu—the power of money!

In short.

After the Academy agreed to cooperate, Prefect Liu could be summed up in two words.

Throwing money!

Throwing money!

Throwing more money!

An office? Build it! I'll pay!

A Scientific Research Laboratory? Do it! I'll pay!

A Scholarship? Do it! I'll pay!

Renovate the house? Do it! I'll pay!

Cart after cart of gold and silver was hauled to the Academy. These Wangbei people, who prided themselves on being high-minded, finally caught the scent of money's sweetness for the first time.

Truly fragrant...

Wang Chao and Situ Kong looked at Liu Zheng, whose reputation in the Academy was growing ever higher, and exchanged helpless glances.

Three days later, terrible news arrived from Liangzhou.

"The granaries are open for relief!"

"The granaries are open for relief!"

"Is it Bodhisattva Xie?"

"It's her, it's her..."

Today in Liangzhou Prefecture, the sky was clear for ten thousand miles, without a single cloud.

Upon hearing that Bodhisattva Xie was distributing grain, the commoners were filled with joy and headed out with their baskets in hand.

"Miss, you really are becoming more and more gentle..."

Xiao Tao trotted happily behind Xie Chan, muttering.

Xie Chan smiled lightly: "Silly girl, in what place, one does what one must; in the Western Regions one must fight a war, but upon returning, one must distribute grain..."

"Yo, yo, yo, Miss, what do you mean 'returning'? You haven't even been married into the family by Governor Liu yet, and you're already treating Liangzhou as your home?"

Xiao Tao teased.

Xie Chan's pretty face flushed instantly, and she spat: "Asking for a beating!"

It really was true... how could she have said 'returning'? She was annoyed and embarrassed with herself... Yes, she knew she was born to be a Longyan, but... at this moment, she saw Feng Sanniang not far away, so she quickly coughed and scolded the slouching Xiao Tao: "Walk properly, don't leave a bad impression on Madam!"

"Ah?"

Xiao Tao was startled, following behind her Miss with a look of grievance, her attempt at an elegant gait looking clumsy...

Detestable!

As expected, a daughter married off is like water poured out!

Feng Sanniang beamed with joy as she saw Xie Chan and walked over.

No one noticed.

In the Small Tavern nearby, several people had already quietly picked up their blades and swords.