Chapter 86: The Great Trend of the World

Liu Zheng chuckled, saying nothing.

Hu Xi'er was furious, looking annoyed as she said, "Hey, stop following me!"

The jujube-red horse began to gallop, and Liu Zheng followed behind at a steady pace. When Hu Xi'er went fast, he went fast; when she went slow, he went slow. In any case, he would not let her leave his sight.

"You..."

Hu Xi'er glared at Liu Zheng, pouting: "Isn't it just that I drank a few bottles of your wine for free? Is it worth following me the whole way? Are you such a petty man!"

Liu Zheng chuckled.

For some reason, he just wanted to tease the young girl before him; that annoyed expression on her face was quite adorable. Suddenly, Liu Zheng found it rather incredible. Because whether he was facing Chen Ruoshi or Zheng Yueru, he always wanted to be serious, without any urge to tease them or play pranks.

Was it because this young girl before him was truly too young?

Or...

Was she truly too adorable?

The spiritual aura about her truly made Liu Zheng feel as if his soul had been cleansed. Who could have imagined that a woman who could talk eloquently in Fengming Tower, citing classics and often scolding those literati and poets until they cried, could be so pure.

Liu Zheng became even more curious; what kind of person could have trained such a woman?

Hu Xi'er was so angry that she kicked her beloved jujube-red horse into a gallop, and Liu Zheng pursued relentlessly.

A full hour later, Liu Zheng arrived at that main road and saw the dilapidated tavern from afar.

Hu Xi'er dismounted and ran inside.

"Daddy, he, he, he, he's bullying me!"

She actually burst into tears with a wail.

Then came the sound of a man coaxing a little girl.

Liu Zheng was caught between laughter and tears; he dismounted and arrived at the tavern entrance, bowing deeply: "Liu Zheng pays his respects to the master!"

A voice came from within: "Hahaha, I am but a rustic villager, how can I be called a master? Young Master Liu is too kind."

Liu Zheng felt a chill in his heart. He hadn't introduced himself yet, but this person had already guessed his origins. This alone was enough for Liu Zheng to treat him seriously. But after that one sentence, the other party did not come out to welcome him, nor did he invite Liu Zheng inside. This left Liu Zheng standing at the tavern entrance with his hands cupped, feeling very awkward.

But he was not in a hurry, knowing that such reclusive talents were generally quite arrogant, so he obediently stood there and began to admire the tavern.

A moment later, Hu Xi'er came out, stood on the threshold, and pretended to be cold as she glared at Liu Zheng: "Hmph! Daddy told me to ask you, regarding that topic, do you have any thoughts?"

Liu Zheng perked up. Seeing no one around, he said loudly: "In reply to the master, Yinzhou should establish itself through the military!"

"Oh?"

A sound of surprise rang out from inside the tavern.

Liu Zheng lowered his head and said nothing, his heart feeling very uneasy. He was even more grateful that he hadn't rashly followed this young girl a few days ago; if he had been reckless and lacked an answer, he feared he would never have caught this person's eye.

Hu Xi'er glared at Liu Zheng again, then ran back inside.

After another moment, Hu Xi'er ran out again and huffed: "Daddy says you can come in!"

Liu Zheng was overjoyed and carefully stepped over the threshold. He looked curiously and saw a middle-aged man sitting there. Liu Zheng was stunned the moment he saw him. This man was dressed in white, his long hair loose, his eyes spirited, his features sharp...

This man was truly too beautiful!

He was beautiful to the point of shocking Liu Zheng. In this dilapidated tavern, he was spotless... He and Hu Xi'er, who was beside him at the time, both seemed completely out of place here... One was clean and beautiful in appearance, the other was spiritually ethereal and pure.

Liu Zheng gave a bitter smile.

Two people so completely incompatible with this tavern had actually opened a tavern here, yet no one had discovered how out of place they were? One could imagine how barren Yinzhou used to be and how lacking in popularity it was.

Qingyang Shuo was also carefully observing Liu Zheng at this time, nodding frequently with a smile, and asked indifferently: "What does Young Master Liu mean by 'the military'?"

Liu Zheng thought to himself, here it comes. This man was not satisfied with his answer, but had been successfully piqued by curiosity... After all, the term 'military' could be interpreted in too many ways; it could be the army, it could be military power, or it could be weapons.

He organized his thoughts and said: "The military is a sharp tool! Does the master not see that the Baiya Army establishes itself through the War Horse and thrives in all directions? Then my Yinzhou shall establish itself through sharp tools and stand supreme!"

Upon hearing this answer, Qingyang Shuo became even more interested and chuckled: "But I know that all the sharp tools in the world come from the Zang Family. What confidence does Young Master Liu have that he can compare to the divine weapons of the Zang Family?"

In the Longyan Dynasty, the most famous place for forging weapons was the Zang Family of Jinghua!

This was something everyone in the world knew. The Zang Family were the descendants of true sword smiths, their forging craft had a long history, and even the imperial family had the Zang Family custom-make their weapons. Therefore, if anyone else heard Liu Zheng's statement, they would surely sneer and mock him for not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth.

However, Qingyang Shuo did not; he only looked at Liu Zheng indifferently, waiting for his answer.

Liu Zheng took a deep breath and said with a serious face: "The divine weapons of the Zang Family are world-renowned, but the sharp tools of Yinzhou can be mass-produced!"

"Oh?"

At this, even Qingyang Shuo felt it was incredible.

Liu Zheng smiled confidently: "Liangzhou has plenty of iron, and with blast furnaces, we have steel! The various military branches of the world are different, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. I will forge sharp tools based on the principles of mutual generation and restraint. When the world is in chaos, Yinzhou will surely be safe!"

As Qingyang Shuo listened, he began to nod and smile.

Although he did not know if this young master before him could truly accomplish it, such an idea, which borrowed from the Baiya Army's reliance on the War Horse, was unconventional and quite insightful. It was evident that this young man was not one of those pedantic types.

Qingyang Shuo smiled again and asked: "Why does the young master say that the world will soon be in chaos?"

Liu Zheng smiled: "If the world were not about to be in chaos, why would the master be living in seclusion here?"

As soon as these words were spoken, a sharp glint flashed in Qingyang Shuo's eyes, and a killing intent flickered within that glint, which gave Liu Zheng a shock. The atmosphere in the small tavern instantly turned icy. The beautiful man before him had eyes like knives, and it seemed he could cut Liu Zheng down right there at any moment.

Liu Zheng's whole body stiffened, and he dared not speak again.

"Ah!"

It was Hu Xi'er, who was beside them, who let out a cry, and this intense killing intent instantly dissipated.

Creak, creak.

Qingyang Shuo stopped looking at Liu Zheng and stared out the door with a gloomy expression.

Only then did Liu Zheng discover that this man was actually disabled! At this moment, he was using his hands to push his self-made wheelchair toward the tavern entrance, remaining silent for a long time.

Liu Zheng swallowed hard.

A disabled person had such an imposing aura; if he were a normal person, how strong would his power be? He feared that even if Qin Zhangfeng came, it would be difficult for him to escape unscathed! He also looked curiously at the self-made wheelchair, fearing that there might be many mechanisms on it that could take Liu Zheng's head at any time!

Liu Zheng felt a lingering fear in his heart.

The man spoke again: "What does the young master think of the Longyan Dynasty?"

Liu Zheng took a deep breath: "Lian Po is old!"

"Is that so?"

Liu Zheng deliberated for a moment and continued: "The Longyan Dynasty has lasted a thousand years, yet its system is rotten and remains unchanged!"

Qingyang Shuo looked over with curiosity and asked again with a smile: "How does Young Master Liu think the system should be?"

Liu Zheng continued: "The Feudal System makes it easy to conquer the world, but difficult to hold it! With Feudatory Kings everywhere, while one may not fear internal rebellion, one must worry about foreign enemies!"

Qingyang Shuo listened quietly.

"The Commandery-County System makes it easy to guard the realm, but difficult to expand territory! Yet, when all officials perform their duties, one does not fear foreign lands, but must worry about internal corruption!"

Qingyang Shuo's eyes lit up; he was becoming increasingly interested in the young man before him.

Liu Zheng chuckled and continued: "The thousand-year Longyan should have abolished the feudal domains long ago, yet it has delayed and taken no action! If a strong enemy were to invade at this time, Longyan would surely fall into chaos!"

"Good!"

Qingyang Shuo could not help but nod with a smile: "Young Master sees things thoroughly!"

Liu Zheng felt a sense of relief in his heart; it was no easy feat to earn the praise of such a monster.

In fact, these principles were not difficult to understand. The Feudal System was inherently suitable for the time when a country was first established; the Feudal System could accelerate expansion! But, the drawbacks of the Feudal System—such as how easily it forms separatist forces—let us not discuss that for now... just consider when a powerful foreign enemy invades, this country, this regime, is very easily lost. Why? Those feudal lords, those territorial masters, they do not care who the emperor is; they only care about how much of a share of the benefits the emperor gives them!

Therefore, to them, changing an emperor is not a big deal, and it might even happen that when a foreign enemy invades, they help the enemy fight the emperor.

And what about the Commandery-County System?

That is to strengthen the Centralization of Power. In this way, it is easy to form the unity and cohesion of a nation. It sounds much more advanced than the Feudal System. However... in this way, it is very easy to form internal corruption within the country, large-scale bureaucratic corruption. But even so, the Commandery-County System can still remain united when facing a powerful foreign enemy. But what is feared is internal chaos, internal decay, and the outbreak of large-scale peasant uprisings.

Therefore, in reality, it is hard to say which of these two political systems is superior or inferior.

But in Liu Zheng's opinion, for the current Longyan Dynasty, the feudal domains should have been abolished and the Commandery-County System implemented hundreds of years ago; if that had been done, at the very least, it could have allowed the Longyan Dynasty to last several hundred more years!

However, the Longyan Dynasty did not do so.

The always arrogant Longyan Dynasty had never cared about foreign enemies, but Liu Zheng understood that, following the current historical trajectory, Western countries had already begun the Renaissance... one powerful country after another was already under construction. The Great Age of Discovery was about to arrive.

Under such circumstances.

The Longyan Dynasty's Feudal System was completely vulnerable!

That is to say, the Longyan Dynasty had always only cared about its domestic affairs and had never looked abroad. At this point, even if they wanted to abolish the feudal domains and implement the Commandery-County System, it was likely too late. With various forces intertwined, this rotten state apparatus could no longer withstand a major surgery.

However...

In this era, whose vision could possibly extend abroad, to those "barbaric lands"?

Liu Zheng, naturally, was such a person.

Qingyang Shuo laughed heartily, laughing with great satisfaction, and those beautiful eyes were filled with moisture: "Interesting, interesting! I never expected that such a lawless place as Yinzhou would produce a great talent like the Young Master!"

Liu Zheng modestly claimed he did not deserve the praise.

Qingyang Shuo looked at Liu Zheng with a smile: "One last question. In my view, Young Master, you possess the talent of a king!"

"If, by chance, you were to obtain the world, how would you govern it?"

Liu Zheng said decisively: "Although I, Zheng, am untalented, I do not enjoy arrogance, luxury, or debauchery. The world I wish to build is one of Great Harmony!"

Qingyang Shuo was stunned on the spot.

Hu Xi'er also could not help but cry out, looking over with eyes full of brilliance.