The Son of Heaven of Great Jing gazed at the Emperor of Li, yet it was as though he had never truly seen him at all. That gaze, encompassing all under heaven, lifted gently and looked out across the cosmos.
His voice was still, every word like a heavenly law embedded in the river of time. He said, "Grand Preceptor, I leave it to you."
Ji Shouyu, Great Jing's current Grand Preceptor, had served as State Preceptor during the reign of Emperor Tang Xiangyuan. Once the remnants of the He Clan had been exterminated, he withdrew from worldly affairs. During the reign of the previous emperor, Tang Hongjing, he had been specially invited back to court and appointed Grand Preceptor.
The current emperor honored him as well.
For many years, he had remained stationed in the imperial capital, never moving a step from it.
Now, at the opening of the Son of Heaven's golden mouth, he stepped forth from among the hundred officials and bowed deeply to the emperor. The dragons on his sleeves billowed like flying clouds, while his long brows and beard rose together. "This minister receives the command."
The great wind soared, vast and mighty for ten thousand miles.
Once the imperial edict was issued, it was an arrow loosed from the bowstring.
Across the vast lands of Jing, columns of blood and vitality rose one after another like pillars holding up the sky. Indeed, they pierced open The Present World, standing firm in the cosmos and exerting their influence upon the heavens.
The Great Jing Empire possessed thirteen armies mighty enough to command all under heaven. The armies beneath them were too numerous to record.
For the Jing court permitted every major military commandery to develop its own forces independently!
With martial might sufficient to crush