[Your expression remained steady, without reaction.]
[Great Qing had indeed been confined to a corner. The previous Emperor Huizong of Qing favored Daoism and yearned for the art of longevity, attempting to govern through inaction, ruling all under heaven with hands hanging idle. For fourteen years, he never attended court.]
[As a result, state affairs fell into ruin, treacherous ministers held sway, and the people lived in deep waters and scorching fire.]
[Uprisings erupted without end. Amid the chaos engulfing the realm, North Wind seized the chance to march south.]
[Emperor Hui panicked and was betrayed by his own ministers. North Wind abducted Emperor Hui back to Liaodong, where he became a prisoner beneath the steps.]
[That year, you led the army. You were only one step away from driving straight at the yellow dragon.]
[Yet within Kyoto, twelve imperial edicts came galloping in at breakneck speed. Every word was cold enough to pierce bone, and only one character hung high above all else: "Retreat."]
[You had no choice but to withdraw your troops!]
[Countless Lu Family Army soldiers were bitter and indignant, yet helpless.]
[The North Wind Delegation traveled south and proposed a marriage alliance, wishing for the two sides to become allies and compose a bond as fine as that of Chu and Jin.]
[North Wind promised to return the treasures plundered from Kyoto in those years and send Emperor Huizong back to court. North Wind's Eldest Princess would also marry Great Qing's Second Prince.]
[That same year, North Wind dispatched a great army to escort Emperor Huizong of Qing south, but he innocently fell ill and died along the way.]
[Only the following year did the news reach the realm. Great Qing did not pursue the matter. Instead, when the Second Prince married the Northern Eldest Princess, a general amnesty was declared.]
[When Lu Chen had marched north and driven straight at Huanglong Prefecture that year, the Eighth Prince had knelt for three days to beg for an edict authorizing the army's campaign. That deed had indeed stirred all Kyoto.]
[Three days and three nights were enough to show the sincerity of his heart.]
[Even your father had praised him highly.]
[Though you stood outside the matter and knew none of its details, from then on the Eighth Prince, Prince Jing, transformed from an ordinary prince into a figure of immense prestige at court.]
[This won the hearts of the war faction, and Zhou Cheng also secured his footing at court.]
[As for his declaration that a king's domain must not remain confined to a corner—]
[How much of it was sincere? Who could possibly know?]
[At this moment, Zhou Cheng presented this map to you.]
[He looked at you expectantly, his eyes brimming with sincerity.]
[Lu Yu did not care much either way. He had always trusted your decision.]
[Liu Jinchan's heart tightened. He understood full well the deeper meaning behind this map.]
[In the current court, the war faction and the peace faction fought without end.]
[The peace faction, led by the Second Prince, enjoyed the full support of the southern clans and possessed overwhelming momentum. The war faction had nearly been wiped out several years ago, and the Six Ministries had all fallen under the peace faction's control. Only after the Lu Family Army marched north and recovered the lost territories did they manage to rally again.]
[However, as Lu Chen withdrew into seclusion, the realm gradually entered an age of peace, and the trend toward rest and recuperation became increasingly clear. The peace faction once again gained the upper hand.]
[Over four years, the Lu Family Army had ceased to exist, reorganized into the Northern Defense Army. The former Twenty-Six Generals of Tingtai of the Lu Clan had also been scattered to the four directions.]
[They had thought Lu Chen's reputation had faded with time. Who would have expected that during the year-end prayers, nearly three hundred thousand people from the Northern Region would gather at Mount Zhongnan, with more arriving in an endless stream along the roads.]
[Many in the Northern Region had built temples for Lu Chen and his father, and portraits of the Junior Guardian often hung in their homes.]
[For a time, memorials flooded the court, accusing Lu Chen of honoring only the Junior Guardian and failing to remember the Emperor's boundless grace.]
[This sparked fierce debate in court, but in the end, it came to nothing.]
[Over these four years, the controversy surrounding Lu Chen had never ceased. If he supported the Eighth Prince, Kyoto would surely be shaken, and all under heaven would watch.]
[Thus, you stood at the crossroads of choice,]
[You decided...]
1. Accept this map. You might step into the whirlpool of court affairs, where waves ran strange and clouds shifted treacherously, impossible to predict.
2. Refuse this map. You might miss an opportunity.
3. Personally involve yourself and explore the unknown. (1/3)
Facing these three options, Yu Ke weighed them in his heart.
Accepting this map meant he might become deeply entangled in factional struggles.
Yu Ke had originally planned to devote the next ten years to cultivating Daoism, waiting for the moment of Spiritual Energy Revival and seizing that fleeting opportunity.
He knew well that he could not waste time on this matter.
Yu Ke recalled the last time he had personally taken part. That vivid, tangible experience had given him different feelings toward Lu Yu and his father.
If he became embroiled in court politics, he would undoubtedly be gambling with the fate of the entire Lu Clan and the Lu Family Army. That was something he did not wish to see.
Therefore!
Yu Ke chose 2. Refuse this map. You might miss an opportunity.
[You refused Zhou Cheng.]
[Zhou Cheng sighed softly, but his face quickly returned to calm.]
[Chen Ji's expression darkened. Dissatisfaction filled his heart. Lu Chen had long since lost his official position; now, he was merely a Daoist atop Mount Zhongnan. Yet because of a few victories, he actually thought so highly of himself that he had forgotten his own origins.]
[The ruler was the guiding principle of the minister, and the minister the ruler's support—this was an eternal truth.]
[If the ruler wished a minister dead, the minister had no choice but to obey. This was the rule of the ages.]
[His master was of imperial blood, someone with hopes of wielding the divine vessel in the future.]
[The nobles Chen Ji had seen were as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river, beyond counting. Yet in the end, they were nothing more than watchdogs outside his master's residence.]
[Chen Ji could only bury such thoughts deep in his heart, not daring to reveal the slightest hint of them.]
[Zhou Cheng, however, broke into a smile. He had long expected this outcome.]
[He gently rolled up the map scroll and calmly placed it on the table.]
[Liu Jinchan had intended to smooth things over, but Zhou Cheng stopped him with a smile.]
[Zhou Cheng laughed heartily, carrying a touch of unrestrained ease.]
["Junior Guardian, today is our first meeting, but for ten years, your figure has lingered in my mind countless times. In my dreams, I have long since shared wine and laughter with you. Let me call you Shenzhou, if you have no objection."]
[Those words made Lu Yu frown. Within the Lu Family Army, only his father dared use the name Shenzhou.]
[You bowed slightly and returned the courtesy with respect. "Your Highness, how could this commoner dare stand shoulder to shoulder with Your Highness and address you by name?"]
[Zhou Cheng waved his hand, signaling that there was no need for such ceremony.]
["Shenzhou, in the first half of my life, I studied Daoism to cultivate myself and also delved into military texts and battle strategies. But the world is like a chessboard. Even so, I still feel I have achieved nothing, drifting through life without purpose."]
[Zhou Cheng sighed as he spoke, each word deliberate.]
["Shenzhou, do not find me too long-winded."]
["That year, Emperor Huizong fled for his life in panic. North Wind's three hundred thousand troops crossed the Yellow River. The front lines suffered defeat after defeat, while court raged beyond all control—surrender, or fight!"]
["I kept thinking: if North Wind fought all the way to today's Jiangnan, what would I do?"]
["Run? Where would I run to? Or bow my head and submit?"]
["Throughout every dynasty, beneath iron hooves and blades, there was no such thing as the backbone of the scholar clans. Generations of surrender memorials were the true face of that band of literati."]
["They would merely trade one master for another!"]
["If Great Qing fell, where would its countless citizens go? Would they truly become fish and meat for others to slaughter, or livestock for others to drive?"]
["It seemed no one cared, but I, Zhou Cheng, cared."]
[Zhou Cheng said in a deep voice, "The rise and fall of a nation are not the common people's fault."]
["At home, I often hung a sharp sword in my room. I thought, if that day truly came—if North Wind Cavalry breached the city gates, if all the ministers crossed south in their robes and caps and knelt to cling shamefully to life—then I, Zhou Yuanjian, would cast off my cap, take up my sword, and ride north alone."]
["That, too, would be exhilarating!"]
[Zhou Cheng's courtesy name was Yuanjian.]
[An extra trace of a smile appeared on Zhou Cheng's face.]
["The thoughts of my youth seem especially laughable now."]
["But that year, Junior Guardian, you burst forth out of nowhere. With a mere sixty thousand men, you repelled an army of eight hundred thousand and changed the tide of the realm."]
["From that moment onward, I no longer hung a sword in my home."]
["Because I knew Great Qing had gained its true sword that protected the nation."]
Before you continue