Essentials of the Military Classics!

"Yun'er, explain things clearly. What did your Uncle Zhou Guan say?"

Appearing before Qiu Yan was a boy of about eleven or twelve years old, with handsome features and bright eyes. If one did not know him well, no one would believe that this boy had been born for less than four years!

The boy's name was Zheng Yun. His father, Zheng Zhongsen, was a good friend of Qiu Yan's previous self and also had a relationship with the current Qiu Yan. During the last Special Grace Examination, he went to Jiannan City to take the exam, but lost contact with the person on the way.

After Qiu Yan passed the Provincial Examination, Zheng Zhongsen reappeared, carrying the aura of a tragic past. He had given up on the Imperial Examinations and came and went in a hurry, but entrusted his son to Qiu Yan.

Zheng Zhongsen's son, Zheng Yun, had an extraordinary background. While ordinary children are born confused and ignorant, Zheng Yun was born with innate knowledge, as if he possessed Past-Life Wisdom, and he grew up rapidly.

Qiu Yan was traveling to the capital to study and take the imperial examinations, so he couldn't take Zheng Yun with him. He left Zheng Yun with some homework for him to study and understand.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Yun was exceptionally gifted. Not only did he have a photographic memory, but he could also apply what he learned to other situations. He could read any book thoroughly in no time, understand its meaning upon reading it a second time, and fully comprehend it on the third reading!

When Qiu Yan assigned the homework, his understanding of Human Path was still somewhat one-sided and not profound. Therefore, Zheng Yun quickly grasped those things and then turned to seek other knowledge.

Since Liu Huai and the others considered Zheng Yun to be Qiu Yan's disciple, they naturally took good care of him. In this world, such a direct disciple was almost equivalent to a son. Whenever Zheng Yun had a request, Liu Huai would buy books for him to study.

Over time, Zheng Yun gained a reputation as a child prodigy.

When the news of Qiu Yan's achievement of becoming the top scholar spread, the entire Jiannan went wild. In Qiu Yan's hometown of Qingchang County, the government went to great lengths to renovate the Qiu Family's old house, and the prefect of Yuan Ning personally visited Liu Huai's home to offer his condolences, making it an extremely grand occasion.

However, Qiu Yan's parents were no longer alive, and he had no direct blood relatives. Therefore, Zheng Yun, who was treated as a disciple, became a semi-protagonist, enjoying praise and benefiting from the glory.

With the care of his elders, the praise of his neighbors, and the attention of the government, Zheng Yun, though born with knowledge, was ultimately still a young man. In the end, he inevitably became somewhat arrogant and conceited. This trait was immediately noticed by Qiu Yan after he arrived in Prosperity Capital with Liu Huai and others.

Subsequently, Qiu Yan showed no mercy, instructing, suppressing, and guiding Zheng Yun through several incidents. Zheng Yun finally submitted to Qiu Yan, abandoned his arrogance, and formally became Qiu Yan's disciple in the true sense. He was also accepted by many of Qiu Yan's colleagues in the Hanlin Academy.

At first, Zheng Yun's colleagues were only friendly to Zheng Yun because of Qiu Yan's influence or because they wanted to curry favor with him. But they soon noticed Zheng Yun's outstanding talent and were truly shocked and genuinely liked him. Han Bian, for example, was extremely envious and suggested several times that he also take Zheng Yun as his disciple.

However, despite this, the Hanlin Academy was a place of great importance to the imperial court, and outsiders could not easily set foot there. Qiu Yan had no intention of forcing things to progress, so he instructed Zheng Yun not to come over unless necessary.

Now that Zheng Yun has appeared, he must have something to convey. Although Qiu Yan's family has hired stewards, servants, and maids, if there is an urgent matter, they still have to go through layers of questioning and investigation, which takes a lot of time. They are not as familiar as Zheng Yun.

Zheng Yun bowed respectfully and said, "Uncle Zhou sent someone to tell me about what happened at the banquet yesterday. He said that a prince from the Grasslands mentioned the teacher's name at the banquet, saying that if the teacher were to intervene and persuade his father, the matter would have a 100% chance of success! The Emperor was quite tempted by this."

The "Uncle Zhou" he mentioned was Zhou Guan.

Zhou Guan was also a newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination). He tried to become a Shujishi (a probationary official in the Hanlin Academy), but there were setbacks along the way, and he ultimately failed to achieve his goal. Instead, he went to the Court of State Ceremonies).

The Court of State Ceremonies of State Ceremonial was in charge of foreign guests. Zhou Guan was new to the area and had no power. He could only keep the foreigners company and talk to them. However, in this way, he was well-informed and could attend some banquets held for foreigners.

"Oh?" Qiu Yan frowned upon hearing Zheng Yun's words. "Did Zhou Guan send someone to tell you this directly, or did you guess it yourself?"

"Uncle Zhou holds an important position and wouldn't speak of matters of national importance. He only sent someone to mention the banquet, and many of the details were deduced by the student himself," Zheng Yun replied calmly. He naturally knew why Qiu Yan was frowning.

"Even if you guessed it, you shouldn't have said it so casually. But it's good to be able to find clues from the slightest hints." Qiu Yan nodded, neither praising nor punishing, and simply said, "Since you're here, don't leave yet. Stay here, read some books, and immerse yourself in Literary Thought."

"Yes!" Zheng Yun did not refute and nodded in agreement. The arrogance he had initially gained because of his empty reputation had long been completely shattered by Qiu Yan during several tests. Now he was completely convinced and sincerely wanted to become Qiu Yan's apprentice.

Zheng Yun glanced at Qiu Yan cautiously, then walked to the side, picked up a book, and began to read it carefully, not just reading it aloud.

Qiu Yan read it and nodded secretly.

Zheng Yun has a mysterious background and actually possesses Yao Qi within him, which is suppressed by his Literary Thought. Now, in this capital city, Divine Ability Forbidden Zone, his Yao Qi and demonic roots are completely suppressed, and what he displays is pure Literary Thought. This allows him to gradually calm down, stop being so ostentatious, and his knowledge is also advancing by leaps and bounds.

Meanwhile, at the Imperial Palace.

"Qiu Yan's reputation has spread so quickly? In just half a year, even the tribes on the northern Grasslands know his name. And they even want to send him on a diplomatic mission. He's truly remarkable."

Li Kun sat at the table, muttering to himself. The pale-faced old man beside him poured him a cup of water, stepped back two paces, and said nothing more. He knew the emperor was organizing his thoughts.

Sure enough, after a while, Li Kun turned to him and asked, "Qiu Yan has been much more settled lately and hasn't caused any trouble. I wonder if he's settling in well at the Hanlin Academy?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty," the pale-faced old man replied without hesitation, "After Qiu Xiuzhuan entered the Hanlin Military Pavilion, he diligently revised and organized the numerous scattered books, rearranging and classifying them. He also created a set of classification and management methods, which gradually spread and were even imitated by several academies inside and outside the city, all praising his abilities."

"Oh? Is that so?" Li Kun perked up immediately upon hearing this. In recent months, the northern border had been unstable, and there were also disturbances in the south and east. He was overwhelmed with worries and hadn't paid attention to Qiu Yan for quite some time. If the prince of the Three Waters Tribe hadn't mentioned it yesterday and told Li Kun to keep an eye on him, he wouldn't have brought it up today.

The pale-faced old man said, "If Your Majesty wishes to see it, this old servant will have someone bring the method of preparation over for you to review."

"Hmm, I'll have it sent over once I'm done with today's work." Li Kun nodded, pondered for a moment, and then added, "Hmm, have Qiu Yan come over. Since Duolu Baduowa has said so, the Essentials hear Qiu Yan's opinion and have him summoned to the palace."

"This old servant obeys the decree." The pale-faced old man nodded, turned around and gave instructions to a young eunuch. As the young eunuch hurriedly left, the order was passed down through the ranks. After a meal's time, Qiu Yan led the way to the palace and waited outside the Imperial Study.

The journey from the Hanlin Academy to the Imperial Palace involved numerous checks and wasted considerable time. Even so, Qiu Yan waited quite a while before being summoned—clearly, the emperor still had many memorials to process.

"Qiu Qing is here."

Upon seeing Qiu Yan, Li Kun smiled and asked, "Are you satisfied with the congratulatory gift I gave you?"

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty." Qiu Yan bowed in greeting.

"No need to be polite. Someone, bring Qiu Qing a seat." Li Kun waved his hand, ordering someone to bring a chair, and then asked, "How has things been going at the Military Pavilion lately?"

"Everything went smoothly, and the gains were substantial."

"That's good. You have great talent. I was hoping you could integrate the books in the Military Pavilion and summarize them into a complete system. I heard that you recently created a method of summarizing and classifying, which is popular in the Imperial City. Very good. It is precisely because you pay attention to small things that I can be at ease." These words had a clear hint of implication.

Qiu Yan also knew that the emperor in front of him was currently preoccupied with reforming the military system. He would often bring up the topic in court to test the officials, but without exception, all his proposals were blocked.

Qiu Yan also knew that his appointment to the Military Pavilion, seemingly a decision made by the emperor out of necessity, also concealed Li Kun's ambition to reform the military system.

However, he didn't pay attention to these things.

"The methods I created are minor techniques, but they are meaningful if they can save people some effort. However, there is something I need to discuss with Your Majesty regarding their dissemination," Qiu Yan said, rising from his chair and speaking solemnly. "I have heard that the analytical and classification method is now in the possession of many Aristocratic Clan and academies in the Imperial City, yet they are preventing its spread among the common people. I have warned them before, but my words carry little weight and have not been heeded. I implore Your Majesty to persuade these Aristocratic Clan and academies not to obstruct the spread of this method, so that the common people may also benefit from it."

"Oh?" Li Kun frowned slightly. "Since this method is your original creation, it should naturally be your decision. I will mention it to them." After giving his promise, Li Kun continued, "Let's not talk about that for now. Let's discuss the Military Pavilion. I remember you said that the Military Pavilion's classification was complicated and chaotic. Now that there is a classification method, I wonder what your plans are for the future?"

"I have something to report to Your Majesty," Qiu Yan, bowing without taking a seat. "I am concerned about the vast number of books in the Military Pavilion, which makes searching and consulting difficult. I am inclined to compile the Essentials for others to consult. By reading this book, one can understand the general principles of military affairs and avoid the tedious process."

"The Essentials?" Li Kun frowned. He hadn't expected this answer, but Qiu Yan's serious tone, a thought struck him. "Since it's the Essentials Military Pavilion, the Essentials a name. I wonder if Minister Qiu has a draft in mind?"

"I've got it," Qiu Yan nodded upon hearing this, and replied, "This book should be named..."

"The Essentials of the Military Classics!" (To be continued...)

P. S.: Thanks to "My Sister Is Xuanxuan" and "You Tutu" for their monthly votes!

Thanks to "Tao Li Bu Yu Xia" for the reward!