After the Canon, the Military School Gradually Gains the Upper Hand

"Your Majesty," the pale-faced old man interjected after remaining silent for a moment, "Based on a comparison of intelligence from several sources, the Rouluo State Preceptor and the Ultimate Martial Venerable should not have perished. After all, they are two great cultivators of the Fourth Realm. If they had truly perished, the resulting commotion would have been immense, even altering the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth. It couldn't have happened silently. Therefore, these two should have been sealed away by the Top Scholar, which aligns with the information from the Ice Palace."

"The Ice Palace?" Li Kun frowned. "I heard that the Lord of Ice Palace also participated in the siege of Minister Qiu, but even the Imperial Preceptor of Rouluo and the Ultimate Martial Venerable perished. How come he was able to escape unscathed?"

The white-faced old man replied, "The Lord of Ice Palace cannot be said to have escaped unscathed. The spies from our Great Rui who infiltrated his palace risked their lives to deliver the message that the Lord of Ice Palace's physical body has collapsed. If it weren't for a supreme treasure that could Death-Defying Rebirth, he would have already perished, and even being sealed away would be a pipe dream!"

Li Kun's brow twitched. "Death-Defying Rebirth? Is there really such a miraculous technique in the world? I always thought it was a misconception, an exaggeration. After all, death is the end of life, how can there be rebirth? My lord, you are quite knowledgeable about these Divine Ability powers, do you know what method the Lord of Ice Palace used?" A glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes.

Seeing Li Kun's expression, the white-faced old man had already guessed his thoughts and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the method of Death-Defying Rebirth generally requires prior preparation. One must part with a portion of one's life when one's cultivation level is not high. It cannot be too much, otherwise it will affect the soul; nor can it be too little, otherwise it will be difficult to support the return of the soul. Even so, as the cultivation level increases, this parted life will gradually become a flaw in the perfection of life, affecting the final advancement. Therefore, it can only be used as a temporary option, and ultimately it must be returned to the soul..."

"Alright. I understand." Li Kun took a deep breath, sensing the consolation in the words, and waved his hand. "However, since the Lord of Ice Palace is still alive, it means that Rouluo's experts are still capable of putting up a fight. We cannot let our guard down."

"The Lord of Ice Palace has been reborn from the brink of death. But after all, he suffered a severe injury. After this rebirth, his vitality must have been greatly depleted. It would be impossible for him to recover to his Original Edition level without decades of recuperation and accumulation. In fact, not long after the news spread, the Ice Palace announced that it would be closed for fifty years! During this period, no matter what happens to the Rouluo Tribe, the Lord of Ice Palace will be powerless to intervene." The old man's words dispelled some of Li Kun's worries.

"That's good. By the way, since it was a spy who risked his life to deliver the message after infiltrating the Ice Palace, his family must be properly taken care of. If there are any difficulties, resolve them all at once, and do not neglect them in the slightest!"

"This old servant will remember it. Your Majesty is truly compassionate." The pale-faced old man nodded in agreement.

Li Kun shook his head, no longer dwelling on the matter, and continued, "In that case, it's the best time to send troops. Once we receive news from the Three Waters Tribe, regardless of whether the allied forces succeed or fail, we must march north to attack the Hu!"

As he spoke, he took a sip of tea, and a smile appeared on his tired face.

"I never expected such an unexpected gain from sending Qiu Yan with me to Three Rivers. News from the front lines says that the Left Wise King's Tribe are leaderless. Thanks to Qiu Yan's letter, even if Marquis Maishan marches north, he will defeat them. He is currently pursuing the remnants of their army. In an instant, Rouluo border is no longer protected, and the main force has lost three great cultivators. Internally, it is embroiled in power struggles and numerous conflicts, almost to the point of splitting apart. This is the weakest Rouluo has ever been since its rise. It is a golden opportunity. If we do not seize it, we will suffer the consequences!"

Halfway through his sentence, Li Kun stood up and walked to the back, lifted a curtain, looked at the Myriad-Mile Rivers and Mountains Map hanging on the wall, and let out a long sigh.

This painting is quite wondrous, depicting the Great Rui territory as well as the borders of the four barbarian tribes, all vividly portrayed. If you look closely, you can even see mountains, rivers, cities, auspicious signs, and beacon fires, all appearing and disappearing like illusory scenes. Especially within the Great Rui territory, the prefectures and states are clearly visible, with meticulous detail.

At this moment, along the Northern Frontier border of the Great Rui River and Mountains, a hazy purple qi permeates the air, blurry and indistinct, giving off a sense of the beginning of time and the uncertainty of Yin-Yang and yang. Further north, one enters the Grasslands, where the details of the prefectures and cities in the Central Plains are no longer as clear. Only a faint outline can be seen, and dark clouds shroud the area, creating a sense of oppression.

However, within these dark clouds, a glimmer of light appeared, seemingly about to dispel the obscuring mist.

"Once the Grasslands are pacified and the threat of the Hu people is eliminated, I will be able to free up my hands to do what I want to do: recover lost territories and expand our borders!"

Li Kun exuded an imposing aura, his grand ambitions rising and causing even the Dragon Qi outside to seem to surge. He then turned and asked, "Has the Ministry of War made all the necessary preparations for what I ordered? Have the troops in the Imperial City's various battalions been assembled?"

The pale-faced old man cupped his hands and said, "Several generals sent messengers with memorials and also sent people to inform this old servant."

"Oh?" Li Kun patted his forehead. "It was my oversight. Give the order that all memorials submitted by the army should be brought out for my review first." It wasn't an oversight, but rather that he had been preoccupied for the past few days and his memory had become increasingly poor. In fact, he had already read the memorial beforehand.

The old man's pale face showed worry in his eyes, but he remained outwardly calm.

Li Kun pulled out the memorial, opened it, and read it. The more he read, the happier he became, feeling that a great opportunity was within reach. "Generals, have you made any requests?"

"The generals are loyal and devoted to the country, and it is their duty to serve. They have no other requests, but they have expressed some opinions."

What's your opinion?

The pale-faced old man hesitated for a moment, but still said, "They hope that the emperor will treat the top scholar well."

Upon hearing this, Li Kun's expression became somewhat complicated, changing several times before finally culminating in a long sigh.

To be honest, he certainly valued Qiu Yan, but it was far from treating him well. In fact, he used imperial Mind Arts to train and refine him, intending to give him important responsibilities in the future.

Since it's for the future, it's naturally a bit less generous for now, but it's still better than others, only slightly inconsistent with Qiu Yan's reputation.

"This time, we sent Qiu Qing as an envoy to Three Rivers to broaden his experience, but we didn't expect that his gains would exceed what the allied forces gained in Three Rivers. This momentum is a bit too great." Li Kun's words were tinged with worry, which was why he confided in the old man with the white face.

The essence of etiquette lies in distance; the greater the distance, the greater the authority. Conversely, if one lives with an emperor or prime minister day and night, one will find that the emperor and prime minister are just ordinary people with emotions and desires, eating grains and vegetables. They cannot possibly have three heads and six arms like others. Gradually, one's sense of awe will fade away.

Therefore, when facing his ministers, the emperor would not easily reveal his true feelings, maintaining an air of mystery and authority. However, this white-faced old man was Li Kun's personal eunuch, who had watched him grow up. The two were close enough that what maintained their relationship was not the rules of etiquette and power, but a feeling akin to kinship, so there were naturally fewer reservations.

Lonely and isolated individuals crave kinship even more, which is why emperors often bestowed extreme favors upon eunuchs.

After hearing Li Kun's words, the white-faced old man knew what the man was worried about.

Is Qiu Yan really that influential?

Perhaps in the eyes of the common people, Qiu Yan was just a newly appointed top scholar, who had already made a name for himself. In Prosperity Capital and the Capital Region areas, the people knew that he had defeated the Master of Nine-Rhyme Studio, and they valued his knowledge highly.

Besides, Qiu Yan's reputation as a talented scholar is still widely known and admired in Jiannan Circuit and Eastern Capital. However, in other parts of Great Rui, Qiu Yan is not necessarily regarded as highly.

After all, while it's rare to become the top scholar, it only happens once every three years. Apart from the few days of the Imperial Examinations, ordinary people still live their lives as usual.

Even in the Yan-Zhao regions, the attention given to Bei Xuan, the missing top young talent of the Bei Household, surpassed that for Qiu Yan, the top scholar. In Jiangnan Circuit, many people harbored You Di towards Qiu Yan. Ultimately, this was because the two great talents of Jiangnan, He Shuchang Wen Zhizhen, had lost to him in different ways, and the Sun Household, deeply entrenched in Jiangnan, was secretly fueling the flames.

Judging from this, Qiu Yan's influence is indeed limited. Why would Li Kun, as the ruler of Great Rui and the Emperor of Human Path, utter such words?

The reason is that Qiu Yan's identity has undergone a complete transformation after this trip to the borderlands.

Before leaving, Qiu Yan Thought-Convergent Order in terms of qualifications alone, he was qualified to be called Grandmaster of Military School strategy. However, in the current world, the Confucianism school held the reins of power. While they would not pursue and exterminate the Military School, they would not allow it to grow stronger. In addition, Li Kun wanted to balance the opinions of all parties, so he let Qiu Yan stay in the Military Pavilion for half a year.

Now, no matter what Confucianism and Li Kun intend to do, they can hardly stop Qiu Yan's name from spreading.

The impact of a Human Dao Canon is immeasurable. Before writing the Principle Sect Grand Canon, Chen Da Great Chen Junior Chen of Eastern Capital were already famous, but like ordinary Grand Confucian. After completing the work, they rose to prominence, established their own school, and passed on their lineage, becoming the patriarchs of a school of thought and the living Sages in the eyes of others.

It is conceivable that as Qiu Yan's classic works circulate, he will achieve similar success in the future. Moreover, even before they have truly spread, Military School have already come to his aid.

In the imperial court, Qiu Yan's reputation improved after he killed the Left Wise King. Of course, behind this, some civil officials were planning to position Qiu Yan in the Military School, so that once his power base was stable, he could use classical texts to influence the division of Confucianism schools.

However, this also shows that many civil officials have realized that there is little point in confronting Qiu Yan head-on. With the Human Dao Canon at his disposal, Qiu Yan is invincible. Even if he loses in the struggle in the court, he can retreat to writing books. In the decades that the Great Rui Dynasty has ruled, there has never been a record of killing Grand Confucian Grandmaster.

On the other hand, Qiu Yan's strength and decisiveness during his trip to the Grasslands were truly astonishing. Not to mention his killing of the Left Wise King, the Rouluo Three Saints alone had been famous for over a hundred years. Any senior official inside or outside the court who knew about the affairs of the north would know these three men. Upon hearing of their fate, they were all shocked, but due to various factors, it was inconvenient to discuss them openly.

However, the fact that they can't discuss it doesn't mean they're unaware of the seriousness of the situation.

ps:

Thanks to "Cooking Wine to Cultivate God" for the reward!