Go

He appointed trusted and skilled men to gather displaced people, specializing in robbing local gentry and merchants and seizing their resources to keep the displaced people at bay.

Emperor Yongxing's head was buzzing. He felt that the knowledge he had cultivated over the past thirty years had been overturned by this secret memorial, and a sense of absurdity and unreality welled up within him.

His first thought after reading the memorial was: Nonsense!

In Emperor Yongxing's view, the gentry, the scholar-official class, and prominent families were important components of the court and part of maintaining the dynasty's rule.

If the court were to antagonize these social classes, its decrees would be impossible to implement. Throughout history, countless dynasties and emperors have been overthrown for offending these classes.

Emperor Yongxing was also a scholar of history, and his understanding of politics can be summarized in two sentences:

Constant compromises; winning over one group while suppressing another!

The so-called strategy of winning over one group of people and suppressing another, in the context of the imperial court, means gaining the support of more political parties.

When applied to governing a country, this means winning over powerful clans, gentry, nobles, and scholar-officials, while suppressing the millions of ordinary people.

However, a sentence in Xu Erlang's secret memorial deeply shocked Emperor Yongxing.

Those who hold land are allies in times of prosperity, but pawns in times of chaos.

Xu Erlang gave a lengthy explanation of this statement, arguing that compared to the countless disaster victims, the class that controlled the dynasty's land resources and wealth was only a very small part of the population.

In times of chaos, sacrificing a small number of people can win the support of the vast majority of the populace, ensuring the imperial power remains unshaken.

When the old class is destroyed, new people will enter and replace them.

Emperor Yongxing felt that this was also a way of winning over one group of people while suppressing another.

He echoed his political ideas.

Most importantly, this matter was not done by the imperial court, but by displaced people and bandits, and had nothing to do with the royal family or the imperial court.

"Xu Xinnian is very talented and can be important!"

Emperor Yongxing sighed.

He read the secret memorial repeatedly, sometimes excited, sometimes worried, sometimes gritting his teeth, sometimes shaking his head, he hesitated and struggled for a very long time.

Whew. Finally, I let out a long breath, having made up my mind.

"Bring the brazier!"

Emperor Yongxing gave the order.

Zhao Xuanzhen immediately brought over a brazier.

Emperor Yongxing threw the secret memorial into the brazier. Flames leaped up, licking the paper, and burned the memorial, which was sure to cause an uproar in the court and among the people if it were to be sent out.

He did not intend to adopt this strategy.

To be precise, the third strategy will not be adopted.

The reason is simple: the risk is too great.

If this matter were to leak out, he would definitely lose his throne.

He was not the emperor, with deep roots and the ability to firmly suppress the officials in the court. He was just a new emperor who had been on the throne for less than two months.

No, even an emperor as powerful and influential as my father wouldn't dare to do that.

Delegating this task to a trusted confidant is tantamount to handing over leverage against someone.

A handle that could potentially lead to one's utter ruin at any moment.

Let alone his confidants, even his birth mother and younger sister, Emperor Yongxing would not dare to hand over such leverage to them.

Who can guarantee that a trusted confidant will always be loyal?

Inside the pagoda.

Xu Qi'an had already arrived in Yuzhou and begun to ride the Floating Pagoda towards the Southern Frontier, suddenly felt a pang of fear and turned to Miao Youfang, saying:

"Come help me with the next step."

He was sitting at a small table, playing chess with Mu Nanzhi. The black and white pieces were locked in a fierce battle, with the situation constantly changing and neither side able to gain the upper hand.

The old monk Taling was stunned; he had never imagined that these two men possessed such extraordinary chess skills.

Miao Youfang stopped practicing his boxing, wiping his face with the towel hanging around his neck, and said with difficulty:

"I can't play chess!"

Xu Qi'an insisted on his own opinion:

"Nanzhi will teach you. Playing chess isn't difficult; you have to trust your own intelligence."

Miao Youfang eagerly went over and sat in Xu Qi'an's seat. He glanced at the densely packed chessboard and was suddenly startled.

The chess pieces almost covered the entire board, and even at this stage, the game was still undecided.

It's easy to imagine how skilled Xu Qi'an and his wife were at chess.

Mu Nanzhi glanced at him and said:

You take black, I'll take white.

Miao Youfang scratched his head. "I don't know how to play."

"It's simple, you win by aligning five pieces in a straight line," Mu Nanzhi said.

What kind of game is this?

"This is Go," Mu Nanzhi said seriously.

On the other side, Xu Qi'an walked to the window, took out the fragment of the Earth Book, and saw Huaiqing's message:

[Part 1: Emperor Yongxing did not adopt Xu Erlang's plan. Today, he sent someone to tell him: "My dear minister, your plan is excellent, but I think it is unnecessary. Let it go and do not mention it again!"]

Emperor Yongxing lacks the necessary boldness,"Xu Qi'an shook his head in disappointment.

[Second: What? We went to so much trouble to come up with such a brilliant plan for him, and he didn't even use it? Bah! Emperor Yongxing is just Virtue his father, both useless emperors.]

The angry young woman was furious.

[Four: Actually, his choice was understandable. Not everyone has the courage to make such a choice. If you were in his shoes, you would understand his difficulties. As a new ruler, he would definitely prioritize stability.]

[Adopting Erlang's plan carries too many uncertainties and too great risks, and it may not even completely solve the problem of the displaced people. Furthermore, if exposed, he would face a backlash from the entire scholar-official class.]

[Seven: His disregard doesn't prevent us from taking action ourselves. It just greatly reduces the effectiveness, since the Heaven and Earth Society has limited manpower.]

The Holy Son offered his opinion.

Hey, little bro, you're pretty outgoing. Have you forgotten how you got yourself killed a while back? Xu Qi'an's lips curled up.

[Second: Xu Qi'an, do you have any other strategies for managing the displaced people?]

Li Miaozhen actually wanted to ask Huaiqing, but she wasn't familiar with him, so she could only use Xu Qi'an as a tool.

What other options are there?

The previous strategy was to exacerbate class contradictions, sacrifice a portion of the class, and preserve the overall situation and imperial power. If there were any other strategies, the only one would be to divert attention from the contradictions, and foreign war would be the best way, but...

Using foreign wars to divert attention from internal conflicts is only suitable when social conflicts have not yet fully intensified.

Given the current state of the Great Feng, to provoke others and start a national war is tantamount to hastening its own demise.

If this trick works, Chongzhen will be overjoyed (he thought to himself).

[Three: Actually, it's possible. The imperial court could conscript soldiers and use displaced people as cannon fodder to deal with the rebels in Yunzhou. Of course, Yunzhou would definitely use this tactic as well.]

This is also a way to shift the blame.

The members of the Heaven and Earth Society remained silent.

At that time, the phrase "devastation and loss of life" perfectly encapsulates the tragic situation.

[Three: Let's focus on the present. Besides Miaozhen, Brother Chu, and Li Lingsu, I can send someone else to gather the refugees and establish a mountain stronghold.]

As he delivered the message, Xu Qi'an turned to look at Miao Youfang, who was sitting in front of the chessboard.

[Seven: Is it Miao Youfang?]

Li Lingsu hit the nail on the head.

[Three: Hmm, his current level is still a bit lacking, but he should be able to reach the Transformation Realm within a month at most. By the way, I discovered a secret to quickly advancing to the Transformation Realm. That is, after the Spirit Refining Realm, persistently cultivate your Primordial Spirit and develop your brain.]

[1: What does this mean?]

Huaiqing immediately sent a letter; she seemed very interested in the secret.

As for the others, only Chu Yuanzhen was slightly interested. The Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix of the Heavenly Sect were Daoist School cultivators, and Master Hengyuan was already a fourth-rank cultivator.

Lina continued diving as usual, because she could never understand the matters discussed by the members of the Heaven and Earth Society, and it also gave her headaches.

[Three: Refining the Primordial Spirit can develop the brain, and further refining the physique can enhance control over the body, making it easier to reach the fourth rank. I have already tested this secret on Miao Youfang.]

[Part 4: Why is this so?]

Chu Yuanzhen could also be considered a half-martial artist.

[Three: Because the body is controlled by the Primordial Spirit, the stronger the Primordial Spirit, the stronger the control over the body.]

He replaced his brain with his Primordial Spirit so that the members of the Heaven and Earth Society could understand him.

In fact, the Primordial Spirit and the brain are different. The brain is the vessel of the Primordial Spirit. As the Primordial Spirit grows stronger, the brain will be further developed. People with strong Primordial Spirit generally have strong control over their bodies.

[Second: I see. This reminds me of when I cultivated my Nascent Soul, feeling as light as a swallow, and my physical abilities also seemed to improve. It turns out that essentially, it was because my control over my physical body had increased.]

Li Miaozhen suddenly realized that, often, as one's rank increases, various physical abilities also improve. People take this for granted and rarely delve into the reasons behind it.

After all, not everyone loves doing academic research.

[One: Xu Ningyan, you are truly a genius.]

The internal meeting of the Heaven and Earth Society has concluded.

Xu Qi'an carefully put away the fragments of the Earth Book and returned to the chessboard. Miao Youfang looked excited and made moves with lightning speed.

He and Mu Nanzhi played a game of Go, their skill locked in a fierce and evenly matched contest. The old monk Taling was astonished, never expecting the two to possess such extraordinary Go skills.

"So this is Go. Ha, it's not difficult at all. I thought playing Go was something only scholars could do, a game that required profound knowledge."

Miao Youfang had an expression that said he had seen through the essence of the world:

"That's all there is to it!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qi'an glanced at the wicked princess.

My apprentice isn't very bright to begin with, and you keep trying to fool him. He grumbled to himself.

The Imperial Palace, Dexin Garden.

Huaiqing held a book in his hand, stood by the window, and looked at the scenery in the courtyard.

"Persistent training of the Primordial Spirit can accelerate the advancement to the Transformation Realm."

She pondered this information.

Indeed, aside from the daily visualization practice when a martial artist reaches the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining Realm, the intensity of visualization will decrease once they successfully advance to the Spirit Refining Realm.

He spent most of his time Qi Refinement and taking medicinal baths, laying the groundwork for advancing to the level of copper skin and iron bones.

Once one reaches the Bronze Skin and Iron Bones Realm, one begins to temper the physical body and comprehend the power of transformation.

Each grade has a different focus; this is a consensus among everyone.

Including Huaiqing herself, after advancing to the Bronze Skin and Iron Bones Realm, she only meditated every few days, neglecting the tempering of her Primordial Spirit.

Yes, she has been promoted to the level of copper skin and iron bones.

The fact that piping hot tea was served in the side hall outside the Imperial Study that day is the best proof of that.

That was also Huaiqing's biggest oversight, unintentionally revealing his cultivation level.

Huaiqing returned to his desk, tore off a piece of paper, and wrote a series of names on it.

Start with a name:

Chen Ying!

She blew on the ink to dry it, folded the note, and got up to leave the study.

"Prepare the carriage; I need to return to my residence."

After instructing her maid, she went to the outer courtyard, summoned the head guard, and said:

"Have the people on the list come to my residence."

The note was handed out.

Yunzhou!

Inside the prison of the Commander-in-Chief's office, the air was damp and carried a faint stench of decay.

Xie Lu looked up at the sunlight streaming through the vents in the wall, lost in thought.

He has been imprisoned for six months.

As the newly appointed Provincial Governor of Yunzhou, a Principal Third Rank official of the third rank, the imperial court turned a blind eye to his plight.

In just six months, he went from a spirited scholar to a disheveled prisoner.

The dungeon was damp and cold; my hands and feet were covered in chilblains, and because I hadn't bathed for a long time, I smelled terrible and had minor skin ulcers.

Xie Lu was originally the prefect of Zhangzhou, in charge of the Great Feng granary. He had made great achievements and earned a good reputation among the people and officials.

After Song Changfu, the newly appointed Provincial Governor of Yunzhou, was executed, he took up his post in Yunzhou to succeed him.

Xie Lu was certain that Yunzhou was a mess and was prepared for a protracted war.

Unexpectedly, things went smoothly after he took office. He neither encountered subordinates who formed cliques and made things difficult for him, nor was he suppressed by Commander Yang Chuannan.

Surprised, he felt a surge of goodwill towards Yang Chuannan, the loyal commander.

Three months passed in this way. One day, Yang Chuannan suddenly hosted a banquet and invited him to a feast. At the banquet, the commander denounced the corruption of the court, the rampant corruption of corrupt officials, and the suffering of the people.

He told him about the existence of the royal lineage from five hundred years ago and sincerely invited him to join Qianlong City, overthrow the corrupt royal family, set things right, and welcome back the legitimate Great Feng dynasty.

Xie Lu pretended to agree, and upon returning to his residence, immediately wrote a secret letter to the imperial court.

But his every move was already being monitored, and before the secret letter could be sent out, he was imprisoned.

The clanging of armor echoed in the dimly lit corridor, and a tall, imposing figure stopped outside the fence.

Clad in armor and wielding a sword, he exuded divine might.

It was Yang Chuannan, the military commander of Yunzhou.

PS: Updated first, revised later.