Thirty days until the Dragon Palace opens!!
With the agreement reached among the four alliances, the Central Plains, which had been in chaos, finally stabilized, which was a good thing for the people there.
After all, war is something no ordinary family wants to face, especially in the north, where it is harvest season. If the people of the Ancient Desolation Kingdom were to cause trouble again, most of the farmers would probably have to flee.
However, once the Central Plains stabilized, things became less friendly towards the Kingdom of Ancient Desolation of the Northern Wasteland.
The weather on the northern grasslands has been unfavorable this year, especially in the Northern Wolf Kingdom. The grass and water are scarce, and many sheep are thin and weak, resulting in a large number of them having to be sacrificed to the demon wolves of the grasslands. According to the wizard's prediction, this year's winter will probably be longer than last year, making it even more difficult for them to endure.
Originally, with internal strife in the Central Plains, the imperial court disregarded its reputation and allied with the north, giving them the opportunity to plunder the Central Plains. But this time, for some unknown reason, a temporary truce was formed by the mediation of a power whose leader had never even been heard of!
News from the front lines indicates that the Duke of Wei has withdrawn half of his troops and deployed them primarily to the seven states of Youyun. The Duke of Wei of Wei, already a renowned general of his time, has deployed his full strength, leaving the scattered Northern Desolation Alliance with no chance whatsoever. If this continues, the four kingdoms of the Northern Wasteland will likely soon turn on each other for survival, since the neighboring countries' resources are easier to plunder than the formidable Duke of Wei!
It was noon when a small squad dressed in white leather armor entered the city under the strict watch of northern soldiers. The eldest son of the Duke of Wei was in charge of receiving them.
Judging from the people who received them, it was clear that these guys from the grasslands were of high status, but the Duke's son, who was born a military general, showed no kindness towards the people from the Ancient Desolation Kingdom!
However, there was nothing that could be done. The other party was a direct descendant of the Murong Family of the Northern Wolf Kingdom. The leader, Murong Bingyun, was one of the three candidates for the current Northern Wolf Kingdom's priest, and she was of noble status. The person who invited them was none other than the Wind King of the grasslands, Murong Yunji, who was feared by everyone back then.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Your Highness." The people of the grasslands are barbaric, but the young masters of these families are incredibly elegant, and their knowledge of Central Plains etiquette is often more refined than that of the great noble families.
However, the heir of the Duke of Wei was still not very impressed. In his opinion, these scions of noble families from the Ancient Desolation Kingdom were more like demons in human skin. No matter how well they imitated humans, they could not change the beastly nature in their bones. He really did not know what Chen Qing was thinking, that he would allow the priests' children from the Northern Wolf Kingdom to go to the Jiangnan Academy for further study.
"No need for thanks. After all, you are guests, and we can't just not provide you with a meal, can we?" The young master said with a half-smile, "As long as you, Young Master Murong, behave like guests in the background, that will be enough."
Faced with the mockery, the boy, barely ten years old, simply smiled faintly, "When I'm a guest, I naturally have to follow the rules for guests. Please rest assured, Your Highness."
"That's for the best." The heir apparent snorted coldly. A sorcerer from a Fang Family who was following him wore a wry smile. The atmosphere had finally eased a bit, but this heir apparent of the Duke really showed no respect. How could they possibly win one side and fight the other like this?
It's important to understand that the four kingdoms of the Northern Wasteland are currently in a state of the Alliance on the surface, and no one knows whether the other will cooperate to invade again. Although they are temporarily at peace with the court thanks to the one in Jiangnan, all's fair in war. If the Ancient Desolation Kingdom really attack, who can guarantee that the court won't send troops?
Moreover, resolving the troubles in the north as soon as possible will allow us to better focus our efforts on eliminating corrupt officials from the court next year. The resources in the north are far inferior to those in the Central Plains, and the longer it drags on, the slimmer our hopes become.
Thinking of this, he quickly changed the subject, saying, " Murong, did you bring so many disciples with you to take the exam this time?"
Murong Bingyun smiled and nodded upon hearing this, "My aunt mentioned in her letter that the Jiangnan assessment is very rigorous. In order to be able to enter the academy and witness the legendary unique techniques, our family conducted a preliminary selection. Those who passed this selection are all members of the family who are skilled in the study of philosophy."
Upon hearing this, the heir apparent of the Duke of Duke of Wei frowned deeply.
The Northern Wasteland Wolf Kingdom seems to have accepted the Neo-Confucianism of the Jiangnan even more quickly!
Chen Qing's massive formation not only intimidated the other forces but also greatly promoted Jiangnan Academy. After research, his father took the initiative to act as an intermediary, facilitating cooperation between Chen Qing and the Fang Family. Similar to the capital, they would recruit additional students, but they had to pass an assessment. Once they reached a certain level, they could exchange their family's techniques for the Jiangnan Academy's techniques, depending on the circumstances.
Many large families are actually willing to do this business. Large families have a large number of techniques in reserve, and many techniques are difficult to inherit. For families, it is better to use them to exchange for better techniques than to let them rot at home.
However, the downside is that Jiangnan Academy requires applicants to have a strong foundation in general academic subjects.
Yes, it's a miscellaneous field of study!
Similar to the capital, the northern aristocratic families still do not place much importance on so-called divination, physiognomy, medicine, feng shui, and fortune-telling. Even though they have begun to recruit a large number of tutors in miscellaneous studies under the influence of Chen Qing, their mindset has not changed in time. They not only send their less important family members to try their luck, but also remain indifferent to the Neo-Confucianism that is valued in the Jiangnan.
This is not a good thing in his view!
He stayed in Jiangnan for some time. After his father made an agreement with Chen Qing that day, he increased the volume of trade and traded a large number of horses to exchange for reserve grain. He was in charge of this part, so he had already gone to Jiangnan three times in the past month.
Each visit gave him a tremendous shock.
The large shipyard in Yunzhou, the Star Gazing Tower in Liuzhou, and the magical cannons in Nanyang all gave him a great psychological shock. He had never imagined that those so-called engineering disciplines could bring about such changes to the entire populace in such a short period of time. After much investigation, he felt that Neo-Confucianism was by no means the strange and heretical doctrines that those scholarly families despised, but rather a discipline that benefits the country and its people!
However, it is virtually impossible to change the mindset of these scholar-official families in a short period of time. Even the most prestigious old man can only try to change it gradually.
But you're taking things slowly and methodically, while others aren't!
He could almost tell from the two words "Neo-Confucianism" that the Northern Wolf Kingdom was changing rapidly!
Not only did they emphasize Neo-Confucianism, but even the disciples of their school differed from those in the Central Plains.
The young master glanced at them and, having already thoroughly learned about the intelligence on the Fang Family, immediately judged that most of those who came with Murong Yunbing were talented young men from various families, completely different from the ragtag fodder sent by his own families!
Leaving aside those far away, let's talk about the child sitting behind Murong Yunbing who looks to be only eight or nine years old. His face is still very young, and there's a purple scar on his forehead. Murong Yunbing could recognize him almost immediately; that person is from the Yunke Family family, one of the three great priestly families in the north. And the purple scar is a mark of the Yunke Family's inherited family techniques. There's only one person in the intelligence who can inherit the Yunke Family's techniques at the age of eight or nine, and that's the eldest grandson of the High Priest Yunke Langxie, whom he favors the most: Yunke Chen!
Murong Yunbing is also one of the successors in the Murong Family. With the addition of Yunke Chen, it is conceivable that the Northern Wolf Kingdom attaches great importance to Chengdu. It is not even in the same league as our side.
This discovery made the heir apparent of the Duke of Duke of Wei even more agitated!
The accompanying sorcerer seemed unconcerned about this point, instead laughing and saying, "Oh? So, as Murong Master Murong said, these disciples were all carefully selected? Then you must be very confident about this Jiangnan assessment, right?"
"Not at all, not at all!" Murong Yunbing waved her hands repeatedly. "The array formation techniques passed down by Lord Chen Qing are exquisite and profound. This is only the basic textbook. One can only imagine the level that Jiangnan Academy's array formation skills have reached. The integration of divination, physics, and other academic disciplines into array formations is truly amazing. The Central Plains is producing so many talented people, which is enviable."
"Hahaha, you flatter me, young master."
"The reason we juniors were summoned here is twofold: first, to witness the legendary academy of Jiangnan; and second, to meet our peers from the Central Plains, thus broadening our horizons and preventing us from becoming narrow-minded."
"Young master, you're too kind," the sorcerer said with a smile, clearly appreciating the man's impeccable manners, completely oblivious to the young master's face, which had turned ashen, standing to the side.
It seems I need to discuss this with my father; things aren't going well like this!
On the other side, the aristocratic families of the capital, who had been preparing for a month, also sent out a large number of their scions. Unlike the old, conservative families in the north, many of the aristocratic families in the capital were willing to let their direct descendants participate in the assessment.
However, most of the direct descendants had a poor foundation in Neo-Confucianism, and a month was simply not enough time to assess their basic knowledge. Since each family had a limited number of slots, most aristocratic families had to compromise and let their peripheral descendants, who originally had a better foundation in Neo-Confucianism, take the lead in this assessment.
But there are exceptions.
Some families, because their talented offspring have too much influence, are still able to secure a spot for themselves. After all, no one wants their peripheral offspring to overtake them.
The Shen Family is a typical example.
Nearly half of the children who participated this time did not perform well in the initial assessment of basic mathematics and physics, but they still managed to secure a spot. Even Shen Yu, who had the worst score, became the leader of the Shen Family children this time!
There will be two more chapters tonight.
After midnight today, I should only need to finish three more chapters of Mofang. The next few days should be fine; I'll finish paying off the debt within the next three days. That's a full ten days longer than the planned fifth day of the Lunar New Year, haha!
The list of donors will be released mid-month. As for extra chapters, that will depend on the situation at that time. I'm really sorry, but thank you all again for your support!