The Shouren Academy.
Li Yanlong’s face did not look too good as he sat in front of Xu Qingnian, looking as if he was raising questions.
“Lord Li, don’t be angry, this matter is a big deal no matter what, for the imperial court or for Great Wei.”
“You don’t think about it, you are in a high position, it’s not a big deal to suffer a little bit of aggravation, why don’t you think about it, when the water tanker project is over, I will write a poem to commend your merits in, think about it, this water tanker project benefits the country and the people.”
“Thousands of generations, a thousand years later, your name will still be remembered by the world forever, in this way, which of those ministers in the court can compare with you?”
In front of the tea table, Xu Qingnian comforted Li Yanlong as much as he could, he understood Li Yanlong’s feelings, after all, no one would be happy if this happened to him.
Once the waterwheel project is implemented, it will be a great success.
Once the waterwheel project is implemented, it will be a success for a thousand years and Li Yanlong will be famous for a thousand years.
As Xu Qingnian opened up his mind, Li Yanlong was now silent.
Yes, the water chariot was a good thing in the end, and it would be of great use, and the chariot would definitely survive in the next hundred and thousand years, or even ten thousand years.
Even if the Wei dynasty changed hands, the people would still have to rely on this object. By then, if Xu Qingnian wrote a commendation and added himself to it, he would be indirectly famous for thousands of years.
Contrast this with the group of civil servants in the imperial court.
Even if they look down on themselves now and have ill feelings towards them, so what?
He can be famous for a thousand years, while they are gone is gone.
Thinking of this, Li Yanlong was no longer angry, instead he kept brainstorming how the people should praise himself a thousand years later.
“Shouren, I don’t care if I am famous for a thousand years or not, I just think you are right, in a high position, how can you not be questioned, okay, I am the one who is a bit naive.”
The knot in Li Yanlong’s heart was opened.
Xu Qingnian also smiled smoothly and said, “Lord Li is really generous and modest.”
When he said this, Li Yanlong’s smile grew even stronger.
Just as quickly, Li Yanlong continued to speak.
“Today, His Majesty has decreed that he will have Shang Shu Chen oversee the promotion of the water chariot project, and you will be his deputy to cooperate with him, as well as the Ministry of Household, the Ministry of Penalty, the Ministry of Military Affairs, and the Ministry of Works, each in their own way.”
“Shouren, don’t think about being idle these days, prepare to do something.”
Li Yanlong spoke out, informing the empress of the emperor’s decree in the court today.
Xu Qingnian didn’t think anything of it after hearing it.
“Lord Li, the initial stage of the promotion of the waterwheel is something that I definitely don’t need to help with, so let me stay home and recuperate.”
Xu Qingnian did not feel anything.
It was true that the promotion of the waterwheel was the first goal of the development of Great Wei nowadays.
But what really needs to be done is not just a few links.
[Purchasing] – [Transport] – [Building] – [Science]
Purchasing the appropriate materials, negotiating the price within a mutually acceptable range, then starting to transport them to the various counties, prefectures, counties and townships, and finally constructing them, and then popularising them to the people when the work is complete.
After all, once the water tanker is built and the water source comes, the people will be told how to receive the water, which is very simple and I believe the people will be happy to learn, after all, it will benefit them.
And the procurement process does not need to worry about itself, with Gu Yan, the Minister of Household Affairs, there is still fear of not being able to bring down the price?
As for the transportation process, I don’t need to worry about it, what does the Ministry of War do? The Ministry of Military Affairs is the only one who can transport them.
The construction part is also a matter for the Ministry of Works. At most, I would only have to make some effort and give everyone training on how to build it easily.
The world is not a normal world, it’s an immortal world, so it’s easy to find some martial artists to build it.
The process before and after will be perfected in almost three months or so.
As long as there were no major problems, otherwise three or four months, it would definitely be completed.
Of course, Xu Qingnian’s only worry is that Gu Shangshu will suddenly renege on the deal, after all, when he sees boxes of silver going out, his mind will collapse.
Other than that, Xu Qingnian couldn’t really think of anything that could go wrong.
So it’s not your turn to do anything about it.
Isn’t it good to lie at home in peace and salty?
“The first thing you need to do is to get involved.
“What His Majesty would like most at the moment is that nothing happens in this recent period, nothing at all.”
“All right, I’ll leave now, when the real construction starts, you must come to the Ministry of Works, teach the people in the Ministry of Works how to build properly, want to earn credits lying down, don’t dream.”
Li Yanlong got up, he was in an inexplicably good mood, and after saying this, he got up and left straight away.
“Take care, Lord Li.”
Xu Qingnian got up to see Li Yanlong off, and immediately returned to his room.
He began to read a book.
One thing that had to be said was that this Hua Xinyun was indeed punctual, having had books on saints delivered yesterday evening, and quite a few of them, from all generations of saints.
For the other saints, Xu Qingnian did not look at them for the time being, mainly looking for the deeds of the great saints.
Who exactly were the seven people in the Palace of Literature, Xu Qingnian still had to find out something, after all, it was better to know oneself and one’s enemy.
Instead of being pa*sive, it was better to take the initiative to master sovereignty.
And at the same time.
Inside the residence of the King of Huining.
After hearing everything that had happened in the courtroom today, King Huaining’s face looked a little ugly.
“Impossible!”
“Absolutely impossible!”
“A court full of civil servants, why did they all agree to the waterwheel project in one day, this is absolutely impossible.”
“The Minister of Household Affairs, Gu Yan, cherishes money like his life, asking him to come up with 50,000,000 taels, or even 60,000,000 taels, or 70,000,000 taels of silver would be worse than taking his life.”
“If the Ministry of Justice and Penalty and the Ministry of War agrees, I don’t think it’s a big deal, but why does the lineage of martial officials also agree?”
“Don’t they know that once the waterwheel project is implemented, the Great Wei Northern Expedition will not be able to rise again in ten years?”
“Have they also given up on the Northern Expedition?”
“No! It is absolutely impossible, if they give up on the Northern Expedition, the lineage of martial officials will fall into a generations-long pa*sivity, there is absolutely no way these State Princes could be so stupid.”
“Why on earth? Why?”
King Huai Ning’s face was completely gloomy at this moment.
He was the first person to believe that the water chariot project could benefit the country and the people, which was why in the secret room, he had said that kind of thing, even going so far as to use the foreigners as pawns.
But the problem is, yesterday he wrote to many of the clan kings, and the replies he received were almost all of one meaning.
He did not care about this water chariot and hoped that he would think twice about using the pawn of the foreigners lightly.
This, he was not angry with, because these people were stupid and foolish, and it was to his own advantage.
According to his plans and ideas, the waterwheel project would take at least three months to be implemented, and it definitely could not mean that the 50 county lands would be implemented straight away.
But to his surprise, one day.
It was within one day.
All of them had agreed to it.
And they all agreed to it?
The whole court, the civil servants, were unanimous, which in itself was an extremely difficult thing to do.
Who was it?
Who was behind it?
And who had the power to do so? Was it Li Guangxiao?
No, he didn’t have the ability to do so, he said he didn’t obey the military officials.
King Huai Ning thought deeply about who was behind this.
“Your Majesty, my subordinates have inquired, yesterday the eunuch from the palace, went to the Shouren Academy, I don’t know what was explained, and then Xu Qingnian sent someone to the Fan Merchant Street to collect the Fan Merchant account books.”
“And after that, they went to the Ministry of Household, the Ministry of Penalty, the Ministry of Officials, and the House of Duke An, who also called for Duke Qi and Duke Lu, including dozens of marquises.”
The subordinate kneeling within the lobby spoke up, informing King Huai Ning of Xu Qingnian’s movements.
However, King Huai Ning shook his head straight away.
“It can’t be him.”
“What is he? He seems to be like a fish out of water in the imperial court, but what about the reality? The Empress is the Son of Heaven, the Emperor of Great Wei, in her eyes there is no good or bad, no right or wrong, only the interests of the country.”
“The officials of the six ministries, too, have their own interests, and it is impossible for them to give up their own interests because of a Xu Qingnian.”
“As for the military officials’ lineage, they seem to be enthusiastic about Xu Qingnian, but in the end, they are only cla*sifying Xu Qingnian as one of their own, when it comes to the collective interests of the military officials, not to mention one Xu Qingnian, even if there are a hundred of them, it is useless.”
King Huai Ning shook his head directly, he did not think Xu Qingnian could influence the court.
Because what was the imperial court?
It was a place where people were most ruthless and cared most about profit. Human favours are worthless in the imperial court.
Today, the Minister of Household and the Minister of Penalty are on very good terms, but tomorrow, they may tear their faces off.
Each department has its own interests and its own starting point, and it is impossible to be swayed by one person, or by favours.
If that were true, then Great Wei would have fallen long ago.
The more rules-based and ruthless the court is, the better it is for the country. If one did not care about interests and was swayed because of the words of one person, one would not be able to sit in that position of Shang Shu.
What can be said is that all the wise people in the whole world are smiling tigers; when interest is there, you and I are friends, when there is no interest, even the best of brothers will turn against each other.
This truth, he understood when he was three years old.
“Not true.”
But the next moment, King Huai Ning shook his head.
“Xu Qingnian went to the Ministry of the Household, the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Penalties, and also sought out the Duke of An?”
“He was helping His Majesty with his business.”
“It’s a deal.”
King Huai Ning suddenly thought of something, and he frowned, still in deep thought.
He didn’t think Xu Qingnian could sway the court, but he believed it was a deal, a deal between the empress and the civil and military officials.
“What did the empress promise to get them all to agree?”
“To even have the lineage of martial officials agree to it, the deal must be huge.”
“But precisely because of that, this waterwheel project is all the more important for this king to stop.”
“It’s just that all the va*sal kings everywhere are so stupid and unaware of the importance of this matter that this king will have to use his own power to delay it.”
“And this Xu Qingnian.”
“He must also be eliminated, this man has great talent, if he cannot be used for me, he cannot be kept.”
King Huai Ning thought about many things in the blink of an eye.
He had to stop the promotion of the waterwheel, which was a matter of urgency.
As for the foolishness of the clan kings, there was actually one thing he did not say, which he himself understood; sometimes it was not that the clan kings were foolish, but that everyone was on guard against each other.
As long as they are not harmful to themselves, they will not take it lightly. Everyone wants to be emperor, or everyone wants to make the most of the future.
Everyone has their own ideas, but what King Huai Ning resents is that these people are disregarding the bigger picture for their own benefit.
As for Xu Qingnian, King Huai Ning had already had his heart set on killing him.
Of course he wouldn’t kill Xu Qingnian directly, that would be breaking the rules, and if he did, he wouldn’t end up in a good place.
At least the empress would not spare him.
At this moment, King Huai Ning fell to sit down, his gaze falling on the table, a dossier.
The first line of the dossier was also written [The Ping’an County Dissident Art Case].
After a moment, King Huaining pressed his voice and said.
“Go to the Qian, Sun, and Zhou families and tell them that the king has something to discuss, so that they can send their officials to Kyoto before midnight today.”
“Also, step up the investigation of this dossier, all those who work on it, and interrogate all the circumstances, especially this Cheng Lidong, find his whereabouts as soon as possible.”
“Furthermore, after the Peace Poetry Festival, it will be His Majesty’s birthday, when all the amba*sadors from all countries will be in the capital, there are some pawns that can be used to bring them to the capital.”
King Huai Ning spoke.
A single order was given down.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The latter took the order, and then disappeared from the spot.
At this moment, King Huai Ning’s gaze was very calm.
“Xu Qingnian! You should not, in a thousand years, have made this waterwheel project, this thing is beneficial to Great Wei, but not beneficial to this king.”
He said to himself, having already made up his mind to get rid of Xu Qingnian.
Just at that moment, a letter suddenly appeared in front of his table, out of thin air.
On top of the letter paper, there were six words in neat and sharp handwriting, definitely not the pen of a man.
The six words were [Destroy the water chariot, remove the clear night].
The next moment, the letter turned into smoke and ash, and then disappeared completely.
And so it went on for days.
It was as if Great Wei had gone completely quiet.
There was no new news about Hua Xinyun’s return, apart from those two days, which left many of the people a little disappointed, expecting it to be a fierce and incomparable clash.
But to their surprise, in the end Hua Ningshun did nothing. Although some people also said that Hua Ningshun was brewing, a lot of news soon appeared.
On the day he arrived, he visited Xu Qingnian, and at the same time Hua Xingyun took the initiative to petition to go to the Ministry of Household Affairs, preferring to become a roll official and wanting to do something for Great Wei.
There were even several times when someone said something wrong about Xu Qingnian, and Hua Xingyun would counter at the first opportunity, while telling many people that he had no grudge against Xu Qingnian, and that both of them were scholars and officials of Great Wei.
They were both scholars and officials of Great Wei, and they were willing to complement each other so that Great Wei could embark on a new heyday.
Although some people find it a bit unbelievable, after all, people’s memory is not just three years, how proud Hua Xinyun was three years ago, there are still many people who can remember.
Whether it was his talent or whatever, the Hua Xinyun of three years ago was indeed not inferior to Xu Qingyan, but three years later, he seemed to have become more mature.
The people were at a loss as to what to say for a while.
At the very least, he knew how to get up and down and was willing to go to the Ministry of Household Affairs to work as a roll official, all signs of which made Hua Xinyun seem humble.
However, there were still some claims among the people that this was a disguise, and even when these claims reached Hua Xinyun’s ears, the latter was not annoyed, but just explained normally, without being in a hurry.
There was no more conflict, no more contradiction, and naturally no attention could be won.
There was nothing interesting in the court either, and the people were indeed bored lately. The daily talk returned to who’s son was more outstanding, who’s daughter had married a good family, and who’s family had something untoward happening.
After all, since Xu Qingnian came to the capital, big things have been happening at every turn, and the days have gone by very quickly.
But the good thing is that there are two events that give the people something to look forward to.
The Peace Poetry Festival is coming up soon, in the middle of next month.
The Empress’s birthday is also coming up, fifteen days after the Peace Poetry Festival.
What the people were looking forward to more than anything else was the Taiping Poetry Fair, which was a really big event where all the talented readers of Great Wei would gather, including those from many surrounding countries.
In previous years, some of the best poems have been produced, and even a thousand ancient poems have been written, so this year’s poetry fair has naturally attracted even more attention.
This year’s poetry fair naturally attracted even more attention, because a Xu Qingnian had come from Great Wei.
There was also a Hua Xinyun.
And now.
The Shouren Academy.
Chen Xinghe was bathed in the dusk light, standing alone in the middle of the school hall, wondering what he was contemplating.
Perhaps it was some emotion, or perhaps he didn’t know which tendon had twitched, Chen Xinghe suddenly wanted to write a diary, to record his life, and to record what he had learned.
He couldn’t go on wasting away like this, he needed to reflect on it daily, otherwise, he would really be a waste.
Since coming to the Shouren Academy.
Chen Xinghe’s original purpose was to come and help Xu Qingnian, but after living there for almost a month or so, he hadn’t gotten any help at all, instead, he ate at the end of the day, which made Chen Xinghe somehow feel like a waste.
But he was obviously very talented, right?
Thinking of this, Chen Xinghe went back to his room and started writing in his diary.
Thus, in the blink of an eye, tens of days had pa*sed.
There were still only four days left before the Taiping Poetry Competition.
Inside the Shouren Academy.
Xu Qingnian had just returned to his room, too tired from the past few days.
It was at this moment.
Senior brother Chen Xinghe slowly walked in.
“Senior brother.”
As Chen Xinghe walked in, Xu Qingnian immediately got up.
“Greetings, senior brother.”
Xu Qingnian made a salute, while Chen Xinghe directly opened the door and said.
“Senior brother, let me ask you something, the Taiping Poetry Competition is just around the corner, have you really not prepared any poems?”
Chen Xinghe asked seriously.
“Aiyo, senior brother, don’t worry, if senior brother says he won’t prepare, he definitely won’t prepare, he won’t lie to you.”
Xu Qingnian said somewhat helplessly.
Where could he not see what his senior brother had in mind, it was just because he wanted to show off his talent at the poetry meeting.
But he was afraid that his poetry would be so good that it would embarra*s him.
“En-uh, senior brother doesn’t mean anything else, he just thinks that the Taiping Poetry Fair, wouldn’t it be a pity if you didn’t participate, but come to think of it, you’ve been busy with official duties recently, this kind of poetry fair, it doesn’t matter if you don’t participate.”
After receiving the definite answer, Chen Xinghe was inwardly happy and then sat down to talk about some things with Xu Qingnian.
Immediately afterwards, he left.
When Chen Xinghe left, Xu Qingnian didn’t say anything, she just swept the bed and found a small book left behind.
It was probably senior brother’s stuff.
When she picked it up, it said [Chen Xinghe’s Diary].
Seeing this, Xu Qingnian became somewhat curious.
Although it was not good to pry into other people’s secrets, the problem was that this was his senior brother.
Thinking about what had happened before, Xu Qingnian felt that it was necessary to take a look, just in case there was any information.
Opening the diary, the contents soon appeared.
[July 28th, 1st year of Wuchang]
Why! Why! Why!
Why am I so handsome and talented, and yet I have not yet been ranked?
Why is it that those who are ordinary looking and have no talent at all are so quick to enter the rank.
He is no less handsome than I am, so it is normal for him to enter the rank.
29th July, the year of Wuchang]
The poetry competition is about to start, I have to prepare well, this time I have to make a splash!
I want to show my younger brothers that a senior brother is a senior brother!
I’m going to read a book!
[Wuchang Year, July 30]
After reading two books, I think I’m good!
Let’s improvise a song.
Let’s use talent as the title.
A generation of talent, a thousand years of rituals and music.
Not bad!
Wuchang, August 5, 2012
I heard that a lot of scholars are already here, and some amba*sadors from various countries.
I’m going to study hard. I’m going to have a great time at the Taiping Poetry Festival.
[Wu Chang Year, August 10]
In recent days, Shidi seems to be a bit busy, running around all day.
I actually wanted to advise my senior brother to study hard and participate in the Taiping Poetry Competition, but then I thought, with my senior brother’s talent, if he composed poetry.
Wouldn’t I be lost then?
So torn, so painful.
[Wuchang year, August 11]
I’ve figured out that Shidi is now famous all over the world, and he doesn’t care about fame anymore.
So it doesn’t matter if he participates or not, but I’m still worried that he’ll try to compose poetry again at the last minute.
No, no, I have to ask more carefully, if he writes a poem, I won’t waste my time.
If he really doesn’t want to compose a poem, then I’ll compose a poem, just in case it’s too good and I’ll be embarra*sed if I surpa*s him.
I’d rather not do a thousand ancient poems, but a hundred, or preferably ten, so as not to undermine senior brother’s self-confidence.
Chen Xinghe, Chen Xinghe, you, you’re not good at anything, but you’re just too modest, but yes, it’s good to give senior brother a break.
Senior brother’s diary, inexplicably let Xu Qingnian some ……. The actual fact is that you can find a lot of people who are not able to get a good deal on the subject.
But after thinking about it, Xu Qingnian couldn’t help but smile.
The actual fact is that you can find a lot of people who want to be in the limelight, but it’s also normal, just ask that reader, do not want to be in the limelight?
I think so.
I don’t want to participate in the Peace Poetry Festival, there is no point in doing so, so I might as well let my senior brother make a good show of himself.
However, if your brother’s level of poetry ……. The chance of making a fool of yourself is unlikely, but the chance of making a fool of yourself is greater.
Should I go and persuade him?
Xu Qingnian put his diary aside and began to ponder.
It was also at this time that suddenly, Chen Xinghe turned back.
With just a glance, Chen Xinghe’s gaze, fell on the diary on the bed. At that moment, Chen Xinghe came without a blush and picked up the diary.
“Senior brother, do you read what’s inside?”
Chen Xinghe looked at Xu Qingnian with a calm expression.
“Ha? What is it? What’s this?”
Xu Qingnian’s first reaction was to pretend to be confused, if this was said to have been seen, I guess senior brother had no face to stay here.
“Really?”
Chen Xinghe was a bit suspicious.
“Really, what is this? Senior brother, let me take a look.”
Xu Qingnian got up and wanted to take a look.
And Chen Xinghe turned around to leave.
“It’s nothing, senior brother, come out to eat.”
Chen Xinghe had disappeared as soon as he said that.
And Xu Qingnian couldn’t help but smile sunnily, then he didn’t go to eat either, and headed outside.
He still had to go to work in the Ministry of Works, which was really a bit troublesome.
It was not until late at night that Xu Qingnian returned to the Shouren Academy, and without saying a word, he went straight to bed to rest.
The following day
At the hour of the morning.
Xu Qingnian opened his eyes.
He had had a good night’s sleep, and for the past half month, Xu Qingnian had felt really tired.
No matter how much he tried to teach them how to a*semble the waterwheel, these people were just a bit clumsy.
However, Xu Qingnian also understood that most of the officials at the Ministry of Industry only had theoretical knowledge of such things, so there was no problem at all in getting them to beep in theory.
But when they are asked to do it, they will not be able to do it.
Therefore, Xu Qingnian asked the Minister of Works, Li Yanlong, to find a group of excellent craftsmen to come over as soon as possible, so that these craftsmen could learn and then distribute them to all counties in a unified manner.
Get up! Stretch your back!
It feels good to have had a good night’s sleep.
Although he was now an eighth-ranked martial artist and had no problem not sleeping for months, he still felt very refreshed after a good night’s sleep every now and then.
After getting up, Xu Qingnian brewed himself a pot of health-boosting tea.
It had to be said that this kind of leisurely and relaxed life was still particularly good.
A while ago, there were so many things going on, so many and so hot, that they almost didn’t kill themselves.
Right now it’s comfortable to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet, at least you don’t have to be on tenterhooks all day, and you don’t have to be thinking about screwing anyone and everyone.
And that’s when.
Yang Bao’s voice rang out from behind him.
“My lord, someone has dropped a letter early in the morning.”
“Take a look.”
With Yang Bao’s voice ringing out, Xu Qingnian looked his gaze over.
With just a glance, a hint of dissimilarity flashed in Xu Qingnian’s eyes.
The envelope was white in colour, but there was a peach flower painted on it.
The White Cloth Sect?
A thought flashed through Xu Qingnian’s mind, and he did not answer immediately, but thought before speaking.
“In future, this kind of messy stuff, just burn it.”
Xu Qingnian spoke, and Yang Bao, not noticing Xu Qingnian’s difference, nodded honestly and then used the fire stone to directly burn the thing.
Looking at the white mist in the teapot.
Xu Qingnian’s expression calmed down, and all his good moods were instantly reduced by half.
“What else does the White Cloth Sect want from me?”
“Don’t you know that I’m already a Great Wei Servant?”
“Is it hard to say that they want to turn me against me?”
“This organisation is sick, isn’t it? I’m already a sixth-ranked Confucian of Great Wei, and they want to turn me against me? You wouldn’t have the brains to do that.”
“Is it trying to threaten me?”
One by one, thoughts flashed through Xu Qingnian’s mind.
The White Clothes Clan, this is a strange and familiar name.
Xu Qingnian’s impression of the White Clothes Sect was that it was a rebel organization, and a very large one at that.
Who is behind it? I guess it’s a big one, the kind that doesn’t need an umbrella when it rains.
For this organisation, before entering the capital, Xu Qingnian wanted to get in touch with it because he could exchange benefits with each other.
At that time, he himself was practicing a different art and was afraid that he would not be able to suppress it, so he was also willing to cooperate with the White Cloth Sect.
It was only later when he arrived at the South Yufu, he really did not have the time to meet up with the people of the White Cloth Sect and missed out.
I thought that this was the end of the matter, but I never expected that the White-Clothed Sect would follow the vine and find itself.
So when he entered the capital, he sent a letter to himself, sort of giving a contact address and wanting to talk to him.
It was just that after coming to the capital, too many things had happened one after another, which Xu Qingnian believed that the people from the White-Clothed Sect had not expected either.
As for the fact that it had been almost three months since he had entered the capital, the White-Clothed Sect had froze without looking for him for a moment.
Even Xu Qingnian once thought that the White-Clothed Sect had given up on him because they knew that he had already made his word and was dedicated to the people, so it was impossible for him to turn against them.
But now it seemed that he had thought of the White Clothes Sect too purely.
There was some brain pain.
Xu Qingnian’s good mood was half gone.
He was now in a high position, the minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs of the Great Wei, and he had half a foot in the Great Wei.
He really didn’t want to get involved with this rebel group.
After all, he needed to win the hearts and minds of the people so that he could increase his strength, lest the foreign arts break out.
If one were to defect to the rebellion, it would be a major problem, not to mention a major hidden problem.
Rebellion has been difficult to win the hearts and minds of the people since ancient times, and in that case, not only would it be self-destructive, but it would, most likely, backfire on oneself.
So no matter what, one cannot cooperate with the White Cloth Sect.
But what does the White Cloth Sect mean by sending a letter at this time?
The literal meaning is simple: they don’t want to let themselves go and want to have a good talk with them.
They didn’t report themselves at first, or find themselves in trouble, just because they wanted to talk to them.
This was something Xu Qingnian could guess.
It was just that there were two ways to talk, to turn against oneself or to ask about the Martial Emperor’s relics.
If it was the latter, then it would be fine, we would finish the deal, you would not look for me, I would not look for you, and from now on we would have nothing to do with each other.
If it was the former, then it would be a problem. Xu Qingnian did not want the black hand behind the White Cloth Sect to look at him.
It would be even more involved then.
“After all is said and done, it’s still the trouble with the foreign arts.”
“The scourge of pagan arts must be resolved, otherwise, this problem will explode sooner or later, and by then, no matter how much one explains, it will be useless.”
Xu Qingnian frowned as he quickly understood in his mind what his current crisis was.
The issue of allomancy was still a big problem.
Now it wasn’t a matter of suppressing or not suppressing it, but a matter of eradicating it.
The reason why he seemed to feel that there was no problem during this period of time was because his Confucianism had suppressed the foreign arts.
That is why it does not reveal any crisis.
But what if one day one cannot suppress it?
To take a step back, I could still suppress it, but what if someone knew that I had practised the supernatural arts and used it to criticise me?
A great talent of the Wei Dynasty, a minister of the Ministry of the Household, practising a foreign art?
If this were to get out, it would not be a trivial matter.
The Confucian Way can suppress the supernatural arts and make it impossible for others to detect that one has practiced them, but there must be a way to find out.
For example, could you ask a great Confucian scholar from heaven and earth to find out?
Or maybe use other methods to find out?
Xu Qingnian was not confident that the Great Wei Dynasty did not have the means to find out if a person had practised a supernatural art.
Therefore, it was really necessary to eradicate the supernatural arts in one’s body.
If it wasn’t eradicated, it would be a matter of time before the lightning struck.
Thinking of this, Xu Qingnian set his goal, and at the same time he intended to meet with the people of the White Cloth Sect.
Not wanting to get involved was genuine.
But it was also true that people had to come to find themselves.
So trying to avoid seeing them would be somewhat unrealistic.
It was necessary to meet them after all.
Only, at this very moment.
Yang Hu’s voice rang out.
“My lord, there is a man outside who says he is your old hometown and has come to catch up with you.”
Yang Hu came and informed Xu Qingnian that someone was asking to see him.
“An old hometown?”
Xu Qingnian was a little curious.
What old hometown did he have? The magistrates of Ping’an County? Or friends of the literati in the South Yu Province?
Just when Xu Qingnian was curious.
But a figure slowly appeared in front of Xu Qingnian.
It was a man.
His face was ghastly white.
Giving off a gloomy feeling, he was wearing a plain coat with a smile.
This moment.
It was as if the air had frozen.
Xu Qingnian looked at the other party, and all his expressions and countenances seemed extraordinarily calm.
Because, the person who came ……. was Cheng Lidong!
He did not expect ……. Cheng Lidong, who had disappeared for a little over half a year, had actually come back.
This guy is really a shadowy soul.
When his eyes fell on Cheng Lidong, the latter’s aura, appeared stronger than before, his qi and blood were exuberant and there was a qi around him.
Entering the seventh rank.
No, it was stronger than the seventh rank.
Xu Qingnian was an eighth-grade martial artist, but his strength could fight with the seventh grade, yet the feeling Cheng Lidong gave himself was inexplicably terrifying.
It was definitely not the seventh rank, it was the sixth rank.
Of course it was possible that he was a seventh-grade great success, half a foot into the sixth grade.
This was somewhat unreasonable.
It had only been three months before and after, so how could Cheng Lidong be directly promoted to the Great Perfection of the Seventh Grade, or even the Sixth Grade?
He himself was only at the eighth rank by now.
It was impossible to say that he, Cheng Lidong, was extremely talented in martial arts, if he was to be good, when was it bad? Just these three months and he had broken through?
Could it be that he had also cultivated a different art?
This is also unlikely, Cheng Lidong has no need to cultivate the supernatural arts, furthermore, what can he cultivate the supernatural arts to press?
Apart from Confucianism, there was nothing else that could suppress the supernatural arts.
“Lord Xu, it’s been a long time, haven’t you forgotten some old friends?”
Feeling Xu Qingnian’s gaze, Cheng Lidong did not have any complacency or arrogance, but instead looked very enthusiastic.
He bowed towards Xu Qingnian.
“Lord Cheng, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you too.”
Xu Qingnian gave a light smile in reply, no matter how he reacted inwardly, but outwardly Xu Qingnian was calm and at ease.
“Lord Xu has really overstated his case, you are now a minister of the Ministry of the Household of Great Wei, a fourth-ranking official, I resigned three months ago.”
“I’m just an ordinary citizen now, I can’t afford to take on the word lord.”
Cheng Lidong laughed, looking incredibly modest, but this mouthful of Lord Xu inexplicably carried other meanings.
“No, no, I owe a lot to Lord Cheng for becoming the Minister of Household Affairs.”
“Lord Cheng, go and chat in the courtyard, I know you don’t like to drink tea.”
Xu Qingnian smiled lightly and then invited Cheng Lidong to the courtyard for a chat, after all, there were many people here.
“Good, please, Lord Xu.”
Cheng Lidong was polite and asked Xu Qingnian to lead the way.
“Don’t let anyone in.”
Xu Qingnian instructed Yang Hu, and then very warmly led Cheng Lidong to the courtyard.
Not long afterwards, two figures walked past.
Yang Hu, on the other hand, walked outside the academy with a serious expression, afraid that someone would come and disturb Xu Qingnian.
