Chapter 112: The Time-space Visitors
After Zhao Cheng captured another prefecture in the North, he quickly shifted to defense.
After Shazhou City locally fell into the hands of Hao State, the young State Lord in Hao State brought along his hundred officials and hurried toward Shazhou City, while handing over Bo Prefecture to the Dragon Descendant Great General.
King Hao’s this move was clearly not something he could think of himself, but a scheme obtained from his newly recruited advisors. However, these advisors were not virtuous gentlemen who could always attend to the big picture, but cunning individuals skilled in power struggles and secret fights.
Staying in Bo Prefecture was merely being held hostage by the personnel arrangements made by Grand Tutor Pu. Once he jumped out, he was free.
Advisor: Although going to Shazhou City means directly facing Zhao Cheng, there are also many loyal and righteous men in Zhao Cheng’s camp who are inclined toward the State Lord. The State Lord should bestow favors even earlier.
King Hao deeply agreed.
Therefore, in the newly captured Sha Prefecture, King Hao took advantage of Zhao Cheng still being on border patrol and directly inserted himself into the largest city in Shazhou City, meeting with the local noble families and great clans.
As Zhao Cheng returned, King Hao had already completed treating the talented with humility, inviting some captured civil ministers in Shazhou City out of their cages.
In the Great General’s camp, Zhao Cheng heard of this, slightly raised his head, and asked his advisor: “Does Grand Tutor Pu know?”
Zhao Cheng’s advisor: “Grand Tutor Pu already knows and is on the way.”
Zhao Cheng nodded: “As long as the Grand Tutor knows, it’s fine,” and continued to lower his head, focusing his attention on military matters.
However, the advisor couldn’t help but speak: “Although the Grand Tutor favors you, my lord, you should still make plans early. King Hao is being overly intimate with several of the generals under your command.”
Zhao Cheng frowned, the brush tip recording on the silk book pausing slightly, but soon continued.
Zhao Cheng: “With a great enemy before us, if generals and ministers are disunited, we lose both inside and out.”
…In the Wisdom and Courage System: The Divine General’s loyalty is still above sixty…
In the Hao State palace, King Hao was examining the pagoda floating on the table. Inside the pagoda, one could see little figures spiraling within, groping like in a maze.
These little figures were the souls of his inner palace guards. Now, when these guards outside met King Hao, they were prostrating themselves like university students meeting their boss for the first time on the job.
This pagoda was offered by an unknown Daoist Priest when he arrived in Shazhou City, and after offering it, the Daoist Priest left. Just as King Hao was groping through all this, Pu E, who had turned into mist and entered the palace hall, stared at this kid.
Footsteps of Pu E came from behind, and King Hao suddenly awoke, asking: “Who is it?”
Upon seeing the visitor was Pu E, he forced a stiff smile: “It’s Grand Tutor come.”
King Hao frowned, looking at his guards—these guards whose one soul and one spirit he had absorbed with the pagoda—why was there no alert?
However, Pu E quickly laid her cards on the table: “Don’t suspect anything, this item (pagoda) still takes you as its master. But! This thing’s permissions are insufficient for me.”
Pu E was not angry at King Hao’s current behavior; in fact, she “indulged” his little actions with a doting tolerance, because he was also something she had redeemed.
Because in the Wisdom and Courage System, since divine generals could be redeemed, ordinary characters could also be redeemed.
Pu E ignored King Hao’s attempts to quibble, appeared at the table’s side, picked up the pagoda, and examined it, while in her view, the system had already completed the analysis.
System: This item bears traces of dimensional projection, arriving on this timeline approximately six thousand four hundred years ago.
Pu E understood in her heart: This was once something redeemed by a transmigrator, and the Transmigration System that enabled such redemption had a “priority” probably at the “commoner level.” This kind of obvious “dimensional projection object” meant the accompanying transmigrator had some particularly strong “obsessive” obsession.
As the carrier of a “Scholar Level” system, she could analyze the actual situations of other transmigrators with “dimensional projection objects” and the like.
The system carried by Pu E was once “Scholar Level,” and now at “Minister Level,” this system could select plots, and could summon “transmigrators with weaker consciousness levels” from historical timelines of the simulated main world. Of course, by paying a certain dimensional investment ratio, she could also redeem obsessions (Zhao Cheng) from the ‘Historical Verification System’ in the myriad heavens region.
As for the current situation, although King Hao was nominally the lord of a state, he was actually a ‘weak transmigrator consciousness’ she had brought in to fill the position. How weak?
King Hao himself did not know that his origin, several thousand transmigrations ago, was actually a shut-in male who suddenly died in a gaming pod in another world; through repeated transmigrations, repeated identity immersions, and repeated blurring of past life wisdom, he had been embedded into his identity.
Of course, King Hao no longer remembered he was a transmigrator; he was still within the system framework.
Now, facing Pu E, King Hao could feel the oppressive sense of permissions from her.
Pu E advised King Hao to cultivate virtue and mind, and conveniently confiscated and sealed the pagoda that had “chaos corrosion.”
Upon leaving the palace, Pu E shook her head: “Looks like it’ll just be like this.”
For King Hao’s consciousness, she knew it better than anyone; as early as in many, many previous planes, she had already strategized him.
In interpersonal relations, anger often comes from realizing one does not understand that person. However, for characters redeemed by Pu E, she understood them completely, to the point of indifference.
Once upon a time, in another plane, King Hao’s consciousness had also been a dashing young gentleman. How could the root origin of someone selected by Pu E be poor?
The characteristic of weak consciousness transmigrators is that their speed of “integrating” into this world is extremely fast, gradually forgetting their old self’s appearance in the new life.
When the weak consciousness nears extinction, in the final “crash-style” transmigration it produces, it will believe itself to be a native, and the transmigrated self receives memories from another world.
In the system planned by Pu E for this plane, King Hao was still a qualified existence, with ambitions to seize power.
If the current Guotai forces are a “wooden table,” Zhao Cheng is the largest “plank” in this wooden table, the main structure of Guotai. While King Hao (young State Lord) is the most important nail, this nail fixes the table legs of “Dragon Descendant” and “Da Yao native forces” onto the “tabletop” plank of Zhao Cheng.
Of course, this “nail” currently sometimes doesn’t work well and can split the plank.
For example, King Hao’s current suspicions could very well create rifts with this famous general born from “obsession.”
As for Pu E, she was an artisan! Coming to regulate transmigrator consciousnesses mobilized from various myriad heavens, to complete the combination for this plane.
If Pu E herself had a “high-value infused consciousness” in this plane, she wouldn’t have to go to such trouble.
Unfortunately, after the Spacetime Management Bureau changed, “Minister” level consciousnesses were not something she could access, not even the “remnants” left by those consciousnesses in the plane.
…Perspective shifts to the other side…
In the Da Yao palace, Wu Fei paid respects to Emperor Shu. Although he was certain it was the old man he met in the teahouse, in this hall Wu Fei pretended to have never met him before.
After manners were properly observed, together with the outer ministers who paid respects at the same time, Wu Fei quietly stood at the rear position of the imperial court assembly. In the middle were three pillars, five white jade bricks and tiles, and twenty rows of people.—Wu Fei boredly counted everything he could. He couldn’t help wanting to turn his head to look at the sky. But manners did not allow it.
Before the assembly, ministers one by one reported, bringing local matters to the hall for “public discussion.”
Actually, these reported matters had already been discussed in various internal court institutions with initial plans and procedures; now the public discussion was for other court ministers in the imperial court to determine: whether the plan should be implemented.
Standing far away, Wu Fei could clearly feel that there were three forces pulling in the imperial court. They banded together to support on certain reports, and collectively raised “objections” on certain reports.
Of course, this had not yet reached an excessive level; on major plans involving Northern Border defense and resettlement of refugees in multiple Southern prefectures and counties, after Emperor Shu designated personnel, no court minister opposed.
Xuan Chong silently thought to himself: Clearly, Emperor Shu can still control the various faction contradictions in the imperial court. But conversely, if this emperor’s suppression is lost, without valve control on the various contradictions, how much of the central hub could still operate? Perhaps it would require a highly respected regent minister, covering the sky with one hand to control a segment of court politics.
With himself as the center, Xuan Chong gazed at the people in this imperial court: Who would be the next “Huo Guang” or “Zhang Juzheng”?
At this time the system: “Beep beep beep!”
Xuan Chong paused: “What are you popping up for? Not Yin Yanging me, are you?”
System: “Your mind is too petty, you need to change it.”
Xuan Chong: “Not changing. Hmm, not changing, so what!?”
System: “No big deal, just that during PE class, it will prompt you to experience ‘first love’ at this age stage, which affects your overall natural development; if you resist and refuse, you will miss the best experience of this age stage.”
Hearing this, Xuan Chong began performing: “Heh, I thought it was something. Whatever. My youth is a sea of questions, bravely striving, forging ahead, sweat today, success tomorrow. Charge, charge, charge.”
System hung up for three seconds. Then still announced the main matter.
System issues task: “Support Da Yao, do not let it perish in three generations, reward two academic credits.”
Xuan Chong: “Ah?”
Originally, Da Yao’s fall was none of my business, but now I have to bend for academic credits.
Xuan Chong: “Fuck, Da Yao pays tribute to you, and you protect it?”
System: “You can understand it that way.”
This time it was Xuan Chong’s turn to be silent.
Xuan Chong inwardly complained: So Da Yao is the protagonist, and I’m the wage slave…
After the assembly ended, Wu Fei prepared to blend into the crowd to exit, but an eunuch came and pulled Wu Fei out, inviting him to the family banquet.
Wu Fei paused, followed along, arrived at a side hall of the palace, changed into a brocade robe after a search—of course, it was free.
Wu Fei deliberately asked the eunuch: “After the banquet ends, can I just take this set and wear it away? It’s not someone else’s leftovers I’m wearing, right?”
After affirming the first question, the eunuch looked at Wu Fei with a strange gaze.
Wu Fei perked up, feeling the benefits were good, reminiscent of his previous life’s company sports event giveaway clothes. Loyalty to Da Yao increased by 0.01%.
…Image dropped 19%…
Beside Emperor Yao, a daughter dressed in men’s clothes was called over. Emperor Yao had six daughters with higher status in total; each daughter would receive extra favor before being married off.
This daughter born of the Imperial Consort was no exception, allowed by Emperor Shu to wear attendant clothes and pour wine at the table, so she could quietly inspect her future husband.
However, at today’s banquet, Wu Fei showed no awareness of meeting the parents, performing entirely like background; this greatly disappointed this Imperial Daughter. Not to mention his speech, his sitting posture was poor (leg shaking), and when eating he directly gnawed fruits, whereas the elegant way was to use a nearby gold pick to remove pits. And he picked the most vulgar ordinary peaches.
As for qin, chess, calligraphy, painting, etc., in the Wu Family’s education mainly based on the Military System, Wu Fei was busy saving academic credits and didn’t sign up for any “hobby classes.”
As for cultivating the Dao’s “ingesting food” or “gathering qi”? Wu Fei followed the Body Fixing Technique data route, with intake diet mainly precise, and hourly exercise consumption also fitting the data system.
Worth mentioning is that the Body Fixing Technique data system does not give a series of “effect evaluations” to rare items like dragon liver, phoenix gall, Golden Core, Fire Date, etc., entering the body; it even opposes ingesting “unknown” things into the body.
This set made the earlier years’ Xuan Chong, eager for quick success, very “dissatisfied.”
Xuan Chong learned the system could dataize his body’s various stats, and in earlier years wanted to boost his body’s “intelligence,” “agility,” “stamina” directly by ingesting some miraculous medicines.
For example now, Wu Fei looked at that table of delicacies and asked the system: “Do these really have big side effects? The Body Fixing Technique database has no ‘ingesting food’ database?”
The system was extremely nagging: “Are you a three-year-old kid? Putting anything in your mouth, even wanting to taste shit?”
After such uninterested output, Wu Fei had no appetite for the full table of delicacies.
Body Fixing Technique required “stable” intake only included “six livestock,” “five grains,” “fruits and vegetables.”
In the system’s explanatory materials, these edible organisms domesticated for over a thousand years had dozens of generations of compatibility with human daily life interactions. Both sides’ biological clocks had symbiotic relations. Conducive to rapid adjustment—followed by human engineering academic paper terms Wu Fei couldn’t understand.
In a word, the massive amplitude-converted “essence” from heavenly materials and earthly treasures entering the body in this plane, in Body Fixing Technique discipline’s description, is a kind of “enthalpy” maintaining “cell activity.” Suddenly increasing so much “enthalpy” is not good and will have side effects. Only “enthalpy” from normal intake conforming to biological clock cycles has high stability. Namely “human base.”
At the banquet, Wu Fei who was looking around east and west, after eating a few small fruits, dazed off like a student waiting for class to end.
…Elegant music ended, the banquet about to disperse…
However, Emperor Shu did not intend to let go of the sparrow from the south; after the wine banquet ended, with only five people left including the youth managing the Imperial Guard—um, that is, Emperor Shu’s nephew—still thickly favored, he kept Wu Fei behind.
And this emperor directly threw out the topic: training soldiers in the capital.
This time, Wu Fei wanted to remain silent, but the emperor directly questioned: “My Dear Minister Wu, you commanded troops in the Southern Border. You should offer some sparse words on the state’s current border policy.”
Wu Fei raised his head: “This minister has just arrived and still does not understand the Northern water and soil.”
Emperor Shu picked up a mirror, looked at it while asking: “Although just arrived, you have also caught the wind and shadow for a while; what are your views on the new army matter? (His tone clearly warning, don’t pretend, kid)”
Wu Fei: “This minister dares to ask, Your Majesty’s purpose in training soldiers.”—The scene suddenly quieted, people nearby prepared to angrily rebuke his boldness.
Wu Fei also felt his words were improper, thus explained: Soldiers are inauspicious weapons. Before creating a usable army, one who is a general must self-ask “direct soldiers toward what.” Then can select the brave for training.
Then explained: If the purpose of using soldiers is “expand territory,” need to select those without family backgrounds, fierce fighters, drive with harsh hegemonic laws. Food and clothing must be clearly graded to incentivize advancement. If driving soldiers for “defend territory responsibly,” then need to select good family sons, bind with military law, while applying benevolence and virtue; the general must eat and live together with soldiers.
The scene became even quieter; what else could Emperor Shu want a new army for now? Guard the capital, guard against ambitious people. But these things cannot be said openly.
Emperor Shu smiled noncommittally: “Your Wu Family now has north and south routes, just like this scene?”—Clearly reminding Wu Fei. Don’t push; if no effective suggestions for the court, then properly discuss your Wu Family’s current transgressive actions.
Seeing this, Wu Fei really couldn’t push: “Your Majesty, what this minister saw along the way, there are a few places suitable for recruiting soldiers. Like the rope-pullers in Yao Capital’s canal, with slight training, ample grain and pay, and official ranks, they can be battle-ready, but selecting generals still needs Your Majesty’s consideration.”
Emperor Shu: “Oh, how should I select.”
Wu Fei: “From famous families able to suppress civil and military imperial relatives, but with benevolence able to stoop to squeeze pus for scholars.”
Emperor Shu: “How about you?”
Wu Fei answered neatly: “This minister has no such qualification.”
Emperor Shu: “Ancient soldier saints could drive palace women as army.”
Wu Fei: “This minister is not a soldier saint.” (Inwardly muttering, you’re not a sage ruler either, without the bearing to let a soldier saint kill beauties.)
Emperor Shu burst into laughter.
Wu Fei puzzled, Emperor Shu opened a mirror and said: “The item in my hand is called Heart-Questioning Mirror. It has no other function, just can see what the answerer is thinking in their heart.”
Emperor Shu stared at the crashed Wu Fei. Wu Fei opened his mouth, but inwardly still couldn’t help: “How are you so bad!?”
System: “Already blocked this sentence for you.”
Xuan Chong silent for one second: “Why didn’t you block it just now.”
System: “Docking NPC plot task, necessary dialogue, cannot block.”
Xuan Chong: “#&#%￥%”
