Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 40: Learn It All

Instead of taking Ou Yang to the Commander-in-Chief’s quarters, the Zuo siblings turned a corner and headed for a small courtyard next door. Lingxi Road was vast and sparsely populated; even Junwei—the only settlement that could be called a city—was hardly a place where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold. But as a city with a population of nearly 100,000, located in the northeastern district where officials and government departments were most concentrated, maintaining a small, two-courtyard compound—without any high-rises and featuring an exceptionally traditional layout—still seemed somewhat extravagant. This was Master Yu’s base in Lingxi. There was no gatehouse, no male or female servants—only a few cedars planted in the courtyard. Zuo Hengbai didn’t even bother to have someone announce their arrival; he simply led Ou Yang straight to the back courtyard. In the main hall of the rear courtyard, General Zuo Yunyi—whom Ou Yang had already met once—and Wei Zhongxue, Wei Xuezheng, the Education Commissioner, were seated around a round table, sipping tea and playing chess, looking utterly at ease. Zuo Yunyi was wearing a loose-fitting Taoist robe today; it was unclear whether this was purely for leisure or if he was, in fact, a spellcaster himself. Wei Xuezheng, on the other hand, was still clad in a blue-collared robe, though on this snowy day he was holding a goose-feather fan—a gesture far more for show than for practical use. There was also a white-bearded old man, similarly dressed in an extremely casual, loose-fitting robe, who sat casually by the chess table with a teacup in hand, watching the game. None of the three men in the hall were wearing their official robes, yet the old man still exuded the bearing of one long accustomed to high office; seated alongside two of Lingxi Road’s top five civil and military officials, he showed not the slightest trace of self-consciousness. To attend a private banquet at Master Yu’s home dressed so casually, he clearly could not be an ordinary figure. The two players remained focused on the game, but the elderly man was the first to spot Ou Yang following behind the Zuo siblings. Tilting his head slightly, he pointed at Ou Yang and asked Wei Zhongxue, who was sitting next to him, “Is this the young man you’ve been raving about—Ou Yang, also known as Ou Qubing?” Only then did Wei Xuezheng look up, glance at the three young people entering the room, and reply, “That’s him. “He’s a fellow townsman of my old friend Murong. He has a very ambitious and driven nature. It’s a pity I didn’t get to meet him when he reported for duty in Lingxi last time; otherwise, I wouldn’t have needed Murong to recommend him to me.” With that, he beckoned to Ou Yang: “Find yourself a seat. This banquet is hosted by Little Yu, and we’re all old friends here. You younger folks mustn’t feel self-conscious.” The old man scrutinized Ou Yang closely. His demeanor indeed revealed the gentle refinement characteristic of an educated man, yet his build was robust. His height, in particular, would likely be considered impressive even in Qi Province—a region reputed to have the highest average height in the country—especially in this era, when nutritional limitations kept people generally shorter. It was nowhere near comparable to the post-2000s generation of his previous life, who often reached 1. 8 meters by the time they were in middle school. Consequently, men in this world took pride in being tall and robust. For instance, the Direct Guard Cavalry of the Jiangwu Hall—the Emperor’s personal guard—had a minimum height requirement of 178 centimeters. Riding Hanxue Magic Horses with a shoulder height exceeding 1. 8 meters, they truly looked imposing (in this world, Hanxue horses were omnivorous magical beasts whose shoulder height and weight far exceeded those of ordinary warhorses). The old man smiled and nodded, making no attempt to hide his admiration. No wonder both Wei Xuezheng and Murong, the School Supervisor, had spoken so highly of him—he was the young man who had even compelled Yu Xuanji to host a banquet to seek his counsel. “I’m Lan Chenglin,” the old man said with a cheerful smile, offering a brief self-introduction. He then instructed, “Qubing and Zhengming, please help yourselves to a seat—no need to stand on ceremony. Pomegranate, go help your master serve the dishes and tell her this old man is hungry, so she should hurry up.” Ou Yang wouldn’t dare be so disrespectful. He had never met Lan Chenglin before, but he had often heard that name. After all, he was the Governor—the most powerful figure in the Lingxi Circuit’s bureaucracy, a position equivalent to a provincial governor in his previous life. “Ou Yang greets Your Excellency,” Ou Yang said, still bowing before Lan Chenglin. Provincial Governor Lan smiled and waved his hand. Just then, Zuo Yunyi placed two chess pieces on the board, clapped his hands, stood up, and said with a laugh, “I’ve already told you, there’s no need to be so formal. Otherwise, you’d have to salute everyone you see here. You’re a soldier now; don’t go showing off all that scholar’s stuff here. Just be straightforward.” He even personally brought over two chairs from the side. Ou Yang and Zuo Hengbai hurried to take them, but Zuo Yunyi ignored them and simply placed the chairs next to the small table where the chessboard still stood. While carefully putting away the chess pieces, Wei Zhongxue said to Ouyang, “Xiao Yu’er and Old Zuo have been feeling a bit uneasy after hearing what you said the other day. We invited Old Lan these past few days primarily to ask his opinion on the court’s stance toward the Magical Arts Society. As a provincial governor, Old Lan should have picked up some wind of what’s going on.” Lan Chenglin continued, “Qudong, your guess is correct. The Emperor and the ministers of the Cabinet are indeed very angry with the Magical Arts Society. I’ve just received a private letter from an old friend who works in the central government. The letter states that this past June, the Ministry of Revenue demanded a temporary suspension of funding for the Magical Arts Society on the grounds that it lacked state certification. Additionally, someone filed a petition accusing the president of the Jinling branch of the Magical Arts Society of embezzlement. Although both matters were suppressed, the Emperor has already ordered the Ministry of Revenue, in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice, to audit the accounts of all branches of the Magical Arts Society nationwide.” Upon hearing this, Ou Yang could not hide his surprise and said, “The imperial court is moving this quickly? I thought we’d have to wait at least another three to five years.” “Why do you think the imperial court would wait another few years, Qubing?” “It’s simple,” Ou Yang explained. “Because the court hasn’t yet completed the consolidation of the Green Forest rebels. The Shaolin Temple and the Beggars’ Sect have indeed been thoroughly cleaned up, but the major martial arts sects still hold vast tracts of land and support their disciples with rent from tenant farmers. Although they now have to pay taxes, the imperial court simply cannot interfere with their internal management. In other words, within these sects, their internal rules take precedence over national law—how could the imperial court possibly leave them unchecked?” “Heh,” Lan Chenglin chuckled. “You may not know this yet, but the imperial court is hosting a martial arts convention in the capital next March. In the past, these so-called conventions were organized by the Green Forest factions themselves. Now that they’ve been taken over by the government, the so-called ‘Leader of the Martial Arts World’ will naturally be someone favored by the imperial court. I suppose the Martial Arts Association will be established next year as well?” Zuo Yunyi continued, “By then, whether they call themselves ‘renowned orthodox schools’ or ‘heretical sects,’ those who refuse to join the Martial Arts Association and submit to the imperial court’s jurisdiction will likely face a grim fate.” “So, is the imperial court planning to tackle the reform of the Magical Arts Society and the purge of the martial arts world at the same time?” Ou Yang was even more surprised. “This old man suspects that’s exactly the case,” Wei Xuezheng added. “Many martial arts sects have deep ties to the Magical Arts Society. Take Xiao Yu’er, for example—her sect actually traces its origins back to the Quanzhen Sect. I suspect the Emperor and the chancellors are too lazy to untangle these complex relationships, so they plan to reform both the Green Forest and Sorcery factions at the same time. The only question is, to what extent does the imperial court intend to carry out these reforms?” Ou Yang carefully observed the expressions on their faces; they all appeared quite relaxed. Clearly, they weren’t concerned about how the court would deal with the outlaw factions, nor were they afraid that Master Yu might harbor any desire to “punish the entire class for the sins of a few”; they didn’t even care how the court would reform the Magical Arts Society. Their sole concern was Yu Xuanji herself. It would be great if they could offer her some advice, but even if that didn’t work out, the empire wouldn’t purge a Grand Sorceress like her—who had committed no wrongdoing—for no reason. Judging by the Cabinet’s actions, it seemed they were merely seeking to tighten their control over the Magical Arts Society by scaling back their investment in it. Civil officials like Provincial Governor Lan and Wei Xuezheng would likely welcome such a development. Zuo Hengbai gave Ou Yang a wry smile and said, “Upon hearing the news about Lord Lan, my father urged Little Sixteen to enroll in the official academy. Girls are so sensitive—she saw Master Yu and was secretly heartbroken, so she insisted on learning magic from him. No matter what we said, she wouldn’t listen.” So that’s what was going on. A young girl of Zuo Shuijing’s age might indeed be going through a rebellious phase and recklessly follow Master Yu without a second thought. Yet the elders in the family couldn’t help but assess her future prospects in studying sorcery. Ou Yang chose his words carefully and said slowly, “Brother Zhengming once mentioned that Miss Shuijing wants to study both science and magic—to learn both?” Zuo Hengbai didn’t understand why Ou Yang was asking such a question and replied blankly, “Yes, but that’s impossible.” “Why is it impossible?” Ou Yang said with a tone of certainty. “Let Miss Crystal study both.”