The Imperial Palace, Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Inside the imperial study, the empress, seated on the dragon throne, glanced at a booklet on the long table.
As she flipped through the booklet and saw the crooked handwriting, the Empress couldn't help but smile.
The palace maid Wan Chun steadily held up a bowl of porridge made with red rice, donkey-hide gelatin, goji berries, honey, red dates, and lotus seeds. "Your Majesty, it's time to drink your porridge."
This porridge was prepared according to the Imperial Preceptor's method. The imperial physicians diagnosed His Majesty with uterine coldness and nodded in approval of the Imperial Preceptor's method.
After eating this porridge for several days, His Majesty's cold uterus ailment indeed improved considerably. It seems that the Imperial Preceptor's method is indeed effective.
After the Empress nodded gently, Wan Chun carefully fed her spoonful by spoonful of porridge with a golden spoon. At this moment, the Empress was focused on the contents of the book, her phoenix eyes not blinking at all...
Suddenly, upon seeing a certain spot, the Empress almost burst out laughing and nearly spat out the porridge in her mouth!
Wan Chun quickly placed the porridge on the long table, wiped the area around the Empress's lips with a handkerchief, and then continued to feed her the porridge with a golden spoon.
After taking a few bites, the Empress waved her hand.
Wan Chun understood, placed the porridge on a tray, and had the eunuch take it away.
The Empress showed the booklet to Wan Chun and asked her how well she wrote the characters.
Wan Chun bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Preceptor's calligraphy is naturally excellent, forming its own unique style."
"What a fine 'unique style'!" The Empress laughed, her eyes narrowing, almost bringing tears to her eyes. "If you ask me, it's less about 'unique style' and more about 'a chaotic mess of scribbles and ghostly scribbles'!"
“Your Majesty described it well,” Wan Chun said in a low voice. “It is not only Your Majesty’s blessing to have the Imperial Advisor, but also the blessing of all the people of Daqian.”
The Empress raised her eyes, seemingly lost in thought. After a slight pause, she said calmly, "Wanchun, you are a palace maid in charge of thousands of palace women. I ask you, what do the palace women think of the Imperial Preceptor?"
"Your Majesty, this servant dares not speak presumptuously."
"explain."
The Empress frowned slightly.
“Yes,” Wan Chun said, bowing her head. “The palace maids all say that the Imperial Preceptor is handsome and dashing…”
"Um?"
The Empress suddenly spoke, and Wan Chun stopped.
"Where is he handsome and dashing? I can't see it at all."
"..."
Wan Chun paused slightly, then said, "These are all things my subordinates said..."
"Go on," the Empress said calmly.
Wan Chun continued, "The Imperial Preceptor is not only a poet, but also a great talent for governing the country. He can both appease the refugees and quell the Japanese pirates. This time, his campaign against the Xiongnu will surely be a great victory. The palace maids all say that such a man is rare in this world, a true dragon among men. If he could be so kind as to show mercy, they would be willing to die for him..."
The more the Empress listened, the more her brows furrowed.
"Tell them they're not allowed to talk about it anymore!"
Upon hearing the Empress's words, Wan Chun lowered her head and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."
The Empress continued reading the booklet, which recorded several things Qin Chuan had instructed her to do, including sending 10 turtle ships to the shipbuilding department to be converted into dragon ships, having Song Lian send 42 muskets to the weapons department for mass production, the court issuing a document to officially recognize the women's camp, and abolishing the system of camp prostitutes.
She ticked all of them off, planning to have someone supervise their handling after the morning court session tomorrow.
After a while, she put down Qin Chuan's booklet and started flipping through the ministers' memorials.
As she read, she frowned, threw several memorials onto the long table, and said angrily, "My marriage is none of your business to interfere..."
...
On the vast grassland, Qin Chuan sat in an off-road armored vehicle, heading west with the motorcycle army.
Suddenly, a report came from the front that a settlement of the Xiongnu people had been discovered.
Qin Chuan accelerated the off-road armored vehicle, walked to the front of the group, and saw the scene ahead.
Dozens of tents were gathered on the grassland, with cattle sheds and sheep sheds set up next to each tent. Clothes were drying on clotheslines, and flocks of sheep grazed on the grass around the tents.
It can truly be described as "the sky is vast, the fields are boundless, and the wind blows the grass low to reveal cattle and sheep."
The young children stood at the tent entrance, staring blankly at the densely packed army approaching from afar.
A battalion-level captain stopped his motorcycle and knocked on the window to ask Qin Chuan for instructions: "Grand Preceptor, these are all Xiongnu people. Should we kill them?"
Qin Chuan looked at the children whose faces were red from the cold wind and said, "These are innocent civilians, why kill them?"
“But… if we don’t kill them, these people will surely report back. Besides, these Xiongnu children will grow up to be cruel and bloodthirsty Xiongnu cavalry. Rather than waiting for them to grow up, it’s better to eliminate them sooner rather than later.”
At this moment, General An Dingguo also came over, cupped his fists and said, "Grand Preceptor, I believe that Colonel Jiang is right. If we wait for these Xiongnu children to grow up, they will become our mortal enemies. It would be better to eliminate them at the beginning."
Qin Chuan shook his head and said, "Do you think we can kill all the Xiongnu?"
Upon hearing this, An Dingguo and Captain Jiang were taken aback.
Qin Chuan continued, "The Xiongnu cannot be completely wiped out. The Xiongnu in the north and south together number several million. With our weapons and equipment, it is impossible to kill them all in this territory of several million square kilometers. However, I have a way to completely conquer the Xiongnu."
Upon hearing this, An Dingguo and Captain Jiang immediately became interested, perked up their ears, and listened intently as they continued to listen.
"To conquer a large race," Qin Chuan continued, "don't expect to conquer it by force. Force is just a means. What is the goal? It is unification, unification of writing, weights and measures, even thought, unification of all things."
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