Chapter 513 Successors of a Hundred Schools of Thought
"Alright, then I'll reluctantly agree."
After obtaining a health-enhancing pill, a basic body-strengthening technique, and a talent assessment function from the system, and confirming that he couldn't get anything else, Liu Che finally relented.
The system orb popped out, looking listless. It never expected that binding to a host would result in such a huge financial blow before it even gained anything. Its wallet was in dire straits...
In order to gain the ability as soon as possible, the system quickly rallied and urged Liu Che to sign the contract.
Yes, it was only a one-sided binding before, not a complete contract. Otherwise, the system wouldn't have been so easily controlled by Liu Che.
Liu Che, of course, knew the benefits of an academy that could revitalize the talents of all schools of thought. But of course, he wanted to take advantage of every possible benefit; it was a fine tradition of the Liu family—shamelessness.
A semi-transparent screen gleaming with a cold, bluish light suddenly appeared in front of Liu Che. His gaze swept over the flowing seal script contract on the screen, confirming that the system's previous promises were all correct, before he raised his hand and signed his name.
As soon as he finished writing the character "å½»", a white light, like a serpent, darted into his brow, and countless streams of information exploded in his mind. When the electronic voice announced "Binding successful", Liu Che was already able to freely communicate with the system deep within his consciousness, and a satisfied smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.
However, before the system could even celebrate, an alarm suddenly went off, and a series of favorability reports popped up on the screen.
[Due to the ideology of "suppressing all other schools of thought and exclusively honoring Confucianism," the favorability system has been activated ahead of schedule.]
[Confucianism Favorability +100 (You are a discerning emperor)]
[Taoist affinity +0 (out of respect for your elders)]
[Legalist Favorability -100 (There's a reason you're not as good as the First Emperor)]
[Mohist Favorability -100 (You can have the Confucianists build you a mechanical city)]
[Farmer's Favorability -100 (Let the Confucianists do the farming for you)]
[Yin Yang Master's favorability -100 (You've forgotten about Yin Yang Master, haven't you?)]
...
[Alert: The favorability ratings of the various schools of thought have plummeted, hindering the construction of the academy. Please raise the favorability ratings of each school as soon as possible!]
The system's vision blurred, then went black again. The task hadn't even started, yet the construction difficulty had suddenly skyrocketed. The system's mechanical voice sounded like it was crying (Is this right? Can I back out...?).
Liu Che looked at the teary-eyed little ball of light in front of him, clasped his hands together, and chuckled softly: "It's too late. We're all on the same boat now. We'll have to trouble the system to figure out how to turn things around."
Is this something I should be thinking about?
"The capable should do more work, Xiao Ji."
[Xiao Ji called me?]
"That's right, aren't you part of the Jixia Academy System? Given our current relationship, it wouldn't be inappropriate for us to call each other by nicknames, would it?"
Liu Che's attitude was gentle, and the system did not notice anything amiss. He was somewhat embarrassed but happily agreed, completely unaware that the person who was called "piggy" was calling him "Xiao Ji" or "Little Chicken".
...
In 135 BC, Empress Dowager Dou passed away, and Liu Che was able to truly grasp the reins of power, and began to implement a series of measures to strengthen central authority, reform the official system, and expand the territory.
However, the Confucian school did not become dominant as Dong Zhongshu had envisioned.
"Suppressing all other schools of thought and exclusively honoring Confucianism" seemed like a joke in his and the emperor's dreams. In reality, Liu Che chose to build a massive Jixia Academy in Chang'an, proclaiming to the world his intention to restore the glory of the Hundred Schools of Thought, and at the same time, he invited the successors of all schools of thought from all over the world to discuss the Dao.
With the strong support and policy inclination of the nation's top leaders, various schools of thought flourished in the Han Dynasty, leading to a prosperous and thriving culture.
[Confucianism favorability +99 (You're capable, but I'm a little annoyed, it's not a big deal)]
[Taoist Favorability +50 (Following Nature, Harmonizing with the World)]
[Legalist Favorability +0 (The rule of law governs the world, regardless of social status. You should try to find out why I'm unhappy.)]
[Mo Family Favorability +0 (Are you treating me like the Gongshu family? Find me a successor, I'll show you something!)]
[Military Strategist Favorability +90 (Having Wei Qing and Huo Qubing is your good fortune)]
[Farmer's favorability +0 (I'm withering away, where is my successor?)]
...
[Note: All basic construction tasks are now complete. Please find a suitable successor to begin the advanced tasks.]
Even Liu Che, a mature emperor, couldn't help but scratch his head when he saw the prompt in front of him.
Well, the initial construction tasks weren't too difficult, and the construction materials and blueprints provided were quite amazing. With the support of this emperor, the Jixia Academy was built very successfully.
Today, it has become a landmark building of the Han Dynasty and has gathered students from various schools, holding a significant position in terms of thought and culture.
But this was not the Jixia Academy that Liu Che had imagined!
He put in so much effort and resources not because he wanted the flourishing of various schools of thought, or more precisely, not because he wanted ordinary versions of those schools of thought!
What he wanted was the Hundred Schools of Thought, with their magical power of creation, just like in his dreams! But he got stuck here.
Liu Che had a premonition that he would be able to open that magical door after starting the advanced mission, but he was stuck on the "successor" part of the advanced mission!
Liu Che initially didn't think it would be difficult to fulfill the "wishes of the Hundred Schools of Thought - finding a successor," believing that the scholars of the Hundred Schools of Thought who had persisted to this day must be able to meet the requirements for a successor.
As a result, several years passed, and apart from Wei Qing and Qu Bing who accidentally met the military strategist's conditions, none of the others met them! Not a single one!
As a result, Liu Che now views the various representatives who are praised by everyone as if they were half-baked experts, acknowledging their status only for the sake of completing his mission. But he doesn't care much about them, not even as much as he does about Dong Zhongshu, who was initially confused and squeezed out.
However, the advanced mission requires finding at least three successors to unlock it. Liu Che has been searching for so many years, but apart from the military strategist, he hasn't touched any of the others!
Since ascending the throne, Liu Che has only had two worries: first, he has no son; second, he has no successor!
On a spring night in the first year of Yuanshuo, Empress Wei Zifu gave birth in the Jiaofang Hall of Weiyang Palace, and Emperor Wu of Han waited anxiously outside.
Decades without a child had shaken his imperial resolve, and at this moment he only hoped that the empress could safely give birth to a legitimate son for him.
Inside the palace, amidst the labor pains of Wei Zifu's childbirth, a strange melody suddenly came from the void, like the resonance of chime bells and harp, yet with a touch more ethereal than earthly instruments.
Liu Che looked up in surprise and saw the phantom images of various schools of thought appearing one after another above the Jiaofang Palace.
The Vermilion Bird of the Mo Family Mechanical City spread its wings and circled, its bronze beak dripping with ghostly blue starlight that dyed the clouds a dark iron-blue color.
Seventy-two Confucian scholars stood holding scrolls, the sound of the bamboo slips turning into a dragon's roar;
The swords of the strategists clashed, tearing through the void and leaving golden cracks behind;
Nine golden crows from the Yin-Yang School flew out and circled around the Jiaofang Palace;
The Taoist Tai Chi fish rotates slowly;
Further away, the phantom image of the Shennong Cauldron of the Farmer was emitting auspicious five-colored vapors...
"Wow--"
The moment the loud cry of the infant pierced the strange phenomenon, all the phantoms suddenly burst forth with dazzling light, transforming into streaks of light that rushed straight into the hall.
Liu Che was extremely surprised, and as if sensing something, a system notification sounded in his mind shortly afterward:
[A descendant of the Hundred Schools of Destiny has been detected!]
[Confucianism appeal maxed out (A born sage, mine!)]
[Taoism's appeal is maxed out (Follow nature, it's mine!)]
[Legalist's favorability maxed out (Let me take the lead! I can admit that in terms of offspring, you slightly surpass the First Emperor)]
[Mo Family's favorability is maxed out (Do you like the Nine-Linked Rings? Do you like the Mechanical Bird? I can make whatever you like, in short, the successor is mine!)]
...
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