Chapter 154: Nezha enters Zhou Dynasty at the time when Yang Jian...
Time passed as Yang Jian practiced and accumulated merits; Nezha practiced and adapted to his height; Fuli practiced and developed in Penglai.
Until one day, she received new news from Xiqi, which was sent by Jiang Ziya.
Jiang Ziya: Master, yesterday the King of Xibo went out of the city to hunt. My uncle and I have successfully contacted him. The King of Xibo took us both in a scented carriage and personally pulled the carriage for 800 steps. We have now followed him into Qiyi.
Fu Li knew that the war between Zhouyuan and Chaoge was about to officially begin.
Although Jiang Ziya had strong marketing skills, he and Shen Gongbao both had real abilities and had gained the trust of King Xibo before entering Qiyi.
But only the Duke of Xibo knew that their talents were not enough, far from enough. The nobles of Qiyi and even the entire Zhou Kingdom were not only dissatisfied with these two upstarts who were of commoner origin but superior to them, but also had some subtle hostility towards them.
Before Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao came, the head of the civil officials was the official San Yisheng, and the head of the military generals was Guo Zhong, the younger brother of King Xibo.
But when the two of them arrived, Shen Gongbao became the head of the civil officials, and Jiang Ziya became the head of the military officials.
Why?
Two commoners with no foundation, rumored to have fled from Chaoge, even if they had some talent and were appreciated by the prince, they should have started as minor officials. Even if they were promoted exceptionally, the rank of junior official would be the best they could get.
The reason why the King of Xibo placed them at the head of all officials right from the start was, on the one hand, because the two of them were indeed talented, and on the other hand, it was also to test their ability to reconcile the superiors and the subordinates.
As soon as the two met, they said that the world was about to be in chaos and they wanted to help the Zhou Kingdom gain the world. Naturally, Ji Chang would not let them go.
The Zhou State and the Xia Dynasty were of the same lineage. After Shang Tang destroyed the Xia Dynasty, he severely suppressed the descendants of the Xia Dynasty. Their ancestors with the surname Ji had to hide and wander for hundreds of years.
Finally, during the reign of Duke Dan, he led his people to escape to Zhouyuan, where they finally had a stable life. They relied on small bronze vessels exchanged with merchants, melted them down and made weapons, and gradually accumulated strength.
However, they did not dare to act rashly and endured until the time of Wu Ding. When Wu Ding was cleaning up the powerful Shang nobles, they seized the opportunity and were willing to be Wu Ding's dogs and killing knives. Only then did Zhouyuan become their legitimate fiefdom.
By the time of his grandfather, the prestige left by Wu Ding was fading, and the princes of the world were once again in turmoil. The rulers and ministers of the Zhou State felt that the time had come, so they began to build momentum and prepare to replace the Shang Dynasty.
They have been patient and prepared for so long, and absolutely cannot allow any mistakes to happen.
Ji Chang must keep talents like Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao.
If they can subdue all the officials, let them be the heads of all the officials; if they cannot subdue them, then Ji Chang will have a legitimate reason to let them start from the lower officials.
Lower-ranking officials are already considered mid-level officials, and letting them start from this position is equivalent to showing them another favor.
Although Shen Gongbao was Jiang Ziya's uncle, when the two of them were together, Jiang Ziya always took the lead.
Based on Fu Li's understanding of Jiang Ziya, facing this complex and delicate situation, he would choose the simplest and most brutal way to break the deadlock: start a war, demonstrate his strength through the war, and by the way, take control of the military power.
Political power comes from the barrel of a gun.
As long as you have military power in your hands, there is nothing that cannot be solved.
If so, it means that the military power in your hands is not enough.
Fu Li smiled slightly and replied to Jiang Ziya: Let me know after you win the first battle.
A moment later, she sent another message: Just pretend you didn’t see the previous one, I will send it to your Uncle Shen Gong.
Jiang Ziya replied immediately: Disciple, I understand.
——Shen Gongbao will eventually have to step onto the stage independently, he cannot always rely on Jiang Ziya.
While Jiang Ziya was a versatile talent, Shen Gongbao was somewhat partial to certain subjects. He was best at handling the trivialities of government affairs.
If the two of them were to rely on each other in the Zhou court, they would have to each have their own strengths. Therefore, Jiang Ziya, who was highly skilled in both civil and military skills, would have to give in and focus on demonstrating his talent for leading troops in battle.
As a talented person in governance, Shen Gongbao had to learn to make decisions on his own and learn to stabilize the rear on his own.
After receiving Jiang Ziya's reply, Fu Li found Shen Gongbao in the address book, re-edited the previous message, and sent it to him.
Shen Gongbao replied quickly: Yes, I understand.
After a while, another reply came: Senior Sister, can I tell Zi Ya?
Fu Li: Just make your own decision.
After a while, Shen Gongbao sent his third message: Senior Sister, I have already told Ziya.
Fu Li: I understand.
This time she did not express her opinion clearly, thus eliminating the possibility for Shen Gongbao to guess her thoughts from the lines.
She turned around and told Jiang Ziya: Find a chance to break down your uncle's cautious mentality.
Being cautious is good, but being overly cautious is not.
Jiang Ziya: Disciple understands, teacher, don’t worry.
After closing the message interface, Fu Li found Nezha and told him, "Nezha, it's time for you to go down the mountain."
"Go down the mountain? To Xiqi?"
"That's right," Fu Li said, "Shen Gongbao and Jiang Ziya have already entered the Zhou court. I think the war between Shang and Zhou will break out soon.
They're both new here, and without any trusted generals under their command, I'm afraid it'll be difficult to turn things around. If you go earlier, you might even be able to secure a position as a vanguard officer."
Nezha's eyes lit up: "Okay, I'll go right away."
What is a vanguard officer?
Those who can cut a path through mountains, build bridges over rivers, and fight the enemy first are the vanguard officers.
Since helping Zhou was a foregone conclusion, of course he had to take up a position that was both prestigious and free as soon as possible.
Fu Li stopped him and said, "Don't leave yet. I have something to tell you."
"Sister, you say." Nezha, despite his tall stature, looked exceptionally well-behaved standing in front of her.
Fu Li said, "Whether you or your future fellow disciples, your primary purpose in going to the Zhou Kingdom isn't to fight on behalf of mortals, but to help Shen Gongbao and Jiang Ziya gain a foothold. So don't rush into anything. It's best to let mortals resolve their own wars."
Nezha listened and thought for a long while. He nodded solemnly: "Don't worry, sister, I understand."
After he finished speaking, he didn't leave. Instead, he asked hesitantly, "Sister, I'm leaving now and I don't know when we'll meet again. Will you miss me?"
Fu Li laughed and said, "With your speed, whether it's going to Emei or Penglai, it only takes a moment to go back and forth. Why are you saying this?"
Nezha's eyes reddened: "I knew it, sister has been tired of me for a long time, and she can't wait for me to leave and not bother you anymore."
Fu Li was shocked: "How could that be?"
Nezha: "Then you don't even say you miss me."
"I miss you, I miss you, of course I miss you. How could I not miss you?"
Fu Li knew that he was making tea, but with such a face, she drank the tea willingly.
Nezha pressed on: "Will my sister come to see me?"
Fu Li: "...Yes, of course. I think it won't be long before I go to Xiqi to see you."
Nezha then became happy, walked forward to hug Fuli, turned around and went to say goodbye to Taiyi Zhenren.
After sending him away, Fu Li flew to Jin'ao Island on a cloud to seek an audience with Tongtian Sect Master. The Sect Master seemed to have anticipated this and sent a water and fire boy to greet her and lead her to the boundless horizon.
She didn’t know if it was her illusion, but she always felt that Tongtian Sect Master today... was particularly kind.
Tongtian Patriarch laughed and said, "If you want to see it, just look openly. Why are you doing it secretly?"
He was still dressed in green, but he did not carry a sword. In his left hand he held a lotus flower, the flower was as white as snow, but the stamens were as red as rouge.
After hearing this, Fu Li simply raised his head and stared at him for a long while before asking, "Master, this isn't your real body, right?"
The Taoist at the edge of the cliff laughed heartily. "You are quite courageous. Even if others could see through it, they would just pretend to be deaf and dumb. Yes, I am Shanshi Yuwei. I have gone to the Thirty-three Heavens to discuss the Dao with the Six Saints."
Fu Li said, "Oh, so when Master was in Emei, he used your name as a pseudonym."
Yu smiled and said, "That's right. When you want to do something good, use my name; when you want to do something bad, use the pseudonym Yuchen."
"Then what about this Yuchen..."
"Evil corpse."
Fu Li nodded, indicating that she had guessed it, and then asked, "What is the name of Master's true self? Could you tell me?"
Yu Wei said, "Why shouldn't I tell you? My original name is Lingbao, and the Lingbao Tianzun people often refer to is him. You came to Jin'ao Island this time to discuss the Conferred God matter with me, right?"
"That's right, nothing can be hidden from Master." Fu Li nodded and said frankly, "I think that whether it is the rise of Zhou or the destruction of Shang, it is a matter for mortals. People like us who practice cultivation should not interfere too much."
In the original world, the two sects of Chan and Jie fought each other to the death on the battlefield in order to send the other side to the list of gods and avoid themselves from being on the list.
But now most of the positions on the Conferred God List have been filled, and the remaining positions are reserved for mortal generals who died in battle. The core conflict between the two sides has been resolved, so there is naturally no need to fight too hard.
Yu Wei nodded and said, "Okay, I understand this matter. I will send it to this master later and ask him to discuss it with several saints."
He then asked Fu Li, "How's your practice been lately?"
Aside from her teacher Zhao Gongming, the elders in the sect never questioned her cultivation, because everyone knew she had never encountered any bottlenecks in her practice.
Yu Wei specifically asked about this at this time, probably for other reasons.
Fu Li speculated in his heart, but answered honestly, "I have already touched the threshold of the Golden Immortal Realm. I think once the Conferred God Tribulation is over, I will be ready."
Yuwei nodded after hearing this, but did not continue the topic. Instead, she asked her to talk to Duobao.
"Your uncle Duobao has already made an agreement with two saints in the West to go there in the next kalpa. The Western teachings have promised the attainment of 'present Buddhahood'. You and your nephew will have many intersections in the future, so it would be wise to communicate in advance."
Fu Li was very puzzled by Duobao's choice, but she also understood that everyone has their own aspirations.
Furthermore, as Yu Wei said, if Duobao really became the current Buddha, the two of them would indeed have a lot of interactions in the future, so they should communicate in advance.
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