Chapter 72: The Dagger Revealed (Part 2) Update
"Father..."
Liu Ziling wanted to try again, but Liu Jian didn't give him a chance. After saying this, he stood up and left the hall.
The Crown Prince and Liu Jian have openly fallen out to such an extent today that the rift between father and son is no longer repairable.
After returning to the Prince's Eastern Palace, Liu Ziling clearly realized that the conflict between father and son was inevitable, and he could no longer mediate as he had done in the past.
Next, the showdown between father and son is inevitable.
As expected, the situation in the Yanjing government and the country was gloomy afterwards, and everyone could smell the crisis coming from the highest level.
Gong Xinyuan, the Crown Princess's brother and the Marquis of Ping'an, was accused of corruption, corruption, illegal seizure of fertile land, and oppression of the people. Despite being the Crown Princess's brother and the Marquis of Ping'an, he was not even given a chance to defend himself; he was taken by the Imperial Guards to the Imperial Family Prison for trial.
Half a month later, the prince's sister Princess Anping and her husband were imprisoned, and Princess Anping herself was confined to the palace and not allowed to go out.
In April, Yao Can replied, once again refusing the request to enter Yanjing. Seven days later, Yao Sen, the eldest Qiang prince, was brought to the Meridian Gate and publicly beheaded before the four central guards.
The Zhou Dynasty's army will set out soon to conquer the northwest.
Liu Jian personally appointed Feng Wenrui from the Feng family, another major military family in the Zhou Dynasty besides the Chi family, as the general of the expedition, and Chi Mu, the major general of the Central Army Wuwei Camp, as the deputy general to lead the troops out of the capital.
Before leaving, Chi Mu sneaked into the prince's palace and talked with him all night long.
"Your Highness, rest assured. The Emperor must have deliberately intended to transfer me and my Wuwei Battalion's troops away from Yanjing. The situation is extremely precarious right now, and my father is still in the capital. The First Guard of the Central Army will be the first line of defense outside Yanjing, and will definitely be able to protect your safety, Crown Prince."
Chi Mudao.
Liu Ziling frowned slightly. "Your expedition is unnecessary. The Qiang are north of the Yaoyansai Mountains. It would be difficult to conquer them from outside. I am not optimistic about this campaign. Not only will it be difficult to fight extensively deep within the heart of the grasslands, but even if we could win one or two battles, it would be of little benefit to our Great Zhou."
He looked at Chi Mu and said, "I have something to tell you, Major General Chi. You are leading the troops this time as deputy general. You must remember that the victory or defeat and the results of the Northwest Expedition are secondary. Major General Chi, saving yourself and the lives of your Wuwei Battalion soldiers should be the top priority."
Chi Mu understood what Liu Ziling meant. Even if they won this battle, it would be of no benefit to the Zhou Dynasty.
So the prince didn't care about the outcome of this battle at all.
What he was really worried about was whether Chi Mu's team would be weakened in such a war, or whether they would use the war as an excuse to provoke a purge of the generals.
Emperor Liu Jian's actions to weaken the prince's power have become apparent.
What lies before the two men is not just a dispute, but a real show of their true colors.
·
Xiguan Marquis Mansion.
Ah Huan and Ah Bi looked serious as they began today's teaching in the study of the Marquis's Mansion.
Today's class is about middle school physics and middle school chemistry.
Waves of students attended the lectures below. This school, originally intended for the residents of the Marquis's mansion, had gradually expanded over the past three years, allowing all the common people in the county to attend. Children under twelve could attend classes almost free of charge.
As for older students, various learning methods and contents suitable for them have been designed.
There are even classes like the one Ah Huan Ah Bi is teaching now, which consist of children aged 13, 14, 15, or 17 or 18. They have shown special talents in their previous studies, so the Xiguan Marquis Mansion will provide them with free funding to continue their studies.
Even considering their living needs, they will be given a fixed subsidy so that they can study here without any worries.
As evening approached, the two of them finished teaching the students in the guest hall and packed their bags to return home.
Fu Yuqing, ten years old, is currently studying chemistry in a middle school. Three years ago, he was introduced to Du Hui by Fu Yu Changqing. Although Du Hui didn't have the time to personally teach him lesson by lesson, he still designed a good academic plan for him.
He also made use of resources such as the tutor in the mansion to give him guidance based on his interests and talents.
Fu Yuqing made rapid progress and was the only one in the county who was able to study in a middle school at the age of ten and learn from two teachers, Ahuan and Abi.
He carried his small schoolbag and waited at the door of the study hall. After his two teachers, Ah Huan and Ah Bi, gathered together, they returned to the Marquis' Mansion together.
After entering the mansion, Fu Yuqing bowed respectfully to Ah Huan and Ah Bi and said, "See you tomorrow, teachers."
"See you tomorrow, Qing'er."
Fu Yuqing carried his schoolbag and went to Mr. Du Hui's courtyard, while Ahuan and Abi went all the way to the young marquis's courtyard.
As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, I saw that the young marquis had returned earlier today.
The Xiguan Marquis Mansion underwent a reconstruction three years ago, and a pond and stone path were built outside the young marquis's courtyard.
They were already accustomed to daily necessities like flush toilets, solar showers, underground drainage pipes, running water faucets, etc. Their young master was currently enjoying a rare moment of leisure, sprawled on a recliner in the courtyard, fiddling with a string of metal beads.
This string of beads is also very rare. Each one is the same size, and the spherical surface is shiny from being rubbed.
Each small iron ball is connected to the top of a string, which is then strung to the top of a rack, so that the small balls are crowded together side by side.
The young marquis stretched out his finger and flicked the small sphere.
The first small ball, starting from one side, hits a string of balls. The four iron balls in the middle remain intact, but the last ball on the other side bounces up after being hit. It falls down and is hit again, and the ball at the other end bounces up at the same height.
And so on.
Liu Ziye saw the two of them, smiled, and asked, "This is called 'Newton's cradle.' Come on, tell me how it works."
Ah Bi smiled, walked over first, and observed carefully for a moment before saying, "These small iron balls have equal mass. Every time they swing and collide, only the outermost ball on the other side will bounce up. If Ah Bi's guess is correct, if this cycle repeats without external interference, these small balls will continue to collide and swing like this."
She thought for a moment and said, "Well, that's the principle. It should be the conservation of momentum and energy."
Ah Huan also saw the clue and added, "Under ideal conditions, these balls can keep bouncing like this forever. However, in reality, due to the influence of air resistance, friction, and other factors, the amplitude of these balls' swings should gradually decrease."
Liu Ziye nodded: "Alright! You can come in today."
Ah Bi heard this and said, "Thank you, Young Marquis! You're in a good mood today. He gave us sisters such a simple question and let us pass. It's obvious that he wants to let us two off easily!"
"Nothing can be hidden from Abi!" Liu Ziye smiled and stood up from the recliner where he was lying.
Three years later, her height had increased again, and she was now about 1.78 meters tall. Even among men of her time, she was considered above average in height.
The economic situation of the Xiguan Marquis Mansion is no longer the same as it was three years ago.
Not only did Ah Huan and Ah Bi go out, but their clothing and food were no different from those of the children of officials.
As soon as Liu Ziye, the young Marquis of Xiguan, returned to the Marquisate from outside, Liu Biao felt sorry for her having to travel around and sleep outdoors, and he wanted to gather all the best food and supplies in the mansion and send them to her.
At this time, Liu Ziye was wearing a jade belt and brocade clothes.
The embroidery is exquisite, whether it is the buttons, piping or the dark two-thread interwoven brocade weaving method, every detail is fine.
With her sharp and dazzling appearance that has become more mature, even if she does something casual and down-to-earth, she still looks extremely noble and extraordinary in the eyes of others.
Liu Ziye was in a good mood.
This was because just now, she had received the upgrade message of the Emperor Development System to which she was bound.
"Congratulations, host! The construction of the fiefdom has achieved remarkable results. Your remaining points have accumulated to over 50,000 points!"
"Based on the host's points growth and accumulated gains, the second level of the material reward system will be unlocked for the host - the military expansion series! Please check the newly unlocked section for reward items in the mechanical civilization subsystem module!"
"The host has achieved something that 99.99% of the previous hosts have never achieved. Please keep up the good work and successfully complete the final system mission!"
After the mechanical system prompt sound faded away, Liu Ziye savored what the system had just said. While checking the newly unlocked module in the system panel, he summoned the system administrator online.
She asked, "What's unlocked now is the second-level material reward system. Does that mean all the things I unlocked before were first-level?"
The system finally waited until Liu Ziye actively knocked on it again, then hurriedly climbed up and replied, "That's right, host! At the beginning, my system had some minor problems loading, and there were some problems that I couldn't explain clearly to the host! But now, I'm much better than I was three years ago!"
Liu Ziye heard it start to digress again, so he interrupted it and said, "Let's get to the point."
System: "Oh... um, now I understand. The material exchange items you previously unlocked were all at the first level of the Mechanical Civilization subsystem, belonging to the 'Survival Infrastructure' level. Now, because you have achieved the basic Survival Infrastructure level achievement requirements, you have been able to unlock the second level of the Mechanical Civilization subsystem!"
Liu Ziye understood, and this was consistent with her speculation. She then asked, "So, how many levels does this system have?"
"this……"
The system began to stumble again. "Actually, from my observation, your military expansion level is advancing a bit too quickly. Originally, after the 'Survival Infrastructure' stage, there should have been a 'People's Livelihood Foundation' stage. In this stage, you could vigorously develop basic education and basic medicine, improve sanitation, and enhance people's living conditions. However, many of the achievements within this stage have already been accomplished independently by you, the host, without the system's assistance. Therefore, the system has directly jumped your second stage to 'Military Expansion'."
It continued to explain: "So, there are several more levels to come. In fact, it still depends largely on your actions and achievements during this stage."
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