230: Baijiang and Huangjiang Discussion

Seeing the Empress’s faction collapse like a landslide.

Wang Zhong hurriedly stepped forward to advise, “Your Majesty, in the past, the Central Secretariat Director and the Grand Secretariat Director were both held by Prime Minister Li.

Now that Prime Minister Li has been dismissed, the Central Secretariat and the Grand Secretariat lack leadership, and some policies may not be implementable. I implore Your Majesty to appoint new Grand Secretariat and Central Secretariat Directors soon.”

How could Emperor Qi not know Wang Zhong's intentions—to promote his own people?

Emperor Qi nodded and looked toward the Central Secretariat Vice Director.

The Central Secretariat Vice Director is the deputy official of the Central Secretariat.

He is the younger brother of the Empress and is close to the Third Prince.

“Minister Hu, then you shall temporarily take over the duties of Prime Minister Li!”

As soon as the words fell, there was an uproar.

The Empress’s faction, which had been gloomy, instantly blossomed into spring.

Especially the Third Prince, who was nearly jumping with excitement.

Wang Zhong wanted to object, but Emperor Qi forcefully interrupted him.

Inside the courtyard,

Princess was holding a wooden sword, practicing the most basic thrusts, scoops, parries, and blocks taught by Chen Yuan, repeating them against the morning light.

She was naturally intelligent, but these basic movements required control over strength and coordination with her breath.

Completely different from her previous casual swordplay or Cultivating Spells, she was already drenched in fragrant sweat after practicing for less than an hour.

But she felt she was still lacking greatly.

She put away the wooden sword, her small face showing confusion and a hint of discouragement, and looked at Chen Yuan, who was calmly drinking tea nearby, seemingly lost in thought:

“Teacher, these movements seem simple, so why are they so difficult to practice?”

Chen Yuan put down his teacup, his gaze falling upon her: “Do you find it tedious? Do you find it useless? Or do you feel it is far removed from the Sword Dao you imagined—flying through the sky and slaying demons?”

Princess nodded honestly:

“A bit of all of them. Teacher, does Sword Dao Cultivation always start with such tedious basics? When can I finally comprehend the Sword Intent you spoke of?”

“A tower of ten thousand feet starts with a mound of soil.”

Chen Yuan slowly said, “The Sword Intent you perceive is a towering mountain, a vast starry sky. But the sword in your hand, the steps you take, and the Qi within your body are the stones and wood that form that mountain, the speck of dust that illuminates the starry sky.

Without precise control, how can you speak of the extension of will? Without absolute familiarity, how can you achieve the Unity of Man and Sword?”

He walked up to Princess, took the wooden sword from her hand, and casually swung it.

It was still those basic movements, but the speed, angle, and strength changed in an instant, and the wooden sword cut through the air, emitting a clear, ringing sound.

“Look, why are the same movements different? A difference of a hair's breadth leads to a thousand miles of error. What you need to do now is not think about that distant ‘Intent,’ but to push every ‘hair's breadth’ to the extreme of what you can currently achieve.

When you can complete a hundred thousand, or a million, thrusts without thinking and with perfect accuracy, the sword will truly begin to become a part of your body. By then, the ‘Intent’ will find you naturally.”

Princess looked thoughtful.

“Come, sit down!” Chen Yuan waved, signaling Princess to sit beside him.

Princess obediently complied.

She was very curious about why Teacher had asked her to sit down.

Chen Yuan picked up a Jade Slip and handed it to Princess.

“Since you find sword practice boring, today Teacher will tell you something interesting.”

Hearing something interesting, Princess immediately extended her Divine Sense into the Jade Slip.

The contents of the Jade Slip were precisely the distribution of power in the imperial court and some dirty deeds committed by the Empress’s faction.

Furthermore, there was the imperial decree issued by Emperor Qi Beichen that morning, promoting Hu Qinming.

Hu Qinming is the Empress’s younger brother.

After a while, seeing that Princess had put down the Jade Slip, Chen Yuan suddenly asked: “After reading that, what kind of person do you think your Imperial Grandfather is?”

Hearing this, Princess buried her head deep into her chest.

“Afraid to speak? Or unwilling to speak?” Chen Yuan smiled. “With me, you can speak your mind freely.”

Seeing that she still wasn't speaking, Chen Yuan started speaking himself, “Do you feel that your Imperial Grandfather is incompetent? He clearly knows that the Empress's faction is useless and only cares about accumulating wealth, yet he still promotes Hu Qinming.”

Princess pursed her lips, eventually choosing to nod silently.

Seeing that she had something to say, Chen Yuan stroked the top of her head, offering some encouragement, “Just speak freely.”

Princess raised her head and whispered, “If Imperial Grandfather is so powerful, why doesn't he just kill everyone who engages in corruption and illegal activities?”

Chen Yuan smiled, “This is the interesting thing I want to talk about today. Leaving aside your Imperial Grandfather for now, let me ask you, how large is the entire Qitian Dynasty?”

Princess looked confused upon hearing this; she truly did not know.

“510 billion square kilometers, with approximately 7.443733 trillion people.”

A single Qitian Dynasty is nearly half the size of the Eastern Barrens.

Hearing such a massive number, Princess was also startled.

“The land is vast and rich in resources. If you want policies to be implemented, you must have people to carry them out. If they are all killed with one stroke, how can policies be enforced?

Even if your Imperial Grandfather manifested his true body in a single thought, he could only govern for a moment, not for an era.”

After Chen Yuan finished speaking, he calmly took a sip of tea, then pulled out a map.

Princess curiously leaned her head closer.

Chen Yuan pointed to a Mortal Kingdom and said: “Look at this Ren Kingdom. It is a Mortal Kingdom. Its people do not Cultivate; they live by farming, relying on the mountains for resources and the water for sustenance.

Two waterways run through the north and south of the Ren Kingdom, and the entire nation's populace relies on these two sources of water for survival.

The first of these waterways is called the Yellow River; its water is muddy.

The second is called the White River; its water is clear.”

Princess was a little confused about why Teacher was telling her this.

Chen Yuan paused, then continued: “This contains a great wisdom, and it is also the great wisdom of His Majesty today.”

“Great wisdom?”

“Exactly!” Chen Yuan nodded slightly. He pointed to the White River and said: “The White River's water is clear, and the Yellow River's water is muddy. The White River flows, and the Yellow River also flows. The White River's water irrigates the fields of several provinces and sustains tens of thousands of people, and the Yellow River's water also irrigates the fields along its banks across several provinces.

You cannot exclusively use the White River because its water is clear, nor can you completely abandon the Yellow River because its water is muddy.

If the White River floods, it needs to be managed, and if the Yellow River floods, it also needs to be managed.”

Princess nodded, seeming to understand yet not fully grasping it.

She seemed to understand, yet also seemed not to.

“The Civil Official Faction—they are not imperial relatives; they are elected from the local areas. They can do many things for Your Majesty, but if all power is given to the Civil Official Faction, it will lead to them controlling the government. Even if Emperor Qi kills them all, without understanding checks and balances, the act of controlling the government will still reappear.”

Chen Yuan stopped offering guidance here, leaving Princess to ponder the matter herself.

After a long moment,

Princess suddenly stood up. She understood! She understood everything!

Teacher was comparing the Civil Official Faction to the White River and the Empress's faction to the Yellow River.

In the shadows,

Emperor Qi Beichen's eyes flickered; Chen Yuan's talent surpassed his imagination.

A single Discourse on the White River and the Yellow River had thoroughly analyzed imperial power.