God Weird Fairy

Chapter 435: Imperial Examinations and the Law of the World

Time flies, and September 11th is here in a blink of an eye.

Nan Yi, who paid the price for the "Junxian Rope" yesterday and no longer wanted to "share suffering with ordinary people", finally left Luo's house.

Nan Yi stayed at home throughout early September.

Even before Dong Lingtian and everyone from Xiemai Tower rushed to the Western Territory and held a three-day banquet at the beginning of the month, Nan Yi thought again and again and, out of caution, did not set out for the banquet. He only sent a Lingxi Butterfly to wish Dong Lingtian a safe journey, and hope that he could soon determine his path, break through the realm and build a foundation.

But now, Nan Yi left Luo's residence and went straight into the Taihe Hall in the imperial palace.

Today is not only the day of the court meeting, but also the day when the new emperor Wei Yuanxian ascends the throne.

Under the escort of Wei Shili, Wei Yuanxian traveled for more than ten days and finally arrived at Lijing City, where he ascended the throne as emperor.

As a mortal man, who happened to have a lot of mess made by Emperor Tianqi, Wei Yuanxian was very self-aware and did not hold a high-profile coronation ceremony. He only ascended the throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, where the Minister of Rites Sima Qianyuan read the edict and presented the jade seal.

Afterwards, just as Nan Yi had expected, many older cultivators who had achieved perfect transcendence, including Sima Qianyuan, although they held high positions, were unwilling to get involved in the subsequent struggles over the major trends of the times because their foundation in Taoism had already been established and it was inconvenient to change it. So they resigned from their posts to Wei Yuanxian at the court meeting and returned home.

It can be said that he did not want to stay even for one more day. He resigned under the name of resignation, but he did not give any face to Wei Yuanxian who had just ascended the throne.

But Wei Yuanxian did not get angry, and agreed to everything with a smile.

A new emperor appoints new ministers. For Wei Yuanxian, the resignation of these old ministers was equivalent to giving up some official positions.

Although Wei Yuanxian was only a powerless figurehead and could not make arbitrary decisions, he could at least select one or two candidates for promotion from various departments and give priority to promoting officials with whom he had closer and more friendly relations.

Wei Yuanxian knew very well that the most important support for his accession to the throne came from Nan Yi.

After agreeing to the old minister's resignation and announcing his retirement from court, Wei Yuanxian immediately sent someone to invite Nan Yi to the imperial study to reminisce about the past.

In the imperial study, the scent of sandalwood wafts through the air.

Wei Yuanxian dismissed his attendants and personally picked up the teapot to pour a cup of fresh tea for Nan Yi. Then, the bottom of the celadon cup hit the sandalwood table, making a clear sound: "I can sit on the throne today, all thanks to Nan Qing's recommendation and support."

When he raised his eyes, there was a certain tenderness that only scholars have. "In the past, I only thought that Nan Qing was my confidant in painting, but I didn't expect that he would become the guiding star of Dali. And I, in a daze, became the new Emperor of Li. This word of fate is really indescribable."

After a short pause, Wei Yuanxian continued, "It's just that I have just ascended the throne and I don't know anything about state affairs. I really don't know what to do next given the current situation in the Li Dynasty." As he spoke, he gently pushed the teacup towards Nan Yi, "I hope Nan Qing will be generous with his advice."

Nan Yi did not refuse the polite offer. He straightened his expression and took the teacup immediately.

When his fingertips touched the slightly hot porcelain wall of the teacup, a smile appeared on Nan Yi's face: "The current situation seems complicated, but it is actually simple."

"The Kan Dynasty gave birth to steam technology and opened up the steam age. With this momentum, it flourished and had the ambition to conquer the world."

"But nothing can be accomplished overnight. The Kan Dynasty is currently focusing on development and has not yet prepared for war. We do not want to start a war at this time."

"After all, the Kan Dynasty is confident that even if the other three countries introduce steam technology, they will still be one step behind. Although they will not be restricted by the Kan Dynasty in terms of steam technology, it will be difficult for them to catch up with the Kan Dynasty's research and development progress in innovating its armaments with steam technology."

"But, my humble servant's creation of the Qigong martial arts has opened up the Qigong era, allowing Dali to catch up and strive to overtake others."

"In the future, there will be a war between Kan and Li, and the difference between true qi and steam will also be determined."

"But now, as long as the whole of Li Dynasty is united and follows the trend of the True Qi Era, we can innovate and reform our military equipment. It is still unknown who will win."

Wei Yuanxian nodded slightly and said, "I know that the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce is working on promoting the Zhenqi water industry. Only by allowing the people to benefit from it can we gather the people's hearts and minds, and then use the power of the Ministry of Industry to innovate all industries and armaments."

He looked at Nan Yi and asked with a smile, "In your opinion, is there anything else that needs my help right now?"

Nan Yi's eyebrows moved slightly, and he spoke in a deep voice: "Today's industry is advancing, and I have my own plans. However, for the sake of justice, I still need your majesty's permission to add a question to the essays in the imperial examination this fall, inviting students from all over the world to discuss ways to benefit the people with true qi."

In Dali, there were imperial examinations and annual tests.

The annual examination was held once a year with questions set by each county independently. Its purpose was to select studious young men from local schools, admit them to the academy, and then secretly observe their character to determine whether they were suitable for passing on their skills and becoming part of the academy.

The imperial examination was held every three years by the imperial court, aiming to select scholars from the academy, grant them official positions, and include them in the system. Ordinary students who had never learned the art of cultivation could at most seek the position of county magistrate; the students who could truly be called successful were actually all monks.

In other words, if one were to add questions to the imperial examination essays and invite students from all over the world to discuss ways to use Qi to benefit the people, then in reality one would be giving questions to the outer disciples of the various immortal sects.

It doesn’t matter whether they can provide effective methods of using Qi to benefit the people.

What’s important is that this is to screen those monks who are willing to accept, or acknowledge the existence of Qigong martial arts.

In the name of Li Huang, he took the imperial examination.

No matter what the students in the academy think in their hearts, they have to accept the existence of Qigong martial arts in order to get better scores and gain fame.

In a sense, if Wei Yuanxian were to agree to this matter, he would offend the newcomers in the Nine Departments.

Even Wei Yuanxian, who had a gentle and friendly expression, couldn't help but hesitate when he heard Nan Yi's proposal.

But after only a few breaths, Wei Yuanxian smiled and agreed.

He knew in his heart that the only reason he could sit on the emperor's throne this time was because of Nan Yi's support.

The nine departments and hundreds of officials would never take him, a mortal, seriously.

Even if this offended the nine ministries, it would not be a big loss for Wei Yuanxian.

Not to mention that Nan Yi now decides whether the Kanli war will break out immediately. As long as Nan Yi does not act too recklessly, all the nine departments and officials will let him do as he pleases.

And when the Qi-related industries develop rapidly and produce a certain amount of luck dividends according to the trend of the times and share them with the nine departments, even the officials of the nine departments who originally felt a little uncomfortable will accept the Qi-related martial arts with a smile.

Therefore, Wei Yuanxian only thought about it for a moment before agreeing to the idea of ​​selecting candidates for the imperial examination to benefit the people.

This also means that as soon as the imperial examination begins, Nan Yi's Qigong method will become a part of Dali's national policy, making the entire Li Dynasty completely transformed into the basic foundation of Qigong martial arts.

Then, Wei Yuanxian said with a smile: "I am not familiar with state affairs, and I will need Nanqing's assistance in the future."

Nan Yi replied, "Your Majesty, your words are very sincere. As long as Your Majesty is willing to accomplish something, please tell me so that I can help Your Majesty solve the problem."

What he meant was that you have helped me, so if you need any help from me next time, just let me know.

The two exchanged pleasantries.

As usual, Nan Yi gave the extra blessing of two longevity true qi to the new Emperor Li, ensuring that Wei Yuanxian would be strong and healthy and could prolong his life with the power of longevity true qi.

Knowing that he had poor spiritual roots, Wei Yuanxian was not as greedy as the Apocalypse Emperor Wei Yuanzhao. He never expected to open the door to spiritual practice, but only hoped that he would not be easily dissolved in water while in the Li Palace.

But seeing that Nan Yi was constantly improving his Qigong, in addition to improving his physical fitness, Wei Yuanxian also wanted to know if there were any other ways through Qigong that could increase his sense of security.

Even in the eyes of the cultivators, the means that Wei Yuanxian could use easily were not worth mentioning, but at least they could make him feel a little relieved, so that he would not be secretly frightened when facing the disdain of the officials.

Nan Yi thought for a moment and said, "There is a way. We can ask the Ministry of Industry to make a mechanical puppet, embed martial arts into it, and try to drive it with true qi crystals."

"This is one of the drafts I previously proposed to deduce the use of Qi to innovate military equipment. It has not been refined, and I am not sure how much the puppet will cost in the end, so it may not be applicable to the military."

"But if it is prepared in the palace to protect Your Majesty, then we can do it at any cost, even letting a group of puppets operate the formation."

Nan Yi smiled and said, "According to my humble opinion, these mechanical puppets can be used for a long time by replacing the true qi crystals."

"In my new book, I plan to arrange some mechanical puppets, called the Eighteen Bronze Men, to be used to test the disciples."

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(End of this chapter)