This martial saint's health bar is too thick

Chapter 674 We are well-equipped and ready, let's draw our swords and head west!
On the sixth day of the fifth month of the ninth year of Yuanxing.

It's spring again.

Ishikawa Province, the provincial capital.

Ishikawa University was officially established today and began enrolling students!
Ishikawa Province is adjacent to Toung Province. Previously, because Toung Province had a university called Muan University, Ishikawa Province did not manage to secure a university spot.

This resulted in the children of the powerful and wealthy in Ishikawa Province having no choice but to attend university in the neighboring Toyo Province.

Later, when the thirteenth university, Hongyi University, was established, the quota was surprisingly given to Feng Province again.

This infuriated the people of Ishikawa Prefecture!
Later, when they learned that Hongyi University was going to recruit a large number of ordinary students and students from poor families, the powerful and wealthy people of Ishikawa Province secretly rejoiced.

This is a hot potato!
After the Ming Dynasty's reforms, the Great Blue Dynasty abolished the imperial examinations and instead established twelve universities to recruit talented individuals for the country.

Therefore, these twelve universities represent upward mobility, a bright future, and countless resources!

Even with powerful families and privileged sons from all over the country vying for a share of this pie, there's still not enough to go around. They even have to share some with commoners and those from humble backgrounds.

Conflicts, contradictions, and various forms of suppression are inevitable.

As a pilot university, Hongyi University has indeed been feeling its way across the river by touching the stones, and has experienced many ups and downs.

The principal was even changed midway through the process, because the first principal was Xu Jing.
The number of ordinary people and students from poor families who successfully graduated from Hongyi University in the first year was two-thirds less than the number when they first enrolled!
Those students who failed to graduate either encountered problems during the brutal training and trials, or died directly or indirectly at the hands of the children of the powerful and wealthy due to various accidents.

Even those who graduate and successfully obtain official positions are not good positions, and they are ostracized everywhere, making it difficult to see a future.

This result once led people to believe that the Grand Secretary's 'experiment' had failed.

Until the seventh day of the seventh month of the eighth year of Yuanxing.

After that day, the imperial court announced that it would simultaneously establish eleven universities in the provinces that did not yet have universities!

Moreover, these eleven universities, like Hongyi University, will allocate a large number of places to ordinary people and students from poor families!

Moreover, Hongyi University was initially crippled, offering only "military" subjects and no "humanities" subjects, training only military officers and not civil officials.

Now, not only are the eleven newly established universities well-rounded in both academics and extracurricular activities, but Hong Yi University can also recruit liberal arts students.

Such a thing would have been impossible in the past.

The cake is only so big, and it has been firmly controlled by powerful families for so many years. How could we possibly give half of it to others?

It’s simply a fantasy!

But after Ye Ze'an's sensational case, the impossible became possible.

The Ten Gates were preoccupied with their own problems and could only do their best to protect themselves, watching helplessly as they were slowly but surely cut to pieces.

Other powerful families were also implicated to varying degrees, and were intimidated by the court's actions, fearing the executioner's blade, and became more obedient than ever before.

From July of the eighth year of Yuanxing to May of the ninth year of Yuanxing, nearly a year passed.

With the official establishment and enrollment of Ishikawa University in Ishikawa Province, all eleven new universities previously planned by the Imperial Court have now been established!
The entrance to Ishikawa University was bustling with people.

The school sends people around to promote the program a month in advance and will conduct a five-day free qualification test when the school starts enrolling students.

If your qualification test results start from Grade B, you can apply for grants and scholarships.

If you are rated as having a Grade A qualification, you might even get your tuition waived!
In the past, most ordinary families didn't even have the opportunity to have their children tested for aptitude. They didn't know if their children had a chance to become martial artists or sorcerers, and even if they did, they simply couldn't afford to support them.

In the vast sea of ​​people, some may possess the potential to become martial saints or true lords, but due to poverty, they end up living a mediocre life.

Now, with the establishment of eleven new universities, although it is still impossible for everyone to have the opportunity to take the test, and it is impossible for all commoners and children from poor families to have sufficient resources after enrollment, at least it can reduce the number of hidden talents and discover more talents for the Great Blue Dynasty.

Perhaps the next Li Fei is among these ordinary people?
The entire street outside the gate of Ishikawa University was packed with people. An old man selling candied hawthorns was standing on the side of the street calling out his wares, but business wasn't very good.

"Grandpa, give me two strings of candied hawthorns."

The old man turned his head and saw a young man in a black robe and a woman in a blue dress wearing a bamboo hat.

The young man has an upright appearance; he looks like a good kid.

Although the woman was wearing a straw hat, obscuring her face, she exuded a refined and elegant air.

"Okay, that'll be two cents in total."

The old man smiled and took down two strings of candied hawthorns, handing them to the upright-looking young man.

The young man took out a one-yuan bill from his pocket and handed it to the old man, who gave him eight one-jiao coins in change.

"Hey, it's for you."

The young man handed a string of candied hawthorns to the woman next to him.

"I didn't say I wanted to eat."

"I feel like you've been staring at that candied hawthorn for a while now; you're clearly craving it."

"No way."

Despite saying that, the woman still accepted the candied hawthorn.

The old man looked at the two with a smile, and felt that they must be a young couple.

"Young people, are you here for recruitment as well?"

"The old man asked."

The young man took a bite of a candied hawthorn and mumbled something indistinctly:

"No, we're just here to watch the fun."

The old man laughed and said, "It's been a long time since this place has been lively."

"Weren't there any major events here before?"

The young man chatted casually with the old man.

The old man shook his head: "All that excitement used to have nothing to do with us ordinary folks; it was all about those big shots up there. But things are different now. Ishikawa University was giving presentations everywhere, saying that anyone who was old enough could bring their child to register, and they could even get a free qualification test. Hey, people from all over the province, and even from other places, were flocking here as long as their children were old enough!"

The young man nodded: "Sir, do you have any children of suitable age at home?"

The old man immediately perked up at the mention of this:
"Hehe, my grandson has been tested and found to have the aptitude for martial arts; he can get into Ishikawa University!"

The young man smiled and ate another candied hawthorn, then cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the old man: "Congratulations!"

"Hahahaha!"

The old man couldn't stop smiling.

Are you struggling with tuition fees?

The young man then asked a somewhat sensitive question.

The old man's smile remained unchanged as he proudly said, "My son is a soldier in the city's garrison in the provincial capital. He has saved up some money over the years, and I'm not too old to walk yet, so I can still earn some money to help support the family. With the whole family working hard, we can still afford to send my grandson to university."

The young man gave him a thumbs up: "Amazing! Amazing!"

"Hahaha."

The old man burst into laughter again.

After laughing, he suddenly sighed:
"To be honest, my son was able to join the city garrison in the provincial capital thanks to the Ming Dynasty's reforms."

"Oh?"

The young man seemed intrigued. "Grandpa, could you tell me about it?"

The old man laughed: "There's nothing I can't say. Before the reform, if you wanted to join the city guard in our provincial capital, you had to go through the back door and have connections. Ordinary people couldn't even dream of it! Later, when the reform started, there was a large reduction in the number of troops stationed in various places. Many city guards were found to be receiving salaries without working, and our provincial capital's city guard was no exception. When they were investigated, many important people were unlucky."

Later, the city guard in our provincial capital was almost completely rebuilt, and this time some of the conscription opportunities were given to ordinary people. My son was in good health and lucky enough to be selected.

"It's all thanks to him getting this job that we've been able to support our family all these years."

After recounting this story, the old man hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said:
"I heard that former Prime Minister Ye has been imprisoned. In recent months, many people have been cursing him. I'm just an ordinary citizen, I don't know anything about national affairs, I only know that one should be grateful. Our whole family owes our survival to that reform movement back then, and only now do we have the opportunity to send my grandson to university. I don't know what kind of person that former Prime Minister Ye is, but in my heart, he is a great benefactor to our whole family!"

These words had been bottled up in the old man's heart for the past few months, and now that he's said them, he feels much better.

The old man looked at the young man beside him and found that the young man was somewhat lost in thought.

"Grandpa, another string of candied hawthorns, please."

The young man suddenly spoke.

"Okay."

The old man took down another string of candied hawthorns and handed it to the other person. Seeing that the other person was about to take out money, he generously said:
"I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give you this skewer!"

The young man paused, took the candied hawthorn, but neither ate it nor offered it to the woman beside him. Instead, he held it in his hand and looked at it for a long time.

After a moment, he raised his head and said very solemnly to the old man selling candied hawthorns:
"Thank you, this string of candied hawthorns is very sweet."

The old man was puzzled. "You haven't even eaten it, how do you know it's sweet?"

"No need to thank me, it's nothing, it's nothing."

The old man waved his hand.

The young man and woman then left.

Above the sea of ​​clouds, Li Fei and Ning Qingman flew through the air.

Li Fei was still holding a string of candied hawthorns in his hand.

Ning Qingman turned her head and glanced at her, then asked, "Feeling any better?"

Li Fei turned to look at her and smiled:
"Actually, it's not a matter of whether it's good or bad. If I were him, I definitely wouldn't make the same choice as him, it's just..."

After a moment of silence, Li Fei's voice and the string of candied hawthorns remained above the sea of ​​clouds:

"In the past, present and future, there will always be some people in this world who have benefited from his kindness and will remember him in their hearts. I am gratified for him."

On the 17th day of the fifth month of the ninth year of Yuanxing.

Li Fei returned to Lanling City.

Over the past year, he has not been idle, traveling around with Ning Qingman, but has been visiting various places to suppress and resolve various problems.

He traveled to all twenty-three provinces of the Great Blue Dynasty, going to the grasslands and the desert.

The Ye Ze'an case was like performing a debridement operation on the Great Blue Dynasty—

Removing completely necrotic tissue inevitably involves cutting away some originally healthy body tissue.

Moreover, in order to prevent Da Lanchao, this 'patient,' from dying on the 'operating table,' the surgery did not remove all the rotten flesh.

After a major operation, the Great Blue Dynasty needs to recover its strength, and the remaining rotten flesh will bring new problems.

During the establishment of the eleven universities, there were more than a dozen riots and mutinies of varying sizes!

The most serious incident involved two of the five Imperial Guards—

Mutiny has broken out within the White Flame Army and the Zhenxi Army!
Finally, Zuo Jun, the former commander of the White Flame Army and now a Martial Saint, went to suppress the White Flame Army, while Li Fei went to deal with the problem of the Zhenxi Army.

These problems that can be solved by force are relatively simple; the real difficulty lies in the undercurrents beneath the surface.

Taxes collected in various regions, the refining of elixirs, the preparation of implants, and the refining and maintenance of magical artifacts.
Furthermore, there was the preparation for the westward expedition, including the manufacture of gunpowder weapons and ships.

All sorts of problems, big and small, have arisen in every aspect!
This is an unavoidable aftereffect of that 'debridement surgery'.

This is already the best outcome, even without completely eradicating the Ten Gates Clique and 'laying down the butcher's knife' as much as possible.

If Li Fei and Ye Ze'an had used more drastic methods, what they might have left behind was a completely paralyzed or even disintegrated Great Blue Dynasty!

Li Fei was capable of fighting and killing, but governing a country was not his domain.

All he could do was provide his own people with military support and confidence in victory, and then use force to deter the hidden enemies from taking any excessive actions.

For nearly a year, Li Fei has been traveling all over the country, but there have been very few cases where he was actually needed to take action.

He only needs to be present where he's needed.

When the greatest person in the world arrives, people's hearts naturally change!
Li Fei would sometimes say to Ning Qingman with a self-deprecating tone:

"The title of being the best in the world is really useful. No wonder so many people want to be the best in the world."

May 18th, the day after Li Fei returned to Lanling City.

A decree from the central government announced that Hu Tingzhong, the Grand Secretary of the Zixu Hall who was dismissed due to the Ye Ze'an case, has been reinstated after investigation and found to be uninvolved in any crimes. He will temporarily assume the position of Hall Master of the Zixu Hall.
The Zixu Hall is composed of members of the six cabinets and is responsible for leading the cabinet. The so-called Zixu Hall Master is actually the de facto chief minister of the current dynasty.

Following the Ye Zean case, the position of Grand Secretary of the Great Lan Dynasty remained vacant for nearly a year.

Now that Hu Tingzhong has been reinstated and appointed as the head of the Zixu Palace, he has the power of a prime minister, but not yet the title.

However, all the civil and military officials knew that the emperor was only using Hu Tingzhong as a temporary measure. Before long, the first prime minister from a humble background in the Great Lan Dynasty would be born!

Those who used to question Hu Tingzhong, thinking that he came from a poor family and had no background, and that it was impossible for him to become the chief minister, have now shut up.

The day after Li Fei returned to the capital, Hu Tingzhong was immediately reinstated to his original position.

Isn't the meaning obvious?

They say Hu Tingzhong has no background or powerful connections.

Their backer is the number one person in the world, isn't that powerful enough?

May 19th.

Dalan Chao held a Dachao meeting.

As usual, the civil and military officials chatted idly in twos and threes as they entered the Zhenglan Hall.

Everyone was talking about Hu Tingzhong, who had just been reinstated and appointed as the head of the Zixu Palace.

Those who had past grievances with Hu Tingzhong are now thinking about how to mend their relationship.

A shrewd schemer, he pondered how to curry favor with the future prime minister.

Some insiders say that, in the past year, Hu Tingzhong, though seemingly living a secluded life at home, has actually been secretly advising the emperor and the Duke of Jing'an on various political affairs.

That's why the Great Blue Dynasty was able to quell the turmoil caused by Ye Ze'an's case in such a short time and restore stability to the internal situation.

Hu Tingzhong's talent over the past year has won over the emperor, which is why he was appointed as the master of the Zixu Palace immediately after being reinstated.

"Hu Tingzhong! Hu Tingzhong!"

Before the court assembly began, the name could be heard throughout the hall.

Just when everyone thought that Hu Tingzhong, the future Grand Secretary, would be the absolute protagonist of today's grand court assembly, a burly figure appeared outside the Zhenglan Hall.

"."

The hall fell silent quickly, and everyone looked at the entrance with surprise.

On this day, Wenren Zheng, the Grand Marshal of the Military Affairs Department who had not attended court for a long time, entered the palace in full armor and with his sword at his side!

Wenren walked straight to the front row without looking to the side and sat down in the seat that was reserved for him.

Before the civil and military officials could begin to discuss it, another figure appeared outside the hall.

Li Fei, the Duke of Jing'an, who had not attended the grand court assembly for more than seven years, also carried a sword into the palace!

The protagonist who had just been the subject of everyone's discussion, Hu Tingzhong, who had been reinstated, followed behind Li Fei.

Li Fei also went to the front row of the main hall and sat down directly opposite Wenren.

Hu Tingzhong didn't have a seat yet, so he chose to stand behind Li Fei.

Subsequently, Zuo Jun, the commander of the Azure Iron Cavalry, and Ji Yiheng, the head of the Righteous Law Pavilion, both newly promoted top experts of the Great Azure Dynasty, entered the main hall together.

The two also had their own seats, sitting to the right of Li Fei and Wenren Zheng respectively.

Finally, even Wang Chengze, the Xuanmo King who had lived in the capital for a long time, was obsessed with martial arts, and was rarely seen, appeared.

This was Wang Chengze's first time attending a grand court assembly, and the emperor temporarily granted him a seat.

After the grand court assembly began, the emperor instructed the civil and military officials to report on various matters as usual, and there was nothing of great importance.

After everyone had finished reporting, Hu Tingzhong, who had just been reinstated that day, stepped out of the ranks and announced loudly:
"Your Majesty, I have a report to make!"

Everyone perked up.

"Please speak, Mr. Hu."

Hu Tingzhong's clear voice resonated throughout the hall:

"Over the past seven years, I have observed the Great Blue Dynasty as if I were watching a garden in full bloom!"

The reform of the bureaucracy led to a doubling of tax revenue; the elimination of military corruption resulted in the casting of 12,000 new weapons to form a new army!
Two hundred new steamships were built, all equipped with new firearms.

Furthermore, Zuo Jun, the commander of the Azure Iron Cavalry, and Ji Yiheng, the master of the Righteous Law Pavilion, broke through to the top one after another, becoming pillars of our Great Azure Kingdom!

Now, our granaries are full, our armaments are well-prepared, our warships are arrayed in port, and powerful figures abound; we are truly in a state of complete readiness!

Hu Tingzhong's words made all the civil and military officials in the hall look solemn, realizing what was going on.

brush!
Today, Wenren, who was wearing armor, suddenly stood up.

The Grand Marshal of the Military Affairs Department stood there with his left hand on the sword at his waist, like a pillar supporting the sky, exuding divine might!
The clanging of armored vehicles produced a resounding thud, and the voice of a man echoed throughout the palace:

"Your Majesty! Thirty-one years ago, the Western Kingdoms, harboring wolfish ambitions, suddenly raised an unjust army and invaded the borders of our Great Blue!"

Where artillery fire reached, city walls collapsed and flames of war raged; where swords were pointed, the common people shed blood and lives were lost!
This hatred and resentment are as vast as mountains and as deep as the sea. I have never forgotten it for a single day, nor have I ever dared to slacken my resolve for a single moment!
Today, our great blue sky is blessed with abundant resources, plentiful granaries, and excellent military equipment.

The whole nation is united in its hatred of the enemy, and millions of soldiers and civilians are working together with one heart and one mind!
"Your Majesty, I request to lead my army across the sea, to utterly destroy our lands! I am willing to lead 100,000 elite troops to crush the western continent, wipe away our past humiliations, and avenge our blood feud! I will ensure that the great blue banners fly high above foreign lands; I will ensure that the might of our dynasty shakes the four seas!"

As soon as the words were spoken, Zuo Jun, the commander of the Azure Iron Cavalry, and Ji Yiheng, the head of the Righteous Law Pavilion, both top-tier experts, rose from their seats:

"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead an expedition to the Western Lands to demonstrate our nation's power!"

Wang Chengze, attending the grand court assembly for the first time, also stood up and stood behind Wenren Zheng, proclaiming in a loud voice:
"Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful for the imperial grace that has granted me the title of king. I have never been able to repay this kindness. Now I wish to set sail for my Great Blue Dynasty to conquer the Western Continent!"

For a moment, the aura of the four peak figures seemed to be about to shatter the dome of the Zhenglan Hall!
"it is good--"

Qin Ziheng slammed his palm on the armrest of the dragon throne, and the golden eyes of the coiled dragon on the palace pillar seemed to suddenly open.

His gaze swept over the assembled civil and military officials, finally settling on the only person who had not yet risen:
"Now that we are about to embark on a distant expedition, we must use the sharpest divine sword of our Great Blue Dynasty!"

"Li Fei, you are the number one at the pinnacle, do you have any explanation?"

The number one person in the world slowly rose, first bowed to the emperor, and then turned to face the civil and military officials in the hall.

There was no grand pronouncements, no earth-shattering rhetoric, only four simple words:
"We will definitely win this battle!"

(End of this chapter)