The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

"Si Sui, Si Sui—if Sui dies, I won't have to oversee those year signs anymore, nor will I have to bear the position of Grand Tutor."

The Grand Commandant felt a sense of relief—it turned out he had been overthinking things. The old man had probably come to his senses and was also looking to retire.

"Is this true?"

he asked tentatively.

"Of course I take it seriously."

The Grand Tutor nodded in agreement.

"I do have a few problems to deal with right now, and I can't think of a solution myself—at least not one that can be solved by military means. If you'd like, you can give me some advice from a political perspective."

"Alright, from today onwards, you can write secret letters and send them to me secretly—don't touch Vice Minister Ning anymore. This period is a crucial time for his promotion, and we shouldn't get too involved with either of us."

The Grand Commandant nodded; it seemed the other party had truly come to a realization.

"It's settled then, but the secret letter will be sent a little later. I need to be fully prepared—the Imperial Household Department has been making some new moves lately, and I don't want to become the target of everyone's criticism. Moreover, I've heard that His Majesty is forming a new spy team, working alongside the Imperial Household Department, one to oversee the capital and the other to investigate external matters. Our plan needs to be executed even more cautiously."

It turns out they've even prepared countermeasures—if, like during the Battle of Blood Peak, some insider were to send a message to His Majesty, who among you could possibly escape?

The Grand Tutor lowered his head and saw the wine pot being handed to him by the other party.

"Now that we've laid everything out, shall we have a drink together?"

"...Let's have a drink then!"

The Grand Tutor remained silent for a moment, then took the wine pot and drank it all in one gulp.

"Hey! We agreed to have a toast, so naturally it should be one sip each—how did you finish it all!"

The Grand Commandant was so anxious that he was fuming. Ever since the doctor's diagnosis, so many people in the mansion had been watching him, not letting him touch a drop of alcohol. He finally got to go out and have a little unexpected fun, but this old man chugged it all down in one gulp.

"If you're sick, you should drink some tea brewed with water from Tianyue Spirit Spring. You don't want to die too soon, do you?"

The old man casually tossed the empty wine jug into the trash can.

"Hmph, I'm going back."

The Grand Commandant turned around and walked down the mountain.

The Grand Tutor did not look at him, but stared at the rising sun on the horizon, remaining motionless.

It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that he started walking again, continuing his ascent up the mountain.

The Grand Tutor only stopped when he reached the spot where the Heavenly Peak Spring had gushed forth.

"Grand Tutor, your timing is perfect. I've long heard that the Tianyue Spirit Spring is sweet and clear, perfect for brewing tea, and it must be excellent for making soup as well. Today I've tried it, and it's just as I've heard—come and try this freshly cooked crucian carp soup."

Qiao Yelan smiled and waved.

The old man didn't stand on ceremony. He sat down opposite Qiao Yelan, picked up the bowl and chopsticks in front of him, and served himself a bowl as well.

The soup was indeed incredibly delicious upon first taste.

"I wonder if what I'm doing counts as burning a zither and boiling a crane?"

Qiao Yelan sipped the fish soup contentedly, jokingly asking a question.

"That's just jealous talk created by people who can't see their own place—most of the people who say this don't have that zither or that crane, so naturally they don't know that the wood of that zither burns steadily and that the meat of that crane tastes delicious."

The Grand Tutor didn't even look up, continuing to enjoy the bowl of hot soup.

He'd been losing his appetite for days since the incident at the archives, and today he'd only had a sip of water before heading out to climb the mountain. Then he had to confront the Grand Commandant, and then he'd drunk half a pot of old wine on an empty stomach—at this point, this bowl of fish soup was a lifesaver for this old fellow.

After the Grand Tutor served him his second bowl of fish soup, Qiao Yelan put two pieces of tofu into the pot, added some spring water and salt, covered it, and continued to simmer it over low heat.

After drinking half a bowl, the Grand Tutor raised his head and looked at Qiao Yelan.

“I know that you did those two things—you must have known about the plan that the late emperor and the Grand Commandant were supposed to carry out behind your back.”

Qiao Yelan knew he was referring to the two things: forcing Ursus to a draw and Wei Yanwu leaving the capital—but he didn't know about this plan now; if it were him in the past, he might have known.

However, it's clear that I didn't feel the need to make a special note of such an unimportant matter and tell myself about it before.

—Coincidentally, Qiao Yelan thought the same thing.

He could even deduce that he must have known about the plan back then, but pretended not to—because the plan had a very important effect on his two moves in the Great Yan Dynasty at that time.

He needed to borrow the military strength of the Great Yan to shatter Vladimir's last illusions, and he also needed Wei Yanwu to go to Longmen to deal with that black snake that was occupying the latrine but not doing its job.

The most direct way to achieve these two goals at the lowest cost is to let the late emperor make these two decisions himself.

The only neighboring country that can pose a threat to the Great Yan is Ursus. As long as Ursus is dealt with, the Great Yan can enjoy a long period of peace. Therefore, in order to carry out this plan, the late emperor must send troops to the Eastern Kingdom to curb Ursus's continued expansion.

Similarly, to execute this plan, an astronomical amount of funds would be required. Therefore, Longmen must become a direct territory of the Great Yan royal family, with all trade revenue going to the national treasury, rather than just a place to collect commercial taxes. Thus, the late emperor had to send a prince to take back and oversee Longmen.

Whatever the emperor wanted to do, it was naturally unimpeded; the imperial guards and other support were readily available.

Why are there still so many old ministers in the court when the new emperor ascended the throne, who had been subservient to Wei Yanwu during his time as crown prince? Isn't it just to cause more trouble for the current emperor after the late emperor's death and to buy Wei Yanwu more time?

Cai Yan thought he had caught the wave of the times, but in reality, he was nothing more than a pawn of the late emperor.

That's why Qiao Yelan dealt with Cai Yan so calmly and effortlessly.

After all, it's just a chess piece.

The players may change, but the pieces will always remain pieces, summoned when needed and dismissed when not.

Once the new emperor has dealt with these old ministers, Wei Yanwu will surely be able to secure his position. By then, the new emperor will have matured from a young and impetuous man into a seasoned strategist—he will naturally know that at this point, the benefits of fratricide will be less than the benefits of dividing the spoils.

This is what the Grand Commandant meant when he said, "His Majesty has proven his ability."

If, at this point, the Grand Commandant were to reveal to the Emperor his plan to get rid of Qiao Yelan and deal with the Year Beast alone—a plan that requires "destruction before construction"—then success would naturally follow.

This was the late emperor's plan; this was the late emperor's method.

However, in Qiao Yelan's eyes, this was merely a ride that could be taken advantage of.

That's it.

—Don't let your pieces know they are pieces.

"So what if I know, and so what if I don't?"

He said ambiguously.

"Whether you know it or not, now you know—I want to ask you for a favor."

"Don't forget, you already owe me a favor—a huge favor."

Qiao Yelan reminded him.

The old man gave a wry smile and nodded.

“I know, so I also know that I have nothing to offer in exchange—but this matter is of vital importance to the future of my Great Yan nation, and I cannot stand by and watch the war to destroy the Sui go astray.”

"Off track? Aren't they on their track?"

The Grand Tutor slowly shook his head.

"Their path is risky. If they are not careful, the strength of our Great Yan will be destroyed. Not to mention the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion in the North, the creatures deep in the southern sea have not even begun to wreak havoc yet."

"You want me to take action? The Grand Commandant would never agree."

Qiao Yelan shrugged.

"Yes, I hope you will lend a hand—and keep your existence a secret."

The Grand Tutor made a request that was akin to wanting to be a prostitute while also wanting to maintain a virtuous image.

This plan involved the most loyal people of the Great Yan Dynasty, including the Grand Commandant, the Duke of Ningguo, and even many old families and high-ranking officials. Any clue could be discovered by these old fogies—the difficulty of this plan can basically be described as a black hole with a rainbow of colors.

Upon hearing this, Qiao Yelan simply wiped her mouth.

"So, what will be the price you pay?"

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(35 chapters still owed)

Chapter 139 The Doctrine of Human Wave Warfare

"After the [age] is completely resolved, no matter how many age signs remain, or what power they possess—they will no longer belong to the Great Yan, but to you."

The Grand Tutor offered the maximum bargaining chip he could at the moment.

“I can vouch for you. If necessary, I can resign from my position as Grand Tutor and enter your business as an envoy to put the Great Yan at ease.”

Qiao Yelan looked at the old man with great interest.

"Didn't you say you wanted to retire? What, are you going to find another place to continue being the chief of the tax office?"

“If that’s what you think, then you can have it—as long as you don’t use the power of the Year Phase to deal with the Great Yan, I won’t interfere. But you won’t deal with the Great Yan either, at least not now.”

"Oh? You're so confident?"

"His Majesty regards you as a confidant, Duke Wei regards you as a pillar, Cai Yan is no longer a threat, the Grand Commandant is stubborn, and as for me... in the entire Great Yan, there is no one qualified to oppose you."

The Grand Tutor whispered a fact that was enough to send chills down the spines of every Great Yan person.

“You’re not the kind of person who enjoys chaos. On the contrary, you maintain order by any means necessary and fight against the enemies of this land—as long as the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion exists, you will not let the story of Ursus happen in the Great Yan.”