From Joy of Life, the Tian Gang is reversed

Chapter 270 Zhao Xun's Ambition

The Rebellion of Northern Liang
As quickly as it came, it went as quickly as it came.

The decisiveness of Xu Xiao, the King of Northern Liang, and his son surprised everyone.

How can someone in this world hold a large army, conquer the capital, capture all the officials and the emperor, and then retreat home to farm?

No, not one!

But now, everyone has seen it.

They stormed the capital, beheaded the empress and two princes in front of the entire court, one of whom was the designated crown prince, as well as a two-time imperial advisor and a powerful eunuch who held sway over the inner palace. Then, they simply packed their bags and left!
Don't ask, just say it's for personal revenge. Yes, the King of Beiliang is taking revenge, and the way he does it is so unique and unconventional that it has shocked everyone in the world.

After the glasses fell, it created an endless mess!
This is also why Zhang Julu lost his composure and cursed loudly in the palace afterwards.

What will happen after this?

You say the King of Beiliang rebelled? He didn't rebel. He took his revenge and left. He left behind 300,000 iron cavalry, not a single one.

You might say he didn't rebel, but he killed the empress, the princes, the imperial advisor, and burned down the Imperial Observatory. He did all that in front of the emperor and his ministers, and he did it with such gusto.

So, according to the general consensus, the next step would be to attack Northern Liang.

Definitely.

But that's not how it was done.

Zhang Julu couldn't do it, and neither could the emperor.

Because Beiliang is located on the border, it originally had four prefectures. This time, it went south and occupied another prefecture, so now it has five prefectures. Moreover, it is far away from the capital. If it wants to launch a northern expedition, it will inevitably have to mobilize a large army. At present, the Liyang court simply does not have the resources to launch a long expedition.

Moreover, besides Northern Liang, other vassal kings such as the King of Yan, the King of Huainan, and the King of Jiaodong have also made unusual moves. If Northern Liang hadn't acted so quickly and so strangely, they might have already made their move by now. The only one who hasn't made any moves is the King of Jing'an, but the King of Jing'an...

When thinking of Prince Jing'an, one cannot help but mention his heir, and when mentioning the heir, one cannot help but recall Xu Fengnian's theory of revenge delivered in the main hall—this was taught to him by Zhao Xun!

Why the hell did you have to teach this? You might make Xu Xiao and his son happy, but what about the entire court?

The royal family has completely lost its dignity!
The current global situation is becoming increasingly unpredictable; everyone wants to make a move, but no one dares to act rashly.

Therefore, a northern expedition is impossible. Even without considering geographical factors, Xu Fengnian's bizarre abilities are enough to make the world wary.

They were all experts in warfare, but when they encountered such bizarre abilities on the battlefield, who dared to claim victory, and who could claim victory?
Didn't you see that when the Northern Liang marched south, the Northern Mang was restless, and even Tuoba Pusa went to the front line? But after the news came out of Tai'an City, did Tuoba Pusa stop making any moves?

This ability to move armies at will and traverse space is simply unbeatable on the battlefield.

Therefore, in the end, all the court could do was issue a proclamation, declaring Northern Liang a traitor and inviting the world to join in its condemnation.

Then the emperor fell ill, and the court fell silent.

The five prefectures of Beiliang may lack the capacity for expansion, but they are more than capable of self-preservation.

Northern Liang had effectively become independent. The other vassal kings outside of Northern Liang followed suit, though not as drastically as Northern Liang. However, after the Battle of Tai'an, they also used the excuse of His Majesty's serious illness and Zhang Julu's usurpation of power to stop obeying the court's orders.

Thus, Liyang, which had unified the world for only a little over a decade, once again entered a state of de facto division with various warlords vying for power.

In this situation, following the usual procedure, everyone would secretly accumulate strength and become powerful, waiting until the conflicts reached their peak before launching another war that would sweep the world. Judging from this pace, it should take about ten years.

Ten years later, everyone has reached their peak, and the weak ones have long been eliminated. What remains are a few final battles. By then, they should have found a way to deal with Beiliang's strange troop transport methods, right?
When a hero rises up with his sword, another ten years of calamity befall the common people!

This should be the natural order in which the world works.

Unfortunately, this pattern was suddenly broken.

Because, a strange thing has happened!

It's unclear when exactly, but strange things have started happening in some places. At first, they were just rumors, but soon, these rumors became reality, with bizarre things appearing frequently in various places.

This thing is somewhat similar to the ghosts in legends, but not exactly the same, and ordinary methods simply cannot deal with it.

They possess all sorts of bizarre and terrifying abilities, making them impervious to blades, bullets, water, and fire, as if they could never be killed. They regard life as worthless, and each appearance of theirs causes numerous deaths, each with its own unique manner and cause.

They have only one thing in common: terror.

As soon as this terrifying thing appeared, it was as if a switch had been flipped, and it quickly spread throughout the world. By the time people realized what was happening, it had already spread all over the world.

After the initial chaos and haphazard confrontation, everyone finally discovered that the most effective way to deal with this thing was Confucianism. Confucianism's supernatural powers could effectively restrain this monster. It was precisely because Confucianism's supernatural powers had spread throughout the world in the previous four years that scholars all knew a thing or two of Confucianism's supernatural powers. Therefore, after the initial panic and death, the situation gradually stabilized.

The solution was simple: Qingzhou set an example.

Scholars, those who had cultivated Confucianism, were dispatched to various regions to guard the area. Zhao Xun was from Qingzhou, a place renowned for its literary culture. Over the past four years, Qingzhou had built and expanded many academies, cultivating a large number of scholars with Confucian skills. After discovering that Confucianism was effective against such creatures, under the organization of the Jing'an Prince's Mansion, scholars who were originally concentrated in the city were sent to various parts of Qingzhou, even to the most remote mountain villages. This was because the scholars' talent could effectively suppress low-level monsters. Just like humans, the majority of these monsters were concentrated at the bottom of society. Against low-level monsters, one didn't need strong Confucian skills; a level seven or eight was sufficient. When encountering higher-level monsters, scholars with higher cultivation levels would naturally deal with them. It would only result in a few more deaths, but ultimately, these monsters would still be subdued.

There are terrifying and bizarre creatures in the world that are impervious to swords and spears, and immune to water and fire. Touching them will result in death. Only Confucianism can subdue them!
This……

Three months after the appearance of the strange creature, Zhao Xun took over the Shangyin Academy, but did not accept the position of Grand Master of the Shangyin Academy. Instead, he called himself Master and took charge of the academy.

After taking over the academy, he did two things. First, he established a rule that no one could enter officialdom. Scholars and students of the academy were forbidden from participating in worldly disputes. Once they entered officialdom or became involved in worldly conflicts, they would be removed from the academy's rules. Thus, the academy was separated from the court. Second, he began to study the strange creatures that had suddenly appeared in the world, searching for more effective ways to control them.

Subsequently, a large number of corresponding Confucian skills and supernatural abilities spread from the academy, and finally, a year later, the situation in the world was effectively controlled and the people's hearts were stabilized. From then on, the academy's position in the world became more and more stable.

With the appearance of the strange creatures and the effects of Confucianism's supernatural powers, in just one year, the fortune of Confucianism truly soared to the heavens, devouring more than 80% of the fortune of the imperial court and the two religions of Taoism and Buddhism.

By this time, the world finally understood Zhao Xun's purpose.

He aimed to transform the academy into a force detached from worldly affairs yet transcending them. Under normal circumstances, achieving this would have been an impossible dream, but in the current situation, he had virtually no chance of failure.

He wants to be the only saint in the world.

(End of this chapter)