Double penetration: This Three Kingdoms has dragon energy

Chapter 145 Ren Hongchang is truly outstanding...

One has to admit the power of Confucianism; it truly deserves to be the most prominent school of thought in our time.

Zhang Jiao obtained the Taiping Essentials passed down by Huang Tian Dao Zun. The Taiping Essentials is divided into three volumes: Heaven, Earth, and Man, but it only records six secret techniques in total.

However, one of the seven Confucian classics records six secret techniques!
With just one copy of the Analects, it can rival the Taiping Yaoshu!
Of course, this should be taken into account that the Way of Peace is only a branch of Taoism.

The Essentials of Peace is just one of many classic texts in Taoism.

That seems quite normal.

After all, Taoism is one of the most prominent schools of thought in the world that can directly rival Confucianism!

Kong Rong, who had mastered the secret arts of the Analects and cultivated them to the peak of the third rank, clearly possessed extremely strong abilities in both social interaction and governance.

Fourth, Kong Rong possessed the secret arts of a gentleman, enabling him to train a gentleman's army!
Kong Rong seemed to have no intention of keeping his secret skills to himself; he very frankly told Ji Qiu about the requirements for practicing the gentleman's secret technique.

This is a military-strengthening technique that is different from other military-strengthening techniques.

Practicing this secret technique for strengthening the military does not require the consumption of special resources.

However, it places requirements on the character of the cultivator.

According to the Confucian Five Constant Virtues—benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness—one must reach a basic level in order to cultivate the secret arts of a gentleman!
No wonder that even with the full strength of the Confucius clan, they could only train 30,000 gentlemen.

After Kong Rong became the prime minister of Beihai, he easily increased the number of Beihai gentlemen's troops from 30,000 to 50,000.

Kong Rong's innate secret techniques, when used to train the Gentlemen's Army, were truly a bug in the system.

Anyone who comes into contact with Kong Rong will soon be qualified to practice the Gentleman's Secret Arts.

Furthermore, cultivating the Gentleman's Secret Technique does not require any special resources.

How could it not be fast?

In fact, turning the 30,000-strong Beihai Gentlemen Army into 50,000-strong Beihai Gentlemen Army was not Kong Rong's limit at all.

If he wanted to, he could easily train 100,000 or 200,000 Gentlemen Army soldiers in a short period of time!

This is Kong Rong's strength!

After learning about Kong Rong's abilities, Ji Qiu began to consider how to arrange for Kong Rong.

Actually, there's no need to think too much, because Ji Qiu has already made her decision.

He planned to appoint Kong Rong as the temple keeper of the Temple of Sages!

The so-called Temple of Sages and Worthies is an institution that was just established in the autumn of this year.

Given the importance of the sages and heroes of the Hundred Schools of Thought to the human race of the Nine Provinces, Ji Qiu decided to place all the human sages who abandoned their physical bodies, transformed into heroic spirits, merged with the barrier of the Nine Provinces, and protected the Nine Provinces in the Sage Shrine for worship.

This shrine to sages and worthies will not only house Kong Rong, but also other members of the Kong clan.

In the future, the descendants of other sages will be settled here one after another.

Let these descendants of sages from all walks of life worship their ancestors through the Temple of Sages and provide strength for the spirits of their ancestors.

The Temple of Sages is not only a place for the descendants of sages to worship their ancestors, but it is also open to the general public, allowing them to come here to worship the sages of the human race throughout history.

Ji Qiu plans to have the propaganda department incorporate the part about worshipping sages of past dynasties into his ideological system.

This is not a difficult thing.

Because inheriting and carrying forward the legacy of our ancestors is a very important part of the modern ideology of Tokyo University.

A nation without heroes is pitiful; a nation that has heroes but does not know how to respect and cherish them is hopeless.

The only problem is that this might cause a portion of the faith that originally belonged entirely to Ji Qiu to be separated and concentrated on the spirits of the sages and heroes of the Hundred Schools of Thought.

However, it doesn't matter, because the ideological system built in this way allows Ji Qiu to more easily convert the followers of the sages of various schools of thought into his own followers.

In this back and forth, the actual losses are not much.

More importantly, the power of the sages and heroes of all schools of thought is used to protect the barrier of the Nine Provinces, and protecting the barrier of the Nine Provinces is basically equivalent to protecting Ji Qiu.

After all, Ji Qiu already considers the territory within the Nine Provinces Barrier as his own!

However, it would be a waste of Kong Rong's talents to only make him a temple keeper.

After thinking it over, Ji Qiu also appointed him as the deputy director of the propaganda department.

Its main responsibility is to provide ideological and moral training to the believers in the propaganda department.

Governing a country is about governing its officials.

The followers of the Propaganda Department will become the officials of the future Jiqiu Empire.

Raising their moral standards is of paramount importance to the entire nation!
After settling Kong Rong, we should consider how to settle the Beihai Kingdom.

First, change the name of the Beihai Kingdom to Beihai Prefecture.

The reason why the Beihai Kingdom was called the Beihai Kingdom was because it was a vassal state of the Han Dynasty.

The first vassal king of Beihai Kingdom was Prince Jing, Liu Xing.

He was the second son of Liu Yan, the King of Qi, who was the elder brother of Emperor Guangwu of Han. He was initially enfeoffed as the King of Lu, and later in the 28th year of Jianwu, he was enfeoffed as the King of Beihai and established the Beihai Kingdom.

Subsequently, the Beihai Kingdom was ruled by several vassal kings, including King Jing (Liu Mu), King Ai (Liu Ji), Liu Wei, King Qing (Liu Pu), and King Gong (Liu Yi).

The current vassal king of Beihai is King Kang, Liu.

Historically, he died in the eleventh year of Jian'an, and was then stripped of his kingdom because he had no son.

However, Ji Qiu was clearly too lazy to wait until that time.

He caused Liu to die suddenly from fear, and then, on the grounds that Liu had no children, he petitioned the court to abolish the Beihai Kingdom and turn it into Beihai Prefecture.

Whether the imperial court approves it or not doesn't matter; from now on, the Beihai Kingdom will be called Beihai Prefecture.

Secondly, all members of the Kangwang clan, the Kong clan, and the people of Beihai City were relocated to Taishan County.

They were scattered and settled in the twelve cities of Taishan County.

These are all destabilizing factors, and their threat level must be reduced through relocation, a powerful tool in the process.

Third, regarding the former Beihai Kingdom people outside Beihai City, let them continue to stay in Beihai County.

There are three reasons why they were not all relocated to Taishan County like the people of Qi County and Le'an County.

Firstly, the twelve cities of Taishan Prefecture have been basically filled.

The original plan was to accommodate one million people in each city.

We've almost reached our limit.

Therefore, it is no longer suitable to continue large-scale migration of people to Taishan County.

Secondly, the original inhabitants of the Beihai Kingdom outside Beihai City were people who had been mobilized and integrated by the propaganda department's followers in the previous months.

They were already considered Ji Qiu's own people, and the propaganda department had established a tight organizational system among these people.

Therefore, there is no need to disrupt their social relationships and strengthen management through relocation.

Thirdly, in the autumn, Ji Qiu planned to demolish all the cities in Beihai County, just like the cities in Taishan County, and rebuild them into new cities.

But this time, he wants to build not only a regular large county town that can accommodate a million people, but also a super-large Beihai New City that can accommodate ten million people!

The geographical environment of Taishan County is actually not suitable for building large cities.

After all, the area is full of mountains.

However, Ji Qiu only had Taishan County as his territory at the time, so he had no choice but to build a new city in Taishan County.

Even with the support of modern cutting-edge technology, the new city built in Taesan County can only accommodate a maximum of one million people.

But Beihai County was different.

This area has flat terrain, abundant water resources, and convenient transportation, making it an ideal place for people to gather.

The eighteen cities within Beihai Commandery each have a population of over 100,000!

The population of Beihai City even exceeded 300,000!
With such favorable natural conditions, coupled with the modern cutting-edge technology brought by Ji Qiu, it is not difficult at all for Beihai New City to exceed three million in population!
Of course, this is by no means something that can be accomplished overnight; it is a large-scale project that will take a long time to complete.

Ji Qiu would be very satisfied if the construction of Beihai New City could be completed by the end of next year, based on conservative estimates.

……

As the autumn night deepened, the candlelight flickered on the desk, and Ji Qiu finally finished handling all the official business.

I rubbed my sore shoulders and looked out the window. I saw that the bright moon had quietly risen to its zenith, casting its cool light and draping the courtyard in a silver veil.

Just then, a faint fragrance wafted by, like orchids and musk, captivating the soul.

Looking up, I saw Ren Hongchang carrying a steaming bowl of ginseng soup, walking gracefully towards me.

She wore a moon-white gauze dress, over which was a semi-transparent black veil. The veil swayed gently with her steps, subtly outlining her graceful figure.

The gauze dress was embroidered with exquisite dark patterns, which shimmered under the moonlight, adding to its mystery.

She had her beautiful long hair pulled up high, with a few strands falling beside her ears. A delicate jade hairpin was pinned to her hair, with a round pearl inlaid on the head, swaying gently with her movements.

Her eyebrows were like distant mountains, her eyes like autumn water, and a touch of rouge at the corner of her eyes made them even more captivating.

Her lips parted slightly, a half-smile revealing her pearly white teeth, and the dimples that appeared and disappeared at the corners of her mouth were irresistible.

With light steps and elegant posture, every gesture exudes charm.

Her hands, holding the ginseng soup, were as white as jade, and her wrists were adorned with a string of crystal-clear jade bracelets that made a crisp, melodious sound with each step.

As she approached, she bent down slightly and gently placed the ginseng soup on the table, her breasts half-exposed, the alluring sight making one's blood boil.

"Master, it's late. Have a bowl of ginseng soup to warm yourself up."

Her voice was soft and melodious, with a touch of languor, like a warm spring breeze gently brushing past your ear, making you feel weak all over.

Having said that, she straightened up, leaned against the table, rested her chin on her hand, and gazed at Ji Qiu with captivating affection in her beautiful eyes, her gaze full of allure and tenderness. Ji Qiu took the ginseng soup, looked up at Ren Hongchang, and chuckled, "Just ginseng soup? You didn't add anything else to it, did you?"

"How dare I!"

Ren Hongchang gave a coquettish cry, took two steps back, and twisted her waist like a water snake.

Beneath the sheer black gauze, the waistline, barely visible, twisted into a breathtaking arc, while the moon-white inner garment billowed with the force of her twirl, like the wings of a startled swan spreading as it skims the water.

She lightly touched the ground with her toes, twirling every three steps, her skirt sweeping across the table, the fragrant breeze causing the candle wick to pop like stars, as if a hundred flowers were blooming all around her at the same time.

The red is the dazzling color of the peony, the white is the clear glow of the magnolia, the pink is the hazy intoxication of the crabapple, and there are also unknown exotic flowers and plants that unfold one after another in the void.

The Milky Way is silent, and the bright moon has lost its luster.

As her flowing sleeves danced, the world seemed to become a mere backdrop.

The once bright moonlight dimmed, the rustling autumn leaves outside the window stopped falling, and even the distant drum seemed to be suspended in mid-air as if under a spell.

As Ren Hongchang's eyes darted around, the rouge at the corners of her eyes blended into two streaks of sunset. Her lips parted slightly as if holding dewdrops, and as her jade wrist turned, the jade bracelet emitted a clear, melodious sound, perfectly matching the rhythm of her swaying waist.

As she finished with a graceful, boneless backbend, the candlelight in the room suddenly shone brightly, yet no color could be more dazzling than hers.

Then she darted into Ji Qiu's arms, and said with a proud and charming smile, "Does Master think I need something added to the ginseng soup?"

"I misspoke. With Chang'er's abilities, why would he need such mundane things!" Ji Qiu sighed softly as he hugged Ren Hongchang, feeling the rapid changes taking place in his body.

He forgot that Ren Hongchang's innate secret technique, the Dance of the Startling Swan, had just broken through a level a few days ago.
It has now broken through the peak of the seventh rank and reached the initial stage of the sixth rank, becoming a mid-level secret technique.

The Dance of the Startling Swan, now a mid-level secret technique, has seen a significant increase in power across all aspects.

Not only did it amplify the effects of the Mind-Bending Technique, but it also reached an entire new level!

It also greatly enhanced Ren Hongchang's charm, making her even more radiant!
And it gave her an irresistible allure under the bed, making her a true queen! The true ruler under the bed!
At this moment, Ji Qiu finally understood why Diao Chan could turn Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo against each other.

He didn't know what special abilities the historical Diao Chan possessed.

But he knew that Ren Hongchang at this moment definitely had the ability to turn Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo against each other.

In fact, it's not just Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo; Ren Hongchang has the ability to make any man in the world turn against any other man of her kind for her sake!
This is undoubtedly an extremely powerful ability, and if used properly, it can accomplish things that even a million-strong army might not be able to do.

Of course, Ji Qiu would not use this ability on others.

He still has his bottom line.

Such a powerful ability should only be used on him.

Ji Qiu picked up Ren Hongchang and carried him towards the bedroom...

……

After a night, Ji Qiu walked out of the bedroom feeling refreshed and left Beihai City.

He has already made all the decisions that Beihai City needed him to make.

Then comes the issue of implementation.

But this is not his concern; it will be handled by the Ministry of State Affairs.

So he should head to the next battlefield.

His next battlefield is Pingyuan County.

The battle in Pingyuan County has also reached its final moment.

The Hua clan of Pingyuan had been reduced to only one fortress, Huashi Wubao, and all the other territories had fallen to Liu Bei.

Ji Qiuyuan originally did not intend to get involved in the war in Pingyuan County.

Not only was Liu Bei fully capable of taking Pingyuan County on his own, but his intervention in the Pingyuan County war at this time was suspected of competing with his subordinates for credit.

Furthermore, according to Ji Qiu's plan, even if Liu Bei took over Pingyuan County, he did not intend to accept it immediately.

Pingyuan Commandery was a northern border commandery of Qingzhou, and it was adjacent to Yuan Shao's stronghold, Bohai Commandery.

After Ji Qiu occupies the other counties in Qingzhou, he will certainly need a considerable amount of time to deal with internal affairs and relocate the people.

During this period, he did not want to clash with Yuan Shao.

Therefore, he planned to let Liu Bei occupy Pingyuan County as an independent force, making it a buffer zone between him and Yuan Shao.

But plans can't keep up with changes.

Liu Bei had just sent him a message saying that Hua Xin, who was on the verge of despair, had actually defected to Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao accepted Hua Xin's surrender and was reorganizing his troops in preparation to seize Pingyuan County!
He even sent Liu Bei a letter urging him to surrender, promising to recommend Liu Bei to the emperor to be appointed as the governor of Pingyuan!
"Damn it! I don't want to talk to you. You think I'm easy to bully?"

Upon receiving this news, Ji Qiu was so angry that he immediately cursed aloud.

He naturally could not allow Pingyuan County to fall into Yuan Shao's hands.

This is part of the ancient Qingzhou.

He needs to completely occupy the entire territory of ancient Qingzhou in order to use the Imperial Seal to sense the location of the Qingzhou Cauldron.

Therefore, we absolutely cannot let Yuan Shao seize Pingyuan County!
Ji Qiu immediately decided that he should eliminate the Hua family of Pingyuan County before Yuan Shao sent troops to Pingyuan County, complete the occupation of Pingyuan County, and dispel Yuan Shao's unrealistic fantasies!
……

Bohai County, Taishou Mansion.

The vermilion gate was over three zhang tall, with the animal heads on the door rings cast in pure gold, and each door stud inlaid with a luminous pearl, which shimmered with a faint glow in the twilight.

The threshold is carved from a single piece of black jade, which feels warm and cool to the touch. Legend has it that this stone was quarried from the highest peak of Kunlun, and it is one in a hundred. Ordinary people rarely even see scraps of it.

Passing through the ceremonial gate, you are greeted by a winding corridor with pillars made of South Sea rosewood, each requiring three people to encircle it.

The ceiling of the corridor is painted with the Twenty-Eight Mansions. The stars, outlined in gold lines, shimmer under the candlelight, and tiny pieces of glass are embedded among the cloud patterns, refracting seven colors when the wind blows.

The bluestone bricks underfoot are paved with a "Ten Thousand Bats Carrying Longevity" pattern, and the gaps are filled with gold sand, making it feel like walking on broken gold.

In the central courtyard stands a three-zhang-high Taihu stone rockery, its body exquisite and translucent, with hidden mechanisms concealed in its holes.

The mist sprayed during the day, carrying spices from the Western Regions, transforms into five-colored clouds.

As night falls, candlelight shines through the stone's belly, creating an illusion of a celestial palace.

Beneath the artificial hill lies a pool of clear water, where the koi carp are all rare varieties with jade scales and red tails. Floating in the pool are also numerous glass lotus lanterns, each with a wick filled with mermaid oil, which is said to burn for hundreds of years without going out.

Upon entering the main hall, a bronze Boshan censer on a long, carved rosewood table exhales ambergris incense, its body adorned with gold patterns depicting ancient myths.

The twelve-panel screens on both sides are made of ivory with silk tapestry coverings, embroidered with scenes of the Yuan family ancestors being granted titles and positions of nobility throughout history. The silk threads are mixed with peacock gold threads, and every fold is shimmering with color.

The tiger-skin armchair in the main seat had armrests made of fine iron wrapped in gold and inlaid with emeralds the size of bowls. Nine lifelike golden dragons were on the back of the chair, and the dragon whiskers were all made of silver wire, trembling slightly with each breath.

The side hall concealed Yuan Shao's private treasury. Pushing open the heavily guarded bronze door, one was immediately greeted by a room filled with dazzling jewels.

The luminous jade artifacts presented as tribute from the Western Regions formed walls, the pearls and agates offered by Persian merchants were piled up like small mountains, and dozens of boxes of gold ingots were neatly stacked, each one engraved with the Yuan family crest.

In the corner, a sword gleaming with a cold light is particularly eye-catching. Its scabbard is covered with sharkskin and inlaid with rubies. It is the talisman that Yuan's ancestors bestowed upon them to protect their home.

Everywhere you look, the extravagance of the Yuan family is evident in its profound heritage of "four generations of three dukes." Every blade of grass, every tree, every object tells a story of the family's splendor and majesty over the centuries.

In the study room.

The aroma of golden nanmu wood mixed with the crisp scent of Huizhou ink wafts towards you.

Yuan Shao leaned back in a rosewood armchair with nine dragon patterns, his black wide sleeves hanging down to the armrests, and the Hetian mutton fat jade on the jade belt at his waist swayed gently with his breath.

A gilded animal-head paperweight rests on a half-rolled bamboo scroll, with the four characters "The Situation of the World" faintly visible.

The bronze goose-fish lamp on the desk emitted the fragrance of camphor, making the pearl on his crown shine brightly, and every pattern showed the nobility of a family that had been through four generations of high-ranking officials.

Xu You stood by his side, his hands hanging down, his moon-white robe trembling slightly in the candlelight.

He stepped forward with a worried expression and said, "My lord, I still think we should reconsider the plan to send troops to Pingyuan County!"
Now, our main objective should be to seize Ji Province!
Ji Province is the largest province in the land, with a prosperous population, abundant military supplies, and a strong military. If you can take Ji Province, you will have a solid foundation for becoming a king.

At that time, with ample funds and provisions, we can conquer the rebellious forces in all directions and restore order to the world!

Now they've abandoned Ji Province and instead occupied Pingyuan County in Qing Province.

This would yield neither much money, grain, nor manpower, and would also force us to confront Ji Qiu head-on. Wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?

Xu You had opposed Yuan Shao's sudden decision to send troops to Pingyuan County from the beginning.

Besides the reasons mentioned above, his opposition stemmed from another crucial reason: he knew that Ji Qiu was not someone to be trifled with.

As Ji Qiu's first opponent in the world of Dragon Qi Three Kingdoms, Xu You can say that he watched Ji Qiu gradually get to where he is today.

It's no exaggeration to say that he is the one who understands Ji Qiu best, aside from his civil and military officials.

Even many of Ji Qiu's retainers and generals probably didn't understand Ji Qiu as well as Xu You did.

And it was precisely because he understood Ji Qiu that he knew so well how risky Yuan Shao's campaign to send troops to Pingyuan County was!
This is a situation where the slightest mistake could lead to total defeat!
After all, Yuan Shao only controlled the Bohai Commandery at the moment.

With such a meager foundation, if they suffer a loss in their battle against Ji Qiu in Pingyuan County, they will truly be eliminated prematurely in this era of great contention!
Yuan Shao glanced at Xu You, then sighed softly and said indifferently, "Ziyuan, I know your worries. You think I underestimated Ji Qiu and are afraid that I will suffer a loss at Ji Qiu's hands!"
But you know what? I may look down on anyone in this world, but I will never look down on Ji Qiu!
I've already suffered so much at his hands, if I were to underestimate him now, wouldn't I be a fool?
My decision to send troops to Pingyuan Commandery was not because I thought Ji Qiu was weak and easily bullied. On the contrary, I considered him my greatest enemy in life, which is why I decided to send troops to Pingyuan Commandery!

"Uh, what does my lord mean by this? Please forgive my ignorance, my lord, please enlighten me," Xu You asked, puzzled.

Yuan Shao sighed, "It's very simple."

First, based on our current strategic objectives, our army has sufficient strength to send troops to Pingyuan County.

What you just said is absolutely right. Our army's current strategic objective is indeed to capture Jizhou.

But this matter is not difficult for me, and it does not conflict with our army's plan to send troops to Pingyuan County.

Because all the officials in Jizhou are former protégés and former subordinates of the Yuan family.

To me, Han Fu, the governor of Ji Province, is nothing more than a clay chicken or a clay dog.

With a little planning and a single call to action, I can seize the entire territory of Ji Province.

Secondly, considering the specific situation in Pingyuan County, this is a golden opportunity for our army to capture it.

(End of this chapter)