How can one cultivate immortality without learning modern knowledge?

Zhou Wenju looked at him without saying a word.

Zhou Liangsheng said softly, "The reason I didn't let you return to the Mo family is because the Mo family is located within the Great Yu Kingdom. The Mo family may not be willing to fight against the imperial dynasty for the sake of an ordinary disciple like you."

Zhou Wenju remained silent.

Zhou Liangsheng sighed softly: "You'll be 22 after the New Year! 22 years have passed, and your father has had high hopes for you, expecting you to pass the imperial examinations and achieve great things. There has been considerable strictness in my eyes, perhaps out of disappointment and frustration!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he stood up.

He gently placed his hand on Zhou Wenju's shoulder: "Wen'er, don't hold a grudge against your father. But after you arrive in Southern Chu, don't remember your father, don't reveal your real name, and don't identify yourself as a member of the Zhou family. Completely forget the path you came from, and peacefully stay with your mother. In this life... your father has no more expectations for you, only hoping that you will live a peaceful life as an ordinary person!"

A silent surge of emotion welled up inside Zhou Wenju, and he gently closed his eyes: "Father, you are arranging your affairs after death."

"You're an adult now, you should understand that you and your siblings, along with your mother, are my last concerns in this life. If you are all well, I can face my execution with a smile!" Zhou Liangsheng turned his gaze to Old Qi: "Old Qi!"

Old Qi stepped forward: "Here!"

"You will go with them from now on. Their safety is entrusted to you!" Zhou Liangsheng said. "If anything happens to them, do not come to see me in the afterlife!"

"Master..." Old Qi exclaimed in surprise.

Zhou Liangsheng gently raised his hand: "This is the last order I'm giving you; you are not allowed to utter a single word of dissent!"

Old Qi was speechless, unable to utter a single word.

Zhou Wenju slowly raised his eyes: "Father, may I say a few words?"

"You don't need to spout your twisted logic anymore; your father understands the truth better than you do..."

Zhou Wenju gently shook his head: "No! Father thought that everything had reached a dead end, but Father was wrong. Things are not as unsolvable as you think."

Old Qi suddenly looked up, his eyes shining brightly.

Zhou Liangsheng frowned...

Zhou Wenju asked, "Father, how do you think the villagers of Hexi Valley's purge of the He and Li families should be classified? Was it truly a rebellion?"

"At the very least, it's... a popular uprising!" Zhou Liangsheng said in a deep voice.

"A popular uprising! Yes! This is the first consensus I reached with my father. They are just a popular uprising, not a rebellion!" Zhou Wenju said. "Father is well-versed in the laws of the court and naturally knows the procedures for dealing with 'popular uprisings' throughout history. It is nothing more than the two words 'appeasement' and 'suppression'."

"In other places, there are two options: 'pacification' and 'suppression,' but in Qishan, there are only one choice: 'suppression'!" Zhou Liangsheng said, "simply because..."

"It's because the uprising destroyed the strongholds of two third-rank officials in the imperial court! They will definitely lead this uprising to the path of 'suppression'! Isn't that right?" Zhou Wenju said.

"Indeed!" Old Qi said.

Even he agrees.

"Then the question arises!" Zhou Wenju asked, "Who will lead the suppression?"

"Prefectural soldiers, state soldiers..." Old Qi said.

"The garrison has already come. I'm sorry, but I only sent a hundred spears, and they were utterly defeated!" Zhou Wenju said. "The Haizhou garrison is said to number one hundred thousand, but that's just a claim. Even if they were all brought out, they would probably still flee in terror before a thousand-man spear team! Besides, the Hexi Valley has more than a thousand spears; I can easily make them into a ten-thousand-man unit!"

"You..." Zhou Liangsheng's anger, which he had barely managed to suppress, resurfaced: "Do you really think you can do whatever you want just because you're skilled in gun making? You should know that the Imperial Army's regular forces can even contend with the Demon Clan! With their formidable naval formations and immense power, they can annihilate a battlefield spanning thousands of miles in a single strike. How much ability do you really have to dare to rebel?"

The light in Lao Qi's eyes went out...

Yes, he had witnessed the power of the spear firsthand, but that was only worldly power, far from being able to contend with the imperial cavalry.

Zhou Wenju smiled: "I just want to tell Father a basic principle: these so-called rebels in Hexi Valley cannot be subdued by the state troops alone. The only way to take them down is to deploy the regular imperial army!"

"So what?" Zhou Liangsheng said.

"Then there's a crucial question!" Zhou Wenju said, "The mobilization of the imperial army is not something that so-called vice ministers in the court can control, nor even the prime minister, the head of all officials, or the princes who wield immense power. There is only one person who can mobilize troops! That is... His Majesty!"

"You mean... His Majesty won't send troops?" Old Qi asked.

"Absolutely not!" Zhou Wenju said.

will not!

I absolutely refuse!

Old Qi turned his gaze to the master, his eyes filled with a very obvious inquiry: "Young Master says His Majesty will not send troops. What is your opinion, sir?"

Zhou Liang Sheng sighed deeply: "Wen'er is still too young! He actually expects His Majesty to show leniency to his old minister?"

"Indeed!" Old Qi sighed, "If His Majesty truly valued the old man's thirty years of loyal service to the country and his dedication to the court, he wouldn't have had him executed eight ranks and exiled to Lingnan!"

The two men sighed twice, directly shattering Zhou Wenju's logical foundation.

The meaning is quite clear.

You are still young, you don't know that emperors have always been ruthless.

Even if the decision to send troops is ultimately handed to His Majesty, he will still issue the order to send troops without any hesitation...

However, Zhou Wenju gently shook his head: "Father, I naturally know that the heart of an emperor is the most ruthless. How can I expect him to make an exception for your sake?"

"Oh? Then why do you say... His Majesty won't send troops?"

"Your Majesty will not send troops, and I will explain to you one by one!" Zhou Wenju held up his first finger: "First, in His Majesty's mind, the two third-rank officials are not that important, and their family feuds are as insignificant as smoke to him!"

Zhou Liangsheng felt a slight jolt in his heart.

The son is right.

Just as he had lamented to Lao Qi, His Majesty had exiled him, a former third-rank official, without a second thought, so by the same token, any trouble that happened to the families of officials He Fang and Li Zhongze would be of little importance to him.

"Secondly!" Zhou Wenju held up his second finger and said, "When emperors act, they do not consider whether it is possible or not, but whether it is worthwhile. When faced with a popular uprising, if there is a possibility of appeasement, they will never choose to suppress it. I wonder if Father agrees with these two points."

Zhou Liangsheng's eyes were fixed on Zhou Wenju, as if he were seeing him for the first time in his life.

Two fingers, two viewpoints.

That's not something an ordinary person could say.

Especially in the actions of emperors, the focus is not on ability or inability, but on worth or worthlessness, which is a classic example of officialdom.

When faced with popular uprisings, if there is a possibility of appeasement, the choice will not be "suppression," which reveals the true meaning of "appeasement versus suppression."