The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

Less than half an hour after the court session ended, three official sedan chairs stopped one after another under the corridor outside the East Warm Pavilion of the Qianyuan Hall.

Kong Yan, Zhou Jing, and Yuwen Lie.

The Three Dukes of Dazhou were the head of the civil officials, the most respected military generals, and the leaders of the aristocratic families.

The three of them usually each ran their own stall and rarely appeared in the Imperial Study at the same time.

The reason we were summoned together today is because of that matter that no one dared to discuss openly in court this morning.

Zhou Qian sat behind his desk, his fingers tapping slowly on the armrest of the dragon throne. His gaze swept across the faces of the three senior ministers, and he suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question: "My three esteemed ministers, have you been feeling anything unusual lately?"

"I am not talking about matters of the court; I am talking about the feeling between heaven and earth."

The three of them exchanged glances, and all saw the same answer in each other's eyes.

Those who can sit in this position are the most shrewd of all. Since His Majesty started with "a special feeling," it means that he already has definite information.

Kong Yan spoke first, his voice steady and frank: "Since Your Majesty has asked, this old minister will report the truth."

"In recent months, the old minister's righteous energy has occasionally experienced brief periods of stagnation."

"Especially when reviewing memorials late at night, I always feel like there's something stuck in my chest. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's definitely there."

"At first, I thought it was due to old age and physical decline, but later I asked Pei Du, and he said he felt the same way."

"Only now do I realize that it's not that we're getting old, but that the fate of heaven and earth is changing."

"Especially after the start of summer, this old minister could vaguely sense an extremely powerful force slowly awakening deep beneath the capital. That force is not yin energy."

"It's more like a giant dragon that has been sleeping for a very long time, now turning over."

A ninth-rank literary cultivator is a figure standing at the very top of the literary cultivation system of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Their noble spirit has long been integrated with the noble spirit of heaven and earth.

When the flow of Qi between heaven and earth is smooth, righteous Qi is abundant.

When the flow of Qi in the universe is stagnant, the righteous Qi will also become stagnant.

The fact that even a scholar of Kong Yan's caliber felt "blocked" indicates that the loosening of the dragon vein seal has reached a very serious level.

Zhou Jing leaned on his bamboo cane, his white eyebrows trembling slightly.

He was the only one of the three who did not follow the path of literary cultivation. His perception of righteousness was not as keen as Kong Yan's, but he had another, more direct feeling.

"This old minister does not understand the intricacies of the Righteous Spirit, but having fought on the northern battlefield for most of his life, he has an intuition for danger."

"This intuition has saved this old minister more than once. After the start of summer, this old minister has been uneasy every night, always feeling that something is watching him from the shadows."

"This old minister sent people to check all the recent military reports from the Ministry of War's Department of Military Affairs, and there is nothing unusual on the border."

"Since the threat doesn't come from external enemies, it must come from under our own feet."

"When I was young, I fought against the Yin Sha with Emperor Shizong. At that time, I was just a junior officer. When we passed through a deserted village, everyone in the village was dead. They weren't killed, they died in their sleep."

"The entire village died at the same time on the same night, without any expression of pain on their faces, as if their souls had been taken away in their sleep."

"Emperor Shizong personally led people into the village to investigate and discovered the yin energy emanating from the ground in the old well in the village."

"Wenxiu, who was accompanying the emperor, used his righteous spirit to seal the well, and Emperor Shizong ordered the entire village to be burned to the ground."

"This old minister remembers that Emperor Shizong said something at the time: 'Heaven and earth have both righteous energy and evil energy.'"

"When righteousness is strong, evil cannot invade; when righteousness is weak, evil will rise up everywhere."

"The founding emperor suppressed the dragon vein with his own body to ensure the righteous energy of the Great Zhou Dynasty would not decline. Now that yin energy is rising everywhere, has the seal on the dragon vein loosened?"

Zhou Qian nodded slightly and turned his gaze to Yuwen Lie.

Yuwen Lie pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke: "In recent months, this old minister has been reviewing the records of the late Daqian period in the secret archives of the Grand Protector's Office."

"At the end of the Great Qian Dynasty, powerful individuals above the ninth rank fought a chaotic battle, shattering the mountains and rivers and causing yin energy to overflow."

"Similar anomalies occurred back then, but on a wider scale and with greater intensity than they are now."

"The last emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty once sent people to erect steles everywhere to suppress the evil, but the effect was minimal, because the dragon vein had been severed and the fortune of heaven and earth had been dissipated. Erecting more steles would only treat the symptoms, not the root cause."

"This old minister also noticed a detail: the Yin energy outbreak at the end of the Daqian era first appeared in places like Qingzhou, Yangzhou, and Jiangxi."

"These places happen to be the places where the founding emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty rose to power, and also the areas with the most dense branches of the dragon veins."

"When the main trunk of the dragon vein is suppressed, the branches are the first to feel the change in fortune."

"Just like a big tree whose main root has been cut off, the outermost branches and leaves are always the first to wither."

He paused, raised his clear eyes to look directly at Zhou Qian, and said, word by word, "Your Majesty, this old minister believes that Emperor Taizu's suppression of the dragon veins by himself truly ensured the peace of the Great Three Hundred Years."

"But the founding emperor was a man, not a god. No matter how strong his cultivation was, it would eventually dissipate."

"The seal is now loosening and yin energy is rising everywhere, which is telling us that the seal left by the Great Ancestor probably won't last much longer."

After the three senior ministers finished speaking, a deep silence fell over the imperial study.

The silence itself is the answer.

All three ministers realized that the loosening of the seal on the founding emperor was an undeniable fact.

After a long while, Zhou Qian slowly spoke, briefly recounting the matter of the loosening of the dragon vein seal that Eunuch Cao had reported a few days ago.

He did not mention the name of Eunuch Cao, but only said that it was an old man who had served three dynasties who personally reported to him, and that the source of the information was absolutely reliable.

After saying that, he leaned back on the dragon throne and let out a long breath: "I was still holding onto a sliver of hope that it might just be a localized disturbance of the earth's veins, and that it would subside on its own after a while."

"But since all three of you ministers have said so, I can no longer take chances. I have already had Zhao Gao draft a secret edict that all civil officials of the fourth rank and above, whether in office or retired, must be aware of any unusual events within their jurisdiction."

"I also ordered people to re-survey the locations of the Zhenyin Stele from the late Daqian period in various places, repairing those that can be repaired and reinforcing those that can be reinforced."

"In addition, I intend to send the princes to various prefectures to inspect the situation, both to appease the people and to see firsthand how the Yin energy has been controlled."

"This is also why I invited my three ministers here today. This game of chess is not just a game I'm playing alone, nor is it just a matter for the royal family."

"I need the upright civil officials of the Grand Tutor's Office to stabilize the regions, the military forces of the Grand Commandant's Office to guard the borders, and the aristocratic networks of the Grand Protector's Office to keep an eye on those with ulterior motives."

Kong Yan immediately stated that the Grand Tutor's disciples and former officials in various prefectures and counties would fully cooperate with the inspection.

He immediately wrote to any of the retired Confucian scholars who were still able to walk, inviting them to stay nearby and oversee the affairs.

Zhou Jing slammed his bamboo cane on the ground and said that the people of the Grand Commandant's mansion were not afraid of the living or the dead.

No matter what it is, if it dares to cause trouble on the border of the Great Zhou, this old man will be the first to lead troops to wipe it out.

Yuwen Lie was the last to speak, saying that he had recently noticed several ancient families.

Especially the Li family of Jinyang, the Chen family of Yingchuan, and the Zheng family of Xingyang...

These families have been keeping an unusually low profile lately, and these families have been around for hundreds of years.

The family's secret files likely contain records from the Great Qian Dynasty regarding the ninth rank and above, as well as the sealing of the dragon veins. Their perception of the fortune of heaven and earth may be even more acute than that of the imperial court.

He speculated that their low profile was a preparation for the upcoming changes.

The greatest strength of aristocratic families lies in preserving themselves during times of chaos and expanding their power during times of peace.

He suggested that His Majesty take advantage of the Yin Qi inspection to plant spies in various prefectures, especially those where powerful families have deep roots.

Zhou Qian memorized every word the three old ministers said.

He finally stood up and walked to the three men, solemnly entrusting them with the task: "My three beloved ministers, the Great Zhou Dynasty has been established for three hundred years, and has encountered countless storms, but has survived each one."

"I have invited the three of you here today so that you may each fulfill your duties: the Grand Tutor will oversee internal affairs, the Grand Commandant will oversee external affairs, and the Grand Protector will oversee internal matters."

"I don't care how long the dragon vein seal can last. I only know that as long as I am on the throne, the Great Zhou Dynasty must not be thrown into chaos."