Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

But that was the Tiger Legion. Besides Marshal Bai Lingshan, it also had five Celestial Martial Saints and 30,000 elite soldiers under its command.

With the aid of secret military techniques, a small military spirit can be condensed in an army of only three thousand.

This is the true elite force of the Great Qi. The force previously stationed in Lingzhou was only a part of their main force. Their true main force has always been dispersed throughout the central region, shouldering the heavy responsibility of suppressing the central region of the Great Qi.

The Flying Eagle Guard, consisting of only two hundred men, comprises no more than three Celestial Martial Saints. Although the leader is slightly stronger, he is still no match for the Five Elements Great Wheel.

Their so-called high mobility might be a problem for other Celestial Martial Saints, but in Mu An's eyes it was nothing but a joke.

Mu An didn't take these Flying Eagle Guards seriously at all; his mind was filled with images of plump, roasted eagles.

A giant eagle that's five or six meters long must smell amazing when roasted!

Out of courtesy, Mu An did not take any extreme actions. He treated the Flying Eagle Guard commander normally, wrote a letter of congratulations to Jun Cheng'an, and handed it to someone to take back with the eulogy.

His words were sincere, only seventy percent less so than when he praised Princess Yongning.

How could a mere emperor be worthy of trying to take advantage of a powerful figure like Princess Yongning? She was a figure more dazzling than the sun!

You can't hit someone who's smiling, and Jun Cheng'an was quite polite.

Even though they were enemies before, and Mu An had rejected his invitations many times, he still extended an olive branch to Mu An every year over the years, offering many tempting conditions.

In return for his kindness, Mu An naturally wouldn't cause him any trouble.

Ultimately, the two of them didn't have any deep-seated hatred for each other, and a falling out would be bad for everyone.

Qishan Dao was no match for the Great Qi Dynasty, and Mu An was no match for the royal ancestors.

However, the Daqi royal family has too many enemies; any small move could have far-reaching consequences, so they simply cannot afford to launch a major offensive.

Jun Cheng'an became his emperor, and Mu An became the Grand Commander of Qishan Road. They didn't interfere with each other, and everyone was happy.

The letter has been sent, and with Jun Cheng'an's wisdom, he will surely understand its meaning.

……

December of the fourth year of the Tianxin era.

When Zhuang Sheng's letter arrived, Mu An was speculating about the weather for the next month.

After a year, Mu An finally made a significant breakthrough in the study of astrology.

He has a 98% success rate in predicting weather changes over a period of half a month, and even when the timeframe is extended to a month, the success rate can still reach 70%.

As for whether it's accurate or not, Mu An stated that the right of interpretation belongs to him, Commander Mu.

Although it wasn't a great achievement, Mu An was still very satisfied; he had acquired another skill.

With gradual study, one day he will be able to learn everything he wants to learn.

The letter was delivered personally by Wang Le. It was about three months ago, during a meeting, when Mu An was once again so angry at his group of idiots that he didn't know what to say.

People are more mad than people.

Compared to the sensible Wang Le, the other old men of the Anshan Patrol Office were simply incredibly stupid.

Feeling dissatisfied with everything, Mu An sent a telepathic message, asking Wang Le to return from Qingzhou.

The effect was immediate, and Mu An's mood improved considerably.

What he didn't know was that all of this happened simply because the "Master Mu's Sayings," which circulated only in private, hadn't been updated for a whole year.

The content of the sixth edition was already outdated, so much so that all sorts of troubles occurred during the year Wang Le was away, and the generals, whose minds were not quite up to par, felt as if the sky had fallen.

Lord Mu changes his mind every few days; how could these roughnecks possibly understand his thoughts!

The strategists we recruited were utterly useless, each one of them arrogant and self-important, unwilling to even study the "Sayings of Lord Mu." What use were they?

They gathered together and discussed it. Lin Ping, who was the quick-witted one, had a flash of inspiration and immediately came up with an idea.

If they're stupid enough, Lord Mu will bring Strategist Wang back!

Being scolded is a minor matter; as long as Strategist Wang returns, they will be saved!

At this moment, looking at Wang Le who was respectfully waiting at the table, Mu An nodded in satisfaction.

This is truly his trusted advisor!

"Zhuangzi's letter? Why would he write to me?"

Wang Le poured Mu An a cup of tea and explained slowly, "Your Excellency, about two months ago, Master Zhuang met the new emperor in Qi'an City and was fortunate enough to be favored by the new emperor and appointed as a scholar of the Hanlin Academy."

"So what?" Mu An glanced at Wang Le and took the envelope.

"I'm not entirely sure about the specifics, but since it's a letter from Master Zhuang to you, I think you might want to take a look."

Mu An took a sip of hot tea and casually opened the envelope.

He glanced at the contents of the letter and frowned slightly.

In his letter, Zhuang Sheng first apologized to him, then inquired about Mu Ling'er, and also apologized to Mu Ling'er for leaving without saying goodbye back then, hoping that Mu An could convey his apology.

In the middle of the letter, Zhuang Sheng wrote about his experiences after leaving Qing'an County, and also shared his views on the Chu family matter.

He also expressed his high respect for the ideas that Mu An had shared with him, calling Mu An the person closest to a sage in the world, whose thoughts were almost comparable to those of the Sage of Literature.

The letter also mentioned that Zhuangzi had communicated with the Sage of Literature when he was in the palace, but some questions remained unanswered. He felt that the Sage of Literature's perspective on the common people was different from theirs.

Finally, he hoped that Mu An could set aside past grievances and, for the sake of the greater good, help him resolve some of the confusion he encountered during the reforms.

After reading the entire letter, Mu An handed it directly to Wang Le.

"Look at him, Zhuang Sheng is courting death!"

Wang Le took the letter and read it carefully. After a while, he looked up at Mu An again.

"What does Your Excellency think?"

"If reform were that easy, Jun Cheng'an would have done it himself. Why would we need a schoolteacher who is nothing? If he were to reform, he would surely die."

Wang Le simply nodded, filled Mu An's teacup, and asked, "May I write a reply on your behalf, Your Excellency, to refuse Master Zhuang's request?"

The room fell silent, with only the intermittent sound of fingers tapping on the table.

Wang Le remained calm and waited patiently.

Over the years, he has read many books, met many people, and learned a lot, gradually coming to understand some principles.

From the moment Zhuang Sheng's letter arrived, he guessed that Mu An would not turn a blind eye, but as a subject, he naturally could not presume to interpret his lord's words.

Therefore, Wang Le simply stood there, waiting quietly.

After a long while, Mu An stood up and began rummaging through drawers and cabinets in the study.

Finally, he pulled out a dusty, long book, opened it, and glanced at it.

Wang Le didn't look at it intentionally, but because he was standing right in front of Mu An, he still noticed the contents of the book.

It was written in a script he couldn't understand; Lord Mu would write it occasionally.

At the table, after flipping through some of the things he had written as a child, Mu An became increasingly silent.

This is what he wrote when he first came into this world, when he was only seven or eight years old, after witnessing many injustices.

Later, as he gained a deeper understanding of the world, these early notes were shelved and left to gather a thick layer of dust.

After a long while, Mu An grabbed the wine flask at his waist, took a big gulp, and cursed loudly.

"Go ahead and die if you want to!"

He picked up a pen and paper and began to write, word by word.

The reply was very long, over ten thousand words long, listing various viewpoints and involving many ideas that were simply impossible to achieve.

The letter was written from morning till night, a long and rambling mess.

Mu An didn't think these things would be of much use, nor did he think Zhuang Sheng could achieve much, but he still wrote them because the world needs idealists and people like Zhuang Sheng.

He himself was not that kind of person, but he would not stop Zhuang Sheng from pursuing his ideals.

The world is vast, and someone will always benefit from it.

At the end of the letter, Mu An left two lines blank and deliberately emphasized the words.

"This path is fraught with certain death. If you insist on going ahead, you must have a backup plan and proceed with utmost caution!"