My name is Wei Qing, and I want to fight the Xiongnu.

In the past, the first day of each quarter was usually busier, but this quarter, the number of people reporting in every day has exceeded the total for the entire quarter in previous years.

It's no wonder the middle-aged man was puzzled; these students were there to report for duty, not to register.

In other words, apart from Wei Qing, all the students who appear here have received admission certificates from the Imperial Academy.

In other words, the number of students admitted to the Imperial Academy this quarter is probably more than the total number admitted in a whole year in previous years.

Something unusual must be going on. Is the Imperial Academy about to change its policies?

Or did something unexpected happen in the middle?

Wei Qing asked curiously, "Uncle, is there a reason why the Imperial Academy is suddenly recruiting so many students?"

The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "I don't know. There was just a rumor a few days ago that the Great Chanyu of the Xiongnu sent his eldest princess this time. It also said that in the past, when it came to marriage alliances, it was always our human race who married princesses to the Xiongnu holy realm. This time, they are willing to marry their eldest princess to the human race to strengthen the friendship between the two races."

However, when the Xiongnu holy clan married, they considered not only the other party's status but also their abilities.

If she lacks the ability, she will not marry even if he is the crown prince.

Upon learning of this, many prominent families and schools of thought released their most talented members, hoping to showcase their prowess and win the heart of the beautiful woman.

Wei Qing was completely dumbfounded after hearing this. What the hell?

The eldest princess? A martial arts contest to find a husband? And she even won the heart of a beauty?

Are you still dreaming?

Wei Qing believed that the Xiongnu barbarians were willing to marry a princess to the human race.

If the human race were willing to offer more dowry, the Xiongnu Chanyu would probably send several every year.

But there are differences among princesses. A palace maid can be randomly given the title of princess, a concubine's daughter can be a princess, and the empress's eldest daughter can also be a princess. How can these be the same?

Wei Qing remembered that the eldest prince and princess of the Xiongnu barbarians did not look at age, but at strength and talent. In other words, the so-called eldest princess of the Xiongnu barbarians was the most talented among the female descendants of the Xiongnu Chanyu.

The Great Chanyu of the Xiongnu was willing to marry off the most talented princess of his tribe to a human?

Believe it or not, Wei Qing certainly didn't believe it.

The Xiongnu barbarians weren't out of their minds.

Even if she were to marry into a human race, it would be a case of a human becoming her son-in-law, not a marriage into a human race.

Besides, do you think you can just marry the eldest princess of the Xiongnu barbarians?

Putting aside their identities, the eldest princess of the Xiongnu tribe immediately demanded to marry a hero.

Who is the hero? Who can say for sure?

Even if you use the simplest and most brutal method of choosing a husband through a martial arts contest, you still have to be able to defeat this princess.

如果连这一关都过不了的话，那长公主肯嫁，那些被揍得鼻青脸肿的家伙也没脸娶。

When that time comes, even if this Xiongnu princess leaves without a trace, only the human race will be left with a shame.

Wei Qing estimated that with the appearance of this barbarian princess, those major families or schools of thought would inevitably release some of their true geniuses to suppress this Xiongnu barbarian princess.

This should also be tacitly approved by the royal family, or even required.

Thinking further into conspiracy theories, the royal family also wanted to take this opportunity to probe the backgrounds of those powerful families and even schools of thought.

Otherwise, the royal family could have simply rejected this Xiongnu princess.

Wei Qing might doubt the courage of those in power, but he would never doubt their intelligence.

In terms of underhanded tactics alone, the Xiongnu barbarians never had any advantage from beginning to end.

If I can't figure it out, I might as well not try.

Once you get into the Imperial Academy, you'll know: who cares about princesses or anything like that? As long as they're Xiongnu barbarians, just kill them all.

If you die and become a vengeful ghost, then kill the vengeful ghost.

As Wei Qing was lost in thought, the convoy that had been blocking the entrance to the Imperial Academy began to move inside.

It seems the gates of the Imperial Academy have finally opened.

A good show is finally about to begin.

Chapter Two: The Registration Turmoil (Part One)

Wei Qing led Fei Yunzhui and followed the flow of people deeper into the crowd, most of whom had brought their families.

The most outrageous thing was that it was an entire convoy, with guards on both sides.

I reckon he's probably not a nobleman from Chang'an, but someone from another region, perhaps even a prince from a foreign land.

These little princes are all from wealthy families; they're incredibly rich.

It's not that those minor alien races are particularly wealthy, but rather that their wealth is more concentrated, similar to the wealth of the Xiongnu barbarians.

In terms of total wealth and resources, the human race is undoubtedly number one, even far surpassing the second-place race.

But even if the gap between rich and poor is huge among humans, as long as they are commoners, they can at least have food to eat. If they don't encounter any natural disasters in a year, they can even have a little surplus.

Even if they are unlucky enough to encounter natural disasters or man-made calamities, and the people are displaced, the imperial court must quickly allocate money and grain to rescue those suffering people.

If it were the Xiongnu barbarians...

Wealth was often concentrated in the hands of the tribe's nobles, and the tribe's members, apart from the warriors who fought in battles, consisted of slaves or women who were practically slaves.

There were indeed slaves among the human race, but unlike the Xiongnu barbarians, who had only nobles and warriors, there were only slaves left.

It was precisely because of this distorted system that wealth and resources were concentrated in the hands of a small number of nobles.

Those who happen to be able to come to the Imperial Academy in Chang'an are basically members of this small group of nobles.

Therefore, those at the bottom of the human race are prone to the misconception that as long as they are citizens of a small world of other races, they must be very rich.

Wei Qing observed that there were far more girls coming to study at the Imperial Academy than he had imagined.

According to the prevailing patriarchal ideology of the time, the students of the Imperial Academy should have been 99% male, but in reality, there were indeed more boys than girls, but only a limited number, probably around 60/40.

This surprised Wei Qing greatly, and he couldn't quite understand it.

Has the world changed so that men and women are now equal?

Filled with doubt, Wei Qing finally entered the Imperial Academy in Chang'an.

The moment you step through the gate, you are greeted by green tiles and blue bricks, and rows of antique buildings, making you feel as if you are in the historical period of the Qin and Han dynasties four hundred years ago.

The roads to the Imperial Academy are wide, but they are divided into sections.

Dedicated lanes for mounts, dedicated lanes for mechanical beasts, pedestrian lanes, transport lanes, special lanes, emergency lanes...

The area was divided into very small sections, with officers and soldiers on both sides assigning duties to the soldiers.

Unlike the soldiers on duty at the gates of Chang'an, the soldiers here were clearly much stronger, both in terms of strength and attitude.

Wei Qing looked them over and guessed that even the weakest of these soldiers had the strength of a thousand-pound warrior, and many of them still smelled of blood.

They must have fought in tough battles; I wonder if they retreated from the border regions.

The soldiers nearby also noticed Wei Qing at this time. They couldn't help but pay attention. Everyone else, young and old, went into battle together, and even those with fewer servants would bring some.

Because there were too many items, they could only be transported through the designated transport channel according to regulations.

Wei Qing was the only one, with a horse... and a few more fleshy balls, walking on the special path for mounts.

Every now and then, Xiongnu barbarians would glance at him, their eyes filled with murderous intent.

It must have been from Wei Qing's wood-chopping knife that he sensed the blood of his clansmen.

Thus, without his knowledge, Wei Qing became the most dazzling person in the crowd.

After entering the Imperial Academy, we walked a long way further in and arrived at the main gate.

This is a large square, with a diameter of over a thousand meters.

In the center of the two side entrances was a grandstand, where several lecturers dressed in the Imperial Academy lecturer's robes sat, surrounding this vice dean.

The Imperial Academy is divided into more than a dozen departments, each with a dean, three vice deans, and several other leaders.

This kind of welcoming ceremony for new students rotates every quarter because it's really boring.

Behind these managers was a huge sign with several lines of text written on it.

The general idea is that family members and servants would enter through the side door with their belongings to complete the enrollment procedures, pay tuition fees, and store their luggage.

The newly enrolled students remained in the center of the square. Later, the Mo family's mechanical beasts would escort the students through the main gate into the Imperial Academy.

Soon Wei Qing saw a group of middle-aged men and women, holding their children and crying bitterly.

This happens every time we recruit students.

The lecturers did not reprimand them harshly; for some, this separation would last anywhere from three to twelve years.

It's only natural to feel reluctant to part with something.

Wei Qing also felt a pang of sadness watching this; his parents... his own parents...

Sigh, I shook my head and stopped thinking about it.

He rode his Flying Cloud Steed to the central entrance, jumped off, went to the information desk next to it, and asked the student from the Imperial Academy, "Brother, could you tell me which way to the registration desk?"

"It says on the sign that junior students should stay in the center of the square, and someone will pick you up later. Everyone else should go through the side gate to put down their luggage and pay tuition. Is there a problem?"

The young scholar looked up listlessly, saw Wei Qing leading a horse, glanced around and finding no one else, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Where are your family? Or your servants? Why are you alone? Where are the others?"

Wei Qing also noticed this person. He had a rather distinctive appearance, with very long arms, much longer than a normal person's arms, and also quite large ears. Wei Qing suspected that this guy could even see his own ears.

There was a sign in front of the young students that read: "Second Year, Command Department, Class C, Liu Bei."

Wei Qing felt it wasn't appropriate for him to keep an eye on people like that, so he quickly got down to business: "I came alone. I'm not asking about reporting, I'm asking about registering."

Liu Bei was stunned for a few seconds: "Register...register? You haven't registered yet?"

Holy crap, are you piercing your ears right after getting on the sedan chair?

Shouldn't registration have been resolved before the start of the semester?

Okay, it's not too late.

This has happened frequently in the past. Students from far away would rush over, but due to unforeseen circumstances, they would often be unable to arrive in Chang'an beforehand, which is quite understandable.