"Master Imperial Master," Princess Zhaoning Xiao Wanjun nodded slightly and said in a pleasant voice, "I have some things here that I need your guidance and help on. I wonder if you are free today?"

As before, Princess Zhaoning still showed a polite and courteous attitude like a student in front of the Imperial Master, without any of the arrogance commonly seen in superiors.

She took no servant with her, and her carriage was parked hundreds of meters away.

She walked alone against the cold morning wind. The sun illuminated her face and cast a long shadow behind her.

"Your Highness, please come in!" the Imperial Master said with a faint smile.

The furnishings in the Imperial Master's home were simple and plain, and there were no extra chairs. The two of them sat on the floor next to the window.

The imperial master's sitting posture was carefree and informal; the princess sat on her knees, with her back straight and her posture elegant.

"Master Imperial Master, since I saw the 'Fire Character' designed by Director Gu of the Exorcist Department in Longmen Academy yesterday, some ideas about the future development of the 'Shenji Camp' have popped up in my mind, and I want to ask

Please give me your opinion.”

"What do you think, Your Highness?"

"I think maybe my previous concept was wrong," Princess Zhaoning lowered her head and said slowly, "When the 'Long Night' comes, the best way to deal with ghosts is not to gather talents.

Form a special team. No matter how talented they are, it will be difficult for them to have the ability to compete head-on with the enhanced 'fierce god' level ghosts before the arrival of the 'Long Night'.

"In the 'Shenji Camp' of the previous generation, there used to be the famous 'Xiaoyao Swordsman' Su Wangshan and 'Jade Faced Yama' Fang Hongshu... Their dazzling intensity back then was no less than that of Jiange Su Xiao and Youzhou Zhao today.

Yan.Gather them together

Starting from the beginning, it may be possible to easily eliminate ghosts and monsters such as Zhu Yan, Yu Qi, and Wutong Shen. The achievements are indeed brilliant, but in the end it will be difficult to really help the people across the country. When facing such terrifying monsters as 'Qiongqi'

, they can only sit back and wait for death."

"Then what does Your Highness think we should do?"

"Let's give a simple example! For example, if a young man like Gu Xu is placed in the "Shenji Camp" as a pure combat unit, it would be a waste. Although he has great potential,

But in the end it was unable to have a decisive effect on the battle situation.

"However, if he is allowed to guard one side and lead a group of monks to fight together, he can rely on his own wisdom and use methods similar to the 'Fire Symbol' to arm the people around him, thus saving more lives.

In addition, the Bagua card he designed yesterday that can be used for calculations

Although Zhentu cannot directly replace the Ministry of Household Affairs, it has extremely important strategic significance in the long night of shortage of human resources. It can at least help many remote prefectures and counties with resource rationing. Talents like him are obviously

In addition to fighting, it can also exert greater value."

"But, Your Highness, Gu Xu can be regarded as a genius that has been rare in the Qi Dynasty for hundreds of years... Using him as an example, would it be a bit overgeneralizing?"

"I have also thought about this problem," Princess Zhaoning frowned slightly, "but later I felt that this was more due to the imperial court's guidance for the monks - the imperial court chose eight-part essay to recruit scholars, and the scholars put down the chess and piano.

For calligraphy and painting, they all recited the "Collected Annotations of the Four Books"; the imperial court chose to hold an arena competition and allocate resources based on merit, so the monks started wielding swords and swords, obsessed with improving their cultivation realm and combat capabilities."

Having said this, she looked up at the Imperial Preceptor, her bright phoenix eyes glowing: "Master Imperial Preceptor, the inventions and creations of Senior Chiyangzi you mentioned yesterday left a very deep impression on me. Perhaps in

In the eyes of others, transforming the Quyuanli or studying the talisman formations for calculating accounts are not things that respected monks should do - but, as a mortal without any talent for cultivation, these things make me feel

It resonated strongly.”

As she spoke, she took out a few yellowed papers from her pocket.

On these papers, some imaginative drawings are drawn that are both imaginative and meticulous - such as a formation driven by true energy that can replace the roller for grain shelling or bran removal, such as a smelting device that can replace the water drain, and a smelting device that can replace the water drain.

There are complex formations that can transport large quantities of food resources over long distances, etc.

"These are all unrealistic fantasies I had in the past, which made the Imperial Master laugh," Princess Zhaoning smiled sheepishly, then she paused for a moment and said in a heavy tone, "It's just that I have been dealing with the imperial court recently.

When I was doing government affairs, I learned that within the territory of our Daqi Dynasty, many places lacked food resources—

—Due to the disaster caused by ghosts, many people were killed and injured, and the fields were left uncultivated. The food taxes collected by the national treasury are also getting less and less year by year. This makes me very worried about whether we have the ability to survive the long night smoothly. It’s just me.

As a mortal, many times I feel powerless and hate myself for not being able to help more."

The Imperial Master looked at her bright and beautiful face and remained silent for a long time. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether Princess Zhaoning's words were sincere or just words used to persuade him.

But no matter what, her words still caused ripples in the heart of the Imperial Master. He thought of Chi Yangzi who had stopped and meditated on the edge of the field, and of working hard at writing in the "Siqi Hall" of Longmen Academy.

Gu Xu, who was writing quickly, couldn't help but sigh softly.

"If you need it, I will try my best to help you," after a while, the national master said, "but after all, I am just a lonely old man. If you want more help, you may need to go to the Exorcist Department

Find Luo Sishou."

"Thank you, Master!" The corners of Princess Zhaoning's mouth turned up slightly. Her smile was like the first ray of light at dawn, instantly dispelling the gloom in the room.

At this moment, she suddenly remembered an important thing: "By the way, Sir National Preceptor, I recently learned from some documents that although the members of the previous generation's 'Shenji Battalion' were killing

In the mission of the ferocious beast Qiongqi, the entire army was wiped out, but the one who really killed them was not Qiongqi, but the Ghost King of Mangshan... How much do you know about this?"

"'Mangshan Ghost King'?" Upon hearing the princess's words, the Imperial Master frowned.

Mang Mountain is located in the north of Luojing City and is also called "Bei Mang Mountain".

Because it is located on the Dragon Vein of the Great Wilderness, with mountains and water, it hides the wind and gathers Qi. It is an excellent Feng Shui treasure place for the mausoleum, so there is a saying "born in the south of the Yangtze River, buried in Beimang".

The imperial mausoleum of the previous dynasty, the Chu Dynasty, is located in Mang Mountain.

However, after the fall of the Chu Dynasty, the Mang Mountain area was filled with howling winds and evil spirits, and was completely shrouded in a gray fog that made it invisible.

In that heavy fog, a "fierce god" level ghost was born.

He wears a crown on his head, wears a yellow robe, his face is blurred, and he has many ghost soldiers and ghost generals under his command. He occupies the imperial mausoleum in Mang Mountain and becomes the king.

It is not the "King of Ghosts" in the true sense and has not held a promotion ceremony, but it calls itself the "King of Ghosts".

Perhaps because it has such a vicious reputation and does so many evil things, over time people have accepted its self-proclaimed title.

Many people have been curious about whether it is related to the previous emperors, but so far they have not received a definite answer.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I don't know much about this aspect either." The Imperial Master shook his head.

The "Shenji Camp" of the previous generation was established under the leadership of Lu Huan, the then chief minister of the cabinet, and had little to do with him. So naturally, he did not know much about the hidden secrets.

"It doesn't matter." Princess Zhaoning smiled lightly and quickly dropped the topic.

…………

In the next period of time, the two briefly chatted about the recent affairs of the court.

About a quarter of an hour later, Princess Zhaoning said goodbye to the Imperial Master and left the simple brick house.

It's a sunny day.

The sun has climbed into the sky, and the air is dazzling with brightness. Looking at it, I can only feel that the sky and the earth are vast, my eyes are aching, and the dead branches of the forest are rustling in the cool breeze.

But Princess Zhaoning's mood was not calm.

As she walked back to her carriage over the withered grass, many things came to her mind.

The first thing that bothered her was the many prophecies that had been spread among the people recently - such as "there is the spirit of the emperor in the northeast", "the barbarians gather in Longdouye, and when the sun rises, fire is the main force", etc.

wait.

Many people feel that these prophecies point to the Zhao family in Youzhou.

Princess Zhaoning also learned from some books that some monks who advocate metaphysics will use the mutual generation and restraint of the five elements to explain the change of dynasties.

For example, the Chu Dynasty belonged to Mu De, advocating cyan and emphasizing benevolence and righteousness. Both the background color of the flag and the sacrificial attire were all cyan.

The Daqi Dynasty behind it belonged to Jinde, and its flag was also white and gold.

The reason why Qi was able to destroy Chu was because "jin defeated wood".

According to this theory, after this, it should be "fire defeating metal".

But Princess Zhaoning felt that there were many doubts in it.

On the one hand, her father, Emperor Tianxing, has always left her with the impression that he is very powerful and even invincible; on the other hand, the head of the Youzhou Zhao family, Yan Guogong Zhao Changying, was promoted to a "sage" level powerhouse.

He has never broken through again, and his strength has always been the weakest among the Five Saints of Daqi.

She did not think that the Youzhou Zhao family had the ability to confront the Da Qi court head-on.

"Perhaps...this is a way for my father to take this opportunity to weaken the power of the powerful family?" She secretly guessed in her heart.

The second thing that bothered her was that among the servants in the palace, there were rumors such as "the queen is immoral and jealous" and "your majesty wants to depose the queen".

When she first heard these words, Princess Zhaoning thought it was very outrageous.

After all, Emperor Tianxing has lived in the deep palace for a long time, practicing in seclusion, and has not touched a woman for many years. Many women who entered the palace through drafts a few years ago are still in perfect shape, and they have been waiting in the dark and cramped courtyard for a long time.

Unhappy.

The queen herself has also not seen her husband for a long time.

In Princess Zhaoning's own view, if one wants to discuss "the empress' lack of morality", then His Majesty the Emperor should first reflect on his own problems.

However, the princess quickly figured out that these rumors were probably spread deliberately by her father - just like he did not investigate the assassination case of the fourth prince Xiao Shangzhen before, this was also a way for him to beat the Chen family in Xiangyang.

The third thing that worried her a lot was what the other princes had done recently.

After the disaster in Qingzhou Mansion, Gu Xu became a rising star in Luo Jing City.

However, few people remember that when Kongxuan Sanren held a ceremony to be promoted to "Ghost King" in Yishan, the eldest prince Xiao Shangyuan and his entourage, the royal family with sixth-level cultivation to worship Fancheng, were actually present.

According to her understanding, after they were rescued back to the capital by three saints who rushed to the scene, the eldest prince had been hiding in his mansion, keeping an extremely low profile, and was almost forgotten by the world.
To be continued...