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Brat earnestly practiced the move that Hanno had taught him, demonstrating it with impressive vigor. Han Dad nodded in approval, believing that his daughter's teaching method was entirely correct.
"This move looks familiar; it resembles Hung Gar," Han Dad remarked, furrowing his brow. "But it's different from what I know of Hung Gar."
Hanno gave a thumbs-up to Han Dad's observation. "This is indeed Hung Gar, but it's the version your future son-in-law learned from a master, so it's naturally different from the current published form of Hung Gar. Its power is much greater."
Hung Gar, also known as Taizu Longquan, was created by Song Taizu, Zhao Kuangyin. Historically, it gained fame during the Ming Dynasty, attracting many followers who learned it and passing down through generations to modern times. However, after so many years and historical changes, Taizu Longquan has diverged significantly from its original form, and its effectiveness has diminished greatly. What Hanno taught Brat was the most recent version of Taizu Longquan, learned from the world of The Eight Dragons. It's worth noting that Qiao Feng managed to defeat numerous martial arts masters using a set of Taizu Longquan techniques. In this modern world, while the cultivation of inner power might be restricted due to certain limitations, external skills should not be hindered; otherwise, martial arts would not have survived. Brat was an experiment for Hanno; she felt that after returning from Dragon World with a reservoir of inner power, the restrictions on cultivating Inner Power seemed somewhat lessened. She wanted to teach Brat external skills first and then try introducing Inner Power when Brat was older.
After hearing Hanno's words, Han Dad became very excited about his future son-in-law and looked forward to meeting him soon.
Mom Han emerged from the kitchen and saw Brat drenched in sweat, feeling a pang of sympathy. "You silly girl, why are you training so hard? Binbin is still just a child; can't you take it easy?"
Hanno rubbed her nose nervously and didn't dare to refute her mother; instead, Brat spoke up for her. "Second Grandmother, I'm not tired. Auntie is teaching me skills; I need to practice diligently."
Mom Han poked Brat's forehead in annoyance. "You little rascal! Your grandmother cares for you, and you're undermining her concern."
Brat chuckled innocently. Mom Han couldn't help but feel both exasperated and amused as she pulled Brat into the bathroom to wash him up and change him into clean clothes—thankful for modern technology like the fully automatic washing machine that allowed clothes to be tossed in without any fuss; they could simply be taken out later to dry.
After dinner, Brat lay on the table doing his homework—though he hadn't started school yet, he had assignments from kindergarten and preschool. Moreover, when he came to Hanno's family, his biological mother had given him quite a bit of homework.
Once he finished his assignments, Brat flipped through a cartoon book for a while before starting to practice the move Hanno had taught him again. Mom Han couldn't help but ask Han Dad, "What kind of magic has your daughter cast on Binbin?"
Han Dad glanced at the seriously practicing Brat and replied, "Every boy dreams of becoming a master; Binbin is no exception."
Mom Han sighed. "It's really hard to understand you men."
Han Bin certainly did not disappoint with his efforts; by the second attempt, he successfully knocked down the wooden stick. Hanno then taught him the second move of Taizu Longquan. A little later, Hanno drew sixty-four footprints on the ground and instructed Brat to walk and run along them. Although Brat didn't master Lingbo Weibu yet, his speed improved significantly compared to ordinary people. If he continued practicing diligently, he might eventually develop lightness skill.
………………
While Hanno was diligently teaching Brat, Li Wei Feng finally returned to the capital city. His first task was naturally to enter the palace to meet with the emperor. The emperor was very pleased to see Li Wei Feng and disregarded whether Li Wei Feng was exhausted from his journey; he immediately presented unresolved issues seeking solutions.
"Rotating military commanders every five years is indeed one way to prevent them from building power within their ranks and ensure that soldiers remain loyal to their emperor rather than their leaders," Li Wei Feng explained. "However, each commander has their own training methods; frequent changes might leave soldiers unaccustomed."
"What do you propose?"
Li Wei Feng said, "In the military, the position of political commissar should be held by someone trusted by the Emperor. They do not hold military power but are responsible for ideological education, teaching loyalty to the Emperor and love for the country..."
Elder Brother Li simplified the structure of military positions from his previous life and explained it to the Emperor. The Emperor listened with bright eyes, clapping his hands on the imperial table, "Good! As expected of you, Li Aiqing. This method is brilliant. Once implemented, I will no longer have to worry about generals holding too much power."
The Emperor was pleased and wanted to reward Elder Brother Li, but he declined. He had already attracted too much attention and did not want to invite jealousy. After considering it, the Emperor agreed to Elder Brother Li's request and even assigned another trusted aide to handle military reforms, removing Elder Brother Li from this matter. However, the Emperor secretly noted Elder Brother Li's contributions, thinking he would compensate him later when things settled down.
"For this Scientific Expedition, I want to do something for the candidates so they can focus on their exams. The court officials suggested many ideas, and I had them compiled into a booklet for you to review and see if you have any additions," the Emperor said as he handed a booklet to Elder Brother Li.
Elder Brother Li carefully flipped through it; the booklet was detailed and practical, indicating that the Emperor and court officials took this imperial examination very seriously. It mentioned providing more charcoal for warmth during the Spring Examination and ice basins for cooling during the Autumn Examination; having commonly used medicinal herbs and two doctors at the examination site; using Mugwort to drive away mosquitoes; renovating the examination buildings with toilets placed far from the examination rooms and regularly cleaned to reduce odors... The examination site would provide hot water and free tea, along with two steamed buns per person—though wealthy candidates would likely not eat them, it solved a significant problem for those from poorer backgrounds.
"How is it? Do you have any additions?" the Emperor asked.
"It's very detailed; I truly can't think of anything to add," Elder Brother Li replied as he returned the booklet.
The Emperor said, "Wei Feng, I feel you have more to say!"
Li Wei Feng sighed at the Emperor's perceptiveness and shared his thoughts: "Your Majesty could establish a library in the capital as well as in each provincial capital, collecting various books and materials for students to read for free."
The Emperor became very interested. "What is a library?"
Li Wei Feng explained in detail what a library is and how it would be managed. In fact, libraries had existed since around 3000 BC; temples in Babylon housed various records inscribed on clay tablets. The earliest libraries were places where Greek temples stored books and those affiliated with Greek philosophical schools (4th century BC), as well as the ancient Egyptian library established by King Ashurbanipal in Nineveh. China had libraries long ago too; they just weren't called that but referred to as "fu," "ge," "guan," "tai," "dian," "yuan," "tang," "zhai," or "lou." Examples include the alliance houses of Western Zhou, Shiquge of Han Dynasties, Guanwenden of Sui Dynasty, Chongwen Academy of Song Dynasty, Dansheng Hall of Ming Dynasty, and Siku Quanshu of Qing Dynasty. However, these were only accessible to royalty and nobles.
After hearing about libraries, the Emperor slammed his hand on the table in excitement. "Good! Good idea! I will arrange for someone to take care of it immediately."
Elder Brother Li then suggested, "Your Majesty could collect questions from previous Scientific Expeditions along with excellent answers and compile them into a book for reference in the library."
The Emperor was delighted by this suggestion. "Wei Feng, your talent rivals that of Zhang Zifang; your military skills are comparable to Han Xin's. How fortunate I am to have your assistance! We will surely govern Da Zhou into prosperity and create an unprecedented era of greatness."
Elder Brother Li pretended to be excited in response while feeling utterly calm inside. Li Xuan Zong was a wise ruler, but even wise rulers are still emperors; one can only trust an emperor for a minute. Just look at Li Shimin and Wei Zheng—what a perfect ruler-minister relationship! But after Wei Zheng's death, how did Li Shimin treat his remains and family?
Leaving the palace, Elder Brother Li felt more exhausted than after a battle. The thought of living this way in the future made him smile bitterly. Upon returning to his general's residence, he didn't bother cleaning up or resting; instead, he immediately took out his Porcelain Jar to video call his fiancée for comfort.
Hanno looked at her boyfriend's expression that seemed to say "Baby is wronged but Baby won't cry" and couldn't help but laugh while feeling heartbroken at the same time. She reached out through the bottom of the jar to stroke her boyfriend's face—too bad she couldn't touch him.
"We'll work hard to upgrade the Porcelain Jar. Once it can communicate properly, you can leave that world behind and no longer serve that emperor."
Li Wei Feng let out a satisfied hum, feeling touched that his fiancée cared for him. Ah, how happy he was; all his fatigue seemed to vanish.
"But after you leave, will the Emperor hold any grudges against Zhou Le Yi Shu and Zi Xia?" Hanno thought of the term "misplaced anger."
Li Wei Feng pondered for a moment and replied, "I don't think so. This Emperor is relatively broad-minded and wouldn't resort to misplaced anger."
"The mind of an Emperor can be difficult to understand. There have been many who were wise in their early reigns but became foolish later on, like Li Longji and Kangxi. Some appear open-minded but are actually vengeful, such as Li Shimin. You shouldn't expect too much from the Emperor's tolerance. When the time comes to leave, you should bring Zhou Le and the others with you," Hanno suggested.
Li Wei Feng shook his head. "I'm afraid they won't want to leave."
Hanno understood; ancient people often found it hard to part with their homeland, especially when heading to an unknown world. Although Li Zhoule and the others had experienced the Porcelain Jar Incident, they likely still felt fear and trepidation about another world.
"Then you'll just have to endure it," Hanno said sympathetically.
Li Wei Feng smiled and replied, "As long as you comfort me and care for me, I won't feel wronged."
Hanno rolled her eyes at him and said, "Even if you don't feel wronged, I still feel sorry for you. Your personal strength is decent now, but it’s always better to be stronger. Next time I write a story set in a cultivation world, we should learn some cultivation techniques."
Li Wei Feng was excited to hear this. "Great! I've wanted to try cultivation for a long time. Should we go to the world of Zhu Xian or Mortal Cultivation?"
Hanno replied firmly, "Neither!"
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