Chapter 1799 – Triple Happiness Arrival (Part 2)
On the day the palace examination began, Jiang Pengji received a war report from Zhong Zhao, bearing a black emblem.
Jiang Pengji opened the secret letter and meticulously read each word three times.
“Wen Zheng truly hasn’t let me down—”
Instead of burning the letter, she tucked it into her sleeve; she would need it to generate momentum later. Ever since Jiang Pengji decided she wanted a child, she had written a secret letter to Qi Guanrang at the border, demanding he seize half of Zhong Zhao in the shortest time possible.
Taking down half of Zhong Zhao wasn’t hard; the challenge was Jiang Pengji had set a timeframe for the task.
Although Zhong Zhao had turned into a mess under the machinations of Qi Guanrang and Sun Wen, with more than twenty independent lords vying for power, the infighting was even worse than during the troubled times of Dongqing. Nie Qing was spread too thin and was already powerless to control the situation, while the Nie Clan’s foundation was being gnawed at by the side branches. The elders of other families foresaw the chaos and jumped into the fray, rapidly escalating to the current state within just a year or two.
Jiang Pengji couldn’t devour the entire Zhong Zhao in one go, but dividing it into several pieces and gradually nibbling away at it wasn’t an impossible task.
Qi Guanrang had his mind set on this notion; he took advantage of Nie Qing’s vulnerabilities, infiltrating enemy territory to split them apart and incite faction disputes. At first, he could manage the situation, but once the fighting became fierce, who would care about national integrity? Even if they wished to restrain themselves, they couldn’t withstand Qi Guanrang and old man Sun fanning the flames from the sidelines, executing their strategies with flair.
By the time the secret letter reached Qi Guanrang’s hands, he had already decided to reel in the net after the autumn harvest. Earlier, he had been wary of Beiyuan and Xichang taking the opportunity to attack, but after sending someone to investigate, he found that the circumstances in those two countries were even more thrilling than he had imagined.
Without that concern, even if Jiang Pengji didn’t say anything, Qi Guanrang felt compelled to report for military action.
However, sending troops was one thing; timing was crucial.
A few months too early or too late would yield vastly different results.
Qi Guanrang couldn’t fathom why Jiang Pengji was so eager for battle at this time.
Nevertheless, he swore allegiance to Jiang Pengji; as long as her orders weren’t outrageous or unreasonable, he wouldn’t question them.
Clutching the letter, Qi Guanrang engaged in a sleepless discussion with Sun Wen, contemplating the feasibility of seizing half of Zhong Zhao within the stipulated time.
Old man Sun responded gravely, “How about writing to the lord to request a month’s leniency? Taking half of Zhong Zhao in such a short time is not impossible, but it comes with risks. Supplies are still relatively abundant; we can gamble a bit. If we can establish a foothold, that would be great. If not, our army might not be able to mount an offensive again this year. The campaign against Zhong Zhao would have to be pushed to next autumn. The lord surely knows this—”
Despite not being a stickler for conventions and utilizing stratagems on the battlefield, in matters that affected the greater situation, old man Sun preferred a steady approach. Zhong Zhao was already within their grasp; they could easily wait until the autumn harvest to deploy their forces—Zhong Zhao had been burdened by frequent wars, and in these past two years, the conflict had escalated everywhere; agriculture had severely lagged behind their losses—autumn would be the time to launch an attack, right when the enemy was most engaged.
All the lords were short on food; wouldn’t they exert their utmost to seize it?
By launching their campaign now—
They would need to take certain risks.
Qi Guanrang understood this logic well, but he also knew Jiang Pengji needed this victory.
Even if she hadn’t explicitly stated what she needed it for, as a subject, he had to ensure her wishes were fulfilled.
Qi Guanrang was steadfast, and old man Sun eventually conceded.
The two spent several more days deliberating and finally discovered a breakthrough.
Seeing Qi Guanrang unyielding after several sleepless nights, a bizarre thought popped into old man Sun’s mind.
Could it be that Qi Guanrang had feelings for the lord that exceeded the benevolent ties of nobility?
The old man privately inquired, but Qi Guanrang firmly denied it.
“I don’t! Stop saying nonsense; it’s impossible.”
Old man Sun: “…”
Having lived long enough, the old man didn’t believe that any bond between men and women could be so pure.
Yet, as fate would have it—
Wasn’t the relationship between Jiang Pengji and Qi Guanrang just that?
One could say, the feelings of Jiang Pengji with any man other than Wei Ci were equally innocent.
_(:з)∠)_
They didn’t even view Jiang Pengji as a woman; being straight-up iron men, it was only natural they saw her as a bro.
After a few days without proper sleep, Qi Guanrang felt more energized than ever.
Like he had been juiced with caffeine.
“I have a premonition that seizing half of Zhong Zhao will surely bring about good fortune!”
His lord did not fight without preparation; her sudden demand for Qi Guanrang to deploy against Zhong Zhao surely had some purpose.
Sun Wen: “…”
The old man considered that capturing half of Zhong Zhao was a tremendous achievement; what could be better than that?
Beiyuan and Xichang surrendering to them?
Achieving the unification of five states in a heartbeat?
After guessing for half the night without success, the old man yawned and decided to catch up on sleep, leaving the tactical arrangements and troop movements to Qi Guanrang.
“Getting old, losing steam.”
Stretching secretly, old man Sun gazed into the direction of Zhong Zhao, lost in thought.
He had often dreamt of his homeland, contemplating a myriad of ways to take revenge on his enemies—
As the moment of that goal approached completion, he felt a disconnection from the joy he envisioned. Instead, an emptiness settled in his chest.
Not the desolation of disappointment, but rather a hollowness after the thrill.
_(:з)∠)_
With a meticulous plan in place, civil and military operations worked in concert, as pieces long set in motion finally came into play. Zhong Zhao was like a collapsing line of dominoes—seemingly powerful, yet when pressed by an advancing enemy, it not only lost ground but was swept aside entirely.
In just twenty-one days, out of Zhong Zhao’s ten states and thirty-three prefectures, four states and sixteen prefectures fell.
A few days before capturing the fourth state, Qi Guanrang dispatched a messenger to Jiang Pengji to deliver the battle report, employing the highest-level black emblem.
Once half of Zhong Zhao’s territory completely fell into his grasp, the first session of the palace examination also reached its final preparations.
This palace examination would later be referred to as “Celestial Beings Battling.”
More than half of the scholars were the backbone of the second generation after the founding of the Jiang Zhao dynasty, playing a vital role in bridging the past and forging a prosperous era.
Simultaneously, this examination also set a record that would never be replicated again in the future.
The same individual, achieving the remarkable feat of “Four Yuan” in a row.
Previous palace examination records only reached a maximum of “Three Yuan,” and yet this cohort produced someone who accomplished “Four Yuan” consecutively.
The results of the palace examination revealed that the top scholar was still that female student from Golden Scales Academy, dominating the final question with overwhelming and imposing might.
Feng Yi, the hot favorite to win, was outclassed by her; while his talent didn’t suffer, he lost in prestige.
As a result, Jiang Pengji personally appointed that student as the top scholar.
Throughout earlier sections, her scores had consistently dominated the rankings.
Added to the fact that she had also topped the graduation assessments at Golden Scales Academy, she would henceforth be humorously dubbed the one and only to achieve “Four Yuan” in history.
Feng Yi, this time, wasn’t the third place; he ascended to the second place position, while the original second place faltered and dropped to sixth.
Following protocol, Jiang Pengji was supposed to say a few words and send them home to rest, preparing for the Qionglin Feast in a few days.
However, the grand performance of Jiang Pengji was just beginning.
“I have two joyful announcements to share with you all.”
Jiang Pengji presented the secret letter, stating, “This morning, I received a war report from Zhong Zhao. Our soldiers fought bravely, seizing half of the enemy’s territory in just over twenty days.”
The crowd below was astonished; after a moment of silence, they collectively bowed and congratulated her.
Some were ecstatic, while others were left bewildered.
When did they start attacking Zhong Zhao? How come they hadn’t heard any news?
Jiang Pengji then raised her hand to touch her abdomen, causing Feng Zhen and the others to raise their eyebrows sharply.
“Last night, I dreamt of dragons and phoenixes embracing, beneath the heavens, a voice like thunder proclaimed—‘The Five Nations shall unite, and the celestial purple star descends!’”
