The reason Grand Preceptor Cao could not solely garrison the lands of Xia was profound.

Firstly, considering his military prowess and extensive cultivation, should he assume command of Xia, the state of Chu would be forced into perpetual vigilance, and peace would be elusive for the neighboring states. Secondly, given the immense prestige he garnered from single-handedly conquering Xia, entrusting him with complete dominion over the territory would inevitably lead to the risk of him establishing his own domain.

As stated in the *Pen Talks of the Wandering Scholar*, “Jade should not be placed on fragile ground, nor should fame be lightly bestowed upon the holder of a tool!”

The inherent logic is self-evident.

This holds true irrespective of Cao Gong’s loyalty or the Heavenly Emperor’s trust in him.

Any emperor, regardless of their benevolence, must avoid such predicaments and refrain from granting ministers undue latitude.

The same principle applies to the Grand Governors who preceded him – Chongxuan Chuliang, Li Zhengyan, and Chen Zeqing – none were entrusted with the sole command of Xia.

Even Jiang Wang, a minister of great merit in the war against Xia and a figure of immense prestige within its lands, was no exception. This holds true despite his current cultivation level posing no threat.

When Su Guanying mentioned she was preparing tea, it was a clear assertion of her position as the mistress of this place. However, in her words, she also subtly placed Jiang Wang in the Southern Territory, drawing him into her fold. The warmth conveyed was perfectly calibrated.

Jiang Wang’s simple reply, “My body is not my own,” signifying his unwavering obedience to the Heavenly Emperor, was a well-measured response.

Through these two exchanges of pleasantries, both sides established a preliminary understanding and gained insights into each other beyond mere hearsay.

The Heavenly Emperor’s strong insistence that Jiang Wang read, and specifically that he read *The Stone Knife Chisels the Sea*, was precisely because time flows like a vast river and the years are boundless. In the thousands of years of human history, there is nothing truly new under the sun. All that transpires in the present can find reflection in the annals of the past. Reading history begets wisdom.

Upon entering the Grand Governor’s mansion, they were seated facing each other in the main hall, without any distinction of host or guest.

Su Guanying, with a contained smile, said, “Marquis Wu’an choosing to come at this time is truly an act of support for our construction in the Southern Territory.” This further deepened the intimacy of her posture.

“Jiang is merely a common martial practitioner, skilled only in the manipulation of fists and feet. How could I possibly comprehend the affairs of state building?” Jiang Wang replied with a bitter smile. “To tell the truth, Governor Su, Linzi is far too boisterous. I am merely seeking a quiet place to cultivate.”

“Marquis Wu’an was granted his title through military merit. One would not think you are a person who cherishes tranquility.”

“I merely know my own limitations.”

“Could it be the Ten Thousand Jun Purple Gold Beam?” Su Guanying’s face held a smile. “In my view, across this vast Great Qi, there is no one in the younger generation who bears a heavier burden than you.”

“That is not necessarily true.” Jiang Wang repeatedly waved his hand. “Marquis Bo’an, the World Descendant, bears a far heavier burden than I!”

Within their jesting, a certain demeanor was conveyed.

Seeing his reluctance to accept responsibility, Su Guanying pondered for a moment before saying, “In truth, before your arrival, a meeting of the Governor’s Office was just concluding. I thought Marquis Wu’an dislikes crowds, so I did not have them pay their respects.”

Jiang Wang immediately stood up. “How could I dare to delay the Governor’s important affairs? Please, continue. To have met the Governor today is already a blessing. I shall take my leave now.”

Su Guanying raised a hand, signaling him to remain seated. “We have said almost all that needs to be said. It is just right to speak with Marquis Wu’an.”

She slowly took a sip of tea. “At that time, the Southern Territory had just been pacified, and there was a shortage of personnel everywhere. When this Governor first established the Grand Governor’s mansion, to prevent unrest among the populace, it was inconvenient to transfer too many Qi citizens to govern. We could only initially utilize the old officials of Xia. However, their titles were not appropriate, and it was easy for sentiments of restoring Xia to arise. Ultimately, it was not a long-term solution, only temporary.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wang felt a headache coming on and was just contemplating a reason to excuse himself.

However, Su Guanying spoke with extreme speed, not waiting for him to formulate his words before getting straight to the point: “Now the situation in the Southern Territory is fundamentally stable, with a hundred things awaiting to be built. The mountains and rivers have changed hands, and old matters should be reformed. I have already reported to the Heavenly Emperor and will immediately hold a major examination in the lands of Xia to restore the official titles and unify the salaries. Since Marquis Wu’an happens to be here at this time, why not serve as a chief examiner?”

Jiang Wang immediately refused. “Jiang is utterly ignorant and does not understand politics. How could I possibly be qualified to be this chief examiner? The Southern Territory is vast, tens of thousands of li. The official examination is absolutely not a trivial matter, involving the welfare of billions of people and society. It should be presided over by someone of high virtue and great prestige. I dare not mislead the disciples of the people.”

“High virtue is not like standing firm against calamity, and great prestige is not like saving countless lives.” Su Guanying looked at him. “In this Southern Territory, among all our Great Qi officials, only you, Marquis Wu’an, are the most virtuous and prestigious! If you do not come, who can?”

Jiang Wang said with a bitter face, “Others may not know, but how could Governor Su not know? What standing firm against calamity, what saving countless lives, were merely due to heavenly luck on my part, obtaining a great reputation through chance. The Duke侯’s troops were like gods, calculating everything without fail. In fact, they were prepared long in advance. Even without me in the disaster, Jiangyin Plain would not have fallen. You bringing this up is just mocking me! Moreover, leaving aside the strategic significance of the Duke侯 saving a crucial position, for the people of the Southern Territory, the person who stood firm against calamity is Marquis Wu’an, Jiang Wang. This is an established fact, and it is also the truth they acknowledge. Being constrained by others is not important. The consensus has already formed. Your prestige in the Southern Territory is unmatched.” Su Guanying said, “Still saying, Marquis Wu’an holds his position but is unwilling to bear his responsibility?”

This person was truly formidable.

Before today, Jiang Wang had only a rough understanding of Su Guanying’s background.

The Su family was once considered a high-ranking family, but it had declined since her grandfather’s generation. Her father died in battle at the sea border, leading to the complete collapse of the family.

Su Guanying herself was raised in a place of honor and was well protected in her youth. One could say she had never touched spring water with her ten fingers. She was skilled in needlework, loved planting flowers, enjoyed poetry and prose, and cherished beautiful jade.

After her father died in battle, everything changed.

The good times and beautiful scenery all became objects of sorrow.

She put down her flower scissors and needle and thread, picked up old armor and a battle knife, and since then, she had been stationed overseas for a long time.

She herself said, “Before the age of twenty, I knew nothing of the human heart. After the age of twenty, I knew all of it.”

In the year she turned twenty-five, she gained fame in the counterattack battle of Decision Ming Island.

Later, she successively served as a Doctor in the Ministry of Personnel, Governor of Jinghai County, and City Lord of Pinglu City after the pacification of Wan Yao Gate, with outstanding performance in every term.

In the year she turned forty-three, she went to the Mi Realm again and personally killed a Sea Clan True King, finally avenging her father.

Although she followed the path of officialdom, she became a contemporary True Person after becoming a Doctor of the Morning Court, not the other way around.

While there was no significant difference in combat performance between the two, and she was still subject to the constraints of officialdom, this was sufficient to prove that in both politics and cultivation itself, she possessed astonishing talent and dazzling brilliance.

And after today, the person of Su Guanying transformed from a mere impressive resume into a real person in Jiang Wang’s eyes.

A person with a gentle face but a firm will at her core, extremely capable of implementing her own will and achieving her set goals. In terms of officialdom, political programs are the path, politics is cultivation, and political resources are cultivation provisions.

The Southern Xia had just been pacified, who would not be moved?

The Great Qi had nine Doctors of the Morning Court, nine Commanders of the Military Affairs Hall, in addition to characters who could not be included in the two main halls but still possessed immense influence and ability, such as the Scholar of Donghua, Li Zhengshu, etc., totaling more than twenty individuals who were qualified to compete. Yet, the last Grand Governor of Southern Xia, who held this immense political resource, was Su Guanying.

Facing such a person, how could one resist?

Jiang Wang had a headache, but he could only ask, “May I inquire what will be examined in this Southern Territory official examination?”

Su Guanying said with satisfaction, “Civil and military examinations will be held in parallel. The civil examination will focus on policy discussions, and the military examination on cultivation. Unless a particular subject is exceptionally outstanding, all candidates must pass both civil and military examinations to be considered qualified. Evaluation for excellence and determination of grades, cutting down on the redundant and mediocre, these eight characters are the core of this official examination.”

“I am utterly clueless when it comes to policy discussions, but I can still understand one or two things about cultivation. Otherwise, I will just be responsible for the military examination.” Jiang Wang knew he could not completely evade the responsibility, so he actively chose one area, effectively cutting his authority in half.

Su Guanying looked at him and said with a smile, “That is also good.”

Visiting the Grand Governor of Southern Xia and leaving with a share of responsibility, Jiang Wang felt extremely uncomfortable.

For those who sought the path of officialdom, this was likely something they could only dream of. Being responsible for the Southern Territory official examination, how many students could be garnered, how vast an official network could be established?

For establishing one’s own political agenda and promoting one’s political views in the future, this held enormous benefits.

Su Guanying was simply showering him with benefits!

But for Jiang Wang, although he was in officialdom, he did not rely on the official path. Until now, all of his cultivation had been obtained through his own diligent efforts.

If he were to fully invest in the official path now, although he could receive considerable cultivation assistance and greatly increase the possibility of reaching the Dongzhen realm, when the day came for him to leave, he would have to rack his brains. He would not take such a path.

Instead, the cultivation assistance promoted by the title of Marquis Wu’an did not require relying on politics to maintain. As long as the title was not removed, he could borrow national power to cultivate for another day.

Of course, borrowing national power for cultivation itself would generate a certain karma. It would link the cultivator’s own path with national fortune.

In the initial Great War between Qi and Xia, King Wu, Sijiao, invited the Changsheng Jun of the South Dou Hall to take action. It is said that one of the conditions was to borrow national power for ten years to aid in his cultivation. In reality, it was to raise the power of the Xia kingdom and provide sustenance for a True Monarch, allowing a cultivator of the Yan Dao to drain its blood for ten years.

It is unknown whether Changsheng Jun possessed some unique method to sever the karma of consuming national power, only enjoying its benefits without bearing its responsibility—it should also require the cooperation of the Xia court. If it were not for the existential crisis of the state and nation, Sijiao would never have been able to offer such a condition.

Returning to the matter of the Southern Territory official examination, Jiang Wang fundamentally had no intention of manipulating students or old officials, or even weaving a vast web of connections, making the entire court close to Wu’an. Since he did not walk the official path to cultivate, what use would any of that be? Those were all Chongxuan Sheng’s strengths, while he only felt they were too troublesome, reducing much of his time for self-cultivation.

However, the matter had already been settled. As he himself said, selecting officials was not a small matter, involving the welfare of billions of people and society. He could not take it lightly.

On the way to Chi Tan, he kept researching the requirements for each level of official position in the Southern Xia Grand Governor’s mansion and the list of examiners Su Guanying had given him.

As the chief examiner, he could decide the examination questions and also make limited adjustments to the list of examiners, giving him significant power.

The first key point of the official examination was none other than fairness. As long as this fundamental principle was upheld, this official examination, no matter how flawed, would not be terrible. If this fundamental principle was lost, the official examination itself would lose its meaning, and the public trust in the Southern Xia Grand Governor’s mansion would suffer a major blow. In serious cases, it could even shake the Qi court’s rule over the Southern Territory.

From this perspective, Su Guanying’s forceful enlistment of Jiang Wang as the chief examiner could be considered a masterful move.

Directly bypassing the interference of the Southern Territory’s military and political environment, she found the person most capable of ensuring fairness in the selection.

With Jiang Wang’s immense influence in the Southern Territory, no one would object to him being the chief examiner. Furthermore, Jiang Wang himself did not serve in the Southern Territory and was known for focusing on his own cultivation, so there was no need to worry about him forming factions for personal gain. Coupled with Jiang Wang’s past good reputation, using him truly brought peace of mind.

As the first official examination of the Southern Territory publicly promoted by the Southern Xia Grand Governor’s mansion, it could almost be considered Su Guanying’s political card. Countless people, both openly and secretly, wished to sabotage it. Jiang Wang’s arrival easily resolved the issue.

The more Jiang Wang pondered, the more he wanted to respect and keep his distance from the people in the political hall. Getting along with them was too mentally exhausting, not straightforward at all.

He even suspected that the timing of the Southern Territory official examination was temporarily set by Su Guanying after she saw him. Otherwise, why was there nothing prepared except a large list of examiners and the eight-character guideline for the official examination? To say that this plan only began today was also too coincidental.

*The Gazette of Great Xia* states: Chi Tan is seven hundred steps square, hidden in the Old Mountain, with clouds accumulated year-round, where thunder snakes touch the water.

It means that Chi Tan is hidden in the Old Mountain, and the sky above is always covered with dark clouds, where thunder occasionally strikes the surface of the water.

It is indeed a strange sight.

“Old Mountain” is not a description of the mountain, but the name of a mountain. It is located west of Guiyi City, where human traces are rare.

The Heavenly Emperor sealing Marquis Wu’an at Chi Tan, of course, was not merely to give him an ancient pool to fish in.

Jiang Wang’s feudal land included this Old Mountain, as well as the nine towns near the Old Mountain.

According to the household registration book, the nine towns combined have nearly three hundred thousand people, which could be considered a separate city. Of course, because these towns all rely on the Old Mountain and are scattered, with inconvenient transportation, merging them into a city is unrealistic.

The affairs Dugu Xiao had to manage in this place were naturally much more complex than those in Qingyang Town. Correspondingly, the authority in her hands also expanded considerably—one thing worth mentioning is that the position of Pavilion Chief in Qingyang Town was transferred by Dugu Xiao to a surrendered cultivator of the Zhoutian realm. This cultivator was steady and diligent, handled affairs quickly, and had long become the second-in-command in Qingyang Town. Restricted by Zhang Hai, who aspired to refine divine pills, he still maintained the position, punched in on time, and muddled through.

The Marquis Wu’an’s mansion was built at the foot of the Old Mountain, and the full name engraved on the plaque was “Marquis Wu’an’s Old Mountain Separate Garden.”

The Heavenly Emperor specially dispatched a great craftsman to Xia to supervise the construction, which was completed after careful site selection. The cost was quite significant, and the craftsmanship was unique. This residence sat against the mountain and overlooked the water, appearing very grand.

Some servants were hired within the mansion and were operating smoothly. For now, the expenses were all covered by the Southern Xia Grand Governor’s mansion.

When Jiang Wang returned this time, he also brought Dugu Xiao to manage the feudal land. Naturally, he had to recruit people separately and would have to pay for them himself later. However, these were all matters Dugu Xiao needed to worry about.

By the time Jiang Wang arrived from Guiyi City, Dugu Xiao had already commanded people to tidy up both inside and outside.

She was originally a person who had seen the ways of the world and possessed some strategizing abilities. Her management of Qingyang Town over the past few years had tempered her. Although this was her first time here, she handled all the various matters smoothly, and there were no instances of servants being disrespectful or disobedient.

“Where is Chu Mo?” Jiang Wang entered the door and looked around slightly before asking.

“He followed Master Lian into the Old Mountain, saying he was going to take a look at Chi Tan,” Dugu Xiao replied.

Jiang Wang said in surprise, “Isn’t he quite afraid of Lian Que? Why did he still follow him?”

Dugu Xiao suppressed a smile. “Master Lian shouted, and he followed. I think he was afraid to follow, but also afraid not to follow.”

Jiang Wang also laughed and casually handed the list he had brought to Dugu Xiao. “Governor Su forced a task upon me, asking me to manage the Southern Territory official examination, which is quite taxing. This is the list of examiners. Please investigate it as soon as possible and pick out a few reliable ones.”

This matter sounded simple, but it was not an easy undertaking, especially since they had just arrived. To say they were investigating, they could barely even find a starting point.

Dugu Xiao, however, happily accepted it. “Your subordinate will go handle this immediately.”

What could be more important than a matter that could prove one’s significance to the old master?

Jiang Wang further instructed, “By the way, collect the folklore and legends of these towns under our jurisdiction. We can summarize them later. This matter is not urgent, handle the examiner matter first.”

“Your subordinate understands.” Dugu Xiao nodded forcefully.

There were exactly nine towns surrounding the Old Mountain and Chi Tan, which easily reminded people of the nine towns along the Long River. Perhaps there was some secret hidden within.

However, the entire Chi Tan was his feudal land, so there was no need to rush at this moment.

After pushing all the trivial matters onto Dugu Xiao, the old master Jiang, like a model, meticulously inspected his residence in Southern Xia. He originally wanted to give some pointers on the arrangement, but Dugu Xiao had arranged everything according to his preferences, making it impossible to find fault. In the end, he forcibly ordered someone to move the lotus pond in the front courtyard to the back courtyard before stopping.

Then, leisurely, he carried a fishing rod and went towards the Old Mountain by himself.

Thinking of the couplet on the mountain gate of the Diao Hai Lou, it had a grand spirit, saying, “Unload the hook for the moon.”

Today, the old master Jiang had leisure time, so he might as well fish in the empty mountain!

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