Chapter 1176: Five Empires War Discussion
Translator: Lordbluefire
People of the modern era were used to conflict between countries. One could say that the history of humanity was simply a series of wars. Peace was just a temporary break.
Peace was merely something that occurred when everyone was licking their wounds and recuperating, preparing for the next massacre!
At the very root of war between countries, it was always about vying for resources.
Population, land, markets…
In the Nine Provinces, because exploring the Darkness Continent could bring extremely high returns, in addition to the Saint Gate being the arbitration party, there were no large-scale wars between the various countries.
Naturally, it was also impossible for the various countries to keep coexisting peacefully with each other. After all, even husbands and wives would have the ‘seven-year itch’ and wanted to divorce.
In the past, the disputes between each country could be resolved by each party sending a troop of soldiers to clash on a battlefield. The winner then took everything.
After that, due to chance, the Xia Country, Chu Country, Wei Country, Tang Country, and Qi Country organized the first Five Empires War Discussion.
Participants were mainly members of royalty. At the same time, a small number of young nobles would also partake in it.
The original purpose was to let the emperors compare which of their heirs were the most outstanding. No one expected that the effect of the War Discussion to be extraordinary good.
If the prince of a certain country won, their prestige in the commoner’s world would surge greatly.
After the war discussion, the princes and princesses could earn a wave of favorable impression points and raise their popularity level.
Since it could bring benefits, the Five Empires War Discussion was set to occur once every four years.
And after developing for so many years up until now, it was already a grand occasion known to everyone in the world.
The gamblers, peddlers, tourists…
A Five Empires War Discussion could bring huge income in terms of tax money and prestige for the organizing country.
“Ziqi is truly outstanding and has broken the record of becoming the youngest great teacher in history. In addition to the fact that she was once rejected by Secondary Saint Zhou, she can be considered a model of encouragement. Right now, everyone in the world is waiting to see her performance. If it was not for this, Great Tang’s slot in the competition would have been replaced.”
Qi Mu`en divulged.
Bluntly speaking, Li Ziqi’s fame was too great. If she didn’t participate, the degree of attention would be lessened by one-third.
There were tens of countries in the Nine Provinces. The strength of Great Tang definitely could be ranked in the top five. So, the spending power here was also very high. If those people didn’t come to watch the competition, the country would earn a lot less tax money!
The organizer for the competition this year was Great Qi, and the location of the discussion was in Western Jing.
As a poor country, it naturally wanted to maximize its profits. Hence, they couldn’t lose the wealthy visitors from Great Tang!
“Does his majesty have any requests?”
Sun Mo drank a mouthful of tea. “Become the champion?”
“It would be the best if we can become the champion. If not, we have to suppress the crown prince of Great Xia at the very least because there’s a land in dispute of about 150 square miles between Great Tang and Great Xia, including the rights of owning three additional cities. Whoever is ranked higher would get all these!”
Zheng Qingfang answered.
With regard to the vast territories owned by Great Tang and Great Xia, the size of the land in dispute wasn’t large. However, since it was a piece of land belonging to them, they definitely couldn’t compromise, or both parties would have no face to meet their ancestors when they went to the underworld.
“It’s a little difficult!”
Sun Mo’s lips twitched.
Great Xia was the strongest country in the Nine Provinces, and the number one of the Nine Greats – the Skyraise Academy was located in its capital, Shengjing. Although Sun Mo didn’t know who the personal teacher of the Great Xia Crown Prince was, based on his identity, if his personal teacher wasn’t a saint, it would at least be a secondary saint, right?
The prince group from Great Xia would surely benefit from their intimacy with the Skyraise Academy a. Since this was the case, it was more like a competition between great teachers of different schools to see who could teach better disciples.
“Who are the champions in the past three events?”
Sun Mo needed information.
“The prince group from Xia!”
Qi Mu`en felt somewhat embarrassed. The truth was that the Xia Country were the champions for the recent seven events.
“Why the hell are you guys playing with Xia then?”
Sun Mo was also drunk now.
“Humans ought to have some goals, right?”
Zheng Qingfeng spoke in a self-mocking tone.
“For every competition, the five empires would take out a rare and precious treasure. The champion would receive three and the second-place would receive two!”
Qi Mu`en chortled. “Which emperor wouldn’t want to keep these battle spoils in their own studies?”
This would be a glorious achievement!
“It’s said that this year, the Qi Country is going to take out a rare piece of jade. Once, Emperor Wei promised to exchange 18 cities for this jade, but he was rejected.”
A slightly hoarse voice rang out. Sun Mo turned his head and saw that Li Xiu had arrived.
She was clad in palace attire and this caused her to exude a strong sense of grace and nobility. A being that couldn’t be observed from afar nor profane.
“Has the Qi Emperor gone mad?”
Zheng Qingfang was astonished.
“Who knows?” Li Xiu sat down. “My Royal Brother is taking the Graceful Sword out!”
“What?”
Zheng Qingfang and Li Ziqi were both badly shocked.
“Is this sword very powerful?”
Sun Mo had never heard of it before.
“Some valuables of the royal clan are things commoners would never be able to see.”
Li Ziqi hurriedly explained to her teacher. “This Graceful Sword is something my royal father obtained by chance when he was adventuring the Darkness Continent. It doesn’t have a sword body. Once it is unsheathed, it is like a beam of lightning that’s as swift as a phantom. It can kill people without them realizing!”
Li Ziqi had only seen it once.
This divine weapon had always been hidden by her royal father in the treasury.
Sun Mo glanced over and discovered that Zheng Qingfang, Li Xiu, and Qi Mu`en weren’t as shocked as Li Ziqi. He then understood.
This was the cognition caused by their difference in horizons.
This was a type of bragging, a way for a country to display its might. A show of confidence that they had the will to win!
(Since I can take it out, I can win and take it back safely!)
To the emperors, what precious treasures had they not seen before?
Things that could be obtained were not valuable at all.
“Great Qi, Great Chu, Great Wei—they all took out treasures that have roughly the same value. Sun Mo, His Majesty has said that if you could lead the group to become the champion, he would allow you to pick one of the three treasures. Other than this, he will also reward you heavily.”
“I’m the leader?”
Sun Mo suddenly frowned. He didn’t really care about the treasures, but he thought of a problem. The grand tutor that was the personal teacher of the crown prince would surely head there too.
If he was the leader and made a decision, would the other party obey his instructions?
“Eh, I have no idea yet. His Majesty hasn’t made the arrangements!”
Li Xiu understood the conflict her royal brother was feeling.
Sun Mo’s fame was as great as the sky. But he was ultimately still too young and had no experience in the Five Empires War Discussion. Moreover, this involved a dispute between territories, three cities, and five rare treasures. The emperor was worried that Sun Mo couldn’t handle this pressure.
On the other hand, Han Cangshui was the personal teacher of the crown prince. He was an 8-stars great teacher and had participated in the last four Five Empires War Discussion. His best result was leading the team to second place, only a step away from becoming the champion.
Naturally, Han Cangshui’s greatest advantage was that he had stayed and taught in the royal palace for 12 years, having a thorough understanding of the royal heirs. This was unlike Sun Mo who didn’t even know the names of these princes and princesses. So, how could he guide them to unleash 100% of their strength?
“Won’t allowing me to pick a treasure create conflict?”
Sun Mo was speechless. The vast majority of great teachers wanted face. Since the Emperor had stated such a promise, what would Han Cangshui think?
Li Xiu bitterly smiled.
The main thing was that her royal brother heard that Sun Mo had solved the thousand-year riddle of the Black-White Academy and was even recommended by Headmaster Song to be the honorary headmaster. Hence, he blurted that out in passing due to being too happy.
At that time, there were other subjects in the study room, so he couldn’t regret his words even if he wanted to. After all, an emperor’s words were worth their weight in gold! Besides, if he regretted his words, he might also offend Sun Mo.
“Sun Mo, in truth, the Five Empires War Discussion involved the topic of who is the number one emperor in the Nine Provinces. The current Xia Emperor precisely became extremely famous because of obtaining the championship three times in a row.”
Li Xiu and her royal brother Li Yingqi had also participated in the Five Empires War Discussion back then, but they had been defeated by the Xia Emperor.
This was also the point Li Yingqi was the most depressed about.
Why did he want to take out his beloved Graceful Sword as a reward?
It was to force the Xia Emperor to take out a precious treasure on the same level. After that, he wanted to depend on Li Ziqi to win it and place the items in his own study,
It was for the sake of striving for vindication!
“What happens if we lose?”
Sun Mo felt a headache. The influence of this year’s war discussion was too great.
“The crown prince might be deposed. Ziqi will surely fall out of favor with the emperor. And as for you, royal brother might not put any blame on you, but you will be expelled from Great Tang!”
Li Xiu didn’t conceal anything.
Everyone was an intelligent person here. They could all think of this result.
“Does the crown prince really have to be deposed?”
Sun Mo mentally mused. (Alright, it seems that I still underestimated how merciless emperors can be.)
The Nine Provinces were like ancient China where seniority and order were emphasized. Usually speaking, the eldest son would succeed the throne, but if the eldest son ‘fell sick and died’, other princes could be chosen as well.
As for what was the sickness?
That would depend on the emperor’s mood!
“The Five Empires War Discussion has always been the obsession in my royal brother’s heart. Great Teacher Sun, please help us!”
Li Xiu lifted her cup with both hands and toasted him.
…
Sun Mo felt that this meal was very dull and insipid.
Leading the prince group to become the champion would surely be a matter of huge glory, and his fame would instantly spread across the five empires. But the problem was, what if they lost?
Also, there was an 80% to 90% chance of losing.
For the teachers of those princes, which of them wasn’t a 7-stars or 8-stars?
Li Xiu said that the Five Empires War Discussion would be organized during September. And now, there were only three months before it. She hoped that Sun Mo could act quicker and head to Chang`an to prepare the princes for the upcoming event.
“Teacher, you can reject it if you don’t want to participate!”
Li Ziqi sat in the carriage and spoke when she saw Sun Mo pondering. “There’s no need for you to be bothered because of me!”
“This challenge is very interesting!”
Sun Mo smiled. “Speaking of which, if your performance is outstanding enough, do you have a chance to become the empress?”
“Ah?” Li Ziqi jumped in fright. “I don’t think so?”
…
At the same time, Qin Yaoguang looked for the sickly invalid who was researching corpses in the mortuary.
“Say, if we make the crown prince die, wouldn’t Ziqi be able to become a female emperor? At that time, our statuses would surely rise greatly!”
Qin Yaoguang yearned for the future.
“Murdering the crown prince…if you are caught, all nine generations of your family will be executed!”
Tantai Yutang rolled his eyes.
“Well, if no one knows about this, it can’t be considered murder!”
Qin Yaoguang urged, “Should we go ahead and do this? In any case, the crown prince and our eldest martial sister have the same father but different mothers. They aren’t close at all.”
“Have you gone crazy?”
The sickly invalid was dumbfounded.
“Haha, I was just joking. See, I’ve frightened you so easily!”
Qin Yaoguang left.
Tantai Yutang’s gaze kept locking at Qin Yaoguang all the way until she vanished. He was still thinking whether something like this could be executed or not.
If Li Ziqi became the empress, their teacher would then be the imperial preceptor!
This was a glory that countless great teachers thirsted for!
…
Sun Mo used two days to finish packing his luggage and just when he was about to set out, Liang Hongda arrived with a piece of good news.