HCB Chapter 198 Don't Make a Decision
Chapter 198 Don't Make a Decision
Officer Xu was overjoyed, thinking that the magistrate would reward him with a wife. He had heard that the magistrate's concubines were all beautiful, and wondered if he could be introduced to one of them as well.
After all, even if I don't claim credit for this, the effort of losing an eye was still significant.
So Officer Xu happily replied, "No, I'm not in a hurry to get married. I'm willing to serve the magistrate for the rest of my life."
Cao Zifan was delighted to hear this and said, "Since you're not in a hurry to get married, then don't get married."
He tossed the book "Great Strength" over, saying, "Tear off a page and eat it. Remember, once you've cultivated the Dao, you can't lose your primordial yang anymore."
Cao Zifan didn't know how to retrieve Daoist techniques from a person, so every subordinate who learned Daoist techniques had to ensure their combat strength and loyalty.
Officer Xu was stunned for a while before he finally realized what was going on. However, he couldn't go back on his word, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and do as he was told.
As he swallowed the page, countless sharp blades sprang from his body, making him look even more miserable than the hedgehog-like Taoist priest.
Cao Zifan had already raised his hand and poured black rice into the man's seven orifices to protect his vital organs. He would treat the man's injuries as soon as the blade disappeared.
The wound was severe, but very little black rice was used, since black rice is incredibly effective at treating wounds.
After assessing the losses, Cao Zifan was overjoyed. Sure enough, there was always a way. Next, he just needed to find more Taoist manuals and suitable martial artists, and he would have a team that was both skilled in supernatural powers and martial arts. The rice he had kept was more than enough to last.
"You surnamed Cao, you will be punished for indiscriminately killing disciples of the Xuanmen sect!"
"What's wrong? Are you going to call your Heavenly Venerable to personally descend to earth and kill me?!"
This Taoist priest had quite a bit of stamina; even after his head was cut off, he was still shouting.
One advantage of the Xuanmen disciples is that they generally carry Taoist manuals with them, like getting loot from monsters – whatever they defeat, they get.
"This Taoist priest is quite interesting. He's afraid of losing his manhood and doesn't dare to do anything real, so every time he goes to a brothel, he has the girls wear different styles of silk stockings and step on him. Your Excellency, what do you think is the point of this?"
The one-eyed constable Xu was behind Cao Zifan, rambling on about what he had seen and heard.
Cao Zifan silently turned into the backyard, wanting to see if there was anything else of value. He swung his knife and hacked open a sturdy door lock.
Many women's legs hung from the roof, each one straight, long, and snow-white, some still wearing different styles of stockings. They were preserved in some unknown way, showing no signs of decay, and even retaining some of their original scent.
Cao Zifan frowned slightly, "Foot fetish is really something."
As time went by, Cao Zifan's team grew stronger and stronger. In addition to the martial artists he had trained who knew Taoist magic, all sorts of extraordinary people joined him.
As expected, neither the imperial court nor the Imperial Observatory of the Great Qian Dynasty reacted. It was unclear whether they did not want to get involved or whether there were simply too many events happening throughout the Great Qian Dynasty to manage.
The Xuanmen did send several waves of retaliatory people, but they all survived without serious incident and eventually made peace with Cao Zifan.
In the chaos of the world, Cao Zifan gradually expanded his power. Even though he was unaware of it, and even though he was frequently appointed and promoted by the court, he involuntarily became a powerful local force.
Of all his opponents, those who practiced exoteric teachings posed the greatest threat to him each time.
The techniques of prominent schools of thought are neither mysterious nor unpredictable. Just like the name "righteous spirit," they are grand and upright methods, yet they are powerful without any blind spots, and often require a great price to be paid to defeat them.
Throughout Cao Zifan's more than ten years of battles, every time he encountered danger, it was because of Xianxue (a martial arts school), and every time there were many sacrifices. Every time, Cao Zifan's confidants were involved, and almost every time he was forced into a dangerous situation.
An obvious truth emerges here: only the dominant doctrines themselves can effectively restrain them. Although Cao Zifan replenished his "righteous spirit" a few times by seizing spoils of war, it was ultimately a drop in the ocean and could not compare to the efforts of high-ranking officials who truly practiced the dominant doctrines.
Cao Zifan, who had already been granted the title of King of Wei by the imperial court, sat on the main seat in the imperial palace in Luoyang.
Cao Zifan, who had never used righteous energy to prolong his life, now had gray hair, cloudy eyes, and his mind was not as sharp as it used to be.
"King Wei, the vanguard has been defeated, and the general has been killed in battle."
After an official in a red robe finished speaking, he presented a book that looked very old. Cao Zifan squinted and barely made out that the title was "Great Strength".
"How's the battle going?"
The official in red robes remained silent for a long time before saying, "Our army has suffered heavy losses. As for the enemy, they only sent one person."
Cao Zifan sighed, "Another popular academic topic? These monsters."
After he finished speaking, another official in a red robe handed him a letter, saying, "Your Highness, a letter from the Third Prince."
"I'm not going to look at it anymore, just tell me the gist of it."
“Him,” the official said through gritted teeth, “He said that as long as the King of Wei’s head is taken, the others will be forgiven.”
Cao Zifan sighed and was about to say something when the official who had stepped forward earlier bowed deeply. "King Wei, things don't have to come to this. We still control three provinces. As long as..."
"What do you mean, 'retreat to'? Where to retreat to!" Cao Zifan roared. "If Luoyang can't be defended, will retreating make it defendable?"
The official quickly bowed and explained, "That's not what I meant. What I meant was that as long as we remove the restrictions on the prominent schools and use the strength of the people of the three provinces to support the King of Wei, we can surely turn defeat into victory."
Of course he could, Cao Zifan understood perfectly well. It's just that he always felt this was the biggest difference between him and all other forces.
As things stand now, everyone claims to be a loyal subject and accuses others of overstepping their bounds; the central government is now reduced to a single, fortified capital city.
The question of who is loyal and who is treacherous has become an inevitable outcome of the victor taking all.
Cao Zifan didn't really care about these things. He believed that he had gotten this far because so many people were willing to risk their lives, and that the mainstream schools of thought were wrong.
However, the situation cannot be reversed by willpower. Cao Zifan is not Lin Fan. Sometimes he dreams that he has fulfilled Lin Fan's third wish, obtained an overpowered cheat code, and trampled the popular schools under his feet in one fell swoop.
However, he was no longer Lin Fan; he was simply Cao Zifan.
The power of the prominent school of thought is unmatched by any other school or sect, so its victory was inevitable.
Of course, as someone with memories of the present world, Cao Zifan knew perfectly well that modern troops and weapons from the present world could certainly defeat Xianxue.
But given the current situation, how much room does he have to develop science?
Over the past few years, Cao Zifan has come to the conclusion that science is the only antidote to the prevailing academic view, but to develop science, it is necessary to use the prevailing academic view itself to buy time.
King Cao Zifan of Wei remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "My mind is made up."
At this moment, the attendant interrupted Cao Zifan, disregarding the rules, "Main body, wake up! You're dreaming. Don't make any decisions in a dream!"