Chapter 1547: The Mark of Time on Words

Some regrets in life, none can erase.Though you be peerless in grace, though you be unmatched under heaven, though you wield the highest authority in the world.It is useless.Just as the Son of Heaven of Qi knew the sorrow of his beloved consort, and the regret of Jiang Wuqi.How could Jiang Wang forget the streets and alleys of Fenglin City, his neighbors and classmates?And how could he possibly wish to miss Jiang An'an's growth?Precisely because he "did not wish" it, yet it still happened, it became a regret.Jiang Wang poured himself a bowl, and as he drank, the Five Qis surged, heat churning within.Drinking until the Four Seas were filled with wind and thunder, his chest swelled with heroic spirit."Since it is so, this wine might as well be called the Righteous Path of the Mortal Realm!" As the wine took hold, he spoke a little wildly...Gu Shiyi was momentarily stunned, then burst into hearty laughter: "The Righteous Path of the Mortal Realm!"He picked up the wine jar again to pour, saying to Jiang Wang, "Come, let us drain another bowl of this Righteous Path of the Mortal Realm!"Again and again, the wine fumes surged back, entwining layer upon layer, fragrant and deeply fragrant.The wine worms within his belly had awakened, scratching at his heart and lungs with craving.Every part of his body seemed to await the irrigation of the fine wine.But Jiang Wang reached out and pressed down on his wine bowl, shaking his head, "I cannot drink anymore."Gu Shiyi put down the wine jar, looking at him, "Is the wine not good?""The wine is too good! I had no craving for wine, but now the wine worms are scratching, craving to death!""Is it that I, this person, am not good?""Elder Brother Gu's cultivation is unmatched, his fame spreads throughout the world, and he is so uninhibited, making one feel close. How could he not be good?""Then what is the reason for your refusing this bowl of wine?" Gu Shiyi asked."To know when to stop." Jiang Wang met Gu Shiyi's scrutinizing gaze, speaking earnestly, "The more something makes me addicted, the more I must restrain myself, the more I must keep my distance.""Just said you were free-spirited, and now you are so unfree!" Gu Shiyi said, "If one cannot indulge oneself when young, must one wait until old age to reminisce?"Jiang Wang simply said, "I have a very long road to travel, so I will not linger too long on the way."His eyes were tinged with the spirit of the wine, his face was flushed with the redness of the wine, his voice was somewhat indistinct from the wine, but his words were calm.At all times, this was his self.Gu Shiyi watched him in silence for a while.Jiang Wang also sat there quietly. Like an ordinary drunkard who might fall over at any moment. But with his self composed, he was far from ordinary."You have convinced me." Gu Shiyi pushed his wine bowl away, "Then we won't drink anymore!"The wine liquid sloshed out of the bowl, spilling onto the table, like shattered jade. There was a heartbreaking regret.Jiang Wang said with a touch of apology, "I hope one day I can stop and drink to my heart's content with Elder Brother Gu."Gu Shiyi paused for a moment, then said, "Do you know who was here drinking with me just now?"Jiang Wang shook his head."Are you not curious?" Gu Shiyi asked.Jiang Wang countered, "Should I be curious?""You are very cunning!" Gu Shiyi said.Jiang Wang said, "I am merely being myself."Gu Shiyi laughed again.He truly was a man who had drunk too much, no different from the drunkards in the market, his emotions changing very quickly.He sighed, "That was a person who used to drink to their heart's content with me.""It seems they will not now," Jiang Wang said."People always change!" Gu Shiyi said.After a pause, he added, "Perhaps, as you said, a person with a long road to travel should not linger too long in one place!"Jiang Wang said, "Elder Brother Gu would certainly understand his friend better than I.""That person is not my friend!" Gu Shiyi said.But then he added, "Perhaps they are."His heart was in conflict, his emotions were in conflict.Current True Lords were all beings who controlled the Dao and perceived the truth of the world. By all accounts, even the end of the world would not easily shake their will, yet he appeared so different.So complex.Perhaps this was also a kind of "truth."This person has too many stories, Jiang Wang thought.But he merely said, "A person who keeps moving forward must always leave some things behind, whether intentional or unintentional at the time. But looking back, they were likely all intentional.""Are you saddened by this?" Gu Shiyi's eyelids drooped slightly."There will inevitably be regrets," Jiang Wang said, "But I must still move forward.""No one will wait for you in the same place, everyone has their own story to unfold," Gu Shiyi said."This is the regrettable part," Jiang Wang said, "Sometimes you have no other choice.""So young, where do these many sentiments come from!" Gu Shiyi's tone became wild and unrestrained, "You are very vulgar now!"Jiang Wang said, "These are all stories I've seen in books. Perhaps I am drunk and speaking nonsense. Elder Brother Gu, please do not blame me.""The speaker is innocent, the drinker is justified!" Gu Shiyi exhaled a breath of wine, probably not wanting to continue this topic, and turned the conversation, "Brother Jiang, how do you view the word 'Yi' (righteousness)?""'Yi' can be great or small. There is the 'Yi' of drawing a sword for a friend, the 'Yi' of repaying kindness and vengeance, the 'Yi' of punishing evil and promoting good, the 'Yi' of home and country, the 'Yi' of clan and race, the 'Yi' of the world," Jiang Wang said, "These are the discussions of the ancient sages, I cannot speak of them."Gu Shiyi pointed at him with his finger, as if to say he was cunning again, but in the end did not say so. Instead, he gazed at him with drunken eyes, "What 'Yi' do you uphold? Is Jiang Qingyang a man of 'Yi'?"Jiang Wang shook his head, "I am not a man of 'Yi'. There was righteousness before me, yet I could not uphold it. There was anger in my heart, yet I could not draw my sword. There were conflicting interests, and I drew my sword and killed."He repeated, "I am not a man of 'Yi'."Gu Shiyi said earnestly, "Sometimes you need to restrain yourself, sometimes you can only choose the less bad option among bad choices, because you have a more important life, Heaven has bestowed upon you an extraordinary mission."Jiang Wang said, "I don't think I am such a special person. My shortcomings and my strengths make me who I am."He thought, my life is in my own choices, my mission is not bestowed by any being.Gu Shiyi simply waved his hand, "Since you are not drinking anymore, there is no point in staying here, go!"Jiang Wang said nothing more, only wishing him to take care.Then he stood up, with a slight wine-induced flush, and thus stepped on the clouds and left.Coming and going was merely a few bowls of wine.This body drifted like a cloud.The desolate mountain had few traces of human activity.One wonders who built this pavilion on the mountaintop.In truth, it was already quite dilapidated. Red paint peeled, wind revealed decayed wood.Gu Shiyi sat alone within, facing the leftover food and cold dishes, as if facing his regretful life, and so he opened another jar of wine.Wine of沧桑 (滄桑, vicissitudes), Wine of沧桑.When composing of vicissitudes, the lines become refined."A young man who cannot drink or act to his heart's content is indeed not a man of 'Yi'."He sighed, "But he is a sincere man, a trustworthy man."The State of Zhao's subservience to the State of Qi was well-known.From court to commoners, this country greatly admired the ways of Qi. The foremost talents of Zhao considered it an honor to serve in Qi. Only those who could not go to Qi would remain in Zhao.In fact, within the entire Eastern Region, was it only Zhao that was like this?Precisely because Qi broadly accepted talented individuals from all over the world, Qi is as prosperous as it is today.It was just that Zhao displayed it more obviously...People from other places would at least say something like "Good birds choose their trees to perch" or "If this place doesn't want me, another place will."People of Zhao directly and openly took serving Qi as their ideal and becoming people of Qi as their life's奋斗目標 (struggle goal).This was absolutely not something shameful in Zhao.Even the Zhao sovereign himself wrote to the Qi Son of Heaven multiple times, persistently requesting to be incorporated into Qi's territory.In the state letter presented to Qi, the Zhao sovereign referred to himself as the Marquis of Zhao, not daring to call himself ruler, expressing willingness to abandon his dragon robes and become a hereditary marquis of the Great Qi Empire for generations, willing to personally cultivate a hundred mu of land for the Qi Son of Heaven, so that the Qi Son of Heaven would have his vegetables to eat... weeping as he wrote, and so on...He was refused by the Qi Son of Heaven on the grounds that the temples of the former Yang宗廟 (ancestral temples) could not be abandoned.Some time ago, it was revealed that one of the three highest leaders of the Equality Nation was called "King of Zhao."This scared the Zhao sovereign so much that he immediately wrote to the Qi Son of Heaven overnight, declaring his innocence. He requested that the Qi court send people to Zhao to investigate and certify his innocence. And he urgently summoned his ministers to discuss changing the name of the country immediately to avoid unwarranted disaster.Finally, the Qi Son of Heaven specifically sent a reply to appease him, saying that "Zhao" was a name of honor, the 正朔 (calendar and reign) of the former Yang, and should not be lightly discarded. He also asked, why should dragons and tigers change their paths for snakes and rats?Only then did the storm subside.Jiang Wang had once cultivated in seclusion in this country, and simply because he spoke with a slight Linzi accent, he received extremely enthusiastic hospitality from the shopkeeper.Now, passing through this border, there would naturally be no unexpected events.Apart from the tipsy drunkenness and the ethereal presence in the clouds, there was nothing to report.He streaked across the high sky, occasionally accompanied by the sound of thunder.Mortals who happened to witness it, in a daze, thought they saw immortals.Passing through Yang land but not entering Qingyang Town, Jiang Wang headed straight for the capital of Qi.When the three-hundred-li city of Linzi appeared in his sight, a sense of reliance suddenly arose within him.His title, his name, his official position, his network of contacts, were all intimately connected with this great city.Leaving the important position of Commander of the Northern Watch for external travel was, of course, a choice he did not regret.His experiences in the State of Chu and the Mountain and Sea Realm were also sufficiently exciting. He did not lead anything, but he witnessed splendid chapters.Returning after traveling the world this time, at the moment he saw Linzi City, he truly realized that he had struggled here for too long and experienced too much. He had already established too deep a bond with this city.Living in Linzi is not easy.And he, Jiang Qingyang, seemed to be a person of this place in a trance.The Department of Military Affairs submitted a memorial requesting the expedition against Xia, which the Son of Heaven approved.The entire State of Qi was mobilized, Dao Origin Stones, provisions, intelligence, negotiations with the countries along the route... a thousand threads and ten thousand ends.But once the decision for war was made, it was difficult for the surging tide to change course.Overnight, swords and spears emerged from the armories, weapons like a forest.However, before the expedition against Xia, there was one most crucial question—Who would be the Commander-in-Chief of the three armies for this expedition against Xia?Qi's hegemony was newly established, it was the last of the six hegemonic powers to achieve hegemony.Many famous generals who had proven themselves in previous wars were still in the army. There were quite a few qualified to lead large armies.However, the State of Xia, after all, had its special significance, and its own strength should not be underestimated.In the past, when Qi and Xia contended for hegemony, the current Qi Son of Heaven personally led the expedition. What Chongxuan Yunbo, Chongxuan Chuliang, Chongxuan Mingshan, Chongxuan Minghe... what Yan Ping, what Jiang Mengxiong, what Yan Tu, what Yang Jiande, what Tian Xili... were all in the formation.Gathering generals like stars, assembling strategists like ants, mobilizing the entire nation's army, they utterly crippled the State of Xia, which at that time spanned the Eastern and Southern Regions.And since the battle in Yuanfeng thirty-eight year to quell the rebellion of Duke Lou Lan in Ming Land, the Qi Son of Heaven had never again donned armor himself.Of course, the current State of Xia was not worth the presence of the Qi Son of Heaven leading the expedition.By rights, if the Qi Son of Heaven did not lead, the Commander-in-Chief for the expedition against Xia should be none other than the Military God of Great Qi, Jiang Mengxiong.This Grand Marshal of the Nation-Guarding Army indeed submitted a memorial requesting to go to war.There is no need to speak further of Jiang Mengxiong's honor and ability. He possesses invincible extraordinary power and is a military genius, truly the foremost person in the army.But at the same time, three other people also requested to go to war.These three people all held extraordinary weight.One was the Commander of the Spring Death Army, Cao Jie, another was the newly advanced True Lord, the Butcher Chongxuan Chuliang, and the third was the Commander of the Imprisoned Lightning Army, Xiuyuan.These three people were also brilliant strategists capable of leading a million-strong army, commanding the most elite Nine Troops of the Great Qi Empire, and their military ability was beyond doubt.Their cultivation levels were not an issue. If they were to command the large army, the Qi court would naturally dispatch other powerful衍道 (Dao Evolution) experts to guard the army and accompany them.Therefore, the choice of Commander-in-Chief for the expedition against Xia was still a matter of contention.Among them, Cao Jie was the most stable in his use of troops, and was referred to by the Qi Son of Heaven as "the most skilled in warfare under heaven." No matter how many troops were entrusted to him, there was basically no possibility of problems arising, but it was also difficult to see rapid victories or great victories.There had always been voices that he only knew how to fight stagnant battles and clumsy battles.However, before, borrowing the identity of Wanyan Xionglue, he slew the famous general of the Flourishing State, Qi Hong, and helped the State of Shepherd take Liyuan City, also showing the versatility of his military style.He was a true all-round commander, and in the art of warfare alone, he could contend with the Military God.The Butcher Chongxuan Chuliang had the foremost merit in defeating Xia in the past, and was very familiar with the situation in the State of Xia. In the competition for the Commander-in-Chief of the expedition against Xia, this factor was very crucial.Furthermore, although he was not as versatile as Cao Jie, nor was he ranked as "the first in using troops under heaven" like Jiang Mengxiong, the sharpness of his military force was unique, rarely matched under heaven.In such a war of annihilation, he could most quickly create a favorable situation. For example, in the war of destroying Yang that earned him his title of marquis, it was almost like a whirlwind. He crushed Yang's resistance in the shortest time, giving the last emperor of Yang, Yang Jiande, no chance, slaying him amidst tens of thousands of soldiers.Moreover, he had just advanced to Dongzhen realm with the strength of the foremost Divine Presence in the Eastern Region, and in his first battle after attaining Dongzhen, his sword pointed at the foremost elder of the Fishing Sea Pavilion, True Lord Chongguang.Whether in terms of momentum, intent, or power, he was at the peak of his life. Using him at this time, the military force was at its peak.As for Xiuyuan...His close friend, the Commander of the Rain-Slaying Army, Yan Tu, was confirmed last year to be a spy for the Equality Nation, and died a death of a thousand cuts. He himself also went through the ordeal of imprisonment.Now was the time he needed a war to prove himself.Of course, everyone knew that he was merely showing his stance, just participating in the race. Such a significant matter as the expedition against Xia could not be entrusted to him for him to prove himself.Although Xiuyuan was also a famous general who had fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, his mindset of wanting to prove himself first excluded him from the list of candidates for Commander-in-Chief.The current Qi Son of Heaven is knowledgeable in military matters. He only ordered these four people to each submit a military strategy, stating that the position of commander would be determined solely by the strategy—For a time, the wind and clouds surged, from the officials in the court to the vendors and porters, all were debating the candidate for the Commander-in-Chief of the expedition against Xia.One said the Military God was invincible, another said Commander Cao was undefeated. Some said that the Butcher became famous for breaking Xia, and it was precisely the Butcher who should end the State of Xia. Some also said that Xiuyuan had fought throughout his life, often defeating the strong with the weak, and was truly a master of military strategy, and should have such an occasion to display his skills.But not a single person said that this battle could not be started, or that the expedition against Xia could not be won.Thus, the Prime Minister, Jiang Rumuo, said—"The hearts of the people can be used."Ps: "國家不幸詩家幸，賦到滄桑句便工" (When the state is unfortunate, the poets are fortunate; when composing of vicissitudes, the lines become refined), are lines by Zhao Yi of the Qing dynasty. He also has a more famous poem, "江山代有才人出，各領風騷數百年" (Talented people emerge generation after generation, each leading the trend for hundreds of years).