“General Meng, you’d better run quickly!” Li Zhi said to Zhang Jianzhi’s back.

“Why run? Your Highness has so many abundant resources—naturally they should be put to good use. You needn’t feel embarrassed. When others ask, just say it was my idea. There’s nothing shameful about this.”

“I’m not embarrassed. A big panda is coming to find its son. Its son was kicked by you into the bamboo grove and is still crying out. I’ve always been the one feeding this big panda, so it won’t bite me. As for you—that’s hard to say.”

Zhang Jianzhi slowly stood up and tidily collected his food tray. Seeing that panda bare its canine teeth, he jumped over the table and ran all the way, quickly mixing into the crowd and disappearing.

The big panda came out from that bamboo grove biting the scruff of the little panda’s neck. It put the little panda on the table, came to Li Zhi’s side, hugged the plate, and ate the leftover rice inside, acting as if no one else was present…

The academy originally only had three pandas sent over by Princess Si. The academy’s cooks would feed these three pandas every day. Moreover, there was still a large grove of arrow bamboo by the Dongyang River for foraging. These three pandas settled down at the academy. Three years ago in winter, a heavy snow fell. This snowfall was very heavy, and many bamboo stalks were broken by the accumulated snow.

When the cook fed the pandas according to custom, he discovered there was an additional weak panda. He cracked two eggs and fed them to this weak panda, and also gave it some leftover rice. Thus, the next day, this panda came again. Three pandas’ food for four pandas to eat wasn’t a big problem—the cook didn’t mind.

But when he discovered that more and more pandas were coming to him for food, it was already too late for regret. These pandas somehow had completely lost their wild nature. When the cook kicked them with his feet, they would only stick their rear ends up to take it. Afterward, they’d rub their rear ends against the wall corner a few times and everything would be fine. For a bit of food, they had completely lost their dignity as bears.

The academy informed Princess Si of the news that pandas were overrunning the academy. The overjoyed Princess Si came to the academy in a carriage. The sight of the frail little person coughing while feeding pandas made Li Gang unable to say words about driving these pandas back to the Qinling Mountains no matter what.

Little Princess Si went to find Father Emperor to request food money for the pandas. She also found Mother Empress, the Crown Prince, and her other brothers and sisters. Thus, Little Si raised a great deal of money specifically intended to feed the pandas. Li Er issued an extremely forceful decree to the academy: they must not drive away the pandas and must find people to specifically manage these pandas. Thus, that cook changed from a menial worker to an imperial staff member, recruiting four or five menial workers to specifically be responsible for feeding pandas.

Li Gang watched the pandas become a disaster, helpless and worried that one day the academy would be occupied by pandas. As a result, at this time, the pandas’ own beast instincts caused them to begin driving away later-arriving pandas. Those weak pandas were no match for the well-fed, robust pandas raised by the academy. Beaten soundly, they drilled into the Qinling Mountains and never dared come out again.

Once the little pandas in the academy grew up, they would be mercilessly driven into the Qinling Mountains by those big pandas. So the academy’s pandas always maintained around a hundred or so.

This habit of pandas was discovered by the academy’s teachers. Learning from hunters that wild pandas all existed alone, even males and females weren’t together except possibly when in heat—why would the academy’s pandas form such a large group?

Some people speculated this was related to the abundance of food. So the academy, in the spirit of research, cut down some bamboo groves. Sure enough, some more pandas were driven into the Qinling Mountains by their own kind. When those bamboos grew back the following year, the panda population returned to its original state. Among the academy teachers who discovered this characteristic was a young teacher named Xuan Ren. He submitted an application to the academy to research beast behavior.

He believed that all things in the world lived according to unique rules. The human realm was composed of imperial family, ministers, meritorious nobles, commoners, and slaves. Then beasts should also be thus—they should also have such social hierarchy. This was destiny’s decree and couldn’t change according to individual will. He wanted to spend ten years proving all this.

Master Yuanzhang naturally wouldn’t agree to such a boring matter, but Li Er somehow learned of this news and specially allocated funds from the inner treasury to support Xuan Ren’s research. Li Er keenly discovered that once this theory was proven, his rule would become even more justified and proper. How could such a good theory be passed up?

Only useful theories would be supported. Xuan Ren very accurately hit the imperial family’s vital point. Back in the day, Confucianism affirmed the correctness of the emperor ruling all people, which was why Dong Zhongshu had the opportunity to marry this beauty called Confucianism to Emperor Wu of Han. Xuan Ren was merely repeating the old trick.

With money, Xuan Ren began recruiting his followers at the academy. As a result, four people prepared to follow him in researching beasts. Excitedly, Xuan Ren sought Master Yuanzhang to request opening a Yushan Beast Studies Branch Academy, only to be spat back by Yuanzhang. Come back when you’ve found fifty followers—Gongshu Mu’s Civil Engineering Branch Academy was established because he found enough followers.

Xuan Ren walked away smiling with a head full of spit. His goal was already achieved. What he needed to do now was produce results. As long as he became famous throughout the realm, followers would naturally come. Even a cobbler would have three to five apprentices. He had discovered a great field of learning—a hundred or more disciples would come, as long as he could establish the system of zoology. He decided to start researching from wolf packs…

The older Master Li Gang got, the more childish he became. There were horse carts, donkey carts, and sheep carts in the world, but the old master insisted on riding a bear cart. He found the most docile panda, fitted it with a bridle, and had it pull his small warming cart around the academy—nothing could be more pleasant.

The panda slowly wandered east and west. The old master would lie in the warming cart half-asleep, following along in idle wandering. He didn’t deliberately require the panda to go anywhere. As long as it could pull him around everywhere, that was fine. The warming cart was like a large cradle for him.

The place he and the panda went most often was to Master Yan Zhitui’s statue. More than once, Li Gang patted the statue saying he would soon come to accompany the old master. The current Great Tang had too many stories to tell Master Yan. Sometimes Li Gang was even somewhat impatient. He felt that cold stone was far more suitable for himself than his own frail body.

Yun Ye said that when learning reached its extreme, what one wanted was immortality. This immortality naturally didn’t refer to the flesh. Li Gang didn’t hope he could live to a hundred years like Master Yan. As long as his essence and marrow could attach to Yushan Academy and be passed down eternally together with the academy, such a result was far more important than living a few more years.

That old fellow from Taishan still didn’t outlive him. After the three old fellows fulfilled their promise to teach at the academy for three years, they returned and successively passed away. This greatly delighted Li Gang—finally, he could completely triumph over these three old guys in one aspect. Moreover, winning decisively and conclusively. Unless the three old fellows came back to life, otherwise, heh heh…

After the old fellows died, others sent mourning notices, but only Li Gang sent bright red congratulatory notices. No one blamed him. No one even felt there was anything wrong with doing so. The descendants of the three old men even came from thousands of miles away to the academy to express thanks. They didn’t wear mourning clothes but wore festive dress to thank Master Li Gang. Li Gang laughed heartily and said, “They can already rest. Only this old man remains struggling between heaven and earth. How can I not congratulate them?”

Having lived ninety years, he had long grown weary. If not for his reluctance to leave this magnificent academy and those vigorous, spirited students, Li Gang might have passed away long ago. He struggled bitterly through his days just wanting to see the academy one more time—even one more look was good…

Li Er finally decided to return to Chang’an. He had seen enough of Yuezhou. The final conclusion he drew was that this was a city belonging to merchants. They used another set of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame. Among these, the most important was the spirit of contract. As long as a contract was signed, they would complete it even if their heads touched the ground. Before the contract was signed, they could use any means whatsoever—deceiving, swindling, cheating without any shame, and everyone would allow such behavior to exist.

Once a contract was signed, you could trust him one hundred percent. If anything violating the contract occurred, the violator could forget about obtaining any contract from the merchant circle ever again. He had destroyed his own credit. Such a person had no way to engage in commerce again, including his descendants.

Yuezhou’s biggest merchant was himself. The biggest beneficiary was also himself. Li Er discovered that even he couldn’t easily break contracts. Once he broke a contract, the imperial family’s credit would go bankrupt. This problem was very serious. In the commercial circle, he was no longer the lofty emperor. The most basic creed had already been cast. He could only formulate other regulations according to this creed. He understood he had already been kidnapped onto this war chariot by massive commercial interests. Even imperial power couldn’t make it stop.

Traveling against the current on the Han River was very difficult, so Li Er abandoned the water route and ordered the army to go straight into Hanzhong along the Han River, finally following the Golden Ox Road through the weak point of the Qinling Mountains back to Chang’an.

The Great Emperor was disassembled of half its weapons and handed over to the Yuezhou Provincial Governor. It could only be moored on Dongting Lake. Regardless of any reason, if it entered the Yangtze River waterway, the Yangtze River naval forces would immediately sink it. No reason would work—this was Li Er’s death order. Because the Great Emperor was also part of the Yuezhou temporary palace.

Zhang Liang, as if receiving a great pardon, led the remaining fleet to rush to the Eastern Sea at top speed. Among them, the Princess and the Qing Que had also been incorporated into the Lingnan Fleet’s battle order. The Ministry of Revenue compensated Yun Ye and Li Tai with some money and grain, which was considered purchasing these two giant ships. Li Er also didn’t issue new ship construction plans. He believed the Great Tang’s maritime power was already sufficient.

Yun Ye also issued orders for the Lingnan Fleet to rotate defense. As soon as Zhang Liang handled the handover procedures in Dengzhou, the Lingnan Fleet would return to the empty South Sea, continuing to place the corpses of any pirates who dared break through the defense line on Crab Island. The seagulls there hadn’t eaten fresh human flesh for a long time.