After her excitement, she immersed herself in cultivation again and immediately felt the difference. With a slight mental movement, spiritual energy flowed more freely, and she could perform extremely delicate control. If previously observing her spiritual energy operation was like using a magnifying glass, this time it was like using a high-powered microscope.
From this moment, she finally understood why Ancient had always emphasized the need to “understand one’s heart and see one’s nature”—it was because the cultivation of one’s nature and physical body complement each other, and neither can be absent.
Recalling when Yun Ya lectured her years ago, he had mentioned that although the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was depleting, innately gifted cultivators still had huge room for progress. What truly became the final bottleneck for people was, instead, the realm of the mind.
Nature, knowledge, experience, breadth of mind—none can be missing. Though Feng Miao Jun was not old, she had seen the most authentic aspects of the human world. The cultivator’s heart forged in the rolling dust of the mortal realm improved in realm day by day. By today, it was finally approaching great completion.
She understood that from now on, her cultivation could only be described as taking a thousand li in a single step.
The next day, however, Feng Miao Jun did not dine with Fu Ling Chuan; nor did she manage to visit Ying Water City, the old capital of the Haoli Empire as wished. It wasn’t that Fu Ling Chuan broke his promise, but that the royal court received bad news one after another, and neither he nor the Queen could leave.
The southwestern frontline was not faring well in battle, losing a great general to Yun Ya’s hands. The Kingdom of Puling, stirred by revenge, had been frantically killing and looting within An Xia’s borders these days. Those who didn’t know better might think the Puling people had taken some kind of tonic—their eyes were bloodshot red.
What was troublesome was that with Puling’s precedent exposing An Xia’s weakness in military power, other small countries on the border were also stirring, wanting to take advantage and get a piece of the pie.
Six days later, the situation worsened:
Bo Prefecture had also fallen. The checkpoint leading to An Xia’s heartland was lost. General Xu Wen Da, who had risen to fame over the past decade for resisting Wei, perished with the city. In the final moment, he raised his sword and slit his throat—an extremely heroic scene.
At this point, An Xia troops gathered from the central and northwestern regions had not yet arrived, but the Puling people had already entered the Bogu Plains from Bo Prefecture, spreading like a plague in all directions.
Meanwhile, in Wusei City, the matter of the alliance with the Wei Kingdom faced repeated objections. Many court officials passionately invoked national righteousness, declaring no leniency toward enemies, and took the opportunity to raise again the matter of the Queen returning to Lubo City to stabilize public morale and encourage the fighting spirit of the troops. This point was rejected by Fu Ling Chuan on the spot, causing great unpleasantness between the sovereign and ministers.
During her leisure time, Feng Miao Jun also summoned Xu Ling Hai.
This fellow, whom she had rescued from the outskirts of Mituo City, had now become her confidant, often echoing her in court. Fu Ling Chuan knew his background and intentions and had tried several times to draw him into his camp, but Xu Ling Hai firmly refused.
He knew clearly that only by resolutely supporting the Queen would he have value; there were too many people surrounding Fu Ling Chuan, each with more power and advantage than him.
Regarding the current deadlock in court, Xu Ling Hai had his views:
“The Puling calamity could eventually be resolved by An Xia alone, but the military power, finances, and material resources consumed would be enormous. The national treasury cannot withstand such losses. Furthermore, continuing to fight this way, who knows how many lives would be lost, how many border towns would suffer burning, killing, and looting.” He said in a low voice, “Most importantly, Your Majesty’s prestige has just been established, but it will rapidly decline due to Puling, and the elemental power will also sharply decrease. By then, farmland irrigation and production, and the flow of goods and commerce among the common people will all be greatly affected.”
What is elemental power? Simply put, it is the people’s faith in the country, and their confidence in the nation’s future. If the country never wins wars and their lives are constantly filled with suffering, how can the people be loyal to the country, how can they have confidence?
The elemental power naturally decreases.
Such depletion would bring a series of chain reactions, with the most direct link being insufficient elemental power to regulate climate and respond to disasters.
When a nation’s fortunes are rising, even in the face of sudden calamities, a country empowered by elemental force can minimize its impact. This has been particularly evident in the Yan Kingdom. It hasn’t experienced large-scale natural disasters for more than a hundred years.
Tyranny, foolish governance, and going against the natural order are often accompanied by natural and man-made disasters. This happens because there isn’t enough elemental power to shelter the land and bring favorable weather. The Xi Kingdom, for example, has already shown such disadvantages.
Therefore, the southwestern war is a matter where pulling one hair affects the whole body for the entire An Xia. It must not only be handled properly but also as quickly as possible.
At present, what conditions would allow for this?
Feng Miao Jun smiled bitterly: “An Xia has only recently been restored as a country. Even if the elders have elite troops, most of the soldiers are newly recruited and have trained for only a few months before having to face the swift Puling cavalry. It’s asking too much of them.” She understood the objective difficulties.
Xu Ling Hai was slightly startled and praised: “Your Majesty can still clearly perceive military intelligence while commanding from thousands of li away—truly remarkable.” The biggest problem with the long-distance command is inadequate information, with the leadership having insufficient understanding of the affected areas. The Queen, far away in Wusei City, saw through the contradictions at the front so thoroughly, undoubtedly expending great effort on military affairs, far from being the puppet queen spoken of by ordinary bureaucrats.
Feng Miao Jun waved her hand lazily: “Less flattery, speak directly.”
Xu Ling Hai said awkwardly: “Right now, there is a ready-made solution to resolve the border troubles, convenient, simple, time-saving, and effortless.”
Feng Miao Jun pressed her temples: “Are you referring to the Wei emissary’s proposal?”
“Exactly!” The Queen was truly wise; though female, she surpassed men many times over.
Feng Miao Jun did not rebuke him but asked: “Tell me about it.” Xu Ling Hai was most adept at identifying subtle trends. From Fu Ling Chuan to all officials, the entire royal court was resistant to the agreement proposed by Yun Ya. Yet Xu Ling Hai still brought it up—he must have his reasons.
“Is Your Majesty concerned that allying with the Wei Kingdom would lose the people’s hearts?”
“That’s not just my concern.” Once the people’s hearts are lost, they are very difficult to regain. “The people of An Xia harbor deep hatred towards the Wei Kingdom. Even if I’m planning for An Xia’s long-term interests, they won’t understand my good intentions.” Setting aside history, the benefits of An Xia allying with the Wei Kingdom were numerous—she could understand this without Yun Ya explaining much. But the public is emotional, and people naturally can only see immediate benefits, with little interest in vague, long-term plans.
This point she understood even before falling into this world.
“Deep hatred?” Xu Ling Hai chuckled. “Is that the case?”
Feng Miao Jun turned her head to look at him, becoming interested: “What do you mean?”
Xu Ling Hai unexpectedly replied bluntly: “Your Majesty can perceive the frontline battle situation thousands of li away, but may not necessarily understand the thoughts of the city dwellers right beneath your feet.”