Chapter 539
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Chapter 539: Law, Art, Power
Qin Mo was taken away by Qin Wuyang’s people as expected, if not carried away, things would not end well. The careless words darkened everyone’s faces, and Qin Wuyang hurried to apologize.
"Dean Qin, there is no need for this. Young people, I understand, who hasn’t been young before?"
"Oh, the king has seven heirs, four of them are already adults, but none of them are talented. Forget it, forget it, let’s not talk about it."
Qin Wuyang sighed, King Qin was still a strong ruler, and Qin Kingdom’s strength had been growing in his reign for these years. However, his sons were not talented, causing him concern. As a high-ranking member of the royal family, Qin Wuyang felt worried.
"Dean Qin, there’s no need for this. I don’t think Qin Mo is a fool either. With proper guidance, he may become a valuable talent in the future."
"Mr. Guigu actually thinks highly of him?"
"Not really. In my opinion, people have innate talent and acquired talent. Just like in martial arts, some are naturally gifted, which is a blessing, no doubt. But even an average person, with the guidance of a great teacher and their own hard work, can have the opportunity to succeed. That’s the essence of education, that’s what the Martial Arts Academy is all about. If the Martial Arts Academy only focused on geniuses, then what’s the point of having the Martial Arts Academy?"
"Um…"
Qin Wuyang somewhat disagreed, as he deeply felt the gap between geniuses and average talents. The same teaching, geniuses would understand in one try, while the average ones would struggle even after ten or eight tries. Can they be compared?
"Teach according to each person’s abilities. Everyone has their own strengths. The reason why the young nobles of the Qin Kingdom are noble is because they have more opportunities than others. The King of Qin Kingdom is only one person, but there are many young nobles. Not everyone can become a king, but everyone has the chance to become talented, just like Dean Qin. You may not be fit to be a king, but you are a good dean."
"Um, um, be careful with your words, sir."
Qin Wuyang’s face turned pale. Can this be said out loud or should it be said in private?
Lin Jiang smiled and said no more, but the people beside him seemed to be lost in thought after listening.
This sentence reached the ears of the King of Qin Kingdom that night. So, the next morning, a group of people on horseback appeared in front of Qin Wuyang’s mansion. They were escorting a large number of treasures.
"Mr. Guigu, I am the Commander of the Royal Guards of King Qin’s Palace. I am here on behalf of our king to present you with these gifts. Please teach four young nobles on behalf of the king."
A general appeared and after speaking, four carriages arrived. Each carriage was filled with treasures, and this gift was the finest in the Qin Kingdom.
Lin Jiang stood there and neither refused nor agreed. He just looked at the commander, feeling more and more pressured by his cold gaze, causing beads of sweat to form on his forehead.
"Sir, I am going to the palace."
Qin Wuyang felt something was wrong. He thought King Qin was too bossy. Even though King Qin seemed to welcome Lin Jiang by offering unprecedented gifts, he didn’t allow Lin Jiang to refuse.
For ordinary people, this would be considered a great favor. However, Lin Jiang was not ordinary – he was a Martial Saint. There are only a few Martial Saints in the whole Xia Kingdom. Lin Jiang could easily leave and still receive high respect in other vassal states.
"Dean Qin, please stop."
"Sir."
"Since King Qin is so generous, I will accept."
"Sir, I…"
"Where are the four young masters?"
Lin Jiang calmly spoke, and soon, four carriages appeared. Qin Mo, whom they had seen earlier, also appeared, all respectfully bowing to Lin Jiang in a master-disciple manner.
"Since you have paid your respects as a disciple, you are now my student. I didn’t give you these gifts for nothing. Today, your first lesson begins."
"The first lesson is about staying calm. Those who are superior should remain composed even when facing a collapsing mountain. So, it’s important to stay calm. Come on, spread your legs, half squat, and get into a horse stance."
Lin Jiang walked while talking, approached four people, and asked them to get into a horse stance. Then, Lin Jiang walked to the front gate where there was a row of stone pillars used for tying reins. Qin Wuyang’s mansion had many guests arriving on horseback. Lin Jiang, with one hand each, directly pulled the deeply buried stone pillars out of the ground, making Qin Wuyang’s eyes widen in shock.
Indeed, Lin Jiang placed the stone pillars on their hands and said. Six hours, no moving. If anyone drops a pillar, we restart the timer. Drop it more than three times, go home.
After saying this, Lin Jiang turned around and walked back into Qin Wuyang’s mansion, leaving the group of people in a commotion.
"Dean Qin…"
"According to the teacher, if you can’t endure this bit of hardship, you don’t deserve to be a disciple of the Martial Saint."
Qin Wuyang calmly said that this was Lin Jiang’s retaliation against King Qin. Qin Wuyang agreed with it, as he also felt King Qin was being too much. If they had discussed properly, from Qin Wuyang’s understanding of Lin Jiang, King Qin probably wouldn’t have refused.
"Oh, this is killing me."
Qin Mo yelled, wanting to throw the stone pillar, but Qin Wuyang gave him a cold look, making him back off. Although he was silly, he understood cues and knew it wasn’t the time to act out.
The other three young lords didn’t say a word. The stone pillars, each weighing hundreds of pounds, were indeed very heavy. But they had been practicing martial arts since they were young, with internal strength in their bodies, so this was not a difficult task for them.
·······
Early the next morning, Lin Jiang met the four young lords from the Qin Kingdom at Qin Wuyang’s mansion. Each of them sat in a strange posture. Because they had pushed themselves too hard yesterday, even though they were all Martial Arts Masters, they would now be experiencing muscle soreness or even strains.
"Won’t you introduce yourselves?"
"I am Qin Si."
"Qin Mo."
"Qin Dong."
"Qin Cheng."
The four men introduced themselves one by one. These were the four adult young lords of King Qin, according to the Xia Law, a man becomes an adult at the age of sixteen. Lin Jiang had certain ceremonies for coming of age as well, which had been followed until today.
"Well done, you all have shown talent by persevering. Today’s second lesson is about how having a strong body is important for everything. Whether you aim to become a Martial Arts Master, a king, or something else in the future, you need to have a healthy body. Go rest and come back for the next lesson in five days."
Lin Jiang nodded and then had someone lead them away. The four of them exchanged glances, all prepared to face more challenges today, but they were not expecting this.
After five days had passed, all four of them were fully recovered. Being young and strong, coupled with top-notch medical care, five days were enough for them to recuperate.
"The previous two lessons were just warm-ups. Starting today, we will begin the real lessons. What I will teach you from now on will mainly focus on how to be a ruler, a king, or a leader. Martial arts will be just a part of it, not the main focus."
"If you can grasp even a fraction of the knowledge I teach you, you will be a qualified King Qin. If you can learn a third of it, you will be as wise as your ancestors. If you can master seventy percent of it, you will be the most formidable King Qin in the history of the Qin Kingdom. And if you can learn all of it, you will be worthy of being called ‘the one true emperor for eternity’."
"Sir, does ‘the one true emperor for eternity’ refer to someone like Emperor Xia?"
"Yes, perhaps you all could even surpass him."
"This…"
The four of them could hardly believe it. In the thousand-year history of the Xia Kingdom, who would dare to claim to be on par with Emperor Xia?
"Don’t worry if you don’t understand now, we will talk more in class later. Today, let’s start with the main points. All our future lessons will be based on what we discuss today, so you can take notes if you want."
Lin Jiang said to his servant standing nearby to write things down so they can refer to it later. Lin Jiang also wanted to be able to review it, as he was afraid he might forget.
"Those in power should understand these three things: law, skill, and influence."
"What is law? Law refers to rules and regulations. Laws are not always applicable, each law has its own suitable situation…"
"What is skill? Skill is the art of managing people. Whether they are officials, commoners, or warriors, a leader doesn’t have to be the strongest warrior, but should have…"
"What is influence? You can think of it as authority, the authority of the king. But where does the king’s authority come from…"
Lin Jiang spoke confidently. This outline consisted of thousands of words that he had racked his brain over in the past few days. Because he had not studied seriously when he was young and hadn’t memorized many things, he had to combine what he had seen in novels, TV shows, movies, etc., to explain law, skill, and influence as clearly as possible.
The four young lords still didn’t fully understand, finding these theories deep and mysterious, certainly very impressive. However, in another room, Qin Wuyang and King Qin could understand clearly.
Qin Wuyang seemed restless, questioning the strategies of an emperor that he had just heard. King Qin’s expression became even more enigmatic.
"Uncle, may Heaven bless Qin Kingdom. Mr. Guigu is truly talented."
King Qin gently patted Qin Wuyang’s shoulder, reassuring him and making a decision about the matter.
