The Villain's Counterattack

As the saying goes, a centipede is still alive even after death. Although the Mongol Yuan Empire has declined, there are still some people available in its huge size, especially the Grand Marshal of the Army like Prince Ruyang who is in charge of military power. Those who depend on him for their livelihood are searching frantically with all their might. Even if Song Qingshu and Wei Yixiao did not expose themselves intentionally, they could not hide for long, not to mention that they intentionally exposed Prince Ruyang's whereabouts.

A ship set sail, and Song Qingshu had already made preparations. Ming Cult members were spread across the country, including the coastal areas. However, this time, it wasn't the Ming Cult members who were making the move, but Zhou Zhiyang. This guy had originally planned to come in person, but was ultimately persuaded by Chang Yuchun to back out. His role should be on the front lines, not in these elite squads.

Looking at this huge ship that was well-equipped with bows, crossbows, kerosene and even a cannon, Zhu Yuanzhang saw with his own eyes that Song Qingshu sank a Mongol ship with one shot, and his heart was filled with shock. On the boundless ocean, this thing was definitely a powerful weapon, and there was basically nowhere to hide.

"Without agriculture there is no stability, without industry there is no wealth, without commerce there is no life. In fact, craftsmen bring not only wealth but also strength! Do you know what the two major schools of thought in the Warring States Period are?" Song Qingshu began to lecture to everyone when he had nothing to do. Of the twenty-one Wudang disciples, seven sword-wielding disciples quietly left for Wudang Mountain, leaving only fourteen sword and shield soldiers, second-rate masters and battle-hardened sword and shield soldiers.

"Confucianism and Mohism were prominent schools of thought. They were even ranked alongside Confucianism during the Hundred Schools of Thought, a testament to their power. It was only because of their immense power that they were shelved, while the degenerated Confucianism, despite being foolish, was able to flourish. Isn't that ironic? Among the four classes of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, the scholars, who were lazy and ignorant of the five grains, were ranked first, while the farmers, who were the most numerous and lived the most difficult lives, took second place. The artisans ranked third, their means of living better than the farmers, yet their status was lower. And the merchants, most of whom were wealthy, were clearly superior, yet they were forced to be relegated to the last place. Yet, they had many artisans, farmers, and even scholars working for them. Isn't that ironic?"

"The Mohist doctrine is profound and extensive. If it is integrated with the Taoist doctrine, it will be even more unfathomable. This cannon is the product of the combination of Mohist mechanical technology and Taoist alchemy. You don't think that I learned alchemy before just to become an immortal, right? Haha, only the art of inner alchemy can make one become an immortal. External alchemy is always just an external object." Song Qingshu talked eloquently, and Wei Yixiao yawned as he listened. Although this thing was good, he was not afraid of it at all. If he was on land, he could easily run far away.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded repeatedly after hearing this. If you want to do your job well, you must first sharpen your tools. During this journey, he truly witnessed the power of craftsmanship. Every time Song Qingshu took out something, he was able to leave the Mongols and Tartars far behind, especially the flying wings that could fly into the sky, which made his eyes shine. This was not just a light skill of jumping three feet high, but real flying.

Following Song Qingshu, as long as you are willing to learn, he will never be stingy in teaching. This Confucian hero, who is younger than himself, is actually a genius who is proficient in hundreds of schools of thought. There is nothing he doesn't know about astronomy, geography, Confucianism, Mohism, business, marching, strategic planning, and sophistry.

"To conquer the world, you need warriors; to rule the world, you need capable people. The so-called capable people are not the same as literati, and literati are not the same as Confucianists. Pure Confucianists cannot be in office because they are incompetent. What is capable? It is the teachings of hundreds of schools of thought. Farmers have their own fields to cultivate, and farmers can get a good harvest by improving them. Workers have their uses, and the construction of water conservancy and roads is the expertise of Mohism. Diplomatic attacks are what the diplomats do, and they can defeat the enemy without fighting. Defending the country, expelling the Tartars, and expanding the territory are all necessary and indispensable for military strategists. Putting more emphasis on culture than on military is the shame of the Song Dynasty's demise." Song Qingshu talked about the strategies for governing the country, guarding the land, and then going into details about each city and each place, and then going into details about the basic work, which made Zhu Yuanzhang gain a lot.

"Cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world! It's easy to say, but without step-by-step practice at the grassroots level, if you can't even properly govern a village, a town, or a county, how can you talk about governing the country? If you can't even repair a road between villages, how can you possibly be competent in overseeing the construction of a thousand-mile-long river? No one is born with knowledge. Only those who have cultivated themselves through steady progress, step by step, are truly useful. Empty talk will ultimately be no match for practical action. Empty talk will ruin a country, while practical action will prosper it."

Song Qingshu suddenly turned to Zhu Yuanzhang and asked, "If we could drive out the Tartars and let you choose your position, what would you like to be? A general guarding a region? A governor governing a region? A high-ranking official in the imperial court? A marshal expanding the territory? Or, like the Sky Eagle Sect, retire after success, establish your own kingdom overseas, and rule the world?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment, feeling that Song Qingshu asked this question a little too early. They were discussing how to eat the rabbit before they even caught it. However, if the Tartars were really expelled and China was restored, what would he want to do?

He came from a very humble background and did not have many opportunities to study when he was young. It is no exaggeration to say that he was not good at either literature or martial arts. He was only half-baked in reading and his martial arts could not even beat the third generation inner disciples of Wudang. However, he was still good at marching and fighting.

If the Tartars were truly driven out, what else could he do? Guarding a region was a bit difficult. I'd learned a lot from Song Qingshu these past few days, but I knew I was far behind, and I didn't have much experience. Being a general guarding a region was certainly possible, and expanding territory seemed quite exciting. Finally, being crowned a king overseas was a huge temptation.

"Don't have too many random thoughts. Do what you can and do your best. Clearly understand your own abilities and maximize them. Talents of ten miles, then a hundred miles, then a thousand miles, and then ten thousand miles. Do things according to your ability. This way you won't harm yourself or others, and it will also make it easier to succeed. A thousand miles begins with a single step. People are constantly improving. When you find that you've reached your limit and even if you work hard, you can't make any further progress, take a step back and you'll find that life will be much easier and everything will be under control."

Song Qingshu patted Zhu Yuanzhang on the shoulder and said, "You came from humble beginnings. This is your weakness, but it can also be your strength. Endure hardship and perseverance, work hard at the grassroots level, and never give up easily. Don't let your low status make you complacent. Just be careful not to become complacent immediately after achieving something. This time when you go to the Sky Eagle Kingdom, I plan to have you raise a new army and lead them to conquer several strategic locations. Be careful to prevent the Mongols from getting carried away and sending troops to attack."

"Yes, sir!" Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly accepted the order, but suddenly heard Wei Yixiao coughing beside him, and then he remembered that the guy in front of him who was talking so eloquently was not a member of the Ming Cult and had no power to appoint or dismiss people.

Song Qingshu glanced at Wei Yixiao and said, "Why, do you have any objections? How about I give you a captain's position and let you serve under Master Zhu? You have at least seven or eight soldiers under you, so you're not alone."

Wei Yixiao snorted in silence. Song Qingshu explained, "Don't think there's anything wrong with me meddling. Although the Sky Eagle Nation was nominally founded by Bai Guishou, the leader of the Sky Eagle Cult, I've actually been the one behind the scenes planning and coordinating the overall situation. To put it another way, Bai Guishou has always been a subordinate of Fifth Aunt Yin Susu. Now is a critical moment, Fifth Aunt has to listen to me, let alone her subordinates. Zhu Yuanzhang is quite talented. Besides military affairs, I plan to wait until Prince Ruyang is no longer useful and then let him take charge of both military and political affairs. Let him try to establish military settlements and govern the people. If he does a good job, I'll let him continue to attack the Japanese islands and garrison the area."

"If one day he has extraordinary talent, even if he establishes a kingdom overseas, so what? He is still one of us Han Chinese." Song Qingshu's words made Zhu Yuanzhang extremely anxious. He hurriedly said, "Teacher, please take back your words. I have absolutely no such intention."

"Hmph, so worthless." Song Qingshu said angrily, "Many of my disciples are Confucian scholars. They are capable of governing a region, assisting in government and discussing politics, and even maintaining a stronghold. However, Confucianism is both their success and their failure. They simply don't have the courage to establish a nation abroad. Wadao, Goryeo, Ryukyu, even beyond the Great Wall and the Western Regions, the world is too vast for the Central Plains to rule, so why not give it to their own people?"