Chapter 240.1 - I Became the Legendary Emperor Throughout the Ages After I Started Giving Away My Territory

Under the command of Great Luo Emperor, Great Luo continued to prepare for war.

Originally, they had about 5 million soldiers. After losing 2 million in the great battle, they quickly increased their numbers to 6 million.

Many people were forced into the army. If you disagreed, your family would suffer.

So, many men had no choice but to submit and embark on a path with a slim chance of survival for the sake of their families.

Tragedies were unfolding, one after another!

Song Yufei came again, “Your Majesty, we can’t keep fighting! You’ve conquered three countries, causing devastation and misery to the world. What we should do now is implement policies to pacify the people and give them a way to live!”

“Fairy Yufei, what I am doing now is giving the people a way to live!”

Great Luo Emperor said expressionlessly. “We in Great Luo do not have enough food to support the entire population, so there is no other way but to continue fighting. Rather than slowly waiting to die of starvation, it’s better to fight with all our might!”

Song Yufei asked, “Your Majesty, until when do you plan to fight?”

Great Luo Emperor replied, “Haven’t I said it? I will stop when we have enough food to support the whole country!”

“But we have a food deficit of 15 million, which is too much! We need to conquer at least three more great kingdoms or one Dynasty to fill the food gap!”

“Then we continue to fight!”

Great Luo Emperor declared loudly. “Either we conquer enough territory and food or wait until 15 million people die, then I will call back the troops!”

Song Yufei felt a chill throughout her body.

She had never imagined that the Emperor chosen by their Taoist Sect could speak such cold and heartless words!

This Great Luo Emperor had changed, becoming so cruel and inhumane!

Song Yufei once again urged, “Your Majesty, please stop. This is not the act of a wise ruler!”

Great Luo Emperor suddenly became furious, “Why do you keep advising me to stop again and again? Isn’t everything I’m doing for the sake of Great Luo, for the sake of your Taoist Sect?”

“Your Majesty’s intentions are good, but the method is wrong, it’s too cruel. You will be condemned as a foolish emperor…”

“Wrong method?”

Great Luo Emperor sneered contemptuously, pointing in the direction of Great Xia. He said, “Look at Great Xia, how did they acquire their territory if not by fighting with real swords and spears? What is the difference?”

“Has he fought fewer battles than I have? Has he killed fewer people than I have?”

“And look at the Great Xia Emperor, who was once called a foolish emperor and a tyrant by others. Hasn’t he been redeemed now?”

“Who in Great Xia still calls him a foolish emperor?”

“This…” Song Yufei opened her mouth but said nothing.

“So, I see it clearly now. To hell with benevolence and morality, those things are simply not important. The means don’t matter at all! As long as you succeed in the end, even your farts smell sweet. People are just that pragmatic!”

Song Yufei remained silent, at a loss for words.

“Therefore, fairy, there’s no need to persuade me further. I won’t listen!”

Great Luo Emperor stood with his hands behind his back, his voice cold and merciless: “If you want to reduce the slaughter and casualties, then please continue to send masters to assist! Once I have unified the lands and the country is stable, then I will implement benevolent governance and allow the people to recuperate. By that time, the common people will be grateful and sing praises of me! ”

After organizing his troops, Great Luo Emperor continued to wage war.

To reduce casualties, the Taoist Sect sent masters to assist.

The common people were full of grievances and living in misery!

……

Yaoyao was munching on fruit while discussing the matter.

“Little foolish emperor, do you know? Great Luo is restless again! Not long after conquering three countries, he conscripted and increased their numbers to 6 million troops and launched another war! It’s said that over 5 million common people have already died, and who knows how many more will in the future!”

Lin Beifan sighed, “It’s too brutal!”

“Yes, indeed. They are even more brutal than our Demon Sect!”

Yaoyao nodded repeatedly: “Although we were born in the Demon Sect, at least we don’t bully the common people! But they only dare to wield knives against the common people, which is an act that enrages both the gods and the people and is intolerable by heaven and earth! Now, everyone is calling Great Luo Emperor a tyrant!”

“The most pitiful are the Taoist Sect, which has been tied to Great Luo’s ship and has no choice but to follow along! Now, the reputation of the Taoist Sect has plummeted not just among the common folk but also in the rivers and lakes! Tell me, isn’t this a case of trying to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice? Giggle…”

“It doesn’t matter whether they are pitiful or not! When Great Xue collapses, no single snowflake is innocent! The Taoist Sect was indeed used by the Great Luo Emperor, but at the end of the day, how could the Great Luo Emperor have had such audacity if the Taoist Sect hadn’t assisted him?”

Lin Beifan was filled with emotion.

Whitewashing weakens by three parts, while blackening strengthens the person threefold.

The netizens truly did not deceive me!

(TLN: I think he’s talking about the opposite of common tropes where ‘villains get nerfed when they switch to the good side.’ A good character becomes stronger when they become evil.)

After his transformation, Great Luo Emperor is so awesome, he even made use of the entire Taoist Sect!”

It must be said, well done!

I’ll just sit quietly and enjoy the show!

Yaoyao’s dark eyes were spinning: “Little foolish emperor, should we take this opportunity to spread the word and tarnish the reputation of the Taoist Sect?”

“It’s best not to!” Lin Beifan exclaimed.

“Why not?” Yaoyao was puzzled.

“Because they might replace the current Emperor to save the sect if they care about their reputation. So, we should not only refrain from tarnishing their reputation but also glorify it, leading them further down the wrong path from which they can’t return!”

Lin Beifan chuckled: “When things get out of hand, maybe we won’t even need to take action, someone else won’t be able to resist cleaning up the mess, haha!”

Yaoyao gave a thumbs up: “You’re right! You bad guy, you are so cunning!”

Lin Beifan: “…”

After chatting with Lin Beifan, Yaoyao immediately ran off excitedly to handle the matter.

A while later, Li Linfu, the Minister of Rites, arrived.

He came with a stack of examination papers and reported, “Your Majesty, the results of the imperial examination’s written test are out. Here is the list of candidates qualified for the palace examination and their papers, a total of 300. Please review them!”

Lin Beifan nodded slightly: “Good!”

He casually flipped through them and noticed that most of the candidates who made it to the palace examination were Advanced Scholars, with about 50 Apprentice Scholars.

In Lin Beifan’s eyes, the gap between an Apprentice Scholar and an Advanced Scholar isn’t significant.

If he was to translate that to the present, it would be like the difference between one PhD from Tsinghua and one PhD from Peking University.

There’s definitely no issue with intelligence. As long as they can do the work for him, that’s fine.

Lin Beifan quickly skimmed through the list and selected 100 individuals, saying, “These will do! After they enter the palace, I will assess their abilities myself!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Li Linfu accepted the order.

“Oh, and one more thing! The Graded Teacher system has been in place for a year now. It’s time to promote a few Graded Teachers as role models. Do you have any candidates in mind?” Lin Beifan inquired.

Lin Beifan placed great importance on the Graded Teacher system as it pertained to the foundation of education.

As long as this system was successfully implemented, Great Xia would never lack talent.

Li Linfu seemed to be prepared, presenting a booklet and saying, “Your Majesty, these are the Graded Teacher candidates selected by the Ministry of Rites people after thorough evaluation! They are exceptional in scholarship, education, and moral cultivation and are highly praised by everyone. They can be considered for the first batch of Graded Teacher candidates!”

Lin Beifan responded, “I’ll keep this list for now. I will have someone investigate further!”

“Yes, Your Majesty! Your humble servant shall take his leave.”

***