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“The Heart Crushing Palm,” “Five Elements Secret Record,” “Mystic Heart Breathing Technique,” “Dragon Wandering Technique,” “Brahma Divine Skill”…
Oliver Sheng didn’t make a selection; instead, he read through each book one by one.
Whether it was a cultivation method or a martial arts technique, he didn’t skip any, accepting everything that came his way.
After finishing the lower-level cultivation methods and martial arts secrets on the second floor, Oliver moved to the third floor and continued reading, not missing a single book.
The martial arts manuals on the third floor were slightly better than those on the second floor, but not by much; they were still ordinary martial arts manuals.
It wasn’t until the fourth floor that he found a few ordinary manuals that could be cultivated to the Prenatal Realm.
The fifth and sixth floors contained manuals and mental techniques for the Prenatal Realm.
On the seventh floor, the number of books decreased, and this floor housed cultivation methods for the Grandmaster Realm.
By the eighth floor, the number of books dwindled further, with only about a hundred martial arts manuals, but all were for the Great Grandmaster Realm.
Oliver spent three days in the Royal Armory.
He spent three days, without a moment’s rest, reading through all the books inside.
He read through tens of thousands of books, except for the ninth floor, which he didn’t go up to.
He guessed that the ninth floor probably contained the ancestral cultivation methods of the Great Wei royal family, which were core secrets that only members of the royal Han family could access.
What Oliver didn’t know was that on the ninth floor, an elderly figure sat cross-legged, observing him since the moment he entered.
After three days, having read all the books from the second to the eighth floor, Oliver finally descended and walked out of the Royal Armory.
At the same time, all the cultivation methods in the Great Wei Royal Armory were recorded by the golden Light Screen.
Upon leaving the armory, Oliver stopped a palace maid.
“Sir, what are your orders?” The palace maid bowed slightly.
“I want to see Jade Han. Please go and call her for me,” Oliver said directly.
“Yes, sir!”
The palace maid went to call Jade Han, while Oliver stood still, not moving.
After all, this was the imperial palace, with many noble ladies around, and he didn’t want to cause any scandalous rumors.
Before long, Jade Han arrived.
“General, did you find any martial arts manuals to your liking?” Jade Han asked with a charming smile.
“Yes.”
Oliver nodded. Although those cultivation methods couldn’t compare to his Great Sun Heart Sutra, many of them had their own merits.
Studying more martial arts manuals would also greatly benefit his martial arts cultivation.
“General Sheng, His Majesty requests your presence. She has something she wishes to consult with you about,” Jade Han said.
“Oh? What is it?” Oliver was a bit puzzled.
He wasn’t someone who dealt with state affairs, so could it be about cultivation?
That didn’t make sense either. If it were about cultivation, Hazel Han should be consulting the royal ancestor.
Jade Han didn’t answer, simply leading the way.
“General Sheng, during your three days in the armory, many people in the capital have been inquiring about you,” Jade Han said.
After meeting the Empress, rumors about Oliver being granted a marquisate had spread among the capital’s nobility, and many wanted to establish connections with him.
“Why are they inquiring about me?”
“General Sheng is now a prominent figure. Many nobles are thinking of marrying their daughters to you,” Jade Han said with a smile.
“……”
Is such a good thing possible?
“They all want to be the marquis’s wife, don’t they?” Oliver laughed.
“General, you’re so humorous!” Jade Han was amused by Oliver.
Indeed, many aristocratic families had that idea. A marquis was an extremely prestigious title in Great Wei.
As a top-tier noble, many aristocratic families would try to arrange marriages with him.
If Oliver hadn’t been in the palace for the past three days, the threshold of the Honglu Temple where he stayed would have been worn down by officials.
A rising star, who wouldn’t want to make connections?
“General Sheng, have you considered it? Many ministers’ daughters are quite beautiful,” Jade Han joked.
“Really? Are they as beautiful as you, Jade?” Oliver looked at Jade Han with a smile.
“Is the General teasing me?” Jade Han smiled.
“I’m not. There aren’t many as beautiful as you in this world,” Oliver complimented.
To become the personal maid of Empress Hazel Han, one had to be exceptionally beautiful, a rare gem.
Blushing slightly at Oliver’s compliment, Jade Han’s face turned a bit red.
“What about compared to Fairy Isla Qin?” Jade Han suddenly asked.
Oliver was momentarily stunned, then smiled and said, “Of course, Jade is more beautiful.”
In such matters, how could Oliver make a mistake? Although he wasn’t a playboy in his previous life, he knew a few lines from the playboy’s handbook.
“I don’t believe you!” Jade Han said, though her heart was already filled with joy.
Laughing and chatting, the two arrived at Zhenghe Hall, where Oliver still didn’t know why the Empress had summoned him.
“Your Majesty, General Sheng is here,” Jade Han said softly.
“Alright, you may leave.”
Empress Hazel Han, dressed in a red dragon robe and wearing a phoenix hairpin, exuded an unparalleled aura.
If he had to describe her, Oliver would say, “The beauty of the six palaces pales in comparison; a single smile can enchant a hundred.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Jade Han bowed and left.
Oliver cupped his fists and bowed, “I wonder why Your Majesty has summoned me?”
“General Sheng, you have extensive knowledge of the foreign tribes in the Northern Frontier. I have something I wish to consult you about,” Hazel Han said.
“Please, Your Majesty. If I can help, I will speak without reservation,” Oliver said.
“The Xianbei Murong Clan has established the Northern Yan Kingdom. Now, Northern Yan has sent envoys to Great Wei, seeking to establish friendly relations. What do you think we should do?”
Clearly, Hazel Han wanted to establish friendly relations with Northern Yan to counterbalance Da Li.
She hadn’t forgotten the humiliation Da Li had inflicted on Great Wei a hundred years ago.
“I believe we should not establish diplomatic relations with Northern Yan. The foreign tribes are always treacherous. Great Wei is a Central Plains dynasty. If we establish friendly relations with Northern Yan, we will be criticized by the common people.”
Hearing Oliver’s words, Hazel Han was somewhat disappointed. His words were similar to those of the Left Minister.
“However, not establishing friendly relations doesn’t mean we can’t do business with Northern Yan,” Oliver added.
“Oh, what do you mean?” The Empress’s eyes lit up.
“On the surface, we don’t establish friendly relations with Northern Yan, but secretly, we can trade with them.
The foreign tribes on the grasslands are in dire need of grain, salt, and tea. Da Li will surely prohibit the sale of these to Northern Yan to prevent them from growing stronger.”
“In this way, we can secretly sell salt, grain, and tea to Northern Yan at several times the price, in exchange for silver or other materials we need.”
“This way, we can continuously earn money to develop our military and strengthen our national power, while also allowing Northern Yan to grow strong enough to trouble Da Li.”
Oliver’s words made Hazel Han’s eyes sparkle.
Compared to the traditional Confucian thinking of the Central Plains, Oliver’s thinking was different.
The Central Plains advocated that those who are not of our race must have different hearts and should not associate with foreign tribes.
For example, Great Wei and the Huns did not even allow commercial trade between them.
The Huns, lacking resources, had to raid south every year to seize supplies.
This was the reason for the continuous wars in the border regions.
The grasslands lacked salt and iron, as well as tea. The nomadic tribes on the grasslands ate a lot of meat, and without tea, they would suffer from indigestion.
To obtain these resources, they had to wage war.
“General Sheng, is this plan feasible?” Hazel Han was tempted.
If open diplomacy was not possible, then they could do it secretly.
“It’s feasible. If discovered, we can deny it and blame the commercial transactions on private merchants,” Oliver said directly.
Aristocratic families and private merchants had always engaged in smuggling and transporting goods to the foreign tribes on the grasslands.
In the face of absolute profits, merchants were willing to risk their lives.
“Good, General Sheng has enlightened me and solved a headache for me. If open diplomacy doesn’t work, we’ll do it secretly,” Hazel Han said with a pleased smile.
As an emperor, the first consideration was the overall interests of the country. If one plan didn’t work, another could be tried. As long as it could trouble Da Li, Hazel Han was willing to do it.
Moreover, Oliver’s plan could continuously generate silver, allowing her to strengthen the military and prepare for a confrontation with Da Li and Da Chu.
Who didn’t have the ambition to unify the Central Plains?
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