Chapter 244: On Par with General Huo

Chapter 244: Chapter 201: On Par with General Huo

Without solid evidence, Jiang Yi’s accomplishments in Beichuan would sound like a load of hot air.

But the crazy part is, there *was*.

The Emperor was so eager to show off that he returned and chattered on and on to his precious Pure Consort. Unfortunately, neither Jiang Xian’s modern education nor the classics she’d crammed for Zhao’er’s prenatal education covered military matters, so she didn’t quite understand. But judging by the Emperor’s attitude, the Jiang Yi she had ‘drawn’ was, at the very least, a Yan Chi Battle Wolf—a super-soldier of the ancient world.

System: [The abilities of the character cards you draw are all maximized within the realm of human possibility. His abilities are comparable to General Huo’s.]

General Huo…

Jiang Xian slowly sipped her tea, trying to recall a general with the surname Huo.

“COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH!!!”

“Mother, don’t be in such a hurry! Drink slowly!”

Seeing Jiang Xian choking, Zhao’er immediately patted her back while taking a handkerchief from a palace maid to wipe his mother’s mouth. Jiang Xian composed herself and, in turn, reassured her worried son, “I’m fine. I just choked on my tea while I was thinking about something.”

‘General Huo!’

‘The legendary General Huo! The one who crushed his enemies, chased them to the ends of the earth, and carved his victories into stone!’

Jiang Xian was no history buff. She’d spent her time focused on subjects that were an easier, quicker path to making money. But even she had heard of General Huo’s legendary, god-like military prowess. It was truly hard to imagine that the young man who kept calling her ‘cousin’ possessed abilities on par with General Huo’s.

System: [You don’t need to be surprised. The characters generated from the cards are advanced AI lifeforms, benchmarked against the pinnacle of human stats throughout all of history, both at home and abroad.]

‘In other words, no matter how heaven-defying Jiang Yi’s abilities were, they were still within the bounds of recorded history.’

‘Silly humans only get so surprised because that level of top-tier talent is so rare it’s barely seen in the long river of history.’

“Mother, so our cousin is that incredible!”

Zhao’er was at the age where he would worship Great Generals who rode horses and slew enemies, so his eyes sparkled. But his spirits immediately fell. “Our cousin achieved a great victory, but does that also put us at odds with Nanny Rong’s family?”

Hearing this, Jiang Xian couldn’t help but sigh.

‘Children born into the Royal Family, no matter how well-protected, see power struggles as naturally as breathing.’ However, Jiang Xian thought, this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sparing the rod spoils the child, after all. The important thing was to guide his education properly. “Zhao’er, are you thinking that since your cousin is so capable, he didn’t need to be in such a rush to display his talents in the Beichuan war?”

Zhao’er nodded, a little embarrassed.

‘Noble Princess Consort Rong treated him like her own son, and a child can feel who is truly good to him. Of course, he didn’t blame his heroic cousin for being so fierce in battle. It’s just that, since he was so talented, he could have waited for the next opportunity to show it. With his mother being so favored, how could her cousin ever be overlooked?’

Jiang Xian said, “But if your cousin hadn’t stepped up to take on this burden, the one in a difficult position would have been your father, the Emperor.”

The Little Bun was so conflicted his eyes were practically swirling.

‘But Father is important too!’

Jiang Xian said, “The Noble Consort is good to you, and she is also good to the Emperor. When the Emperor has to handle the Rong Family, he’s in an even tougher spot than you are. It’s just that as a ruler, he thinks about things from one more perspective than you do, Zhao’er. Do you know whose perspective that is?”

Zhao’er really couldn’t think of anyone else.

She simply pulled her son into her arms and said in a low voice, “The sooner the war ends, the sooner the people of Beichuan who suffer from the chaos of war can find peace. A ruler must keep the people in his heart. ‘To love the people as one’s own children’ isn’t just an empty phrase. Sometimes, they are even more important than the people closest to you. Because, Zhao’er, the delicious food you enjoy every day, the warm clothes you wear—all of it is provided by the labor and sacrifice of the common people.”

‘No wonder the Emperor wanted to take their son to see the lives of the common people.’

‘For a Prince born and raised in the Imperial Palace, “the people” is a vague and ethereal term. You haven’t seen them, you haven’t touched them—how can a person love an abstract concept?’

“Protecting the people is Father’s responsibility, so is that why he’s in such a difficult position?”

“When you’re a little older, Zhao’er, you will have to take on that kind of responsibility too.”

‘Even if he doesn’t become the Emperor, he’ll at least be a Prince holding an important position in the court.’

‘The last thing Jiang Xian wanted was to see her son become one of those members of the royal family who preyed on the common folk.’

The Little Bun nodded as if he half-understood. In his heart, he felt even more sympathy for his father. When his second and third younger brothers fought, he found it a huge headache just to mediate between them. And occasionally, Princess Taihua would join in—both his mother and father told him he had to be considerate of his younger sister, which made things even harder to handle! If it was this difficult with just four siblings, what must it be like for the Emperor, who held the fate of the world in his hands?

“So tough.”

The Little Bun fretted.