If you think you won't be able to repay it tomorrow, don't go eat it today.

In life, when dealing with others, it's a give-and-take relationship. You can't just take without giving, understand?"

"Understood, Dad."

"Being literate is good, studying is also good. Back then, it was I who delayed you. I thought that learning to read and write at most could only make you an accountant, not as good as earning a living by following me to slaughter pigs early on.

Now,

you must read more books and learn more characters."

"Why, Dad?"

Your sister is already part of the Ji Family, part of the Royal Family. In the future, if people hear that her brother is an uneducated brute, we would be embarrassing her."

"Sister wouldn't mind this, Dad."

"Whether she minds or not is her business, but we must care. Your sister's future days won't be easy either. Prestige is prestigious. Some years back, our Yan emphasized family status, which was considered higher than the sky."

"There is no family status now, Dad."

The Yan Emperor trod upon the family status, causing rivers of blood to flow.

Old He sighed again,

extended his hand,

and He Chu obediently leaned forward once more.

"Slap!"

Another slap.

It didn't use much strength, not out of pity for his son but because it seemed pointless to hit him hard.

Old He pointed to his own chest,

and said earnestly:

"Prestige is in the heart."

...

"Now there's a saying going around, Sixth Prince, I wonder if you've heard it.

They say that since His Majesty swept through the noble families, this era has become one of great competition.

In usual peaceful times, the streets were vibrant, leading to the four great swordsmen, seven great swordsmen, and nine renowned martial families, along with various other martial arts schools, all striving to distinguish themselves.

Outsider sects, major monks, several ancestral courts, for fame and incense, each made a name for themselves.

But with the advent of this era of great competition, the streets were instantly ravaged by warhorses, and ancestral courts trampled upon without recourse.

The Sword Saint of Jin Land had to rely on our Yan State's cavalry, and Tianhu Mountain was thoroughly burned by Lord Jingnan. The swordsmith of Chu State fled from Jade Plate City, ancient temples had their gildings stripped, all in all, they ended up quite miserable.

But idlers never stay idle, like recently, a new saying has emerged, centered on military rising stars, supplemented by high-status individuals."

Ji Chengjue sipped tea while smiling at the young man across him:

"Oh, does this list include Lord Jingnan and Earl of North Border?"

"No, no, the evaluation focuses on the younger generation.

The young prince of the Desert Barbarians has been very active recently. The main reason the Barbarian King watched from the sidelines during the war between Qian and Jin was to focus on passing the Royal Court to this young prince.

It is said that this young prince of the barbarians is highly regarded by both the Right Virtuous Prince and the Prince of Right Gulixi in the Royal Court, and he himself is called an unparalleled eagle on the desert for a century.

It might even become a threat to our Yan in the future."

Ji Chengjue shook his head and said:

"As long as the barbarians breathe, they will always be a threat to our Yan."

"Another is Zhong Tianlang from the Zhong Family of Qian State. He is the next flagbearer of the Zhong Family. When our Yan State and Qian State went to war, he once led a light cavalry raid into our Yan territory.

During that battle, Qian State's troops suffered successive defeats, yet he was the only one who barely salvaged some dignity for Qian State and its official family."

Ji Chengjue lightly said:

"Just a big fish in a small pond. I've heard of Zhong Tianlang but don't find it so impressive.

Qian State is vast and populous, with countless so-called seeds of military stars, but ultimately, they cannot hold up the sky of Qian State."

"The third is Nian Yao of Chu State, the Fourth Prince of Chu State, and a former private slave in the current regent prince's mansion. The reason Chu's internal turmoil was quelled so rapidly was largely down to his efforts. He not only led his troops to capture two Chu princes vying for the throne alive but also intimidated the Shanyue people.

The Chu people call him the chief servant under the regent prince."

"In my view, he's even less impressive than Zhong Tianlang. At least Zhong Tianlang scored a few wins against our Yan, which is something external. But this one only took part in an internal conflict, which isn't much of a deal."

"Sixth Prince, you probably don't need me to say who the fourth is, do you?"

Currently, enthusiasts are creating rankings, not in any particular order due to ongoing debates, and outsiders find it hard to fix the ranking, but they often like to group them into categories.

They insist on racking up four, seven, nine, or even ten.

Now that Jin State has perished, the Jin State, which should have had a spot, has no play, so they forced a choice, picking a young prince from the Desert Barbarians.

And the fourth, holding the finale, naturally belongs to Yan State.

Young,

but also with significant military achievements,

praised as a rising star in the military.

Ji Chengjue tapped his forehead and said:

"Zheng Fan."

"Indeed, it's Lord Pingye," the young official nodded.

"Whew…"

Ji Chengjue let out a long breath.

"Lord Pingye broke Mianzhou with three hundred cavalry, defeated Prince Fu, then followed Li Fusheng deep into Qian State's territory, went on a diplomatic mission to the imperial capital to face Qian State's official family;

then followed Lord Jingnan to quell the chaos in the capital city of Jin State and campaigned in the Snow Plains.

Recently, during the war to expel the wild people, Lord Pingye fearlessly penetrated enemy lines, launched a surprise attack to seize the Snow Sea Pass, aiding our Yan Eastern Conquest Army in annihilating the wild people's main forces entering the pass.