Chapter 1078
Astral Projection
Chapter 1078 Astral Projection
Pan Yun said, "There are too many nobles in the capital. If we put the military academy here, this newly opened passage might be blocked in two years. It's better to put it in Liaodong."
Pan Yu snapped out of her daze: "Little sister, are you now so openly involved in state affairs? You even had Miaozhen pick me up this time. Isn't that asking me to collude with you? If word gets out, it will ruin the reputation of the Pan family and you."
Pan Yun glared at him and said, "Times have changed. Do you know how much trouble Father and my elder brother caused after I successfully passed my tribulation? There were even people who carried gold and jewels into the Court of State Ceremonial and openly smashed Father, just to see me."
Pan Yu: "..."
He humbly asked, "What's wrong with Father's temper..."
“He was so angry that he went to the Imperial Hospital,” Pan Yun said. “Before you came back, he had already submitted his second memorial requesting retirement.”
Pan Yu was shocked: "What? Father wants to resign from his official post?"
Pan Jun nodded.
Pan Yu became uneasy: "Aren't you going to stop me?"
"Why should I stop him?" Pan Yun said, "Life is only a few decades long. It's best to follow your heart. If he wants to continue being an official, then it's naturally better for him to be an official; if he wants to resign and return to his hometown, then it's naturally better for him to resign and return to his hometown."
"What would he do if he resigned and went back home?"
Pan Yun: "Teaching."
She smiled broadly: "He has already planned it all out. He will go back to Changzhou Prefecture to open an academy, invite my second uncle to come, and teach and educate people together."
"You...you agreed?"
Pan Yun glanced at him and said, "He's an adult. Does he need my permission to do things?"
Even so, Pan Yu was not used to it. In his memory, his father was either an official or a criminal. He was not used to the fact that his father had suddenly become a schoolteacher.
But Pan Hong didn't consider his sons' adaptation. Now he has two sons, one is stationed in a county as a magistrate and the other is stationed in a military officer's place. His daughter is in the capital, but he can't see her. Moreover, she might sneak out of the capital and disappear without a trace.
Most importantly: "Since Yun'er's soul left my body, I have let go. You are in the army, and I can't help you. Your elder brother is always self-disciplined, and I can only help you so much. Since that's the case, I might as well follow my heart, resign and return to my hometown."
He sighed and said, "Actually, after returning from exile in Datong, I had the idea of resigning from my official post. However, at that time, you brothers were going to study at the Imperial Academy, and Yun'er's future was uncertain, and we didn't know where she would end up..."
Pan Yu suddenly interrupted him and asked, "What do you mean by astral projection?"
Pan Hong paused, then glanced at his second son: "Don't you know that Yun'er cultivated for half a month and her soul left her body?"
Pan Yu paused for a moment, then said, "I don't know."
Pan Hong thought about it and agreed: "Yun'er didn't tell you because she was afraid you would worry. Not many people know about this, not even the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet might know. If I weren't Yun'er's father, I wouldn't know either..."
The topic is about to go back to two weeks ago.
At that time, Pan Jun and the others followed the third prince of Tieliangguti into the city. Miao He and Tao Yanbai had to follow the third prince back to the grassland to deal with smallpox afterwards, so they followed behind him.
Pan Yun and Miao Zhen went to the palace to handle worldly affairs during the day and meditate and cultivate themselves at night.
The third prince finally realized that the person who had followed them back was actually the Grand Preceptor of the Ming Dynasty. Upon seeing Pan Yun again, he couldn't contain his anger and asked, "Did the Ming Dynasty decide to attack the grasslands all along?"
Pan Yun: "It was Esen who first stationed troops on the border with you and invaded the Ming Dynasty."
"But you knew all along that you not only stood by and watched things unfold, but you might have even fanned the flames."
Pan Yun looked at him gently: "But it was you who sent troops to invade the Ming Dynasty."
The third prince's face turned bright red.
Pan Jun smiled slightly, his tone becoming even more gentle, yet leaving no room for doubt: "Chi Na, don't forget, the place you live in now was originally within the territory of the former Yuan Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty inherited the former Yuan Dynasty, and going back further, during the Tang Dynasty, Tieliangguti was also a vassal state of our Central Plains. Therefore, Tieliangguti has belonged to our Central Plains since ancient times."
"Both Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty had the ability to reclaim the Tieliangguti and govern it together with the Central Plains. However, Emperor Taizu considered the different customs of various ethnic groups and thus gave the Oirat and Tatars the opportunity to govern themselves. For the past seventy years, the Oirat and Tatars have sincerely paid tribute, and our Ming Dynasty has also returned the favor with generous gifts. It was you who broke the oath between the monarch and his subjects first."
As Pan Jun spoke, his face darkened, and an indescribable air of authority emanated from him, causing Prince Chi Na to hold his breath.
“You killed my king and plundered and murdered my Ming soldiers and civilians. If it weren’t for the emperor’s consideration for our past relationship and the fact that we are brothers and sisters, he would have long ago allowed the army to retaliate in kind and take revenge on you.”
The third prince was startled, feeling that what she said made sense, but also instinctively felt that something was wrong.
But there was no time for him to think it through. Having finally met the Grand Preceptor of the Ming Dynasty, he only wanted to make his request: "Esen has been killed, and the rebellion has been quelled. Can the grasslands return to what they were before?"
Pan Yun smiled slightly at him: "No."
The third prince suppressed his anger and said, "You have your eyes on this grassland. You want to impose heavy taxes, eat our cattle and sheep, and plunder our horses. We grassland people are not like those weaklings from Jiangnan who will only accept injustice without resistance."
Pan Yun remained calm: "I've only ever heard of the grasslands envying the prosperity and wealth of the Central Plains, never of the Central Plains wanting anything from the grasslands. As for levying heavy taxes? For ordinary herders on the grasslands, isn't the greatest suffering caused by you tribal nobles?"
The third prince was stunned: "What?"
“You tribal nobles treat ordinary herders as your slaves and private property, while my Central Plains dynasty will only treat them as our subjects. Chi Na, do you believe that once there are court officials on the grasslands and less of your exploitation, their lives will be better than ever before? In the future, they will no longer die from the cold, nor will they have to go against their conscience to plunder southwards just to survive.”
The third prince couldn't help but laugh out loud, looking at her mockingly and saying, "Grand Preceptor, you are indeed young and too naive. Those tribal herders didn't go south against their conscience; they were just excited. Every time they raid south, all they think about is wealth and getting rich!"
Pan Jun looked at him quietly and smiled gently, "Is that so? I don't think so. I think the vast majority of herdsmen are very conscientious. They don't want to go south and plunder the people of the Central Plains who are suffering and poor just like them. They were forced to go south by you nobles."
The third prince looked at Pan Yun as if she were a fool.
Pan Yun was the same.
After the third prince left, Pan Yun had someone spread the word, and then said to Qian He and Hu Ying, "Since we are going to send teachers to the grasslands to educate the herdsmen, let them do their best to do one thing: education is to let them know propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame, to accept civilization, and to enjoy civilization. If they truly abhor killing and looting, will these tribal nobles still be able to build up a large army and march south to burn, kill, and plunder the people of the Central Plains a hundred years from now?"
Yu Qian and Hu Ying saw a different world through Pan Yun's eyes.
Pan Yun was also deeply shaken. That very night, she entered a meditative state and forcibly separated her soul from her body. As a result, her soul flew away and could not return.
(End of this chapter)