The young girl seemed to hold the old man in great esteem. She shot a fierce glare at Eric Bolton; if her adoptive father hadn’t appeared, she would have surely taught this young man, who didn’t understand the rules of Wuchuan Prefecture, a lesson.

She ignored Eric Bolton and quickly walked toward the round doorway on the other side, soon disappearing through it.

At this moment, the old man slowly entered the room and smiled apologetically at Eric Bolton, saying, “My daughter has always preferred to reason with swords, and forgot the proper way to treat a guest. Please don’t take it to heart, young master.”

Seeing the old man’s kind face and gentle tone, Eric Bolton couldn’t help but feel some goodwill toward him. He hurriedly said, “It was I who didn’t know how to behave as a guest and barged into your home. I’ll leave right away.”

He bowed and turned to go, but the old man smiled slightly and said, “You must be the one delivering a message for James Lee, correct?”

“Yes… that’s right!”

Eric Bolton hesitated for a moment. Only then did he remember that James Lee had died by his own hand. Could this old man be a relative of James Lee?

The old man walked with his hands behind his back to the wall where yellow hemp paper hung, and let out a low sigh. “The topic remains unfinished, but the man is gone. What a pity.”

“This is James Lee’s topic!”

No wonder Eric Bolton found the handwriting familiar—it turned out to be written by James Lee. So this classroom was where James Lee had taught, which explained why no one had come in for so long.

“I just saw that you, Young Master Zhang, seemed to be pondering this topic. Do you perhaps have some insights?” the old man asked with a faint smile.

“I don’t have any great insights, just a few thoughts.”

The old man smiled slightly. “Please, go ahead. I, Dou, am all ears.”

Chapter 0006: The Mystery of the Substitute

Eric Bolton thought to himself, so his surname is Dou. Which famous people surnamed Dou were there at the end of the Sui dynasty? Eric Bolton thought it over, but could only recall Lady Dou, wife of Li Yuan, and Dou Jiande, King of Hebei. Clearly, neither had anything to do with this old man before him. Perhaps he was just an ordinary great scholar.

Eric Bolton pulled his thoughts back and said with a smile, “If we compare the central court to a soaring eagle, then Guanlong and Hebei are its two wings. Since ancient times, whoever controls Guanzhong controls the world, and whoever holds Hebei controls the Central Plains. As long as these two strategic regions are firmly in hand, no matter how chaotic the world becomes, the central court will not be easily shaken. To secure Guanzhong, one must control Longyou and Hexi; to secure Hebei, one must control Liaodong. This is also the fundamental reason why Cao Cao, after destroying the Yuan clan, went on to attack Liaodong.”

Eric Bolton almost gave the example of the Ming dynasty losing Liaodong, but fortunately caught himself in time and bit his tongue.

The old man pondered for a moment and said, “So you mean that His Majesty’s campaign against Goguryeo is to control Liaodong, and ultimately to secure Hebei?”

“That’s exactly the reason. Didn’t you notice, Master Dou? After ascending the throne, the current emperor first waged war against Tuyuhun, recovered Hehuang, and consolidated Longyou—wasn’t that to ensure the stability of Guanzhong? Then he turned east. Goguryeo is ambitious and already has designs on Liaodong. If Liaodong falls, Hebei will be unstable, and if Hebei is unstable, the foundation of the state will be shaken. That’s why the Goguryeo campaign is unavoidable.”

“But is Hebei really that important? If so, why didn’t the emperor simply make Youzhou the capital, instead of Luoyang?”

Eric Bolton sighed inwardly, not knowing how to explain. In the two thousand years since the Qin dynasty, the first thousand years belonged to the era of Guanlong and Chang’an, but the latter thousand years belonged to Hebei and Beijing. Without the support of Guanlong and Hebei, how could there be a unified empire?

The old man laughed, stroked his beard, and praised, “I was just teasing you. How could I not know the importance of Hebei? You spoke very well. May I ask your esteemed name, young master?”

“I am Eric Bolton from Henei!”

……

Michael King had been sitting in a small room for nearly half an hour, but the leader still hadn’t summoned him. Thinking of Eric Bolton still waiting over there, Michael King felt a bit restless and anxious. He walked back and forth in the flower path of the small courtyard with his hands behind his back.

At that moment, Michael heard footsteps and quickly turned around, only to see a young man walk in. He looked about twenty-six or twenty-seven, tall and thin, with fair skin, slender eyes, a long tuft of beard under his chin, and a shrewd look between his brows.

This young man looked very much like James Lee, but was a bit younger and thinner, with a more scholarly and gentle air, lacking the heroic spirit of James Lee.

Michael King was very familiar with him and hurried forward to greet him, saying, “Jiancheng, when did you return to Luoyang?”

“Three days ago, I came back with my father to report for duty. My father is going to take up a post in Taiyuan.”

This young gentleman was Paul Lee, the eldest son of Duke Li Yuan of Tang. He had not taken up an official post, always staying by his father’s side to assist him, but at the same time held a concurrent position as a scholar at Wuchuan Prefecture.

Paul Lee smiled and asked, “Bodang, it seems you’ve been waiting for a long time?”

Michael King sighed, “Yes! The old man is really giving me no face, making me wait for half an hour.”

“Don’t blame him. I heard someone from Chang’an has arrived.”

“Oh—” Only then did Michael King realize why he hadn’t seen the old man; it turned out someone from Chang’an had come.

“Was it your father who came?” Michael King asked tentatively.

“Not just my father—the head of the Dugu family is here too!”

Michael King was shocked. What had happened? Even the rarely-seen head of the Dugu family had come to Luoyang. Could it be because of Yang Xuangan’s defeat?

“We’ll talk in detail next time. My father is looking for me, so I’ll go now.” Frank Lee bowed and quickly left.