Chapter 100: The Invisible Paths, The Hidden Pulse for a Thousand Miles
Establishment of the thirteenth university!
This was what Lu Wenzheng had been scheming all along.
A single university brings tremendous influence—politics, economy, martial arts comprehensive strength, and so forth—an all-encompassing impact!
Lu Wenzheng, as the Inspector of Feng Province and a true Governor, an official of the seventeenth rank.
One more promotion and he would reach the pinnacle of the Da Lan Dynasty's Civil Official System.
Such a figure, yet his jurisdiction was constantly overshadowed by Datong Prefecture, something unbearable for Lu Wenzheng.
Thus, he and his family had always been quietly planning to establish a new university.
The Da Lan Dynasty had twenty-three provinces but only twelve universities—insufficient for each province.
It wasn't that the court didn't want to build more universities, but the establishment of each university involved a massive allocation of resources, beyond what the court could afford.
Hence, establishing the thirteenth university was not something that could be achieved overnight.
Especially given that Feng Province already had a Wu'an University.
The turning point came several years after the establishment of the twelve universities when a Cabinet Minister believed the educational methods of the twelve universities were too 'gentle,' explaining that the graduates lacked the trials of life and death, like flowers nurtured in greenhouse conditions, with limits to their growth potential compared to those from the martial arts sects of the World.
However, since the twelve universities had only been established for a short time, everything still required time for assessment, so this issue was ultimately left unresolved.
Yet Lu Wenzheng saw an opportunity in this and began to mobilize the strength of the Lu Family to operate in secret, slowly laying out his plan over the course of a decade.
Until last year, when a new change arose—the Central Cabinet issued a document: requesting changes in the monthly examination method at various Martial Arts Halls, involving students in actual combat. (See Volume 1, Chapter 39 for details)
Li Fei's first actual combat experience within the Martial Arts Hall was the suppression of the Calming Sect.
This was actually an 'experiment,' starting with the local Martial Arts Halls to see the effect before considering changing the educational methods of the twelve universities.
However, the gap between Martial Arts Halls and the twelve universities was simply too vast; those who entered the Martial Arts Halls were mostly from the middle and lower classes of society, including some from the civilian class.
Those who could enter the twelve universities were nearly all elites of society.
Casualties among the students of Martial Arts Halls weren't regarded as a significant matter, but extensive casualties among the students of the twelve universities would be taken very seriously!
This was also the main reason why it was difficult to change the educational methods of the twelve universities.
Whether it was the school's competitive arenas or the issued academic point tasks, the first principle was always safety first.
Even now, the academic point tasks of various universities had strayed from their original intentions, turning into a competition between factions.
For instance, at Wuda, whether the academic point tasks of the top ten clubs could be completed smoothly mainly depended on whether the forces behind them could provide adequate support.
Such tasks, naturally, hardly tested the individual ability of the students.
However, changing this pattern was simply not something that could be achieved overnight.
So Lu Wenzheng seized this opportunity and provided a proposal to the Central Cabinet:
Why not establish a 'pilot university'?
It was nearly impossible to change all twelve universities all at once, which could also trigger massive turmoil.
If only a few were changed, it could lead to severe divergence.
Why not simply establish a brand-new university and start afresh on a 'blank canvas.'
Lu's family had been laying out the groundwork for years, covertly persuading and pulling in Cabinet Ministers. After the reforms in various Martial Arts Halls had taken place and shown clear results, Lu Wenzheng finally got his best chance.
His proposal was adopted by the Central Cabinet!
But there was one key issue; the change in the 'pilot university' lay in the Zhi Ge Department, in martial arts. It was not required to fully match the other twelve universities, but at least there needed to be a powerful figure to hold the fort.
A strong figure who could 'hold the fort' meant a Great Grandmaster!
All top martial arts sects and martial arts families in the World had at least one Great Grandmaster in charge, so naturally, the universities established by the court couldn't fall below this 'configuration'.
Otherwise, it would diminish the university's prestige and fail to serve as a pilot.
Regarding this, Lu Wenzheng had thought of it at the very beginning of the planning, so his strategy was two-pronged.
One prong in the Central Cabinet, and the other on Xu Jing.
On Xu Jing's side, he collaborated with the party to help them achieve a Breakthrough.
Upon success, Xu Jing would not only take up the position of the new university's president but would also bring a group of people from Wuda.
On the day Shangguan Xiao and others were executed, Xu Jing took two professors, Wen Ke and Guan Haixuan, along with a dozen special-grade lecturers, to the execution ground.
These individuals, like Xu Jing, submitted their resignation notices that day.
They would all join Xu Jing to the provincial capital, to become part of the new university.
In addition to that, martial masters from the Green Mountain Sword Sect located near the provincial capital, two Martial Arts Masters, numerous Tao Foundation Stage powerhouses, and a large number of Refining Energy Martial Masters would become professors and lecturers at the new university upon its establishment!
The Central Cabinet wouldn't directly announce which faction would receive the 'pilot university,' but Lu Wenzheng had already prepared all the 'resources' in advance and cleared all the pathways in advance to gain the most support from the Cabinet.
The final outcome was naturally clear without saying.
But now, there was a problem on Xu Jing's side.
"Someone come."
Lu Wenzheng put down the document in his hand and called out.