The world of film and television starts from a young age.

Chapter 1326 Journey to the West, Separation
Zhou Chen never asked about Shi Yi's birth date. In the ancient times with strict etiquette and morals, a woman's birth date could not be easily told to others, especially a woman.

Although he didn't know Shi Yi's exact birthday, he had watched the TV drama and knew that it would happen after he became a disciple, so he had already started preparing in advance.

Today, I just took the opportunity to bring it up while everyone else was giving birthday gifts.

"Come with me to the library. The gifts I prepared for you are there. They are quite a lot."

Shi Yi followed Zhou Chen with doubts and went to the library in the backyard. She often went to the library, but did not find any gifts.

Because she is now the only daughter of the Yishiwu Water House, many people give her birthday gifts every year on her birthday, and she has long been used to it.

She didn’t care about the gifts given by others, but she was really looking forward to the one given by Zhou Chen.

In the library, Zhou Chen took Shi Yi directly to the second floor and then pointed at two large wooden boxes on the ground.

"Eleven, I know you like reading. Nanchen Wangjun can't stay in the palace forever. If we all leave for something, you will definitely be lonely staying in the palace alone. I have thought of many gifts to give you, but in the end I decided to give you a book."

'Book?'

Shi Yi was surprised. She really liked reading. Although she was not very old, she had read countless precious books.

Zhou Chen smiled and said, "The book I'm going to give you is different from the saintly books you've read before. If I have to describe it, it's more like a novel, a special long novel about gods and demons. I don't know if you like it or not, but if you don't, I'll consider giving you something else."

Although he hadn't seen it yet, Shiyi replied without hesitation: "I like it. I like whatever Master gives me."

That is, she cannot speak, otherwise, her tone and emotions will become even more excited.

"You said you liked it before you even saw it."

Zhou Chen walked over and opened the two large boxes. Inside were bamboo slips. A quick glance showed that there were hundreds or thousands of them.

The novel he wanted to give was Journey to the West. He didn't care what era it was or whether such a novel would be considered out of place. This was his gift to Shi Yi. He could give whatever he wanted.

Because he was worried that the paper would not be well preserved, he took the trouble and spent a long time carving the entire novel of more than 800,000 words on bamboo slips. He arranged them neatly and marked them so that he could read them easily.

Of course, a complete restoration is impossible, but his current literary literacy is not bad at all, and he has lived for hundreds of years and is familiar with the narrative methods of this era, so it should not be a problem to restore the novel based on the plot.

More than 800,000 words, this is a huge project, but with his physical fitness and woodcarving skills, he can finish it dozens of times faster than ordinary people.

"This novel is called Journey to the West. It may be a little unorthodox for you, but it should still be quite interesting."

Shi Yi's face was filled with joy. She didn't care whether it was unorthodox or not. She only knew that this was a gift from her master and was specially prepared for her.

"Thank you, Master."

Zhou Chen picked up the two volumes and handed them to Shi Yi: "Read them once. If you find them interesting, continue reading. If you find them boring, leave them here and I will prepare them for you again."

Shiyi took the bamboo slips handed to him by Zhou Chen, walked aside, opened it and started reading.

When she saw the words engraved on the bamboo slips, she was very surprised and asked Zhou Chen.

"Master, did you carve these yourself?"

"Well, since I want to give it to you, I naturally can't use someone else's hands to give it to you."

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her heart was restless, moved, and happy...

If Zhou Chen had to engrave so many scrolls by himself, it would have taken a lot of time and energy.

Is it just to prepare a birthday gift for her?
"You read it first, I'll go check out other books."

The two found a place to sit down. Shiyi calmed herself down and began to watch the Journey to the West that Zhou Chen gave her seriously.

After reading for a while, she was attracted by the content of Journey to the West.

In fact, every era has its own myths and legends, but there is no systematic integration. The gods worshipped in each dynasty and each place are different, and scholars always say "A gentleman does not speak of strange things", so it is generally believed that gods are fictional.

When she saw that the protagonist of this Journey to the West was actually a monkey, she was shocked and watched it more seriously.

Shiyi read very seriously, almost word by word, and sometimes he would look back and think about it, so he read very slowly, especially when he saw some verses, he would ponder them even more carefully.

In an entire afternoon, I didn't even finish watching a single round.

Rubbing his eyes, Shiyi raised his head and looked at Zhou Chen, happily expressing in sign language: "Master, why did you write a monkey?"

Zhou Chen smiled and said, "Just take your time to watch it. It would be meaningless if I spoiled the plot in advance."

Although Master often has a strange speaking style and uses some strange words, I can still generally understand what he says.

"Thank you, Master."

Time passed quickly. Ever since receiving Zhou Chen's gift, Shiyi would take time out every day to come to the library to read some Journey to the West.

Originally, she had no interest in those weird things, but after reading Journey to the West, she was deeply attracted. She felt that the master wrote it very well and the story was told very well, especially the monkey, who was really interesting.

As for the birthday gifts given to her by the palace and her family, she asked Cheng Xi to put them away and did not take them to heart at all.

On this day, Zhou Chen received intelligence from the front border that Nan Xiao suddenly stationed troops on the border and intended to march into Northern Chen. The two sides were on the verge of a war, so the border guard immediately sent a letter to the Nanchen Palace, requesting support.

After reading the letter for help, he handed it to military advisor Xie Chong and remained silent.

After Xie Chong finished reading it, his face was serious: "Thanks to Your Highness, the border between Nanxiao and Beichen has been stable for several years. Why is Nanxiao suddenly raising an army again?"

Southern Xiao and Northern Chen are the two most powerful countries in China today. Both sides want to swallow up the other, but unfortunately, the strength of the two countries is not much different. There have been many wars, but each has its own wins and losses, and no one can do anything to the other.

In recent years, because the young emperor of Northern Chen ascended the throne, he had insufficient control over the government and the country, resulting in weak national strength, and he could not be strong against Southern Xiao.

However, because of the presence of King Nanchen's army on the border, Nan Xiao had no way to deal with Bei Chen. The two sides had fought several times, and it was only in the past two or three years that a large-scale war had not broken out.

Now that Nan Xiao has taken the first move, no one knows what their purpose is, but no matter what, the Nanchen Royal Army will definitely head to the border.

Zhou Chen said calmly: "No matter what the reason is, we must send troops. Xiaoyu, Tianxing, I'll leave the food and fodder to you, and the defense of Xizhou City must also be prepared."

"Yes, Master."

Xie Chong reminded: "Your Highness, there is another person you need to consider."

Zhou Chen nodded: "I know, Eleven, Xiaoyu, how is the person I asked you to find going?"

Hong Xiaoyu immediately responded, "According to Master's request, I have found a dozen women with clean family backgrounds. As long as Junior Sister agrees, they are willing to sell themselves to the palace. But, Master, will it affect your reputation if the palace recruits maids?"

In the past, there were no maids or servants in the Nanchen Palace. There were only two women in the palace, her and her fourth junior sister. The reason for this was because the young Prince Nanchen was feared.

But now Zhou Chen is recruiting maids to suit the circumstances. If this gets out to someone with ulterior motives, who knows what kind of story it will turn into.

Zhou Chen said nonchalantly: "I am looking for a maid for my apprentice, not for myself. Outsiders can say whatever they want. I can't stop them from talking."

Xie Chong sighed: "Your Highness, you have really changed. If it were before, you would never say such a thing."

Hong Xiaoyu and Zhou Tianxing nodded in agreement. In the past, Zhou Shengchen was not afraid, but he just didn't want to get into trouble. He knew very well how wary of him people in Zhongzhou were.

But Zhou Chen didn't have so many concerns. As long as he was safe and sound over there, it would be fine. If they really forced him, he would definitely teach them a lesson on how to behave.

Following Zhou Chen's instructions, the next day, Hong Xiaoyu selected four maids and arranged them to Xi Shiyi's courtyard.

Zhou Chen also looked for an opportunity to say goodbye to Shiyi.

"Eleven, I'm leaving."

When Shiyi heard this, he panicked and asked hurriedly.

'Master, where are you going?'

"I don't usually live in the palace. I lead troops outside for eight or nine months a year. It has always been like this. This time, I have not been away for nearly half a year, which is very rare, so you have to get used to it in the future."

Shiyi was very reluctant, but she also knew that this was something she could not change, so she could only nod calmly.

Zhou Chen said softly: "After I leave, there will only be guards in the palace. I have found four maids for you and have sent them to your courtyard."

Shi Yi hurriedly said that he didn't need it, but Zhou Chen smiled and said, "People are already here, we can't send them back, this is prepared for you, don't feel embarrassed."

"After I leave, you must take good care of yourself. I hope that when I come back next time, you will be able to call me Master."

"Okay, I'm going back first. We'll leave early tomorrow morning."

Shi Yi grabbed Zhou Chen, seized his hand, and wrote the words "good news" on his palm.

Zhou Chen looked at her and replied softly, "Okay, you wait for my victory report in the palace."

What she wanted was not good news, but safety. As long as his good news was sent back, it meant that others were safe. Once she was sure of his safety, she would feel relieved.

Thinking of Zhou Shengchen's promise in the plot, Zhou Chen felt that it could make Shiyi feel at ease, so he said it out.

"From now on, the king's army will only have victories."

Shi Yi nodded happily.

The next morning, Shiyi stood upstairs, watching Zhou Chen lead a group of disciples and Wang Jun to leave, his face and eyes full of reluctance.

During the six months in the palace, she spent the longest time with Zhou Chen and had the deepest feelings for him.

Zhou Chen taught her, pampered her, took her out to play, and gave her gifts. His figure had long been deeply rooted in her heart.

"Master, Senior Brother, Senior Sister, you must all be well and come back soon..."

Zhou Chen led 100,000 Nanchen King's troops to the front line. Nan Xiao's army was indeed pressing forward. Not long after he led his troops to the border, the two sides started fighting.

Before the Tang Dynasty, the north was generally richer than the south, and the same is true in this world.

Northern Chen is actually richer and more developed than Southern Xiao. However, in recent years, because of the ascension of the young emperor of Northern Chen, the political situation in Chen State has been chaotic and the national strength has declined. Under the rule of the current Emperor Xiao, the national strength of Southern Xiao has gradually increased and it can now compete with Northern Chen. The strength of the two countries is not much different.

Nan Xiao's purpose of declaring war is not necessarily for unification, it may also be for development. When domestic development enters a bottleneck period, foreign war is a good choice.

Therefore, the war between two countries is often not for the purpose of fighting to the death or unifying the world, but more likely for resources.

Zhou Chen has lived for so many years and naturally sees all of this very clearly, so after he came to this world, he had no idea of ​​unifying the world.

Who said that life will be better for the people after the world is unified?
The reality is that no matter whether the world is unified or divided, the people's lives will not be easy, and only a very small number of people will benefit from a unified world.

Zhou Chen had been an emperor and had done countless great things for the country and the people. It was easy to govern a place, but it was really difficult to govern the whole world.

The emperor is in Kyoto, how much do you know about what's happening outside?

He was not the kind of saint who cared about the world. Life would be so tiring for such a person, and he didn't want to be such a person.

But if only by becoming an emperor can he live a good life and make the people he cares about live a good life, he will definitely not hesitate.

With the addition of King Nanchen's army, the war between Northern Chen and Southern Xiao has never been lost. Within a few months, the two sides fought several times on the border, but no life-and-death battle broke out.

Zhou Chen repeatedly defeated the Southern Xiao army, but did not pursue the victory. He agreed with Zhou Shengchen's idea of ​​defending the country and protecting the people, and did not allow the Southern Xiao army to invade Northern Chen and plunder the people.

But he never thought about conquering cities and territories and fighting for the little emperor and queen mother in Zhongzhou.

He was already feared by the emperor, and if his achievements became too great, who knows what might happen.

He didn't want to get into any complications before completing the main mission.

As winter approached, the Nan Xiao army, which had made little progress, quickly returned to the capital, and peace returned to the border.

Zhou Chen stayed at the border with his army for a while and was about to lead his troops back to Xizhou when he suddenly received a call from the court, saying that a prince in the west had established his own army and asked him to lead the Nanchen King's army to quell the rebellion.

There was no other way, he could only lead the exhausted Nanchen King's army to quell the rebellion again.

Zhou Chen finally understood the hardships of his predecessor and why he had to lead troops outside for most of the year. He was needed to guard the border, to deal with foreign invasions, and to fight against rebellions by princes. Whenever there was any trouble, they would look for him.

But I did all the work but got no benefit at all.

No wonder many people in the plot are unwilling to join the young King Nanchen, and they also understand why King Nanchen’s army is becoming smaller and smaller.

Doing the most tiring work, getting the least money, and having no future, anyone with a bit of ambition would not be willing to follow the young King Nanchen.

For a small number of people, a good reputation and ideals are important, but for the vast majority, fame, wealth and honor are more important.

After going around in circles, back and forth, it was not until more than a year later that he led his army back to Xizhou.

Xizhou, Nanchen Palace, inside the library.

Shiyi put down the scroll in her hand. More than a year had passed since her master left, and she had already finished reading the entire Journey to the West that Zhou Chen gave her.

A lot of good news was sent back, but the master and the others still hadn't come back, which made her very worried and missed them.

"Master, father."

(End of this chapter)