The Martial Unity

His ethereal eyes sharpened with seriousness. “I’ll do as you say and abstain from reaching out to stakeholders until after the Royal Funeral. However, I still need someone to help me understand the interests and strategic outlook of all the stakeholders of the Kandrian Empire, and how best to appeal to them within the framework of my vision. That person also needs to be an extremely knowledgeable and wise statesman, if they are to help me flesh out my own path as an Emperor to become a leader to match my father.”

He wanted his strength to become the strength of the nation; he wanted to help the nation adaptively evolve past all the impediments that stood in its way, and he wanted all the stakeholders whose support and approval he sought to also benefit from that. More than anything, he wanted his vision to come to fruition on a scale spanning an entire nation and an entire continent.

Royal Secretary Claris’ expression grew thoughtful. “…I believe you will need a consultant. One who possesses the understanding and knowledge that you seek, while also being shrewd enough to help you realize your vision for the nation. There are many accomplished statesmen and political economists in the nation who can help you with what you seek.”

Rui shook his head. “They’re useless to me, I’m afraid. All of them are trained in orthodox politics. What I seek to create… is a regime unlike any other that has ever existed in history. I wish to seamlessly turn my personal power into the forge of prosperity and bestow upon the nation my strength, the strength of adaptive evolution. A nation that can adaptively evolve to any impediment, with me at its very center, supporting such a system with my own personal power. It will be unlike any other nation to have ever existed… unlike any other system of governance to have ever been conceived of.”

He needed someone truly extraordinary for them to be able to aid him in this highly ambitious venture. Even highly accomplished academics would fall short of being able to fulfill such a role properly.

“If you are not satisfied with the academics and statesmen at your disposal, then the only one who could possibly live up to your expectations is… her.”

Secretary Claris’ voice grew heavy as her eyes grew hazy with thought.

“’Her’…?” Rui frowned. “Why not just say her name? There’s no need to be dramatic, just spit it out.”

“Nobody knows her name, I’m afraid. She is simply known as the Shepherd within the field of humanities and political science,” Royal Secretary Claris told Rui with a strangely heavy tone. “She is said to be the greatest statesman to have ever existed bar none.”

“Greatest statesman?” Rui scoffed. “That title belongs to my father. There is no greater shepherd of nations and civilization than him, not in the past, now, or in the future.”

“I am inclined to agree, however…” She heaved a deep breath. “Have you ever wondered where your father gained his profound knowledge and mastery of statesmanship? Where did he gain the knowledge needed to propel the Kandrian Empire to unparalleled prosperity? How did he perfectly govern the Kandria at the age of twenty-five?”

Rui’s expression grew thoughtful. “He was a genius. A genius among geniuses and a prodigy. He started learning to read and write just a little later than I did.”

And Rui cheated through his reincarnation, so it spoke to just how much raw talent his father had.

“Talent is not omnipotent.” She shook her head. “The truth is that there was no political training for princes and princesses. That was a system that your father put in place after he became Emperor. He himself did not get any formal training from any Royal instructors. Not to mention, the state of political science at the time was abysmal and downright harmful. If he had been trained in it, the Kandrian Empire would never have become great. So that begs the question…”

She directed a pointed gaze at Rui. “Where did your father gain his understanding and knowledge of the great machine that is a state?”

“You mean to say…” Rui’s eyebrow rose. “…my father was taught and trained by someone who possessed this extraordinary knowledge? This… so-called ’Shepherd?’”

Secretary Claris’s eyes grew hazy as she recalled old memories. “It is a story that your father conveyed to me himself. A story of how he gained such prowess in politics at such a young age. Indeed, his extraordinary talent was a powerful reason, but the source of the actual priceless knowledge he possessed came from someone else. He had naturally bolstered it with great experience and his own insights developed over four centuries, but he was merely fifty years old when he raised the Kandrian Empire to the status of a powerhouse.”

She returned her attention to him with a serious expression. “He told me that he was taught by none other than a woman who was known as the Shepherd, someone who was renowned at the time as the greatest sage among statesmen.”

“The Shepherd… but wait,” Rui realized. “If she taught my father, then she’s long, long dead, right?”

Royal Secretary Claris shook her head. “Her name comes up in the literature and records many times throughout history and in the present. She is seemingly timeless and omnipresent, watching over the birth, life, and death of nations and civilizations and recording them in her notebook, which she then publishes and shares with the world. Her earliest works can be dated as far back as a thousand years ago. And even today, she has published literature on the destruction of the Gu and the destruction of the Sekigahara Mandate. She has documented the fall of the Shionel Confederation. As well as numerous other cases, all of the corresponding case studies are published shortly after the cases themselves occur. She is still alive, and is still watching over human civilization and the true world as we speak.”

“Alive for a thousand years…” Rui’s voice was one of realization, “A sage among statesmen…”

A smile cracked at the edge of his mouth.

“Thanks for the tip, I think I know where to find her. You also reminded me that I have a meeting that I arranged for, so I’ll get going immediately.”