nd fled before any battle took place. His crimes are heinous and unforgivable. Therefore, by imperial decree, Tao Rui shall be dragged out to the midday gate and executed immediately. His entire clan...Chapter 1288: Never Forget the Original Intention

Li Chen's first words set the students on fire.

In the ancient feudal society of China, even though there was a saying that "the people come first, the country second, and the emperor last," everyone still recognized that the entire empire belonged to the emperor.

This was Li Chen's first time publicly expressing his hope for "mountains and rivers" in such a formal setting, placing all the hopes on the shoulders of students.

And these words also made the young students who still had passion in their hearts, dreams in their eyes, and believed they could change the world, feel even more excited.

At this moment, Li Chen's second sentence immediately followed.

As the ancients said, "Mechanics is like farming. Diligence and laziness are self-evident. But if you cultivate many books, there will be abundant harvests in time."

"You are all elite students selected from across the nation. Your knowledge is naturally not low, and you should all understand the meaning of these words."

“The imperial court is responsible for providing you with the best environment, allowing you to study, learn, and practice without any worries. Your food, clothing, housing, and transportation are all provided by the court. All you need to do is read, learn, and put your knowledge into practice, strengthen yourself, and hone your skills. One day, your knowledge and abilities will be used to build the nation and benefit all people and the country!”

Perhaps this process is tedious, and perhaps you will experience many temptations, setbacks, hardships, fall into self-doubt, and wonder if any of this is truly worthwhile.

"Now, I can tell you that these are the challenges you must overcome in your growth. What you have learned will be useful, and your efforts will be rewarded. This is the promise from this palace, on behalf of the court and the royal family."

"Even when storms rage and winds howl like wolves, as long as a lamp burns bright within your heart, the day will come when spring returns. Then, amidst the blossoming flowers on the mountainside, you will bloom alone."

Li Chen's words rang out powerfully.

Every word reached the ears of the students, invigorating their spirits. They felt a surge of emotions within them, as if thousands of waves were crashing in their chests, and they longed to roar to the heavens to release their pent-up feelings.

Pointing to the giant stone in the middle of the square, Li Chen said loudly: "The entire Royal Academy, from its inception to site selection and construction, has been completed today. You see these exquisite and complex buildings, but they are not as meaningful as this stone."

A thousand years ago, the Confucian sage Confucius visited Mount Tai. He lectured at Xinghuatan, and legend has it that when Confucius was teaching, tigers, leopards, and poisonous insects came out of the mountains, offering him fruits as a thank you for his enlightenment. After this, Xinghuatan was renamed Jiangsishang (The Hall of Lectures).

All the stories from thousands of years ago have become legends passed down by word of mouth. The people of that time have all become symbols in history or names in books.

“But this palace still needs people to visit the ancient sites. I found the storytelling hall and this boulder. Legend has it that Confucius sat on this boulder to teach.”

This boulder weighs six thousand seven hundred jin. This palace spent a great deal of manpower and resources transporting it from Mount Tai. The cost involved is unimaginable.

“Later, this palace felt that just a stone wasn’t enough, so I engraved four characters on it. These four characters are a gift from this palace to all of you.”

Everyone turned their heads to look, and saw the words "Remember the Original Intention" engraved in gold on the giant stone.

Actually, many people have already seen these four characters, but most of them don't understand what they mean.ed, leading to a disastrous defeat."Li Chen let out a light laugh, but before it even died down, he slammed his fist on the table with a resounding thud."Wrong!"A stern reprimand made Jian Di lift his...