Chapter 412: Lobbying Xiaoyao Palace

Guan Fangyi appeared beside him. "Is war about to begin?"

Niu Youdao said, "With Tianyu Sect's present strength, swallowing Nanzhou is somewhat beyond its reach. But once it takes Nanzhou, Tianyu Sect as a cultivation sect will rise to another level. Peng Youzai will become the most consequential sect leader in Tianyu Sect's history. Unless his successors achieve something even greater, they will find it difficult to deny his accomplishments. Nanzhou may remain in the hands of the Peng family's descendants for a very long time. For Peng Youzai, public and private interests both point in the same direction. This is something he must do. And for Shang Chaozong, Nanzhou is the necessary springboard for expanding his strength and stepping onto a larger stage. Tianyu Sect can no longer hold back. Shang Chaozong can no longer hold back either."

Guan Fangyi sighed. "Once the flames of war rise, some people will achieve what they wanted. But who knows how many others will lose their homes and families?"

"There's no meaning in lamenting that in a chaotic age like this." Niu Youdao raised a hand and pointed toward the Artisans' Camp. "Come on. Let's go have a look."

The two floated down the mountain together. At the foot of the mountain, they happened to meet Yuan Feng and the others galloping toward them on horseback. Niu Youdao raised a hand to stop them and asked for two mounts. Shang Chaozong now had a comfortable supply of warhorses. Several hundred were kept in these mountains for the people here to use when needed. That suited Yuan Gang and the others perfectly. They had volunteered to manage the horses and kept their men training regularly in the saddle.

As Niu Youdao and Guan Fangyi mounted, Niu Youdao gave Yuan Dahu and Gu Younian a few extra glances. One of the two old men was missing an arm, the other a leg. Since Yuan Gang had brought them here, Niu Youdao had never asked much about them. He and Guan Fangyi had only taken the horses as convenient transport. They did not gallop. The two rode leisurely out of the valley.

Guan Fangyi's skirts fluttered as she sat on horseback, round fan swaying in her hand. Her beautiful eyes wandered from side to side, her manner relaxed and carefree. When they reached the Artisans' Camp, they left the horses with the guards and went inside to look around. Bundles of swords and spears coated in oil against rust were being loaded onto carts. Stacks of armor were bundled together and loaded as well, then escorted out one convoy after another. The air was thick with smoke and the smell of furnaces.

Carpenters were assembling stone-throwers for siege warfare.

Bang!

A sudden explosive sound from behind the mountain drew the two of them over to investigate. Once they reached the far side, they found a row of siege crossbows arranged for testing. A long spear made of refined steel was placed into the firing groove. Several men worked together, pulling with their hands and bracing with their feet, straining before they finally managed to cock the weapon. One craftsman raised a wooden mallet and struck the trigger mechanism.

Bang!

The long spear screamed from the crossbow and slammed with a metallic crash directly into a painted target on the stone cliff opposite. Broken stone showered down. The quivering spear had buried a substantial length of itself into the rock face. Its power was considerable. Guan Fangyi's eyelids twitched as she watched.

"During battles between great armies, this kind of thing poses the greatest threat to cultivators. Anyone below the Golden Core Realm simply cannot withstand it."

In Yanjing, the atmosphere of the New Year was thickening as well. Poor or rich, everyone still had to cross the threshold of another year.

At the residence of the Grand Minister of Works, Provincial Inspector of Nanzhou Zhou Shouxian knelt with his forehead pressed to the floor, weeping before Tong Mo, who sat behind a desk. He had originally arrived with cartloads of gifts to pay a New Year visit. But once he reached the painful part of his story, he could no longer stop himself from crying.

Tong Mo sighed. "Brother Zhou, there's no need for this. Quickly, get up."

Zhou Shouxian raised his head, choking on tears, and pointed toward the doors outside.

"Minister, the five lower commanderies of Nanzhou have been preparing for a long time. They are stockpiling grain, fodder, weapons, and armor in huge quantities. Every day they groom the horses and drill the troops."

"The blade has already been sharpened. The arrow is already on the string. At any moment they may march north and swallow the rest of Nanzhou."

"If the court still refuses to send reinforcements, it will be too late for regret!"

He had come here only because he had run out of other options. Before visiting Tong Mo, he had gone to the imperial palace and pleaded with the emperor first.

Yet the emperor was plainly afraid that once a major war began, Yan would descend into internal chaos and foreign enemies would take advantage of the opening. If that happened, the entire State of Yan could be endangered. The emperor had therefore remained hesitant and indecisive. Zhou Shouxian's daughter was a favored Noble Consort of the emperor. She had played no small part in helping him become Provincial Governor of Nanzhou. But this time, after repeatedly urging the emperor on her father's behalf to dispatch troops, she had angered him.

For many days now, she had not even been granted an audience. To Zhou Shouxian, the position of Provincial Governor of Nanzhou now felt as though it had placed him directly over a fire. Tong Mo knew the situation was urgent, yet he still offered reassurance.

"Brother Zhou, it isn't as severe as you imagine. With Xiaoyao Palace, Zijin Cave, and Lingjian Mountain holding things down, the five lower commanderies of Nanzhou won't dare act rashly."

Zhou Shouxian said, "If sufficiently heavy benefits are offered, the three major sects may not necessarily refuse to loosen their grip!"

Tong Mo said, "Don't worry. Neither His Majesty nor I will simply sit and watch. I will personally communicate with the three major sects."

Cloud-wrapped mountains and seas of mist surrounded Xiaoyao Palace. Seen from afar, it looked like an immortal realm. At the foot of Xiaoyao Palace's mountain, several dozen riders galloped out of a valley, reached the official road, and sped away into the distance. They were people from the two major sects standing behind the existing power in Nanzhou: Zhenling Academy and Feihua Pavilion. With the New Year approaching, this was the season for delivering annual tribute to Xiaoyao Palace.

Jin Wuguang, Sect Leader of Zhenling Academy, and Cao Yuer, Pavilion Master of Feihua Pavilion, had personally led their people here to make the offering. There was no helping it. Xiaoyao Palace, Zijin Cave, and Lingjian Mountain were the three greatest sects in the entire State of Yan. These three major sects loomed over Yan, and Yan itself was their sphere of influence. Every cultivation sect within Yan lived under the shadow of their power.

No sect could occupy and rule a territory of its own without the permission of these three. Any sect within Yan that held territory and commanded a region had to offer tribute to the three major sects. Otherwise, it risked being exterminated to the last disciple. Nor was Yan unique. The situation was much the same throughout the Seven States.

Within each state were several dominant sects of this kind, sects with seats in Misty Pavilion that received tribute from the lesser sects within their sphere. Some sects did not even possess the qualifications to offer tribute directly to the three major sects. Liuxian Sect and others of its level were examples. Above powers such as the three major sects stood the nine supreme experts. The nine supreme experts truly stood above all living beings.

They accepted no tribute from anyone and owed no one favors, yet they controlled every money house beneath Heaven. There was only one money house in the entire world. It was called the All-Under-Heaven Money House. Its branches spread everywhere, crossing both the secular world and the cultivation world. No other money house was permitted to exist. The gold drafts used everywhere beneath Heaven, for example, were jointly issued by the nine supreme experts. No other notes or drafts were allowed into circulation.

The people least likely to lack money beneath Heaven were probably the nine supreme experts. There was no helping that either. They could print money directly and controlled the flow of currency for everyone in the world. Even the places where business could be conducted within the cultivation world were under the control of the nine supreme experts... Only after the people from Zhenling Academy and Feihua Pavilion had gone far away did another group reveal themselves within the nearby forests.

They were Tianyu Sect disciples who had hidden there for a time to avoid being seen. Peng Youzai watched the two sects disappear into the distance. Then he waved a hand and led his disciples into the mountains opposite, heading straight for Xiaoyao Palace... Palatial buildings of jade and painted beams stood amid masses of blooming flowers, overlooking blue mountains and seas of cloud. The scenery was breathtaking. It was an excellent place to receive guests. Two elders of Xiaoyao Palace sat with Palace Master Long Xiu.

Peng Youzai alone was received before them. The other Tianyu Sect disciples were not qualified to enter a place like this. Even Peng Youzai was granted an audience with all three only because he had come to deliver tribute. Around the New Year, the heads of various sects gathered here in succession to pay their visits. By custom, Long Xiu would appear to receive the sect leaders and, while doing so, ask about conditions in their respective regions.

Peng Youzai presented a stack of gold drafts with both hands and placed them on the table before the two elders seated side by side. Then he stepped backward and returned to his seat opposite. The gazes of Long Xiu and the two elders all fell on the stack of gold drafts. By custom, each commandery owed fifty thousand gold coins in tribute. Fifty thousand was neither a large sum nor a small one. For Xiaoyao Palace, it was not much at all.

But relative to the finances of a single commandery, fifty thousand gold coins was no trivial amount. Every commandery still had the livelihood of its people to support. If you squeezed a place completely dry, where would you squeeze money from next year? Besides, the powers and sects occupying the local territory also needed their share. Xiaoyao Palace could not simply swallow everything itself. More importantly, Xiaoyao Palace was not the only party each commandery had to pay.

There were also Zijin Cave and Lingjian Mountain, as well as taxes owed to the imperial court. No one could squeeze the commanderies too hard. Doing so would destroy one's own field for the sake of a short-term harvest. Yet there were several hundred commanderies across the State of Yan. At fifty thousand gold coins from each, small streams became a river. Leaving aside Xiaoyao Palace's other sources of income, tribute from the various sects alone was enough for the palace to live very comfortably.

By that calculation, Tianyu Sect's five commanderies should provide two hundred fifty thousand gold coins. According to the amount previously agreed upon, Tianyu Sect was to add another fifty thousand, for a total of three hundred thousand. Yet the stack of gold drafts before them was plainly far thicker than three hundred thousand. After one elder counted them, he turned to Long Xiu.

"One million!"

Long Xiu possessed an air almost detached from the mortal world. He looked calmly at Peng Youzai.

"That's seven hundred thousand extra. Sect Leader Peng, explain."

Peng Youzai replied, "Palace Master, it is only a small token of Tianyu Sect's regard. I hope Palace Master will accept it."

Long Xiu said, "A token of regard?"

"I've heard the five lower commanderies of Nanzhou have been drilling troops and preparing horses, intending to annex the six upper commanderies."

"Just now, Zhenling Academy and Feihua Pavilion were denouncing Tianyu Sect before me, accusing you of plotting wrongdoing and asking Xiaoyao Palace to uphold justice."

"Could they have been right?"

"Have you suddenly brought out this money because you intend to buy Xiaoyao Palace?"

Peng Youzai said, "Palace Master speaks too severely. How could a mere million gold coins buy Xiaoyao Palace? If I truly believed that, I would be laughably overestimating myself. Still, to speak plainly, Tianyu Sect truly does wish to hold and shepherd a region on Xiaoyao Palace's behalf. I hope Palace Master will grant us that opportunity."

Long Xiu said, "Your ambition is not small. Are the five lower commanderies of Nanzhou still not enough to satisfy Tianyu Sect's appetite?"

Peng Youzai replied, "Before Palace Master, I dare not conceal my true intentions, much less speak falsely. Tianyu Sect wishes to replace Zhenling Academy and Feihua Pavilion in their territories because we believe Tianyu Sect can do better than those two sects."

Long Xiu asked, "Better in what way?"

Peng Youzai said, "Nanzhou has eleven commanderies. If they remain under those two sects, they can offer only five hundred fifty thousand gold coins in annual tribute. If Tianyu Sect is allowed to manage all of Nanzhou, we can offer one million every year!"

Long Xiu said, "Do you believe that if Zhenling Academy and Feihua Pavilion possessed all eleven commanderies of Nanzhou, they would be unable to produce one million a year in tribute?"

"Of course they could produce it," Peng Youzai replied. "But the million they produce and the million Tianyu Sect produces are not the same thing."

"If they offer one million to each of the three major sects, that is three million in annual tribute. Their own sects still have expenses, and the local administrations have expenses of their own."

"To extract that amount, they would have to drain Nanzhou's pond to catch the fish. Continue that way long enough, and Nanzhou would collapse."

"Tianyu Sect is different."

"If Palace Master has the opportunity, you may look into Qingshan Commandery and Guangyi Commandery."

"Tianyu Sect is willing to surrender a share of immediate profit in order to cultivate the people's livelihood. We transformed Qingshan and Guangyi from stagnant pools into flowing water."

"Trade from the various states now converges there. The people are secure and prosperous. The tax revenue of those two commanderies is several times that of other commanderies."

"That is the first point."

"Second, money is a small matter. The stability of the State of Yan is the larger one."

"The State of Zhao lies beside us and has long watched Yan like a tiger, harboring ambitions of annexation. It is only because Zhao's internal feudal lords restrain one another that Hai Wuji temporarily lacks the strength to look east."

"But Hai Wuji is a ruler who governs diligently and strives for strength. He is steadily dismantling the power of Zhao's feudal lords."

"Once he succeeds, the next piece of fat meat he will inevitably set his eyes on is the State of Yan."

[End of Chapter 412]