In the Qingming domain, the true main force was currently training to adapt to their suddenly surged combat strength, as well as how to cope with the weakness that followed when Ephemeral Multitude faded.
To make the training effective, whenever Wei Yuan was in the domain, he would activate Ephemeral Multitude several times a day, each lasting three breaths. Fortunately, the duration was very short and he deliberately narrowed the range, so the consumption was manageable.
In addition, these eight thousand men were also training to use steel-barreled muskets. However, the number of muskets was limited; so far, only a little over a thousand had been manufactured, which fell far short of their needs. Everyone from the Palace of Grand Beginning was racking their brains to figure out how to produce more.
Wei Yuan had originally planned to raid two more of the Xu family's mines so the seized iron and copper would be sufficient, but his plans had been disrupted by Xu Xinhui's sudden appearance.
Xu Xinhui's arrival had also put Wei Yuan on alert; it seemed the Xu family could no longer sit still and was about to make a major move.
Hanyang Pass.
The skies had just cleared when Provincial Commander Xu Zhongxing and his deputy Fan Donghe, leading the officials of the provincial commander's office in full dress uniform and surrounded by several thousand soldiers, arrived at the flying boat docks at the edge of the city to wait.
After waiting a full half-shichen, several giant flying boats appeared on the horizon. Their hulls were painted dark azure and decorated with red patterns—the emblem of the Western Jin imperial court.
The flying boats touched down one after another. From the first two disembarked Imperial Guards in azure armor and red cloaks. As soon as they stepped off, they spread out to secure every key thoroughfare across the docks before the remaining two giant vessels in the sky slowly descended.
Attendants had already rolled out carpets leading straight to the flying boat's edge.
The cabin door slowly opened, and two high court officials appeared at the threshold. One was a civil official and the other military, both bearing an extraordinary presence.
"After you, Lord Yue!"
"No, after you, Lord Chen!"
After a courteous exchange of deference, the two dignitaries walked down from the flying boat together and advanced shoulder to shoulder.
Xu Zhongxing had long since come forward with dozens of officials to greet them. Bowing, he said, "Greetings, Lord Chen, Lord Yue. This humble official has been waiting here for quite some time."
The civil official was a lean, elderly man. Seeing how deep Xu Zhongxing's bow was, he reached out to support him. Xu Zhongxing rose in response, playing through the full etiquette of official hierarchy. Yet the moment their robes brushed against each other, the corner of Xu Zhongxing's eye twitched almost imperceptibly.
The civil official said slowly, "This time, the court has reestablished the four commanderies of Ningxi, with Lord Yue and this old man establishing an administration to oversee the region. Ningxi has been lost for many years, and now that it returns to the imperial fold, countless things await reconstruction. We will be relying heavily on General Xu's assistance."
Xu Zhongxing replied, "It is this subordinate's duty. Please give your orders freely, my lords."
"First, we must draw fifty thousand elite troops from Hanyang Pass to escort the chief officials of various locales to their posts. This matter is of great consequence, so we ask General Xu to dispatch your finest soldiers and fiercest commanders."
Xu Zhongxing's cheek twitched upon hearing this. Hanyang Pass only had several tens of thousands of elite troops in total, and more than half were being taken at once. However, he knew better than anyone what kind of place lay outside the pass, so he immediately replied, "Rest assured, Lord Chen. You may freely select any elite troops from the garrison commander's office."
The civil official nodded and said, "There is another matter. The chief officials arrived in haste, and many did not have time to assemble a full staff of clerks. We now need to draft five hundred capable functionaries from you to accompany them to their posts. Once the localities are pacified, they will return."
This was easy enough to manage, and Xu Zhongxing readily agreed.
Seeing him agree so readily, the civil official gave a slight nod and said, "I hear things have not been very peaceful in your garrison commander's office lately?"
Xu Zhongxing smiled wryly. "Two Perfected Persons from the Palace of Grand Beginning arrived and have been acting unreasonable and making trouble. This general has been powerless against them."
"Which two Perfected Persons?"
"Fenhai and Lanhua."
The elderly civil official slightly raised his two long eyebrows and remarked, "Sky Azure Hall? What a coincidence."
The military commander, who had remained silent until now, narrowed his eyes slightly as a chilly gleam glinted within them. In a deep voice, he said, "A coincidence indeed. Come, we'll go have a look with you."
Xu Zhongxing immediately led the way ahead.
A moment later, a colossal roar reverberated throughout Hanyang Pass. A burst of flames shot into the sky from the garrison commander's office, a pillar of fire erupting dozens of zhang into the air, shaking the entire mountain pass!
Amid the blaze, a beam of red radiance and a beam of aquatic blue shot skyward, darting rapidly into the distance and vanishing in an instant.
When the flames dispersed, a good portion of the garrison commander's office had been reduced to nothingness.
Xu Zhongxing and the two high officials walked out from the fire. Staring in the direction where the two beams of light had fled, Xu Zhongxing said spitefully, "Those two old thieves slipped away fast! They got off easy!"
The military official snorted and said, "This was merely to let them know that the imperial court's determination to reclaim Ningxi is set in stone. Whoever dares interfere will be struck down with thunderous force!"
The civil official offered a faint smile. "Lord Xu need not feel regret. If those two think they can just leave like that, it won't be that simple."
Xu Zhongxing's heart stirred. Lowering his voice, he asked, "Could it be that the imperial court is determined to take action against that side?"
The civil official shook his head. "Not quite to that extent. As long as that side is willing to withdraw from Ningxi, everything will proceed according to the old rules. Lord Xu, I have laid my cards on the table with you, but you must not speak of this to anyone else."
"Rest assured, Lord Chen, this subordinate understands." Xu Zhongxing naturally grasped the meaning behind the civil official's words.
A day later, the western gate of Hanyang Pass swung wide open. Column after column of a twenty-thousand-strong army marched out from within the pass, before splitting into dozens of contingents large and small to escort officials of various ranks toward different regions.
Another day later, thirty thousand elite troops departed the pass and traveled fifteen hundred li west. There, Hanlin Academician Chen Dao read out an imperial edict, proclaiming it to heaven and earth, before planting the boundary stone Qingquan to formally establish the administration.
Chen Dao assumed the post of governor, while General Who Pacifies the North Yue Jinshan, arriving from the northern frontier, took office as provincial commander. The inauguration of the governor and provincial commander proclaimed that Western Jin had officially reclaimed Ningxi and reestablished its provinces and commanderies.
Beneath the governor and provincial commander, the governors of the four commanderies led dozens of officials of varying ranks to assume office across the land. Meanwhile, an endless stream of troops numbering in the hundreds of thousands marched toward Hanyang Pass, including many units clad in cotton-covered iron armor—clearly border troops transferred from the northern frontier.
The Qingming domain.
"Reestablishing the four commanderies of Ningxi?" Wei Yuan, who was inspecting Yong'an City, received this unexpected news.
A moment later, everyone from the Palace of Grand Beginning gathered at the main peak to discuss this sudden turn of events.
This move by Western Jin was exceedingly abrupt. None of them had received the slightest wind of it beforehand; by the time they learned of it, Chen Dao had already planted the boundary stone and formally established the administration.
Wei Yuan stared at the map with knit brows. After a moment, he marked a point on the map. As the master of Qingming, if another boundary stone were activated nearby, Wei Yuan would also sense it, which allowed him to pinpoint the location of the newly established administration. However, this was an open secret that would soon be known to the entire realm.
Looking at the map, the site of the new administration was approximately thirty-five hundred li away from Qingming. By ordinary boundary stone standards, there might still be room for another boundary stone between them. Yet if Qingming eventually advanced to cover ten thousand li, it would completely encompass the new boundary stone.
In fact, when Qingming was first established, Wei Yuan had had no other choice. Otherwise, from a long-term perspective, the boundary stone should have been placed several thousand li further west—a spot eleven thousand li from Hanyang Pass that would have been ideal.
After establishing Qingming, Wei Yuan and the Palace of Grand Beginning had practically regarded the six thousand li of the Shattered Lands as already in their bag, with plans to expand several thousand li further in every direction. But Western Jin's reestablishment of the four commanderies of Ningxi effectively encompassed Qingming as well.
This matter was too immense. Everyone was uncharacteristically solemn, and even Ji Liuli set aside her cynicism, pondering deeply.
Zhang Sheng asked, "With an event this massive, did you truly receive no premonition at all?"
Ji Liuli shook her head. "The Emperor of Tang and the rulers of the Nine States bear heavenly fortune; they lie beyond deduction."
This was the first Zhang Sheng had heard of this, and he asked puzzledly, "The Emperor of Tang is one thing, but how can the rulers of the Nine States also bear heavenly fortune? Doesn't that mean they are just as orthodox under heaven and earth as the Emperor of Tang?"
"That is why the Nine States could grow increasingly powerful and reduce the House of Tang to figureheads. Ancestor never told me the specific reason either; it seems to be an extraordinarily grave secret."
Wei Yuan frowned. "This matter is too significant. We still need to report it back to the palace and see what the True Monarchs say."
Zhang Sheng and Ji Liuli both nodded.
Wei Yuan added, "Right now, we know next to nothing about this matter. We must find ways to gather basic intelligence—such as the identities of the governor, provincial commander, and commandery administrators, their backgrounds, how many troops were deployed for this establishment, and so forth."
This was also an urgent priority. Everyone had channels of their own to varying degrees, so they all began pondering whom to contact for this intelligence.
At this point, Wei Yuan spoke again: "However, we cannot simply sit by and wait for death! We still have plenty of masks left. I must trouble everyone to take one. Today, we will first sweep every mine, caravan camp, and village on the list, then combine our forces to take Quliu Town!"
Cui Yu asked, "Then what about the Xu family of Ningxi?"
"I will have Xu Jingfeng declare neutrality to look out for their own skin, ordering everyone to withdraw into the Xu clan manor and stay inside. Once we empty out Quliu Town and relocate all the people back here, we will return that land to them."
Wei Yuan reached out and drew a large circle on the map several hundred li around Qingming. "In short, within this radius, I want them to find not a single village and requisition not a shred of supplies!"
Cui Yu was somewhat startled. Why did the flavor of those words sound slightly off?
Chapter 176