After the gramophone consumed Ye Shengge's soul, water sloshed noisily inside her tank without pause.
Li Banfeng rubbed the gramophone's belly. "Madam, what's the matter?"
"Your humble servant... feels like throwing up—"
Gurgle, gurgle!
A great cloud of smoke and soot spewed from her horn; the gramophone had truly vomited.
"Xiaowan, what's wrong?" Hong Ying asked with concern. "Are you pregnant?"
The gramophone swayed her horn. "There's something wrong with this soul."
Hong Ying chided her, "Xiaowan, that's unfair of you. Take a close look—that's Ye Shengge's soul! If even the soul of the Joy Cultivator Patriarch isn't to your taste, you're being far too picky."
"Do you think I can't recognize Ye Shengge? It isn't that his soul is bad, but that things have been mixed into it!" Halfway through her sentence, the lady began to retch again.
Li Banfeng grew concerned. "Madam, what was mixed into it? Is his soul poisoned?"
The gramophone waved her stylus. "Do not worry, Husband. It's just a hodgepodge of seasonings. Eating it won't cause any real harm, but Ye Shengge's soul is crammed with oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. He can no longer be counted as a living person; he should be considered a first-rate weapon."
"No wonder."
Li Banfeng recalled his clash with Ye Shengge. Every time Qiao Yi issued a command, Ye Shengge would ratchet up the intensity of his combat. The entire process of execution had been just like a machine.
And thinking back to Ye Shengge's appearance, no matter how one looked at him, he didn't resemble a Joy Cultivator in the slightest.
"Did the Inner States turn him into a giant shrimp?"
The gramophone swayed her horn. "Not quite. Ye Shengge founded the Joy Cultivation pathway and earned the Peddler's recognition. The Peddler concocted powder for him, making it the second pathway in the world. Yet Ye Shengge himself felt that the Joy Cultivation pathway lacked fighting capability. Having suffered setbacks time and again against other pathways, he later took up Variant Body Cultivation on the side and turned into a giant shrimp."
Li Banfeng pondered this carefully. "No wonder Ye Shengge's combat style was so formulaic—using Joy Cultivator techniques for crowd control and physical cultivator methods to slaughter. Do high-level Joy Cultivators all follow this pattern?"
The gramophone said, "None of the high-level Joy Cultivators follow this pattern. Joy Cultivation has its own formidable means of combat. It's solely because Ye Shengge looked down upon the pathway he created and took a crooked path, which left him with mediocre combat strength. He isn't even considered the foremost among Joy Cultivators."
Hong Ying thought about it. "When it comes to single combat, Ye Shengge is indeed lacking, but on a battlefield, he did have real skill. His arts triggered quickly and covered a wide area. In our army, he rendered plenty of meritorious service."
Li Banfeng was surprised. "Ye Shengge served in your military?"
Hong Ying nodded. "Ye Shengge was the first pathway patriarch to submit to the imperial court."
"The very first person to submit, someone who achieved so much military merit, was still turned into a first-rate weapon?" Li Banfeng lifted Ye Shengge's head and examined it closely for a moment.
The gramophone said, "When your humble servant was consuming his soul, I could still hear him repeating one sentence over and over."
"Which sentence?" Li Banfeng asked, curious.
"He said, 'This humble subordinate has fulfilled his loyalty.'"
Li Banfeng sighed. "To think Ye Shengge was such a loyal man. I must pass along his sentiments to Old Qiao."
After disposing of the corpse, Li Banfeng sent the gramophone and Hong Ying back to the companion dwelling.
Still nauseous, the gramophone retired to the second chamber to rest, while Hong Ying and Jiu'er stood ready in the main hall in case of unforeseen trouble.
Li Banfeng asked the red lotus for another sheet of covenant paper.
The red lotus handed him one. "The harshest kind of covenant paper is too difficult to refine. The quality of this sheet is somewhat inferior."
Li Banfeng was not overly picky. "A bit inferior is fine. Let's see if Old Qiao dares test it."
Leaving the companion dwelling, Li Banfeng emerged from the manor carrying the severed head.
At the entrance of the sixth street to the right lay a withered tree branch.
On the roadside stood a carpenter's workshop with two bricks stacked at the entrance. Li Banfeng walked inside.
The workshop was quite spacious, its front hall filled with cabinets, chests, tea tables, desks, and all sorts of furniture.
Banfeng Zi stood by the wall and pointed toward the backyard; Qiao Yi and Nian Shangyou were both out there.
In the backyard was a pond, beside which stood a dragon-bone waterwheel.
Qiao Yi had worried that Ye Shengge might falter, so he had been looking for a way out.
He had considered escaping via Tianyi City, but the mechanisms controlling the city were located in Jinrui Hall. With Li Qi and Ye Shengge fighting inside, neither Qiao Yi nor Nian Shangyou could enter, leaving them unable to control Tianyi City.
Now, their only backup plan was to employ another first-rate weapon to join forces with Ye Shengge and besiege Li Banfeng.
This waterwheel was a first-rate weapon Xie Gong had stationed in Tianyi City. Nian Shangyou had assisted in placing it, but did not know how to operate it.
He had been standing on the treadles and pedaling for quite some time. The parts turned smoothly, drawing water up from the pond.
Yet after pumping water for so long, the waterwheel showed no sign of change. Qiao Yi grew anxious, and Nian Shangyou was equally panicked, but could think of no solution.
"My Lord, Master Xie ordered this humble subordinate to station the weapon here, but never allowed me to use it. I truly have no idea how this waterwheel works."
Qiao Yi urged him, "Pedal faster!"
Nian Shangyou was panting heavily, his gills nearly flaring open. "My Lord, this subordinate has exerted every ounce of strength!"
Qiao Yi snapped angrily, "You were born a martial man, yet you don't even have this much stamina!"
Li Banfeng remarked, "I don't think faster is necessarily better. A bit slower, until the water flow is right, and perhaps the waterwheel will work."
"How slow is right—" Qiao Yi looked at Li Banfeng and pressed his lips together.
Nian Shangyou looked at Li Banfeng, then at Ye Shengge's head in Li Banfeng's hand. He lowered his head and kept pedaling the waterwheel.
Li Banfeng waved at Nian Shangyou. "Come down first. Let's discuss how it ought to be treaded."
"Right away!" Nian Shangyou assented, stepping down from the waterwheel. Wiping his sweat, he said to Li Banfeng, "Prince, this is a first-rate weapon my master is gifting to you. We were just testing it here on your behalf to see if it works well."
Li Banfeng praised him, "Grand Academician Nian, I knew you were thorough in your duties, and I knew how loyal you are to your master."
Nian Shangyou bowed in haste. "Thank you for the praise, Your Highness."
Li Banfeng lifted Ye Shengge's severed head and looked at Qiao Yi. "This was also a loyal man. Even in death, he didn't forget to tell you: 'This humble subordinate has fulfilled his loyalty.'"
Qiao Yi nodded. "He was indeed a loyal man."
Li Banfeng looked mournful. "I cannot bear to part with such a faithful servant. How about you go accompany him?"
Qiao Yi's expression also turned sorrowful. "Your Highness, let us be reasonable. If it is you who cannot bear to part with him, why should this old man follow him in death?"
"I can't bear to part with you either! So the two of you can go together." Li Banfeng found this logic perfectly sound.
Qiao Yi fell silent for a moment, tears welling up. "Your Highness, I cannot bear to part with you either. I think I'll pass on going—"
"If you don't want to go, then sign the deed!" Li Banfeng drew out the covenant paper. The Judge's Brush had already written out the covenant deed.
There were three terms agreed upon in the deed:
First, the Shang State shall never dispatch troops against Puluo Province in the future.
Second, the Shang State shall never dispatch troops against Xiaocheng in the future.
Third, Prince Pingyuan may travel freely to and from the Shang State without interference or harm.
Having read these three clauses, Qiao Yi shook his head. "I, Qiao Yi, am by no means a man without a backbone. I absolutely cannot sign this deed."
"Fine, let me have a look at that backbone of yours." Li Banfeng drew his scythe.
Qiao Yi pulled out a dagger, pricked his finger before Li Banfeng could even rise, and pressed his bloody fingerprint onto the paper.
Li Banfeng put away the covenant deed and summoned Nian Shangyou. "Grand Academician Nian, where are we heading now, exactly? Are we going to Xiaocheng or not?"
"To Xiaocheng..." Nian Shangyou answered in a low voice, head down.
Li Banfeng reminded him, "Why don't you go back to Jinrui Hall and take another look? Make sure you didn't misread it."
Nian Shangyou nodded. "This subordinate shall check at once."
The original order Nian Shangyou had given Tianyi City was to make a loop at sea and return to Chaoge. Given the current circumstances, Nian Shangyou dared entertain no other notions and immediately directed Tianyi City toward Xiaodu.
Qiao Yi pondered the contents of the covenant deed again and again, sighing with emotion. "Your Highness possesses remarkable acumen. I am ashamed that I cannot compare."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "Brother Qiao's calculations leave nothing out, so why be so humble? Three heads sharing one body, and yet you plotted against Xie Gong and Zhu Jin so thoroughly that neither of them had any inkling right up until their deaths. That method alone earns my utmost admiration.
"When the altar was destroyed, everyone believed you were utterly exhausted and had not long to live; even the Outer States were duped by you. If I hadn't prepared the covenant deed thoroughly in advance and then risked my life to defeat Ye Shengge, I'm afraid no one would even be around to collect my corpse today. Don't you agree?"
Qiao Yi let out a bitter smile tinged with regret.
Li Banfeng asked, "Brother Qiao, do you regret this deeply? If only you had brought an even more formidable first-rate weapon, the one claiming complete victory would have been you."
Qiao Yi sighed repeatedly. "Finding a first-rate weapon that would obey only my commands and not those of my two brothers—accomplishing that alone was no simple feat. How could I make further demands regarding combat strength? How can anything in this world be truly flawless?"
Li Banfeng nodded. "Fair enough. It seems Brother Qiao usually faces plenty of hardships as well."
Qiao Yi sighed. "I face a hardship right now, and must pour out my grievances to Your Highness. Now that my body has changed, once outsiders discover the truth, I won't be able to remain Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. And if that happens, all the promises made to Your Highness will become impossible to fulfill."
"Brother Qiao makes a valid point," Li Banfeng said, looking at Qiao Yi with an understanding smile. "So as for turning into a one-headed man, try your best not to let anyone know. If anyone does find out, you must still hold on tight to your position as Senior Grand Secretary. And if you ever can't hold on, make sure you arrange your funeral affairs in advance—so that when the time comes, there won't truly be no one around to collect your corpse."
Qiao Yi looked thoroughly helpless. "The terms Your Highness laid down in the deed are airtight and far too harsh on me. If I were to adhere strictly to the covenant, I fear I won't be able to hold onto my position as Senior Grand Secretary."
Li Banfeng walked over to the pond and touched the dragon-bone waterwheel. "Brother Qiao, didn't I just tell you? Don't be so humble. Every contract in this world has loopholes to exploit. If you didn't know how to find loopholes, you never would have attained the seat of Senior Grand Secretary. How you wish to exploit them will depend on your skill and your courage. We have plenty of days ahead of us to deal with each other and spar back and forth. Just remember one thing: when you do business in Puluo Province, you need capital. Feel free to laugh when you make a profit, but don't go crying when you take a loss."
Qiao Yi looked up and sighed deeply. "Tallying it all up, it seems I am the one who suffered a loss this time."
Li Banfeng lowered his gaze toward Qiao Yi. "Don't act aggrieved after getting the better of the deal. You were supposed to die under your two brothers' blades. Now, not only are you alive, you've also shaken off two deadweights. From now on, you won't have anyone watching over your shoulder whatever you do. You've profited beyond measure, yet you still claim you took a loss?"
Qiao Yi said, "The one who profited the most this time should be Your Highness, shouldn't it?"
Li Banfeng paused. "Speak a little slower. I didn't catch that."
Qiao Yi softened his tone. "Calm your anger, Your Highness. What I meant was—"
"Not talking to you," Li Banfeng held up a hand, motioning for Qiao Yi to hush. "Say it slower again."
Qiao Yi was baffled; there seemed to be no one else around.
Li Banfeng said, "Go to the outer room and bring the wooden bucket from the second shelf."
Qiao Yi was stunned. "Is Your Highness speaking to me?"
Li Banfeng frowned. "Is there anyone else here?"
Qiao Yi went to the outer room and fetched a wooden bucket.
Li Banfeng instructed Qiao Yi to place the bucket beneath the flume outlet, while he climbed onto the waterwheel himself and began treading water.
Before long, the bucket was full. Li Banfeng had Qiao Yi empty the water into a water vat.
Qiao Yi had never done such menial labor, and having just gone from a three-headed man to a single-headed one, he wobbled under the weight of the bucket before pouring it into the vat.
Just as he was about to catch his breath, Li Banfeng called out, "Hurry up and bring the bucket back."
Qiao Yi set the bucket back in place. Li Banfeng drew another bucket of water and told Qiao Yi to pour it into the vat again.
Repeating this cycle, they drew eighteen full buckets of water. Qiao Yi's face had turned pale green from exhaustion. Li Banfeng nodded. "That's about enough."
Qiao Yi was confused. "About enough for what?"
Li Banfeng stepped down from the waterwheel. After waiting a moment, he heard the dragon-bone waterwheel begin to clatter and click.
The paddle wheel transformed into a torso, the chain of pallets into arms, the flume into a leg, and the foot pedals into feet—the dragon-bone waterwheel stood up!
This was a first-rate weapon!
Yet why did Li Qi know how to use it?
The dragon-bone waterwheel bowed its torso, performing a salute toward Li Qi, awaiting his orders.
Now Qiao Yi was even more mystified. This was a first-rate weapon brought from Chaoge—why would it listen to Li Qi?
"I really did make quite a profit this time," Li Qi remarked, then ordered the waterwheel, "Keep an eye on Old Qiao!"
The waterwheel stepped forward, looming over Qiao Yi.
Qiao Yi didn't dare move an inch.
Li Banfeng left the carpenter's workshop to learn from Nian Shangyou how to pilot Tianyi City.
Tianyi City was indeed swift. In less than half a day, they arrived at Xiaodu. Under Li Banfeng's control, Tianyi City opened its maw, and the three entered Xiaodu together.
Like Chaoge and Haocheng, Xiaocheng also had nine concentric gates.
Li Banfeng asked Qiao Yi, "Is there any special significance to having nine gates?"
Qiao Yi answered simply, "It is an ancestral system. All capitals of the Shang State must be constructed according to ancestral regulations."
Such a complex architectural design could hardly be as simple as ancestral rules, Li Banfeng thought.
Before entering the city, worried that Qiao Yi might be recognized, Li Banfeng had specifically smeared pond silt over Qiao Yi and Nian Shangyou's faces.
Nian Shangyou didn't mind; he rather liked the sensation.
Qiao Yi suffered miserably, the fishy stench of the silt making him retch in waves.
Yet after entering the city, Li Banfeng realized his worries had been superfluous.
Although Xiaocheng was a former capital, the city was far from desolate.
Haocheng had the altars, forming the ritual foundation of the Shang State.
Xiaocheng was situated at a major transportation hub, forming the commercial backbone of the Shang State.
Within the First Gate, factories stretched as far as the eye could see.
Within the Second Gate, craft workshops filled the streets.
The layout of these two city tiers was virtually identical to that of Chaoge.
Once past the Third Gate, the layout shifted.
Inside Chaoge's Third Gate, most establishments were taverns and eateries; inside Xiaocheng's Third Gate, however, stood row upon row of merchant shops. Clothes and fabrics, furniture and furnishings, gold and silver jewelry, ceramics and calligraphy, gears and clockwork springs, medicinal herbs and tonics—everything was for sale.
The streets bustled with crowds rubbing shoulders; no one paid the slightest attention to Qiao Yi or Nian Shangyou.
Li Banfeng was quite pleased with the state of Xiaocheng. "Now this looks like a proper city. I thought you would leave me an empty shell again."
Nian Shangyou smiled humbly. "Since an agreement was made beforehand, my master naturally would not break his word."
Qiao Yi gritted his teeth in silence.
It wasn't that he hadn't wanted to break his word, but that this arrangement had been Xie Gong's doing, not his.
Xie Gong had never planned for Li Qi to reach Xiaodu alive, so naturally he had never intended to empty Xiaodu.
Yet even if Qiao Yi had been tasked with it, he wouldn't have been able to evacuate Xiaodu in the short term either. This was the commercial heart of the Shang State. The population surpassed that of Haocheng and was only slightly smaller than Chaoge's; moving so many residents was no simple matter.
Even so, Qiao Yi was not overly worried. Xiaocheng held high standing in the Shang State. Even if the imperial court issued an official decree, Li Qi would find it very difficult to secure a firm foothold here.
If he knew when to retreat in the face of difficulty, that might still be considered his good fortune. But if he persisted blindly, Xiaocheng was very likely to become his grave.
As Li Banfeng walked, Nian Shangyou provided explanations along the way.
Within the Fourth Gate were numerous guildhalls, where major business transactions took place. Large-scale deals were negotiated without the goods on display—especially for bulk commodities like coal, stone, and lumber, which could not possibly be piled within Xiaocheng; deals for them were struck inside these guildhalls.
The Fifth Gate housed mostly the residences of the city's scholars.
Within the Sixth Gate dwelt the High Ministers.
The Seventh and Eighth Gates contained government offices of varying sizes, and once through the Ninth Gate, one arrived at the former site of the Imperial City.
Having once been the capital, Xiaocheng naturally possessed an Imperial City, though no one resided there permanently; personnel were only arranged to sweep and maintain it on a regular schedule.
Li Banfeng asked, "Where does Xiaocheng's city lord live? Is there no Marquis Manor here?"
Nian Shangyou shook his head. "Xiaocheng has no city lord, nor any duke or marquis. It falls under the direct administration of Chaoge."
In other words, Xiaocheng had never before been enfeoffed.
"Still, they can't refer every trivial matter to Chaoge, can they?"
Nian Shangyou said, "There are two High Ministers in the city, Yu Yunqiu and Ao Shuangqian. For minor affairs, these two lead the discussions and handle matters jointly with the more than thirty other High Ministers."
Li Banfeng asked, "Where are my three first-rate weapons?"
Nian Shangyou answered, "All of them are in the Imperial City. I can take Your Highness to inspect them right now."
"No rush on that. How many scholars are there in Xiaocheng?"
Nian Shangyou gave a rough estimate. "Around ten thousand."
"And commoners?"
Nian Shangyou pondered for quite a while. "Upwards of three hundred thousand."
"How many bondservants?"
Nian Shangyou genuinely had no idea about this. Who would ever care about the number of bondservants?
After prolonged thought, Nian Shangyou replied, "There should be several million."
Li Banfeng nodded. "A truly grand city indeed. Go invite all these people to the Imperial City."
Nian Shangyou froze for a good while, utterly baffled as to what Li Banfeng meant.
Li Banfeng urged, "Go on, hurry. Gathering so many people won't be easy."
Nian Shangyou said, "It is indeed difficult, and this subordinate lacks the means to do so."
Li Banfeng chuckled. "You're just like your master—always overly modest. With Grand Academician Nian arriving in Xiaocheng, wouldn't the various High Ministers give you face? Wouldn't the government bureaus heed your orders? Just have them handle the arrangements for you."
Nian Shangyou glanced toward Qiao Yi.
Qiao Yi asked Li Banfeng, "What is the purpose of Your Highness's action?"
Li Banfeng frowned. "What purpose do you think? I've come to Xiaocheng to take office. Shouldn't people know about it? Shouldn't there be an inaugural ceremony? Otherwise, who will recognize me as the city lord?"
Nian Shangyou thought for a moment and suggested, "It should suffice to inform the High Ministers."
Li Banfeng refused to agree. "Am I merely the city lord for the High Ministers? Do the scholars, commoners, and bondservants not fall under my rule?"
Nian Shangyou wished to say more, but Li Banfeng waved a hand dismissively. "Stop babbling and get to work!"
Nian Shangyou looked at Qiao Yi, who had no words to offer. With no alternative, Nian Shangyou hurried off into the city to notify everyone.
Li Banfeng and Qiao Yi strolled through the Imperial City. Though it was a former capital, the palace had lost none of its grandeur, with over a hundred halls large and small and tens of thousands of rooms.
After waiting for half a day, Nian Shangyou returned to report. "The High Ministers, scholars, and commoners will all arrive shortly. As for the bondservants, at most thirty percent could make it."
Li Banfeng was not quite satisfied. "Thirty percent is a bit few."
Nian Shangyou shook his head. "Your Highness, thirty percent is plenty. Even with just this many, the Imperial City can hardly hold them all."
Li Banfeng nodded. "Let them be the first batch then. Go prepare the ceremony, and have the imperial decree and seals ready."
Nian Shangyou hurried off to prepare. There was no time for an overly elaborate ceremony; in their haste, they could only arrange basic ceremonial music.
By the time the crowd gathered, an ocean of people filled the area before the grand hall. The High Ministers stood at the very front, the scholars closely followed, the commoners spilled outside the Imperial City, and the bondservants packed the Eighth Gate to the brim.
Standing inside a pavilion and looking out at the sea of people below, Qiao Yi felt that Li Qi's antics were utterly absurd.
What was the point of staging such grand fanfare? Reading an imperial decree all by himself before the grand hall—at the end of the day, wouldn't it just be a joke?
Li Banfeng had never planned to read the decree himself.
He had Banfeng C and Banfeng Chou disguise themselves as guards and open the grand hall's double doors, yet he did not step outside.
Before the entrance, the projector conjured projections of Qiao Yi, Xie Gong, and Zhu Jin, who walked slowly out of the grand hall.
The real Qiao Yi was dumbfounded in the pavilion. "Is that an illusion? What does he intend to do?"
Watching from the side, Nian Shangyou's eight whiskers twitched erratically; he too could offer no reasonable explanation.
The projector's imagery was extraordinarily lifelike, leaving no flaw for anyone present to discern. Moreover, none among the crowd dared look Qiao Yi directly in the eye.
The projected Qiao Yi came to a halt before the grand hall and began to proclaim the decree:
"Prince Pingyuan possesses both virtue and talent, with loyalty and valor second to none. Toward the stability of our realm and the prosperity of our state, his contributions are preeminent and his merits illustrious. Today, by imperial edict, Prince Pingyuan is enfeoffed with the land of Xiaocheng, to commend his achievements and manifest his honor.
"Xiaocheng boasts vast fertile plains and magnificent mountains and rivers—a blessed land bestowed by Heaven. It is our hope that Prince Pingyuan shall uphold a heart of loyalty and righteousness, cherish the people as his own children, govern with diligence, protect our borders and pacify the realm, so that all subjects may live and work in peace and contentment, sharing together the blessings of enduring tranquility."
Every single word thundered with deafening power, audible even as far as the First Gate.
Where did such immense volume come from?
The projector had no such capability. This was a method Li Banfeng had borrowed from his lady using the art of Sprawling Compound.
The crowd erupted into an uproar.
When Nian Shangyou had notified them, they hadn't believed the imperial court would truly enfeoff Xiaocheng, let alone bestow it upon a man from Puluo Province.
Yet now, believe it or not, this was an official decree read in person by Qiao Yi, the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.
"Where does this leave me? I shall bear eternal infamy!" The real Qiao Yi's eyes shot with blood, and he moved to rush out of the pavilion to set the record straight.
Nian Shangyou blocked him. "My Lord, you must not!"
Qiao Yi could not show himself.
A one-headed Qiao Yi could not be seen in public yet.
This was a bitter pill he had to swallow in silence!
Whether he liked it or not, he had to take the hit!
Li Banfeng walked out of the grand hall and received the decree from the hands of the projected Qiao Yi.
Enhanced by the projector's illusions, Li Banfeng appeared clad in a sapphire-blue brocade robe, his waist bound with a golden-threaded spider-pattern belt, his head adorned with a jade-inlaid gilded crown—an image of a prince he had designed based on the appearance of Sunflower Seed.
Standing before the grand hall, Li Banfeng spoke two sentences:
"From this day forth, I am the Lord of Xiaocheng!"
"From this day forth, Xiaocheng abolishes the bondservant system!"
PS: Banfeng, you truly don't understand the principle of proceeding step by step!
Chapter 723