Chapter 737: Painting on His Canvas

Chapter 737: Smearing His Canvas

Merely two or three days later, the Demon Slaying Division in the capital received a carrier pigeon from Bashu.

Shock rippled through the upper and lower ranks of the Division. A carrier pigeon was not something one could simply raise while hiding out in some random civilian house or underground cavern; it actually followed an extremely well-practiced route to return to its roost. Those previously raised by the Bashu Demon Slaying Division would only fly back to the original site of the Division if released, which was tantamount to delivering meat right into Li Shentong's hands. Ever since the Demon Slaying Division went into hiding, they had been entirely unable to train carrier pigeons. What was the story behind this sudden arrival from Bashu?

Qin Dingjiang untied the small scroll bound to the pigeon's leg and broke the seal to read it. His eyes widened instantly, and he hurriedly ran to find Tang Wanzhuang at the very first moment: "Chief, Chief! A letter from Bashu!"

Bashu? Tang Wanzhuang was momentarily startled, then smiled faintly: "Why the panic? Bring it here for me to see."

Just this morning, Tang Wanzhuang had received a letter from Zhao Changhe written in the Miaojiang region—indeed, the very one written while Sisi was hiding under the table. The letter detailed the current state of the Spirit Race and Miaojiang, the full account of Sisi becoming the King of Dali, and requested the imperial court to dispatch envoys for formal investiture and exchange, as well as whether to continue establishing the Demon Slaying Division and the Pacification Commission in Miaojiang. It then mentioned that he was setting off immediately for Bashu, hoping for good news.

Finally, it said he missed them very much... The words were sincere, but unfortunately, due to the word "them," it looked rather comical no matter how one sliced it. Tang Wanzhuang automatically ignored it and reported upward to Xia Chichi to begin arranging Miaojiang matters.

As a result, before Xia Chichi and Tang Wanzhuang had even selected the candidates to be dispatched to station in Miaojiang, the letter from Bashu arrived, like consecutive acts playing out on a theater stage.

The letter read as follows:

"To my dearest Wanzhuang, as if meeting in person: I wonder whether the letter from Miaojiang or this one will arrive first. Have you missed me?"

Qin Dingjiang had caught sight of those first few words and promptly fled the room, not daring to look any further. He felt that the Chief's face would turn red with anger upon reading it; the Chief was such a proper person, so even if the two shared mutual affection, one shouldn't talk about "dearest" in official correspondence like this.

No one knew that within the quiet office of the Chief, Tang Wanzhuang stole a glance left and right. Seeing no one around, a smile quietly bloomed across her tense face, her cheeks flushing rosy as she murmured under her breath: "If you were willing to write like this in the last letter, I wouldn't have ended up looking at Her Majesty with mutual distaste. What do you mean, missed 'them'? Who is with 'them'?"

Baoqin pointed at her own nose, indicating "there is someone here," only to be ignored by her lady.

Baoqin simply spoke plainly: "If the morning letter had been written like this, you certainly wouldn't have looked at each other with distaste, but Her Majesty would have torn you apart."

"She cannot beat me; tell her to call her master." Tang Wanzhuang serenely caressed the letter and continued reading down.

Baoqin: "..."

What proper Chief, what loyal minister of the Great Xia. This belonged to the saying of an orange growing north of the Huai River changing its nature; if it were the Great Han, this was a textbook traitorous minister.

"Li Shentong rising in rebellion for the people is something I witnessed with my own eyes, and it has been barely over half a year until now. Yet seeing him again today, very little of the original intent remains across the Shenhuang Sect, and Li Shentong himself has undergone some changes, with only Situ Xiao remaining pure of heart... From this, one can see that the cycle of the dragon slayer becoming the evil dragon is difficult to alter; once in power, certain thoughts will shift. Fortunately, the time has been short, and Li Shentong has not completely deteriorated. Hearing me speak of some fundamental measures for the sake of the people, it is evident his heart was touched, and he can be won over."

"In truth, part of the reason should be that he cannot lower his pride. Back when he slew the dragon, what did he say? A commoner's wrath splashes blood five paces away. It was beautifully said, so much so that Old Xia sighed with immense regret. In the end, if he himself leads the Shenhuang Sect to become just another wave of Great Xia bureaucrats, who will be the one provoking the commoner's wrath at that time? Would he dare face Old Xia in the underworld, or dare face you and me on the battlefield? I did not say it so directly, leaving him face, but it should be tacitly understood."

"Now he has taken the initiative to re-establish the Demon Slaying Division, to be responsible for monitoring the equalization of fields and the illegal acts of officials, asking me to organize the members of the original Demon Slaying Division. This poses a risk to the brothers of the Division, but it is worth a try. Human hearts are always constantly changing; the entry of our people is both a monitoring of the officials and, in truth, a reminder to his own person. Whenever he sees the people of the Demon Slaying Division, he ought to recall whether certain matters reaching Zhao Changhe's ears would be ridiculed. Thus, he ponders. This is also the true meaning behind his active request for the Demon Slaying Division; he is reminding himself."

"But since there is a Demon Slaying Division, the nature of the Bashu regime becomes somewhat subtle, suddenly possessing a flavor akin to the loose rein policy over Miaojiang, as if it could transform at any moment into the Great Han investing a King of Shu. But this is not our goal. Miaojiang can be like this, but Bashu cannot; it cannot have a king, and must be managed by prefects dispatched by us. Currently, this step cannot be achieved directly... I planted the cauldron at the city gate, which actually concealed a bit of the conquering intent to settle the realm. Li Shentong surprisingly did not move it away, showing that he too is watching what follows."

"Watching our battle with Guanlong, our battle with the barbarians, watching my strength, and watching the edge of your army. To truly expect him to surrender just because of a few words of my blathering is impossible. Regardless, he is willing to send troops out of Hanzhong and willing to venture beyond the border with me; this is already enough, true to his original intent, and one cannot ask for more. The rest is our business."

"First of all, he attaches great importance to some of the concepts I mentioned, and these concepts can indeed begin to be researched to see if they can be implemented. Some things need to be done based on technological progress; for instance, I know we have movable type printing, which was proposed by Old Xia decades ago and created by artisans. But to this day, it remains fragile and inefficient, and paper production is also severely limited. If we wish to fully roll out education, being constrained by this makes it very difficult to achieve."

"It needs to be taken seriously; everything only lacks being taken seriously... This is also of immense help to our imperial examination strategy. I hope to gather capable artisans to improve technology, reduce costs, and increase efficiency to make it easier to spread. When this is done and reaches Bashu, that will be me setting a question for him, to see how he takes it up next."

Baoqin was poking her head around to watch from the side, and by now, her eyes were spinning in circles. She stole a glance at her lady; the rosy flush on her lady's face had long since faded, and her eyes flashed entirely with the light of pleasant surprise.

"Truly remarkable," Tang Wanzhuang murmured softly to herself. "Settling Qinghe, pacifying Liangya, securing Miaojiang—I did not find those strange, for those were based on martial affairs, which he is capable of. But this matter in Bashu... is simply... Who says he is merely a brute who only knows how to brandish swords and sabers? This is true talent for statecraft; in the past, he only lacked a platform."

Baoqin did not understand but felt it sounded very impressive. In any case, seeing her lady like that, impressive was right.

It felt like even if everyone's memory of past events was wiped clean, starting anew from the events after the establishment of the new dynasty to let Zhao Changhe pursue her lady again, her lady would absolutely fall right into his arms. Just look at that yearning expression...

But in this ruined world, he always needed to be rushing about outside. It was fine for her lady, an old woman, to yearn, but after the New Year, Baoqin was already eighteen... Ugh... The promised chambermaid, how could it be like this...

How could Tang Wanzhuang know that her maid's heart had drifted beyond the clouds; she was still looking at the letter. Reasonably speaking, once the Bashu matters were concluded, Zhao Changhe ought to return to the capital to prepare for the military expedition, yet he sent a letter back instead, giving her an ominous premonition.

Sure enough, the letter went on to say: "Originally, after the Bashu matters were settled, I was to return to the capital to prepare for the expedition, but now the plan has temporarily changed. There is a risk of Kunlun's Yuxu merging with the Li family; I must go to disrupt this matter. The best outcome would be to let Yuxu join me in dealing with the barbarians, and the lowest expectation is to make the internal factions of the Li family tear at each other under the influence of sects and powers; in short, they cannot be allowed to cooperate."

"Rest assured, Hongling is accompanying me; she has already broken into the Ascendance Realm. Although the current situation in Chang'an is complex, I still have the confidence to handle it."

"Make all preparations for the expedition in the capital, and wait for my return."

"Alright, give me a kiss~"

At the very end of the letter was an attached drawing of a kiss, looking very cute.

But Tang Wanzhuang did not find it cute at all. Knitting her elegant brows tightly, she stood up and began pacing back and forth.

"The danger of Chang'an is not as simple as he makes it out to be... Yuxu may not be very friendly now, and there are deities behind them. Furthermore, there might be other gods and demons lurking around Kunlun, and as for the Northern Barbarians, who knows who is currently in Chang'an; if worst comes to worst, it might be Bo'e or Tiemuer himself. In today's Chang'an, fish and dragons are mixed, gods and demons are present, and he is alone..."

Baoqin reminded her: "There is also Yue Hongling."

Tang Wanzhuang ignored those words entirely, stood up, paced a few steps back and forth, and said in a low voice: "Contact Suzaku. I know not how she fares with the Jinzhong matter; if it is not too tight, have her take a detour to Chang'an."

In truth, Tang Wanzhuang really wanted to go herself, but the present was nothing like the past. Previously, she was only responsible for the martial affairs of the world, and she herself could frequently appear in the martial world; now she needed to look after many major affairs of state, acting as Xia Chichi's left and right hand, truly unable to leave the capital for a single moment. And certain matters in Zhao Changhe's letter also required her own management.

Her heart was filled with boundless worry, but what could she do?

Baoqin reminded her: "To contact that bird, there must be a more direct method of communication within their Four Symbols Sect. Miss had best go ask Her Majesty."

Tang Wanzhuang nodded, turned to drape on her coat, and headed straight for the palace.

Do not look at how Baoqin always spoke in a way that made people flare up with anger; in reality, she was a very good secretary capable of checking for leaks and filling gaps. If she could help refill cups, it would be even more perfect.

Of all the "external officials" of the Great Han today, Tang Wanzhuang was the only one who did not require an announcement to wander directly into the imperial palace and barge straight into the Emperor's bedchamber. No one said it aloud, but everyone knew in their hearts that this was no "external official"; this was actually the "Empress," or at the very lowest, a "Noble Consort." It was just that when corresponding to such an identity, the Emperor was Zhao Changhe, while the Majesty currently sitting and working in the imperial study was, in essence, also an Empress or Noble Consort.

As for who exactly was the Empress and who was the Consort, gambling houses had actually opened books in secret. For instance, Ying Wu's Kangle Gambling House had almost made it an open board; the citizens of the capital placed bets with knowing winks, the Demon Slaying Division turned a blind eye, and then secretly placed bets on their own Chief.

Earlier on, Tang Wanzhuang felt somewhat ashamed of this status of entering the palace directly without announcement, always feeling that every guard looked at her with an odd gaze. By now, she had long grown used to it and would even crack jokes with Xia Chichi.

Tang Wanzhuang walked gracefully into the imperial study. Xia Chichi was currently leaning over her desk reviewing memorials, her small face crumpled, looking extremely strained.

Tang Wanzhuang sighed inwardly. If only the late Emperor had possessed this diligent heart for state affairs, even if he did not do well, things would not have fallen into such a mess. Today, the Great Han was rapidly recovering; aside from the objective necessity of moving from chaos to governance, it was inseparable from Chichi's diligence. She slept at most four to six hours a day, and frequently did not sleep at all. In the very beginning, she was extremely unfamiliar with matters of state, not understanding many things, but by now, she was already a highly qualified Emperor.

Setting aside everything else, that steady aura, eyes like lightning, inspiring awe and sternness, a single glance from her could strike terror into the hearts of many court officials. That was the killing intent of a martial sect enchantress mixed with the cold sharpness of an icy swordsman, blended together with imperial majesty. The current Xia Chichi truly showed no trace of her early days as a martial sect enchantress, resembling more and more an Emperor with a touch of wickedness.

Seeing Tang Wanzhuang enter the door, Xia Chichi looked up, then continued her work at the desk: "Why run in all of a sudden? Here to attend to the bed?"

Tang Wanzhuang walked in gracefully, and unexpectedly sat down casually on the table beside her, looking quite like a charming consort. Hearing those words, she also replied lazily and casually: "If it were changed to him sitting here, I would come to attend to the bed. As for you... wait in line. Oh, I forgot, you have waited in line once."

The surrounding eunuchs and palace maids all turned their heads away, unable to look directly; such a ruler and minister were truly unprecedented throughout antiquity.

Xia Chichi snorted: "We are all merely the 'them' under his brush. Does he want a line? What he wants is together. I tell you, when it comes to being dissolute and devoid of principle, his ability is vast; for a truly diligent ruler, you still have to look at me, Xia Chichi. A good minister chooses their master; you ought to recognize me instead. Let us rebel against him together!"

Tang Wanzhuang casually flipped through the neatly stacked memorials by the table and watched, smiling as she said: "My apologies, he gave me a private letter; I have no reason to rebel."

Xia Chichi flew into a rage: "Impossible, absolutely impossible! Bring the letter here for me to see!"

Tang Wanzhuang smilingly gave her the letter. Xia Chichi merely scanned the envelope and let out a sigh: "The internal carrier pigeon of the Demon Slaying Division is naturally sent straight to you, what is the big deal. Moreover, the one breaking the seal might not necessarily be you; to prevent others from seeing, he wouldn't dare write any secrets involving me inside, giving you a few sweet words at most."

Tang Wanzhuang was expressionless.

The reasoning was naturally this reasoning, but do you have to be so sharp? What is wrong with being a little jealous? You have ruined my good mood entirely.

Xia Chichi read the letter, her brow knitting tightly: "Chang'an... Chang'an. Your meaning in coming to find me is?"

"To have you contact your master; there should be a secret communication method within your cult. How about having her make a trip to Chang'an? How goes the matter in Jinzhong?"

"An express report from four hours ago: twenty thousand dan of grain is currently on its way to the capital, and nearly ten thousand dan has already been delivered into Yanmen Prefecture. Oh right, there are also several thousand warhorses."

"That is nearly thirty thousand dan of grain and several thousand warhorses!" Tang Wanzhuang sucked in a breath of cold air: "How many families?"

"The Venerable One slaughtered the Qiao family, shocking Northern Jin, proclaiming that all who do not surrender will have their entire clans exterminated. Thus, Northern Jin was terrified, and more than ten families came bearing brambles to surrender. This grain was offered actively by them; if they did not give it, they feared being completely wiped out family by family by the Venerable One."

Tang Wanzhuang opened her mouth, not knowing what to say.

This was the so-called method of the martial world, direct and effective, and was also the deterrence that ought to exist when one had a top-tier powerhouse on hand.

Originally, there were no powerhouses in Jinzhong, and it had not even formed a powerful regime. Previously, it was an alliance of various merchants, and now, in essence, they had all secretly surrendered to the barbarians. Because it lay south of Yanmen, it left Yanmen Pass isolated, which was an extremely dangerous situation.

Therefore, the Great Han could not care less about rules. In a situation where a top-tier powerhouse did not follow rules, this "surrender to the barbarians" was entirely meaningless. Suzaku, single-handedly with absolute martial might, slaughtered her way through family by family until hearts turned cold with terror, leading to direct surrender.

In the past, this kind of rule could not be broken; otherwise, the opponent could also dispatch a powerhouse to the heart of the Great Han to slaughter randomly like this, leaving no one with a game to play. Zhao Changhe's arrow across the river was viewed as breaking the rules, but Zhao Changhe was still considered a member of the Earth Ranking, playing on the edge. If you have the ability, why don't you dispatch someone from the Earth Ranking to play too? Do not blame anyone if you die here without warning. Furthermore, the Wang family was destroyed in an instant, and they could not find a powerhouse to take an eye for an eye, nor would demon gods like Huangyang avenge the Wang family.

But Suzaku belonged to the Heaven Ranking, and was furthermore an Ascendance Realm demon god, truly breaking the rules...

But the trouble was that the Jin merchants dared not openly admit they had surrendered to the barbarians—it was all done in the shadows. In theory, the Three Jin were still part of the former Great Xia territory, and any internal feuds among the Xia people would be handled by the Demon-Suppression Bureau. What business was it of foreigners?

Not to mention the barbarians—even the Li family was left dumbfounded, wanting to help but not knowing how. Send troops? How could that match the terrifying mobility of a top-tier expert who could kill anyone at will? Send their own strongmen to wreak havoc within the Great Han? But the Vermilion Bird used the excuse that these people were colluding with the barbarians—no matter how he killed, he had justification. What excuse would you use? If you just slaughtered a family at random, would you ever be able to rule the world again?

Let the barbarians send their strongmen to the Central Plains?

It must be said that when Batu’s uncle, Helei, ranked seventh on the Earth List, died in the Central Plains, it left too deep a shadow on the barbarians. They truly dared not send anyone casually—if one died, the loss would be irreparable. Oh, and by the way, Helei died at the hands of the Vermilion Bird because he had bullied Yi Huo Snake…

In short, unless Bo’e or Temur came in person, there was no certainty. Did they have such leisure? Besides, with their status and position, wouldn’t they be laughed to scorn for coming to the Central Plains to do such a thing? It was utterly awkward.

Thus, faced with the Vermilion Bird’s “jianghu methods” that broke all rules, there was no countermeasure at all. The only option was for the Li family to entrust a demon god to stop him. This demon god was well known to all—his name was Feng Yin. But then came the Battle of the Imperial Realm, the Burning Flame Southern Sky, and he was driven back by the Vermilion Bird… From then on, the Vermilion Bird ravaged the Three Jin with no one to oppose him.

Northern Jin surrendered at the mere sight of him, Yanmen’s isolation resolved itself, and a great store of grain was seized, easing the Great Han’s pressing crisis.

Meanwhile, Southern Jin directly raised the Li family’s banner, linking up with Guanlong, and Feng Yin took up a post there to keep the Vermilion Bird from acting recklessly, lest he fall into a trap.

Thus, it came to a temporary halt… which is to say, the Vermilion Bird now had time—plenty of time.

The ruler and minister exchanged a glance, both feeling a sigh of relief that they could help Zhao Changhe, yet also a strange sensation, as if they were all sending a rival in love to his side.

“Forget it.” Xia Chichi tossed the letter onto the table and said softly, “Anyway, there’s always that stinky, rustic female knight by his side now. I’m quite jealous. Sending a great sorceress to stir up trouble between them isn’t so bad.”

“…” Tang Wanzhuang didn’t know how to respond, so she stiffly said, “That’s going deep into the tiger’s den. Don’t make it sound so trivial, as if it’s just playing house.”

Xia Chichi propped her chin on her hand: “Anyway, we can’t do more than worry. Would it mean anything for us to sit here frowning at each other? That’s why your old sickly ways were mostly self-inflicted—who knows if that look wasn’t just to lure men.”

Tang Wanzhuang: “…That male attire of yours is what lures men.”

Xia Chichi: “?”

They stared at each other for a long while, and Xia Chichi sighed: “If we want to set his mind at ease, then let’s study the matters he wrote about in his letter—like improving papermaking, advancing printing, and the equal land distribution in Bashu—and see how we can manage things here. It feels rather tedious. That said, I certainly have no objection to these things, but your Tang family…”

Tang Wanzhuang said: “The realm at the founding of a dynasty is a blank slate, easiest to paint upon. We cannot let a few families or surnames hinder our pace. He always said that this jianghu, this world, disappointed him… I am willing to accompany him in shattering the old world and painting the picture in his heart.”