Meanwhile, in Longjing, within the Imperial City's Taiheng Hall.
Suiren, having completed the governmental purge and reshuffle, convened a small meeting with his confidants.
Seated high on the dragon throne, Suiren set down his teacup and addressed Gengjin, "Have you still not found him?" (The dragon throne in the hall had been changed from three seats to one.)
"This subordinate is incompetent," Gengjin replied, kneeling on the ground with his hands clasped in a fist.
"Your Majesty, Xin Lei is likely at the end of his rope. If we continue the pursuit, we should be able to find him," Jia Huang interjected.
Suiren nodded. The Minister of Personnel bowed and spoke, "Your Majesty, there is a severe shortage of personnel for the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. This needs to be rectified quickly."
"Select from families willing to comply, giving one to two candidate spots for each family," Suiren mused. "Also, accelerate the pursuit of Grey Sheep and the persuasion of White Tiger to surrender."
Everyone nodded. Then, the Minister of Rites spoke again, "Your Majesty, regarding the Gathering of All Beings you announced, only Di Ku and the Yellow Emperor have responded..."
"..." Suiren waved his hand, signaling everyone to withdraw.
Di Ku was one of the Five Emperors who had explicitly pledged allegiance to him, a sort of comrade-in-arms from the start. He couldn't use this opportunity to weaken his ally, at least not yet.
The Yellow Emperor... among the Five Emperors, he was an anomaly. Even if he came, Suiren wouldn't be able to do anything to him.
This was because he lacked military power (or even his own troops), lacked real authority (he had delegated it), lacked financial resources (relatively speaking), but possessed something ethereal yet desperately coveted by Suiren: prestige, trust, and the hearts of the people.
Gazing at the red plum blossoms outside the vermilion walls, Suiren's thoughts drifted once more...
And on the white jade steps beneath the plum blossom tree, stood a guan dao, broken in half and stained with blood.
...
In Suzhou, Chang'an, Teng Palace City, Lingyun Pavilion.
Zhuanxu rarely visited this place at first. In his opinion, it was a great fortune that these remnants of the previous dynasty had not been annihilated in the river of time. There was no need to waste time on things that would inevitably turn to dust.
However, as his power grew, his foresight expanded, and his perspective on matters shifted, he found himself increasingly willing to spend time here, contemplating issues, seeking solutions, and discerning directions.
Suddenly, the guards at the entrance became vigilant towards a shadow in a corner. But upon seeing the approaching figure, they immediately offered a military salute, then turned and walked out, resuming their posts with their hands clasped behind their backs, closing the door.
"General..." a man in black robes emerged from the shadows, looking disheveled, and bowed to Zhuanxu. "We found Zhang Hanshan... but..."
"Failed?" Zhuanxu asked, his hands resting on the redwood railing, his eyes fixed on the vast Teng Palace City, without turning his head.
"Yes... Zhang Hanshan had many young talents around him, and there was a woman who possessed one of the Ten Royal Artifacts. It's speculated she's He Lanxin from Longjing University. The scattered soldiers and brigands I gathered couldn't handle them, so I had to retreat," Deputy Officer Zhuang reported. "My lord, if a bounty is placed on He Lanxin, I can certainly capture Zhang Hanshan—"
Before he could finish, Deputy Officer Zhuang felt a coolness on his face, and then warm, viscous liquid slowly trickled from the wound towards his lips.
"That is not an excuse for your failure. To seize this initiative, one must proceed cautiously, step by step," Zhuanxu retracted his Zhanxie Zhang. "Deputy Officer Zhuang, have you heard of any history of this Divine Land before the first magnificent empire—the Han Dynasty?"
"I know..." Deputy Officer Zhuang replied. "Aren't the ancestors of the Kong family said to have achieved sainthood during that period..."
"Then... what exactly happened during this period? Do you know?" Zhuanxu asked, looking at Deputy Officer Zhuang's trembling demeanor.
"No..."
"Then..." Zhuanxu pointed to Lingyun Pavilion beneath their feet, or rather, Teng Palace City. "Do you know how this vast Chang'an City was built?"
"No..."
Before Deputy Officer Zhuang could finish speaking, Zhuanxu grabbed him by the collar, slammed him against a pillar, and said word by word, "Teng Palace City, also known as Chang'an Capital, was built on the ruins of the Weiyang Palace of the Han Dynasty! And Weiyang Palace! Was built upon the Epang Palace of the Qin Dynasty, which predates the Han Dynasty!" (Epang Palace is in Xianyang, west of Chang'an. Those interested can look it up. For now, this is how it's set for plot purposes. Please forgive me.)
Having said this, Zhuanxu dropped Deputy Officer Zhuang, who was already dangling off the ground, and muttered as he looked towards Longjing:
"Without might, one cannot subdue the warlords."
"Without strength, one cannot seize the world."
"Anything else is the act of commoners, no different from ants."
"Now the world is in great chaos, and the warlords are about to rise."
"We, occupying the land of Jincheng, must maintain our own military strength and wait for the opportune moment to act."
"The Yanluo Palace made a deal with me, advising me to confine myself to my territory, but they do not know they are seeking skin from a tiger."
"The Imperial City treats me sincerely, but in reality, they are encircling me with troops, unaware they are provoking a tiger like a dog."
"Dong Yao and Nan Shun, consolidating their armies and powers, ostensibly submitting to Longjing, but their hearts are surely disloyal."
"As for me, my ambition is the world, how can I be compared to these short-sighted individuals?"
"These eleven states and one hundred and twenty prefectures of the Dragon Country will sooner or later be within our grasp."
...
Tiangkou, Zhang Family's Polu Hall.
After discussing with several others, Zhang Chunlin unanimously decided to send Zhang Hanshan out of the Dragon Country first.
It was an unavoidable measure to send a portion of the family overseas under the current circumstances, but it would allow the family bloodline to continue and retain some strength after the internal strife.
"Where to send him? Ryukyu? Chousuo? Luzon? Goryeo? These are all perilous places," Zhang Dongxue said with some worry.
"Little sister speaks wisely. How about Sha Le or Rose?"
"Too far."
As they debated, Zhang Henshui listened to the voice on the other end of the device and said, "Fifth Brother wants to go to Nihon."
"Nihon? Why go to such a chaotic and wild land?" Zhang Xiating frowned.
"Wait a moment," Zhang Chunlin said after thinking for a moment. "Henshui, can you take my authorization token and go to Nihon to receive your brother?"
Among the Zhang siblings, the eldest sister Zhang Lexi and the second brother Zhang Ailin held positions in the military and government respectively and could not leave their designated areas. The third brother Zhang Henshui and the fourth sister Zhang Yanyan were responsible for the operations of Jizhou and Yuzhou respectively. At the main family residence, only Zhang Henshui could spare the time to lead troops to protect Zhang Hanshan.
"...All right." Zhang Henshui thought for a moment and nodded. He couldn't be of much help here, and escorting his fifth brother, who hadn't reached the sixth rank yet, was a sensible choice.
"Then tell Baishi we agree. Make the arrangements and send Zhang Hanshan out of the Dragon Country."
"But... how to send him?"
"..." Zhang Chunlin hesitated for a long time and said, "Second Brother, I'll go to Qufu for a while, and you can cover for me."
...
The third day.
Since Mochuan's itinerary differed from Zhang Hanshan's (Zhang Hanshan was to go to Jiuquan to find his clansmen who would meet him, and then proceed to Nihon, while Mochuan needed to go to Longjing to find Mo Fei), He Lanxin and Zhang Hanshan left first.
Mochuan left a note for Qinglianzi, then had someone forge an identity for Roni, and boarded the high-speed train to Longjing.
At this time, Mochuan and the other two had arrived at the Ten Thousand Sword Sect, but they unexpectedly received a warning from the gatekeepers:
The sect is closed.