At this time, only Yan Kingdom, Taoyuan Territory, and other small nations remained on the Southern Continent. The Northern Continent, vaster in area than the Southern one, had more countries—from west to east, they were Wei Kingdom, New Xia, and Jin Kingdom. And at the intersections of these three countries and along the coast, countless small nations and forces were also entrenched.
The pattern of North-South confrontation had essentially taken shape.
On this day after court, the King of Yan’s brows were tightly furrowed, making the palace feel like a storm was brewing. Palace servants walked in fear and trepidation, afraid of inadvertently offending their master.
He had just entered his study when Chief Secretary Xu Ke handed him an official document.
Yan Kingdom’s territory was vast, with countless official documents arriving daily. Only the most urgent ones were carefully selected and presented to the King for review. The King of Yan opened it, glanced at it briefly, and flew into a rage: “New Xia has rejected my request!” With several ripping sounds, he tore the letter into pieces. Half a year ago, he had sent envoys to New Xia, demanding they remain neutral in the future war between the two nations. This was already Yan’s bottom line. It’s worth noting that when the King of Yan initially supported the Fu Lingchuan siblings, he intended for the newly established New Xia to participate in the war and help Yan attack the eastern region of Wei. Though the Queen of New Xia’s reply was diplomatically worded, the meaning was clear—New Xia would act independently, unrestricted by others.
Hmph, how else could New Xia “act independently”? Years ago, its Queen and the State Preceptor of Wei had both stayed in the same cave, how intimate! When Wei went to war, would she stand idly by?
But the King of Yan knew that using this point to create discord was no longer effective.
Regardless of whether the people of both nations wanted it or not, the cooperation between Wei and New Xia had already reached unprecedented closeness.
He paced back and forth in his study several times before asking Xu Ke, “By the way, about a year ago, didn’t someone submit a report to me claiming that Wei was following New Xia’s example in opening its capital for named construction?”
His memory was excellent, and he still recalled the main points of that document: Wei was similarly requiring nobles’ wives and children to reside in the capital, while opening up construction rights in the capital and secondary capitals. There were also several new policies, but they were essentially not much different from what New Xia had done years ago.
In other words, Xiao Yan thought New Xia’s strategies were worth borrowing.
However, whether it was Wei or Jin when they tried to imitate New Xia’s methods, they never achieved the same results.
Xu Ke replied methodically: “New Xia has risen too quickly these past few years, especially in the central-southern region. The capital, Wuseier, has expanded to three times its size compared to six years ago when the new policies were first implemented, with a population increase of 700,000. The Golden Trade Route has been fully opened, starting from the Jin Kingdom in the southwest, crossing through New Xia, ending at Puling Kingdom in the northwest, and extending south deep into Yao territory, connecting 136 towns and cities. We don’t have access to New Xia’s statistical data, but we estimate that the population growth along the Golden Trade Route alone is at least 1.6 million. If we include the section within the Puling Kingdom, it connects with the Wei Kingdom.”
In other words, over these years, large populations from the north and southeast had gathered in the central-southern region. Besides official guidance, the commoners’ voluntary migration was the driving force.
New Xia had indeed issued many powerful new policies, mobilizing the vitality of the entire nation. Not to mention, the Golden Trade Route currently undergoing massive expansion served not only to facilitate the passage of carriages and horses but also had strategic purposes—it was the shortest channel to the Wei Kingdom. New Xia was preparing for the coming great war.
Beyond this, New Xia was also renovating water conservancy projects, encouraging cultivation, and building roads and bridges on a large scale. Each of these required vast amounts of gold and silver. Interestingly, not only did New Xia produce these funds, but they did so seemingly with ease.
Its rate of development was like replacing a worn-out horse pulling a cart with a purebred beast—one whip and it would gallop away.
The King of Yan’s expression grew so dark it seemed water might drip from it.
Xu Ke silently swallowed the words he had not yet spoken. These past few years, Yan Kingdom’s national strength had also risen steadily, and the wounds from the war had long healed. But what displeased the King of Yan was that New Xia’s internal affairs were equally peaceful.
Facts proved that New Xia had been incredibly fortunate to have Yu Haizhen as its State Preceptor. Her allocation of elemental power was appropriate, ensuring New Xia as a whole experienced neither disasters nor famines. The land yielded bountiful harvests, the granaries were filled with old grain, and the abundance of food drove population growth.
This tranquility referred not only to favorable weather but also to New Xia’s political situation.
After overthrowing Fu Lingchuan, Feng Miaojun consolidated royal power, naturally exerting absolute control over the New Xia court. Strangely, though Yan had continued to secretly instigate the Yao nobility to cause trouble in recent years, these efforts had minimal effect. The Yao nobles even wrote secret reports about these attempts and submitted them to the Queen.
The Queen then made this public, causing both New Xia and the Yao people to grow more resentful of Yan’s troublemaking.
It’s well known that winning people’s hearts takes a long time, often thirty to forty years, at least waiting until the older generation passes away and new people grow up before the identification with and remembrance of the old country gradually fades.
But New Xia had done it in just six years.
That woman had quite a knack for controlling people’s hearts.
Of course, Xu Ke only dared to say this in his heart, as the King of Yan’s grasp of current affairs was far superior to his own. He coughed lightly before continuing: “By the way, three days ago, I dined with the Minister’s nephew, Bao Xiansheng. When drunk, he let slip that the large mansion he purchased earlier this year in Tianyi Lane, Wuseier City, was bought for the Minister’s wife, using funds from the Minister’s household.”
The King of Yan, who had just sipped his tea, crushed the celadon cup with a crack: “Even the Minister has had such thoughts?”
Xu Ke lowered his voice: “Bao Xiansheng purchased property in Wuseier City two years ago. When he sold it this year, the value had nearly doubled—four houses, one large and three small, bringing in 14,000 taels of silver. He has no other business ventures. At the family banquet, he was boasting to high heaven, and after learning of this, the Minister’s wife became interested.”
The King of Yan sneered: “Are they not eating their fill in the Yan capital that they must sharpen their heads to go make money in New Xia?”
Xu Ke cautiously replied: “Four years ago, New Xia issued a decree that foreigners entering to do business and purchase property would pay only slightly higher taxes than New Xia locals. In recent years, the Golden Trade Route has developed too rapidly, and property prices along the route have soared, attracting many wealthy families and merchants from Wei and Jin.”
The King of Yan gave a cold laugh: “Quite a few from Yan have gone as well.”
As the ruler of a nation with an overview of the whole situation, he naturally knew that many noble families and wealthy merchants had quietly invested money in New Xia.
Xu Ke asked for instructions: “What are your thoughts, Your Majesty?”
“Forget it, these are minor matters, and there’s not much we can do about them.” Even as a sovereign, he couldn’t control how others spent their money.
The King of Yan stood firm, his restlessness completely swept away, his eyes turning cold and fierce. Xu Ke knew this was his expression when making important decisions, just as before the attack on Xi and the invasion of Pu three years ago.
Sure enough, the King of Yan said solemnly: “The time is ripe. Issue the orders to prepare for the attack.”
Xu Ke was moved: “Your Majesty, attacking now seems somewhat—”
“We should have moved three years ago, if not for the chaos in Pu Kingdom.” The King of Yan said coldly, “If we wait any longer, are we just hoping for Wei and New Xia to grow even stronger?”