Chapter 111: Enemies Often Cross Paths, the Tiger Covets Its Prey

"Yes, my lord!"

Following the great battle, a large influx of reinforcements from the Mountain and Sea Society arrived at Moon Port, including three individuals of the middle third rank alone.

The imperial court, knowing it lacked the capacity to reclaim Moon Port—that veritable cornucopia—during the chaos, had also seen through the depravity of the gentry, thanks to the "Min Province Rebellion Case" and the "Gentry-Pirate Collusion Case."

Furthermore, the existence of the [Dragon Scion] and the ability to draw upon dragon energy to defy heaven and alter one's fate were proven truths.

After an exhaustive investigation, the White Scale Guard failed to find direct evidence proving which specific member of the Han royal clan had orchestrated everything. The mastermind was hidden far deeper than they had imagined. They were forced to settle for tracking down and arresting a portion of the low-to-mid-level officials who had been in close contact with Pu Shouying.

However, the Lord of the State would never lower his guard, nor would he allow the power of the collusion between the royal clan, local officials, and the gentry to continue expanding. Thus, he decided to borrow strength from the Mountain and Sea Society, which possessed numerous water-class [Zhisui Hall Officials], tasking them with managing some of the maritime personnel and assuming a portion of the coastal defense duties. As long as they were stationed there, it would significantly alleviate the pressure on coastal defense and curb the out-of-control gentry, preventing further collusion with pirates.

From the perspective of the Lord of the State, this was a perfect method of maintaining balance, yet it ignited severe dissatisfaction among the gentry faction and the original garrison officers.

The middle-aged man was none other than Xing Baichuan, the hereditary commander of the Zhenhai Garrison and the direct superior of Wang Cheng’s superior.

As his confidant watched Wang Cheng’s retreating figure, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes. Though he agreed to take action, he hesitated: "Commander, Censor Wang Bengu was the primary instigator who framed the Governor and the Prince of Jinghai for collusion, leading the former to prioritize his own preservation and the latter to be executed despite his innocence. On that day, you accepted his invitation and personally led the Prince of Jinghai into the ambush; in the eyes of those who know, you are already one of his party. We have only just evaded the inspection of the White Scale Guard; if we continue to collude in private to resist military reform and slap the face of the Emperor’s close subjects like the Lu family, will it not invite the Emperor’s displeasure?"

Commander Xing Baichuan, however, remained indifferent. He drained his cup and took a bite of salted vegetables with tofu: "What is there to fear? The nation is governed jointly by the state and the gentry! Power is something you must seize yourself; no one will hand it to you. As long as we do not cross the line, even the supreme Lord of the State must swallow his pride on certain matters. Now, Wang Fugui is a traitor, and Lu Yunchen does not know his place. I, the Commander, personally came to Moon Port to win over that 'God-Envied,' yet he gave me no face at all. If I don't knock him down a peg, will he not climb all over me? I might as well hand over my command to him."

An Emperor is only one man. No matter how many officials, generals, and clerks he has, he must cooperate with a ruling class and share the spoils to govern the country smoothly. Yet, it is evident that in a centralized state, the interests of the Emperor—at the core of power—and the ruling class serving him are often misaligned. Especially as centralization deepens, the state gradually becomes the private property of the Emperor, and the "shares" held by other ruling classes are slowly stripped away. The fact that the Emperor once sat while they sat, and now the Emperor sits while they kneel, is clear evidence of this shift.

The ruling class and their families naturally abandoned their responsibility toward the nation’s survival, seeking only to extract benefits from the ruling system, enriching themselves at the public's expense. The ruling class, once merely the Emperor’s tools, had gradually become the greatest enemies of imperial power.

In the five-thousand-year history of the Divine Land, through ongoing struggles, the Lord of the State has remained as constant as the sun in the sky, yet the ruling class has changed many times. During the Zhou Dynasty, the Emperor ruled jointly with his kin; during the Qin, with the military aristocracy that rose through merit; during the Han, with the great clans that monopolized learning; during the Jin, with the gate-families through the Nine-Rank System; and by the Zhao Song, the Emperor ruled with the scholar-bureaucrats produced by the imperial examinations. Now, under the Great Zhao, the state and the gentry rule together.

Some say the cycles of the Divine Land dynasties over three hundred years show no progress, but at least power has been continuously opening to the lower strata, making it possible for a peasant in the morning to enter the Emperor’s hall by evening.

Of course, later ruling classes were not necessarily more noble than their predecessors. Even the scholar-bureaucrats by the end of the Song and the Yuan eras had achieved self-consistency in their treachery: "If the barbarians enter China, they become China; if China enters the barbarians, it becomes barbarian." From then on, the literati believed that even if a dynasty fell, they were merely changing a Lord of the State and would continue to lord over the land.

You speak of loyalty? I find it laughable! You say the Tartars do not treat the literati well? Try it! What harm is there in trying?

These hereditary garrison officers, having encroached upon military land to become part of the land-owning gentry, acted in collusion with local powerful clans and wealthy families. They were all involved in land annexation, resisting the central government, and colluding with pirates. Now that their interests in Moon Port had been cleared away, how could they not rebel? They naturally harbored deep hostility toward the superiors sent from the center representing the Emperor, and even more so toward "traitors" like "Wang Fugui," who came from a military background but threw in their lot with the Mountain and Sea Society and the central authorities. They would settle both new scores and old.

"Even that Governor was left in disgrace by our joint efforts. Had he not had the backing of the Grand Secretary, he would have been driven back in shame or even thrown into prison. What does it matter to deal with a mere captain? Since this Wang Fugui has fallen under the command of my Zhenhai Garrison, there will be no shortage of opportunities to deal with him."

The confidant was persuaded by Xing Baichuan, thinking that as a hereditary battalion commander and a sixth-rank official, he had gained nothing from this military reform. If he did not seize this opportunity, he would be no different from a commoner. He gritted his teeth and promised, "My subordinate will certainly not let the Commander down!"

When Wang Cheng returned to the Fenglin Studio, he found that Lu Yunchen, who was staying there, had delegated his tasks to his personal servants and was studying diligently. He was learning both the Frankish language and maritime knowledge, using a few books on navigation as his language textbooks.

"Brother Fugui, you’re back? Hard work, hard work. Come, have some tea and rest. This is the Emperor-bestowed Mother Tree Da Hong Pao, good for clearing the mind and sharpening the intellect—an essential for study."

After personally pouring a cup for Wang Cheng, he placed the new words and maritime concepts he couldn't understand before Wang Cheng to ask for guidance, his attitude toward learning worthy of a perfect score.

"Look, this book says to close the gun ports in heavy seas and never to seize the windward position. Why is that?"
"This passage seems to be religious scripture. Do all the Western nations really worship only one god?"
"I don't know this word..."

Wang Cheng answered them one by one. Through their chat, he learned from the young master of the Lu family that as Western colonialists reached the Spice Islands and the East Sea, many Western missionaries had entered the Jade Capital, attempting to lobby the upper echelons of the Great Zhao and spread their doctrine.

However, they had ignored the reality of the situation and had all been rebuffed. After all, whether a high-ranking official of the Great Zhao believed in the Three Officials or an imported "god" was a matter involving the very foundation of the Daoist orthodoxy, and even the survival of the divine officials!

The Lord of the State was the master of a unified nation and the highest defender of the Divine Land's orthodoxy. Any missionary who dared to preach openly or bewitch the ministers would be executed immediately! Some Western artifacts—like telescopes, matchlock guns, pocket watches, and medicines—could become popular, but spreading their faith was strictly forbidden. The upper echelons held one firm attitude: "Exterminate them completely!"

Just as Lu Yi said, foreign ghosts and gods were not descending for the first time, but they rarely returned home. To avoid being implicated, even learning the language of those red-haired missionaries had become a taboo for nobles and officials. The scholar-bureaucrats who held the power of discourse were even more dismissive of it.

But the "God-Envied" was truly worthy of his name. In just over half a month, he had mastered thousands of common words and had begun studying professional maritime terminology.

Soon, after finishing the day's lessons, Wang Cheng suggested: "Brother Lu, prepare to board the ship. We shall learn and practice at the same time."

Lu Yunchen was immediately interested. "Internship on a ship? Is this the naval cadet system of the Western nations you spoke of?"

Wang Cheng nodded: "We are an agrarian civilization. If we want to roam the seas, it comes down to one word: practice! Practice until you’re dead! Sailors and naval officers in the Western nations must go through this. Knowledge from books is shallow; one must experience it to truly understand. Nobles board ships as cadets at twelve; you are already quite late."

"It's settled then. The day after tomorrow, you board the ship for your internship. You will start as a cadet."

Wang Cheng was about to go wash up and change when Lu Yunchen grabbed him, asking urgently: "What about tomorrow? I’m already far behind others; why delay another day?"

There was no need to hide the plans for tomorrow, so Wang Cheng told him: "Tomorrow I must perform a ritual; I have no time to accompany you on board."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yunchen's eyes lit up, and he looked him up and down: "I see your seventh-rank foundation is extremely solid. You should be able to promote to the sixth rank this time, right?"

Wang Cheng shook his head: "No, this time it is not a promotion, but to take on a second official legal position concurrently."

Hearing this, Lu Yunchen was overjoyed, and his address became even more intimate: "Old Wang! So you are a genius just like your brother here. Are you taking on a Heavenly or Earthly position?"

As he spoke, he pulled a pitch-black door panel from a Qiankun bag and presented it to Wang Cheng like a treasure.

"A door panel?" The latter was startled.

Lu Yunchen corrected him mysteriously: "‘Leisurely living, few neighbors, the grass path leads to the abandoned garden. Birds sleep in the trees by the pond, a monk knocks on the door under the moon.’ This door panel is the legendary treasure of the Dao-seeker—'Deliberation'!"

"My two legal positions, the Heavenly-class [Shenxiao Daoist] and the Earthly-class [Sword Hero], were both finalized through 'punishing evil and promoting good' rituals. It was with the help of this treasure that I broke through to the sixth rank in both. I believe you can do it too!"