Chapter 1690: King of Wei (II)

As soon as he finished speaking, the royal cloak began to tremble of its own accord. A delicate, feather-like flame of light rose from it, seemingly about to settle upon him in response to his words, but he pressed it down, leaving it unable to move.

Ning Wan then said, "Within the [True Essence] Dao, command tokens and immortal seats are not considered the most exalted symbols. Feathered regalia holds the highest honor, and among such regalia, feathered cloaks are supreme. The [Wei King's Conquest-Court Cloak] shall serve as the King of Wei's token of authority. When he travels, the way shall be cleared before him and sealed behind him. At court, he shall be addressed by title without his personal name being spoken."

The woman raised one slender hand and drew out a small banner. It was no larger than a palm, with a green-purple field patterned in black and gold, and bore the words [Wei King of Great Song].

Ning Wan said, "This is the [Wei King's Tingzhou Cultivation and Martiality Banner]. Once erected in the great void, it can suppress disasters of wind and fire across a region, ward away demonic entities and barbarian incursions, and draw together the True Essence of heaven and earth. It will greatly benefit the cultivation of the family's younger generations."

Li Zhouwei casually picked up the spirit artifact and examined it. Its mystics were far inferior to those of the [Wei King's Conquest-Court Cloak]. Its main functions were to regulate spirit veins, nurture the spiritual energy of a region, and provide a measure of protection.

The only truly notable feature is that it can be erected in the great void... When the army is campaigning abroad, raising it from afar would allow us to sense the descent or surveillance of a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator.

This had clearly been refined for the northern campaign. Li Zhouwei took a sip of tea, quickly grasped the Song court's intentions, and casually asked, "What affairs does the Immortal Administration Bureau oversee? Which factions belong to it?"

Ning Wan replied softly, "The Song court has established Three Halls and Six Bureaus. The Six Bureaus are already in operation and handle the affairs of the court, but the Three Halls have yet to be opened... I have heard that the highest among them is the [Purple-Gold Hall]. Only a select few will be appointed to it, and those admitted will receive tremendous benefits.

"As for the Immortal Administration Bureau... It does not hold much real authority. Its main purpose is to regulate the sects and gates, but there are hardly any sects or gates left to speak of in Yue State. It mainly oversees [Azure Pond], [Snow Ji], [Wanyu]... along with various small Daoist temples and minor institutions..."

"[Wanyu]?"

Li Zhouwei repeated the name, and Ning Wan explained, "Yang Ruiyi... has gone to Sword Gate. Sword Gate will continue sealing its mountain, with its inner disciples and Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators remaining within. Its outer disciples will gather at [Raising Sword Ferry] to preserve the gate's foundations, while also accepting deployment from the Immortal Administration Bureau.

"Forgive me for saying too much... But there are certainly many Cheng Family disciples at [Raising Sword Ferry]. Quite a few have already headed south, and I suspect they intend to seek official appointments."

Her expression grew somewhat complicated as she continued, "It is difficult to say. Sword Gate built its standing upon virtue, and the Cheng Family has always upheld those same principles, preaching withdrawal from worldly affairs and refusing to involve themselves in Jiangnan. Yet now, entering the palace to seek office and govern a region has somehow also become virtuous. It seems the Cheng Family is the one least inclined to follow its own rules."

Although Ning Wan claimed she should not say too much, she was now undoubtedly one of the most outspoken figures within the Supreme Yang Dao lineage.

Her expression gradually settled, and she sighed. "What a pity for Senior Ling Mei... The Sword Gate surrendered Jingchuan Prefecture so readily because its elders used the ancient principles of virtue, which had always opposed entering the world to govern it, to push the decision through. Now that he sees so many Cheng Family disciples leaving the mountain, I wonder what he must be thinking."

Li Zhouwei owed Ling Mei a debt of gratitude that he had yet to repay, so it was not his place to say much on the matter. He merely nodded in silence. Ning Wan paused briefly, then immediately changed the subject.

"His majesty holds you in the highest regard and considers you one of his chief pillars. I have come today first to conduct the ceremony of investiture, and second to discuss your fief.

"With the establishment of the new dynasty, the lands of Yue have been divided into six provinces and thirty-two prefectures. Moongaze Lake has been designated as [Tingzhou], Mushroom Forest Plain as [Xunzhou], Cangwu and Helin as [Hezhou], the Hengdong Plains as [Hengzhou], Simin and Jiachuan as [Minzhou], and the mountains of Lixia as [Lizhou].

"The remaining territories formerly governed by Snow Ji Gate, Purple Smoke Gate, Wanyu Sword Gate, and Xiukui Dao Gate have been organized into prefectures rather than provinces. There are twelve in total, and most have retained their former names."

The woman blinked and added, "After all, most of those names were originally chosen by the Yue King. The new dynasty is largely preserving the old system, and where changes have been made, the original names have simply been restored."

Li Zhouwei raised a brow and asked, "How have the various prefectures been enfeoffed?"

Ning Wan answered without much hesitation, "The Great Song has enfeoffed three kings. The first is the Li Family's King of Wei, the second is the Chen Family's King of Yuyang, and the third is the Lingu Family's King of Nanjia. As for the remaining noble titles... they are hardly worth mentioning!"

She hesitated for a moment before continuing, "There is also one protectorate, the [Stillness Sea Protectorate]. It occupies the former lands of Shahuang, overlooking Stone Pond, and is garrisoned by Protector-General Liu."

The Protector-General Liu she referred to was naturally Daoist Master Zhusheng. Li Zhouwei raised his brows slightly and set down the cup in his hand.

It is not surprising. Suiguan had already coordinated everything long ago... After all, Daoist Master Zhusheng is himself of imperial descent, a descendant of Chu State. Even the orthodoxy of Xiao Family of Wu came from Chu State, so naturally he could not be overlooked. With Stone Pond's crucial position as well... the establishment of this protectorate was inevitable.

As for Sima Yuanli, Yang Ruiyi, and the others, they are Great Song's true insiders. Naturally, there is no question of enfeoffing them as kings.

Ning Wan glanced at him before continuing, "Of the six provinces, only [Tingzhou] has been established as a royal domain. It belongs to the King of Wei, and its borders were drawn by your own Li Jiangliang. The other kings each govern only a single prefecture and may not claim a province..."

"For your noble clan, the changes in Tingzhou are minimal. The Chen Family, however, suffered the greatest reduction in its fief. More than half of its territory was taken away, leaving only the prefecture city... The Lingu Family fared somewhat better, losing only ten to twenty percent of its lands.

"As for the rest... Most of the prefectures in Minzhou have become crown lands, with only a few territories granted out as fiefs. I've looked over the enfeoffment map. Once you pass Mount Quanwu, the situation changes entirely. Noble houses stand side by side everywhere, with minor lords scattered across the land. There are probably too many to count."

After hearing this, Li Zhouwei glanced over the map she handed him and immediately understood.

A province is directly administered by Great Song. They consist of the former core territories of the Azure Pond Sect, Hengzhu Dao Gate, and Changxiao Gate, much like the Peak Offices of Moongaze Lake. Outside those provinces, the system resembles the Li Family's method of governing the Wilderness...

The difference is that Yue State is enormous. The twelve prefecture cities remain under Great Song's direct control, with officials appointed and removed by the court. Beyond those cities, however, noble clans can be enfeoffed on a massive scale and sent out to open up the frontier... The sheer number of them will be staggering...

He gave the broader picture only a cursory glance before turning his attention to [Tingzhou] itself, discovering that its territory was remarkably vast.

Its northern border extends all the way to the riverbank, while its southern border rests against the mountains, both much as before. But from east to west, it stretches from the traditional eastern shore, crosses Mount Xiping, the historic boundary between Wu and Yue, and even encompasses a small section of the great desert...

By Great Song's definition, the territory of Moongaze Lake now granted to the Li Family was no smaller than what they currently possessed. If anything, it was larger. The only drawback was that the Wilderness had already been organized into prefectures, with Jiangjun Prefecture to the west and Baoshan Prefecture to the east.

Only the Wilderness has been carved away.

The Wilderness was no longer a desirable place. It had been ravaged by the Great Desire Dao and left scarred beyond recognition. The actual territorial loss was not significant, but many of the Li Family's subordinate houses still had their foundations there, making the situation troublesome to untangle.

Li Zhouwei nodded, but his gaze remained fixed on the upper edge of the map. There, a sweeping black line traced the mighty river flowing into Lake Xian. When his gaze wandered just south of Lake Xian, he found Shanji Prefecture. Although that prefecture city had been lost for many years, the map specifically marked it as territory belonging to Great Song.

Ning Wan merely followed Li Zhouwei’s gaze and immediately understood, The Emperor of Song cannot simply ignore the foothold that the Pavilion of Profound Order has driven into the region. In the end... There is bound to be a great war...

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.