Volume 5, Chapter 33 – Echoes

“Morning paper! Morning paper! Freshly printed morning paper here!”

“After Her Majesty the High Emperor set out from Northern Que and captured nineteen Northern Yu cities in succession, the very next day she went alone into Northern Yu’s interior, the White Scar Plateau! Above Plateau City, she fought more than ten Venerable-realm experts, including Northern Yu’s Imperial Preceptor Guo Mao and Qianyuan Sect Master Cai Jichang! …All the follow-up details are in the paper! Ten yuan a copy! First come, first served!”

“Give me ten copies!”

“And me, ten too—no! Make that thirty!”

April, Xia Capital.

At every street corner, people crowded madly around the newspaper hawkers. Whenever the freshly printed papers came out in the morning, countless people would surge forward in a frenzy, waving cash and buying every last copy clean out.

Because Northern Yu and Eastern Xia were not connected to the same network.

Not only was Northern Yu disconnected from Eastern Xia, it was disconnected even from the Federation, which stood as its ally.

And precisely because they were not connected, information from Northern Yu reached Eastern Xia with a delay. The internet was flooded with all kinds of chaotic rumors, but in the end none of them could compare with these “official media” outlets backed by the Imperial Court. The contents recorded in these newspapers were bound to be far more detailed and reliable.

Besides, even if you already had channels through which you’d learned early how Her Majesty had shown her might in Northern Yu, did that mean you couldn’t buy the paper anymore?

Couldn’t I resell it?

Couldn’t I take it home, frame it, and keep it as a collectible?

Did they not understand what a strategic investment was? Forget fifty or a hundred years from now—even ten or twenty years later, this kind of thing would be priceless and impossible to find on the market! No matter how much you bought, it would be a guaranteed profit!

After ten years of war, the people of Eastern Xia had long passed the stage of fanatical fervor over qi methods. Every year they had remained under pressure from the Federation, from Northern Yu, and from the voidfiends. While ordinary people were still fully willing to keep fighting, they also inevitably felt exhausted, and at times confused.

They desperately needed someone to step forward and tell them that they had not chosen wrong. They desperately needed someone to give them hope, to give them the possibility of victory.

Because all those factors had mixed together and converged, the most authoritative paper in the Xia Capital region, the Great Xia Morning Post, had been hit by a buying frenzy.

A newspaper that originally sold for two yuan a copy was immediately resold for ten or twenty yuan. Once the trend spread, there were moments when even thirty yuan could not buy one, leaving countless people clawing at their hair and too restless to sit still. It was common for hundreds or even thousands of people to gather outside the newspaper office and demand additional print runs.

And those who had managed to buy copies kept one in hand at all times, even bringing them to gatherings and fiercely debating over them at tea parties and work meetings.

“The Morning Post says it clearly: Her Majesty smashed Plateau City, killed the likes of Cai Jichang as easily as slaughtering chickens and dogs, and even after the Heaven-Patrols of Pilgrimage Mountain and a federal Executive Governor joined the battle, they still could do nothing to her! She is probably a Saint reborn, someone even that mysterious Mountain Lord of Pilgrimage Mountain could not do anything against!”

“It’s not just that one. Don’t forget the Federation! Before those Executive Governors rose to power, they had a group of mysterious experts helping them slay demons! Most likely the remnants of Blood Soul Heaven! And the fact that the Federation can stand on friendly terms with Northern Yu, even as equals, is enough to show that they very likely also have a Saint overseeing things!”

“I’ve heard that line of argument before. It was from that episode of Military Cultivators, wasn’t it? The vague shadow of a Saint… impossible for mortals to perceive… The pressure they described back then was immense. Just thinking about it now still makes my heart race.”

“Who cares! All that posturing and mystery! Even if the Federation has a Saint, we don’t need to fear anymore! The High Emperor is back, after all! What the hell do we have to be afraid of now!”

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“That’s right! With the High Emperor leading us, we won’t have to be afraid ever again!”

This was only a small reflection of popular opinion.

At the same time, in the rear court of Zhengyuan Palace, in that same secluded and tranquil camphor-and-bamboo grove, the maid Xiao Tao was reporting the recent situation to Bai Zhuqing.

“Your Highness, the new batch of papers sold out again!”

“Your Highness, they think the printing plants are too slow, and now they’re already buying that awful Dongzhou Metropolitan Post instead!”

“Your Highness, the highest listed price for a single copy of the Morning Post online has already broken one thousand yuan!”

“Your Highness, I saw a lot of black-market dealers privately photocopying the Morning Post too. Didn’t you say we were short on money last time? Should we get in on it as well?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.” Bai Zhuqing nearly sprayed a mouthful of water in her face. “Utter absurdity… How could the Imperial Court compete with the people for profit?”

Xiao Tao froze. “But those black-market dealers are breaking the law, aren’t they? According to Xia Law, they should be temporarily stripped of those rights.”

“…What you said actually sounds a little reasonable.”

Now Bai Zhuqing froze too.

“But we don’t need to handle this sort of thing personally. Go… tell Cao Chuan, Commander Cao, about it. Have him take people to shut down those factories. Whatever stock is seized can be sold together under the Morning Post name.”

“Commander Cao doesn’t handle this kind of thing, does he? Will he really work hard at it?”

“Heh, this concerns the military pay he’s been short on. He’ll definitely work harder than anyone.”

“And the inflated online prices?”

“Deal with them all together, of course.” Bai Zhuqing waved her hand impatiently. “Ten or twenty yuan a copy is fine. Anything priced too much higher gets struck down. Fines are to be recovered according to Xia Law.”

“And the Dongzhou Metropolitan Post?” Xiao Tao looked at Bai Zhuqing with open admiration. “They did report Her Majesty’s deeds too… but they also included some unpleasant commentary…”

“Oh? What kind of commentary?”

“Just… saying that what Her Majesty is doing will damage the greater interests of humanity… saying it will bring the hatred of the whole world…”

“That really is the same old tune.” At that, a cold light flashed through Bai Zhuqing’s eyes.

Among the fourteen states of Great Xia in Eastern Xia, the ones that could truly be counted as direct Imperial Court territory were only Xia Capital, Pingzhou, Yuzhou, and the three southwestern states of Ze, Qi, and Mao—a total of six states altogether.

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The rest consisted of the two southeastern twin states, which were neutral but leaned toward the Imperial Court, as well as the three states north of the river and the three states east of the river, which had their own factions while maintaining a surface show of obedience.

Of those, the three states north of the river were not too much of a problem. After all, they backed up against the western wasteland desert, long one of the regions hardest hit by voidfiend ravages. The Imperial Court had stationed heavy troops in Tianji Circuit there, and even if you gave the local nobles ten times the courage, they still would not dare turn the sky upside down.

But the three states east of the river were another matter entirely. There, mountains and rivers were densely packed and the terrain was perilous. Aside from Dongzhou, which needed to defend the gap into the Eastern Sea, the inland regions were hidden away among steep and imposing ranges. Sheltered by natural defenses, they enjoyed peace and comfort, and that made it easy for all sorts of other thoughts to grow.

Take this Dongzhou Metropolitan Post, for example… This had been a court proposal submitted eight years ago by the Dongzhou nobility, claiming they sympathized with the Imperial Court’s burdens and were willing to bear the costs and responsibilities of publicity and dissemination on their own. At the time, Bai Zhuqing had been cautious to an extreme degree. She had even consulted Xiang Xian, her grandfather, and others before finally deciding to test the waters—granting the three eastern-river states the right to manage their own publicity operations, while specifically sending someone like Li Xin to serve as Governor of Dongzhou precisely so that he could act as a supervisor.

But what was the result?

Li Xin himself was originally from the eastern-river region, and his family had all been killed by Dongzhou gangs colluding with government officials.

For a man like that to act as supervisor, his attitude toward Dongzhou officialdom could already be called fault-finding to the point of obsession, couldn’t it?

And yet even so, those people still managed over five years to wash away the Imperial Court’s imprint from Dongzhou’s publicity apparatus.

This was not because Li Xin was incompetent, nor because Bai Zhuqing was weak. It was because when nearly ninety-nine percent of Dongzhou’s officialdom had joined hands and used their own functions as leverage against the Imperial Court, then for the sake of stability in Dongzhou, she could only temporarily tolerate their behavior.

War still raged everywhere.

Everything was for the people’s livelihood, for the hard-won stability not to be shaken again.

But things were different now!

You bullied me before Elder Sister came back, and now you’re still bullying me after Elder Sister came back—then didn’t Elder Sister come back for nothing?

Now Elder Sister had split open the heavens with a single sword and, through her own power alone, won immense prestige for Great Xia. The whole of Xia Capital, the whole country… and even Northern Yu and the Federation were probably trembling beneath her name!

Then were there still things that had to wait until she returned before they could be done?

Then what did she need me, the Imperial Court Regent, for?

How could I neglect my authority and my duties?

The more Bai Zhuqing thought, the clearer her mind became, and a decision had already taken shape in her heart.

“Dongzhou’s publicity office operates under the authority of the Dongzhou government. If this matter is taken seriously, then it amounts to defying the Imperial Order and openly singing against the Imperial Court!”

“Call Tao Xianghao and tell him to bring his whole family and fly to Xia Capital. I want to hear him explain in person what is going on!”

You want to hear his explanation?

Xiao Tao could not help shrinking her neck when she heard that.

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No one had ever heard of a performance review that required someone to bring his whole family along. You clearly wanted to exterminate his clan, didn’t you?

And you wanted him to understand it for himself and willingly deliver them all over to be exterminated.

Tao Xianghao, Provincial Inspector of Dongzhou.

Formerly one of the Three Excellencies, and Tao Ran had also come from the Tao family.

With all the incidents before and after added together, if he refused to come, then the clan to be exterminated would probably not be only the Tao family.

At that thought, Xiao Tao finally understood.

Sure enough, it was the High Emperor who had changed the very heavens with a single hand.

The things that could not be openly said in the past could finally be said openly now.

The things that could not be done in the past could finally be done without restraint now.

The High Emperor truly was wise, heroic, and valiant!

Moisture shimmered in Xiao Tao’s eyes as she quietly stole a glance at the Regent. She found that Bai Zhuqing too had a springlike flush upon her pretty face. Her eyes rippled as she gazed into empty space, both hands clasped over her knees. Her long yet softly full legs were wrapped in a red dress, drawn together inward in an almost pigeon-toed posture. She looked just like a newly wedded bride in red makeup entering the bridal chamber. Anyone who saw her would know at once what she was longing for!

Eeeh—!

Xiao Tao could not help covering her mouth and giggling to herself.

Earlier, Her Highness and Her Majesty had stayed “inside” the room together for quite a while.

After waiting bitterly for ten long years, Her Highness had at last welcomed this ending too.

How wonderful.

How wonderful.

Xiao Tao was so full of delight in her own heart that she did not notice the fleetingly complicated look that had passed across her mistress’s face.

She still managed to do all this without even having time to bring that matter up…

Truly, beyond the relief, I do not even know what to say.

“Oh, right.” Pulling herself back together, Bai Zhuqing turned to look at Fang Wenya, who was standing nearby.

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“Has Her Majesty sent any communication? Where is she now?”

As Regent, Bai Zhuqing knew more intelligence than most others.

The news circulating among the people was still limited to what Bai Xiang had done in Plateau City, but she and many high-ranking members of Great Xia already understood that the Sir had most likely failed to stop Bai Xiang’s northward advance. That New Yujing City, built at such tremendous cost, had probably already suffered disaster.

If that was so, then Elder Sister no longer had any reason to remain there, did she?

Shouldn’t she be coming back soon?

“There has been no news on that front.”

Fang Wenya shook her head.

“I see…” Hearing that, Bai Zhuqing looked somewhat disappointed, then sank into thought again.

Elder Sister…

Judging from Elder Sister’s usual style, aside from controlling the domestic flow of opinion, what else would she need me to do?

“Her Majesty always makes plans before she acts.”

Bai Zhuqing suddenly said this aloud.

“Xiao Tao!”

“Ah? Your Highness?”

“Add one more order. Have Huang Qian lead the Capital Army north and prepare to receive a large number of refugees!”

“Your Highness?”

Both Xiao Tao and Fang Wenya turned to look at her blankly, unable to understand what she meant.

“Even if Elder Sister massacres Yujing, she won’t just abandon the remaining refugees.”

The more Bai Zhuqing spoke, the more certain she became.

“She has definitely gone northeast again.

“She intends to wipe out… the demon tide there!”