Chapter 279: The Imperial Star is Drifting and the Moon is High
Chapter 279: The Imperial Star is Drifting and the Moon is High (Part 2)
In the magnificent palace, the master of Chaotian Temple bent his body slightly, with his hands folded and hidden in the wide sleeves of his robe. His expression was respectful yet faintly mysterious.
He slightly raised his head, looked at the Wanshou Emperor on the dragon bed, slowly opened his lips, and his voice was low but clear and echoed in the hall: "Your Majesty, Xu Qing's 'Heavenly Palace Project' is truly a rare and amazing move in the world. In my humble opinion, he is trying to build an unprecedented castle in the sky based on the rich resources of Nanyang, relying on exquisite mechanical technology and powerful firearms. Once this castle is built, it will transcend the constraints of the world, just like the heavenly palace in myths and legends, majestic and sacred. It will surely spread your majesty's holiness to the world. Make your majesty like the Jade Emperor in this Journey to the West storybook."
Emperor Wanshou was originally half-lying lazily on the dragon bed. Hearing this, he couldn't help but smile: "If you can really build a 'Palace of Heaven' and make my prestige surpass that of heaven and earth, I will also be happy to make Xu Qing the Great Sage Equaling Heaven."
"Your Majesty is wise." The abbot of Chaotian Temple bowed slightly and continued to tell the story in detail, mentioning the difficulties Xu Qing was facing now.
The old emperor couldn't help but fall into deep thought when he heard this. His fingers subconsciously tapped the warm white jade on the bed, and the clear jade sound echoed in the silent hall.
After a moment, he slowly said, "Although this 'Heavenly Palace Project' sounds fantastic and has unlimited prospects, as the National Master said, Xu Qing is now even lacking the key materials for manufacturing the mechanism. If the 'Heavenly Palace Project' continues to be implemented, I'm afraid it will encounter many obstacles..."
The Master of Chaotian Temple: "I think Xu Qing is extremely intelligent and thoughtful. Since he dared to plan such a grand plan, he must have a plan to deal with it. Moreover, our Great Yu Dynasty has many talented people and wise men all over the world. If we can mobilize the whole country to jointly explore the substitute of mermaid tears, it may not be impossible to solve the problem Xu Qing is facing now."
The old emperor nodded slightly, and after a moment's silence, he raised his finger and said slowly: "You can order the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Inner Factory to fully assist in this matter. Make sure that resources and intelligence flow smoothly and solve Xu Qing's worries."
Upon hearing this, the master of Chaotian Temple secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He knew that it was difficult to predict how much actual role the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Imperial Household Appliances could play, but the old emperor's move undoubtedly and clearly demonstrated his firm attitude.
Now Xu Qing's painstaking efforts in Southeast Asia have opened up an unprecedented new situation for the difficult situation of internal and external troubles in the Dayu Dynasty. This is the key beginning of the country's revival, and it cannot withstand the turmoil of mutual suspicion between the monarch and his subjects.
Otherwise, I am afraid that the land of China will once again fall into the catastrophe of the barbarians, which will be a great misfortune for all people in the world.
Now, under the influence of Xu Qing, the master of Chaotian Temple has developed more patriotism and has agreed with Xu Qing's idea that "every man has his share of responsibility for the rise and fall of his country."
...
...
In the distant South Seas, the blazing sun shines unreservedly on this land full of mystery and challenges. The team sent by Xu Qing to investigate the truth about the sea monsters finally returned after many hardships. The news they brought back was like a heavy bomb, shocking everyone: the sea monsters that attacked the fleet carrying the Mermaid's Tears were not naturally occurring ferocious sea beasts, but were secretly manipulated by Heshan Dao.
This Heshan Dao has infiltrated the Dongming Gang for many years. Although Princess Dongming had previously conducted a large-scale internal cleansing in an attempt to eliminate the hidden dangers within the gang, she still failed to completely eradicate the power of Heshan Dao, and there are still hidden dangers deep inside that are difficult to detect.
Xu Qing's "Tiangong Project" is large-scale, and the machinery manufacturing work involved is complicated and extensive, so it is naturally difficult to keep it completely confidential.
Heshan Dao seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and attempted to disrupt the situation in the entire Nanyang by destroying the "Tiangong Project", thereby alleviating the tremendous pressure they faced from the Dayu Dynasty in their old nest in southern Xinjiang.
After Xu Qing learned this shocking news, he was not overwhelmed by anger. He looked calm, with deep and firm eyes, and said lightly: "Just relying on the Heshan Dao, they want to stop my "Heavenly Palace Project". They are far from qualified."
Earlier, in the battle of thunder and lightning in Jiugang, the leader of Heshan Dao fled at the sight of the enemy. In Xu Qing's eyes, he was just a rat.
I didn't expect this guy still had the courage to compete with him secretly.
After saying that, he immediately called for Lin Tianwang. Lin Tianwang hurried over, and before he even stepped into the tent, Xu Qing came out barefoot to greet him, giving his good brother enough face.
After all, he had a request to ask of his good brother. If it was an unimportant matter, Xu Qing would have gone straight into a dream!
He held King Lin's hands and said solemnly, "Brother, the governor of Qiannan Province, Mr. Zhou, is my brother-in-law. Now that I am in charge of Nanyang, the situation is under control and will not cause too much trouble. But the Heshan Dao is really ignorant and dares to offend us. We must teach them a lesson. I would like to ask you to take the elite students of the Military Academy to Qiannan Province and, under the overall coordination of Mr. Zhou, attack the headquarters of the Heshan Dao. In addition, I have a few private letters to the three chieftains of Qiannan Province. After they see the letters, they will definitely help."
Xu Qing elaborated on the general framework of the plan in detail, and then had in-depth discussions with Lin Tianwang, constantly improving the details. He patiently explained every question and confusion raised by Lin Tianwang.
The key to driving the three Tusi families to help this operation was Xu Qing's private letters. In the letters, he promised earnestly that if any Tusi family could make great achievements in the operation to suppress Heshan Road, he would choose a noble woman from that family to give birth to his bloodline. Moreover, he clearly stated that he would only choose two families.
Although the strategy of "killing three warriors with two peaches" is not very sophisticated, Xu Qing will definitely achieve the desired effect with his strong strength and prestige.
The chieftains knew very well that if Xu Qing supported two of them and ignored the other one, in this situation where one was gaining while the other was losing, the chieftain who fell behind would have no choice but to choose to rebel and be ruthlessly suppressed by the court, or he would have no choice but to sit and wait for death.
As for the three chieftains joining forces to rebel, after witnessing Xu Qing's thundering methods with their own eyes, they simply did not have the courage to do so deep down in their hearts.
If we completely turn to Heshan Dao, it would undoubtedly be like seeking the skin of a tiger, and the consequences would be disastrous.
Xu Qing's feat of conquering Nanyang had already shocked the world, and it also cut off the profit chain of the chieftains who used to use Heshan Road for smuggling.
Now, they could only rely on the tea-horse trade with the imperial court to make a living.
Unless they are willing to return to their primitive and barbaric lifestyle, once they make a wrong choice, the small chieftains under them will definitely be the first to stand up and oppose them.
In fact, even if Heshan Dao did not take the initiative to provoke trouble, Xu Qing would have already put their issue on the agenda. Now that Heshan Dao took the initiative to run into the gun, Xu Qing would not hold back at all.
After Lin Tianwang had arranged everything, Xu Qing immediately entered Su Lianqing's dream. Su Lianqing was now responsible for monitoring the complex situation of the major ports in Nanyang for Xu Qing. She was very busy with many affairs every day.
Falling asleep is also a kind of rest.
In the dream, Su Lianqing saw Xu Qing and was very excited.
She now believes more and more that the young master will eventually achieve great things, and she will be able to attach herself to powerful people and achieve unimaginable achievements and status.
What Xu Qing ordered was very simple, that is to let Su Lianqing contact the leader of Luo Sect, so that after the war, Honghua Society and Luo Sect would be defeated and the original position of Heshan Dao in southern Xinjiang would be replaced.
Regardless of whether this matter can be accomplished or not, it will cause serious trouble to Heshan Dao, making it deeply aware of how heavy a price it will pay for offending Xu.
...
...
The sea breeze from the Old Port blew slowly with a salty and humid smell, blowing the flags on the shore. People came and went around, busy and bustling.
At this moment, in the golden box in the secret room of the Jiugang Xuanwei Office, in the Yin Shen dream of Master Tianling,
Xu Qing and Master Tianling sat opposite each other, and a quiet and focused atmosphere permeated around them.
"Xu Qing, this tidal resonance method can greatly increase the range of the port's machine gun turrets." Master Tianling's eyes were shining with excitement and pride. He now devotes himself to research and is already showing signs of transforming into the world's greatest inventor.
Since he focused on the research of mechanisms, he was no longer burdened by the complicated affairs of power development, and the burden on his mind was greatly reduced.
Deep in his heart, there is a secret thought.
He thought to himself that Xu was still young, but he wanted to try his hand at power struggles, expansion of influence, and many other miscellaneous tasks. Such greed would only distract his attention and ultimately harm himself.
He couldn't help but think of the Taoist saying "Misfortune often lies behind good fortune, and good fortune often lies behind misfortune", and felt that although he seemed to be restricted now, in fact, "a blessing in disguise".
He firmly believed that as long as he quietly improved his spiritual cultivation, one day he would be able to break through the blockade of Xu Qing's magic and regain his freedom.
The struggle between the gods was already long, and he absolutely did not believe that he would always be at a disadvantage. He knew that good days were definitely yet to come.
In fact, all his complicated emotions were known to Xu Qing through the Demon King Shura.
Although Xu Qing saw through this clearly, he did not expose it. After all, Master Tianling's hard work in cultivation was like open source code, and as a demon, he could also benefit from it.
It can be said that Xu Qing was quite pleased to see Master Tianling being so proactive and enterprising, and naturally did not want to discourage the other party's enthusiasm.
In his opinion, people with dreams are worthy of praise and are amazing.
When the two were having an in-depth communication in their dream, Xu Qing suddenly felt a chill in his heart, as if he was hit by an invisible force.
The hidden soul veins of the Three Enclosures and Twenty-Eight Constellations in his body that had been opened for a long time suddenly emerged.
Among them, the star map of the Purple Star Emperor's Vein is extremely clear.
At this moment, a strange red star suddenly appeared on the star map. This red star emitted a strange light, like a greedy beast, madly devouring the starlight of Xu Qing's natal star - Ziwei Star.
At the same time, the sound of the originally turbulent waves outside the old port suddenly became regular, like a heartbeat, one after another, heavy and depressing.
The entire Old Port was instantly shrouded in a strange atmosphere, and everyone was startled by the sudden strange phenomenon in the sky.
In the night sky, next to the North Star, which was originally surrounded by many stars, the enchanting red star became more and more dazzling.
It flickered wantonly, like a celestial dog eclipsing the sun, ruthlessly devouring the light of Ziwei.
For a moment, the whole Old Port fell into a dead silence, people looked up at the sky, their faces full of fear and confusion. Children hid in their parents' arms, trembling; sailors stopped their work, staring blankly at this incredible scene with their mouths wide open; the elderly were full of worry, muttering to themselves, as if praying for God's blessing.
Suddenly there is a madman sharpening his knife at night, the imperial star is floating high in the sky!
(End of this chapter)