Chapter 1 You're Just Asking for Trouble?

"Are you just asking for trouble? What are you doing here?" Tan Xiaopei was extremely surprised to see Ye Tao in Dongjiaji. Although it was a national tour, he hadn't requested or expected Ye Tao to "greet" him. But Ye Tao had come.

Not only that, but he had also brought the airship squadron, which had just reassembled after a ten-day meritorious vacation. Actually, it wasn't that Ye Tao himself wanted to bring them, but that he wanted to greet Tan Xiaopei, but everyone felt that Ye Tao's single airship had too few guards. So, the entire airship squadron came, with one or two extra people on each airship, which solved the problem. Ye Tao also appreciated this idea. Having experienced the convenience of airship travel, more and more people in Yunzhou and Zhenzhou were becoming "airborne commuters." Lu Dan even flew back to Ningyuan every few days to spend a day with Huang Wan. Although the trips were rushed and the conditions on the airships weren't great, it was still a token of his affection. In this situation, Ye Tao also wanted all the guards to ride the airships at least a few times to see how many of them got airsick and how many were genuinely interested in flying.

It wasn't that Tan Xiaopei was unhappy that Ye Tao had come to greet him. Ye Tao was a super-powerful regional official. Now, in official court documents, many people referred to Ye Tao's control over Yunzhou and Zhenzhou not as governance, but as dominance. The court was increasingly worried about Ye Tao's growing power and even more worried that his ambitions would swell, and that he might rebel in the future, beyond the court's control. Although Ye Tao's airship squadron looked imposing, he was only accompanied by a few dozen guards and left the airships without horses. His greeting of Tan Xiaopei in this situation fully demonstrated his humility and loyalty. Of course, this loyalty only applied to certain promises. Tan Xiaopei himself knew that Ye Tao was indeed loyal to Dongping, but not to him personally, let alone his position. He was worried that Ye Tao hadn't fully recovered from his injuries. Moreover, returning to work too early would only worsen his condition. The fact that Ye Tao had been bedridden for quite some time after being injured by Mo Leng proved this. After all, Ye Tao wasn't the kind of unkillable martial general who had been hardened by years of fighting or possessed some innate talent. Tan Xiaopei absolutely didn't want Ye Tao's body to suffer any hidden ailments that would threaten his health and, in turn, the length of time he would serve Dongping.

"Your Majesty, I was just at leisure. It only takes a day and a half to get here by airship, it's not hard... Would Your Majesty like to visit my flagship? They built a super-large airship, probably the closest thing to the size limit possible with the current flying principles. It's very comfortable inside. As long as you don't encounter turbulence, you won't even feel the shaking," Ye Tao said, greeting Tan Xiaopei and chatting with him in a relaxed manner.

"Heh heh, this time your airship squadron has performed a great service. The Xiling high-ups are full of resentment and rage and have been arguing for days. The Xiling emperor summoned the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War... basically, a lot of people, and held many days of court meetings, but they didn't come up with any countermeasures. They just spent their time cursing," Tan Xiaopei praised. "I will reward these meritorious soldiers of the airship squadron handsomely."

Ye Tao beckoned Xie Bo over and asked, "Xie Bo, His Majesty wants to reward the entire airship squadron. What do you want?"

Xie Bo was stunned for a moment, then said, "His Majesty's rewards are naturally all good. This subordinate can only be moved to tears and would never be picky."

Although it was just a platitude, Tan Xiaopei was very happy. He chuckled and asked, "Naturally, it will be something that excites you. So, what do you personally want?"

This time, Xie Bo didn't decline. He said loudly, "Your Majesty, I want to become a general. Now, my subordinates call me General, but that's just a Yunzhou honorific. I want to become a real general."

"Very well, I shall grant you the rank of Wing General, temporarily a lower fourth rank. We'll see how far you can go from there," Tan Xiaopei said, thinking for a moment before bestowing the title. He was willing to grant this title, even if it was a bit of a promotion beyond normal levels. This time, it was truly satisfying to be able to destroy the Daoming Sect's main altar and kill a large number of important figures.

According to various follow-up investigations by the intelligence agency, although the Daoming Sect's Pope and others had escaped, at least six yushi (Daoming Sect clergy) had died in the attack, including the one in charge of the Daoming Sect's finances and the one in charge of the Daoming Sect's religious affairs and personnel. These two held important positions in the Daoming Sect, and there had never been a good opportunity to get close to them. Just eliminating these two made Tan Xiaopei very happy. A great fire destroyed almost all of the Daoming Sect's files and documents, and with the deaths of the two people in charge of personnel and finances, it wouldn't be a matter of a day or two to restore things.

Although the Daoming Sect immediately clamored for revenge, their tone was clearly not as loud as before. Due to a scheduling difference, Yunzhou had originally planned to attack the Zhu Jun Hall at the same time, but it was delayed by ten days for various reasons. This accidental difference of ten days created a very dramatic effect: just as a high-ranking member of the Daoming Sect jumped out and said they would retaliate, the Zhu Jun Hall was attacked. Compared to the Hunyuan Hall, the Zhu Jun Hall's losses were equally considerable. Since the Zhu Jun Hall wasn't very far from Zhenzhou's actual control line, the troops attacking the Zhu Jun Hall were extremely arrogant, having received ample support. Although the attack was launched at night, they killed to their heart's content, until dawn, when a large force gathered and retreated towards Zhenzhou in battle formation. Not only did they kill and set fires, but they also plundered countless treasures hidden in the Zhu Jun Hall.

These two attacks not only greatly weakened the Daoming Sect's actual strength, but also further weakened its religious influence. Within the Xiling court, there were all sorts of strange remarks. The officials who supported the Daoming Sect couldn't help but lament and weep bitterly, behaving in all sorts of unsightly ways, while those who had always opposed the Daoming Sect's infiltration of the court were sarcastic and ridiculed them to the extreme. The two groups argued fiercely, creating quite a spectacle. The Xiling emperor also understood that he couldn't possibly raise an army to avenge the Daoming Sect. Having abandoned Zhenzhou in the north, Xiling was now concentrating its national strength in the south, preparing to launch one or two more major offensives to recover the Great South Pass. If they couldn't recover it, Xiling would face a situation they couldn't tolerate: all the important passes related to their national security were no longer in their hands. This had never happened in Xiling's history.

Within Dongping's original borders, Tan Xiaopei hadn't taken such decisive measures to restrict the Daoming Sect and other religious forces as Ye Tao had in Yunzhou and Zhenzhou. However, the problem was that he hadn't forbidden the local governors from taking action themselves. Crown Prince Tan Weiming had studied Zhenzhou and Yunzhou in the vast area under the jurisdiction of the Grand Canal Governor-General's office, which was still directly under his control. Although the manpower wasn't sufficient and the effect might be limited, it was originally a matter of attitude.

After the war with Northern Liao, Tan Xiaopei hadn't taken any major actions, except for further strengthening the management and training of the Tianxuan Army, the Blood Kirin Army, and others. The only slightly meaningful move was to send Zhuo Xianchen to Chunnan to replace the original guard captain of the little prince, who was being led by the nose by Chunnan. At the same time, he also brought a thousand new guards, who were actually a mixed unit of Inner Court Secret Guards and Inner Court Guards, but wearing the uniforms of the Imperial Guards, greatly strengthening the presence of Dongping's army in Chunnan. Now, no one really understood what Tan Xiaopei was planning. During his current tour of Yunzhou and Zhenzhou, everyone had especially many thoughts.

"What am I doing here?" Tan Xiaopei replied with a smile to Ye Tao's question. It was normal for Ye Tao to have such a question. Tan Xiaopei was actually planning to stay in Yunzhou and Zhenzhou for as long as three months. In Tan Xiaopei's plan, inspecting the defenses, military affairs, and political affairs of Zhenzhou and Yunzhou was naturally part of it, but it seemed that he planned to spend most of his time at Ye Tao's manor, deciding where to go based on the specific situation. Since Yunzhou had already begun to lay out a preliminary telegraph network, and with the existence of airships, this arrangement was actually very comfortable. However, Tan Xiaopei staying in Yunzhou and Zhenzhou for as long as three months during peacetime? This was truly unbelievable. Tan Xiaopei's explanation was also quite forceful: "I originally just came to see my grandson. A tour is not a big deal. Moreover, Yunzhou has seen too many new things in the past year or so. I know you report very diligently, very carefully, without reservation. But seeing these things in person is different from reading reports after all. You're not welcoming me?"

Ye Tao chuckled and said, "Whether it's to the emperor or to my father-in-law, I would never not be welcoming."

"By the way, there's another thing. Your senior brother, Suo Yong, has already retrieved the treasure," Tan Xiaopei said with a mysterious smile, beaming with joy. "The construction funds for the new capital are secured. I don't have to sell the city to raise money like you did. However, I need to have a good chat with you about the specific plan. Ganduo hasn't been completed yet, and I'm not very confident about starting the construction of the new capital so rashly. I'm worried that it will take up too much manpower and resources and affect other aspects. Also, I want to see Ganduo with my own eyes, which is said to be very magnificent and beautiful now. It'll also strengthen my determination."

Ye Tao smiled gently and said, "Your Majesty, wait another month before going. The best place to view Ganduo is completely closed off right now, just to avoid disturbing the progress in the Lingyan Pavilion."

"Progress? Isn't it finished?" Tan Xiaopei asked, puzzled.

"Qiu Yan is working on large-scale murals inside. She went with me when I was carving the God of War statue, and it's said that she'll be finished in just a little while. Qiu Yan knows absolutely nothing about what's been happening these days. She's just been painting there," Ye Tao said with great admiration.