Chapter 138: The Closer People Are, The More I Want To Go Far Away
A carrier pigeon landed on Yun Ce’s window.
This carrier pigeon, about the size of an Earth rooster, now looked extremely disheveled. Of the three striking dark blue feathers on its head, only one remained. Half the fur on its buttocks was gone, as if it had been grabbed by something, and the tip of its buttocks was caked with blood. Even so, it still brought back Miss Hong’s letter.
Miss Hong said in the letter that she had already gained a foothold at Dragon Gate Post Station. On the corridor over 1,400 li out from Dragon Gate Post Station, she had built a total of four villages. As soon as the Great Han really sent an army to attack, she would immediately run.
She also said that the current Chuyun Prefecture was in very bad shape, especially Chuyun City, which hadn’t seen a drop of rain for over three months. That once-glorious famous city in the northwest was now on the verge of becoming a wasteland.
She also said that the remaining people in Chuyun Prefecture were living miserable lives. The wasteland was no longer the same as before, with only doggies running wild. Now wild boars and bears were chasing the doggies around. Most deadly of all, ferocious beasts had actually been spotted on the wasteland. With such ferocious wild beasts appearing at the same time, the number of poisonous insects in the wild grass was also rapidly increasing.
With more wild beasts and more poisonous insects, the naturally growing grain in the wild had decreased. Many small villages had quietly disappeared without a sound.
Among them was Hekou Village. She wasn’t sure if the people of Hekou Village had been captured or had fled naturally, but in any case, there was no one left in Hekou Village. There, she had encountered a ferocious wild beast—a beast.
At the end of the letter, Miss Hong told him that she had received the secret recipe he gave her. Pei Chuan had personally tested it, but the effect was poor. She also asked if Yun Ce had any actual items; if so, she would send someone to fetch them.
At the conclusion, she finally gave Yun Ce some good news: she was pregnant again, and she hoped this child could live well.
Putting away the silk brocade brought by the carrier pigeon, Yun Ce gently stroked its patchy bald head. In this Great Han with no good news, perhaps only this thing could bring a final trace of comfort.
1 Knowing that Miss Hong was faring worse than himself, Yun Ce felt somewhat relieved in his heart. Doggy always urged him to raise a flag and rebel immediately upon reaching north of the Great Wall, but now it seemed that idea was immature.
1 Yun Ce finally saw clearly that the reason the Great Han, despite being riddled with holes, could still maintain a facade of strength and harmony was mainly due to the Great Han’s Ancestral Fire and Shehuo system.
1 Leaving the Great Han meant losing the protection of Ancestral Fire and facing the primal threats of this planet directly, which was unacceptable to every Han person.
1 Yun Ce couldn’t accept it either. Even someone like him, who was immune to all poisons and had skin like copper and bones like iron, had to rely on a herd of pigs to live comfortably in the primal wilds. Ordinary people in a barbaric environment probably wouldn’t survive a day.
1 The so-called civilization of the Great Han was Ancestral Fire and the Shehuo system. Over the years, they had formed the foundation of the Great Han people’s world.
1 Thinking of this, Yun Ce rubbed his finger on his bracer, and immediately a candle flame ignited at his fingertip. The outer layer of the flame was a warm orange hue, with distinct layers of outer flame, inner flame, and flame core. Looking at it for a long time even warmed the bottom of his heart.
1 “How can I make you grow bigger?”
1 Yun Ce stared at the Shehuo and muttered to himself.
1 Doggy said impolitely in his mind: “To make Shehuo grow bigger, first you need territory. Only with territory will Shehuo take root. Once it takes root, Shehuo can accept spiritual strength like Myriad Homes’ Lights, then feed that will back to this land and sky, and use collective strength to influence this land and sky, reforming this land and sky.”
1 Yun Ce asked puzzledly: “How do you know this? I don’t think you know more about Ancestral Fire and Shehuo issues than I do.”
2 Doggy sighed and said: “There are records about Ancestral Fire and Shehuo on Earth too; it’s just that after thousands of years, they’ve been distorted.”
2 People hoped that Ancestral Fire and Shehuo could dispel darkness and the dangers hidden in the darkness. On Earth, this hope was called hope. Since it’s hope, it might come true or it might not.
2 The moment human wisdom is generated is the moment light stands in opposition to darkness, which is also the time of Ancestral Fire’s birth. In the end, Ancestral Fire is born from people and will also perish with people.
2 Carefully protecting Ancestral Fire from extinguishing and making it stronger is the ultimate meaning of life for you people.
2 “So, we should establish a Fire Worship Cult? Then rebel?”
2 “Yeah, yeah. Communism seems a bit baffling to people here. First, set up an organization they can understand, then strengthen internal education. As long as you’re willing to put in the hard work, the Fire Worship Cult will eventually become an organization.”
2 “Tell me, what materials have you been reading lately?”
2 “The beginning and end of the Taiping Rebellion, and research on the success and failure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Let me tell you, the strategy of fooling the ignorant seems utterly stupid, but it works.
2 Our motto is to seek truth from facts, so when doing things, we also need to be down-to-earth. Think about it: Hong Xiuquan claimed to be God’s second son. Can’t our flame become the younger brother of Ancestral Fire?”
2 Yun Ce didn’t want to continue talking with this deranged artificial intelligence.
3 E Ji sat on Yun Ce’s lap. Her buttocks were noticeably cold; no one knew what she had been doing since early morning. When she pulled out a baby bean from her sleeve, Yun Ce realized she had gone to the fields early in the morning.
3 Baby beans don’t mature all at once, but one after another. That is to say, on one plant, only by picking the ripest baby bean will the others mature in sequence.
3 No one knows what mechanism causes this phenomenon, but it must make sense.
3 Yun Ce had originally planned to head north once the wheat and millet matured, but after Grand Marshal Zhou Bo was assassinated, the final departure order never came, so Yun Ce waited until the beans matured.
3 After the beans matured, Zhou Bo fought to the death with the Emperor or whoever, seemingly forgetting about Yun Ce’s northward journey. Only Wu Tong sent a token that allowed passage, but the final mobilization order still hadn’t been issued.
3 It was said that north of the Great Wall, after Sangluo, as the silkworms went up the mountain to spin cocoons, lay eggs, the northern ground gradually entered winter.
3 Zhang Min said the winter ground there was extremely beautiful.
3 Chang’an’s rain was always that weeping, impenetrable sort. No one knew which generation of High Priest’s twisted hobby made this sorrowful Chang’an City forever unable to become the brisk Chang’an in Yun Ce’s memory.
3 As the temperature on E Ji’s buttocks gradually rose, Yun Ce could no longer sit comfortably. It wasn’t yet Sangluo season, but E Ji was wearing only three thin layers of silk, one of which was almost nonexistent gauze. Sitting for long made their bodies naturally adjust positions. With no choice, Yun Ce stood up and left hunched over.
3 Whether to immediately reproduce new population was something Yun Ce was hesitant about. His concern wasn’t from that deceptive 18-year-old rule, but worry that under his current physical condition, if E Ji became pregnant, what if she laid a soft-shelled egg?
4 Neither fully dragon nor fully human—in truth, his body was a hybrid. For Yun Ce, he absolutely could not tolerate being a hybrid, even if it was with a dragon.
4 Thinking of this, his right arm exerted force again. Almost instantly, pale blue dragon scales covered the entire arm, and his five fingers turned into indestructible dragon claws.
4 Previously, the dragon scales only covered up to the upper arm. Now, unknowingly, the dragon scales had covered his shoulder.
4 When Yun Family Manor’s rainwater once again enveloped Chicken Dung Mountain, the glauber’s salt that could be extracted here was already very scarce, and Chicken Dung Mountain had ultimately been leveled due to the large number of people in the manor.
4 The sulfur at the volcano mouth was also nearly depleted, but the bombs personally made by Doggy had already filled the Dragon Pearl.
4 The letter Yun Ce sent to the High Priest through the new Lantian County Magistrate was sent back—not returned by the High Priest, but because the messenger couldn’t even enter the Imperial Palace. And the Dragon God Hall where the High Priest resided was precisely at the highest place in the Imperial Palace.
4 This meant that the battle between the High Priest and the Emperor was still ongoing, with the Emperor on the weak side. It was just unknown whether the High Priest could this time decisively kill the Emperor and replace him with a less troublesome young Emperor for the Great Han.
4 Yun Ce firmly believed that the age of an Emperor must absolutely not exceed twelve years. Emperors over twelve always wanted to stir up trouble.
4 Best to take the throne at two, work until twelve and officially retire as the carefree duke or carefree marquis or whatever. No need for endless killing of little Emperors. As long as three to five generations aren’t killed and allowed to live, after three to five generations, Emperors will naturally understand what they really are.
4 In Chang’an City, days were prosperous and lively, but at night it was ghostly and perilous, with everyone in fear. The warriors who couldn’t even afford shoes before now not only all had shoes, but many wore gold and silver, looking quite wealthy. At the same time, this seriously affected Feng An’s recruitment of warriors for the Yun Clan.
5 Zhang Min returned from Panxing Tower, too hurried to even drink water, and grabbed Yun Ce: “We need to leave quickly, or the army will come.”
5 Yun Ce frowned and said: “Is the Emperor unable to hold on, or is the Grand Marshal unable to hold on?”
5 Zhang Min said worriedly: “It’s the Grand Marshal who can’t hold on much longer.”
5 “Huh, wasn’t it said that the Great Han’s Emperors are all weaklings?”
5 Zhang Min looked into Yun Ce’s eyes and said: “The Emperor said that as long as the Inspectors of the thirty-six prefectures near Chang’an are willing to support him, after he dies, those thirty-six Inspectors will be eligible to become Emperor.”
5 Yun Ce’s eyes lit up, and the words in his heart slipped out.
5 “Thirty-six Prince-Electors?”
5 Zhang Min shook her head puzzledly: “That’s impossible. The Great Han has three hundred military prefectures. Even if the thirty-six nearest Chang’an are wealthier, they can’t beat three hundred military prefectures, let alone the two hundred protectorate prefectures behind them.”
5 Yun Ce nodded and said: “Looks like the Emperor has truly gone mad, only caring about the present and not the future, even if it cuts off the foundation of the Liu Shi Imperial Family after him, he doesn’t care.”
