A Pawn's Passage

After departing from Jiangling Prefecture, the ironclad passenger ship went south along the Yangtze River before turning into the Grand Canal and heading north.

Three days later, the iron ship had left Huzhou and entered the Luzhou section of the Grand Canal.

For Qi Xuansu, Luzhou was where his luck began to change. But this was his first time using the Grand Canal waterway.

After several years of treatment and being dredged, the water in the Grand Canal was much cleaner. The sun was shining brightly, reflecting on the surface of the water, resembling beautiful sparkling crystals.

Liu Hu stood on the deck, looking at both sides of the bank. Huge manufacturing plants could be seen from time to time, with billowing black smoke rising into the sky. These plants had only emerged in the past hundred years and were mainly focused on smelting steel.

Although buildings still used masonry and wood as the main materials, firearms and ironclad ships required a large amount of steel. Since there was a high demand, these steel plants came into being.

It was a coincidence that both firearms and smelting steel were related to fire. On the contrary, the Great Xuan Dynasty originated in the north and revered the virtue of water. Hence, this further embodied the coexistence of hot and cold in this era.

Qi Xuansu stood next to Liu Hu, also staring at the steel plants that were continuously churning out thick black smog. The northwest states were vast and sparsely populated, so there were many mines in those states. The manufacturing plants were mainly concentrated in the east and further divided into the north and south.

The plants in Jiangnan, which was in the south, were mainly light industries, while the plants in Jiangbei, which was in the north, were mainly heavy industries. Thus, smog was also a characteristic of Jiangbei.

About half of these manufacturing plants belonged to the Imperial Court, some belonged to the Daoist Order, and only a few were privately owned and operated by influential members of the gentry.

This was not the first time Qi Xuansu had come to Jiangbei. The reason he had not seen so many manufacturing plants before was due to the path he used to travel.

The location of a manufacturing plant would determine the cost of transportation, manpower, raw materials, and so on. Therefore, most of these plants were close to mining areas, densely populated towns, and convenient transportation hubs.

The most important among these was transportation. Whether it was the transportation of raw materials or the finished products, the lowest cost was shipping by river or sea. That was why it made sense for large numbers of steel plants to be situated along the Grand Canal.

The world was changing, and many gentry gave up the fields passed down from their ancestors to get involved in commerce. Some entrusted others to participate in maritime trade, while others became owners of the manufacturing plants. Since these plants needed manpower, farmers who had lost their land and jobs in the fields would find work in the manufacturing plants.

The Holy Xuan once said that humans often liked to create something new—be it a rule or a method—in order to solve a certain problem. However, after the problem was solved, the new rule or method that was created would eventually give rise to new problems.

The manufacturing plants were the best example of this. The rise of commerce and industrialization solved some of the problems in agriculture, but it also created new problems.

These plants were not charity workshops. Although they accommodated people who had lost their land and reduced the probability of large-scale displacement and famine, the harsh work environments and constant exhaustion would destroy one’s body and mind.

Few people could survive to the age of 50. Poverty and hunger were still unending. If the people did not work for a day, they would not get enough food or money. If the breadwinner did not work for a few days, the whole family would starve to death.

Under these circumstances, many children were forced to come out to work early. As such, overworking often caused the premature deaths of children and teenagers.

This did not include the threat of disease. Although Huasheng Hall had all kinds of miraculous life-saving elixirs, the exorbitant fees were not something commoners in need could afford.

This was a quandary that could not be summed up in a few words.

It was also one of the reasons why secret societies were gaining traction. People had desires. If they could not have their desires fulfilled during their lifetime, they could only wish for a better afterlife. The various doctrines promoted by secret societies satisfied people’s desires. Even if this desire could never be realized, some people would go crazy about it.

The Daoist Order had expected this. That was why a dispute arose between the Holy Xuan and Xu Wugui, who was the first Earthly Preceptor.

The first Earthly Preceptor believed that governance at the beginning of a dynasty was always efficient. Every task was approached with great care, and everyone worked diligently. This was because survival in perilous times could only be achieved by striving against overwhelming odds. However, as conditions gradually improved and the court stabilized, complacency began to set in.

What started as a few individuals becoming lax would turn into a culture of negligence. By then, even great efforts could not reverse the decline, making it difficult to remedy. Some were driven by the desire for personal achievements and engaged in factionalism, suppressing dissent. As a result, the situation would be increasingly complicated as talent became scarce and challenges became harder to manage.

It was like a pie. At first, one would be able to eat the majority of the pie, and the portion would gradually decrease to a menial share. Greed was inherent in human nature. It was basically impossible to solve problems by changing human nature and achieving universal harmony.

The Confucian School had been going around in circles for thousands of years but still could not achieve world peace, nor was there any improvement in morality. On the contrary, people often lamented the decline of societal values and the erosion of morality. So to ensure the Daoist Order did not repeat the same mistake as their predecessor, they had to find another way.

The first Earthly Preceptor’s method was very simple, which was to make the pie bigger so that it was enough to feed everyone. If everyone was content, these contradictions would no longer exist. The court would be prosperous, and the people would live in peace. Those in power could also enjoy their wealth and glory. This was the hallmark of a golden age and the foundation for a peaceful world.

Now, the Daoist Order had a large pie. However, it seemed that the Earthly Preceptor’s method could not solve these problems because no matter how big the pie was, problems would still arise if the method of dividing the pie did not change.

Solving these problems might take an extremely long time and radical changes. Perhaps the Daoist Order would also fall into the same trap as the Confucian School, going around in circles with no way out.

Qi Xuansu did not think too deeply about it. He could see some of the problems, but he did not have much empathy. Thanks to the teachings of the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, he had a solid foundation to survive in troubled times and prosperous times. He had many life-and-death experiences, but he had never experienced true poverty.

He was poor compared to the gentry, wealthy merchants, officials, dignitaries, and high-ranking Daoist priests. However, compared with ordinary people, Qi Xuansu was a relatively well-off individual with a net worth of several thousand Taiping coins.

At his poorest, Qi Xuansu still had dozens of Taiping coins and never had to worry about food. One of the reasons was that he only had to feed himself, as he had no dependents. However, he lived on the edge of his blade, with a high probability of dying much earlier than a regular person. Thus, most people would not want to live such a precarious life.

But having said that, although most of Qi Xuansu’s Taiping coins came from irregular sources, it was still cleaner than some gentry and nobles.

In fact, Qi Xuansu did not have any great ambitions. He knew that he could not make the world a better place. All he wanted to do was marry Zhang Yuelu and get promoted to be a second-rank Taiyi Daoist master. Then he could retire as a Sage and enjoy some peace. He would consider his life to be perfect if he could sit in on the Golden Tower Council meetings in the future.

Just as Qi Xuansu was daydreaming about his possible future, he heard a set of footsteps coming from behind.

The vigilance he had honed over the years pulled him back to reality in an instant. Qi Xuansu turned around and pulled Liu Hu beside him in a protective stance.

When he saw who it was, Qi Xuansu could not conceal the surprise on his face.

It turned out to be his former colleague—Xu Kou.

Xu Kou had recently been promoted to superintendent. In fact, Xu Kou had been a fifth-rank Daoist priest a long time ago, but he was demoted to the sixth rank for torturing prisoners to death. Over the years, he had been promoted and demoted, so his rank was stagnant. But he had ample qualifications, so his promotion to superintendent did not have much opposition.

At this moment, Xu Kou was not wearing the Daoist formal attire. He was in casual clothes.

What could he be doing here? Qi Xuansu maintained a calm facade, withdrawing his gaze after a brief glance.

It was truly coincidental that Xu Kou appeared on this ship. Zhang Yuelu ordered all superintendents to return to the Jade Capital by flying ship after completing their respective tasks.

After Xu Kou completed his mission, he went to a local Daoist mansion and asked for leave from Zhang Yuelu using the rapid post talisman. He wanted to take this opportunity to return to his hometown in Qizhou to visit his relatives. Zhang Yuelu was a reasonable boss, so she readily agreed.

This was why Xu Kou hitched a ride on the Shibo Hall’s ship to Jiangling Prefecture before boarding this same passenger ship up the Grand Canal.

Xu Kou also sized Qi Xuansu up. He could tell that this pair of siblings were not ordinary. First of all, he could not gauge the man’s cultivation level. The teenage girl’s breathing was typical of a Xiantian Being, which was a rare achievement at her age even in the Daoist Order.

What’s more, the man did not hide the Divine Dragon Pistol on his waist. The conspicuous ivory handle made people wary of him.

Xu Kou hesitated for a moment before cupping his fists and introducing himself. “I’m Xu Kou.”

“Little Yama?” Qi Xuansu said with a faint smile.

Xu Kou was surprised to hear this. “Have you heard of me?”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “I once heard a Green Phoenix Guard friend of mine mention your name, Brother Xu.”