A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 1358: Intricate Entanglements

Paititi was the legendary City of Gold. The newly built capital of the Tawantin Empire was named after it. To distinguish between the two, the Western Daoist Order and the Tawantin Court called the new capital “New Paititi” while the City of Gold was called “Old Paititi.”

Qi Xuansu had once obtained a map from Wang Jiaohe and a key from the Baron, both related to Old Paititi.

The key question was how to enter this City of Gold.

However, this matter could be set aside for now. The immediate priority was New Paititi.

That high-ranking traitor of the Tawantin Court was in New Paititi.

New Paititi could not compare to the Imperial Capital, Jade Capital, and not even to St. York. The situation here was the most complex.

Jade Capital was a city of Daoists, the core of the Daoist Order, and hence entirely dominated by Daoist forces. Likewise, the Imperial Capital was dominated by the Great Xuan Court’s forces.

St. York was somewhat weaker than the Imperial Capital, but it still consisted of two main forces—the Steam Evangelical Sect and the City Council. The Steam Evangelical Sect dominated and the City Council was a secondary force. However, the City Council enjoyed greater independence.

New Paititi had four major factions: the royal family, the military, the priests, and the Western Daoist Order.

One might argue that Jade Capital also had multiple factions, but the situation was entirely different. The three Daoist sects shared many core beliefs, recognizing the Primordial Daoist Ancestor as the founder and the Holy Xuan as the restorer. In contrast, the factions in New Paititi struggled to form such a basic consensus because the Tawantin Empire was essentially a composite of three former empires. The ways in which these three empires fell were all different.

The first empire, Nohepeten, was originally located on the Northern Continent and was the most thoroughly destroyed. Its army was completely annihilated, its royal family extinguished, and even most of its people were scalped.

However, the divine system of the New Continent largely originated from them. The ancient gods led by Kukulkan lost the divine war and were defeated by the apostles of the Holy Court. Under the protection of these ancient gods, the priestly class survived, migrated to the Southern Continent, and received assistance from the Western Daoist Order.

The second empire, Nahuatl, was located in the central region, the boundary between the Northern and Southern Continents. Its downfall was highly dramatic. In truth, the Westerners executed a perfect decapitation strategy. The Westerners met the Nahuatl emperor, and a powerful deity hidden among them suddenly struck, killing the emperor outright and slaughtering the royal family. The entire empire fell into chaos and was quickly occupied by the Holy Court. As a result, Nahuatl mounted little effective resistance. Most of its military remained intact and was later gradually absorbed by the Western Daoist Order.

The third empire was Tawantin, located on the Southern Continent. Before the Holy Court could fully conquer the region, internal conflict broke out among them due to unequal spoils, so the Tawantin Court was not completely destroyed like Nohepeten. Instead, it was severely weakened by the Westerners but still retained the structure of an empire, with its royal family largely intact. The royal family claimed descent from the gods and fulfilled priestly functions, somewhat resembling the Son of Heaven in the Central Plains with an emperor wielding both secular and divine authority. However, the ancient god Pachacamac, whom the Tawantin worshipped, had already fallen and could no longer protect his descendants.

The Western Daoist Order fused these three groups. Under its guidance, the emperor of Tawantin married a princess of the fallen Nahuatl, gaining the loyalty of most of its military. He also converted to worship the sun god Kukulkan of Nohepeten, incorporating the priestly power of that empire.

The Western Daoist Order and Kukulkan had struck a deal. The former would expand Kukulkan’s following, and in return, the ancient gods led by Kukulkan would help share the burden by confronting the Holy Court’s apostles. However, the Western Daoist Order did not fully commit. While the upper classes largely accepted Kukulkan’s protection, the lower military ranks vigorously promoted the Dao.

Among the three major factions of the Western Daoist Order, Gong Fu’s faction was closest to Nahuatl and held great influence within the military. Tantai Zhenxiao’s faction maintained close ties with the priests of Nohepeten and was on good terms with the ancient gods behind them. The Huangfu family was closely connected with the Tawantin royal family. Huangfu Zhao even served as tutor to the Tawantin crown prince. The Tawantin royals converted to Kukulkan but believed in the invisible Dao and studied Confucian classics.

This was the complex situation of the Tawantin Court, far more intricate than the three major Daoist sects. At the very least, the Daoist sects shared unified beliefs, with no dispute over ancestry or orthodoxy, only over who should become the Grand Master.

In contrast, the Tawantin Empire had no single ancestral origin. Its orthodoxy was forcibly stitched together by the Western Daoist Order, creating a complete mess. It might be simpler to tear everything down and start over, converting entirely to Daoism for a cleaner structure.

The Li family always believed that the Western Daoist Order could replace ancient gods such as Kukulkan and incorporate the Tawantin Empire into the Daoist system. Given Tawantin’s size and geographical position, it might even be exempted from entering the Great Xuan tributary system.

However, this would cause the Daoist Order to lose its moral legitimacy. Though they would not act like the Holy Court, it was essentially the same, just more refined. Thus, many within the Daoist Order oppose this view of colonization, preferring cooperation and harmonious development over conquest, which would plant seeds of future disaster.

This faction’s reasoning was pragmatic. The Tawantin Empire was too far away, separated by vast oceans, making governance extremely difficult. Even if it submitted during the Daoist Order’s peak, it would not share hardships when there was a decline. After all, such a large distance would weaken central control, so the Tawantin Empire was bound to break away and establish its own rule. By then, it might even become a model for regions like Poluo and Fenglin, setting a dangerous precedent.

The two factions clashed repeatedly on this issue.

The Li-family faction argued that the vast lands of the Central Plains were not inherent and had been gradually expanded by their ancestors. Thus, they wanted to continue that legacy. If they could take the Southern Continent, then the Daoist Order could flourish in 200 years. After all, two centuries was enough to cultivate a sense of belonging and identity. Unlike the Holy Court’s brutal approach, the Daoists would guide the people of the Southern Continent in governance and mannerisms.

The opposing faction believed that territorial size was closely tied to governance capacity and transportation limits, so there was a natural ceiling.

At the beginning of each dynasty, governance was diligent. Every matter was handled carefully, and everyone exerted effort because survival was hard-won.

But as conditions improved, complacency set in. What began with a few spread to many, eventually becoming widespread indolence. Even great efforts could not reverse it. Driven by ambition, factions arose to suppress each other. When talent became scarce and strained, the situation grew complicated.

This was an objective reality. If one blindly pursued expansion while ignoring internal issues, a larger empire would only accelerate one’s decay and corruption.

In the end, neither side could convince the other. With a powerful enemy nearby and the Holy Court’s internal strife as a cautionary example, they avoided internal conflict, leaving the issue unresolved. The Daoist consensus was to revisit the matter after driving out the Holy Court or once the Western Daoist Order fully returned to the Daoist Order.

Of course, if the Tawantin Empire voluntarily sought to join the Daoist system, the Daoist Order would not refuse. Kukulkan could be granted the title of True Lord and receive worship as a Daoist deity. This would be most beneficial to all.

However, the Daoist Order’s internal stance toward the Tawantin Court further complicated the latter’s internal situation.

Due to this, two factions emerged within the Tawantin Empire and the Western Daoist Order.

One faction advocated fully embracing the Daoist Order and becoming part of its system, reflected in the Western Daoist Order’s willingness to return. The other faction preferred to maintain autonomy, keeping relations as allies rather than subordinates, reflected in resistance to full reintegration.

These factions could not be easily divided by empire or family. For instance, while the Gong and Tantai families were clearly separated in terms of power, their opinions overlapped. Some members of both families supported the return to the Daoist Order, while others preferred maintaining the status quo.

This was truly a case of intermingled interests.

The key issue was that the Daoist Order itself had not taken a clear stance.

Faced with such a complex situation, Qi Xuansu’s attempt to mediate was bound to be difficult.