After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 395: Chapter 394: News from the Homeland

Since the Monarch had also sent a gift, all the political dignitaries from the Capital City sent representatives, even if they didn’t attend themselves.

Likewise, everyone attending the King of Treasure Tree’s birthday celebration was a political heavyweight from their respective region.

Hee Lingchuan scratched his head. ’The Treasure Tree Kingdom sure has a lot of ”political heavyweights.”’ He thought back to his father’s State Government. From top to bottom, including both high-ranking officials and junior clerks, there were fewer than thirty people, and every single one was working at maximum capacity.

’It couldn’t be helped; they were just poor. Of course, they would definitely have to hire more people later.’

But here, there were over nine thousand officials. He couldn’t even imagine how many were in each of the Treasure Tree Kingdom’s state governments. Or in the commanderies? The counties? The townships?

The majority of them were also human, and every one of them was impeccably dressed.

Clearly, humans were still the most adept at local administration and handling official business.

After they sat down, Shi the Second immediately started chatting with the other distinguished guests around them.

Anyone who could get in here was involved in either politics or business. Making another friend today could open another door tomorrow.

Hee Lingchuan raised his cup and took a sip of tea. It was wonderfully refreshing, comparable to the Jasmine Dragon Pearl that Marquis Songyang had given him. ’It must be incredibly expensive,’ he thought.

The Jasmine Dragon Pearl was from Marquis Songyang’s private collection, but this tea was being served to all the guests.

Two officials nearby were talking. ”This is from our Wuqing, called Fog Tea.”

”I know. I’m from Ganzhou Prefecture. Millions of pounds of Fog Tea are sold to other regions every year, though of course the quality is never this high.”

”Oh, what a coincidence! I’m from Ganzhou Prefecture, too!”

The two exchanged pleasantries before moving on to gossip about their superiors.

Hee Lingchuan popped a crispy fava bean into his mouth and asked them, ”You’re from the same prefecture, but you don’t know each other?”

One official replied, ”From the way you ask, I take it you’re not from the Treasure Tree Kingdom?”

Hee Lingchuan smiled. ”You’re right, I’m not.”

”I’m from Ganzhou North Prefecture.”

The other added, ”I’m from the Ganzhou South Prefecture. Our offices are fifty li apart, and we never work together. How would we know each other?”

”A single prefecture is divided into north and south?” Hee Lingchuan was slightly taken aback. ”Pardon my asking, but how many people are in the northern and southern prefectures?”

”Our North Prefecture has a roster of three thousand, three hundred and twenty.”

”The South Prefecture has fewer, about two thousand eight hundred and some.”

’So Ganzhou Prefecture has a total of over sixty-one hundred officials?’ Being less worldly, Hee Lingchuan was flabbergasted. ”How many commanderies does Ganzhou have?”

”Eight commanderies and one hundred and two counties,” the official said with a sigh. ”The paperwork is piled as high as a mountain. There’s never a day we can get it all done.”

Hee Lingchuan did a quick mental calculation. Xiazhou administered six commanderies and a total of ninety-eight counties. Yet the number of officials in the Xiazhou Prefecture was less than one percent of those in the Treasure Tree Kingdom’s Ganzhou Prefecture!

Seeing Hee Lingchuan’s shock, the other official cleared his throat. ”Ganzhou is considered on the smaller side. Zizhou also has an East and a West Prefecture.”

’A single state so large it’s divided into East, West, South, and North prefectures?’ ”Does Zizhou have over ten thousand officials?”

”Of course,” the official chuckled. ”Zizhou is always the most bustling place when it’s time to hand out New Year’s provisions. If you get in line too late, you could be waiting from morning until night.”

Hee Lingchuan’s eyes darted thoughtfully. ”Since there’s so much work, do the prefectures outsource any of it?”

The Xiazhou Prefecture only had about thirty officials. Even when Hee Chunhua roped his youngest son in as a volunteer, they still couldn’t keep up with all the paperwork. So, he had started outsourcing non-confidential tasks, with the State Government paying others to do the work.

These workers didn’t receive an official’s salary but were hired as extra hands by the government. Even the constables and grooms were paid this way.

This practice wasn’t invented by Hee Chunhua; it was a long-standing tradition.

Naturally, the pay for outsourced work was much lower than that of an official position.

The official nodded. ”Of course, we do. Without the extra help, how would we ever get all the work done?”

’They outsource official duties and still need to support over six thousand officials?’ As Hee Lingchuan was marveling at this, the man shot him a sideways glance. ”And what’s your brilliant take on it, young man?”

Hee Lingchuan just smiled. ”I’m simply marveling at how rich in resources your kingdom is. It can’t be easy to run such a large country, yet the people are still so prosperous.” ’The Treasure Tree Kingdom must be wealthy,’ he thought, ’otherwise, how could it possibly support so many officials?’

An official wasn’t just a lone wolf working by himself. He had to be assigned subordinates, provided with food and drink, and supplied with a horse and carriage for travel.

Firewood in the winter, chilled drinks in the summer—if these weren’t provided in kind, their value had to be paid in cash.

A single retinue meant expenses at every turn.

The two officials resumed their conversation. Shi the Second tugged on Hee Lingchuan’s sleeve and whispered:

”I once went to the Ganzhou Prefecture for business. It was just a tiny personal matter, but it required twelve different seals from start to finish. Heh, that’s the Treasure Tree Kingdom for you. Routine matters get done quickly, but anything out of the ordinary gets bogged down in endless delays!”

”Other Demon Kingdoms aren’t like this?” Hee Lingchuan asked, curious.

”I’ve been to nine Demon Kingdoms in total.” Shi the Second shook his head. ”The Treasure Tree Kingdom has the most bloated bureaucracy by far. But hey, they can afford it, so it’s not our place to worry.”

Hee Lingchuan had sharp eyes. He could see Grand Tutor Sha standing in the middle of the main hall in the distance, his expression solemn as he conversed with someone.

The covered walkway was built along the lake’s edge. From his seat, all Hee Lingchuan had to do was lean forward slightly to be suspended over the water.

From his vantage point, the lake water was so clear he felt he could see the tangled web of roots at the bottom, home to countless fish and shrimp living in harmony.

Hee Lingchuan gazed at the giant tree in the middle of the lake.

’In other words, its root system has a firm grip on the entire lake, leaving no corner untouched?’

’How does such a silent divine wood normally converse with people?’

What made Hee Lingchuan even more curious was how the King of Treasure Tree fought its enemies.

The Beiga Kingdom’s Thirteen Demon Kings were all renowned Great Demons who had clawed their way to the top through sheer power. The King of Treasure Tree was the most ancient of them all; it must possess some incredible abilities to have ensured its kingdom’s long-lasting peace and stability.

Just then, an Announcer was calling out the names of the arriving envoys. One moment it was, ”The Envoy from the Xuluo Kingdom arrives!” and the next, ”The Envoy from the Chiyan Kingdom arrives!” Hee Lingchuan listened with relish.

For the King of Treasure Tree’s birthday, the other Demon Kingdoms had all sent envoys to offer congratulations. The envoy from the Xuluo Kingdom, located northwest of Beiga, had reportedly set out forty days ago just to arrive on time.

Some of the envoys were human, others were demons, but all of them carried themselves with an imposing air. As representatives of their nations, their very appearance had to project strength.

That was the way of Demon Kingdoms. A stroll down any main road could introduce you to all sorts of strange characters.

As Hee Lingchuan turned his head, he heard the Announcer cry out, ”The Envoy from the Shanyu Kingdom arrives!” He glanced over instinctively, and his gaze froze.

Among the Shanyu Kingdom’s delegation was a Giant White Python!

Its body was snow-white, adorned with ring-shaped spots that were quite striking.

But... it bore a striking resemblance to the deputy envoy from the Waling Kingdom—the Giant Python that Fushan had killed.

It was an easy mistake to make.

Hee Lingchuan found the Demon King of Shanyu to be a curious sort. The kingdom was famous for its birds of prey, yet they had sent a Snake Demon as their envoy.

Of course, this Giant Python looked perfectly healthy, so Fushan obviously hadn’t come after it yet.

The delegation presented its gift and then entered the rear hall to take their seats. Hee Lingchuan noticed they were surrounded by a significantly larger contingent of guards.

After receiving his intelligence, the Government Office had not only intensified the manhunt for Fushan but had also certainly increased the protection for the Shanyu Kingdom’s envoy.

If an envoy from an allied kingdom were to be assassinated on their own turf during the King of Treasure Tree’s eight-hundredth birthday celebration, it would be an absolute humiliation.

White Cloud Residence appeared joyous and festive, but in truth, it was under heavy guard. Anyone who dared cause trouble here would likely be minced into paste in an instant.

Hee Lingchuan hadn’t run into anyone from the Grand Tutor’s Mansion all day, so he didn’t know if Fushan had been captured.

But he had a gut feeling that Fushan was like a cockroach and wouldn’t be caught so easily.

Of course, his attention was now focused on the giant tree. Security was someone else’s problem.

Officials were constantly chatting nearby about trivial local and political matters. He wasn’t paying close attention, but then two of them happened to mention a familiar name:

Hong Chenglu.

A jolt went through Hee Lingchuan. He leaned closer and, with a polite cupped-fist gesture, asked, ”Are you two speaking of General Hong?”

”Yes, we are.” The two men turned to see an unfamiliar young man of about seventeen or eighteen. ”And you are?”

Hee Lingchuan flashed a token. ”I am here from the Grand Tutor’s Mansion to observe the ceremony.”

The two men’s attitudes immediately warmed. ”Ah, forgive our rudeness.”

The token Hee Lingchuan produced was a silver-inscribed plaque created by the Grand Tutor’s Mansion specifically for the ceremony. It served as both a Passage Command and an invitation, and only distinguished guests of the mansion received one.

”My family has a past connection with General Hong. I heard he came out of retirement after many years to fight in the Yuan Kingdom. I was hoping to ask you both about the General’s current situation.”

”That’s exactly what we were discussing,” one of the officials said. ”Hong Chenglu has been put back into service by National Preceptor Frost Leaf. He’s on the Yuan Kingdom’s northern front, supporting that turncoat general... what was his name again? Er, Xun...”

”Nian Zanli, the Governor of Xunzhou?”

”Right, right, Nian Zanli!” The official nodded eagerly. ”I heard they utterly routed the enemy in that battle by the river. The Yuan Army suffered more than thirty thousand casualties.”

Nian Zanli had summoned a monstrous flood that had not only washed away Zhao Pan’s entire military camp but had also completely broken the Yuan Army’s morale. It would have been a miracle if they hadn’t lost. Even now, Hee Lingchuan couldn’t comprehend how such a heaven-defying feat was possible.

’If battles can be won like that, wouldn’t Beiga be invincible, without a single rival in the world?’

His throat felt a little dry, and he couldn’t help but clear it. ”And then?”

”The Yuan Kingdom was probably scared half to death. They sent envoys to negotiate a truce with Nian Zanli, but he executed every last one of them,” the official said. ”I also heard the Yuan Kingdom is fighting another war in the west, so they’re stretched thin.”

”So where has Nian Zanli advanced to now?” Thinking of the new home Madam Ying had so carefully arranged, Hee Lingchuan’s heart clenched. ”How far is he from Dunyu, the capital of Xiazhou?”

”Oh, you know the capital of Xiazhou?”

”Yes,” Hee Lingchuan nodded. ”I visited with my family once. It’s a fine place.”

After the crushing defeat at the Hanhe River, Zhao Pan, as commander-in-chief, would have to bear the blame. But Hee Chunhua had also been on the front lines, leading the elite forces of the Xiazhou Prefecture.

Victory made everything easy, but defeat... defeat turned everything against you.

The foundation Hee Chunhua had laid, the prestige he had painstakingly built among the Xiazhou Soldiers and People, would surely suffer a massive blow.

Recruiting soldiers, levying grain, raising funds—every single thing would become more difficult.

Of course, the most terrifying threat was the iron hooves of the northern enemy, which were steadily encroaching upon the Governor of Xiazhou’s territory.

’Under these circumstances, how could Hee Chunhua possibly defend southern Xiazhou and hold Dunyu?’