Chapter 142: The Rules of the World Game
Chapter 142: The Rules of the World Game
Li Zhao’s wedding ended rather hastily. The joyous occasion had been thoroughly disrupted, casting a pall over everything. All subsequent arrangements had to be simplified.
Who was the mastermind behind the scenes?
There were three factions: two were external warlord forces, and one was a noble family within Gui City.
The first two resorted to poisoning. But the noble family showed the most desperate resolve. They directly sent assassins to attack.
This infuriated Li Zhao. He had thought it would only be external forces; he never expected there would be such unfaithful traitors right here in Gui City whom kindness couldn’t win over.
He believed he acted fairly. There were never instances of excessive taxation or oppression of the innocent.
Yet, they considered his actions weak and wanted to replace him. That was truly unacceptable.
The next day, every single member of that noble family was arrested and locked in jail. Their properties were all confiscated. They just waited for a suitable time to sentence them all to death.
What about only punishing the masterminds? What about the others being innocent?
When they were trying to take his life, why didn’t they consider that others were innocent too?
It was simply that the timing was perfect. This presented the best chance to catch them all in one sweep.
One: News of Li Zhao’s marriage had spread far and wide. Essentially anyone nearby with good information channels knew.
Two: It was simple. As he was getting married, the high-ranking members would all attend. Eliminating them all at once would leave their forces leaderless. Then, if he acted ruthlessly enough, he could completely take over everything.
Thus, what was meant to be a blissful celebration became a major vulnerability.
“So, you want revenge?” Chen Xiyi munched on dried fruit as he listened to Li Zhao’s long rant.
“Yes. Do you have any good advice, Xiyi?” Li Zhao didn’t hide his feelings. Considering his big day had been ruined, swallowing such an insult was impossible.
“Then just fight them. Go kill them,” Chen Xiyi said bluntly. “But I suggest while fighting is fine, you should avoid expansion. It’s not a good idea. You understand, right?”
Based on his observations, a Warlord controlling four cities was already a mid-to-upper tier force.
While not comparable to major powers, it avoided the danger of attracting Ji Shan’s “feeding.” It allowed time to build strength.
Li Zhao’s smaller force meant Ji Shan could choose to ignore it out of respect for Chen Xiyi. But he couldn’t push his luck, using that respect to expand and try to end the chaos of the warring era.
“Why?” Li Zhao was serious. “You mentioned this before. Is there some hidden reason?”
There is, but don’t ask what specifically. That’s not for you to know yet,” Chen Xiyi avoided any ambiguity. “Lay low for about ten more years. Treat it as training. When the time comes, I’ll try to secure that spot for you. From then on, your success will depend entirely on your own methods.”
Li Zhao fell silent for a moment before speaking. “I understand.”
He didn’t know the why, but he trusted Chen Xiyi. If Chen Xiyi said that, there had to be a good reason, even if it couldn’t be shared.
“As for the two other Warlords,” Chen Xiyi continued plainly, “you can fight them, plunder and kill. But don’t occupy their cities. However, you can use their territory as a training ground. Raid them periodically.”
This suggestion made Li Zhao hesitate. Such actions primarily harmed ordinary people.
“Let’s put that aside for now,” Li Zhao replied. “I’ll think about it after we’ve actually won the fight.” Inside, he disagreed with this advice.
While it might strengthen his force, it went against his core principles.
He became a Warlord to fulfill his original aspiration from his Student Faction days, not for power itself. If it were just for power, he would be clinging to Chen Xiyi’s coattails right now.
“It’s your decision,” Chen Xiyi shrugged. “Speaking of which, what was up with that noble family? How did they dare make such a big move?” His curiosity was piqued.
That noble family was indeed significant. A hundred retainers. Over a thousand workers in their various businesses outside. Undoubtedly the number one family in the area.
But wealth and people were one thing. They had almost no guns or soldiers. Even if their attack had succeeded, they surely would have been overthrown by Li Zhao’s loyal forces right after.
“Sigh… it probably relates to my policies,” Li Zhao sighed. “For the past six months, most of my decrees favored the common folks at the bottom while targeting the upper class… the noble families.”
“The other families adjusted… but this one… they had vast holdings. My policies cost them significant income and harmed their core profits. At first, it was manageable. But given enough time…” He trailed off. “I assumed any reaction would stay within the game rules… I never dreamed they’d choose my wedding day to strike… and aim to wipe us all out. This is really…”
He sighed again. It wasn’t really his fault. His chosen path relied on the lower classes, inevitably displeasing such noble families.
“Well, just use them as an example then,” Chen Xiyi stated naturally, siding with Li Zhao. He had no connection to the nobles; he didn’t know them. Even if the problem lay with Li Zhao, Chen Xiyi wouldn’t start preaching justice. “String them up one by one at the city gates and bleed them dry. Let the other families see what happens when they cross you.”
“That… might not be best,” Li Zhao countered. “Making an example might buy temporary peace, but it doesn’t solve the root conflict. It will just fester and erupt again later. True resolution requires eliminating the underlying contradictions.”
Li Zhao was thinking much further ahead than Chen Xiyi.
Chen Xiyi was alone. If he couldn’t solve a problem, he eliminated the problem-causer.
But Li Zhao couldn’t do that. He bore the consequences of every decision; a small action could ripple through his entire force. This was particularly vital now that he commanded a significant faction. Every move required careful thought.
“Well, you’ve got your work cut out for you then,” Chen Xiyi conceded. He didn’t really understand these complexities but knew one thing: conflicts rooted in wealth and power were exceptionally difficult to resolve.
Especially since Li Zhao had chosen the people-focused path. It was a hard road, but ultimately the correct one.
Li Zhao enjoyed immense popularity among the common people. This reputation stemmed from his days organizing the Jishi Society and protecting the city during those three months. In Chen Xiyi’s private opinion, since Li Zhao didn’t rely on the noble families anyway, perhaps just getting rid of them all and redistributing their wealth was the solution.
But that was just his own thought. He didn’t voice it.
He was utterly ignorant of management and politics – no match for Li Zhao’s considerable administrative skills.
“True, it gives me a headache,” Li Zhao smiled ruefully. “Though it seems even Xiyi doesn’t have a good solution.”
“What solutions can I possibly offer?” Chen Xiyi chuckled. Li Zhao seemed to see him as some kind of omnipotent expert. “This area is where you excel.”
After a while longer, Li Zhao realized he wouldn’t gain any better advice from Chen Xiyi. He soon left to attend to his duties.
“So, this is the representative you’ve chosen?”
Li Zhao had barely left when Ji Shan sat down opposite Chen Xiyi.
Seeing this, Chen Xiyi poured Ji Shan some tea. “Consider him a friend. I just gave him a helping hand where possible.”
“A… unique mindset,” Ji Shan commented about Li Zhao. “Very uncommon. But putting it into practice… faces immense difficulty.” The implication was clear: Even with Chen Xiyi’s backing, achieving great success would be tough.
Moreover, many Qi Refiners coveted the position of influencing the future dynasty’s rise. Successfully backing an eventual emperor brought tangible benefits.
As a newcomer, Chen Xiyi’s advantages paled compared to other Qi Refiners.
“I just see it as practice,” Chen Xiyi replied casually. “Or am I forbidden from participating?”
Ji Shan smiled. “You can participate. Support him however you like… as long as you don’t take direct action yourself when the time comes.”
The ‘game of thrones’ was allowed, but only indirect intervention was permitted. For example: acting as a strategist or advisor was fine. Even personally joining the battles as a fighter was acceptable. But using the powers of a Qi Refiner? That was forbidden.
Because if one used such abilities, others would follow suit. That would lead to utter chaos.
Typically, Ji Shan was the referee for this contest. Encompassing half the world, he could easily detect any major event on the ground.
“Well, there you have it,” Chen Xiyi shrugged. “Worst comes to worst, he just surrenders. Given my standing, the other Qi Refiners would surely offer him a comfortable life as an idle prince.” Chen Xiyi held little hope that Li Zhao could truly end the chaotic era. He’d only secured him a spot in the game.
But the ‘patron gods’ backing other agents were completely different. How could anyone compete fairly? Their strength dwarfed Chen Xiyi’s. The agents they backed were naturally much stronger.
Ji Shan, for his part, was indifferent about who won the contest. He merely needed to ensure the eventual establishment of a unified empire. How it was formed, through whose hands… he didn’t particularly care. Those benefits could be traded away.
Hogging everything would seem too greedy.
If you get the meat, you must let others sip the broth.
“Your attitude is practical,” Ji Shan acknowledged. “Though I suspect your chosen representative likely has different thoughts.” Having witnessed countless people and events over vast stretches of time, Ji Shan perceived things far more profoundly than Chen Xiyi.
“What can I do?” Chen Xiyi smiled lightly. “We just take things step by step. No one can foresee what the future holds. Right?”
His approach to Li Zhao’s grand ambition was fundamentally playful.
He genuinely believed success was practically impossible.
From the very starting line, Li Zhao (with Chen Xiyi as his ‘backer’) was already lightyears behind the others.
As for those forces without powerful Qi Refiner backing? No matter how vast they grew, they were merely expendable pawns destined for oblivion.
“Quite true,” Ji Shan mused. “This ‘Holy Purple Iris Empire’ has been quite unexpected. None foresaw its emergence.”
Technology was clearly a disruptive factor. Automobiles, artillery, telephones… an array of artifacts had catapulted the era beyond cold steel battles into the age of gunpowder warfare. This drastically increased the death toll.
Eventually, after reunification, weapons would need to be collected again and society rebuilt.
Technology held value for Qi Refiners but was kept away from serving as potential Nourishment Resources.
One reality was certain: Technological advancements, before they could truly spread among ordinary people, would vanish.
The Qi Refiners recognized technology’s potential decades ago. Most of the Holy Purple Iris Empire artifacts leaking into the war-torn world were finished products. Methods of manufacture were conspicuously absent. This was a deliberate constraint imposed by the Qi Refiners.
Of course, insightful individuals within the chaos sensed this. They desperately sought the means to replicate these marvels. A few scraps of knowledge surfaced but were mere drops in a vast ocean.
Li Zhao, with his core beliefs… upon ascending to power, would inevitably push strongly for technological proliferation. This directly challenged the fundamental taboo upheld by all other Qi Refiners.
The greatest ‘monopoly’ in this realm was the Qi Refiners’ cultivation garden.
Chen Xiyi was powerless. His place was on the side of the Qi Refiners. Plus, he lacked the strength to challenge them. Missing this crucial power made any scheme or stratagem utterly futile.
Ji Shan’s visit served a dual purpose: probing Chen Xiyi’s intentions regarding Li Zhao and dissuading him from a potentially self-destructive conflict.
Receiving Chen Xiyi’s clear attitude – understanding he wasn’t hell-bent on confrontation – Ji Shan saw no need to press further.
As long as Chen Xiyi stayed his hand, the other Qi Refiners would likely grant his chosen agent leniency. For them, after all, this was merely a game offering marginal benefits. Absolute annihilation was unnecessary.