A Pawn's Passage

Heaven’s will was always unpredictable. Just as Qi Xuansu always ran into flying ship accidents, his visits to Hu Songting were likewise always plagued by unexpected incidents.

Qi Xuansu had just arrived at Hu Songting’s residence when a message came from Tianfu Palace. A representative of the West Shakya Company wished to meet the Chief Deputy Mansion Master.

It was not Qi Xuansu’s first time dealing with this representative. Their prior interaction had been indirect in Fenglin.

This representative was a Grand Duke from the Western lands, named Marcheno. During the Fenglin Campaign, Marcheno had traveled to Xiujing regarding the prisoners of war, seeking an audience with the Sage Commander, Sage Qingwei. Although Sage Qingwei did not meet him personally, he still appointed Li Tiangang, the Second Deputy of the Fenglin Daoist Mansion, to receive him.

From this, it was clear that Grand Duke Marcheno’s status was far from ordinary. He considered himself qualified to request an audience with Sage Qingwei. Even though Qingwei declined, a Second Deputy was sent to meet him.

In other words, Sage Qingwei viewed this duke as roughly equivalent to a Second Deputy in rank.

Now that the duke sought to meet someone from the Daoist Mansion, and since Xu Jiaorong was not in Lion City, Qi Xuansu was the only suitable person to receive him.

Xie Jiaofeng would not do. Even if he were suitable, with his slick demeanor, he would never volunteer to go.

Qi Xuansu actually knew a bit about Marcheno.

One year before the fall of the Wei Dynasty, the West Shakya Company was formally established, originally named “The Company of Lune Merchants Trading in West Shakya.”

It was formed by a group of influential merchants who, in the year 1600, received a 15-year exclusive trade charter for West Shakya from the Lune royal house. The company began with 125 shareholders and 80,000 Gold Crowns.

Over the next century, the West Shakya Company expanded rapidly, evolving from a trading corporation into a regional power, almost a nation unto itself. Its shareholder structure grew increasingly complex. Most of the original merchants were forced out, replaced by major traders, nobles, manufacturing plant tycoons, some local princes of Shakya, and even clergy from the Holy Court.

Before long, the clergy and nobles jointly seized full control of the company. Through their influence, the West Shakya Company gained quasi-governmental and military authority.

Under Western corporate systems, the Board of Directors was the highest governing body, composed of directors who managed internal affairs and represented the company externally. They were elected by the shareholders’ assembly, typically once every three years.

The West Shakya Company’s board had 13 existing members. White, who once covertly funded the Sonno-joi faction in Fenglin, was one such director; Marcheno was another. However, the two differed. White was an independent director, while Marcheno was an executive director.

Executive directors stood in contrast to non-executive directors. An executive director participated directly in company operations. Meanwhile, an independent director had no vested ties to the company and might express independent views on board decisions, including major matters. They were relatively detached and less entangled in internal factional interests.

Generally speaking, the number of independent directors must not be fewer than one-third of all board members.

As a Metropolitan of the Holy Court, White’s primary duty was to carry out the Holy Court’s affairs. Thus, he could not participate deeply in the West Shakya Company’s operations or management. Therefore, he served as an independent director, functioning mainly as a supervisory figure.

Marcheno, on the other hand, was a duke, whose foremost goal was profit. Beyond his substantial investment, he was personally involved in business operations and management. Hence, he was an executive director.

Their actions in Fenglin also reflected their differing roles. White funded the Sonno-joi faction under the guidance of Apostle Taurinus, clearly acting in accordance with the Holy Court’s strategy. Marcheno intended to engage in slave trading, purchasing prisoners of war from Fenglin. He was unconcerned with the war’s outcome and was purely acting from the West Shakya Company’s commercial standpoint.

However, this did not mean Marcheno would disobey the Holy Court. It merely highlighted the division of responsibilities among board members.

Moreover, although each director, including the chairman, had only one vote in board decisions, the board itself was appointed by the shareholders’ assembly.

Many directors were major shareholders, and the chairman was usually the largest shareholder.

The shareholders’ assembly was the company’s highest authority, while the board was the highest executive body. Shareholder resolutions were not decided by headcount but by capital majority. Those who contributed more capital bore greater risk, and thus held greater voting power, as votes were allocated according to shareholding proportion. Whoever held over 50% of the shares had absolute control.

Marcheno’s identity was particularly special. He was a shareholder with a high shareholding percentage. Though he was a major shareholder, he was not the largest one. He was also an executive director and the West Shakya Company’s highest decision-maker for Nanyang and Fenglin. Thus his rank exceeded that of ordinary directors. His status would correspond to a Second Deputy or Chief Deputy Mansion Master.

Qi Xuansu originally intended not to meet him and planned to delegate the matter to a Daoist from the Ciji Hall branch. However, considering the political implications and Sage Qingwei’s previous level of respect shown toward Marcheno, Qi Xuansu had no choice but to adjust his schedule and meet this Grand Duke personally.

In truth, whether to meet the duke or not was entirely Qi Xuansu’s prerogative. He was under no obligation. However, he also wished to use this Western figure to probe the Holy Court’s intentions. After all, Qi Xuansu had another covert mission, which was related to the Holy Court’s infiltration.

Trade itself was a form of exchange, so with trade, infiltration was inevitable. Thus, periodic “weeding” was required. But how to weed without alarming ordinary merchants or disrupting normal commerce required skill and finesse.

But ever since Qi Xuansu arrived in Poluo, the Holy Court had made no major moves.

Even when Chen Shuhua wreaked havoc in Thanglong Prefecture, the Holy Court did not intervene. Of course, it was possible they simply could not react in time. After all, even the Poluo Daoist Mansion was caught unprepared. With Thanglong Prefecture’s unique location and weak Holy Court influence in the region, they might have been powerless to intervene despite wanting to.

Lion City was different. As Nanyang’s most commercially prosperous hub, where the populations of foreigners and locals were nearly equal, the Holy Court’s infiltration here was far more severe. Many of its members could enter openly under the guise of merchants, making the situation far more complicated.

Now, at last, the Holy Court could no longer sit still, finally stepping into the open.

This would undoubtedly introduce new variables into the situation.

After returning to Tianfu Palace, Qi Xuansu let Little Yin wander off on her own and brought Chen Jianchou along to meet this board member.

Chen Jianchou was a highly talented individual. He was fluent in languages from the Central Plains, Poluo, Lune Kingdom, Ibia Kingdom, and Shakya. He could converse with Chen Jianqiu in fluent Lunic, a great advantage that allowed him to serve as a translator when necessary.

But upon meeting Marcheno, Qi Xuansu realized it was unnecessary. As the highest decision-maker of the West Shakya Company across half of the Eastern world, Marcheno naturally spoke flawless Mandarin, with authentic pronunciation and phrasing. If one listened with his eyes closed, one might mistake him for a native speaker.

“Sage Qi, your reputation precedes you.” Marcheno, waiting in a Western-styled parlor, immediately rose from the sofa upon seeing Qi Xuansu enter under the guidance of the female Daoist. He enthusiastically attempted to give Qi Xuansu a Western-style embrace.

Qi Xuansu politely declined this overly intimate Western gesture and bowed with cupped hands. “Mr. Marcheno, I have already heard of your name during my time in Fenglin. Back then, it was Second Deputy Li of the Fenglin Daoist Mansion who received you.”

“Ah, yes. Sage Qi was also serving under Sage Qingwei at that time,” Marcheno remarked with sudden recollection. “Only back then, you had yet to attain the rank of Sage.”

Qi Xuansu smiled. “So I was not worthy of Mr. Marcheno’s attention back then.”

“Sage Qi, you’re teasing me for failing to recognize a Sage,” Marcheno replied with a laugh.

“Not at all,” Qi Xuansu waved. “Back then, even I did not expect to become a second-rank Taiyi Daoist master so quickly. Call it chance or circumstance—an age without heroes allows even a youth to make a name.”

Marcheno wore the characteristic smile of Western nobility that did not reach his eyes. “Sage Qi, you’re too modest. There is an old saying in your land that heroes arise from youth. Taking a hundred years as the measure, Sage Qi is indeed still considered young.”

It was meant as flattery, but Qi Xuansu was not pleased. Many people already criticized him for his age, being too young to be reliable, and Marcheno was pushing him even further into the category of youth.

Thus, Qi Xuansu replied, “There is another old saying in our land that one shouldn’t look down on the youth. If I still called myself a youth, someone would be cursing by now. So I would rather not claim the title.”

Marcheno realized his flattery had landed poorly and changed the subject. “In any case, Sage Qi remains the youngest second-rank Taiyi Daoist master in the entire Eastern Continent.”

Qi Xuansu gestured for him to sit. “Mr. Marcheno, let us sit and talk.”

After they sat down, Qi Xuansu said, “Mr. Marcheno, a man of your responsibilities must be burdened with countless affairs. Since you hurried to see me, surely it was not just to drink tea. Please speak plainly.”

Marcheno slowly withdrew his smile, his expression turning solemn. “I heard that the Daoist Mansion intends to seize the Nanyang United Trading Company. Is this true?”