A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 1394: Observations

Early the next morning, Qi Xuansu and Huangfu Ji changed into plain clothes and headed to Lion City.

In Huangfu Ji’s view, everything arranged by the Daoist Mansion had been carefully prepared in advance, so there was nothing authentic to see. He wanted to witness what Nanyang was truly like and understand how it had become a major financial pillar of the Daoist Order.

Having managed Nanyang for a long time, Qi Xuansu readily agreed to conduct a discreet inspection. After all, he was confident in Zhang Yuelu’s new policies that added fresh vitality.

They set out at 4 AM and arrived at Lion City by 6 AM, just as the city was waking from its slumber.

The streets were already bustling. Among the crowd were local Nanyang people, Central Plains folk, and Westerners. There were sailors, merchants, and Daoist priests everywhere.

Qi Xuansu and Huangfu Ji simply walked and observed, visiting various shops and some Daoist administrative stations.

The Daoist Order did not maintain governance through a handful of Immortals alone. While Immortals could easily destroy a city, building one was far harder, and making it flourish was harder still.

Thus, the true foundation of the Daoist Order lay in the low-ranking Daoist priests.

In general, the higher one went in any governing structure, there would be fewer people. But the lower-ranking ones were abundant.

In the Daoist Order, authority was extended fully to the grassroots, which was something the Western Daoist Order could not match.

The Western Daoist Order controlled military power and some upper-level authority, but its grassroots structure was hollow. Hence, Huangfu Ji was deeply interested in how the Daoist Order built its foundation.

This had to do with the Daoist examination system. Compared to the Confucian imperial exams, the Daoist Order relaxed restrictions and expanded participation, lowering the ceiling.

One could become a ninth-rank Daoist priest by passing two examinations. Qi Xuansu was among the best. He had earned this status through his own ability, not through Madam Qi’s arrangements.

Interfering with the exams was a classic case of low reward and high risk. If discovered, it would become a major scandal, yet the reward was merely a minor ninth rank.

For the truly powerful, obtaining Daoist status was simple. They could use special channels, as with Lin Yuanmiao and Little Yin. These special channels meant direct conferment of status. True elites always had a few of these slots to distribute at their discretion.

Since Zhang Yuelu implemented her new policies, aside from tackling corruption, the main focus was to crack down on bureaucratic laziness and inaction. The results were quite evident, at least in Lion City, where everything fell directly under her watch. There was a distinctly refreshed atmosphere.

At the very least, these low-ranking Daoists no longer dared to act improperly in public. They spoke politely, handled matters earnestly, and appeared reliable.

Of course, they still complained about Zhang Yuelu, saying life for Daoist priests had become unbearable, with so little pay yet so many tasks and pressure from every level. If things continued like this, they might as well resign and become wandering Daoists.

In Zhang Yuelu’s view, this was far from enough. To truly reverse the trend and address it at the level of thought would be a long and arduous task.

But in Huangfu Ji’s eyes, this was already remarkable. He was not without grassroots experience and knew well what such officials were like. They could easily ruin lives. Even lowly clerks could amass great fortunes. Worse still, they often did not even bother to hide it.

Yet in Lion City, nothing seemed amiss on the surface. Whatever might happen in secret was another matter. But in the Southern Continent, even surface-level fairness could not be maintained, let alone anything beneath.

This was what truly shook Huangfu Ji.

Another point was the application of Western learning. Unlike the extreme radicalism of the Southern Continent, the Daoist Order displayed a more inclusive attitude. If something was useful, they adopted it without shame. As a result, Western learning was widespread. There were many Westerners, and even local customs bore their influence. Western goods, like sofas and other things, were common in daily life, which was something rarely seen in the Southern Continent.

Huangfu Ji could not help but reflect on whether the Southern Continent had become too extreme.

The two arrived at a Western-style park, with many benches for rest and a small lake. Quite a few people were strolling leisurely.

The atmosphere was peaceful and harmonious.

Such scenes were rare in the Southern Continent, where everything existed in a strange state of tension. Joy seemed to be seen as sinful, while suffering was elevated as noble. Endurance of hardship became a badge of honor. Those who suffered more felt superior. Meanwhile, happiness had to be hidden. To display joy openly was almost like inviting condemnation.

Suffering even became linked to morality. Hardship and asceticism equated to virtue.

This peculiar worship of suffering likely did not originate from the Daoist Order, which had always advocated moderation. It was most likely related to Confucian thought, which taught that before great responsibility was put on a person, heaven would first test their resolve, exhaust their body, and subject them to hardship.

How could such thought be eliminated?

These were questions Huangfu Ji had to consider. As a future leader of the Western Daoist Order, he had grand ambitions and needed to accomplish something meaningful. He knew well that no matter how militarized Tawantin became, it could never defeat the Steam Evangelical Sect of the Northern Continent. In the end, development would have to take priority.

Thus, his visit was not merely to build ties with the Daoist leadership, but also to learn from their methods of governance.

Admittedly, Lion City was a developed region, among the finest in Daoist territory. But Huangfu Ji did not compare it to ordinary cities in the Southern Continent. He compared it to New Paititi and was still disappointed.

Under the successive leadership of Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu, Lion City far surpassed New Paititi, into which the Western Daoist Order had poured immense effort.

The Nanyang region, with Lion City as its economic hub, had become one of the Daoist Order’s major financial pillars.

The two left the park in the central district and entered the northwest district, which was a more chaotic area.

There, Huangfu Ji saw a Western-style building bearing a Chinese signboard that read, “Eight Tribes Alchemy Guild.”

Huangfu Ji recognized all the characters. As someone from the New Continent, he knew what alchemy was, but the combination felt odd.

Qi Xuansu happened to know the place and explained, “That’s a joint venture by the Eight Tribes and the Ziguang Society, in response to the Daoist Mansion’s initiative. It focuses on localizing Western alchemy and applying it to everyday life. It’s still in its early stages, mainly recruiting apprentices from common backgrounds. In Lion City, the regulation of certain secret societies is more relaxed. They’re allowed to run some gray-area industries. This is a pilot model. We’ll strictly suppress extremist secret societies, but the more moderate ones are allowed to operate normally.”

Huangfu Ji once again marveled at the Daoist Order’s openness and inclusiveness. In the Southern Continent, alchemy was treated as heresy. While the upper ranks understood its use and controlled it, if commoners dared to study it privately, they would be executed.

Though such harsh measures were taken out of necessity against external threats, they were undeniably extreme. Compared to the Daoist Order, the Western Daoist Order lacked the magnanimity and confidence of a great power.

The vast Daoist Order truly lived up to its status as the Celestial Empire.

With keen interest, Huangfu Ji entered this alchemy guild and took a look around. Shangguan Ya was not present, nor was Star Lord Yuheng. Only a few ordinary instructors were there, training newly recruited apprentices.

The apprentices sat neatly behind their desks, flipping through brand-new textbooks as instructed.

There was light in the eyes of these apprentices.

This kind of spirit was precisely what the Southern Continent lacked. After all, they were still not fully free from slavery.

Huangfu Ji lingered outside the classroom for half an hour, listening as the instructors explained the origins of alchemy and its relationship with theology. There was no alteration or political distortion, just a straightforward account. This once again demonstrated the openness of a great civilization.

It was like a beautiful woman unafraid of being called ugly because she knew it was false. But for an ugly woman, being called ugly struck straight at the heart.

Fairly speaking, aside from rigid class structures and frequent internal strife, the Daoist Order was still quite admirable. Part of this was due to comparison with others, but for it to command such vast territory and stand toe-to-toe with the Western powers, it clearly possessed real strengths.

The northwest district had once been bustling, but many places involved in the slave trade had been shut down by Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu. They had yet to recover, leaving the area somewhat desolate.

Fortunately, Huangfu Ji had no interest in the slave trade. The New Continent lacked many things, but slaves were not one of them. Their high price in Nanyang was due to the Daoist Order’s strict suppression of slave trading, and scarcity drove value. In regions where slavery still existed, they were nothing special.

The two continued through the northwest district toward the port.

At the port, Huangfu Ji saw a massive Western ironclad ship slowly entering the harbor, bearing the banner of the Holy Court high above it.

“What is that?” Huangfu Ji asked.

Qi Xuansu replied, “A merchant vessel of the Holy Court’s West Shakya Company. It operates legally here.”

Soon after, another cargo ship docked beside the ironclad ship, flying a five-colored banner. One could vaguely make out that it combined elements from the Daoist Order, Buddhist Sect, Confucian School, Holy Court, and Shamanistic Sect.

“And this?” Huangfu Ji asked, his expression turning strange.

Qi Xuansu answered, “That belongs to the Heavenly Court. It is also legal here.”