Chapter 364: The Lame Man

A gentle breeze and fine rain, scattering softly.

Although the True God feels no cold, the old cripple still instinctively tightened his purple robe.

Yes, the purple robe, a very luxurious purple robe.

It is said that this is the custom of some ancient kingdom: anyone who is an 'Augustus' must wear a purple robe, otherwise it is not orthodox……

Taking into account the local customs of Xiniu Hezhou, Lin Liu, in order to gain as much popular support as possible, carried out various reforms of social customs—but not the customs of immigrants, rather he changed himself.

Now that he holds the titles of Pasha, Sultan, Pharaoh, Great Khan, Augustus, and others, he must truly live up to these titles: for example, he wears the purple robe of Augustus, leans on the Pharaoh's serpent staff, dons the Chanyu's golden crown, becomes a united church-and-state Sultan, and raises the eagle standard of the First Citizen.

He also built himself a pyramid according to Pharaoh's custom, kept many cats and lions outside, and fed them with the game he hunted horseback in the manner of the Great Khan……

He even promised his officials that, after this body dies of old age, he would have it mummified in the Pharaoh's fashion, then bind a cross to the mummy, sprinkle it with holy water and oil, fill a coffin with holy scarabs, and solemnly bury it in the pyramid……

Filled to the brim! Really filled to the brim! Yet even so, the people of the various ancient‑kingdom cultural districts were still not satisfied, thinking that a single saint's corpse was not enough.

When the great Augustus later replaces more corpses, those corpses must also be given grand funerals according to each family's custom, each receiving one, so as to demonstrate the Pasha's all‑embracing magnanimity……

"These people, why do they insist on messing with corpses!"

Lin Liu was also speechless, not knowing what strange cultural environment Xiniu Hezhou was; although their customs differed wildly, they were eerily unanimous in how they treated a ruler's corpse: basically either eviscerating it or hanging it to dry……

"If I weren't going to replace countless corpses in this life, they'd really run out of enough bodies……

He shook his head and Lin Liu sighed.

Yes, at present he is still in his fleshly body—the old cripple's body, now nearly seventy—and he has no intention of shedding it, at least until it dies of old age.

Past experience had already told him that a Dharma Aspect Divine Body without a fleshly form could not wield Pangu's divine power at all; to keep his eligibility, Lin Liu could only fall back and continually change his mortal body.

Anyway, the Dharma Aspect is immortal; as long as he keeps changing bodies, his flesh is effectively undying……

Just as Lin Liu was reflecting, a cultivator suddenly rushed forward excitedly to make a report:

"Great Pasha! The ships are ready!"

Lin Liu smiled and nodded:

"You've worked hard."

"Not at all! Serving the Pasha with loyalty is our honor!"

Amid his fervent shouting, Lin Liu's gaze also turned to the distant horizon, where tens of thousands of strangely styled warships, utterly unlike those of Dashun, lay……

【These warships were built under your orders by your subordinates; the construction relied mainly on mortal craftsmen, with divine aid only where truly difficult.】

【Even with divine power, you still heavily exploited civilian labor, which earned you private criticism for a long time—accusations that you 'defy heaven and oppress the people', that you 'abuse the populace', that you are a tyrant who toys with mortals……】

【But only you know that this is stimulating the civilian shipbuilding industry and its related economy and technology!】

【You have long understood the truth that mortals cannot be bound to divine power, so in this life you want mortals to be self‑reliant and develop independently.】

【Not only shipbuilding, you have also launched many other industries, placing huge orders in each—shipbuilding, iron smelting, steel refining, agricultural products, livestock, armaments, arts and literature……】

【Mortals are not mindless automatons; they are capable of independently creating an age of peace and prosperity. They have not done so before only because they lacked opportunity and conditions, so your task is to guide them to unleash this power.】

【For this, the simplest means is war!】

【War can drive almost every demand, and demand stimulates the economy and technology; if you manage the macroeconomy well, Xiniu Hezhou can achieve an industrial revolution, crushing Dashun and the other two continents with mortal strength.】

【Therefore, this age is the age of mortals!】

【……】

【Once the warships are ready, you immediately begin conscription!】

【"Be the Pasha's soldiers! Eat the Pasha's grain!"】

【"The Sultan will lead us toward a bright future!"】

【"Augustus has the Great Strength Pill—take it and blades and arrows cannot pierce you, water and fire cannot harm you! Don't fear death, Augustus will protect us!"】

【"Great Khan! Chanyu! We all love and revere you!"】

【……】 【Since you will protect them with divine power so they never die, the crowd, though they grumble that you are a tyrant who abuses the populace, still signs up enthusiastically—after all, everyone wants to earn merit, and free military glory is not to be turned down!】

【Thus, in just a few weeks you gathered a million‑strong army!】

【After a brief drill, you took your place on the flagship whose eagle banner had been deliberately painted black, and gave the order: 'Eastward march!'】

【Tens of thousands of warships, a million troops, they crossed the sea straight for the fractured, war‑torn continent of Nanshan Buzhou……】

【In the first year of the New Heavenly Court, the 150th year of Dashun, the Pasha, Sultan, Augustus, Great Khan, Chanyu of Xiniu Hezhou—Lin Liu—seeking to fulfill his ambition of 'all‑under‑heaven martial rule', took the eagle banner, boarded the black ship, and, together with his seven True Gods and countless cultivators, led the million‑strong army across the sea to invade Goguryeo…… and to invade Dashun!】

【In the New Heavenly Court's histories, this war is called the 'Western Character Army Eastern Expedition', the 'Great Expedition', the 'Great Voyaging', and 'Eight Immortals Cross the Sea'.】

【In the histories of Dashun and the various restoration armies, it is called the 'Western Barbarian Invasion of Dashun', the 'Black Ship Incident', the 'Lame Man's Eastern Expedition'……】

【……】

【When your million‑strong army, aboard tens of thousands of warships, crossed the vast ocean and reached the western territories of Dashun, with banners stretching a thousand li and flags blotting out the sky…… the army's scribes lavished praise, and, inspired, composed the *East Journey Record* to document what they saw, calling this expedition 'a mobilization unseen since antiquity!'】

【And this awe‑inspiring sight immediately drew the attention of the local Dashun authorities!】

【Upon seeing this spectacle, the Governor of Liangzhou, who oversaw military affairs in the western regions, felt his legs go weak; he hastily prepared his forces, but seeing only a pitiful force of ten thousand or so under his command, his heart turned cold……】

【For a time, Liangzhou split into two factions over whether to surrender or not, and a heated debate ensued!】

【And at this critical juncture of the internal debate, a letter of surrender from the Western Barbarian Leader was placed on the Liangzhou Governor's desk……】

"Xiniu Hezhou's First Citizen, First Chancellor, Head of State, Pasha, Sultan, Pharaoh, Great Khan, Chanyu, Augustus…… Lin Liu, please open this, Governor of Liangzhou."

Liangzhou Governor: ……

I can't remember all these names, and there isn't room for this many people! The Liangzhou Governor stared blankly—this long string of titles took up nearly half the page; what kind of boss unit is the opposition?! He continued reading:

"……Six, I wish to hunt together with the Governor in Shun……"

Liangzhou Governor: ……

After a moment of silence, the Liangzhou Governor closed the letter and said slowly: 'Judging by all these titles, this person…… this Lame Sultan could very well conquer all of Xiniu Hezhou, even being called the "World Conqueror"…… With this million‑strong army coming to attack, it's not just for plunder; he surely intends to conquer all of Dashun's realm.'

"Gentlemen, if you have anything to say, just say it……"

【'Speak? What's there to say?'】

【The officials stared at one another……】

Seeing everyone silent, the Liangzhou Governor decisively slammed the table: 'Surrender!'

……

In the second year of the New Heavenly Court, the 151st year of Great Shun, the lame Sultan led a million-strong army east to invade Great Shun; the Liangzhou Governor of Great Shun's Western Regions, knowing he could not resist, thus decisively knelt and surrendered the city.

The Sultan was delighted, and thus entered the city……

After conquering Liangzhou, facing the frightened local troops and civilians, you showed no arrogance or greed of a conqueror, but instead issued one beneficial new policy after another for the people's livelihood.

For example, you abolished miscellaneous taxes, collecting only low levies; for another example, you used divine power to interfere with celestial phenomena, making Liangzhou enjoy favorable weather; for yet another example, you punished corrupt officials and gentry landlords, redistributed land to the people, and even provided high-yield seeds and advanced technology for free……

Under your series of measures, the once impoverished Liangzhou was instantly renewed!

Moreover, to support the army, you adopted the garrison farming system; thus the million-strong east expedition army, instead of fighting, became garrison soldiers.

However, under your fair distribution system and iron-fisted suppression, although everyone had various complaints, there wasn't much resentment, so they just went ahead and farmed……

At first, the Liangzhou locals were rather afraid of you Westerners, but as you governed with care, their courage gradually grew, and they began to spontaneously interact with the Westerners.

After a while, both sides grew accustomed to each other's presence, and you, full of ambition, prepared to continue conquering more land in hopes of annexing Great Shun!

But fate thwarted your wishes, and your eastward expedition plan encountered an irresistible force……

Over a hundred true gods showed up together to find you, without exchanging many pleasantries; upon meeting, they said just one sentence.

'Foreigners! Get out of Great Shun!'

……

(End of chapter)