Chapter 534: The World Is So Vast

The moon hung like a hook in the cold night air. The alchemist Lu Ao wrapped his figure tightly in a heavy cloak. The grand mansion with its high gates and sprawling courtyards before him was no stranger at all.

"In the old days, the people of Qi knew only the Lord of Anping and not the King of Qi. The Lord of Anping's descendants held ten thousand households in Ye Town, with a thousand chariots harnessed in their train. Yet now, the Lord of Anping's mansion has largely been requisitioned as a temporary palace, and the side courtyards turned into lodgings for the Governor of Jiaodong Commandery. Truly lamentable, truly worthy of a sigh..."

Lu Ao's ancestral home was Lu Village in Ye Town, Jiaodong Commandery. Though he had left as a child to study under a master in Yan, his roots remained here. His disciple Shi Sheng and others, taken on after his return home, had dealt with the Tian clan of Ye Town more than a few times. Now, watching their house collapse, he felt an indescribable rush of emotion.

"High banks become valleys, deep valleys become hills — such is the way of the world."

But alchemists feel no pity for the defeated. Like flies and mosquitoes, they only buzz around the victors, hoping to gain their favor, to be casually tossed some scraps and leftovers, so they might pursue that elusive, intangible thing called "longevity."

Quite a few alchemists themselves believed in "longevity." Master Hou, for instance, always believed he could refine a true elixir of immortality and enjoy eternal happiness with his family.

But more of them did not believe. Han Zhong studied elixir refinement merely to fulfill his promise to the King of Han, to carry out his unfulfilled duty to "preserve Han." After poisoning the First Emperor of Qin, his own death was certain. What he refined was no elixir of immortality — it was clearly a vicious poison that would kill him too.

Nearly everyone had a guiding principle for their actions. Lu Ao alone was an enigma — no one could fathom his thoughts. He had labored so hard to unite the various alchemist factions, zealously urging the First Emperor to tour the east in search of immortals. What was it all for?

No one knew, except Lu Ao himself.

At that moment, after a long wait, the gate finally opened.

"Master Lu."

A pale-faced young man greeted him with a beaming smile. He was around thirty years of age, eight chi tall, strikingly handsome, and looked at Lu Ao with a cheerful grin.

"Chief Clerk Chen."

Lu Ao had guessed this man's identity. His disciple Shi Sheng had mentioned that the Jiaodong Governor Heifu had several capable subordinates — Gong Ao, Xiao He, Cao Can — but the most important was the Governor's Chief Clerk, Chen Ping...

"This Chen Ping has won the Jiaodong Governor's deep trust. When the Governor tours the counties, he often leaves Chen Ping to guard Jimo, and he handles all matters in perfect order. Only because of this do people believe that Chen Ping, appointed Chief Clerk at such a young age, truly has the skill, and does not serve his lord by his looks alone."

Whether or not there was anything of the "Long Yang shame" between Chen Ping and Heifu, he was an important figure. His every word and deed influenced Heifu's decisions. When Lu Ao spoke with him, he was cautious and careful, not daring to reveal any flaw.

"Brine leaching, mining — this time, you alchemists have helped Jiaodong Commandery greatly."

Chen Ping appeared extremely warm, personally guiding Lu Ao inside. Lu Ao replied, "We alchemists are also men of Jiaodong. If we can assist the Governor in governing the region, we could ask for nothing more. However, compared to that, securing longevity for His Majesty is still the more pressing matter..."

"That is only natural."

Chen Ping, certain that the First Emperor had no more than ten years left to live, smiled without speaking. He pushed open the door and led Master Lu before Heifu.

"Lord Governor, the alchemist Master Lu has come to pay a visit."

Heifu was in the middle of drafting a list of Tian clan members to be forcibly relocated. Interrupted, he stopped marking crosses on the register and looked at Lu Ao. "Master Lu, what brings you here so late at night?"

Lu Ao smiled. "I have come for the Governor's future prospects!"

Heifu let out a dry laugh. "Four months ago, when your disciple Shi Sheng came to see me here, he also made a great fuss, saying my forehead bore a dark shadow and great calamity was imminent. And now you, standing in the very same spot, suddenly tell me my future is uncertain. Master Lu, the same trick does not work twice. Can I still believe the words of an alchemist?"

"Of course you can."

Lu Ao said, "In my view, what we seek and what the Governor seeks are, in truth, one and the same."

It was clear that Lu Ao had come today representing the alchemists to express a desire for reconciliation with Heifu. Seeing that Heifu was impervious to both hard and soft tactics, Lu Ao could only seize the initiative and said:

"What does the Governor think of His Majesty's desire today to rename Ye County?"

"Renaming Ye Town" was a suggestion made by some accompanying officials after the First Emperor's inspection of Ye Town today.

The commoners and left-lane dwellers organized by Chen Ping had cheered "Long live" three times. Seeing the First Emperor's dragon countenance beam with delight, several ministers seized the moment to say: "Your Majesty, the Governor of Jiaodong once said that the left-lane commoners all claim that when the Tian clan ruled, it was an endless night. Now that Your Majesty has graced them with your presence, it is as if the morning sun has just risen, shining upon Jiaodong, shining upon them, driving away the harsh winter, giving them fields and homes, clothes of silk and coarse wool. The commoners are at peace and secure, the benefits lasting and long! That being so, why not change the name of Ye Town? Call it Sun Town, or Rizhao County, how about it?"

Heifu nearly coughed up a mouthful of old blood upon hearing this. Sun Town? Sun your grandpa! At the same time, he sighed with emotion — in the art of flattery, not only was he himself improving, but everyone else was also advancing with the times...

The First Emperor actually thought this was a good idea. Just as Sun Town County was about to be born on the spot, the learned Zhang Cang stepped forward to debunk the notion, explaining that Ye Town was actually "Ye Town of the Ye River," named after the Ye River, and had nothing to do with night and day.

At this, it was the turn of the ministers who had rushed to flatter ahead of Heifu to feel awkward. But no one expected that the alchemist Lu Ao would follow up on Zhang Cang's words and say:

"Your Majesty, in the spring and summer, General Li Xin pacified the Yuezhi. Your Majesty, using Hexi to stretch the nation's arm and armpit to connect with the Western Regions, therefore renamed it 'Zhangye' and established a commandery. Hexi can be called the Western Ye, and this Ye Town, bordering the great sea to the east and gazing across at the immortal islands overseas — could it be the Eastern Ye? Now that the Western Ye has been stretched open, how can the Eastern Ye remain long folded? Better to stretch it open as well, so that the realm has an Eastern and Western Zhangye. That would make a fine tale."

This Master Lu's ability to adapt on the fly was truly remarkable. He had even concocted an Eastern Ye and Western Ye, with a whole set of reasoning. Using place names, omens, and such, he vigorously urged the First Emperor to send men out to sea to seek immortals, to set both of Great Qin's arms in motion at once.

The Emperor, upon hearing this, was somewhat moved, but still hesitated, probably wanting to let everyone discuss it. Lu Ao knew that on this question, the person with the most authority to speak was undoubtedly the Governor of Jiaodong, Heifu...

Persuading Heifu had clearly become the prerequisite for success. This was the reason for Lu Ao's late-night visit.

This Lu Ao certainly had a way with words. He said, "Several years ago, when Your Majesty toured west to Longxi, he received a revelation in a dream from the ancestor spirits, saying that a white horse and a black dog would aid the Emperor in journeying west to seek the realm of the Queen Mother of the West. Then shamans and invocators interpreted the dream, believing that the Governor and General Li Xin respectively embodied the omens of the black dog and the white horse. Thus Your Majesty stationed the two generals in Beidi and Longxi, and they subsequently crushed the Xiongnu, expanding the territory beyond the frontier. The General contributed no small effort."

"But now, several years have passed. The General has been transferred away from the west, yet General Li has remained in Hexi. Recently, he has won battle after battle, destroyed the Yuezhi, subdued the Wusun, and his noble rank has risen steadily. He is now Grand Superior of the Masses, just one step away from Marquis Within the Passes. Now General Li is solely tasked with the western expansion. As long as he subdues one or two more small states in the Western Regions, being enfeoffed as a Full Marquis is only a matter of time!"

Lu Ao cupped his hands in salute, putting on an expression of indignation on Heifu's behalf.

"Though the Governor has put great effort into Jiaodong, Qin's military merit ranks are, after all, based primarily on expanding territory and taking heads. Thus you have only reached Grand Superior of the Realm, far behind General Li..."

Heifu remained indifferent, blowing on his scalding hot water and resisting the urge to splash it in the man's face. He asked, "Does Master Lu perhaps have some brilliant stratagem?"

"I do!"

Lu Ao immediately said, "I have heard that when the Governor served as County Commandant in Anlu, he once said, 'Are dukes, marquises, generals, and ministers born from seed?' I do have a way for the General to be enfeoffed as a marquis!"

"Master Lu, you wouldn't be thinking of having me second your 'Eastern and Western Ye' theory, to have His Majesty send men out to sea to seek immortals, would you? If they are found, I would also have some merit."

Heifu spread his hands. "But the misty waves are vast and vague, faith hard to come by. How could it be achieved?"

Lu Ao laughed. "It seems difficult, but in truth it is not. Now that His Majesty has performed the Feng and Shan sacrifices, his virtue is sufficient. As long as he sincerely seeks the immortals, the immortal islands will surely appear! Besides, just like the western tour, apart from the realm of the Queen Mother of the West, the Governor would have many other opportunities to earn merit and be enfeoffed! By the way, does the Governor know of Master Zou Yan's theory of the 'Greater Nine Continents'?"

Heifu shook his head. "I do not."

Lu Ao began his lecture: "The Yu Gong records that China has the nine provinces of Ji, Yan, Qing, Xu, Yang, Jing, Yu, Liang, and Yong. In truth, these can only be called the Lesser Nine Continents, also known as the 'Divine Continent of Red County.' Beyond this, there are still the Middle Nine Continents and the Greater Nine Continents!"

"Outside China, there are nine regions like the Divine Continent of Red County — these are what are called the Middle Nine Continents. Between each of the Middle Nine Continents, they are surrounded by minor seas, through which people and beasts cannot pass. Nine Middle Nine Continents combine to form one Greater Nine Continents. The Greater Nine Continents are surrounded by the Great Encircling Sea. The Encircling Sea is the boundary of heaven and earth..."

This was the most advanced worldview and cosmology of the Qin era.

After this mystifying lecture on the concept of Greater, Middle, and Lesser Nine Continents, Lu Ao seized the chance to instill his idea: "If the Governor, while searching for the immortal islands, could also discover the other Middle Nine Continents, send men ashore, and bring back traces of immortals or rare and exotic treasures, His Majesty would surely be overjoyed. At that point, with territory expanded by more than ten thousand li, the Governor's achievements would be no less than General Li's destruction of the Yuezhi and opening of the Western Regions. Being enfeoffed as a marquis would be hardly worth mentioning!"

After hearing this, Heifu was stunned for a moment, then burst into irrepressible, roaring laughter.

He couldn't help but laugh, because Lu Ao's speech, translated into the language of later generations, was nothing more than...

"The world is so vast. Heifu, do you want to go and see it?"

(End of Chapter)