379: Seal of the Marquis of Zhenxi

On the ice table in the Hanyue Valley Underground Palace, a gilded seal lay quietly.

The four characters 'Western Pacification Marquis Seal' on the seal exuded imperial majesty.

Inside the mouth of the coiled Dragon carved on the seal knob, a fragment of the black iron mother lode had been quietly embedded by the secret guards of The Net—this was the mark of Beyond Heaven, and also a token for monitoring the movements of the imperial family.

Jun Xiaoyao brushed his fingertips across the seal, and the map of the Western Regions' trade routes immediately appeared in the water mirror.

On the route from Yangguan to Loulan in the diagram, locations where merchant caravans had been attacked were densely marked; the latest one read: 'Yesterday at the hour of the snake, thirty black iron carts were robbed, and the robbers left a Blood Wolf mark.'

Zhao Gao stepped out from the shadows, the dossier in his hand recording the details of the Blood Wolf Gang: 'This gang has entrenched itself in the Western Regions for three years. Its leader, Blood Butcher, is at the Peak Heaven-Human Realm, and it is said that he colludes with the Northern Barbarians in secret, specializing in robbing ironware caravans.'

'The Western Regions are our money bag; how can we allow others to lay their hands on it?'

Jun Xiaoyao pushed the seal aside, the cold air from the ice table causing white frost to form on the edges of the seal's inscription. 'Have the "Kill" unit of The Net cooperate with Li Shimin to wipe out the Blood Wolf Gang within three days and reclaim the black iron.'

In the water mirror, Li Shimin had already arrived at Yangguan and was in the process of handing over the trade route documents with local officials.

He was dressed in a brocade robe with the Western Pacification Marquis Seal hanging at his waist, followed by two thousand spearmen dispatched by Yue Fei; their military bearing was so stern that the officials dared not look them in the eye.

'From today onwards, the Western Regions' trade routes will be under the jurisdiction of Beyond Heaven. Anyone holding a cloud-pattern token may pass tax-free.'

Li Shimin's voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable majesty.

The officials looked at each other, and one of them gathered his courage and said: 'Marquis, the Blood Wolf Gang is exceptionally fierce; the government has attempted to suppress them several times, but has only suffered losses of troops and generals...'

Before he could finish, the sound of hoofbeats came from afar. Shi Qian rode over on a fast horse, holding a bloody head in his hand: 'The Young Lord has ordered it. The Blood Wolf Gang's nest has been taken, and this is the head of Blood Butcher!'

The head rolled onto the ground, and the officials were so scared that they retreated one after another, but Li Shimin merely glanced at it indifferently: 'Continue with the document handover.'

Jun Xiaoyao watched this scene and nodded to Zhao Gao: 'Shi Qian's efficiency is quite good.'

He looked up at the summoning array; due to the initial control of the trade routes, the spiritual power at the array's core had risen to 91%. As the runes circulated, a figure holding an abacus appeared.

[System Prompt: Large-scale trade route management needs detected, triggering "Financial Management" type summoning.]

[Summonable Character: Shen Wansan]

[Origin: "History of Ming" and folklore]

[Realm: Middle Grandmaster Realm]

[Martial Skill: Treasure Gathering Technique (can perceive gold and silver Ore veins within a ten-mile radius), Abacus Technique (Transcendent, flawless mental calculation)]

[Specialty: Business (can double industrial profits), Financial Management (skilled in managing massive merchant caravans)]

[Summoning Cost: 90% Spiritual Power]

Jun Xiaoyao let his fingertip fall, and the summoning array suddenly erupted with golden light. The runes rolled like copper coins, and the figure of Shen Wansan, dressed in a silk robe and holding a golden abacus, condensed in the light.

He bowed to Jun Xiaoyao with a smile that was shrewd yet respectful: 'Shen Wansan greets the Young Lord.'

[Character Panel: Shen Wansan]

[Status: On Standby]

[Special Ability: Stone Pointing (can distinguish Ore purity), Financial Connectivity (can mobilize funds from 90% of the continent's banks within three days)]

[Loyalty: 85%]

[Current Thought: If the Western Regions' trade routes are managed properly, an annual income of one million taels will be easily achievable.]

'The merchant caravans and Ore veins of the Western Regions are entrusted to you.'

Jun Xiaoyao pointed to the map in the water mirror. 'I want the production of black iron to double within three months, and the profits of the merchant caravans... to increase by at least 30%.'

Shen Wansan flicked his abacus, the sound of the beads colliding crisp and pleasant: 'Rest assured, Young Lord. This old servant has already calculated it. We only need to set up a smelting workshop in Loulan to save on transportation costs back to the Central Plains, and then sign an exclusive agreement with the Persian merchant caravans; the profit can reach 40%.'

He took out a ledger from his bosom. 'This is the preliminary plan; please take a look, Young Lord.'

The numbers on the ledger were dense but clearly organized. Jun Xiaoyao scanned it once and nodded: 'Do as you say. If you need manpower or resources, directly mobilize The Net.'

After Shen Wansan received his orders and left, new movements appeared in the water mirror—envoys from the Northern Barbarians arrived at Yangguan with a camel caravan. The camel bells were adorned with the wolf head marks of the Blood Wolf Gang, clearly here to probe the situation.

Upon seeing Li Shimin, the envoy said arrogantly: 'Our Great Khan has said that we must be given half of the profits from the Western Regions' trade routes, otherwise...'

'Otherwise what?' Huyan Zhuo, who was behind Li Shimin, shook his double whips, and his Stepping Snow Black Steed reared its front hooves, scaring the envoy's camels into retreating repeatedly.

'If the barbarians dare to cross the line, my double whips do not recognize any Great Khan!'

The envoy's face turned pale, but he still stubbornly said: 'Our tribe has three Elders at the Land Immortal Realm; are we afraid of you Beyond Heaven?'

Before the water mirror, Jun Xiaoyao said to Zhao Gao in a low voice: 'The barbarians want to take this opportunity to get a share of the profits. Have Blue Phoenix "visit" their Elders and use the Gu-Eating Ants to "remind" them.'

[Character Panel: Blue Phoenix]

[Status: In Action]

[Current Mission: Infiltrate the Barbarian King's tent, intimidate the Elders]

[Special Mark: Gu-Eating Ants have been hidden in the tribute presented to the Elders]

Three days later, news came from the water mirror: The three Barbarian Elders had suddenly "fallen ill," with what seemed like insects crawling under their skin. They had no choice but to send people to sue for peace with Li Shimin, promising never to touch the Western Regions' trade routes again, and even offered ten carts of warhorses as an apology.

Shen Wansan looked at the warhorses, his abacus clattering: 'If these horses are handed over to the Persian merchant caravans, they can be exchanged for twenty carts of spices, and then resold to the noble families of the Central Plains; the profit can increase by another 20%.'

Li Shimin was quite satisfied with this, but still remained vigilant: 'The barbarians are cunning. Have the "Shadow" unit of The Net keep a close watch on their movements.'

He looked at the Ore veins in the distance, where the newly recruited miners were mining in an orderly fashion under Shen Wansan's arrangement; the production of black iron had indeed increased as expected.

At this time, due to the stable income from the trade routes, the spiritual power of the summoning array had risen to 93%. As the runes flickered, a figure holding a compass appeared.

[System Prompt: Ore vein exploration needs detected, triggering "Ore Prospecting" type summoning.]

[Summonable Character: Mu Renqing]

[Origin: "Sword Stained with Royal Blood" world]

[Realm: Early Earthly Immortal Realm]

[Martial Skill: Hunyuan Technique (Perfection), Golden Snake Sword Technique (Transcendent)]

[Specialty: Ore Prospecting (can perceive Ore veins buried deep underground by their Qi), Forging (can improve the quality of black iron weapons)]

[Summoning Cost: 92% Spiritual Power]

Jun Xiaoyao pointed his finger, and the summoning array erupted with an earthy yellow light. The runes extended like Ore veins, and the figure of Mu Renqing, dressed in plain clothes and carrying a hoe on his shoulder, appeared in the light.

He bowed to Jun Xiaoyao, his voice as rustic as an old farmer's: 'Mu Renqing greets the Young Lord.'

[Character Panel: Mu Renqing]

[Status: On Standby]

[Special Ability: Ore Identification (can distinguish the reserves and purity of Ore veins), Quenching (can increase the hardness of black iron weapons by 30%)]

[Loyalty: 87%]

[Current Thought: The Ore veins in the Western Regions are richer than imagined; they can be mined for at least another hundred years.]

'The black iron mother lode in Hanyue Valley needs you to take a look.'

Jun Xiaoyao pointed to the cross-section of the Ore vein in the water mirror. 'Shen Wansan says the Ore vein shows signs of depletion; I suspect the mining method is incorrect.'

Mu Renqing shouldered his hoe: 'Rest assured, Young Lord. This old farmer has probed it with the Hunyuan Technique; there is a new Ore vein deep within the mother lode, it's just blocked by rock layers. Give me a hundred or so miners, and I can break through within half a month.'

He turned and stepped into the teleportation array. When he appeared in the mine, he immediately swung his hoe. Under the stimulation of the Hunyuan Technique, the hard rock layers were as soft as soil.

In the water mirror, Shen Wansan looked at the new Ore vein that Mu Renqing had opened up, grinning from ear to ear: 'Now the production of black iron will at least triple! This old servant will go and contact the weapon workshops in Jiangnan right away; the orders can be lined up until next year!'

Li Shimin, on the battlements of Yangguan, watched the passing merchant caravans. The cloud-pattern tokens shone brightly in the sunlight, and the merchants holding the tokens wore relieved smiles on their faces—with the protection of Beyond Heaven, they no longer had to worry about robbers and exorbitant taxes.

In the Hanyue Valley Underground Palace, Jun Xiaoyao watched the steadily rising resource income and said to Zhao Gao: 'The Western Regions have become our Foundation. Next, it is time to turn our gaze towards the Central Plains.'

In the water mirror, the Emperor was worrying over memorial documents; the sharp decrease in tax revenue from the Western Regions had left the national treasury empty. Several old ministers were arguing endlessly in the court, and some proposed cancelling the enfeoffment of Beyond Heaven and reclaiming control of the trade routes.

'They still haven't recognized reality.'

Jun Xiaoyao picked up the Western Pacification Marquis Seal, the black iron fragment on the seal knob shimmering with a faint light. 'Tell Li Shimin to increase the selling price of black iron to the Central Plains, just say... the mining costs have risen.'

Zhao Gao received the order and left, and the underground palace returned to silence.

Only the slowly recovering spiritual power in the summoning array signaled that a larger layout was about to unfold.

The Western Regions' trade routes were open, the Ore veins were productive, and the era belonging to Beyond Heaven had only just begun.

And the storms in the Central Plains would become even more turbulent because of this endless supply of black iron.