A Pawn’s Passage

The Daoist Order's main headquarters in Qizhou and the Xiujing field camp clearly outlined five strategic objectives for the February offensive:

To completely seize control of Ise Province and establish effective occupation.

To use the conquest of Ise Province to create a strategic threat to the Heian Capital, thereby shifting the overall situation from defense to offense.

To besiege and isolate the Sonno-joi faction forces in Ise Province, luring reinforcements from other regions, and then ambushing them to effectively weaken the enemy's active forces.

To destroy the Ise-jingu and deal a severe blow to the reputation of the Tenmon Sect, shaking its foundations.

To simultaneously clear a direct corridor through the adjacent districts and provinces, turning isolated outposts into connected lines, and those lines into controlled zones, thereby ending the chaotic patchwork state.

This February offensive, named Dragon Rising, marked the first large-scale campaign launched by the Daoist Order's rebel-suppression forces after landing on Fenglin.

It was evident that the Ise battlefield was the linchpin of Dragon Rising, which could be divided into three phases: besieging Ise Province, striking reinforcements, and eventual occupation. This was precisely why Sage Qingwei had instructed Qi Xuansu to immediately take over from the Tsuchimikado Onmyoji and persuade Suzuka Gozen to surrender. At a critical moment, the Daoist Order needed a strategic "nail" embedded deep within Ise Province.

The logic was simple. An army was not like an arrow shot from a bow but like a kite let loose. Its flight was limited by the length of the string, which was the logistics supply line. An advancing army must conquer cities and could not afford to bypass them. Skipping a city meant planting a nail behind one's own lines. At best, it could cut supply lines. At worst, it could sever retreat routes or block reinforcements. Hence, bypassing cities was not an option.

As the Daoist army pushed westward, it conquered all the frontline cities along the way, removing every nail and ensuring smooth logistics.

At the same time, the Daoist Order aimed to plant a nail inside Ise Province.

If the Daoist Order succeeded in winning over Suzuka Gozen, it would be as if a new, unconquered stronghold under Daoist control had suddenly appeared in Ise Province. The Sonno-joi faction would constantly need to guard against Mount Suzuka's forces. The Daoists could even air-drop troops directly into Mount Suzuka using their aerial superiority. The strategic value was immense.

The Ise-jingu realized this as well, which was why it launched a desperate and costly assault on Mount Suzuka once the Tsuchimikado Onmyoji's intentions were exposed, severely damaging both Suzuka Gozen and her forces.

On February 13, Qi Xuansu used a portable miniature rapid post talisman to relay news of Suzuka Gozen's allegiance to the Daoist Order back to the field command.

Compared to mother-child talismans, the rapid post talisman was less convenient, as it was only capable of transmitting text. But its advantages lay in greater range and resistance to interference. Even with Ise Province now blanketed in dense yin energy, Qi Xuansu could still send messages. In contrast, mother-child talismans would have been completely blocked.

After receiving the news of Mount Suzuka's allegiance to the Daoist Order, Sage Qingwei sent a second-rank Daoist Priest Kindred appointment certificate to Qi Xuansu via the rapid post talisman, instructing him to deliver it to Suzuka Gozen.

Strictly speaking, only the Grand Master could issue a first-rank Daoist Priest Kindred certificate, while a Deputy Grand Master could issue a second-rank one. Although Sage Qingwei was an Omniscient Sage and one of the three recognized heirs apparent, he was still a second-rank Taiyi Daoist master. Thus, he lacked the authority to issue such a certificate. This one was personally issued by the Imperial Preceptor.

Within the Daoist Order, there were fewer than five first-rank Daoist Priest Kindreds, and those holding second-rank Daoist Priest Kindred status were only slightly more than that. At this level, the title came with the honorific of Sage. It was an extraordinary gesture of sincerity.

Qi Xuansu handed the talisman over to Suzuka Gozen and thoroughly explained its significance, leaving her quite shaken.

To her knowledge, even the Fenglin Daoist Mansion Master was only a second-rank Taiyi Daoist, yet was treated like a "retired emperor" of Fenglin. Now that she had been conferred the title of second-rank Daoist Priest Kindred, while her actual authority might fall short, her status was equal to the Mansion Master, especially given her position as a semi-external party. Even if she committed wrongdoing, the local Daoist authority would have to first consult the Golden Tower Council before punishing her. In essence, this was a protective talisman in its own right.

Qi Xuansu joked, "From now on, I suppose I'll have to address you as Sage Suzuka."

Suzuka Gozen received the certificate solemnly and asked Qi Xuansu to convey her gratitude.

According to Sage Qingwei's instructions, Qi Xuansu also left Suzuka Gozen with a spare rapid post talisman, explaining its usage. Of course, with her Pseudo-Immortal abilities, Suzuka Gozen had no issue operating it. The only complexity lay in the talisman's use of Tianwen script, which was a sequence of ghost script, reverse script, and water script used to communicate with the dead. The Daoist Order used it as a form of encrypted script.

Qi Xuansu's main purpose was to convey to Suzuka Gozen the Tianwen sequence corresponding to Sage Qingwei, thus establishing a direct connection between them. From now on, she would communicate solely with Sage Qingwei and take orders from him alone.

This arrangement was only natural. Someone like Suzuka Gozen, a Pseudo-Immortal, carried her own pride. Even after surrendering to the Daoist Order, she would not tolerate being summoned at will. But Sage Qingwei was different. His cultivation rivaled an Immortal's, and in terms of status and potential, he was a likely candidate to become the seventh-generation Grand Master, or at the very least, succeed the Imperial Preceptor as the next Great Sage of the Taiping Sect. Suzuka Gozen could fully respect that.

At noon on February 14, Sage Qingwei officially issued the lockdown order.

At the same time, the Sonno-joi faction in Ise Province began a full strategic withdrawal.

By midnight on February 15, the Daoist army entered Taki District and, within an hour, overran more than a dozen shrines, jin'ya, fortresses, and strongholds, achieving complete occupation of the district.

Early morning on the 15th of February, the Daoist forces halted their offensive and issued a public announcement to reassure the civilians.

All civilians remaining within the borders of Taki District, so long as they obeyed Daoist orders and guidance, would be guaranteed safety. Any captured members of the Tenmon Sect who defected and passed a vetting process could also be retained for use. Those who rendered notable merit could even be granted an official position within the Toyotomi government.

That same day, Duke Marcheno, a representative of the West Shakya Company, requested an audience with the Sage Commander. Sage Qingwei politely declined the request and instead appointed Li Tiangang, the Second Deputy Mansion Master of Fenglin Daoist Mansion, to meet with the duke on his behalf.

Marcheno expressed the Holy Court's concern regarding the ongoing military conflict in Fenglin.

Li Tiangang stated the Daoist Order's position clearly. Since Fenglin had always been a vassal territory of the Central Plains, the conflict in Fenglin was therefore an internal affair. The Holy Court had neither the necessity nor the right to concern itself. The boundary between the two powers must be respected, and any act of overstepping would be regarded as provocation. If so, the Daoist Order would launch a proportionate counterattack.

Marcheno did not press the issue. After all, this was the Daoist Order's sphere of influence. Even if the Holy Court had objections, they were in no position to act on them. He instead turned the conversation toward what he truly cared about—business.

With the discovery of the New Continent, Westerners quickly established numerous plantations and mines there. Initially, the labor force in these sites consisted largely of indentured servants—impoverished immigrants who had crossed the sea from various Western nations. These laborers signed contracts with plantation owners or overseas labor companies in their homelands, agreeing to work for several years in order to repay the cost of their passage. Upon completion of the contract, they would become free citizens.

As the plantations expanded, labor shortages grew severe. Western countries were forced to seek new sources of manpower. The natives from various undeveloped lands became prime targets for forced labor acquisition. Using slaves in plantations and mines was cheaper and easier to manage than indentured workers, making the slave trade a lucrative enterprise that flourished.

In the early days of the slave trade, Westerners organized "hunting parties" to capture slaves themselves. They would raid native villages by surprise, burn homes, and bind the inhabitants, dragging them to the slave ships waiting at the shore. In a single night, peaceful villages were reduced to ruins.

But they soon realized this method was inefficient and costly. So they changed tactics by bribing coastal tribal chiefs with firearms and gunpowder. They incited them to raid inland tribes, thereby fueling intertribal warfare. The captives from these wars were sold off to slave traders. Under Western provocation, such "slave-raiding wars" became widespread for a time.

The West Shakya Company was among the most notorious and proficient in this trade, infamous in every sense.

They knew the Great Xuan Court and the Daoist Order were not involved in the slave trade, but they saw an opportunity amid the Fenglin conflict.

From Marcheno's perspective, there were inevitably large numbers of captives in a war, which would pose a logistical and ethical headache. The Eastern belief in bad omens from slaughtering prisoners meant they were unlikely to execute them. However, releasing them was also risky, as it could lead to further unrest and destabilize the fragile postwar order.

That was where the West Shakya Company came in. They could help their Eastern friends resolve the prisoner issue. The Daoist Order would receive payment, helping offset the costs of war, while the West Shakya Company would transport the captives to the New Continent, where they would live out the rest of their lives as slaves in plantations and mines.

Moreover, compared to the native slaves, the people of Fenglin were far more suited for skilled labor, since there were craftsmen among them, a capability far beyond what the "uncivilized" natives could offer.

This was a matter of mutual benefit, as each party would get what they needed.

After hearing Marcheno's proposal, Li Tiangang firmly rejected it, stating, "Our Celestial Empire is rich in resources. We can trade in tea, silk, porcelain, and other major goods, but we do not trade human beings."

Marcheno had arrived in high spirits but left in disappointment.

Yet he keenly sensed one thing. This conflict in Fenglin was not merely a rebellion suppression. The Daoist Order was consolidating support among the people and cracking down on the nobility in a bid to fully integrate Fenglin into the Central Plains' imperial tributary system, thereby making it a permanent vassal state.