Qin Renhuang just became an immortal, and you told me this is the prehistoric time

The entire imperial court is now revolving around his Shu region and around Zhang Dun! This is tantamount to the tables being turned, the roles of host and guest reversed!

He suddenly stood up and paced back and forth in the duty room, his anger almost bursting through the roof.

"Furthermore! This person has a history of disregarding imperial orders and acting arbitrarily! I never expected that even in our Great Qin, he would remain unchanged in his wickedness and disregard the overall situation! If this villain is not punished, the law of the land will not tolerate him, and the imperial court will be unable to recover!"

He abruptly stopped, a resolute glint in his eyes.

"I will now request an imperial decree from the Imperial Study! First, issue a decree throughout the land, prohibiting the unauthorized interception and relocation of people in Shu. All Sui people must be relocated to the riverside and various sparsely populated counties according to the original plan of the court!"
Second, dispatch the Imperial Guards to various relocation points to monitor the migration process and ensure the smooth implementation of imperial orders! Third, draft an edict to severely reprimand Zhang Dun and all officials in Shu, imposing salary penalties and demotions as a warning! Fourth, immediately reshuffle the selection of the governor of Shu, transferring Zhang Dun out of Shu and assigning him to another post!

This time, Wang Guan was truly enraged and determined to take action against Zhang Dun and the Shu region. He was willing to use strong measures to suppress this unhealthy trend, restore the authority of the cabinet, and ensure the court's control over the local areas.

This uproar, which stemmed from population migration, quickly escalated from a local affair into a political struggle concerning central authority and the dignity of the imperial court.

The atmosphere in the inner study was so heavy it seemed like it could be squeezed out of water.

Imperial Noble Consort Lü Zhi sat upright in the main seat, her exquisite face now covered in frost, her anger undisguised, making the temperature in the entire room seem to drop several degrees. Below her, the three prime ministers, Wang Guan, Li Si, and Zhang Juzheng, stood bowed, not daring to even breathe loudly.

They were well aware of the Imperial Noble Consort's "illustrious reputation" in history, and that her political skills and ruthlessness were in no way inferior to any top politician.

Now that she is in charge of the Imperial Study on behalf of His Majesty, her power is growing daily, and no one dares to offend her easily.

Consort Qu Ruo stood beside Empress Lü and let out a disdainful sneer.

"Hmph, it seems some officials from the Song Dynasty have been spoiled by the previous lenient environment and have forgotten what kind of Qin Dynasty they are serving in now!"

Consort Jingrou looked at Wang Guan, her tone calm yet imposing.

"Prime Minister Wang, has the cabinet come up with a solution to this matter?"

Wang Guan quickly stepped forward and bowed in response.

"Your Majesties, the Cabinet has decided that the first priority is to reassign Zhang Dun as the Prefect of Shu Prefecture, transferring him to another post and selecting a virtuous and capable successor, as a warning to others and to deter others from doing the same!"

He took a deep breath and continued, his voice barely concealing his anger.

"Although we are not yet clear on the exact number of Sui people detained in Shu, based on the fact that the Heavenly Gate has been open for more than ten days, and considering the premeditated persuasion and guidance by Shu officials, we estimate that at least twenty to thirty million people have been stranded in Shu!"
With such a large population stranded in one place, the imperial court needed to urgently allocate massive amounts of grain from various regions for relief and supply, and also needed to dispatch a large number of officials to Shu (Sichuan) to assist in management and resettlement! This disrupted the imperial court's overall plans and incurred enormous costs!

“Moreover,” Wang Guan said, his tone becoming even more somber.

"Zhang Dun has been operating in Shu for many years, appointing and promoting a large number of former Song Dynasty officials, and has already formed a complex network of relationships. This time, the interception of people is probably not his sole intention. If we want to thoroughly rectify Shu, we will have to make a major adjustment to its officialdom, which is an extremely troublesome matter!"

He raised his head, his eyes filled with determination.

"Zhang Dun's actions have caused the court countless troubles and wasted a great deal of money, resources, and effort! I believe that the Great Qin does not need a governor who dares to disobey and arbitrarily distort even the core decrees of the court! Even if Zhang Dun has great talent, this trend must not be allowed to continue!"

At this moment, Consort Zhaoshan, who had been quietly reviewing documents, raised her head, raised a secret report that had just been delivered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and said with certainty.

"Chief Minister Wang's estimate was still conservative. According to the intelligence verified by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, plus their prior covert observation and guidance in Shu, in the past ten days or so, at least more than half of the Sui Dynasty's people stranded in Shu have been affected, approaching 30 million."

The Shu region originally had a population of 60 million; with these additions, the population is approaching 90 million. The emergence of a mega-province with over 100 million people is now inevitable.

Upon hearing the phrase "hundreds of millions of people," Wang Guan, Li Si, and Zhang Juzheng's expressions turned even more grim.

Zhang Juzheng pondered for a moment, then stepped forward and addressed the audience.

"Your Majesty, my colleagues. Since the population of Shu has already swelled to this extent, to prevent it from becoming uncontrollable, I suggest that we go with the flow and divide Shu Prefecture into three parts: Yun, Gui, and Chuan. This would solve the administrative problem of an overpopulated single prefecture, weaken local power, and strengthen control over the southwest region. As for Zhang Dun... once Shu Prefecture is divided, his usefulness will be gone, so he can be reassigned to a sinecure as a form of punishment."

Wang Guan and Li Si exchanged a glance, both seeing agreement in each other's eyes. Wang Guan immediately seconded the motion.

"Grand Secretary Zhang's suggestion is excellent! Dividing Shu Prefecture will solve the problem once and for all!"

Li Si nodded as well.

"I second the proposal."

Beside the dragon throne, Empress Lü, Qu Ruo, Jing Rou, and Zhao Shan exchanged glances and slowly nodded. Empress Lü then spoke.

"In that case, we shall follow the wishes of the three prime ministers, draft a plan, and formalize the proposal to split up Shu Prefecture and adjust Zhang Dun's position into a memorial to Your Majesty for a decision."

……

In the imperial palace's rear garden, Ying Shaoyang paid no attention to the debate in the inner study. He stood quietly before a thousand-year-old spiritual root, sensing the immense vitality within it. A close attendant quietly approached him from behind and whispered the inner study's resolutions regarding the handling of Zhang Dun and the division of Shu Prefecture.

Upon hearing this, Ying Shaoyang showed no anger on his face, but instead revealed a meaningful smile.

He appointed Lü Zhi and three other women to manage the inner study, intending to observe and train them while simultaneously freeing himself from the tedious daily affairs of state. Their swift response to the Zhang Dun incident, in collaboration with the cabinet, demonstrated a keen political sense and decisiveness, leading Ying Shaoyang to believe his experiment had been successful.

However, he did not intend to completely allow the cabinet and the inner study to completely destroy Zhang Dun.

“Zhang Dun…”

Ying Shaoyang's gaze drifted into the distance as he recalled the circumstances when this man took over Shu Prefecture.

"At that time, Shuzhou had only a few million people and was poor and backward. It was he who, with the relatively open and commercially oriented style brought by the Song Dynasty, vigorously developed Shuzhou into the prosperous place with tens of millions of people it is today."

This man, though bold in his actions and sometimes even somewhat arrogant, is undeniably talented and capable, daring to act. If it were someone more conventional and conservative, Shu Prefecture might not have achieved its current status.

He knew very well that Zhang Dun's audacity in ignoring the cabinet's overall plan and massively detaining people stemmed not only from his own personality but also from his arrogance and underestimation of the cabinet's, especially the Inner Study's, reaction. "A reprimand is necessary, but to simply strip him of his talent and relegate him to a sinecure would be a waste of his abilities and could easily discourage capable Song Dynasty officials."

Ying Shaoyang had already made up his mind.

"Then let's move him to another place. Either transfer him to another state that needs to be developed, or... wait until I open up a new state, and let him be a pioneer governor to make amends for his crimes."

His gaze returned to the spiritual roots and herbs before him. A vast amount of incense and prayer power was converging from all directions, being refined by the imperial palace's grand formation, and merging with the rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth, like the most nourishing rain, slowly seeping into the spiritual roots and herbs in the garden and transplanted to various locations.

After more than ten days, the results were remarkable.

The spiritual roots and herbs transplanted from Qingqiu showed particularly noticeable changes. The ancient roots, over a thousand years old, had suffered damage to their origins due to the prolonged scarcity of spiritual energy in the Liaozhai world, and it would be difficult for them to fully recover to their peak strength in a short period of time.

But those trees that are hundreds of years old have already regained their vitality in such a superior environment, with their branches and leaves stretching out and their leaves glowing.

Ying Shaoyang's divine sense swept through the core of the world, passing over several major mountain ranges in the Great Qin.

As you can see, the simple spirit-gathering arrays made of magical artifacts that were set up earlier are operating continuously, transforming the energy of heaven and earth into spiritual energy, which is then gradually integrated into the mountain.

However, this conversion rate is still too small compared to the needs of the vast mountain range, like a drop in the ocean.

With a thought, he formed a hand seal.

In an instant, hundreds of thousands of spiritual roots and herbs, which had recovered their health and were distributed throughout the palace and the back mountain, were enveloped by an invisible force and transformed into streams of light that flew toward the main mountain ranges and were evenly scattered across the peaks, valleys, cliffs and other places.

As soon as these spiritual roots and herbs land, they become like small energy nodes, beginning to more efficiently absorb the rich energy of heaven and earth around them and transform it into pure spiritual energy!

The mountain range absorbed spiritual energy at a significantly faster rate! The spiritual energy, like a thin mist, began to permeate the forests. However, most of the spiritual energy was greedily absorbed back by the mountain range itself as soon as it was released, used to nourish the rocks and soil and improve the earth's veins.

Only a very small portion of it is absorbed by ordinary plants and animals along the way as it flows in other directions, thus failing to spread over longer distances.

Ying Shaoyang frowned slightly, realizing the key point.

"Although the Great Qin world has become much richer and more energetic due to the many treasures I brought back, it is still too early to naturally cultivate a true 'spiritual vein' or 'dragon vein'."

He understood.

“Spiritual veins are special geological structures where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth naturally converges and condenses without dissipating. They are the foundation of blessed lands for cultivation. Dragon veins, on the other hand, are related to the fortune and terrain of the land, and are even more profound. It seems that building the Great Qin World and enabling it to truly advance is still a long and arduous task.”

He sensed that his primordial spirit needed time to absorb spiritual energy to consolidate, and his many supernatural abilities needed time to grow and mature. Furthermore, the transformation of these spiritual roots and herbs into spiritual energy to nourish the world required a long period of accumulation.

Entering a new world often means a different flow of time, which can buy him more time to develop.

Once the thought popped into his head, it grew like weeds in his heart, impossible to suppress.

"It's time to go and see new places."

Ying Shaoyang raised his hand and made a feint towards the sky.

hum!
Floating outside the Great Qin world, the core of the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend Array, which faintly echoed the stars of the heavens, trembled slightly, and a beam of starlight descended, enveloping Ying Shaoyang's figure.

The next moment, his figure slowly faded in the starlight, and finally disappeared completely from the palace garden.

The vast mountains were covered in a blanket of white. Snowflakes, as white as goose feathers, fell in a flurry, and the biting wind whipped up the snow on the ground, creating a hazy snow fog in the air, making visibility extremely low.

In this harsh weather, a boy with a still-childish face but exceptionally resolute eyes was carrying a simple bamboo basket filled with some crude offerings, struggling to move forward through the ankle-deep snow.

The cold wind lashed against his thin clothes like knives, but he seemed oblivious, merely pursing his lips and gazing resolutely ahead. Finally, he stopped before a solitary grave half-buried in snow.

The grave was simple; were it not for a crooked wooden stele, it would have been almost indistinguishable from the surrounding rocks. The stele was inscribed with "Tomb of my late mother, Meng Bingyun," but the characters were somewhat blurred.

The young man, Hong Yi, carefully placed the offerings before the grave. Staring at the cold tombstone, his expression gradually became blank, his eyes losing focus. A series of strange yet incredibly real images surged into his mind like a tidal wave, flashing rapidly before his eyes!
In the picture, a boy from a poor family but with exceptional intelligence is making a name for himself in his village with his knowledge.

He was first chosen by a powerful clan and married a woman from their household, thus acquiring basic cultivation techniques. He then joined the army, achieving great military exploits through his bravery and wisdom. Next, he surprisingly turned to literature, participating in the imperial examinations and achieving the highest rank of Tan Hua (third-place scholar), entering the court as an official. He befriended the crown prince and ultimately was granted the title of Marquis of Wuwen, reaching the pinnacle of power and enjoying immense prestige!

However, the second half of the story takes a sharp turn for the worse. The accomplished Marquis of Wuwen, Hong Xuanji, begins to reveal his philandering and even ruthless side.

He seduced married women and the most favored daughters of powerful sects, causing them to bear his children, and then took advantage of the situation to bring the sects behind them under his control.

He even married the most famous courtesan in the capital into the Marquis's household.

And this courtesan is none other than his mother, Meng Bingyun! The scene reveals that Meng Bingyun is actually the current saintess of the most mysterious sect in the world - Taishangdao. She entered the brothel only to temper her mind and experience the vicissitudes of life.

However, she ultimately failed to overcome the barrier of love, developed genuine feelings for Hong Xuan, and fell into a love tribulation, which made it difficult for her to use her extraordinary cultivation.

After Meng Bingyun married into the Wuwen Marquis's mansion, she suffered endless bullying and torment from the first wife due to her background and Hong Xuanji's tacit approval. After becoming pregnant with Hong Yi, she was already emotionally damaged by her past love affair, and the mistreatment during her pregnancy exacerbated her condition, leaving her with serious health problems. After giving birth to Hong Yi, her health deteriorated further, and she grew increasingly weak.

In the final moments of her life, she secretly sealed the core techniques she had learned throughout her life into a plum blossom painting she had drawn herself, leaving it for future generations.

The man she had so deeply loved, Marquis Hong Xuanji, ignored her while she was bedridden, instead continuing to seduce other women in the martial arts world until she died...

"puff--!"

When he saw his mother suffering humiliation in the Marquis's mansion, being left unattended when she was seriously ill, and finally dying miserably in despair and pain, Hong Yi could no longer hold back. He spat out a mouthful of blood, which stained his chest and the white snow at his feet!
"Ah—!! Hong Xuanji!!!" (End of Chapter)