Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 425 The Marquis of Xiaoyao Pavilion
In the following months, Chen Qingzhi led his army to conquer 52 more cities and kill 75,000 Wei soldiers. Xiao Yan quickly established the Southern Yu Province with Shouyang as its capital.

After the war, when rewards were distributed, Chen Qingzhi's generals naturally reaped a great harvest. Ren Yuan, as the one who made the greatest contribution to capturing Shouyang City, even managed to get the title of Marquis of Xiaoyao Pavilion...

Although it was only the lowest rank of nobility, and a nominal one at that, it represented a dramatic change in one's status.

But this time, Ren Yuan was not as excited about the promotion as before, because he had always valued the benefits of the promotion rather than the official position itself.

"No elixirs to reward me?" Ren Yuan examined the decree of reward repeatedly, his face full of disappointment.

"What are you thinking? You've already opened all nine orifices, no elixir will help you anymore." Chen Qingzhi laughed and scolded, "Do you expect the Emperor to bestow half a share of divine fire upon you?"

"It's not impossible," Ren Yuan said with a smile.

"Get out of my way." Chen Qingzhi rolled his eyes at him and said, "The imperial court only has one portion of divine fire left. The emperor has half, and I have half. How about I give you my half?"

"No need, no need, Commander Chen needs it more." Ren Yuan quickly waved his hand and sighed, "The rebel leaders of the Northern Dynasty are all demigods, why is divine fire so rare in our Southern Dynasty?"

"Isn't this normal?" Chen Qingzhi said calmly. "People talk about vying for the Central Plains, but who has ever said they're vying for the Jiangnan region? The center of the world is in the north."

“That makes sense. But after all these years, haven’t you taken advantage of the chaos in the north to collect some divine fire?” Ren Yuan asked unwillingly. His longing for divine fire was practically written all over his face.

“Actually, many divine fires were obtained by successive dynasties, but they were all taken away by those few during the change of dynasties.” Chen Qingzhi sighed: “The Song Dynasty replaced the Jin Dynasty, and it got two divine fires; the Qi Dynasty replaced the Song Dynasty, and it got one divine fire; the Liang Dynasty replaced the Song Dynasty, and it got another divine fire… That’s a total of four divine fires. If none of them had been lost, that would be eight demigods.”

"I see..." Ren Yuan couldn't help but click his tongue in surprise. He knew that the people Chen Qingzhi was referring to were the Ten Witches.

"But aren't there only three gods among those ten?"

"Because the Dream God achieved the status of an Ancient God, he consumed two whole portions of divine fire," Chen Qingzhi said softly. Ren Yuan had reached a certain level, and he was willing to share what he knew.

"I see." Ren Yuan suddenly realized, but then asked with some concern, "The divine fire of the two princes has also fallen into their hands. Does this mean that another ancient god is about to be added among them?"

“No, that won’t happen,” Chen Qingzhi shook his head. “Divine fire contains the authority of the gods and cannot be easily fused together. For example, the God of Fire certainly cannot use the divine fire of the God of Water. Only divine fires with the same or similar authority can be fused together. For example, my half of the God of War’s divine fire can be fused with the God of Martial Fire of the two princes to form a complete divine personality.”

"Then why doesn't Your Majesty make it a round number?" Ren Yuan asked, puzzled. "One true god is definitely stronger than two demigods, right?"

“Of course.” Chen Qingzhi nodded and said with a wry smile, “But do you think it’s so easy to become a god? That’s someone who has mastered a part of the origin of the universe, can live for thousands of years, and is completely beyond the human realm.”

"Then what else do we need to do?" Ren Yuan asked, not understanding.

“A miracle is needed to complete this,” Chen Qingzhi said in a deep voice. “If one can create a great feat that only gods can accomplish with a mortal body, then the fortune of heaven and earth will be bestowed upon him. Only then can he merge with the divine fire in one fell swoop and become an immortal god.”

"What kind of great achievement would that be?" Ren Yuan was overwhelmed with worry. It seemed that he couldn't continue to improve by relying solely on cultivation and taking drugs.

"For example, if our Northern Expedition succeeds and we capture Luoyang, that would be about enough," Chen Qingzhi said with a chuckle. "Isn't that a bold idea?"

“Indeed.” Ren Yuan smiled in disappointment. Only then did he realize why, in this world, those with nine orifices were everywhere, yet demigods were few and far between. “It seems that this humble servant will reach the end of his nine orifices in this lifetime.”

"Haha, don't be so absolute. You just need to be prepared, and maybe one day a great opportunity will fall into your lap," Chen Qingzhi comforted him. "Yes," Ren Yuan replied, taking it as mere consolation and not taking it too seriously.

Naturally, he didn't understand either. Chen Qingzhi's last sentence, "But it might not necessarily be a matter of chance..."

~~
On the other hand, inspired by the great victory at Shouyang, various Liang armies also sprang into action. Xiahou Kui, the governor of Sizhou, and Zhan Sengzhi, the governor of Qiaozhou, joined forces and captured the three passes of Pingjing, Muling, and Yinshan in succession, greatly improving the strategic situation of their respective prefectures.

As expected, Chen Qingzhi was targeted...

In June, he was planning with Wei Fang to cross the Huai River and launch a northern expedition against Woyang as soon as summer was over.

"Taking Woyang will allow us to advance the battle line north of the Huai River, turning the Jianghuai region into the heartland of the Great Liang," Chen Qingzhi said with gleaming eyes and great interest. "Moreover, this will also put a knife in the belly of the Northern Dynasty, not only threatening the Central Plains but also allowing us to advance on Luoyang in the future..."

Yuan Shu and Wei Fang listened attentively to Chen Qingzhi's speech while fanning themselves, but the former looked serious while the latter looked excited.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the door, and Yuan Shu's attendants appeared at the door.

"What is it?" Yuan Shu turned his head and asked.

"Your Highness, this is an imperial edict from the Emperor." A personal attendant entered, holding up an imperial edict with both hands.

Yuan Shu quickly sat up straight, washed his hands, and then took the book and began to read it.

Chen Qingzhi also stopped talking, so as not to disturb him while he was reading the letter.

After a while, Yuan Shu handed the imperial edict to the two of them, saying apologetically, "It seems our fate is coming to an end."

"What does it mean?" Chen Qingzhi took the letter and read it with Wei Fang. It was a personal letter from the Emperor, informing Yuan Shu that he was to be transferred to Beixuzhou to take command. The General of the Guards, Cao Zhongzong, would be arriving soon to take over the command, and Yuan Shu was asked to ensure a smooth handover and to take up his post as soon as possible…

Before Chen Qingzhi could say anything, Wei Fang frowned and said, "Why did the Emperor send this old man here? Isn't he afraid he'll get heatstroke?"

Cao Zhongzong was Cao Jingzong's second younger brother. He was already seventy years old and had been retired for many years...

“General Cao is still vigorous despite his age, it’s not that serious.” Yuan Shu smiled and said, “This is also because the Emperor understands my feelings and does not want me to continue attacking the old country.”

He truly felt relieved. Besides, as a surrendered general, the court could justify whatever arrangement was made for him, so he wasn't unhappy. He only felt apologetic towards Chen Qingzhi, saying, "It seems my previous promise to let you do as you please is no longer valid."

“Your Highness is too kind,” Chen Qingzhi said with a smile. “Nothing else matters, but it is truly a pity that I cannot serve under Your Highness.”

“There will be other opportunities in the future,” Yuan Shu said politely. “However, with Brother Ziyun’s talent, it won’t be long before I’m serving under you.”

"Your Highness is joking," Chen Qingzhi said with a wry smile. "Wouldn't that be going against the natural order?"

"There's no use talking about this now. We should hold a farewell banquet for the Prince." Wei Fang didn't share Chen Qingzhi's subtle, anxious mindset. The arrival of a powerful military family actually made him secretly pleased.

(End of this chapter)