Words Strategize for the World

I have revised Chapter Thirty-Six and sincerely apologize for any impact this may have had on the reading experience.

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The Yongping Continent is divided into five kingdoms, with the Chi Kingdom located in the far east. To the west of the Chi Kingdom lies the allied Yan Kingdom, while to the north lies the most powerful Ba Kingdom.

From north to south, the three prefectures of the Chi Kingdom are distributed in an upper, middle, and lower order: the northernmost is Beikang Prefecture, the middle is Wu'an Prefecture, and the southernmost is Linyuan Prefecture. The capital of the Chi Kingdom is located in Nanyang Prefecture of Wu'an Prefecture, which is in the middle of the three prefectures.

The original Chi Kingdom occupied the entire eastern region, spanning five states from the northernmost to the southernmost point. However, it was constantly eroded by the Ba Kingdom, eventually leaving only three states. The capital city has always been the present-day Nanyang Prefecture.

After more than 100 years of development and recuperation, Nanyang Prefecture is now as prosperous as Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty in another world.

Qu Zheng, Fang Wei, and Lan Xi finally arrived in Kyoto after several days of bumpy travel by carriage.

When they arrived at the gates of Kyoto, Fang Wei deliberately got off the carriage, wanting to walk around the city and experience its prosperity.

Standing beneath the city gate, gazing at the three large, boldly written characters for Nanyang Prefecture, Fang Wei said with a sense of relief, "We've finally arrived."

Fang Wei was very happy; the several-day carriage journey had been excruciating for him.

A horse-drawn carriage is just a wooden board placed on four wooden wheels. Whether you sit or lie on the board, your buttocks or back will hurt; there's no comfortable place at all.

"Nanyang Prefecture has been a prosperous city since ancient times. When the Chi Kingdom was founded, it also established its capital here, so Nanyang Prefecture is now ten times more prosperous than before. Since you're here, you can take your time to explore."

Qu Zheng was very familiar with the history of Chi Kingdom, and also with Nanyang Prefecture.

"Really? Xuezheng?" Lanxi had been a little sad the whole way, but she was noticeably better after getting off the carriage.

"Okay, you guys go ahead. It'll be good for Lanxi to relax a bit," Qu Zheng said.

Fang Wei glanced at Lan Xi. Although he was still a little sad, there was some joy in his expression, which was much better than when he was in the carriage.

"Teacher, how are we going to find you later?" Fang Wei and Lan Xi are not familiar with Kyoto, and it would be bad if they went out to play and delayed the teacher's business. It would be best if they could find a place that Fang Wei and Lan Xi could easily find, so that the teacher wouldn't have to worry.

"Neither of you are familiar with the capital. After you're done sightseeing, come find me at the Qu residence."

Upon hearing what their teacher said, Fang Wei and Lan Xi bid farewell to their teacher and entered Nanyang Prefecture.

After entering Nanyang Prefecture, the two kept asking passersby for directions to the most bustling street.

In Lanxi's memory, Zhongyuan Prefecture was already very prosperous, but Nanyang Prefecture was even more prosperous at this time.

Within the city walls, the roads were wide and impeccably clean. The houses on both sides had a distinctly southern character. The bustling streets teemed with people, and vendors on both sides hawked their wares with great enthusiasm. All of this showcased the prosperity of Kyoto.

At first, Lanxi was a little sad and couldn't let go, but after walking around for a while, Lanxi gradually cheered up and smiled more often.

Fang Wei looked at Lanxi, and his mood unconsciously improved. He naturally understood Lanxi's feelings. He was very worried because of the attack from the Ba Kingdom, but he was still willing to accept Lanxi.

Lanxi's smile was captivating, and the two soon found themselves happily strolling around.

From local snacks to unique trinkets and various items that women like, the two shopped non-stop.

Lanxi gradually emerged from the shadow of her mother's departure.

After getting tired of walking around, the two went to a teahouse, found a window seat, and prepared to rest and have a cup of tea.

"What kind of tea would you two gentlemen like to drink?" The waiter quickly came to greet them.

"What kind of tea do you have?" Lanxi asked.

"We have top-quality Tianjing tea, Hongshan tea..."

As Fang Wei listened to the waiter's continuous introduction, he was about to order a pot of tea when suddenly a conversation about the Ba Kingdom came from behind him.

"Wu San, why are you so late?"

"Alas, it's not the Hegemon Kingdom yet. Now the Hegemon Kingdom is about to attack, and there are many more people fleeing on the road. I have no choice but to accept this."

After ordering a pot of tea, Fang Wei listened intently, hoping to glean some information about the Hegemon Kingdom.

Although the group kept discussing the Hegemon Kingdom, it was nothing more than how strong and numerous its army was. You could probably find that information by asking anyone on the street.

Fang Wei was also bored and was about to seriously drink his tea when he was attracted by a voice.

"I have something to tell you. I have a brother who came to Chi Kingdom from Ba Kingdom a few days ago, and then stopped by my place to rest. That night, we talked about Ba Kingdom's attack on Chi Kingdom..."

As the man spoke, he lowered his head, and his voice became much softer. Fang Wei could make out two routes, two prefectures, and so on, but nothing more.

Two routes? Does that mean the troops have split into two groups? And what about the two states?

Unable to hear clearly, Fang Wei could only guess, and whether what these people said was true remained to be verified.

Thinking about this, he felt a headache coming on. Now that he was in Kyoto and had left the academy, he needed to carefully consider how to proceed from now on. Furthermore, Kyoto was a melting pot of all sorts of people and powerful factions, requiring him to be extremely cautious in handling matters and interacting with others.

If only we could know this information, then we wouldn't be like blind people, with nothing in sight.

Intelligence is extremely important, and Fang Wei is certainly aware of that, but how to obtain intelligence is not a problem that can be solved in a day or two, or by one or two people.

How do we obtain intelligence? By establishing an intelligence agency?

Setting up an intelligence agency sounds easy, but Fang Wei has no one around him to rely on right now, so how can he build one?

Having only been in this world for a few months, it's normal that we're still developing and lack talent.

Life is full of disappointments, which is normal. Kyoto has many talented people; it would be great if I could recruit some of them to work for me.

This is something that can be done. If done well, it shouldn't be a problem to get a few people involved.

Thinking of this, Fang Wei suddenly understood and took a sip of tea.

"Fang Wei, what were you thinking about just now? You were so engrossed that you didn't even hear me calling you," Lanxi asked after seeing Fang Wei drinking tea.

"There are some things, but the main focus is on summarizing the gains and losses in Zhongyuan Prefecture." Intelligence was something that was not done well in Zhongyuan Prefecture, so this can also be considered a summary of gains and losses.

"Oh, so what lessons have you learned?" Lanxi asked with interest.

"Yes, that's it..."

Before Fang Wei could finish speaking, he heard the sound of gongs being struck from below the teahouse.

"Clang, clang, clang"

After the gong finished ringing, a somewhat familiar voice came from behind.

"Come on, don't miss out! Take a look, have a look, they're scooping copper coins out of a frying pan!"

"Clang! Ladies and gentlemen, I was fortunate to have a master since childhood, from whom I learned a unique skill called 'Bare-Handed Oil Pot Cooking.' Now, I've come to Zhongyuan Prefecture on my travels and am completely broke. Therefore, I'm going to make a fool of myself by performing this for you. I hope those of you with money will support me financially, and those of you without money will simply show your support by being there."

After listening, Fang Wei finally remembered who the somewhat familiar voice belonged to.

"Hmph, it's that liar again. Come on, Fang Wei, let's expose him again," Lanxi said angrily.

Lanxi couldn't stand such deception, so after saying that, she pulled Fang Wei away.