Chapter 606 — The End of Winter
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 5
An Luo watched the sovereign she served with a flicker of astonishment.
At first she had not detected anything amiss in Emperor Luo Yan's words—for almost any Typhon noble who grasped the situation and understood the changes the Empire had undergone in recent years could see that war between Typhon and Ansor was inevitable. But soon she realized that the meaning in Luo Yan's words went deeper still.
Gao Yang Cecil would in the end become Typhon's enemy.
All along, Luo Yan Augustus had regarded Ansor as his prey—but now, a hunter had appeared among the prey. A hunter just as ravenous.
"Your Majesty, if that is so, why cooperate with him at all?"
"War takes many forms, and 'cooperation' is one of them," Luo Yan said evenly. "In this cooperation, the Empire stands to gain too much. The Cecil have in their hands what we desperately need—but at the same time, we hold what they desperately need... We scheme for them, and they scheme for us."
An Luo lowered her head slightly, pondering the deeper meaning contained in the Emperor's words.
"The 'magic-industry' the Cecil have created is changing the rules by which society operates. I still cannot see clearly what it will ultimately become, but I can feel it—the existing order, the order built on land and farming, will soon be shattered by factories and machines. In this field the Cecil have already gone ahead of us, but they have their strengths, and we have ours," Luo Yan continued. "Send this vehicle back to the capital, to the Imperial Guild of Manufactures. Take it apart, piece by piece. Whatever the cost, we must understand how it works. For now we may not be able to build anything better, but at the very least we must build something that can run as well as it does.
"Also, inform Duke Pei Yi to convene the court advisors, to compile statistics on the Empire's iron ore, magical materials, grain, and cotton—both production and demand—and to draft the initial transport routes.
"Organize the scholars of mechanics and magical technology. From now on, have them work and live alongside the road-builders, and prepare to become 'workers.' There is a very good chance the Cecil will not permit our mages and scholars to take part in the technical stages of building the 'railway'—but they cannot possibly refuse to hire laborers.
"Draft an order for me, for Duke Severn to begin preparations for a 'bank'...
"Order the Council to assess the risks of all these matters..."
Risks... The word flashed through An Luo's mind as she committed every one of Emperor Luo Yan's commands firmly to memory.
The great sun hid behind the chaotic, fouled clouds; the light leaking through them drew ever closer to the western horizon, and the daylight swiftly dimmed. One by one the lamps in the camp came alight—bright magic-crystal lamps releasing a constant radiance, making this little camp seem a lighthouse amid the chaos, its brilliance resplendent, echoing the hazy, magnificent grandeur of the great wall.
Luo Yan Augustus returned to his traveling palace. He sat quietly in a high-backed chair, before him spread numerous reports and documents concerning factories, roads, and cotton production.
As the night deepened, the Emperor glanced at the light beyond the window, then leaned back slightly in his chair, closed his eyes, and rested briefly.
Boundless darkness—a darkness of utter tranquility—seemed in an instant to envelop his senses and his spirit.
Luo Yan Augustus opened his eyes and found himself within a magnificent, resplendent palace.
The palace was gorgeous to the utmost: towering columns, a spectacular dome, every wall and ceiling adorned with exquisite paintings and colored patterns. Narrow windows with pointed arches, rich in Typhon style, were set into the walls on either side, and the crystal glass of those windows bore intricate, delicate tracery as well.