Chapter 64: Gurna's Visit

Beining City, Vermilion Bird Avenue.

This was a newly reconstructed street, stretching all the way from the North City Gate to the heart of the city.

The road was broad enough for four carriages to race abreast.

Along both sides of the street, various shops offered an overwhelming array of goods, and an endless stream of pedestrians bustled by.

Gurna’s eyes glazed over slightly, his heart filled with shock. He could not help but praise:

"Your Prince truly lives up to his reputation as a peerless hero. In just a few short months, this Beining City has undergone such earth-shattering changes."

A few months ago, when the Tulan Army breached Beining City, aside from the inner city which could still be considered prosperous, everywhere else could only be described as desolate.

Zhuge Xuan, who was accompanying him, smiled faintly: "The Prince places great importance on the economy, so he specially widened the street and centralized most of the city’s merchants here to make it convenient for the common people to make purchases."

Gurna nodded slightly, but in his heart, he did not believe it was that simple.

Four carriages running side by side, leading directly to the center of the city—this was clearly preparation for war.

Once the northern city fell, the inner city could provide reinforcements at the fastest possible speed.

"When I entered the city, I didn't seem to see any guards watching the gates, nor was anyone collecting an entry tax. Was this also requested by the Prince of Chu?"

Gurna asked curiously.

In the world today, whether in the Great Qi or the Jurchen Kingdom, the gate tax was a major source of revenue.

"The Prince said that wealth must be dispersed to gather people. If even entering a city requires a fee, how can we attract the common people of the world to gather in our Beining City?"

Zhuge Xuan smiled faintly, pointing at the diverse crowd of pedestrians coming and going around them: "Grand Preceptor, Beining City embraces all things, including people of other ethnicities."

"As long as they do not come to Beining City to make trouble, we welcome you just the same, even if you come to settle down."

"Settle down?"

Gurna was somewhat startled. Could it be that Beining City had already attracted outsiders to join them?

"The Grand Preceptor need not be surprised. You see not only people from Goryeo, Liaodong, and the Khitan tribes doing business in our Beining City, but even in your Jurchen Kingdom, quite a few shrewd merchants have long since purchased shops here."

Zhuge Xuan introduced this with considerable pride.

Ever since refined salt, coal briquettes, and soap successively came onto the market, far too many merchants had flocked here.

Purchasing goods from Beining City was cheaper than buying them from the three major merchant guilds, so they naturally chose to buy or lease a shop in Beining City.

And with their arrival, they would inevitably bring along the commodities of their respective countries.

Through this continuous exchange, complete trade routes were quietly and steadily formed.

Gurna had always been well-informed and read extensively, which gave him a deeper appreciation of the prosperous scene before his eyes.

After all, just a few months ago, this place was merely a city ravaged by war!

What shocked Gurna the most, however, was not the flourishing trade here, but the pride and confidence emanating from the very bones of the common people in Beining City.

Thinking back to before, the citizens of this city had been like walking corpses.

Their eyes were filled with despair, fear, and numbness. They did not even dare to take a second look when the Tulan Army walked down the streets.

But now?

What Gurna saw were faces brimming with pride.

Every single one of them seemed to tilt their chin up slightly, looking down upon all outsiders with a supreme gaze.

Right!

It was absolute superiority.

"What on earth has this Prince of Chu done to these people, that they can take such profound pride in being citizens of Beining City?"

Gurna was somewhat bewildered, unable to fathom how the populace of an entire city could undergo such an astonishing transformation.

"Grand Preceptor, please wait a moment. I shall go and announce your arrival."

Before they knew it, the group had arrived before the Prince of Chu's Mansion.

Taking advantage of the time Zhuge Xuan went inside to announce them, Gurna could not help asking his attendants: "What did you feel?"

"Prosperity! Extreme prosperity!" someone sighed.

"Here, outsiders easily feel a sense of being looked down upon. The way these common people look at us always feels like they are on guard, yet tinged with a bit of pity."

Another attendant could not accurately describe his feeling, so he could only speak ambiguously.

"It must be the arrogance of the people of a superior state! That's right, I felt this exact sensation decades ago in the capital of the Great Qi."

Decades ago, the Great Qi Empire was at the peak of its national power. Foreign tribes and vassal states all came to pay homage, possessing the formidable momentum of a myriad nations bowing in court.

Gurna smiled bitterly and nodded.

The attendants he brought this time were no ordinary people; they were the heads of several major Jurchen merchant guilds and some top-tier martial artists.

To make such people feel this kind of emotion, Gurna’s estimation of Qin Xuan could not help but rise by another notch.

"Grand Preceptor, I observe that this Prince Qin's Mansion seems far too plain. This should not be the residence fitting for a Prince."

Among the attendants, the sole leader Naji asked with a puzzled expression.

"You have never dealt with the Prince of Chu, so you don't understand his style of conduct. Most of the time, he is truly as you perceived him—almost completely devoid of any desire for material enjoyment."

"He can live, eat, and sleep alongside soldiers year after year, and he would even risk parting with military rations just to save refugees."

"Yet at the same time, he is extremely ruthless towards his enemies. We had over ten thousand Tulan troops captured by him and slaughtered on the spot."

Recalling that battle, a wave of lingering resentment washed over Gurna.

This was the most thorough and tragic defeat he had ever suffered in his life.

"Then if we've come here, won't he just kill all of us?"

Naji’s expression changed as he lowered his voice.

Gurna shook his head: "Since he is a peerless overlord, how could he stoop to such petty actions? Besides, in warfare between two nations, envoys are not executed—this is a convention that all countries must observe."

"But he is merely a Prince, and Beining City is just a small border fortress."

Naji said uncomprehendingly.

"You are wrong!"

"Had it been before coming to Beining City, I would have agreed with your statement. But at this very moment, I can only say that this is already a nation, and the man at the center of that nation is the sole king here."

Gurna had always held a high opinion of Qin Xuan, so when he said these words, the attendants could only feel a sense of awe, and none dared to refute him.

Amidst their chatter, Zhuge Xuan returned and led the group into the manor, arriving at the reception hall.

The hall was not large, nor was it adorned with much luxurious decoration. However, when Gurna and the others saw Qin Xuan sitting solemnly in the center of the hall, an inexplicable sense of pressure weighed upon their hearts.

This was the oppressive aura exclusive to an emperor, yet it manifested in a young Prince.

"Gurna, Grand Preceptor of the Jurchen Kingdom, along with the trade delegation, pays respects to His Highness the Prince of Chu!"

Gurna quickly reined in his emotions, then bowed politely.

Qin Xuan smiled faintly, raising a hand: "Grand Preceptor, you and I are old acquaintances of a sort; there is no need for such elaborate formalities. Please, take a seat!"

A slight, bitter smile touched the corner of Gurna's mouth: "His Highness's bearing far exceeds my imagination. The reason I have come this time is to deliver a letter on behalf of my Emperor. I ask Your Highness to look it over."

As he spoke, Gurna retrieved a letter from his bosom and presented it to Qin Xuan with both hands.

Qin Xuan was slightly surprised, but without the slightest hesitation, he broke the seal of the letter.

After a long while, he raised his head, his sharp gaze fixing upon Gurna as he smiled queerly: "Has the Jurchen Kingdom run into a massive trouble?"