Chapter 28 - Anhui is blind

 

While Huangshan was aware of the new disease spreading in its territory, the emperor of Anhui was unaware of the situation, and most of the empire was living as if nothing is happening The emperor, Bai Chongye, was well known for his brutality when conquering other territories. He spared a few kings, like Ding Qi. Ding Qi signed a threat using his own blood to be loyal to Bai Chongye for life, which means that his territory, besides having all the necessary conditions to be a new empire, cannot split from the larger Anhui empire, or both he and the entire population would be killed.

Anhui has also a very professional, numerous, and well-equipped army. Bai Chongye uses such a strategy to protect his empire from the constant threat from Henan, which emperor after emperor has been tackling a centuries-old dispute of the whole territory of Anhui. Bai Chongye also looks forward to conquering other empires when those dare to threaten him.

The neighboring empire, Jiangsu, is led by Xia Chunyu. Xia Chunyu follows the "beauty of governance" model Feng Long uses and has enjoyed very long stability in his empire, keeping good relations with Zhejiang. Both emperors met in person once and signed a treaty of self-defense and self-support in case of wars and natural disasters. He narrowly escaped from death when Bai Chongye made him a hostage and forced him to kill one of his best friends, Bai Chongye never apologized and both emperors, although not claiming their territories, do not have any direct relationship anymore, all relationships are run by their princes and other high-level officials.

The pigeon sent by Ding Qi was reaching its destination, the city of Hefei. Hefei is a giant city, with over a million residents on it. It is so large that it takes almost a full day to cross it by walking. A special infrastructure of roads and bridges was built to account for the increased flux of carriages and goods. The central palace is located close to Chao Lake, a massive and very deep body of water. It is protected by tall walls, except the lakeshore, as the waters are very treacherous, polluted and the bottom of the lake is very rocky, so a large boat runs aground before even making it to the beach. 
The city has a very depressed look, despite Anhui being very wealthy, most of the money is held only by a few families, and most people are really poor, and set to be so. This is not different from Zhejiang and all other empires, but the discrepancy is much larger as Anhui does not have a welfare program and the taxes are much higher. Zhejiang, Huangshan, and Jiangsu, through the "beauty of governance" model, have eased access to formal education to commoners, so even having a much smaller economy, the well-educated population can afford high pay jobs and also open their own businesses easily, so poverty is a much smaller issue. And, maybe most importantly, Bai Chongye does not care about how his people are living, while the other emperors do. 

The pigeon enters the palace, getting to Bai Chongye. He takes the letter tied to the pigeon:

-"Ding Qi, King of Huangshan, reporting to Your Majesty that a new disease is spreading, be careful"- He reads the letter.
-Something wrong, Your Majesty? - one of the eunuchs ask.
-Ding Qi is telling us that a new disease reached his kingdom. Should I trust him or not?
-Maybe Your Majesty may consult the prince.
-That's what I'm going to do.

Bai Chongye moves to another room, where the prince, Yu Yang, is training with a sword:

-Hey, Yu Yang.
-Your Majesty is wise!- He bows to him.
-The king of Huangshan issued a report, saying that a new disease is spreading in his kingdom. What should we do? I think this is a non-issue, he should handle it himself, how about you.
-I agree with Your majesty, but we should be aware if it hits our city. Our economy has been affected by the floods in the south, so we would not be able to afford a significant loss from this new disease.
-Well, let's do nothing them. I'll send another letter back, requesting the king to send us more information about what is going on down there.
-Your Majesty is wise!
-You may rise. 

Bai Chongye moves out of the room and returns to his throne. He thinks a bit and starts writing back to Ding Qi:

-"I order you to send me daily updates on what's going on in your sector, failing to do so will result in penalties against your kingdom. I have not received a single complaint."

Bai Chongye ties the letter on the pigeon, ordering it to come back. As the pigeon moves away, he looks at the city:

-Ding Qi is a fool. No king I got to know in Anhui would care about such mundane things. 

...

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