Qi Xuansu quickly finished a new draft. Once he knew what to write, everything else was easy. The real difficulty was deciding on that “what.”

Then Qi Xuansu had Chen Jianchou deliver the draft while he went to see Sage Cihang. He did not hurry to see Sage Donghua first because meeting him carried great significance. It would mean giving him a clear answer about becoming his disciple, so Qi Xuansu intended to leave that for last.

Nominally, Qi Xuansu was paying a visit to his future mother-in-law, so no one could object to that. Normally, one must show greater attentiveness to the mother-in-law before marriage. After marriage, it became a different matter entirely.

After a few pleasantries, Sage Cihang did not even glance at the gift Qi Xuansu had brought. Instead, she went straight to the point. “You ran into trouble with Sage Qingwei, didn’t you?”

Qi Xuansu sighed and did not hide anything, recounting the entire conversation he had had with Sage Qingwei.

After listening, Sage Cihang commented, “Sage Qingwei knows perfectly well what he’s doing. He’s only playing dumb.”

Qi Xuansu asked, “What do you mean by that, Sage?”

Sage Cihang said, “You’ve been to Fenglin. Sage Qingwei personally directed the war there. Not to mention, the Taiping Sect has managed Fenglin for years. Have you ever thought about why the Taiping Sect uses the Wa people to govern the locals?”

Qi Xuansu thought for a moment and replied, “The first reason is convenience. The second is that it creates a buffer mechanism. If the Wa commoners are dissatisfied and grievances arise, their first target is the Toyotomi Government, not the Daoist Order. The Toyotomi Government is our buffer. To put it rather bluntly, isn’t the relationship between the Daoist Order and the Great Xuan Court similar? By not directly handling livelihood issues, we lose a great deal of power, but we also shed a great deal of responsibility.”

Sage Cihang said, “That’s not the real key. In fact, the Daoist Order has always operated this way from the very beginning. Aside from the Kunlun Daoist Mansion and the Sahul Daoist Mansion, in the vast majority of Daoist territory, we preserved the existing courts and government offices, creating a dual-structure system. In the Central Plains, there is the Great Xuan Court. In Nanyang, there are the Yu, Jawa, and Funan Kingdoms. In Fenglin, there is the Toyotomi Government. In the Western Region, there are many small nations as well. Why do you think that is?”

This time, Qi Xuansu pondered for longer before answering, “Because the cost would be too high?”

Sage Cihang said, “Exactly. It’s a matter of cost. War and administration are costly. If the Daoist Mansion were to govern directly, how many Daoist priests would that require? Could the Daoist Order even provide that many Daoists? If not, then it would have to recruit wandering Daoists and retired Daoists on a large scale, delay the retirement age, expand enrollment in institutions like the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, and lower the threshold for becoming a Daoist priest. Could the Daoist Order bear the costs that all of this would bring? Even the routine salary for Daoists alone would make the Daoist Order’s financial problems far worse.

“Even if we did start governing directly, there’s no guarantee it would be done well. For certain reasons, the Daoist Order is still composed mainly of Central Plains people, especially at the upper levels. Daoist priests are outsiders and unfamiliar with local conditions. If you simply drop them in a foreign land to handle local problems, it would lead to serious trouble because the customs, beliefs, and livelihoods would be different. In the Central Plains, Daoists would restrain themselves, but once outside, Daoists would become arrogant, carrying a disdain for so-called barbarians. One can well imagine the sort of things they would do.

“So from the very beginning, our structure has been Daoists being supervisory officials. We leave it to the professional officials to manage the people’s livelihoods. As you said, this creates a buffer zone while also greatly reducing costs. As for places like Kunlun and Sahul, there are barely any locals there to begin with, so direct rule by the Daoist Order is relatively straightforward.”

Qi Xuansu nodded slightly. “Cost is indeed a major issue. The Steam Evangelical Sect has repeatedly stated that it sets aside victory or defeat and focuses only on cost. In truth, a large part of why they cannot seize the entire New Continent is precisely because of cost. It’s a losing deal for them.”

Sage Cihang nodded. “During the Fenglin campaign, Sage Qingwei repeatedly emphasized the need to maintain popularity while strengthening the Toyotomi Government. So he clearly understands this principle. That was just Fenglin, which is much smaller than the Central Plains and right under our noses. The New Continent is dozens of times larger than the Central Plains, with far more people. It is also separated from us by a vast ocean. So why is Sage Qingwei no longer talking about public support? Has he forgotten about cost entirely? That’s why I say he understands perfectly but is just playing dumb.”

Qi Xuansu said respectfully, “Sage, your analysis cuts straight to the core.”

Sage Cihang continued, “We can’t even directly govern Nanyang or Fenglin, so how could we possibly govern the New Continent directly? Half of Nanyang’s population are Central Plains migrants, and these states are long-standing tributaries of the Central Plains. Fenglin has also long been influenced by Central Plains culture. Yet even with such a foundation and their proximity to us, stability isn’t guaranteed. Fenglin saw a major rebellion. Poluo also had people like Chen Shuhua and Wang Jiaohe. So isn’t it just wishful thinking if we talk about directly ruling the New Continent, which is larger, more populous, and more complex?

“Expanding territory is certainly inspiring. But we cannot ignore practical issues and long-term consequences. The Golden Horde was once magnificent, spanning East and West at its peak. But its loose governance led to rapid collapse, without even lasting a century. Is the Daoist Order content to be just a hundred-year empire and shine briefly like a fleeting bloom rather than achieve lasting stability? Is a moment of brilliance all that matters?

“Do you think Sage Qingwei and the Imperial Preceptor don’t understand these principles? They understand it perfectly, yet they still act this way. From that, you can imagine what they intend to do next. Since they never intended to govern, cost becomes irrelevant. Any development and future becomes irrelevant. As long as the region supplies the Daoist Order, that’s enough. To put it bluntly, it’s exploitation and plunder, using the Daoist Order’s sword to secure more for itself.

“As long as our own people prosper, who cares about others’ survival? That makes us no different from the Western Holy Court. What happens to morality and righteousness then? Everything we once said to criticize and mock the West will come back to slap us in the face, like the boomerangs of the Sahul natives.

“Some might say that acquiring land is meaningful no matter what. But land is only valuable if it can be held. The Golden Horde once expanded all the way to the Blue Danube River, yet today, it’s reduced to barren steppes and deserts. What’s the use if it cannot be held? Exploitation cannot last. It only builds hatred, and when enough hatred accumulates, when the Steam Evangelical Sect returns, which side will the natives stand on? Without foundation, public support, or shared consensus, how long can the Daoist Order hold such lands across vast oceans? A person’s lifespan may be 50 to 100 years, but a nation or a religion cannot afford such short-sightedness. Is it truly expansion if the gained land is lost again?”

Qi Xuansu carefully reflected on Sage Cihang’s words.

In summary, there were two key points. To make the Southern Continent permanently part of the Daoist Order’s territory would require massive investment and detailed governance, something the Daoist Order currently could not achieve. If they avoided investing and only sought short-term gains to fill financial gaps, it would not be sustainable. Sooner or later, the land would be lost, and perhaps forever.

More importantly, this did not yet account for the Western Daoist Order, which was inherently unpredictable. It was not a single entity but many individuals with differing views. Even if its leadership had compromised, others might still rebel. If Fenglin could produce the Sonno-joi faction, it would be no surprise for radical groups to emerge within the Western Daoist Order. By then, shared origin would mean little.

If the Western Daoists were pushed into rebellion, the consequences would be severe. The Daoist Order might win on the main battlefield, but it would then be dragged into endless small-scale conflicts. The Steam Evangelical Sect would likely seize the opportunity to support the Western Daoist Order to bleed out the Daoist Order’s resources. The situation would become far more difficult.

Such a war of attrition would likely trigger internal instability within the Daoist Order. Long-standing problems would erupt all at once, and without moral legitimacy, cohesion would fail. In the worst case, the entire Daoist Order might even disintegrate.

Moral righteousness was like a fuse. When a nation faced a crisis, it could unite people as long as it retained moral legitimacy. If even that was lost, then in times of danger, all that awaited was collapse.

It was precisely for this reason that Qi Xuansu’s doctrine emerged, preaching equality, mutual support, and harmonious development.

Expanding territory was an act of passion. But what comes after the passion?

It was akin to a couple eloping despite their families’ opposition. Many stories end triumphantly at that point. But more often than not, reality was far from romantic. The hardships of life would wear away all affection. Likewise, the complicated aftermath would erode all the initial excitement.

Many people fell into this trap. They were stirred by fanaticism, drowning out other voices, only to calm down after too many lives were lost, leaving behind a mess that could not be cleaned up.

Sage Cihang finally said, “I will be speaking at the Golden Tower Council deliberations. This course of action is absolutely unacceptable. They can label me weak or incompetent, but I don’t care. The Holy Xuan once criticized this very behavior. It is an error born of impatience, recklessness, and radical overreach.

“What should take a hundred years of gradual effort to achieve is instead being forced into a decade through extreme and violent means in pursuit of a quick victory. The result is detachment from reality, public resentment, and disregard for the people’s will. Even if it succeeds, backlash is inevitable. Conflicts cannot be handled properly, leading to instability both internally and externally. There is also an element of personal heroism, placing everything on an individual’s will without analyzing objective conditions. This will ultimately weaken the Daoist Order and risk major failure.

“I say this now, and I will say the same at the Golden Tower Council deliberation.”