Dragon's Soul Chapter 92: New Capital

After the Aurora Kingdom was officially established, Jian Wei and Zhang decided that it was best to relocated Aurora city closer to a more strategic location. Currently the former Green Clover Province was situated in the center of the Aurora Kingdom so it would be the safest location to move the capital city to, however they decided it was best to move the relocated Aurora city to the southernmost border of the on the western region of the former Aurora Province.
 
By doing this they would establish a forward capital, in preparation of assimilating the southern provinces into their kingdom. The relocated capital would be built many times larger the current Aurora city since one day in the future it might become the capital city of an empire.
 
To aid the Aurora Kingdom Zhang's parents and Ling's parents returned to the Heilong Kingdom. With Zhang's father Zhou Cheng and Ling's Father Wu Tong in the Heilong Kingdom offering the Aurora Kingdom their support, those against Aurora wouldn't dare act as wildly.
 
Shu Shang had promised to ask his father to loan Aurora a legion of soldiers but Zhang politely declined him. Although he trusted Shu Shang, Zhang did not feel comfortable cooperating with Shu Shang's father, since he had yet to meet or interact with the man in question.
 
Guan Yu and Wei Yan were sent back to the Green Clover Province to aid in the reconstruction of its army and rule over the people until Zhang's family find the right opportunity to leave the Heilong Kingdom.  While Sima Yi and his wife returned to the Red Mist Province to join Xi Ning in expanding the Red Mist Army in preparations of the invasion of the Southern Provinces.
 
So once all of the dignitaries left Aurora City, the relocation began. Hundreds of thousands of commoners were mobilized to begin the construction while one hundred thousand soldiers clad in white armor accompanied them to ensure their safety. Leading this massive movement of people was Lu Xun, Zhang Liao and Sun Ce because Zhang had an even greater task he needed to accomplish.
 
A task so important and perilous that only he could accomplish, Zhang's mission was to take the four beauties on their honeymoon. Although Zhang wished to partake in the construction of the new capital, Jian Wei forbade it and explicitly said, "Zhang my boy you need to enjoy these things with your wives before the opportunity to do such things are taken away."
 
If Zhang held off on his honeymoon and war started once more then only the heavens would know what the next opportunity to do such a thing would arise again. So in the dead of night while the moon was illuminating the dark sky a lone carriage escorted by a small group of horsemen and pulled by a team of regular horses departed from Aurora city.
 
Inside this carriage was a young man who had just recently become the crown prince of a new kingdom and four elderly businessmen.
 
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"My lord we've left the borders of Aurora and have entered the New Moon Province." A man in his early thirties that gave off a strong sense of integrity with a peculiar looking scar that ran vertically across his eye reported, as he sat at the driver's seat of a carriage that was being pulled by a team of six horses and talking into a small window that opened up on the back of his seat with the moon shining over his head in the sky.  
 
"Okay, let's have everyone make camp in this area for the night. It's pretty late and everyone should be tired. Also you're free to refer to me as your lord when no one else is around however once we are in the presence of others please refer to me as your young master." Zhang's voice sounded out from the window in the carriage.
 
"Of course my lord if that is how you wish to be address. But I think it is not safe to camp here for the night, It's said that people often go missing in these parts and sometimes mangled corpses are found." The man said in a worried tone.
 
"It's alright I'll make sure everyone is safe, we've had a long trip and it's unwise to continue on while everyone is exhausted." Zhang replied.
 
"Alright everyone we are stopping here for the night! Set up camp!" The carriage driver yelled out.
Soon the carriage stopped and the team of twenty horsemen escorting it also stopped in their track.
 
Not long after a campfire was started and food began roasting. A rich aroma drifted into the air as Zhang could be seen roasting a deer that the party had run into earlier.
 
"Everyone the foods ready." Zhang said to the rest of the group. He figured this trip would take a while so it would be best to try to get along with everyone in the group and since putting up airs and not helping out was counterproductive, Zhang took an active part in the group by helping out wherever he could. Although some may say that it is unbecoming of him who is a prince to do such things, Zhang did not care about things such as rank having come from a family of commoners.
 
"My lord thank you for the meal." A few of Zhang's men said respectfully. For them this trip with Zhang had been something they had never experienced before. Where could a common soldier go to be able to eat a meal cooked by a prince, where would someone from the lower class go to be able to dine along with royalty?
 
Soon after everyone gathered around the campfire mouthwatering deer meat grilled to perfection was skillfully cut and shared. Once the meal started the carriage door swung open and four beautiful married women walked out and joined the rest of the group.
 
By now the men in the escort party had grown somewhat used to interacting with their lord's madams thus there weren't that many problems arising. At first these men were too afraid of even looking any of the four beauties in the eye but after sometime they were now acquainted.
 
As the group ate their meal something or someone was lurking in the woods around them. Although the moon was out, clouds had slowly rolled into mask it's light causing the earth blow to be hidden in a veil of darkness.
 
Underneath this veil of darkness, a different group composed of a large number of men and women were making their way through the woods while escorting a trail of carriages that looked very much like the one Zhang and the four beauties have been riding.
 
"Master Jin Zhuan, one of our men have reported that they've seen a campfire up ahead, should we ask if they can spare us some of their supplies? Although I doubt they'll have enough to make a large difference due to our numbers it's better than nothing..." A balding middle aged man said as he rode up to the carriage.
 
"How many more days of rations do we have left and how long until we reach the next city?" A voice sounded out from within the carriage.
 
"If we keep up our current speed then it'll take us roughly a week before reaching a small city called Red Star City and we only have enough water and supplies to last us another four days. We can try hunting but since none of us really have much experience in that field I doubt any of us will be able to catch anything." The balding man said.
 
"Alright head in the direction of the campfire. Anything we can get our hands on will help, I don't want to be left without food or water in this wretched place." The voice from inside the carriage sounded out once more. Soon after this group of people headed toward where the campfire was spotted.
 
Once in walking distance of their destination the doors to one of the many carriages opened up and an elderly man walked outside. The elderly man along with a group of five men then walked ahead of the rest of the group and arrived where the campfire was lit. When they were close enough a group of roughly twenty men were spotted sitting around the campfire.
 
"Hello there my master would like to ask if it is possible for us to buy some supplies off of you." The balding man asked politely as he and his master walked out from the woods into the light of the campfire with their hands up to show that they mean no harm.
 
That was when a man in his thirties with a scar running down vertically across his eye got up from where he was sitting and looked at the new arrivals with a hint of suspicion in his eyes as his hand laid atop his sword's hilt.
 
"Who is your master and where did you lot come from?" The man with the scar asked.
 
"My name is Jin Zhuan and my family and I are headed toward the Star Mist Province but with the nearest city which is Red Star City a week's travel away we are not sure we can even make it across the New Moon Province. So if it is possible we would like to buy whatever extra food your group has." Said the elderly man who came with the balding middle aged man.
 
"There is nothing for you here, please leave." The man with the scar said without a moment's thought.
 
"Why you.... my master lowered himself to talking to you and that's how you treat him?" The balding man roared angrily. He had served Jin Zhuan for many years and was very displeased when someone did not pay the old man any respect.
 
"Now Wang Ping no need to act rudely." Jin Zhuan said as he tried to calm Wang Ping down.
 
"Cheng Yu you too don't act rude to someone who is our senior." A voice rang out from the direction of the campfire.
 
Following the direction of the voice Jin Zhuan's gaze soon fell on a youth that looked no older than twenty-five but of course it was very hard to tell how old someone was based on their looks because of how long a regular person's life span is and how a person's cultivation allows them to look very young despite being hundreds of years old.
 
"Yes my lo… I mean young master." Cheng Yu said stuttering in response to Zhang's words.
 
"Hello there senior, my name is Zhou Zhang and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Zhang said to Jin Zhuan.
 
"You said that you and your family are headed toward the Star Mist Province? Might I ask where are they now?"
 
"What's the use of telling you if you are not even willing to share a bit of your excess food with us?" Wang Ping said to Zhang in a mocking tone.
 
"If food is the only thing you want then we have plenty to go around." Zhang said while smiling and with a wave of his hand a dozen large sacks of rice appeared on the ground along with a few sealed large clay pots filled with water.
 
"But of course good fortune only comes to those who are truthful." Zhang added trying to reminded Wang Ping and Jin Zhuan that he wished to see the family that they said they were traveling with.
 
Of all the things Zhang hated, lying and betrayal was the one that he disliked the most. The thought of being killed by the man with the cross necklace in his previous life still haunts him from time to time and paired with Qian Long's betrayal that caused the battle at the Beast's Gorge, those who lied and betrayed Zhang did not have very good endings.
 
"Yes of course, it is rude of me not to introduce my family to the one whose food they will be eating for the next few days." Jin Zhuan said with a smile as he could figure out that Zhang wished to see if he had lied moments ago.
 
Not long after dozens of carriages arrived along with roughly three hundred men and women walking on foot. It turns out Jin Zhuan's entire clan consisting of men, women, children and the elderly, was moving from their previous home to the Star Mist Province. They had traveled on a river that took them from the south through Aurora and had only disembarked a few days ago and proceeded on land ever since.
 
After talking to Jin Zhuan and getting to know the old man, Zhang found out they had moved their entire clan because one of Jin Zhuan's friends happened to be an official in Aurora and had sent him a letter saying that soon the province he was living in would turn into a warzone. Although Zhang asked for the name of this friend, Jin Zhuan refused to say.
 
"Leaking such news outside is punishable by death and it would be wrong of me to betray me friend because of some sacks of rice." Jin Zhuan said to Zhang.
 
"So senior would you mind telling me why you're moving to the Star Mist Province then?" Zhang asked since he did not know much about the various provinces in the warring states region besides the Aurora Province, the Black Wind Province and the other three that his armies conquered.
 
"You must not be from around these parts so I'll tell you, the Star Mist Province only second to the former Aurora Province's strength and since it's situated in the north it won't be affected by war in the south. There's also the fact that The Star Mist Province is a part of the Alliance of the Seven Lords making it a force to be reckoned with." Jin Zhuan stated.
 
"The Alliance of the Seven Lords?
 
"It's an alliance consisting of the Star Mist Province and six other provinces that border the northern frontier of the Warring States Region. Together these seven provinces often times combine their armies to repel invaders that try to meddle with the Warring States Region."
 
"Interesting, but isn't the northern frontier a very long distance from here?" Zhang asked since one would have to cross roughly four provinces from Aurora to reach the northern borders of the Warring States Region, that including the Black Wind Province. Had Zhang not been to the Black Wind Province or seen a general outline of the Warring States Region he would not have known this. As for the names of the dozens of other Provinces in the region he had no clue.
 
"Well if we head north west we would reach the southernmost tip of the Star Mist Province since its domain runs down vertically along the western side of the region."
 
After chatting with Zhang for some time, Jin Zhuan decided it was time for him and his people to continued their journey once more because it is said that unknown dangers are lurking in the area they are currently in. However, with Zhang's insistence pair with the fact that he wouldn't take any payment for the food and water they were given, Jin Zhuan and his people made camp for the night.
 
A night that people will remember as the night the forest turned red with blood.
 

Chapter end