Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1302 - 1295: Farewell to the Manor Lord

Chapter 1302: Chapter 1295: Farewell to the Manor Lord

"You Kyushu people are really strange," Cheng Ziang said, puzzled. "Even though you’re hostile towards the Demon Clan, you always seem to be scheming against your own people..." Suddenly, he seemed to think of something and then fell silent.

Having been born in modern society, he had overlooked one point: in ancient feudal dynasties, there was basically no concept of a nation-state.

For them, a change in dynasty just meant a change of the upper echelons; for the common people at the bottom, their lives remained largely unchanged.

Therefore, to them, a change in dynasty didn’t mean a change in their world, just a change in master.

Luo’er was constantly propagating in Lingyuan City, hoping to establish a sense of national identity within the loose tribal alliance of Abisien and ultimately elevate it to a nation-state.

It was precisely because there was no concept of a nation-state that the enemies of the Dongsheng Empire were not necessarily the enemies of the Kyushu civilians. Hence, while the Dongsheng army saw the Demon Clan as enemies, the civilians thought about doing business with them.

Having understood this, Cheng Ziang let go of his confusion. Boyan had typical merchant mindset, wanting to benefit from both sides, which is why he thought of making contact with the Demon Clan.

This couldn’t help but remind Cheng Ziang of a line from a movie; in war, the last thing merchants should be banned from is not selling weapons to both sides, but getting caught while doing so.

For merchants, as long as there is a profit of twenty percent, they become unusually active. If the profit is over fifty percent, they dare to take big risks. Thinking this, Cheng Ziang then understood Boyan’s actions.

"If there is a need, how should we contact each other?" Cheng Ziang asked.

"If gentlemen have needs, or if the Demon Clan has needs, I am willing to accompany you to Lingyuan City myself, as long as you ensure my safety," Boyan said earnestly.

"Hmm, we need to go back and discuss this, to see if there is a need. You could possibly bring some goods to the outskirts of the city, and we can come out to meet you—then we can have a good chat," Cheng Ziang said.

"That would be best, that would be best!" Boyan said, rubbing his hands together excitedly.

"Aren’t you afraid of dying?" Seeing his excitement, Cheng Ziang couldn’t help but ask curiously.

"Lord Manor speaks of this, but I believe the Demon Clan are reasonable people and they probably need me. I actually came to West Outer Heaven this time to do business with the Demon Clan," Boyan replied.

"Doing business with the Demon Clan, I always thought that you Kyushu people, wanting something from West Heaven, would just take it by force. I didn’t expect you to also engage in trade," Cheng Ziang said sarcastically.

"They are they, we are we. As I’ve said before, merchants and soldiers are not friends. Their campaigns and battles are only for the benefit of the nobility, and we don’t have a good relationship with these noble families either," Boyan replied.

"By the way, you keep calling us Manor Lords—what exactly does that mean?" Cheng Ziang couldn’t help but change the subject.

"Oh, that’s a kind of title in Kyushu..." Boyan explained.

After his explanation, Cheng Ziang and his group finally understood the meanings of these titles. In short, Manor Lord is a respectful title for someone whose identity is somewhat unclear, somewhat like ’Sir’.

In the Dongsheng Empire, a person’s status usually falls into two categories: either you are a civil official, or you are not.

The so-called Warrior, Farmer, Artisan, Merchant: ’Warrior’ refers to Cultivators, ’Scholar’ refers to Imperial Court officials, mainly Civil Officials—these two statuses belong to the official class. The latter Farmer, Artisan, Merchant statuses belong to the commoners, that is, the non-official class.

The Dongsheng Court has ruled that one generally refers to the official class as ’Mansion’. According to age and rank, this can generally be divided into three levels: Young Mansion, Elder Mansion, and Grand Mansion.

Among these, younger officials or Cultivators are generally called Young Mansion, while older or higher-ranking officials are called Elder Mansion. The title Grand Mansion is generally reserved for important Imperial Court officials and those with high reputation.

For the non-official class, the title ’Lord’ is used. Depending on age and social status, this can also roughly be divided into three levels: Young Lord, Elder Lord, and Superior Lord.

Because they are not officials, social status isn’t as important, and these three titles are more often based on age, although there are still elements of status and class involved.

For example, at Cheng Ziang’s age of around twenty and not being from the official class, the most appropriate suffix for him would be Young Lord, but Boyan, out of fear, addressing him as Superior Lord, is not overstepping.

And "Manor Lord" is a term that straddles the two, because Boyan did not know whether Cheng Ziang and his party were official family members. If they were, they should be addressed as "Manor," and if not, they should be called "Lord."

These two terms must not be confused or used interchangeably: members of an official family cannot be called "Lord," and non-officials cannot be called "Manor;" otherwise, the consequences would be extremely severe.

Thus, when the people of Kyushu are unable to confirm someone’s identity, the best way to address them is as "Manor Lord," which conveys both "Manor" and "Lord," making such a reference appropriate without overstepping.

"How interesting, it seems the Dongsheng Empire has quite a few rules," said Cheng Ziang, nodding in approval.

"If you’re up for it, take your men to Lingyuan City. We can guarantee your safety there; as for whether you can gain anything, that will depend on your own skills," Cheng Ziang added.

"Thank you, thank you, all the Manor Lords," Boyan said excitedly.

"Do you know someone named ’Xuan?’" all of a sudden, Baiyue stepped forward and asked abruptly.

"Xuan..." Upon hearing this name, Boyan was first shocked, but then quickly regained composure, blinking as he replied, "No, I don’t know. Who is that?"

"If you don’t know, then never mind." Baiyue shook his head, showing a look of disappointment, but his heart was already clear on the matter.

"Let’s go, remember what you said. Since you don’t get along with the military, you know what to say and what not to say once you get back to the city," Cheng Ziang said, issuing a veiled threat.

"I understand, I understand. I would never cut off my own means of livelihood. You can rest assured on that point," Boyan hurriedly nodded and replied.

"As for this General..." he said, hesitantly looking down at the General on the ground.

"Don’t worry. We will take him with us; you won’t have a chance to see him again," Cheng Ziang said.

"That’s good, that’s good. Then I can rest easy," Boyan sighed in relief, then bowing to take his leave, "Gentlemen, take care. I will take my leave first. May you have great military fortune."

"Go on, you’re quite the speaker," Hu Daoke seemed rather pleased upon hearing his words and waved his hand dismissively.

As they watched Boyan leave, Baiyue walked up to Cheng Ziang’s side, staring at him while saying expressionlessly, "He knows that ’Commander’ called Xuan!"

"I figured as much," Cheng Ziang nodded, then continued, "But what I don’t know is whether that Commander knows him."

"He definitely knows him," Baiyue stated confidently.

"How can you be sure?" Cheng Ziang asked curiously.

"He mentioned there was a conflict between the merchants and the military, even daring to kill a General. This shows that their quarrel with the military is mainly with the Generals. He dares to kill a General but won’t reveal the identity of that Commander—isn’t that strange?" analyzed Baiyue.

"What you’re saying is, the merchants and the Commander are in cahoots, conspiring against the Generals?" Cheng Ziang speculated thoughtfully.

"That possibility cannot be ruled out," Baiyue replied. "That Commander also said that their objective in this Western Campaign was to eliminate the Generals, not to cleanse the Demon Clan."

"This General really is unlucky; everyone seems to want to target them," Hu Daoke couldn’t help but spread his hands and say.

"Heretics are always more detestable as heterodoxy," Cheng Ziang shook his head and said with a smile.

"What should we do with this guy?" Hu Daoke kicked the General at his feet.

"Bring him back for a thorough interrogation!" Cheng Ziang declared.

"What if he dies on the way?" asked Hu Daoke.

"Even if he dies, he still has his uses dead. Don’t worry; we’ll make sure everything is put to use," Cheng Ziang replied with a mysterious smile on his face.

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