Yan Xiu spends some time working on her cultivation base. She meditates and works on her fog techniques. And the result is illuminating in more ways that one. She is enlightened in her understanding of Steam Qi and becomes able to more easily use and direct it even when her surroundings don't have any naturally available.
Yan Xiu Cultivation: +9.5 SP
Yan Xiu Cultivation: +1
Yan Xiu Cultivation: +1 TP
Afterwards Yan Xiu returns to Xian Gu and oversees the construction of a new embassy to house actual ambassadors to help you keep in contact with foreign powers. Of course construction is really only a fraction of what she is doing. Her main task is going through interviews with dozens of cultivators, both shrine maidens and residents of the city, who are seeking to take up permanent diplomatic positions.
She questions them not only to ascertain their loyalty, but also to see how diplomatic they are. Whether they can follow all the necessary etiquette protocols, hold their tempers in hostile negotiations, and convince stubborn parties to see their point of view. In the end she hires several acolytes who are more interested in secular life than the white anteater, but unsurprisingly all the more advanced shrine maidens are well and truly devoted. So the bulk of the diplomatic corps is made up of Xian Giu residents.
This includes Chun Hai, a middle aged master, who until then worked as one of your clerk overseers. However Yan Xiu has determined that she has the poise and keen understanding of politics necessary to go much further and has appointed Chun as the leader of the embassy.
Passively increase relations
Organization Founded: Medium Embassy
Operating Costs: $370
Can perform one diplomatic action
Leader: Chun Hai (Early Master) (A)
Diplomacy - 15
Nuan Heng takes the Proper Administration of Courts and spends half the year secluded in his office studying and meticulously going over every record and report from the entire kingdom. Piece by piece he analyzes how each one fits together and shows a portion of the kingdom. And more than that how each one could be improved.
He writes a thick report going over the entire state of the kingdom with a vast number of improvements. However while he carefully files it away in the end this was not for the ministries to implement but rather for Nuan Heng himself to consider how best to run a kingdom and all its myriad bureaucracies.
Nuan Heng Administration: +33 SP
Nuan Heng Administration: +4
Something which he immediately puts into practice by founding an alchemy hall right next to the Everblooming Azure Garden sect in Quhan. That way not only will the alchemy hall have ready access to the sect's abundant herb gardens, but will also be well placed to recruit graduates of the sect who show a knack for alchemy.
Nuan Heng recruits several alchemists to fill the lower levels and interviews a number of masters to take the lead position. It isn't until everything is said and done and he is having lunch with Nuan Wen, a superb alchemist, that a chance remark over their family names leads the two to discover that they are in fact long lost cousins.
Nuan Heng Administration: +1 TP
Gain: Medium Alchemy Hall
Produces Gold Elixirs x75
Can produce Mortal and Earth elixirs in corresponding quantities.
Can Produce a small quantity of Mystic Elixirs or Gold Skill Elixirs instead
Elixir Grade depends on Leader Skill
Can also consume Beast Parts and Spirit Herbs to decrease upkeep.
Costs $370/Turn.
Leader: Nuan Wen (Early Grandmaster) (A)
Leaf Cauldron: 20
Still as nice as it is to find some unexpected family Nuan Heng cannot stay in Quhan forever. He soon leaves to visit granaries around Longshan to check their food stocks and see what can be spared for the Viridian Elk Tribe. Fortunately this proves easily done.
His work in the fields last turn has led to immense bounties and there is more food than the people of Longshan can possibly eat. Easily enough to arrange for a massive caravan to the Viridian Elk Tribe.
Once it arrives he is personally greeted and thanked by Monarch Zheng who is surprised and thankful for the unexpected bounty. A feast would be ill advised given the food situation, but Monarch Zheng gives Nuan Heng one of her personal elixirs as thanks.
Cost: $300
Improves Relations Viridian Elk Tribe: Close Friends
Improves Stability of Viridian Elk Tribe
Nuan Heng: Perfected Royal Cultivation Elixir x1
Wailing Fog Ninjas
Your Mistress of Shadows, Akane, approaches you in your study one night and wordlessly offers you a scroll. Unrolling it you see it is a work describing various types of people and how to best present yourself to them in order to gain their favor.
Mistress Akane doesn't say where the scroll came from, and you don't ask.
Talking with People
by Da Ling
Improves Cultivation (Diplomacy): 50%, +1 SP
Minimum Diplomacy: 0
Maximum Diplomacy: 10
The Grand Academy of Xian Gu
Sage Rolando leads her students and scholars in searching through reams of ancient texts for answers on how to combat a Qi drought. Unsurprisingly they don't find any immediate answers, but they clarify the methods used to alleviate droughts in the past. There are effectively three solutions.
The first is to introduce a large source of Qi to the affected area and simply wait for the excess Qi to diffuse through the area. This takes some time but is relatively simple. At least if such a source of Qi can be located.
The second is to analyze the location of qi springs and dragon veins in an area and carefully reroute them so that the Qi is more efficiently distributed through the area. Generally dragon veins tend to be clustered so reworking them can generally ensure that Qi gets everyone instead of clumping in one area. Though the cultivators living in those areas usually protest.
The last way is to just wait. Most of the time Qi Droughts are caused by one time events such as techniques or ascensions draining the collected Qi of a region. So as long as no qi springs were actually destroyed the region will recover in time.
Ministry of Diligence
Meanwhile Minister Yijun has been combing through the artificers who have clustered in Xian Gu. There are quite a lot of them. And most of them are very close to your workshop. The reason for this is fairly simple. You are the best artificer in the Four Kingdoms. Only Duke Zheng is even close and he isn't a focused artificer. Just looking at your pile of rejected works is enough to inspire a lesser artificer with enlightenment and your guards have to regularly eject ambitious cultivators attempting to actually enter your workshop in search of secrets.
Now Minister Yijun is taking advantage of that to find the best of them and hire them to work in an official foundry. Minister Yijun has his work cut out for him. The promise of actually working for you directly has prospective artificers lining up for days. Eventually however he is able to select the most impressive of these as well as those actually willing to work hard and not just after easy secrets. They'll be kept in line by Lin Fu, a gruff master artificer who used to get most of his work through commissions to the Gold Wood trading hall. You're pretty sure a lot of your employees have examples of his work.
Gain: Medium Artificer's Foundry
Produces Gold Treasures x12
Can produce Mortal and Earth treasures in corresponding quantities.
Can Produce a small quantity of Mystic treasures instead
Treasure Grade depends on Leader Skill
Can also consume Beast Parts and Spirit Ore to decrease upkeep.
Costs $370/Turn.
Leader: Lin Fu (Mid Master) (A)
Iron Hammer 15