Ordinarily, an emperor would not casually travel incognito.
But this time was different. The emperor was quite interested in the changes that had occurred in the Miao Territory, yet what ultimately drove him to take the risk and make this journey was the Jin Soldiers marching south. With the nation's current strength, there was simply no way to halt their advance.
If the Miao Territory truly possessed such miraculous things as his ministers claimed, then even the emperor had no choice but to consider opening communication with them. After all, dignity was nothing compared to the destruction of the nation.
Thus, the emperor set out for the Miao Territory with Gu Zong, his imperial guards, and a taoist priest he trusted.
What surprised the emperor, however, was that Gu Zong did not immediately take them to Dali. Instead, they traveled by boat all the way to Zhangzhou.
"Minister Gu, why have we come here?"
After stepping off the ship, the emperor was rather puzzled. Gu Zong answered in a low voice.
"Reporting to Your Maj—sir, there happens to be an airship route here that connects to Dali. We can take an airship from here to Dali."
"Oh?"
The emperor was taken aback by Gu Zong's response.
"The airships... have they reached Zhangzhou already?"
"Yes. Not only Zhangzhou—even Chengdu, Jiangling, Xiangyang, and other places have already been connected by airship routes."
"Hmph. Yet my capital has none?"
At this, the emperor's expression darkened again. He was clearly somewhat displeased. Then he flicked his sleeve and strode forward.
"Come. Let us see what is so remarkable about these airships."
"Please follow me, sir."
As he spoke, Gu Zong led the emperor away from the Dock and toward a strange building nearby. The building had been constructed against the mountainside and looked somewhat