The sky over the West Blue seemed especially vast and clear, yet it always carried the oppressive stillness before a storm. Under pressure from both domestic affairs and foreign relations, Hua Country was like a sapling stubbornly growing between massive rocks, its roots pushing deeper into the darkness while its branches strained to spread against wind and frost. Xun Yu's arrival had instilled a soul of order in this war machine, but the sweeping reforms to "standardize writing and carriage gauges" touched a tangled web of interests, and the backlash quietly emerged like hidden reefs.
Chang'an City, the Secretariat. Candlelight illuminated Xun Yu's unruffled face. The enormous map of the West Blue before him was already covered with dense vermilion markings: little flags bearing the character for "writing" represented newly established schools, winding red lines marked progress on the Imperial Roads, and still more black triangles represented resistance and irregularities.
"Minister, these are the urgent reports from the various regions over the past three days." The newly appointed supervisor of the Jing'an Bureau placed a stack of confidential letters on the desk, his voice low. "Resistance to standardized writing is strongest in the three northern commanderies, including Cangyun and Linhai. Local magnates have joined forces with old scholars to incite students to boycott examinations. Some have even secretly burned printed copies of Standard Characters of Hua and spread rumors that the new characters 'gouge out eyes and sever ears' and are 'an omen of national ruin.'"
Xun Yu's fingertip passed over a black triangle marking Northern Foothill City, a major northern stronghold. The keen perception of "order" and "growth" granted by Calyrex's power allowed him to clearly "hear" the muffled, resistant whimpering rising from that land's cultural fracture. "Petty clowns. Nothing to worry about."
His tone was calm. "Order the