It was a false alarm. Seeing that Manager Liu seemed to have more to say, Chen Ke simply led Manager Liu into the study.
On the large desk, Chen Ke unfolded the maps one by one, humbly seeking advice from Manager Liu.
Liu Zimeng looked at the marked maps, some detailed and some rough, with a look of astonishment on his face.
Although the empire does not prohibit the use of civilian maps, it strictly monitors maps involving strategic locations.
The maps that Chen Ke took out were, strictly speaking, contraband. Some of them even clearly marked strategic locations and several hidden trade routes.
Needless to say, these maps were definitely obtained by Chen Baiwang through his influence in the business world, who went to great lengths to get them for Chen Ke.
This Chen Baiwang is really carefree. Isn't he worried at all that his son will be harmed by these maps?
Since Bai Wang wasn't worried, Liu Zimeng naturally had nothing to hide.
Moreover, given Chen Ke's collaborations with the Hidden Dragon Pavilion, Chen Ke is practically a member of the Hidden Dragon Pavilion. Unless it's a highly confidential matter, Liu Zimeng has no need to hide it from Chen Ke.
"This is the Qin Kingdom. Although it only has four provinces, its territory is actually larger than our Great Xia Dynasty because it is sparsely populated."
Liu Zimeng pointed to a pass on the map, "This is Xianxia Pass, the destination of the Qin princess's journey. The strategic significance of Xianxia Pass lies in the fact that it connects the Great Xia Dynasty and the Qin Kingdom. In this way, both the army's march and the supply of materials can pass through Xianxia Pass."
"This is the capital of the Qin state, Weiyang City. It got its name because the mountains and rivers here are all on the sunny side and it is located on the banks of the Wei River."
"This east-west mountain range is called Jigong Mountain. It was originally the northern boundary between the Qin State and the Beastmen, but now it has become a paradise for bandits."
Liu Zimeng pointed to a route on the map, "Ten years ago, the empire secretly funded merchants to reopen the trade route to Jigong Mountain, hoping to establish contact with the Purple Eagle Dynasty in western Qin, but progress was very slow."
Chen Ke asked curiously, "Because of bandits?"
Liu Zimeng nodded: "Jigong Mountain stretches for over 800 li (400 km), and is home to countless bandit gangs, large and small, numbering at least several hundred thousand. Among them are refugees, exiled nobles, deserters from both the beast and human races, and death row inmates from various regions, making their forces incredibly complex. Whether it's the human or beast race, eliminating them would require a massive military effort, and if the bandit suppression fails, it means that this tyrannical force in Jigong Mountain might very well side with their opponents."
Chen Ke suddenly realized that the reason he paid attention to this trade route was because he had overheard his father mentioning it a month ago. A caravan of the Chen family that sold horses had been wiped out near Jigong Mountain.
Therefore, Chen Ke made the bandits of Jigong Mountain his target.
Just think about it, hundreds of thousands of people. If he killed them all, how many souls would he devour?
Moreover, Chen Ke felt no psychological burden in killing these bandits.
You have to understand that even without being baptized by the twenty-four-character mantra, it would be difficult for a promising young man like him to indiscriminately kill innocent people.
Chen Ke humbly sought advice, and Liu Zimeng answered all his questions. The map gradually expanded, eventually extending beyond the Purple Eagle Dynasty.
The territory of the Purple Eagle Dynasty has shrunk drastically, basically leaving only a thousand-mile radius around the capital, an isolated island surrounded by orcs, so there's not much to say about it.
However, after the Purple Eagle Dynasty came the Red Lion Dynasty, which is quite interesting.
The Red Lion Dynasty has numerous waterways and flat terrain, so it has almost no defense against the attacks of the beastmen.
However, due to the humid climate, the orcs rarely stayed long after conquering the land, often plundering extensively before retreating north.
This also formed the unique style of the Red Lion Dynasty: when the beastmen went south, they pledged allegiance to the beastmen; when the beastmen went north, the Red Lion family once again took over control of various places.
The people of Hongshi were used to this way of life. In chaotic times, it was good enough to just survive. Why be so picky?
Moreover, to the most ordinary people, is there any difference between the Red Lion family and the Beastmen?
"This is Pearl City, once the second largest city of the Red Lion Dynasty, but now it has become a smuggling hub."
Liu Zimeng pointed to a small city on the map and emphasized to Chen Ke, "Many spirit stone mines have been discovered around Pearl City. Although the quality of the spirit stones is not high, the reserves are extremely rich. This is also the only city in the Red Lion Dynasty where the beast race has stationed troops year-round."
Chen Ke's eyes lit up: "Then the spirit stones in Pearl City must be very cheap, right?"
Liu Zimeng stared intently at the map, nodded, and said, "It is very cheap, but the trade routes are blocked, and it is difficult for ordinary people to reach Mingzhu City (Pearl City) safely."
"Not even cultivators can do that?" Chen Ke asked in surprise. "If you take a few spatial rings, fly over there, fill them with spirit stones, and then transport them to Great Xia City, wouldn't you make a fortune?"
Liu Zimeng smiled wryly and said, "You make it sound so easy. How could powerful cultivators possibly care about low-quality spirit stones? As for ordinary cultivators, the difficulty of traversing six thousand miles is not much different from that of merchant groups. Even if they know the Lightness Technique and can fly over some dangerous passes, how long can they maintain it?"
Liu Zimeng's eyes showed a look of nostalgia: "Five years ago, I led a team to Pearl City. Even with the use of flying vehicles, it took more than three months to bring back a large number of spirit stones, but half of the more than one hundred people in the team were killed or injured!"
Chen Ke glanced at Liu Guanyuan in surprise, then looked down at the map and located the Pearl City.
It's a journey of six thousand miles. If we fly a little earlier in the evening, we should be able to arrive before dawn, right?
Stay for a day, and on the way back, go to Jigong Mountain again to harvest the heads of a hundred bandits.
Okay, let's do it that way.
Once I've refined all twenty wood-attribute spirit stones, the speed of the Soaring Divine Ship should be able to increase even further.
If we could compress the time into one night, that would be even more perfect.
The two of them chatted and answered questions, thoroughly enjoying themselves, and before they knew it, the night had passed.
After explaining the last map to Chen Ke, Liu Zimeng looked out at the bright sky.
Chen Ke bowed gratefully and said, "Thank you very much, Dean Liu!"
With Liu Guanyuan's detailed explanation, his navigation map became clearer and easier to understand, which saved him a lot of trouble in his future adventures.
Putting everything else aside, the travel guides for Jigong Mountain and Mingzhu (Pearl) City have already taken shape in Chen Ke's mind.
Liu Zimeng laughed heartily: "Alright, no need for formalities. We've been teacher and student for over two years, and I haven't taught you much. This time, you've finally had your fill."
Suddenly remembering something, he took out a golden rhombus-shaped token, handed it to Chen Ke, and solemnly said, "This is the token of the Hidden Dragon Pavilion, and it belongs exclusively to you. You can only use it when you are in real trouble, especially when you encounter demon spies and assassin organizations, understand?"
Protecting Chen Ke is not only the intention of the Hidden Dragon Pavilion, but also of the Haotian Academy, so it is very necessary to give Chen Ke a token with great power.
Chen Ke was surprised for a moment, then put away the token and said solemnly, "Don't worry, Dean Liu, I won't do anything reckless again."
Looking at Chen Ke's darting eyes, Liu Zimeng inwardly scoffed, "Why can't I believe it?"
Liu Zimeng solemnly reminded Chen Ke, "This time, the Emperor Emeritus strongly supported your Chen family, which suppressed the thoughts of many people. But once the storm has passed, they will still cause you trouble, so you must not go and provoke any more trouble."
Chen Ke nodded cautiously. He never intended to cause trouble, but he couldn't let others ride roughshod over him, could he?
If anyone dares to jump out without thinking, we must take action when the time is right.
Chen Ke originally wanted to tell Liu Guanyuan about Shui Changqing, but after thinking about it, he gave up.
At least for now, Shui Changqing, the incarnation of the Eight-Winged Goddess, hasn't done anything outrageous, so why should he provoke such a formidable enemy?
He had a feeling that if Shui Changqing played her card well, it might be able to help the Chen family solve a lot of troubles.