150 The Alliance of Saints Rough Draf (1/2)
Lightning flashed across the darkened sky, coinciding with a sudden downpour that lashed onto the western hills.
Zhi Ruo watched the random raindrops falling against her window, splashes and droplets beaded and slid down the clear glass, leaving long streaks of water racing to the bottom of the pane, spooling on the sill before slowly dripping over the edge.
The heavy shower pelted down against the roof, its soothing and rhythmic pattering gave a serene and relaxing vibe to the grey afternoon.
Down below in the yard of the manor, she saw people outside scampering off, seeking shelter from the wintery afternoon shower, one unlucky young man tripped and fell in the sloshy snow, his friends laughed helping him up as they made a dash for the shed nearby.
Zhi Ruo turned away from the window with a chuckle, striding across the silent and dimly lit room.
The beautifully decorated private chamber had high ceilings and a bed centred on marble tiles.
Hartley was sat on a cushion in the lotus position near to the far wall, hands on his thighs with eyes closed. His face a picture of peacefulness.
She went over and sat beside him, snaked her arm around his waist and leaned her head onto her husband's shoulder.
Hartley's blue eyes flashed open soon after, he turned his face towards her, planting a tender kiss on the crown of her head.
”What's on your mind Ruo?” He asked lovingly.
She sighed and just sat there listening to the rain, watching the wet streaks crawl down the window.
”There might come a time when you'll have no choice but to ascend and leave us here.” She said.
Hartley's lips broke into a smile.
”What makes you think that?.”
Zhi Ruo gathered her thoughts, her head still leaning against his shoulder.
”It took you ten years to reach the saint realm from the ninth layer, and that was within the pocket dimension where it's ten times more conducive for elemental cultivation.
It will probably take a hundred years for me to reach sainthood from the eighth layer, by that time....”
Hartley laughed out loud, cackling from his stomach.
”By that time I would have already ascended?” Hartley finished his wife's train of thought.
He kissed her on the crown of her head again.
”Don't worry about that Ruo, I'll never leave here without you, even if I have to destroy this plane to bring you with me.”
Hartley's admission drew silence, filling the room with the pattering sound of the rain and the trickling sounds of dripping water outside the window.
”I'm sure it won't come to that, me, you, Alrick and Qin Li might have to pay a visit to the pocket dimension when things settle down though.”
Zhi Ruo raised her head to look at him, her red hair tied in a pony tail bounced over her left shoulder.
”Why?” She asked nervously.
Hartley smiled at the disgruntled expression on her face.
”We've gained a solid footing for now, to hold what we have in the long run will require way more strength than we possess.
Our current situation is due to a chain reaction of circumstances and timing.
It's not out of the realm of possibility for the princes to strike a deal, they've both got birth right and entitlement to the land, when they stop seeing each other as their greatest threat, they'll join hands for a common cause.”
She returned her head to his shoulder. He was right, she remembered her vow to help conquer the continent, this was far from the continent.
With so many strategically important locations spread across the country, it's impossible for one faction to hoard them all.
Occupying all these places at once would be spreading yourself too thin, potentially crumbling once you were attacked on multiple fronts.
For now, Hartley suspected that liberating the farm lands and coal mines of the west wasn't high on anyone's list of priorities.”
****
Later that day there was a meeting to establish a command structure in the west.
All the nobles hoping to be granted fertile land and a higher position turned up to the manor, they were all guided into the reception hall on the first floor.
The lesser nobles who had fought valiantly alongside the western hills weren't misled, vivid ecstasy was abundant on their faces, Hartley had kept his word.
They were promoted to prominent positions in the region.
Rewarded with fertile lands formerly reserved for the high born nobles with links to the royal family.
This was their chance to stamp their authority on the region, generate wealth and make a name for themselves.
People like Jin Xamei were at the forefront of the restructuring.
He had identified and helped to weed out those troublesome old nobles, removing those potential stumbling blocks early in the campaign, ensuring a quick victory and a low casualty count.
Others like him, who had chosen to forsake the old regime and hop on-board the new, celebrated with glee as they were appointed new positions by Fu Qian.
The ambitions of people like Jin Xamei and the smaller nobles would align with Hartley's philosophy of rewarding based on merit.
He wouldn't have to worry about some of the ungrateful and established nobles who had gotten fat purely based on their connections to the princes.
They were all expelled from the region.
Command was centralized in the western hills, with Hartley at the top of the pyramid of authority, his orders would be handed down to the nobles appointed to run the individual territories.
In times of peace everything will function as before, with each noble left to make their own management decisions.
In times of conflict, orders on strategy and troop deployment would come directly from the western hills.