The Twelve Kingdoms: A Thousand Leagues of Wind

city of Wa Province. The highway to Gyouten ran east to west through Meikaku and Shisui.
    The devastation of the countryside was severe. Many of the buildings in the villages en route were destroyed. The wrecked fields lay fallow, the ashen forests blighted and burned. With so little snow, nothing was hidden from view. Now and then, in the countryside surrounding a hamlet where people lived, you could see the rows of earthen mounds. So many people had died.
    It made her shudder. The ravaged mountains and streams, the loss of life. This was because of the king, because no king sat upon the throne.
    "Miss, where you from?" an old man sitting next to her in the wagon asked.
    Shoukei tore her eyes away from the view out of the back of the wagon. Many wagons in Kei traveled with the back uncovered.
    "Hou," she said.
    "Is it true, the stories about the king of Hou dying?"
    "Yes."
    "Huh." The old man hugged the onjaku to his chest. "So Hou's gonna go through this as well."
    Shoukei's eyes widened in response to this matter-of-fact statement. It was true. Many people would die. Victims would begrudge their assailants, the same way she hated the Marquis Gekkei.
    And so he should be hated, for bringing such destruction upon the kingdom. She said, "Kei is better off now, with a new empress on the throne."
    The old man chuckled. "I suppose you could say it's getting better. But that's what we all thought the last time."
    He didn't have anything more to say after that.

Chapter 48
    W a Province was east of Ei Province, stretching from the eastern border of Ei to the Kyokai. Along with Keiki, Youko was traveling to Meikaku, situated in the eastern quarter of the province. A large highway reached straight across Kei from the Kyokai to the Blue Sea. A second major route ran southward from the Koushuu Mountains. The roads intersected at Meikaku.

    "Meikaku is an important overland stop," Keiki said.
    Using the shirei, the journey took two days. They landed not far from Meikaku and walked the rest of the way.
    "This road is the lifeline to the northern quarter of the kingdom. The terminal city of Goto is the only real port that Kei has on the Kyokai. Salt and rice shipped from the south, medicines from Shun, wool and barley from the north, all of these must be purchased with the surplus from agricultural harvest and supplied to the northern quarter to keep the people alive."
    "The northern quarter is that poor?"
    Keiki nodded. "It is a mountainous region with little arable land. It is dry during the summer, with a long rainy season starting in the fall. The harvest all depends on the weather, but there is no other industry they can turn to."
    "Huh."
    "Especially now, with shipping traversing the Blue Sea from the south largely at a standstill, Goto has become even more critical. On top of that, there is but one port of entry between En and Kei along the Koushuu Mountains, hence the importance of Gantou to the overland routes and Goto to the sea routes. Cargo coming into Kei from either must necessarily use these roads and pass through Meikaku."
    "Could Wa Province be wealthy, despite being in the northern quarter?"
    Keiki smiled sardonically. "It is said that highwaymen prowl the roads of Wa. In order to protect cargo shipments, Wa dispatches the provincial guard to build forts and protect the caravans. Because it is paid for with excise taxes, the cost of goods rises accordingly."
    "Makes sense."
    The unfortunate truth was that there was no way to avoid Wa Province when shipping anything from Gantou or Goto.
    "Gahou certainly knows his business."
    Keiki scowled. "I think not. There are big cities bordering Meikaku to the north and east that warehouse cargo and house travelers. They're called Hokkaku and Toukaku, and while part of Meikaku they are much bigger than Meikaku. Farmland was procured and leveled, tall walls constructed, and these cities were built from nothing just to house merchandise and people. The people who use those cities shoulder the entire burden. The people of Wa do the work. They're worked like slaves."
    Youko said in exasperation, "Why should a man like Gahou be made a Marquis of as important a province as Wa?"
    Keiki lowered his gaze. It was the Late Empress Yo-o who had given Wa Province to Gahou. Gahou presented her with a garden on the outskirts of Gyouten. It was a garden the size of a hamlet. Passing through the gates, you were presented with a scene of rustic beauty. A row of six homes, an old man who