thenovelthief #297 - Haha! You are a real person!
#297 - Haha! You are a real person!
"Wait!"
After shouting the order to deploy troops, Qin Hong paused, his hand reaching for the military seal at his waist.
"Wait a moment."
He couldn't be too hasty.
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"Lord Governor?" The scholar was puzzled.
"Just wait," Qin Hong said.
There was still one thing he needed to confirm with Daoist Xu.
"Immortal Xu, can you hear Qin's words?" he asked.
"What is it?" Xu Chengxian was watching with great interest Sima De's changing face, from astonishment to impotent rage, when he heard Qin Hong's call.
"Qin has a secret matter to tell Immortal Xu," Qin Hong said, "But I'm afraid that if I say it, others will hear it."
As the governor of a prefecture, and a powerful governor supported by the Empress, who was accompanied by guards upon taking office, it was self-evident who this 'others' referred to.
The fact that they appeared at the city gate even faster than the wealthy families in the city was enough to show Qin Hong's control over the people around him.
With trustworthy people guarding the area, speaking here should not pose a risk of leaking secrets.
Of course, this 'should' was according to common sense.
"If there are some special means…" He was worried that Xu Chengxian wouldn't understand, so he hinted.
"I understand, don't treat this Daoist like an idiot, alright?" Xu Chengxian snorted.
Who did he think he was looking down on?
He had mingled with the Empress and Daoist Lord, and was even the elder brother; did he understand the value of that experience?
As he spoke, his divine sense returned to his main body, and his vast consciousness spread out, enveloping the entire gate and isolating it from the outside world.
"Alright, speak."
Unless a Nascent Soul old monster was bored and came to spy, he would be able to sense it in advance.
"Immortal Xu, I see that your actions are benevolent, and I can't bear to see you fall into the mire. Now, I will reveal the truth about Lingzhou," Qin Hong said without delay.
"If you feel powerless to turn the tide, please consider a way out as soon as possible, lest your good deeds become a burden."
"Heh, just say it," Xu Chengxian said.
"Alright!" Qin Hong took a deep breath, "In fact, the reason I gave earlier for not releasing the grain was not the whole truth."
In reality, he had reached an agreement with three other forces through the connections of the Lingzhou gentry.
In the agreement, the other party demanded that he turn a blind eye to the disaster in Lingzhou.
"They want this official to conceal the disaster and not report it."
If the local disaster was not reported to the imperial court, naturally, permission to open granaries and release grain from the imperial court would not be obtained.
And without this permission, taking action without authorization in the locality was a serious crime.
No, it should be said, looking at the ruins of his mansion!
"As a reward, they will become one of the guarding forces of Lingzhou City after the matter is completed," Qin Hong continued calmly, unaffected by the mockery, "Ensuring that Lingzhou will have five years of good weather, prosperity, and peace."
"You believe them when they say that?"
"Of course this official doesn't believe they would be so kind," Qin Hong said in a deep voice, "But this happens to coincide with their purpose."
Causing disasters is to win over the hearts of the people.
After the disaster, of course, they must show benevolence and virtue.
In order to achieve the purpose of harvesting a large amount of incense power.
"Tsk, after cutting the leeks, of course, you have to fertilize and water them," Xu Chengxian mocked, "And then wait to cut the second crop, right?"
"Since Daoist Xu is also familiar with this, then I don't need to elaborate," Qin Hong said, still very calmly, "Moreover, they have the ability to make Lingzhou have good weather."
"Because one of them is the River Dragon King in the Two Realms River?" Xu Chengxian lightly revealed a corner of the mystery.
"That's right." Qin Hong was not surprised by this. Like Zheng Family Head and others, he suspected that the White Maiden Temple was a force sent to stir up trouble.
Since they wanted to stir up trouble, of course, they would not be completely ignorant of the people behind the layout.
"The other two forces are Tiancan Temple and Haihun Gate. I think Daoist Xu also knows about them."
Knowing the layout and still wanting to participate, wouldn't that mean that this force is even stronger?
In that case, he would borrow strength to fight, so that the people of Lingzhou could be spared from a disaster!
"Yeah, I know a little," Xu Chengxian replied naturally.
The truth was, he had never heard of them.
He only knew that the forces of the Buddhist and Xuan sects were involved.
However, in the Eastern Earth Human Realm, basically all cultivators are inextricably linked to these two.
Either they are one of them themselves, or they are derived from one of them and established their own sect.
It's not a joke that the general outline of cultivation techniques in the world comes from the Xuan sect.
"Lingzhou and Xuzhou are both adjacent to the Two Realms River and are borderlands of the Great Zhou. They face the Great Tang Kingdom across the river and have almost never experienced war."
When the Two Realms River's water veins flow into the sea, they are also located at the junction of the South Sea and the East Sea.
The South Sea is the residence of the White Dragon Clan, and the East Sea is the territory of the Azure Dragon Clan.
"It is said that earlier, the two sides had a dispute over the enfeoffment of the River Dragon King of this river," Qin Hong, who was able to hold the high position of prefect at a young age, naturally had his own abilities.
Born into a good family, he had a good memory since childhood and had a good understanding of the intricate relationships between various forces.
"Later, the Buddhist sect secretly helped, and the Two Realms River was placed under the jurisdiction of the South Sea Dragon King," he continued, "But the largest gang force in Xuzhou, Haihun Gate, was founded and controlled by Xuan sect disciples."
This kind of interlocking power distribution is the norm for the Xuan and Buddhist sects in the human world.
Of course, only in the Great Zhou can the Buddhist sect have the posture of contending with the Xuan sect.
In other places, the Xuan sect is the only dominant force.
The folk Shinto forces, on the other hand, seized every opportunity and also occupied a place in the mortal world.
Qin Hong did not ask which force Xu Chengxian belonged to, but continued: "In my opinion, this transaction was initiated by the River Dragon King in the Two Realms River, who took a fancy to the incense power of Lingzhou and Xuzhou."
Tiancan Temple is a Buddhist force and is closely related to the White Dragon King.
Haihun Gate did not know why, but also participated in it.
"It's nothing more than an exchange of benefits," Xu Chengxian immediately said, indicating that he could do this question.
Anyway, everyone has benefits.
The ones who suffer are just ordinary people!
"Daoist Xu's views are similar to mine," Qin Hong said, "Unfortunately, I don't have Daoist Xu's ability and cannot resist…"
"Heh! Unable to resist what?" Xu Chengxian couldn't help but sneer, "Dare not resist the gentry? You hold military power and have the Empress standing behind you, and you also say they are afraid of you, so are you afraid of Tiancan Temple and Haihun Gate?"
Damn it, bullshit!
If cultivators dare to attack mortals, their inner demons will wait for the thunder tribulation to be reborn.
Move officials, or the assassination of a frontier official?
The moment he raises his knife, the thunder that will strike him is on the way!
Officials are protected by the country's fortune, and their ancestral graves are protected by auspicious smoke!
It is the same for the human race, if a demon race hurts him, they will die.
So the River Dragon King, Xu Chengxian did not even mention.
Also, Qin Hong can completely ask the Empress for help!
What unable to resist?
In the end, it is unwillingness.
It is lazy politics.
It is… fear of death.
"Haha! You are a really honest guy," Xu Chengxian suddenly thought that Qin Hong had clearly said he was afraid of death at the beginning, and couldn't help but laugh.
It turned out that this person was not being humble.
What people said was from the bottom of their hearts!
Although there is nothing wrong with people cherishing their lives, there are always things that must be done.
Those who sit idly by and watch the people under their rule die unjustly are not worthy to be officials!
Moreover, if he had not appeared, if this game was successful, the number of people who would die would not be one or two.
But, tens of thousands!