xymnovel Chapter 7299 Another one courting death
Chapter 7299 Another one courting death
Chapter 7299 Another one courting death
Chen Xi hadn't quite grasped the situation at first, but after realizing the true background of these things, his thinking changed. Dealing with these small fry was difficult for him, but he could directly attack their backers.
After the backstage was attacked, the Yunmeng Corpse Demon Gods would definitely be affected, and as a result, the overall combat power of the demon gods would certainly decline.
"Cut down mountains and destroy temples." Liu Tong was silent for a while after hearing this, then nodded. Even she had to admit that it was indeed a very good idea.
"Well, we'll first classify all these things as 'obscene rituals,' and then use the nation's fortune to suppress them. That should at least seal off most of their special properties. Once we reduce these things to normal life forms, it will be relatively easy for us to deal with them with our current strength," Chen Xi said with a smile. "I only realized this recently."
"Is everything ready at the Imperial Sacrifices?" Liu Tong nodded upon hearing this, then asked with a hint of curiosity, as the Imperial Sacrifices' purpose was to do these kinds of things.
"The letter has already been sent. I just happened to come here with General Huangfu. The Taichang lineage is the professional in this kind of thing." Chen Xi also shared this attitude: professional matters should be left to professionals, and the Taichang lineage is the most professional in handling sacrificial rites.
Moreover, compared to other forces engaging in activities like destroying mountains and temples, the state's actions represent a crackdown and rectification, effectively dealing with the endless stream of strange occurrences in the Chu region. It's worth noting that two years ago, when Wei Jun was wandering around Jingchu, he was almost captured by a village and used as a sacrifice.
It was only thanks to Wei Jun's strength that they were able to survive; otherwise, they would have been gone.
Therefore, by transferring the Grand Master of Ceremonies here, in addition to suppressing what needs to be suppressed in Yunmeng, we also need to suppress all the other supernatural and ghostly things in Jingchu.
Incidentally, a large part of the reason Chen Xi didn't go to the Ji family about this matter was that, although the Ji family claimed to be involved in sacrificial rites, after so many years of development, Chen Xi felt that the Ji family had become somewhat tainted by evil gods. Although the nature of the family as a whole could still be maintained, it was probably not very capable of doing anything legitimate. The family had become somewhat evil now.
"There's still more than a month until the Dragon Boat Festival, so are we just going to drag it out like this for now?" Liu Tong asked tentatively.
"I just need to take care of some things." Chen Xi said expressionlessly. The inspection team sent down by Chang'an has found quite a few problems recently, and it's time to deal with them. We can't just let them go like this. We might as well take advantage of the free time now and give them a good beating.
"It seems something we don't know about has happened again." Liu Tong glanced at Chen Xi's expression and knew that something had happened that required Chen Xi's personal attention. He couldn't help but shake his head, wondering what the bureaucratic system was thinking. Of all people to mess with, they had to mess with Chen Xi. They really didn't know what they were doing.
"Sigh." Chen Xi sighed, not wanting to say anything. Although he had realized that there would definitely be all sorts of problems in the various prefectures and counties when he issued that order, Chen Xi had been considering Zhou Jun's situation. That is, even if you make me have some fun, as long as you can bring out what I need when I need it, I will pretend that nothing happened.
The results from the inspection teams across the country show that some people are incredibly audacious and reckless, even courting death.
"Then Si Niang and I will leave first. You continue to handle your business." Liu Tong didn't like dealing with mundane matters. In addition, from Liu Tong's perspective, Chen Xi's handling of many things was too lenient. Those who should have been killed were not killed, which was not enough to deter others from following suit.
Therefore, Liu Tong was somewhat reluctant to take on the kind of work that Chen Xi was about to handle, which sounded like it deserved to kill someone. In her opinion, any big job that was sent to Chen Xi was a typical case of someone who deserved to be killed, and there was no need to think about it.
"Alright then." Chen Xi glanced at Liu Tong, knowing that Liu Tong's stance on dealing with bureaucrats was somewhat different from his own. However, Chen Xi had his own principles, so he didn't say anything. He simply greeted Liu Tong and Si Niang a couple of times, and after the two disappeared, he opened the secret report that Man Chong had submitted. Well, every region really has its own tricks!
"There's really nothing I can say about it." Chen Xi sighed, looking at Man Chong's report about taking a detour to Xuzhou and then discovering the situation, feeling somewhat helpless.
"Go and fetch Lu Zijia." Chen Xi pondered for a moment, then called out to the person beside him. Lu Yu had now mastered his skills, and in Jingchu, it was virtually impossible for him to rise any higher. As long as Liao Li was alive, the position of Governor of Jingzhou was unlikely to be moved. Lu Yu had also endured five years here, and it was indeed time to consider a promotion.
As for the current situation in Xuzhou, to be honest, Chen Xi felt that it was appropriate to make some arrangements for Lu Yu. Whether it would work out or not was another matter, but rather to let the Lu family understand what had happened in Xuzhou.
Lu Yu was originally handling official business in Jingzhou with Liao Li. As mentioned before, Liao Li actually quite admired Lu Yu and gave him a lot of responsibilities, which is the key to Lu Yu's current position as the governor, making him one of the top four or five officials in Jingzhou.
However, further advancement is now very difficult, which is causing Lu Yu some headaches. In addition, times have changed. With the stabilization of the Han Empire's organizational structure, it is no longer possible to promote someone beyond their rank as before, and job transfers have also become relatively difficult. Even with Jia Xu behind Lu Yu, it would be extremely difficult to quickly promote Jia Mu from a mid-level official to a position with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain).
These days, it's almost to the point where every position is filled by a specific person, and those who are eyeing those positions all have powerful backers, the only difference being the size of their connections. But those connections that are out in the open are enough to outweigh the connections of others. After all, at this point, even the highest-ranking officials have to adhere to principles and rules.
In addition, Chen Xi is someone who pays close attention to these things, so Lu Yu inevitably worries about which direction she should develop in the future.
Of course, if it were more than ten years ago, Lu Yu would have asked Chen Xi directly if he had thought of this. But now, as the saying goes, the older you get, the less courage you have. After all, the more you know, the more awe you feel. So much so that Lu Yu is now embarrassed to ask Chen Xi.
Even though she encountered Chen Xi alone several times, she couldn't bring herself to ask him anything.
"Lord Chen has summoned you. You go there first, I'll go to the Yuzhou military camp by myself." Liao Li, who was with Lu Yu, received the message, nodded to Lu Yu, and gestured for Lu Yu to go to Chen Xi's side first.
To reiterate, Lu Yu is a very useful tool for Liao Li, but if Lu Yu has a better future, Liao Li will not deliberately stop him. Now, Liao Li has noticed some problems from the soldiers who came to aid Jingzhou from various families, so when Lu Yu was recruited by Chen Xi, Liao Li already had some suspicions.
“Zijia, just say whatever comes to mind when you get there. There’s no need to hold back. Besides being the Prime Minister, Marquis Chen is also your uncle. You don’t need to be so cautious. He hasn’t changed much. You’ve changed too much, which will only make you seem distant.” After realizing something, Liao Li suddenly patted Lu Yu on the shoulder as Lu Yu was leaving.
Lu Yu was taken aback by what he heard. He was a smart man, and he immediately realized what it meant when Liao Li suddenly said this to him at this time.
"Thank you for your guidance, Governor Liao." Lu Yu clasped his hands in a salute, then quickly left with his attendants.
"I wonder if Lu Yu will be able to ride the waves in the future. Every governor has his own selfish desires and greed. Some people combine their selfish desires and greed with the future of the people and with history, while others combine their selfish desires and greed with their relatives." Liao Li shook his head as he watched Lu Yu's departing figure. Everyone has their own choices, and there's nothing more to say.
Lu Yu arrived quickly. While Chen Xi was reviewing the relevant files, Lu Yu appeared before her. Chen Xi was quite moved by this, realizing that as people grow up, their thoughts also change.
"Zijia, please sit down. We may need to assign you to handle something next." Chen Xi handed the file directly to Lu Yu, who was somewhat cautious.
Lu Yu didn't say anything upon hearing this, but carefully took the file, opened it, and quickly browsed through it. Then his whole demeanor became serious. How could such a thing happen in Xuzhou?
"Is there any external force behind this?" Lu Yu asked with some caution. He had to consider whether the Kushans were behind it. After all, the Kushans might not be formidable in combat due to their underworld techniques, but they were truly skilled at causing trouble.
“It’s not involved at the moment. According to Bo Ning’s estimate, even if it were, it wouldn’t be the main reason,” Chen Xi said, shaking his head. “So you’ll need to handle this matter next.”
“There are too many ordinary people involved, so we can’t punish them too severely, but the core bureaucrats must be punished severely.” Seeing Lu Yu’s thoughtful expression, Chen Xi immediately stated his purpose, believing that Lu Yu would fully understand his intentions.
Upon hearing this, Lu Yu tightened his grip on the dossier. He thought to himself, "Are the officials in Xuzhou out of their minds? They're really courting death by doing this."
"Then let's investigate the source. I want to know where this seed came from," Chen Xi said coldly. "I'll give you unlimited investigative powers in this regard. You can be more lenient with the bureaucratic system, but there's no limit to this. Any obstruction can be dealt with."
"Lord Chen, do you think there might be something special behind this seed?" Lu Yu paused for a moment and looked at Chen Xi. He could be more lenient in dealing with the bureaucratic system, but the source of this seed had to be investigated. What did that mean? It could only mean that Chen Xi suspected that there was something seriously wrong with this seed.
“Yes, those in the bureaucratic system who should be dismissed should be dismissed, and those who should be dealt with should be dealt with. There must be someone in charge. But how did this seed come about? On what line? What happened? There must be a result. Back in the Jizhou case, Li Fu, the prefect of Wei County, encountered a similar situation.” Chen Xi said with a heavy expression. “But there were too many things to deal with at the time, and only Li Fu was involved. Although there was an investigation afterward, this was not the focus, and it was eventually dropped.”
"Then may I contact the current governor of Nanyang and go with him?" Lu Yu pondered for a while. On the one hand, Li Fu had experienced a similar situation, and on the other hand, his execution ability was extraordinary. He might not be very good at strategic vision, but he was absurd in his practical skills.
After Liao Li's advice and Chen Xi's hints, Lu Yu has basically determined that he will most likely be going to Xuzhou to take up a post, and may very well temporarily serve as the governor. Based on this, Lu Yu will need some capable people.
Li Fu was a perfect candidate. He might not be as strategic as others, but he was very good at administrative tasks. Plus, he was involved in the previous case, which provided a convenient excuse. He went to Xuzhou and resolved the matter, leaving him there. This way, he would have his own people, which was a win-win situation.
“Okay.” Chen Xi thought for a moment. He was a little worried about letting Lu Yu investigate this alone, but with Li Fu, the King of Scrolls, on board, they might be able to discover something else.
"The transfer of guards will be arranged in Qingzhou," Chen Xi reminded them again.
“The number of people involved in the case may be quite large, and it may involve some elderly people.” Just as Lu Yu was about to speak, Chen Xi closed his eyes and added two sentences.
Lu Yu remained silent for a while. He actually had the same feeling, but he didn't dare to say it. Now that Chen Xi had specifically pointed it out, it was as a reminder to Lu Yu.
“After all, you are one of the veterans who joined Mount Tai very early on. It’s my way of giving them the last bit of dignity by having you handle this matter,” Chen Xi said with a sigh. “This is actually a very big deal.”
Xuzhou may appear peaceful now, but that's because the nation's credibility remains intact, and the people of Xuzhou still have stored grain. So even if this crop fails, it won't have much of an impact. However, the Xuzhou officials are using the nation's credibility and eroding the public trust that Chen Xi has built up over twenty years.
If Chen Xi hadn't given the Xuzhou officials a few blows, he might have been seen as a pushover.
“Then I’ll go and handle it now,” Lu Yu said in a deep voice. He knew that Chen Xi was paving the way for him. Even though Lu Yu was the most suitable person in Jingchu to handle this matter, if Chen Xi wanted, there were plenty of people willing to come to Jingchu to report at this time.
"No need to rush. The officials in Xuzhou can handle it as they see fit, but find out exactly what happened on this line. Growing grain isn't that easy." Chen Xi said with a gloomy expression. He really couldn't understand what those idiots in the Xuzhou government were thinking, distributing grain to the local people and then artificially creating a crop failure?
Is this a problem of someone being mentally ill?
They're tired of living!
Even though Chen Xi knew that there would definitely be some other operations involved, such as the local officials opening the granaries to release grain after the farmers' harvest failed, in order to ensure local stability and successfully maintain the credibility of the local government, Chen Xi couldn't understand why anyone would do such a thing!
Chen Xi stared at the roof beam, lost in thought, but his eyes were clearly vacant. When he spoke with Lu Yu earlier, he didn't seem particularly angry, but Chen Xi knew very well that he had been too angry and even had a destructive urge. Damn it, those Xuzhou officials were squandering the national credibility that Chen Xi had spent decades building up!
It was at this moment that Zhou Yu returned from outside and found it somewhat strange to see Chen Xi staring intently at the roof beam.
"Uh, Zichuan, what's wrong with you?" Zhou Yu looked at Chen Xi with a puzzled expression.
"Ah, Commander, you're back." Chen Xi said, glancing at Zhou Yu after regaining his senses.
"You seem to be in a bad mood." Zhou Yu casually found a seat, then reached out to grab the files piled up next to Chen Xi, ready to see what kind of incredible stuff this was. But after a quick glance, Zhou Yu was stunned. What did it mean that Xuzhou was promoting high-yield crops made from the essence of heaven and earth, which had caused a complete crop failure, and that local officials were working hard to help the people of Xuzhou and ensure their livelihood after the crop failure?
"Isn't something wrong with this?" Zhou Yu's mind was working quickly. He felt that there was something wrong with the description in this file, and quite a big problem at that.
"I don't know if it's a crop made from the essence of heaven and earth, but it's a total crop failure. The seedlings looked like they were doomed as soon as they grew up, so the yield was basically a total loss. Anyway, the summer grain harvest in Xuzhou this year is definitely going to be a problem," Chen Xi said expressionlessly. "Of course, Xuzhou has some grain reserves from the past, so it's not worried about a total crop failure and is actively helping the local people."
Zhou Yu wasn't stupid; he completely understood Chen Xi's sarcastic remarks.
"No, why are you being sarcastic?" Zhou Yu asked, somewhat puzzled. "Didn't the officials in Xuzhou properly help the people? Or did they take advantage of the situation? It shouldn't be like this. Xuzhou has had bumper harvests for more than ten years, and every household has a granary. Even if this year's attempt to plant this high-yield crop of the essence of heaven and earth resulted in a total crop failure, it shouldn't be a big problem, right?"
"Heh." Chen Xi said with a cold laugh, then quickly flipped through the files and took out the relevant files from the previous years. They included application forms for planting high-yield cash crops, application forms for expanding fisheries in Xuzhou, and application forms from Xuzhou to slightly increase the purchase price of rice in order to subsidize the people.
"If it weren't for these things, I might not have realized what was going on, but with these things, how could I not know what those people in Xuzhou are doing?" Chen Xi exuded a strong killing intent. This is fucking using the government's credibility and the country's reputation to create a deficit, implementing good policies in a bad way, and then the local government buying up the people's assets!
To put it bluntly, it's about artificially creating a rigid shortage, and then using the name of a savior to harvest aid and completely incorporate the local people into its own system!
This story is false; please do not attempt to verify it.