Obtain the divine power at the beginning

There was a hint of paleness in the eastern sky.

Wang Chao led Liu Cong, Chen Biao, Fang Shizhong, Hua Tiandi and others, accompanied by a group of important officials from Kyoto and Chengdu, and reveled until dawn.

Xu Li was much smarter than Wang Chao. Seeing that Wang Chao had been getting carried away the whole night, he took advantage of the moment when Lü Yuan, Gao Yingqiang and others toasted Eunuch Huang to pull Wang Chao over and teach him the secret. He whispered, "Sir Wang, although Shi Tianyu is gone, you have to stabilize Fucheng. You can't mess around with people and secretly send the extra money after tax to the Nine Thousand Years Old Mansion."

Wang Chao said with some embarrassment: "This?! Okay! Everything is up to you, sir." Because Xu Li was his boss in the past and is still his boss now. Xu Li reached out and patted Wang Chao's shoulder, then raised his glass to toast Lü Yuan.

……

~~
The sun rises, and the morning sun lights up the sky red.

Wang Chao was so excited that he couldn't sleep after returning home after the dinner.

Even though I stayed up all night, I woke up in the morning feeling refreshed and full of energy, for I finally had a chance to take control of my life.

In the past, he had to act according to Xu Li's mood in the Imperial College, and had to act according to Shi Tianyu's mood in the Fucheng government office. He had always lived in fear, and now it was time to show off his power.

Wang Chao came to the court, sat in the middle, looking very majestic. He decided in his heart to kill one man to warn a hundred, so he dismissed Liu Cong from his post as the magistrate to vent his anger.

After all the officials arrived, Wang Chao picked up the gavel, slammed the table, and said loudly: "Master Liu is old, and it is time for him to enjoy his life. This government has decided to report to the Ministry of Personnel and allow Master Liu to retire and return home. In order to let Master Liu spend his old age in peace, this government has decided that our government office will give Master Liu 500 taels of silver as a gift for his retirement and return home. What do you think?"

Chen Biao, Liu Lai-fu, Pan Dong, Jiang Xiao and others did not say a word, nor did they dare to say a word.

Everyone thinks that a new emperor appoints new ministers, and this is a very normal thing.

They thought that it might be their turn next.

That’s good, I can go to Beijing to visit Lord Shi.

Now, they were not worried about themselves, but Liu Cong. They were really afraid that Liu Cong would not be able to bear it and die of anger on the ground.

~~
Unexpectedly, Liu Cong was unusually calm. He bowed and stepped out of the line, clasped his hands, and said calmly, "Thank you, Lord Wang, for the gift of the ceremony fee."

After saying that, he bowed to Wang Chao again, turned around and walked out of the government office.

Everyone was amazed, wondering how could Liu Cong, who was obsessed with power, be so calm? Could he be a wise man who appeared foolish?
Strange! How strange! How has the world changed?

Wang Chao was so angry when he saw Liu Cong leave so calmly that his face turned blue. He deliberately used all his strength and almost roared, "Since Fang Shizhong took office as the director of the Fucheng Salt Tax Bureau, the salt tax revenue has increased continuously. This government recommends Fang Shizhong to act as the deputy director of the Salt Tax Bureau. The rest of the personnel remain unchanged. Su Xing, draft the official document immediately and adjourn the court!" After roaring, he felt like his throat was going to smoke, so he announced the adjournment of the court angrily.

Fang Shizhong smiled so hard that his teeth were showing, and he quickly followed Wang Chao into the inner hall.

~~
The morning breeze is gentle and the sun is warm.

Wang Chao walked into the inner hall angrily. When he saw Fang Shizhong coming in, he immediately assigned him a task and whispered, "Master Fang, you must investigate the case of Ling Feng's death as soon as possible. This is a task assigned by Master Xu."

Fang Shizhong bowed and responded: "Yes!"

Then, he stood up, took out a silver note from his pocket, bowed and said, "Lord Wang. I thank you for your grace. Please accept this small gift." He was naturally grateful for the support of the dynasty.

Thinking that there was still a lot of time to come, he hurriedly presented a valuable gift of 20,000 taels of silver.

~~
Wang Chao smiled immediately, and the anger on his face caused by Liu Cong's provocation disappeared. He took the banknote and put it in his pocket, then said with a smile: "Master Fang, are you so polite? Haha! Good, good, good! This is our personal relationship!"

In order to please Wang Chao, Fang Shizhong not only sent a valuable gift, but also offered a poisonous plan. He whispered, "Sir, the Yao family was invited by the wild wolf named Shi. He must be a frightened bird at this time. I suggest that we stabilize him first, and then deal with him after we get more money out of his pocket."

Wang Chao was overjoyed when he heard this. He laughed out loud and said, "Haha! Great! I really didn't make a mistake in choosing you. Lord Fang is really very smart, talented and resourceful."

~~
"Sir, Xun Jinchi wants to see you."

At this time, Ruan Shuang, the palace guard of the dynasty who was guarding outside the inner hall, came in to report.

Fang Shizhong said jokingly, "Speak of Cao Cao, my Lord Wang. I will go back to the Salt Tax Office to handle my official duties."

Wang Chao said, "Master Fang, there is no need to be so reserved. No matter what happens, we will share the honor and disgrace with this government."

He really thought Fang Shizhong was his confidant, and reached out his hand to help Fang Shizhong sit down.

At this time, he really needed confidants to do things for him that were inconvenient for him to do in person.

~~
Xun Jinchi did not avoid Fang Shizhong, took out two gold ingots and stuffed them into Wang Chao's pocket, and whispered: "Sir Wang, I am entrusted by my master to present a small gift to you. My master said that he decided to leave for Kyoto today and buy a big house in Kyoto. It's too humid here in Fucheng, and I can't get used to it."

I also want to test what Wang Chao and Fang Shizhong's current attitude towards merchants is.

~~
Wang Chao was planning to clean up the merchants and implement the newly revised Ming Dynasty laws, so he said, "Okay! Go back and tell your teacher that after arriving in Kyoto, you should come back to Fucheng often. Oh, by the way, I think you are a smart kid, so I plan to use you. You should follow Lord Fang in the future. If there is a vacancy in the government office, I will support you."

Xun Jinchi was so excited that he trembled all over. He knelt down quickly, kowtowed and thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Lord Wang. I will obey your orders." Wang Chao helped Xun Jinchi up, stuffed the two gold ingots back into his hand, and said, "Stand up. Take these two gold ingots back. Tell your master that our government has always been honest. Come and chat with us often in the future. No need to bring gifts or anything."

Xun Jinchi choked up and said, "Thank you for your support, sir!" His eyes were filled with tears of excitement, and he bowed and left.

After returning to the Yao Mansion, he hurriedly told Yao Luyang the good news.

~~
The sun is shining and the courtyard is shaded by green leaves.

Yao Luyang listened to his beloved disciple's report without saying a word, and paced in the courtyard with his hands behind his back. He was a man who did not easily express his opinions. In his bones, he was just like Zhuo Shicai, and he was business-minded and valued profits.

After pacing back and forth for a while, he said to Xun Jinchi, "You should do as Lord Wang said. Be careful and smart, and remember to bring honor to me. Oh, you take these two gold ingots to Fang Shizhong. Master will leave for Kyoto soon. If there is any news from Fucheng, you should send a pigeon to tell Master as quickly as possible."

"Thank you, Master!" Xun Jinchi thanked him happily and quickly turned around and ran away.

~~
In the hot summer, there is a melancholy smell in the wind.

It's too hot and too stuffy.

Chen Biao and others left the government office and hurried to the Shi Mansion.

Liu Lai-fu and Jiang Xiao had already arrived early.

Because this is a government office building, it was only allocated to Shi Tianyu for temporary residence and is an official residence.

Now, for this property, the new prefectural dynasty has not allocated it to anyone else.

Therefore, it is more convenient for everyone to discuss matters here in secret, without being targeted by the dynasty's close confidants.

As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest place.

Jiang Xiao sighed, and quickly got to the point, saying to Chen Biao: "Brother Chen, let's discuss how to relieve Lord Shi's worries?" Liu Laifu took the lead and said: "Brother is the oldest, and it is almost time for him to retire and return home. It doesn't matter whether he is an official or not. The brothers are still young. You should follow Lord Shi's words and continue to stay in the government office, do errands for the people, and monitor the movements of the dynasty. Brother resigns and goes to Kyoto to observe Lord Shi's movements."

~~
Chen Biao objected, shook his head and said, "No, we can't give up our positions in the government office so easily. The imperial edict only said that Lord Shi came to Beijing for investigation due to much criticism from the court and the public, and the tone was not serious. Moreover, Lord Shi took great pains to let the brothers occupy some important positions in the government office, and we can't throw them away rashly, otherwise, when Lord Shi comes back, he will have to spend a lot of effort to arrange for us."

Jiang Xiao said, "Jiang and Brother Liu should resign together, because Jiang had offended despicable villains like Dai Kun and Xiang Laixiang in the past, and he is also a thorn in Wang Chao's eyes. Lord Shi has left Sichuan, and Wang Chao, the despicable villain, will definitely not let me go."

Liu Laifu clenched his fist and said, "Yes! Lord Shi treated us so well in the past and gave us a lot of bonuses, which was enough to support our family. So, it really doesn't matter whether Liu is an official now or not."

"I'll go as well."

"I'll go too. I don't even need this small job as a constable."

"I came to the government office as a constable because I was targeting Lord Shi."

"So do I. Now that Master Shi is gone, my dream is shattered."

Everyone stood on Jiang Xiao's side.

~~
Chen Biao reluctantly agreed and said, "We are unable to kidnap Lord Shi, so we can only work together to deal with the aftermath. I heard someone say that Xu Li has asked Wang Chao to investigate Ling Feng's death, and he may continue to cause trouble for Lord Shi. Therefore, we must have brothers stay in the government office to stop those who are trying to ruin Lord Shi's reputation behind his back."

Jiang Xiao nodded, and offered another suggestion, saying, "Jiang believes that too many people should not enter Beijing. We can send some people to set up posts at the borders of Sichuan and Shaanxi, Shaanxi and Shanxi, and Shanxi and Hebei, and prepare horses. If Lord Shi really has something wrong, we can communicate quickly and rescue Lord Shi quickly in the future."

~~
Liu Laifu insisted on resigning, saying in a sonorous voice: "I still want to resign. Lord Shi helped me get married and gave us so much money many times in the name of sympathy. If I don't work as an official in this life, I will have no worries about food and clothing."

Jiang Xiao said: "Jiang will go to Kyoto to find out the situation. As for the matter of being an official, if Lord Shi is fine, we can also be reinstated. If Lord Shi is in trouble, we can't be officials, and we will be driven away by the dynasty sooner or later."

Chen Biao reluctantly agreed and said, "Okay. It's settled. If there's anything important, we can send pigeons to each other."

Everyone then quietly left the Shi Mansion and went their separate ways.

~~
The sacred peak of Yandang Mountain pierces through the clouds and mist, with its majestic peaks.

Zhong Xu sighed in front of Qi Juan and said, "Sister Juan, I heard that Brother Luo has been looking for his sweetheart Zhao Minna for many years. Hey! I wonder where Miss Zhao is now? I am really worried about Brother Luo's relationship!"

She was very concerned about Luo Baozhong's marriage, which was actually a reminder to Qi Juan that Luo Baozhong had a lover.

~~
Qi Juan was surprised and said, "Hey, Brother Zhong, do you care about others? The sun didn't rise from the west today?"

After saying that, he looked up at the sky.

"Ha ha!"

Not far away, Yuchi Song and others who were cooking burst into laughter when they heard this.

Zhong Xu's face turned red with shame and he begged for mercy quickly: "Juanmei, please give me some face, okay?" Qi Juan smiled and said, "Okay! Chop some firewood and I'll serve you food later." After receiving the beauty's instructions, Zhong Xu nodded happily, turned around and jumped to chop firewood.

~~
Looking at Zhong Xu's figure, Qi Juan felt sour in her heart.

Qi Juan likes Luo Baozhong, and has also heard that Luo Baozhong and Zhao Minna are childhood sweethearts.

However, in the past one or two years, Luo Baozhong has been in Yandang Mountain and has not gone anywhere else.

From this, I thought that Luo Baozhong might have forgotten about Miss Zhao.

The world is so big, where can I find Miss Zhao?

Therefore, Qi Juan started to have hope for Luo Baozhong again. However, Zhong Xu exposed her thoughts today and mentioned her lover Luo Baozhong again, which touched Qi Juan's heart and made her feel depressed.

Suddenly, Luo Jinhua screamed, "Hey, Hero Gongsun is here."

~~
Everyone looked towards the mountainside, and saw a man leaping up the mountain like a flying bird among the strange rocks that were in various shapes and sizes and were about to fall down in the wind.

Dudu hurriedly served tea and water, and when Gongsun Ren arrived, he served him a bowl of tea. He then said jokingly, "Master Gongsun, are you thinking about Miss Shirui?"

Gongsun Ren's face flushed, but he did not deny it. He said anxiously, "I came here today because I have something urgent to discuss."

~~
When everyone heard this, they hurriedly gathered around and asked in surprise, "What's the matter? What happened to Lady Stone?"

Gongsun Ren wiped the tea from the corner of his mouth, put down the tea bowl, and said hurriedly: "It's not Miss Shi who got into trouble, but Master Shi Tianyu who got into trouble." Zhong Xu came back with a bundle of firewood and said, "What does the accident of the Stone Demon have to do with us?"

Everyone looked at Zhong Xu in astonishment.

Zhong Xu has been spending the Xingyiquan school’s money.

Where did the money of Xingyiquan come from? It was earned by Mr. Fanshi from escorting. It was Shi Tianyu who asked Mr. Fanshi to escort. In other words, Zhong Xu ate Shi Tianyu's food and also blamed Shi Tianyu. He was too conscienceless.

~~
Gongsun Ren then angrily rebuked Zhong Xu: "Humph! Don't forget that Lord Shi saved Young Master Luo and has helped us countless times. Now, the money for our meals is given by Lord Shi. Little Luo Jie, the beloved disciple of the Kong Sanjiao brothers, was also rescued from the enemy by Lord Shi."

Fan Shi also reprimanded Zhong Xu immediately: "Xu'er, you must not forget your principles. You must not speak or act in a way that would bring shame to our Xingyiquan school."

Zhong Xu's face turned red and he quickly moved to the back.

~~
At this time, Luo Baozhong came with a shiny silver spear, and listed Shi Tianyu as an example of an honest and good official, saying: "My nephew Chu Feng helped the people to cultivate the land, built water conservancy projects, eradicated bandit gangs, stopped enclosure, built new cities, and beautified Fucheng. He allocated funds to Yantai County, Pingting County, and Jiangchuan County to build more than 300 stone arch bridges, and built a highway from Guxiang County to Fucheng, and a highway from Fucheng to Chengdu. If anyone still speaks ill of nephew Chu Feng, Luo will not be polite to him. Humph!"

Fan Shi was really afraid that Luo Baozhong would shoot Zhong Xu to death, so he quickly changed the subject and said to Gongsun Ren: "Master Gongsun, please tell us what happened to Lord Shi?" Everyone looked at Gongsun Ren nervously again.

~~
Gongsun Ren sighed and said, "Alas! Brother Shi was impeached by Ma Zhifu and the important officials in Sichuan and was dismissed from his post. Now he is being escorted to Beijing by two masters in the capital, Wan Yuankang and Murong Sheng, along with dozens of Jinyiwei masters, for investigation. This is an order from the young emperor. Brother Shi is in danger of committing a crime this time!"

Luo Baozhong said anxiously: "I'll go to Kyoto to check the situation."

After saying that, he picked up his gun and left.

~~
Qi Juan was concerned about Luo Baozhong, and hurried forward to stop him, saying, "Wait!"

When Zhong Xu saw Qi Juan defending Luo Baozhong like this, his face turned pale and he instantly hated Luo Baozhong in his heart. He wanted to peel off Luo Baozhong's skin and drink his blood.

However, there was nothing she could do. Luo Baozhong was so handsome! The Luo family's spearmanship was world-famous. Luo Baozhong had also fought bloody battles in Liaodong twice with Shi Tianyu, and his reputation was known all over the world. Qi Juan naturally had a crush on Luo Baozhong and admired him, and naturally looked down on Zhong Xu.

Gongsun Ren also hurriedly persuaded Luo Baozhong: "Brother Luo, if you want to go to Beijing, you must also think of a foolproof plan. Come, everyone, sit down."

The heroes sat around Gongsun Ren in the sea of ​​strange rocks and offered suggestions on how to rescue Shi Tianyu.

~~
Xia Tian’s face changes in an instant just like Sun Wukong.

It was sunny just now, but now it was cloudy and raining heavily.

In Fucheng, Wang Chao sat at the desk in the government office, looking at Liu Laifu and others who handed in their resignation letters, and said something touching: "It will rain, and my mother will get married. Since Brother Liu and others want to resign, this government cannot stop us. We are colleagues. Although we will not work together in the government office in the future, our friendship remains. Lord Fang, please allocate 200 taels of silver to Liu Laifu, Pan Dong and others for ceremonial expenses, and hold a farewell banquet for them."

But in my heart I thought it would be best if Chen Biao and others also resigned.

In this way, there will be more vacancies in the government office, which can be used to hire people to collect money from the government.

~~
Fang Shizhong bowed and responded: "Yes!" Then he turned and left.

Liu Lai Fu stopped them with his arm crossed, refusing to take any gift fee, and said, "Lu Xin was killed by the Iron Palm Gang while trying to protect the government court. His mother is frail and sick now. I'm going to go see Aunt Lu. Bye." After that, he took Pan Dong's hand, turned around and walked out of the government court. He was very principled and did not want the two hundred taels of silver.

Wang Chao had no choice but to pull Fang Shizhong back to the desk, and to promote Xun Jinchi. He said loudly, "Xun Jinchi has been fair and upright since he came to work in the government office. He is also young and strong. This government recommends Xun Jinchi to serve as the prison warden. Do you have any objections?"

Fang Shizhong was the first to express his opinion, saying loudly: "Lord Wang is right, I have no objection." Lu Chusheng, Chen Biao and others also expressed their support loudly, saying in unison: "No objection." Now no one has the heart to do official duties, so let Wang Chao do whatever he wants.

~~
Chen Biao thought: I have waited so long for Shi Tianyu to get into trouble. If he continues to love the people like his own children, how can I and my sect raise an army in Sichuan? No matter who your dynasty supports, we will support them.

Humph! What Chen is hoping for now is that you will make Fucheng a mess, disturb the people and hit the merchants.

Lu Chusheng has no intention of discussing politics now.

Although he became sworn brothers with Shi Tianyu due to the previous situation, he did not have much contact with Shi Tianyu. However, he was promoted by Shi Tianyu to be the magistrate of Jiangchuan County, and later promoted by Shi Tianyu to be the supervisor of the Tea and Horse Department, so he was still grateful to Shi Tianyu.

However, these days, all the merchants in Fucheng have fled. How can we pay taxes to the court in the second half of the year? This is what Shi Tianyu promised to the court on behalf of the Fucheng government office. In addition, in the first half of the year, the Fucheng government office paid a tribute of one million taels of silver to the court.

If there is no tax in the second half of the year, will the dynasty still have face? Will the court not hold the people accountable?
Now, those merchants no longer needed the dynasty to crack down on them, as they all ran away.

Fucheng has returned to the era of slash-and-burn agriculture.

Eh!
~~
However, some are happy while others are sad.

"Thank you, Lord Wang, for your support."

Xun Jinchi didn't expect that he would be promoted so quickly. He excitedly knelt down in front of Wang Chao's desk and thanked him profusely.

"Adjourn the court!" Wang Chao helped Xun Jinchi up, waved his hand for the officials to retreat, and then left with his hands behind his back.

Fang Shizhong said to Xun Jinchi in a friendly manner: "Nephew Xun, come, come, come, come to the inner hall and sit for a while." He stretched out his hand and took Xun Jinchi to the inner hall.

~~
Xun Jinchi was so moved to tears when he saw Fang Shizhong was so kind to him and Wang Chao was supporting him. He choked up and said, "My Lord, just tell me to do my job. I will do my best."

Fang Shizhong walked into the inner hall, sat down, and said with a smile: "Nothing, just chatting. Oh, by the way, how old are you, nephew? Are you married?" With a smile on his face, he asked about Xun Jinchi's lifelong affairs.

Xun Jinchi was very embarrassed, and sighed and said, "No, oh! I'm sorry to make you laugh, sir. I'm 26 years old now. For many years, I have been working as a boat operator with my master, drifting in rivers, lakes and seas all day long."

Fang Shizhong was all smiles and said affectionately, "My dear nephew, you are a handsome man, both civil and military. I have no son, and would like to adopt you as my adopted son. Do you agree?" Xun Jinchi was so excited when he heard that that he knelt down in front of Fang Shizhong with a plop and said with tears in his eyes, "Dad! I kowtow to you. Woo!" He was so excited that he cried out loud.

Fang Shizhong hurriedly helped Xun Jinchi up and said, "Chi'er, get up quickly." He then lovingly rubbed Xun Jinchi's red forehead.

~~
Xun Jinchi was so moved that he burst into tears and his whole body trembled.

He thought to himself that he was so lucky to be appreciated by Fang Shizhong, the confidant of the prefect Wang Chao.

The ancients said that if you survive a great disaster, you will be blessed in the future.

I didn’t expect this to actually come true in my case.

After the catastrophe that the Yao family had just experienced, good luck came again.

~~
Fang Shizhong said, "Later, send a pigeon to Mr. Yao and ask him to come back to Fucheng to do business. Although Lord Wang is the new prefect, he will not change Lord Shi's previous actions. Let's go back to my house for dinner."

After saying that, he affectionately took Xun Jinchi's hand, walked out of the inner hall of the government office, and went out through the back garden.

Suddenly, raindrops as big as beans fell from the sky, splashing water.

When Xun Jinchi saw that it was raining heavily, he quickly took off his clothes, covered Fang Shizhong's head with them, and said, "Dad, you wear my robe and walk." Then he helped Fang Shizhong walk towards the Fang Mansion.

~~
Summer nights are hot and humid, but also charming.

The full moon rose into the sky, and the earth seemed to be covered with a layer of silver.

Chengdu, Dai Mansion.

When Dai Kun heard that Shi Tianyu had taken Han Fenghuang and Dai Ruyi away, he was so angry that he smashed cups, kicked benches, flipped tables, and glared. Except for his old housekeeper Dai Yue who dared to stay with Dai Kun, all the other maids and servants ran away in fear.

Then, Dai Kun angrily cursed Shi Tianyu's ancestors for eighteen generations.

After making a fuss for most of the day, he finally calmed down a little. He told Dai Yue to clean the house, then went to the study and sat alone. He felt very depressed, as he was really afraid that Shi Tianyu's affairs would implicate him and the Dai family.

After a while, Dai Yue came to report that Xiang Laixiang had arrived.

Dai Kun was cheered up and asked Dai Yue to invite Xiang Laixiang to the study.

Xiang Laixiang brought Lu Baochuan and Bai Youlong to pay their respects to Dai Kun.

In order to keep his official position and avoid being implicated by Shi Tianyu, Dai Kun suddenly came up with a plan.

After everyone was seated, Dai Kun said to Xiang Laixiang, "Sir Xiang, you are now the prefect of Chengdu. If you want to continue to be a high-ranking official, you must learn from the wild wolf surnamed Shi. You must build the Thousand Years Old Temple in Chengdu and find a way to get some money to help Xu Li build the Thousand Years Old Temple. Then let my brother Lu order all prefectures and states to follow your example. Then, we will follow Sir Lu and become prime ministers and enter the cabinet."

"Hahahaha!"

Xiang Laixiang, Lu Baochuan, Bai Youlong and others laughed triumphantly upon hearing this.

They immediately assured Dai Kun that they would get the matter done.

Dai Kun led Xiang Laixiang and others to Lu Mansion, ready to persuade Lu Yuan.

~~
In the small pond in the courtyard of Lu Mansion, the water reflects the moonlight and the shadows of the trees are swaying.

Lu Yuan is now even more sidelined, and his post as governor is meaningless.

Because Feng Zhenting and Fu Xing didn't come to ask him for anything.

Seeing Dai Kun, Xiang Laixiang and others coming, Lu Yuan was very relieved and happy.

Dai Kun was an old fox. He could tell from Lv Yuan's expression that he was in a bad mood, so he consoled him, "Brother Lu, don't worry! I have thought of a way to get you to Beijing and become a prime minister soon."

Lv Yuan asked in surprise: "What? What what?"

~~
Dai Kun immediately offered a vicious plan, saying, "Shi Lang has set a bad precedent for building a Thousand Years Old Temple. I would like to propose that Xiang be built in Chengdu. The cost and land area should be twice as large as the Thousand Years Old Temple in Fucheng. Then, Brother Lu, you can issue an official document and order all prefectures and states to follow Xiang's example. In this way, the Ninth Thousand Years Old will naturally be delighted and will promote Brother Lu again."

Lu Yuan shook his head. He felt that although he was the governor, Wei Zhongxian had sent too many trusted officials to Sichuan. He had lost power. He said weakly, "The construction of the Thousand Years Temple was planned and built by Xu Li, and the standard of the golden body was unified. Moreover, Feng Zhenting was promoted to the position of the governor, and he was in charge of the money. Let them handle these matters."

Dai Kun still patiently persuaded him: "Brother Lu, the construction of the Thousand Years Temple was planned and built by Xu Li, but we can also build it. He built his, and we built ours. He is not the governor. If we build the Thousand Years Temple, the Nine Thousand Years Old will not order it to be demolished, right? We must show our loyalty to the Nine Thousand Years Old, and he will definitely be happy."

Lu Yuan thought about it and agreed, so he said, "Okay! If Lord Xiang can be the first to complete the Thousand Years Temple, I will ask for credit for you and promote you later." When Xiang Laixiang heard that there was a chance of promotion after building the Thousand Years Temple, he quickly bowed to Lu Yuan to thank him.

At this, Lu Yuan became happy and excited. He asked the servants to serve wine and food, and invited Dai Kun, Xiang Laixiang, Lu Baochuan and Bai Youlong to the backyard to enjoy the cool air and taste wine together.

~~(End of this chapter)