I have a weird dynasty

Chapter 437 Jiuge Talks (September Monthly Ticket 9 plus more)

Sang Que ordered a plate of snacks and a pot of tea in the lobby of the inn, and sat quietly listening to the people around him chatting.

"...Don't these bandits want to die?"

"Look at what you said. If they don't fight against the imperial court, can they survive? Look at what happened to the bandits in Xiyue Mountain who were recruited? At that time, they were all given military positions and ate food and wages from the imperial court, but in the end..."

"That's right. The imperial court's move of using a knife to kill someone is extremely insidious. They recruited a group of bandits and then sent them to attack other bandits in the mountains. In the end, both sides suffered losses, and the imperial court reaped the benefits."

"How can this be called insidious? This is a brilliant plan! We are all good citizens, how can we sympathize with those bandits who kill and rob?"

"Alas! It's nothing more than the death of the rabbit and the grief of the fox. Those bandits were once good people. They became bandits because of the pressure of life. Now they are forced to do nothing, so they raised the flag to rebel against the court. I heard that they have united with many people and have the momentum of the Qianshou Army before."

"It won't work. After the new year, a large army will surely come to suppress it. The Qianshou Army is a lesson for you. Instead of worrying about those bandits, you might as well worry about how to do business next year. It will take at least ten years to build the city wall in Qianyue Mountain Range. By then, not only will we have to recruit craftsmen and increase hard labor, but we will also have to raise business taxes."

"When will this end? Don't let it end up like a fight in Jinzhou, like in Qinzhou."

"Pah, pah, pah, don't say such things. Our Jinzhou is the granary of Daxuan, there will be no trouble!"

Sang Que drank tea and listened. They mostly talked about the recent bandit suppression.

The Qianyue Mountains are divided into two sides, east and west. Mingyue Mountain is on the east side. The east side is relatively peaceful compared to the west. There are fewer bandits, and the imperial court has been very successful in suppressing bandits. Quarries and logging sites have been gradually built.

However, there was a quarry near Mingyue Mountain that was robbed by bandits not long ago. Pu'an County sent troops to encircle and suppress the bandits many times, but every time they went there, the bandits retreated into the mountains.

When the officers and soldiers of Pu'an County were preparing to clean up the quarry and set up camp, the bandits appeared again and continued to harass them, making the officers and soldiers extremely anxious and forced to temporarily withdraw from the quarry.

This went on for many times but no bandits were caught. Some people even said that there were less than ten bandits, among whom there were powerful ghost walkers who could take people's lives at will. They also had powerful artillery and explosives and were very difficult to deal with.

Now Pu'an County has reported the situation to the Suppression of Evil Forces and is waiting for them to send people to check it out and deal with the ghost walker in that group of bandits.

Sang Que listened and felt that this was arranged by Zhao Yunshu. After all, the quarry was only separated from Mingyue Mountain by a forest and a hilltop. It was too close.

Compared to the Dongyue Mountains, which have a flat terrain with fewer mountains and more farmland, the Xiyue Mountains have more mountains, forests and lakes, making it easy for bandits to hide, and there are many large-scale bandit dens.

In the early stages of the bandit suppression campaign, some bandits defected to the imperial court, and as a result were sent to attack other bandits, resulting in many casualties.

The other bandits then realized the court's tactics and united together, preparing to fight the court to the end.

In the past, these bandits could still cross mountains and rivers and enter Qinzhou. Unfortunately, Qinzhou has become a dead zone. These bandits were forced into a desperate situation and could only fight to the death.

Therefore, the current focus of bandit suppression in Jinzhou is on Xiyue Mountain, and Mingyue Mountain can still hold out for a while.

After finishing a pot of tea, Sang Que was about to refill it when he suddenly saw a young monk carrying a bag and looking exhausted walking into the inn. Behind the monk, a middle-aged woman was supporting an old man with a black cloth covering his eyes and who was hunched over. The three of them were together.

Qiao Ling!

Sang Que's eyes lit up. He had never expected that Qiao Ling had also come to Pu'an County. The old blind man was the peddler in disguise, and the young monk was...

It was originally said to be an old monk, but now the ghost peddler has brought back a young monk. It goes without saying that the old monk must have passed on his mantle.

Sang Que took out a piece of silver and placed it on the table, then returned to her room calmly and used her five ghosts to notify Yao Zhen to come back.

The ghost peddler and the young monk asked for an ordinary guest room in the backyard of the inn. After Sang Que waited for Yao Zhen, he left Hua Qianmian in the room and took Yao Zhen to the backyard to meet Qiao Ling, the ghost peddler and the young monk. He had previously given Hua Qianmian the Mountain Ghost Seal, but the hexagram had been used up and had not been replenished, so he could not become invisible.

The ghost peddler and his companions were also waiting for Sangque to come. After they got together, the ghost peddler hung his ghost dolls on the doors and windows and asked the five ghosts he raised to guard the door.

"Amitabha, I am a humble monk. My master is old and has not much time left. I am the only one who can come to attend the meeting."

The young monk had a regular face and looked like an ordinary monk, nothing special about him.

Qiao Ling was very happy to see Sang Que return safely from Shengjing.

"Xiao Chan thinks about you every day. I miss you so much. I came to Pu'an County yesterday to buy medicinal herbs. I was supposed to go back this morning, but the road was blocked by heavy snow, so I stayed. What a coincidence."

Sang Que nodded and glanced at the people sitting at the table. The monk, the bell doctor, the ghost peddler, and the Taoist priest were basically all there.

She got straight to the point without beating around the bush, "Since we are all sitting together today, let's take this opportunity to talk about Jiuge's affairs."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone became serious, and the ghost peddler, who habitually hunched over, straightened his back.

Sang Que took out the mountain ghost token representing the witch and placed it on the table. "I am the witch of this generation. Logically, I should lead you, inherit Jiuge's responsibilities, and save the world. But the current situation is that Jiuge's foundation is gone, and the power of the witch has almost dissipated. She will no longer give us any response."

"You all inherited the identity of Jiuge from your master. I don't know what you think. I only know that if I have a choice, I don't want to be a witch. Don't speak in a hurry. Just listen to me."

The person who was about to speak closed his mouth again and listened to Sangque continue talking.

"I originally just wanted to live my own life, but I have experienced and seen a lot here, and now my thoughts have changed. Although I don't want to be a witch, I will still work hard to eliminate ghosts from the world and end the weird era. I do this not because I am so great, but to protect my family."

"Maybe I'm young and my life is a bit twisted, so for the same thing, I care whether it's my own choice or forced choice. I want to end everything in the past, and I want the Jiuge organization to end here, and give you a chance to make a new choice. If you want to live for yourself, you can leave at any time."

"This time when I went to Shengjing, I realized that there will be a battle between Zuo Jinye and I in the future, and I really need help. If you are still willing to stay and help me, I will be very grateful."

After Sang Que finished speaking, everyone present looked at each other.

"You don't have to give me an answer right now. You'd better think it over carefully. The assassin and the shopkeeper should have joined Zuo Jinye's army. The storyteller would do anything to kill Zuo Jin. The old Gu Master is imprisoned. I will continue to try to rescue him in the future..."

In fact, Jiuge is now in name only and has fallen apart. Everyone understands this.

"Amitabha, I will give you a reply after I have informed Master of this matter."

Monk Juechen had never done anything under the leadership of the witch, and all his understanding of Jiuge came from his master. As for a sense of belonging, there was definitely none.

The same is true for Yaozhen. She can fight for her master, Master Jinglan, but not necessarily for Jiuge!

"Okay, let me tell you something else. As a junior, I want to ask you to do me a favor."

Everyone looked at Sang Que. Sang Que took out the red cloth bag she had brought back from Qiu Wanjun. Inside was Yin Tong's heart. She had kept it carefully all the way and had never opened it.

Sang Que put the red cloth bag on the table and said, "I would like you to help me check if there is anything wrong with this thing."

I will continue to add more tomorrow, see you tomorrow~