The road to Jianghu started from the martial arts hall

Chapter 516: I Don't Like House Raids

The sun gradually rises.

In a meeting room in the Prince of Yue's Palace, Fang Xun sat in the main seat, and Dongfang Que, Old Man Mo, Xiao Zhen, and Li Muzhi also sat on his left and right.

Xiao Zhen and Li Muzhi were ranked first among the civil and military officials respectively, while Dongfang Que was in charge of the intelligence field.

Old Man Mo was responsible for managing all the guests and servants in the palace.

Not only the retainers directly under the palace, but also the Jiangzhou Tianluo Sect, which is only a subsidiary force, is under the jurisdiction of Old Man Mo.

Looking at Fang Xun sitting in the main seat, Old Man Mo muttered in his heart: "Zhao Ning girl didn't come. Could it be that she was conquered by this boy for a whole day and night and couldn't get out of bed?"

But just as this thought came to his mind, Fang Xun's voice came into his ears.

"Old man, what are you thinking about?"

Old Man Mo was startled and said quickly: "Nothing, I was just wondering how you practiced and jumped to Zhenwu in the blink of an eye."

As he spoke, his expression gradually became dazed.

After seeing Fang Xun really break through to Zhenwu, Old Man Mo still felt it was unreal.

Not only him, but also Dongfang Que, Xiao Zhen and Li Muzhi.

It hasn't been long since he made a breakthrough, and it has only been a month. His strength can be said to be strong among the Zhenwu!
Fang Xun looked at Old Man Mo suspiciously. He could clearly sense the other person's emotions and knew he must have been thinking about something obscene before.

Fang Xun immediately stopped paying attention, calmed down, and slowly said, "I already know about what happened in Xiangxi."

As soon as he opened his mouth, the other four people calmed down, their faces immediately became serious, and they began to listen to the other party talking about business.

".However, you don't need to worry about Jiangzhou for the time being. You just need to ensure that the troops sent to Lingzhou do not reveal their whereabouts."

As soon as Fang Xun finished speaking, Xiao Zhen immediately said in astonishment, "But Lord Marquis."

Not only him, Li Muzhi also looked surprised and did not understand Fang Xun's decision at all. In their opinion, this decision was completely insane.

Now that the threat of the Xiangxi army was imminent, instead of trying to integrate Jiangzhou's forces to establish a defense line, they set up the defense line in Lingzhou, which belonged to the rear.

This is like one country planning to invade another country, and the country to be invaded notices it.

Not only did they not send troops to guard the border, but they concentrated a large number of troops near the capital.

It's ridiculous no matter how you look at it, no one in their right mind would make such a decision.

Before, Yu Jiaolong insisted on having her own way, and the two of them had no choice but to obey her orders. They had planned to wait for Fang Xun to come back and let him "whisper" to persuade Yu Jiaolong, but they didn't expect that Fang Xun also seemed to be abnormal.

Seeing that Old Man Mo and Dongfang Que both looked calm and composed, Xiao Zhen and Li Muzhi suddenly had an epiphany.

It is impossible that everyone in this matter has lost their minds and only these two are normal.

There must be something they don't know.

Seeing the two people lost in thought, Fang Xun shook his head and spoke slowly.

"It's normal for you to have doubts. Since we are all family, I will not hide it from you. Master Quezhou passed away three years ago. Before he died, he passed on all his life's learning to me."

Xiao Zhen was stunned for a moment and hadn't reacted yet, but Li Muzhi was immediately shocked and screamed, "The Master Quezhou that the Marquis was talking about is the Ghost-faced Man Quezhou Yifandu?!"

Only then did Xiao Zhen come back to his senses after being called out by Li Mu. When he saw Fang Xun nod in affirmation, his expression became horrified.

Although Quezhou Yifandu, who made a brief appearance in the battle of the White Lotus Mother more than four years ago, has never appeared in public since then, all the major forces in the world, especially the imperial court, dare not forget this name.

Because the large-scale brainwashing effect of "Selfless Brahma Sound" is too terrifying, it makes people as feared as the poisonous snake and scorpion as the White Lotus Mother.

Although the White Lotus Mother has completely disappeared now, the lack of boat and sail has made others wary again.

A hint of enlightenment emerged in Xiao Zhen and Li Muzhi's eyes, and they immediately understood Yu Jiaolong's real strategic goal.

"It's really a trap, my Lord. I understand. This time, the King of Chu's army will never return!"

Xiao Zhen looked excited, but Li Muzhi frowned.

"My Lord, if this matter goes wrong, it will trigger a massive attack from all sides of the world."

"The Selfless Sanskrit Sound" is too feared by people. If the Prince of Yue's Palace uses it openly, it is no joke that it will be attacked by everyone.

But Fang Xun was unusually calm: "Don't worry, in another month or two, the others won't have the energy to take care of us."

Li Muzhi's body trembled, and a hint of understanding appeared in his eyes, and he said no more. At this time, Fang Xun spoke again: "We don't have much time left. Not only Jiangzhou, but also other states can be postponed. When the time is right, we will control Wuzhou first."

Having said this, he turned to look at Li Muzhi and said, "But before that, we have to recruit some people to fill the important positions in the prefectures and counties of Wuzhou.

Li Muzhi, I remember that the first batch of students from the Fengdi Junior School will graduate soon, right?"

Li Muzhi's face showed a trace of surprise again and he said, "My Lord, do you want to replace all the officials in the prefectures and counties of Wuzhou?!"

After hearing this, Old Man Mo, Dongfang Que, and Xiao Zhen also had a flash of shock in their eyes.

This is no small matter. It is equivalent to replacing all officials in Jiangzhou, from the prefect at the state level to the head of the village and town and village head, in an all-round and comprehensive manner!
However, Fang Xun actually nodded calmly, as if he had no idea what he was doing.

He said calmly: “Since ancient times, the imperial power has not extended to the countryside. This is the drawback of Confucianism, which is equivalent to the court ceding some power to local gentry.

Local gentry and prominent families set up ancestral halls and arbitrarily enforced family rules to beat people to death, and the government had no control over it.

They regard clan and marriage as righteousness and form personal dependence on the villagers.

Every household concealed the size of their farmland and hid the number of people they kept, and they colluded with officials to deceive their superiors and subordinates. They were completely sucking blood from the imperial court!

In the past, except for Dongting Prefecture, the rest of the world was not under the jurisdiction of the Prince of Yue’s Palace. I didn’t care, but in the future, I won’t be able to do that anymore.

I don't know if you can tolerate a group of maggots doing nothing but lying on your body and sucking your blood, but I definitely can't tolerate it!"

Although Fang Xun's tone was calm, it made the other four people feel cold in their hearts.

Li Muzhi felt awed at heart and did not dare to persuade him any further.

But facing Fang Xun's previous question, he could only bite the bullet and give an answer.

"My Lord, the first batch of qualified students graduated from the Junior School two months ago. If they were to serve as minor officials, they would only need to adapt for a period of time before they could be competent. However, it is impossible to replace the officials of most prefectures and counties in Wuzhou!"

After all, the time was too short, and the public school in Dongting Prefecture,

Fang Xun nodded after hearing this, then looked at Dongfang Que and said, "Within half a month, mobilize thirty Yinshen masters and one thousand awakening masters to Dongting Prefecture."

"Okay, Brother Xun!" Although he didn't know what to do, Dongfang Que agreed without thinking.

Fang Xun then said to Li Muzhi and Xiao Zhen, "About half a year ago, when the fiefdom began to remeasure the land and check the population, I told you that there is no more than three chances, and everyone has two chances."

The two of them thought about it and realized something immediately.

"Now half a year has passed, and the first batch of students who graduated from the junior school have been assigned to various places to serve as minor officials for more than two months. During this time, they should have adapted to their work.

It’s time to re-measure the land and conduct a population census!”

Li Muzhi immediately said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I will not let you down this time. Anyone who conceals the truth will have their property confiscated and be thrown into prison, or be executed on the spot!"

Fang Xun glanced at him, shook his head and said, "Who said I wanted to kill someone?"

Li Mu was stunned: "What does the Marquis mean?"

Fang Xun sighed and said, "Everyone says that I love to confiscate property and exterminate clans, and I can't sleep unless I kill someone. This is completely a rumor.

Every person is a living being, how can I decide their life or death at will? In fact, I don’t like house raiding at all.”

Old Man Mo was immediately confused and asked directly, "Boy, what do you want to say?"

Dongfang Que immediately thought of something and said with a thoughtful smile: "Xun Ge'er is right. It would be a waste to just kill so many people."

Old Man Mo was confused again: "How come even you have changed your gender?"

Fang Xun said with satisfaction: "You still understand me. Didn't I just say that I want to recruit a group of people? I think those guys in the fiefdom who refuse to change after repeated teachings are very suitable.

I gave them two chances to correct themselves, but they didn’t know how to cherish them.”

Xiao Zhen and Li Muzhi looked at the smiles on Fang Xun and Dongfang Que's faces, and a chill suddenly rose in their hearts.

They all understand that sometimes, death is not the most terrible thing.
At this time Fang Xun clapped his hands again, looked at Dongfang Que and said: "Li Muzhi, Dongfang Que, this matter is left to you two. After you capture the person, just send him to the place I specify."

Li Muzhi and Dongfang Que immediately accepted the order, and then Fang Xun looked at Old Man Mo and said, "Old man, Ah Qing, Zhao Ning and I will all be in seclusion for a while, so please take care of the affairs of the palace."

Old Man Mo asked doubtfully, "You guys want to go into seclusion at this critical moment?"

Fang Xun nodded: "Yes, Zhao Ning wants to break through the Zhenwu bottleneck, while Ah Qing and I have other important matters and have to go into seclusion."

(End of this chapter)