Yinshan Record

Chapter 220 A Bright Future
Su Che gave Shi Chibao a general account of what he had discovered in Tian'an County.

Commander Shi shook his head in disapproval.

"Brother, you still lack experience."

"Please give your instructions, Commander Shi."

"Let's not talk about showing respect or not. We're brothers, and I have a few words from the bottom of my heart for you to hear."

After saying this, Shi Chibao waved his hand to dismiss the people around him, leaving only Su Che and Shi Chibao in the room.

"Brother, what's your background?"

"I?"

Shi Chibao let out a long sigh and said, "You are the young master of the Su family of Duling and a disciple of the esteemed Master Yu Lizi of Huangtiandao. Why do you care about such trivial matters?"

"A night watchman had his life force drained, and that's that. Do you know how many depressed young men in Cizhou wander aimlessly around ancient tombs every day, just waiting to find a beautiful female ghost to defile their virginity?"

Shi Chibao continued, exasperated, "Don't even mention those depressed teenagers, there are plenty of depressed middle-aged and elderly people too. They're all just bored out of their minds."

"The Demonic Sect is ubiquitous. They claim to be based in the northern wilderness, but they also have presence in the Central Plains, and their influence extends far beyond the East Sea."

"That's just how the world is. As the sages said, 'Cultivate oneself, regulate one's family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world.' This is a complicated matter. To put it simply, everyone should take care of themselves first before talking about others."

"What use is that county magistrate to you?" Shi Chibao said indignantly. "He's just a lousy county magistrate. To put it bluntly, he's just a tax collector for the emperor. What use would it be for you to borrow a few yamen runners from him? We're not like the peaceful days of the early days of the founding of the nation. We're just a bunch of good-for-nothings who are just there to make up the numbers."

"There are corpse demons in the county. Can they be hidden from the City God? It's just a matter of whether he wants to or not. We, the Imperial Guards, must consider the big picture. What is the big picture? The Emperor wants the big picture."

“Go back to Cizhou and send a centurion with a few brothers. They’ll get the gist of it in no time. The sword cultivators of the East Sea have said that when wielding a sword, first conceal its edge. Hide your sharpness so they don’t know where you’re going to strike. Once you make your move, it will be a whirlwind that will catch them off guard.”

Su Che didn't agree with Shi Chibao's philosophy, but he respected it. He felt he still needed to learn more from Shi Chibao's methods.

"Sigh, brother, you have a bright future ahead of you. If you like what I'm saying, take it to heart. If not, just ignore it. But my heart is truly with you..."

That sounds weird.

Su Che looked at Shi Chibao: "There's something else I'd like to ask you, Chief Justice. What's our stance on the Prince of Wuling's arrival in Cizhou?"

The imperial court had not sent princes to other regions for a long time.

The dispatch of the Prince of Wuling to govern Cizhou this time was undoubtedly aimed at the phrase "the calamity of the three yangs."

The crown prince has already established his power, and the emperor must suppress his influence.

This isn't a case of "no fathers or sons in the imperial family," but rather a perfectly normal tactic.

It's likely that the Prince of Wuling is merely a weapon in the emperor's hand, brought out to be displayed at this particular moment.

"I don't know." Shi Chibao looked at Su Che: "What you mean is what I mean."

Hey, this is Shi Qianhu.

Su Che asked himself if he were in Su Che's shoes, and he would have the same attitude.

There's a saying that might sound complicated, but the principle is the same.

The Imperial Guards were backed by the Imperial Horse Administration, and within the Imperial Horse Administration was Lord Su. Whether the Imperial Guards belonged to the Imperial Horse Administration or the Directorate of Ceremonial, no matter which department of the inner court they were under, there had to be someone like Lord Su in charge of them.

Why? Because when Yuwen Rui comes to stir up trouble again, the leader of the Imperial Guards must be able to match him and fight to a draw. If he is defeated by the Grand Tutor of Northern Wei in just a few moves, then he is not worthy of being the leader of the Imperial Guards.

Therefore, the Imperial Guard must be under the command of Lord Su. As for whether Lord Su will insist on protecting the Crown Prince or decide to support someone else, that remains to be seen.

This has nothing to do with Shi Chibao. As long as a sword light doesn't fall from the sky and cleave Su Gong in two, Shi Chibao has no personal opinions. In short, he'll follow Su Gong.

If Su Gong did not explicitly state it, then follow Su Gong's nephew.

"Speaking of which, there's a small matter I'd like to ask you for some advice on."

Su Che then interjected, "I've got my eye on Tongdelou in Tian'an County."

"Tongdelou?" Shi Chibao naturally knew which restaurant was behind Tongdelou.

"What do you need a shabby restaurant for? We have plenty of ways to make money. Cizhou Port connects to the East China Sea, and countless rare delicacies come from there..."

"It's nothing else, I just want to take this opportunity to test the waters on the side of the Prince of Wuling."

Su Che said, "In the end, we should first see what the Langya Wang clan thinks. Brother, rest assured, my idea is that I will play the villain, and you will step in to mediate when the time comes."

Shi Chibao was right. Even if a restaurant was built to be more magnificent and beautiful than the imperial palace in Jiankang, Su Che had no interest in it whatsoever. He was just looking for an opportunity to get to know the person behind it.

"You're very kind, brother."

Shi Chibao looked at Su Che and said, "I will remember this favor."

At this point, Su Che's meaning was quite clear.

Su San Gongzi plays a wicked young master who seizes other people's property and clashes with the Langya Wang clan. Shi Chibao will then mediate and play the good guy.

The characters are well-defined, and the story is simple.

The effect? ​​Mainly, it's just to send a message to the Langya Wang clan and see what this behemoth, currently standing behind the Prince of Wuling, is really thinking.

"What are your plans, bro?"

"Find a pretext to take over the manager of Tongdelou, then seal off this place for a few days." Su Che smiled. "Spread the word that I've taken a liking to this place and am planning to acquire it."

Having a bad reputation has its advantages; it makes doing such a thing seem more reasonable and justifiable.

"Yes, this is a good opportunity to do it together with taking down the City God of Tianan."

Shi Chibao pondered for a moment: "There must be someone from Tongdelou who went to the City God Temple to burn incense. These are irrefutable pieces of evidence."

"Speaking of which, how does the Chief Justice plan to take down the City God of Tian'an County?"

Su Che was very curious about this question.

Although the City God is similar to a county magistrate, he is not a real county magistrate, but a divine cultivator with supernatural powers.

A county magistrate can be dismissed from his post or even have his entire family executed with a single imperial edict, but dealing with a city god is not so easy.

The county magistrate is a rotating official who changes every few years, while the city god is a deeply rooted and powerful deity.

"It's like felling a tree. You have to cut away all the annoying branches and leaves before you can touch the root."

Shi Chibao grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth.

"We need to work together sincerely for this matter to be resolved."

"Just give the order, Your Excellency, and I will obey."

"With your words of comfort, I can finally rest assured."

(End of this chapter)