My book friend Long Aotian

Chapter 179: Aura of Intelligence Reduction
To be honest, Taoist Ling didn't really want to come.

But Li Bailong took advantage of the Cao Gang and reaped the benefits of the variety show for free, which was simply too much. Yunhuatang had to make a statement no matter what.

Based on the principle of king versus king, soldier versus soldier, it should be Master Ma who came forward to quarrel with Li Bailong.

But Ling Daoist always felt that his boss had suffered setbacks one after another under Li Bailong's tyranny, and his mentality was somewhat at a loss. If he was humiliated by Li Bailong again, he would get hot-headed and do something irrational...

Wouldn't that ruin everything?
When he thought of this, he couldn't help but sigh.

Hall Master Ma is good at everything. He acts calmly, behaves in a measured manner, has a broad mind, and is intelligent. He is trusted by Lord Yun and is regarded as a capable nephew... However, he is of noble birth and has the common characteristics of the core disciples of the six major sects.

——Never experienced any setback in the true sense.

In the past, relying on the power of the Cao Gang and his own abilities, he was successful in everything he did. Even if he suffered some setbacks and failures, it was no big deal, because even if he failed, he had the confidence and self-confidence that ordinary people did not have... He always had a way out and could always make a comeback.

Therefore, it lacks some bloodiness and murderousness.

Now, this originally harmless weakness has become fatal.

Facing an unprecedented and extremely difficult enemy like Li Bailong, the power and strength of the Cao Gang are not enough to rely on. Moreover, the situation has reversed. Now Ma Fulong is concerned about the important mission entrusted by Yun Gong, and is worried about gains and losses, hesitating. Li Bailong, on the other hand, has a comprehensive retreat and is more calm.

So after suffering several losses in succession, Master Ma's mentality has become somewhat unstable.

Taoist Ling noticed this disturbing sign.

This is why he volunteered to meet Li Bailong.

After all, he thought he was knowledgeable, experienced, professionally trained and tempered, and had a strong ability to withstand pressure. No matter how excessive Li Bailong's actions were, he would not lose his sense of proportion or do anything irrational.

He went to Tongwen Bureau and delivered his visiting card. The doorman was very polite and asked him to wait for a moment before going in to report.

Soon, Military Advisor Ling from Yunhua Hall was invited in.

He bowed to Director Li with great respect and courtesy.

They sat down to drink tea and chatted for a few minutes, then he started to complain.

"The governor has taken advantage of us and stolen our hard work, which has made our gang feel humiliated."

People from the six major sects have one thing in common: they can modestly call themselves "I", but they will never call themselves "my sect". Although Taoist Ling's tone is respectful, his words are not polite.

After all, the Cao Gang only worked for a few days, contributed manpower, copied Li Bailong's variety show ideas, and developed their own programs, but in the end Li Bailong took all the benefits and turned the operating results of private enterprises into the achievements of the government - and the Cao Gang was a top foreign capital! It was outrageous!
His tone was cold and threatening: "In this world, justice will prevail."

Nalan Wenbo, who was standing aside, was already writing furiously.

Li Bailong just smiled and asked, "Why, if this matter doesn't suit you, are you going to organize the canal workers to go to the streets and surround the government office again?"

Taoist Ling realized the trap in the words.

Whether admitting it or denying it, it would give Li Bailong an excuse to make use of the issue.

The dog official is cunning.

After all, he is a veteran.

After thinking for a moment, he calmly replied: "The Cao Gang is like a river, it never offends anyone. If someone offends it, there will be a tide. As for the size, direction and type of the wave, it is difficult to predict."

Li Bailong nodded.

He then said to Nalan Wenbo: "Remember this, the deputy head of Yunhua Hall said that if the Tongwen Bureau insists on pushing forward the gift-giving warm-up activities, the Cao Gang will use measures including but not limited to gathering the Cao workers to surround the government office and incite civil unrest to stop it..."

Nalan Wenbo wrote very quickly and showed an expression of admiration.

"..."

I am not angry about the benefits of verbal attacks. I am not angry.

Although Taoist Ling was angry, he had a huge advantage over Ma Fulong.

——He was born in a humble family and worked his way up, enduring countless cold stares, doubts, failures, humiliations and setbacks. His ability to withstand pressure and to comfort himself is far superior to that of Master Ma.

He said calmly, "Your Excellency, there is no need to play such tricks. You and I both know that the conflict between the Tongwen Bureau and the Yunhua Hall stems from the disputes in the court. The omissions in words and even the charges in the officialdom are actually not worth mentioning. After all, winning or losing is not about this, and I will not be shaken by it."

Li Bailong clicked his tongue and said, "You are much more boring than Ma Fulong."

Taoist Ling said calmly: "I am sorry that I could not satisfy you, sir."

"Indeed." Li Bailong stood up and waved his sleeves, "Show the guests away!"

"?????"

Taoist Ling could never have expected such a development.

"Who are you and who am I? According to your rank, you are not qualified to talk to me!" Director Li scolded, "Go back and let Ma Fulong talk to me instead!"

"..."

Taoist Ling was at a loss for a moment.

——Damn it, why am I always controlled by him!

No wonder Master Ma is so angry!
In a short period of time, he was teased and controlled by Li Bailong several times. If Master Ma came, he would probably be unable to suppress his murderous intent and would fight on the spot... So, he definitely could not go back.

Taoist Ling was silent for a moment, and could only say: "Your Excellency is very capable, I admit defeat, but I am also the deputy commander of Yunhua Hall, so I am qualified to discuss matters with you, Your Excellency."

Li Bailong raised his eyebrows and said disdainfully: "That depends on whether I agree or not. Besides, the hall master has a deputy with him, and he can't be trusted. What can we discuss with you? Do you have the right to make decisions?"

Taoist Ling bowed his head and said, "I have been authorized by the hall master to make decisions on behalf of Yunhua Hall."

Li Bailong asked again: "Then do you have the seal?"

……What is the problem?
Taoist Ling was puzzled, but Cao Gang executives always carried tokens with them: "I brought them."

"You can sign and agree to carry out the agreement immediately, right?"

"……Correct."

What kind of nonsense questions is this dog official asking?

Taoist Ling was extremely confused and alert.

He knew that Li Bailong was cunning and asked these strange questions, most likely with evil intentions. However, no matter how much he thought about it, he could not figure out what conspiracy the other party might have.

"Then tell me." Li Bailong sat back down and crossed his legs. "What do you want to discuss?"

"The governor wants to take advantage of our Cao Gang's hard work and incorporate our program that helped Huazhou's literary world into the Tongwen Bureau's "I am a Reader" program, and get our supplies and preparations for nothing..."

When Taoist Ling said this, he saw that Li Bailong's expression changed slightly and he wanted to argue, so he felt a headache.

He knew that since Li Bailong had done such a stupid thing, he must have a lot of excuses to make. It was pointless to argue with him and he would risk getting angry to death.

So he said hurriedly: "It is meaningless to argue about who is right and who is wrong in this matter. The governor forced the matter together. The canal gang wants to withdraw its investment and leave, which has offended the elders of Huazhou. Even if they gather the canal workers to ask for an explanation, they will be hostile and cursed by the people of Huazhou..."

This is true.

The Cao Gang organized this kind of variety show that gave money away, and in the eyes of the common people who were ready to sign up to participate, the money had already gone into their pockets. At this time, if Yunhuatang withdraws its investment, this matter will be equivalent to "the Cao Gang promised to give me the money, but it didn't give me the money" for the masses!
No one knows better than Taoist Ling how stupid, greedy and easy to incite the peasants are. They don't care about the truth. As long as Li Bailong makes a few comments in the newspapers, people will flock to curse the Cao Gang.

In this situation, gathering the canal workers to surround the government office as they did last time would not work, because Li Bailong also had the support of the people. If the gathered canal workers had a large-scale conflict with the dissatisfied Huazhou people...

Then it's really all over!
Even if they come out to defend themselves by saying "it was the Tongwen Bureau that took advantage of them and stole their hard work", no one will care or believe it.

Even the Tongwen Bureau had something to say, "It's just a merger of programs. We've given you the name and didn't collect your money. The program has changed from being organized by the private sector to an official event to pay tribute to the court. Are you dissatisfied? Why are you withdrawing your investment? Don't you want to pay tribute?"... This is what the dog official would definitely say!

That's why Master Ma and Taoist Ling were so angry after seeing Li Bailong's peach picking declaration.

Because the corrupt officials were quick, steady, accurate and ruthless in their plundering, and they took action only after the Cao Gang had invested a large amount of manpower and material resources and publicized the matter, making it impossible for them to retreat!

When Taoist Ling thought of this, his tone became more helpless and desolate: "Your Excellency has made every possible effort. We are willing to admit defeat. But your Excellency must know that even so, Yunhuatang can still fight..." Li Bailong smiled.

“…But Yunhuatang can also cooperate and continue to contribute manpower and manpower to help run this program.”

Director Li leaned forward and looked at the other party: "Oh? What are the conditions?"

His gaze made Ling Daoren feel a little uneasy, as if he was being stared at by a prey beast.

The other party seemed to be waiting, as if waiting for him to reveal a flaw.

Ling Daoist felt uneasy, but he finally gritted his teeth and said firmly: "In the answer book library, we need to add the biography of our sect's founder who we designated..."

This is one of Ma Fulun’s counterattack plans!

It does work.

Li Bailong stirred up trouble in Huazhou, collecting literature and writing eulogies to praise the imperial court. All he did was to educate people of the same culture... In this case, let him take over the throne.

You sing praises for the royal family and gather incense, so I will push the founder of our sect up as well!
Then we will increase the monetary reward and distribute more related books so that the people of Huazhou will go to read the stories of our ancestor. All the hard work you, Li Bailong, will do will be for the benefit of the Cao Gang.

Let’s see how you explain this to King Zhao!
This is called using your rules to defeat you!
This is indeed an open conspiracy, because the mission of the Education Department is not only to respect Taizu, but also to worship the Six Saints. Although Huazhou is the ancestral land of the imperial way and does not allow the six major factions to interfere in the administration, there is absolutely no reason to prohibit the worship of the ancestors of the Cao Gang. If Li Bailong really has the courage to prohibit this matter, the Cao Gang will dare to take direct action to defend the way!

This is the greatest justice among all justices. In the name of defending the truth, even if Li Bailong is killed, the Lingyu Sect and Xuanyuan Sect will have nothing to say!
If Li Bailong didn't have the courage to stop it, then he would have been busy following King Zhao's orders, but would have let the Cao Gang gain the advantage. Even if the emperor's uncle won the bet with Lord Yun, it would have been the same as losing.

When Taoist Ling thought of this, he smiled proudly.

At this moment, Li Bailong laughed loudly: "I laugh at the stupidity of the hall master and the lack of wisdom of the master..."

The moment he finished speaking, he shouted in his mind.

"Right now - shock him!"

In the void, the power of the thunder poison ghost suddenly activated.

The Thunder Poison Ghost shouted silently: "Poison me!"

The sound was only a formal carrier; the real power came from the strange and powerful invisible resentment. The peculiar foreignness blew into Ling Daoren's heart without hindrance, shaking his confident and proud plan.

Add the legendary story of the gang’s founder to the answer library.

That’s a good idea…right?

But why did Li Bailong laugh at us for being stupid and unintelligent?
No, wait... wait!
Taoist Ling's expression suddenly changed.

——Yes! Don’t I know what the atmosphere in Huazhou is like? A bunch of weird-minded guys with weird tastes who love to watch men with men, and women toy with and control men, and even criticize men extremely. Their brains and eyes are all dirty. Even if they read the glorious biography of the founder, what kind of vicious thoughts will flash through their minds, I dare not even think about it!
Not only will they think about it, they might even say it out loud or even write it down!
It would write about the founder and a group of men doing this and that.

There will be rumors that the ancestor was actually a woman dressed as a man, and her gender was tampered with by the men who were feared by later generations!

They would say that the founder’s achievements were actually limited and he just stole his wife’s achievements!

Damn, damn, damn!

I actually agreed with the hall master's idea without considering the consequences in depth, ignoring the potential risks and impacts, and putting the reputation of the founder in danger!

Oh my God! Damn it! I did such a foolish thing rashly...

——What will Big Brother Wan Yunlong think of me? Will he think that I am not loyal enough to our gang? Will he think that I don’t respect and love the founder enough? No! I don’t want to disappoint Big Brother Wan Yunlong!

——I have to think of a way to restore Brother Wan Yunlong’s opinion of me!
Seeing his expression, Aozi immediately shouted, "It's done! What the hell, what's going on?"

The Thunder Poison Ghost's supernatural power is taking effect!
Li Bailong also felt strange.

Before, Tang Ping’s internal energy was not even up to par, and his mind was extremely fragile, but he was able to remain calm despite the shouting of the Thunder Poison Ghost.

He wondered if it was because the other party was in a bad mood.

But later, a few more prisoners were replaced, but there was still no effect... Those prisoners behaved well and had been working hard to do the work of the comment control room's water army and strive for sentence reduction. They were definitely not the kind of people who would give up.

And now, Taoist Ling has actually fallen into the trap!

This man was Ma Fulong's deputy and Yunhuatang's deputy commander. His intelligence, martial arts, willpower and status were far superior to those of the prisoners. The resentful power of Lei Dugui invaded his heart like a torrent of wind and rain, and he had no ability to resist.

what is this?
I will be tricked, Aozi will be tricked, and Ling Daoren will be tricked...

Li Bailong's mind is like a wheel, but the sample size is too small to summarize the ghost's killing patterns.

Seeing that Ling Daoist was wavering and worried, he said, "You want to put the legendary biography of your sect's founder into the answer library, right? Let's sign a written agreement right now..."

Taoist Ling waved his hands in panic: "No need, no need!"

Li Bailong said unhappily, "Sir, what you said is so unreasonable! How can you deny what you said?"

The other party was like a media facing a major sensitive issue, hesitating and evasive: "I was thinking about it wrongly before, this matter needs to be considered in the long run..."

Li Bailong sneered again.

The Thunder Poison Ghost added another round: "——The thunder is killing me!"

After Li Bailong was hit, he struggled free after a while. Aozi also quickly recovered after being struck by lightning. However, Ling Daoren's debuff has continued to this day and there is no sign of it disappearing.

He got into even bigger trouble.

——Yes, since I know that this proposal is so risky to the reputation of the ancestor, why should I say that I will take the long view? Because this proposal was made by Ma Fulong! If I refuse it directly here, I will offend him! Damn it! I am greedy for power! I cherish my status! I am afraid of them!
——Damn it! Do I consider Ma Fulong and the eldest wife's happiness and anger more important than the reputation of the ancestor? How can I be worthy of Brother Wan Yunlong like this! How will he look at me?

——I have to find a way to prove my loyalty and purity to Brother Wan Yunlong!

——Got it! I'm going to beat Ma Fulong up! I'm going to scold him! I'm going to spit on him! After all, he was the one who came up with this bad idea! I'm going to show Brother Wan Yunlong that I have guts!

When he thought of this, Taoist Ling's eyes widened with anger, he jumped up and rushed outside!
Things happened very quickly. As the secretary, Nalan Wenbo saw that the governor made Ling Daoren lose his way and flee with just a laugh and a sneer. It was truly mysterious.

Then he saw the governor rushing out as fast as the wind.

He cried, "My Lord!"

The governor's voice drifted back: "Go and get busy."

Taoist Ling ran very fast and rushed out of Tongwen Bureau.

A group of Cao Gang guards and followers were waiting outside.

When they saw the military advisor coming out, they wanted to greet him, but they were shocked to see that the military advisor did not take the car but ran away directly. Just when they were confused, they saw the dog official Li Bailong rushing out and chasing the military advisor all the way away. They were stunned for a moment before they came to their senses.

Everyone in the Cao Gang was shocked and angry: "This dog official is too much! He even bullied the military advisor!"

They shouted and hurried to catch up. The leader gave orders as he chased, "Old Five, use a carrier pigeon to inform the hall master that the military advisor entered the Tongwen Bureau and then ran out in a panic. This is a bit strange. Let's first..."

At this moment, he felt his mind go dizzy.

It seemed as if someone was shouting at him from somewhere.

"Fuck!"

Aozi shouted in his mind: "Did you see that? That Cao Gang member was also tricked - Cao Gang members seem to be easily tricked, why is that?"

Li Bailong also pondered, as if he had caught some inspiration.

"There are too few samples. Let's see what Ling Daoist wants to do first!" He said, "When there are more people from the Cao Gang, we will try again!"

Here, the leader of the Cao Gang who was guarding Master Ling was already torn between his own conscience and his own desires.

——Yes, the official is so bullying, and Mr. Ling is running away in such a mess. What good can come of it? Why am I being so strict with my words?
——After I said this, will Brother Wan Yunlong think that I am too soft and cowardly, and not loyal enough to my brothers?
——No, I have to do something to let Brother Wan Yunlong see my loyalty and decisiveness!
He immediately changed his tone and said firmly: "Tell the hall master that the military advisor is being chased by the dog officials, and ask him to quickly bring people to rescue and support!"

(End of this chapter)