Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

"How many first-grade experts does the Dongyue Sword Pool currently have?" Shen Qing was surprised by Zhang Fakui's words, but not too surprised, after all, it was a first-class sect in the martial arts world. He then continued to ask.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fakui's face showed a hint of difficulty. After all, a first-rank expert would not easily reveal the sect's trump cards to the outside world. However, after thinking of Song Nianqing's instructions, he still gritted his teeth and said, "Currently, there are a total of four first-rank experts in the sect. The sect leader and Senior Brother Chai are both at the peak of the Zhixuan realm, Junior Brother Qin is at the peak of the Vajra realm, and then there is Junior Nephew Li Yibai, who is at the early stage of the Vajra realm."

"A sect with four first-rank experts, that's truly impressive. The Eastern Yue Sword Pool lives up to its reputation as one of the world's top sword sects; its foundation is indeed not to be underestimated." Shen Qing nodded in admiration upon hearing Zhang Fakui's introduction. Aside from lacking top-tier experts, the Eastern Yue Sword Pool is already quite remarkable.

However, it's only "good enough." In the snowy world, without a top-tier master to oversee things, it's impossible to remain detached from worldly affairs. Even if all the masters from the Dongyue Sword Pool were to come out together, they probably wouldn't be able to defeat the top five masters in the martial arts rankings. That's the difference.

"The most important thing in Yuezhou right now is the martial arts examination. Li Yibai, you will lead 20 inner disciples to Kuaiji City to receive orders and assist His Highness the King of Yue in maintaining order in the city. If any martial artists rebel, arrest them immediately." After understanding the strength of the Eastern Yue Sword Pool, Shen Qing immediately began to make the deployment.

"Don't worry, Lord Shen, I guarantee I'll complete the mission." Li Yibai nodded immediately upon hearing Shen Qing's words.

Shen Qing continued, "Second Elder, you should have the other ten inner disciples, in pairs, each leading 20 outer disciples to the other five county towns to cooperate with the local militia in maintaining order, so as to prevent lawbreakers from taking advantage of the martial arts examination to cause trouble in other places."

"Rest assured, Lord Shen, I will make the arrangements immediately." Zhang Fakui nodded upon hearing this, then said with a hint of worry, "But Lord Shen, I would like to ask, now that Eunuch Gao is dead, are there really no problems with the Prince of Guangling?"

As the second elder of the sect, Zhang Fakui was in charge of welcoming and seeing off guests on a daily basis. Therefore, he knew far more about the power of the Prince of Guangling than anyone else. Since Zhao Yi took root there, he had been responsible for suppressing rebellions in the southeast for many years, killing countless people each time. Countless people used their blood and lives to forge his infamous reputation.

"Second Elder, please rest assured. I will send people to keep an eye on the Prince of Guangling. I guarantee that you will be informed immediately if there is any news. We will not allow the Dongyue Sword Pool to suffer any accidents." Shen Qing patted his chest and promised.

Hearing Shen Qing's assurance, Zhang Fakui barely suppressed his worries and wholeheartedly cooperated with Shen Qing's orders. With Zhang Fakui's help, the disciples of Dongyue Sword Pool immediately obeyed and left (martial artists acted swiftly and decisively, unlike ordinary people who dragged their feet). In less than half a day, the once bustling Dongyue Sword Pool became much quieter, leaving only some outer disciples who had not been selected, sighing with resentment.

Just after all the disciples of Dongyue Sword Pool left, Shen Qing was about to return to the prefectural governor's mansion when a sudden idea flashed into his mind. He said, "By the way, Second Elder, I wonder if you could help me make a connection with the wealthy families in Lujiang County. I want to purchase a batch of grain at a price 30% lower than the market price to stabilize the grain price in the entire Yuezhou."

Although Shen Qing received a sum of money from Dover, money can't be eaten; it still needs to be used to purchase supplies to alleviate the current food crisis in Yuezhou.

Affected by the previous withdrawal of the imperial court and the invasion of barbarians, the price of grain in various counties has remained high. Powerful families have hoarded grain, and only the common people at the bottom of society have suffered.

Although the Xuanyuan family transported grain from Jianzhou, the losses were too great, and they are currently only surviving thanks to the Xuanyuan family's reserves. However, this is not a long-term solution. Moreover, the war to restore the Western Chu kingdom is about to begin, and martial law will definitely be imposed on the Guangling River. It will be very difficult to transport strategically important materials like grain smoothly across the Guangling River to Yuezhou.

Shen Qing and Zhao Kai were furious at the hoarding of grain by powerful families in Yuezhou. They discussed the matter several times, but ultimately gave up their plan to take direct action.

Reputation is sometimes nothing, but sometimes a good reputation is absolutely necessary to enhance one's image.

The behavior of the powerful families in Yuezhou hoarding grain at high prices was indeed despicable, but in the end it was just a business transaction. The reason why they sold grain at high prices is the same as the reason why oil futures traders in the stock market in later generations took advantage of wars between oil-producing countries to profit from companies that needed oil.

Of course, some civilians will inevitably die in this process, but Shen Qing and Zhao Kai cannot use this as an excuse to take unreasonable and forceful action. (To put it bluntly, those who can afford it will still be able to afford it no matter how high the price, and those who truly cannot afford it will still be unable to afford it no matter how low the price.)

Otherwise, if the Prince of Yue's mansion were to forcefully intervene, it would be considered a violation of market rules, resulting in the loss of their reputation and resistance from all merchants and aristocratic families. Even the people they had saved would point fingers at them afterward. Human nature is such that even direct beneficiaries, once freed from hardship, do not like those who break the rules.

Therefore, Shen Qing has been trying to find a way to solve the problem of grain prices, and the best way is to bring down grain prices through market competition.

"Don't worry, Lord Shen, leave this small matter to me. I guarantee you'll be satisfied," Zhang Fakui said, patting his chest and making a boastful promise.

"Second Elder, the food issue concerns the livelihood and stability of the entire Yuezhou, and it is not something to be taken lightly." Shen Qing looked at Zhang Fakui in surprise.

"Lord Shen, you may not know this, but my Dongyue Sword Pool has connections with the powerful clans in Lujiang County. Many of their younger generations have become disciples of my sect, so purchasing grain at a low price is absolutely no problem for us." Zhang Fakui said, glancing smugly at Shen Qing, and continued with an arrogant expression, "Don't even mention buying grain at 30% below market price; even buying it at the price before the price surge is a piece of cake. It's not even impossible for us to get them to help stabilize prices throughout Yuezhou."

Upon hearing this, Shen Qing was deeply moved by the influence of the Dongyue Sword Pool. He hadn't expected that a mere flash of inspiration could bring such a pleasant surprise. It seemed that his visit to the Dongyue Sword Pool today had been a great success.

Of course, Shen Qing understood that there is no such thing as a free lunch. If he wanted Dongyue Sword Pool to use its connections to help, he would have to make some sacrifices for them.

Shen Qing immediately began to think quickly again. Finally, his face lit up with joy, and he said, "Second Elder, if the Dongyue Sword Pool can help stabilize prices throughout Yuezhou, then I will suggest to the King of Yue that a Divine Arrest Bureau be established throughout Yuezhou, independent of the administrative systems of each city, to assist the city officials in maintaining local order. The Divine Arrest Bureau's main responsibility is to arrest those martial artists who cause trouble. Under the Divine Arrest Bureau are Bronze-Rank Constables (at least Rank 9), Silver-Rank Constables (at least Rank 6), Gold-Rank Constables (at least Rank 3), and Divine Arrestors. Bronze-Rank Constables correspond to the township level, Silver-Rank Constables to the county level, Gold-Rank Constables to the prefecture level, and Divine Arrestors to be responsible for the entire Yuezhou region and directly connect with the King of Yue's Mansion."

"After arresting a martial artist, each level of constable can choose to hand him over to the local official for trial. If the constable of that level has any objection to the local official's trial, he can report it to the higher-level Divine Constable, who will then send someone to supervise the trial and prevent anyone from engaging in favoritism or corruption."

"What does Your Excellency mean?" Zhang Fakui was excited again upon hearing Shen Qing's introduction.

"If the Dongyue Sword Pool can successfully stabilize prices in Yuezhou, I can promise you the positions of one gold-medal constable, five silver-medal constables, and ten bronze-medal constables," Shen Qing said, offering his price without hesitation.

If you want a horse to run, you have to feed it. Although Yuezhou currently only has six positions for top-ranking constables, Shen Qing is still willing to invest heavily in this area to quickly stabilize prices in Yuezhou.