Sword comes

Jianzhou finally received some definite news.

The people in the capital simply relayed a message, similar to an oral order, "You can start now."

It seemed that it was neither the will of His Majesty the Emperor nor the military order of the Ministry of War in the capital as a result of the court discussion.

From Handan to Qiu State, and then to inside and outside the capital of Qiu State, on the mountains and in the valleys, in the temples and in the rivers and lakes, in the mansions of the wealthy and powerful and among the lower classes in the market, all began to move.

Zhou Haijing asked in confusion, "In addition to mobilizing all the spies and assassins in Handan to infiltrate Qiu State, why did they also draw out and dispatch so many monks with the army? It would be fine if they used them, but they are not allowed to intervene without authorization and just watch? If you ask me, just get two Yupu Realm monks, bring a group of earthly immortals from the Ministry of Justice, and cooperate with a few Yuanyou Realm and Shanding Realm warriors to visit more often. It probably won't take half a day to solve the problem, right? Or just send the twelve of us to Qiu State, and there won't be any casualties."

Cao Gengxin smiled and asked, "If there are immortals or ascended beings in charge of a fairy palace, what are the monks with lower five realms for?"

Zhou Haijing said: "Don't beat around the bush, be straightforward."

Cao Gengxin patiently explained, "First, this is a military exercise that is not on the stage. The method is quite special, but the Dali Dynasty, which has returned half of Baopingzhou, will be able to use it for decades or even a hundred years. Dali needs to verify the results first and check for loopholes in all aspects. In addition, a wave of enemy spies will be purged in the near future. Second, it is equivalent to investigating the plans of Dali's military and civil departments, taking into account killing the chicken to scare the monkey, and shaking the mountain to scare the tiger, so that the southern countries will be quiet. Third, it depends on people's hearts, not only those of Qiu State, but also those of Dali itself, and those of Dadu in the south."

So when Vice Minister Cao of the Ministry of Personnel came to Jianzhou to keep an eye on him, General Lu Song of Handan was dissatisfied and thought that he was the military supervisor. This was true, and he was able to be promoted or demoted on the spot, which was not a mistake at all.

"Practicing Taoism is about subtraction, while governing a country is about addition."

"To cultivate the Way and walk in the void, one must not touch the ground. One must have the perseverance to not retreat. To govern a country, one must have the patience to both prepare the troops and horses and rest with the people.

Tongyezhou is a lesson learned from the past. When the barbaric demon tribes came to the border and swarmed onto the shore, the land countries could not gather troops at all. Some dynasties finally gathered troops, but they were not elite troops that could fight. They collapsed at the first blow. Those immortal sects that occupied the famous mountain Taoist temples were like isolated islands in an instant. The only exception is Taiping Mountain. "

Huang Meixian came here at some point, and with a rare smile on his face, he corrected, "Minister Cao, in fact, Yugui Sect can also be counted as one, but there are too many big monsters besieging Yugui Sect, which makes it seem that the resistance at the foot of the mountain is weak. If you look through the files carefully, you will find that there are dozens of countries near Yugui Sect's territory, and they are fighting fiercely."

Cao Gengxin nodded and said, "I'll check it out when I get a chance."

The sky was turning pale. Outside the sword boat, a young monk suddenly flew up from the territory of Qiu State and began to curse the Dali Dynasty for its tyranny and perverse behavior. He said that someone from his faction was going to ask Dali for justice for Qiu State today, even if he knew it was a futile effort and he would die on the spot...

Passionate words and a mighty voice.

Through the mirror image formed by the rising mist in the hall, Han E recognized the other person. Even though he lived deep in the palace, he knew his name. He was a young man with great talent for cultivation in Qiu State, who seemed to be Guan Haijing. Remember that at a celebration two years ago, his brother Han Yun took a walk with him arm in arm?

Han E felt a sense of heroism in his heart. He never thought that this Taoist priest in the mountains who had the hope of forming an elixir and becoming an earthly immortal could do such a thing?

When he thought about his own choice again, it was not dignified and upright enough compared to this one. The young prince lowered his head, silently ashamed.

On Jianzhou's side, he directly sacrificed a "flying sword" as thick as a spear, which was destroyed by the young monk who sacrificed a white jade pagoda, a precious defensive treasure. With a bang, as loud as thunder, the mountain gate's treasure was turned into powder on the spot, and countless fragments scattered on the earth like snowflakes.

The young man's life object was destroyed, bleeding from all seven orifices, his body was shaky, Jianzhou dispatched a priest of the Ministry of Justice of the Far-Wandering Realm and a monk who followed the army to expel the young monk, and the two sides had another verbal dispute, and then the Far-Wandering Realm warrior said that he wanted to play with him. The latter was in danger, but he never retreated, and the fight was fought, making the cloudless land brilliant with precious light and wonderful.

Han E's blood boiled as he watched, he clenched his fists and his face flushed red. If he had not been in the sword boat, he would have cheered for the young immortal who was like a pillar of the Qiu State.

Zhao Yao rubbed his brows. It was only a hundred words long and he couldn't even memorize it properly. Why did the Ministry of Justice in the secondary capital choose such a person?

There is no other way. In the future, we will have to rely on these types of people to "secretly" connect with people with lofty ideals within the territory of Qiu State, work hard and rebuild the country.

There will always be some people who regard themselves as "survivors of a fallen country" who wander around for years and finally find a few hidden mountains or camps that are responsible, prestigious, and powerful.

Within three to five years after the Qiu Kingdom came to power, there would be people who played the good cop and the bad cop in the government and the opposition. Some of them would be given posthumous titles and honors, some would be given in exchange for a smooth promotion for their family members, and some would just do things for money.

Han E finally noticed the change in Minister Zhao's expression and had a guess in his mind. The young man was stunned for a moment.

Zhao Yao was too lazy to beat around the bush with him, and said, "There are always such iron-willed leaders in the court, literary circles, and martial arts circles of the Qiu State. For example, this man in front of us, who fought to the death, cancelled his golden and jade genealogy before going down the mountain, and died heroically in public. However, he secretly received a low-level no-issue card issued by the Dali Ministry of Justice, as well as two Taoist books and secret manuals with a pre-negotiated price, a sum of immortal money, and a preacher in name only. The condition of forming a golden elixir within a hundred years is just a guaranteed condition. Our Ministry of Justice will also arrange two additional identities for him."

Han E was confused.

"Wipe your tears from your face. When you take your brother Han Yun's place in that position, you will definitely have the opportunity to see someone who is worthy of being called the conscience of the Qiu Kingdom. Then it won't be too late to grieve secretly and shed tears."

Zhao Yao said calmly: "It has been agreed in advance that the Ministry of Justice will record your words and deeds. They will only be more competent than the living officials, but you don't have to worry too much. As long as you don't go beyond the rules, they won't care what you think. When you do something beyond the line one day, the Ministry of Justice will punish you according to the rules, and it won't be too late either."

Han E's face was expressionless and his eyes were lifeless.

Situ Xiguang, the governor of Handan, had just received a piece of intelligence from Beiyue Shanjun of Qiu State. He handed it to Lu Song, the general of Handan, who was beside him, for review. He said with a smile, "We have found out the background of the two assassins who tried to attack the cavalry. One is a family assassin raised by Zhuang Fan, the chief minister of Qiu State, and the other is an assassin who accompanied Liu Wenjin, the minister of rites, into Qiu State."

One of the two assassins even set up a formation in a secluded section of the official road, but they were all solved by the monks sent directly by the Dali Criminal Department. Just on this sword boat, they watched the whole process of how the formation master and talisman monk set up the formation. So many powerful generals thought that they could recruit him.

But if Zhao Yao didn't nod, the assassin's fate would be sealed.

Want to get the first prize by intercepting and killing a group of Dali Cavalry first?

The Prime Minister's idea was simple, but if it succeeded it would be very effective.

These civil servants headed by Zhuang Fan were afraid that there would be no fighting and no deaths on the border, otherwise they would not arouse public indignation at home.

What if the two cavalry troops of Dali rushing to the border pass through the many passes and counties of Qiu State as if they were in an empty land and directly kill their way to the capital? How can they deal with the Dali barbarians on horseback and the Handan generals who kill people as if they were eating and drinking water, and ask for exorbitant prices and then pay them back?

A short and sturdy general, who was at the back, found it unbelievable and muttered, "Is Zhuang Fan a fool? How did he become the Prime Minister of the Qiu State?"

The general standing in front, who was familiar with him, turned around and teased, "Just like you, relying on family background."

Zhao Yao and the young prince beside him laughed and said, "I heard that this Prime Minister has been familiar with military books since he was young. Before he succeeded his father as Prime Minister, he was in charge of the Ministry of War for twenty years. In the past ten years, together with Liu Wenjin, the Minister of Rites who has superb swordsmanship, he has been relied on by Empress Dowager Dou Mi as her right-hand man. They are known as the two best in civil and military affairs? They are not inferior to Cao and Yuan, who were the ministers of the revival of the Dali Dynasty in the past? It is also said that if Qiu State had not suffered from the disadvantage of geographical advantages, if it was south of Dadu, with the talents of Qiu State's civil and military officials, it would have risen to become a behemoth like the old Zhu Ying and Bai Shuang in less than thirty years. If it keeps a low profile for another fifty or sixty years, it would have been able to compete with the Dali Dynasty."

Han E felt as if his gallbladder was about to burst.

When the young prince heard these arguments in the past, he found them inspiring. But when he listened to them again now, why did they seem so harsh?

Zhao Yao smiled and said, "In the early years before we broke away from the Lu clan, many scholars in our dynasty cursed Cui Guoshi for his warmongering and that the country would be destroyed sooner or later. The few immortal forces affiliated with Dali, including Changchun Palace, and several imperial merchants directly managed by the Guoshi Mansion, all lost money in some businesses in the small vassal states. They began to curse the Song court as Shancai Tong, the emperor as stupid, and the officials of the Ministry of Revenue as good-for-nothings who would rather serve Cui Luo as a dog in order to keep their official hats, without considering the national economy and people's livelihood."

Zhao Yao said: "Of course, the winners are the kings and the losers are the bandits. If Dali had lost to the suzerain Lu Dynasty, or later lost to the wild monster tribe, they would not be wrong to scold us."

Han E said sadly, "It turns out that everything in the book is made up."

Zhao Yao couldn't help but smile and said, "Don't study too hard, otherwise your study will not be in vain."

Over there in the corner of the hall.

Zhou Haijing narrowed his eyes at the talisman armor of the deputy general of Handanzhou. It was these well-made and expensive mountain items that made the war in the south of Aquarius Continent even more expensive. In the past, the courts of various countries hired immortal monks and looked for immortal masters who would come out of the mountains to help if they were paid enough. Not to mention the price had increased several times, many Qigong practitioners in the lower five realms simply did not dare to go to the battlefield to bring bad luck, for fear that those immortal instruments would come out of nowhere and be taken away from them, and the deposit of immortal money that they had just received, which had not even warmed up in their hands, would become a pension.

When Zhou Haijing was young and experienced in the martial arts world, he saw with his own eyes an old immortal in the cave realm. He took money from people and helped them to eliminate disasters. He flew on the clouds and mist, far away from the battlefield on the ground, chanted incantations, and leisurely performed some talisman-like tricks similar to the one of turning beans into soldiers. When he was feeling very proud of himself, his body was suddenly broken into two by an arrow from a Mohist crossbow in the enemy's inventory. A flower of blood burst out, and the two halves of his body fell to the ground with his intestines full.

Even in the cave realm, it was like this. When the monks in the lower five realms arrived at the battlefield, they would be even more powerless. It would be difficult for them to go out in the morning to show off some immortal skills, hold a celebration banquet at noon, and return to the Taoist temple to count money at night. For a few immortal money, there was no need to risk one's life. It was better to practice Taoism honestly in the mountains. The sect received a stable amount of filial piety and offerings from the mountain every year. During the holidays, they would go to the capital to write talismans for generals, ministers, and dignitaries to pray for blessings and eliminate disasters, and give them a few bottles of immortal elixirs. They did not have to fight and hurt the harmony of heaven, and they could also earn some good karma and incense, which was more stable.

Then there are those unscrupulous mountain cultivators who are willing to take the job, but they either take money from both sides and run away after receiving two deposits, or they set up all kinds of traps and boast about their own master and their own sect's law. The enemy country has only a few thousand troops, but they can turn them into ashes with just a breath, which is absolutely impossible. I am definitely not the kind of person who likes to boast. If they retreat in the face of a battle, I can rely on my sect's secret techniques and sacrifice a few valuable offensive weapons to kill hundreds of people in an instant, which is also easy... There are even those who switch sides in the battlefield, or go to the enemy's tent with the heads of generals in the dark to claim the reward.