I am the snake demon!

"What's wrong? Even playing chess at Zhenlongxuan today didn't go well?"

Seeing Bai Xuan's strange expression, Li Daoyan asked in surprise.

Some of the people from Zhenlongxuan are only at the Shouzhuo realm, how could they possibly lose?

"It's not about that. I encountered some unexpected things today. Uncle, please help me investigate the truth of Gao Feng, Sun Ke'er, and He Rang's affairs, and see if someone is plotting against me." Bai Xuan told Li Daoyan about what happened today.

Li Daoyan immediately ordered an investigation, then a slight smile appeared on his lips as he said, "You think it's too much of a coincidence?"

As the master of the palace, one must be decisive in making decisions, but caution is equally essential.

"It's a coincidence, or maybe I'm just lucky, but having the identity of the Prince of Zhenbei always makes me more suspicious," Bai Xuan said.

"According to what you've said, it's not a coincidence, but rather someone plotting against us in secret," Li Daoyan said.

"So what Gao Feng and the others said was false? They were waiting for me on purpose?" Bai Xuan frowned slightly. He had made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go out today. To be able to predict in advance was not something an ordinary person could do. Naturally, they were not ordinary family members either.

"No, what they said is probably true. There are indeed many families of soldiers in the Zhenbei Army who have not received their compensation. The Fifth Infantry Battalion is not an elite force, and their compensation has indeed not been issued," Li Daoyan said, shaking his head.

"If they're not scheming, who else could be scheming? Could someone else guide and control everything about me without ever showing up?" Bai Xuan said with some disbelief.

"It's not about controlling you, but about conveying messages to you through special methods," Li Daoyan corrected. Then, a ball of golden light flashed in his hand, and illusory array seals flowed, with thousands of array patterns intertwining, like a work of art. A powerful array emerged, mysterious and profound.

Upon hearing this, Bai Xuan raised an eyebrow and used his Shangqing Dharma Eye to examine the formation. This formation seemed to be subtly altering the fate of others.

"All living beings in the world do not exist in isolation. In fact, what makes a person human is that he is in a complex web of relationships. Each person's fate is intertwined with the fates of others. There is no one in this world whose fate is completely unrelated to the fates of others."

"Your status is far too noble. As the dignified Prince of Zhenbei, you hold the highest position among ministers and gather the fortunes of two states. Even a Tongyou Realm array master would find it impossible to control your destiny and influence your life. In fact, even the slightest harm to you would result in a backlash, at best reducing your lifespan by decades, and at worst causing immediate death. However, transmitting information to you is different, because you have not lost anything. On the contrary, you have gained something," Li Daoyan said.

"So, they can't control me, so they secretly control Sun Ke'er and the others, influencing my surroundings and then me?" Bai Xuan said.

"Pretty much. This is what is meant by Feng Shui and fortune. By using Qimen Dunjia to comprehend the secrets of heaven, one can harmonize heaven, earth, and humanity, seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, and follow the principles of nature. If I were the person behind the scenes, I would first be in an auspicious position, setting up a great fortune array around myself, and then laying out various possibilities around you. As long as you trigger one of them, you will know the message I want to convey to you. In the past, those self-proclaimed extraordinary Taoists often used this to show off their supernatural powers and play tricks," Li Daoyan said.

Bai Xuan was slightly puzzled by this, thinking to himself, "Aren't you a Taoist priest too?"

However, Bai Xuan wisely refrained from saying this aloud, instead saying, "So, even if I hadn't met Sun Ke'er today, I would have encountered someone like Wang Ke'er or Zhao Ke'er elsewhere? It's even possible I'd receive news of them within the Prince's residence?"

"That's right. This formation can't determine whether you know the truth or not, nor can it determine your reaction after you know the truth. But it can increase your chances of knowing the truth, that is, increase the probability. And when the probability is high enough, it becomes inevitable. So-called destiny is nothing more than a relatively high probability. What is meant by destiny being hard to defy is simply that it cannot be resisted," Li Daoyan said.

"The Great Dao is fifty, the Heavenly Dao is forty-nine, and man escapes one of them. Man cannot control it, so controlling forty-nine is almost the way of the Dao." Bai Xuan suddenly realized.

"That's right. If a cultivator has profound cultivation, they can even calculate a person's entire life and then use that to control them, manipulating their fortunes and misfortunes at will," Li Daoyan said.

"Is this the power of an array?" Bai Xuan said thoughtfully.

Isn't this equivalent to a miniature version of the Heavenly Dao controlling mortals?

"Otherwise, why do you think array masters are the most prestigious status in the world?" Li Daoyan retorted.

"Can I learn it?" Bai Xuan asked.

"This formation is not easy to form. Let's talk about it again when you have condensed forty formation seals," Li Daoyan said.

"Forty?" Bai Xuan clicked his tongue in surprise. He had only managed to gather twelve so far; forty would probably take a month. He decided to wait. After some thought, he asked, "Now that we've confirmed someone is plotting this in secret, can Uncle find the person who did it?"

"It's possible. But it's very difficult and extremely time-consuming. After all, the most unique aspect of this method is its secrecy. The person behind it may not succeed, and it's also difficult to track down, since it affects ordinary people," Li Daoyan said.

Moreover, a significant number of people have not received compensation, making it too easy for the other party to manipulate the system. Finding out such cases would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

"Then what is their purpose?" Bai Xuan asked in return.

Since the culprit cannot be found from a technical standpoint, we can also rule out the culprit by working backward.

"If I let you know that the soldiers of a certain battalion haven't received their compensation, and then make a big fuss about it, there are only two possible outcomes. First, if you have no compassion, they will expose your identity, publicize your cruelty, and undermine morale. Second, if you have compassion and have paid the compensation, they will publicize your benevolence and righteousness, causing others to also demand compensation, making you lose face," Li Daoyan said.

"Wait a minute, Uncle, there's only one reason I'm embarrassed: I'm broke. So the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion is too poor to pay out pensions?" Bai Xuan asked, his eyes wide.

"That's right, we have no money," Li Daoyan nodded. "Do you know where the most barren place in the world is?"

"Lingnan?" Bai Xuan asked uncertainly, referring to exile to Lingnan.

"Yes and no, Lingnan is barren enough, but to be precise, it's not just Lingnan that's barren, but the entire border region is barren. It's just that Lingnan is the barrenest border region. Liangzhou and Bingzhou have been invaded by the Demon Kingdom and the Northern Wilderness for many years, and there has been frequent warfare. Bingzhou at least has many mines, while Liangzhou is truly impoverished," Li Daoyan said.

"So you don't even have enough money to pay out compensation? Was it like this before?" Bai Xuan frowned.

Can the Northern Territory still maintain a strong fighting force?

"No, it wasn't like that before. The northern border is barren, so even setting aside relief efforts, the military expenses for the 300,000 troops in the north couldn't be covered by the northern border's taxes alone. Therefore, the northern border's military expenses, in addition to the northern border's taxes, came from two sources: one was the imperial court's appropriation, and the other was the Xu family's financial assistance. But now, the imperial court's appropriation has been delayed, and the Xu family has also stopped providing financial assistance," Li Daoyan said.

The military pay might not even be enough, let alone compensation for the families of the deceased.

"So the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion that I took over is only superficially impressive? The imperial court and Xu Yanheng are using this method to undermine my prestige in the Zhenbei Army," Bai Xuan said, frowning.

Having transmigrated for so long, I didn't need money when I was a snake, and when I was a human, my godmother provided for my food and clothing, so I didn't need money either. I've forgotten about this crucial thing: money.

We can't just mass produce units out of thin air.

The northern border could not support such a large army, which was also a form of covert control exerted by the imperial court over the north.

Of course, this was also another reason why the imperial court wanted to weaken the power of the regional military governors.

After all, they pay for it, but they are supporting the soldiers of the Prince of Zhenbei.

The direct factor that led to Emperor Kangxi's suppression of the feudal lords and his direct conflict with Wu Sangui in his previous life was that the three feudal lords demanded money every year in order to arm their own armies.

Now that something has happened in Zhenbei, the imperial court wants to intervene and tell the soldiers in the northern border that their money comes from the imperial court and they must be loyal to the imperial court. Xu Yanheng and Xu Wenzheng, on the other hand, want to tell the soldiers that only they can solve the problems in the northern border.

"It's not that bad. The core of the Northern Army is still there. The Crimson Wolf Cavalry, Flying Bear Army, Xiliang Iron Cavalry, and Bingzhou Flying Cavalry, which have dominated the world, are all still there. Therefore, we must first ensure that these people receive their military pay and pensions. This is the foundation for our Northern Army to stand firm," Li Daoyan said.

"So the less important ones are left idle. But we can't control the imperial court, but can't we control the Xu family? Does he think he can just refuse to pay?" Bai Xuan looked at Li Daoyan, "When did you become so merciful?"

"We're not the only ones lacking compensation; Bingzhou is in the same boat. We recently received a secret report that Xu Yan, the head of the Xu family, had a private meeting with Xu Yanheng before leading a caravan to Bingzhou. It seems that the compensation issue in Bingzhou has been resolved. They must have reached some kind of deal. So it's not that they refuse to give it to us, but rather that they haven't given it to us. If we are too forceful, it will cause unnecessary trouble," Li Daoyan said.

The Xu family is not scary, but adding Xu Wenzheng makes all the difference. One has money, and the other has soldiers.

And more importantly, it doesn't make sense logically.

"So, the Xu family might be behind this too, and they want us to beg them?" Bai Xuan said.

"Perhaps. They probably want to distribute the compensation in the name of the Xu family," Li Daoyan said.

"How is that possible?" Bai Xuan scoffed. If the soldiers are issued in the name of the Xu family, then whose soldiers are they?

"Therefore, we can only suppress it. Legally speaking, the Xu family is innocent. Their actions are all in accordance with the law. Whether it's withholding compensation or kicking someone when they're down, they are not breaking the law. Of course, it is a crime for He Rang to make someone return twenty taels of silver, but at most he will be fined a few hundred taels of silver," Li Daoyan said.

"So in the end, Uncle Zhong was right, the Xu family was right, it was just Gao Feng and the others who were unlucky," Bai Xuan said. Is this what they mean by "a kind heart cannot command an army" and "the decision of those in power is crucial"?

Logically speaking, Li Daoyan is not wrong.

Bai Xuan's personal feelings were simply not able to accept it. Soldiers defend their country and die on the battlefield, so their orphans should be taken care of.