The person who appeared in front of him was an official, so how could there be any suggestion that he was not going the right way? Moreover, the person came from the famous Jiangmo Yamen.
Li Datong thought it would be better to take him to the county town himself, so that he could keep an eye on him, lest the monks from Jiangmo Yamen would run rampant in their territory and ruin things.
A night of silence.
After several more days of travel, they finally saw the big city of Juling County.
Although it is late spring, there is no coolness but a warm breeze.
The vast plain and the big city standing on the plain like mountains look quite majestic, and they look even more vast in such a cloudless weather.
Just like the boundary between heaven and earth, it slowly expanded in their eyes.
Before Li Datong could do anything, the official from Jiangmo Yamen had already disappeared. He didn't even say hello, which made Lu Huai think about it, saying that he was being domineering and impolite.
Li Datong just smiled and didn't say much. The people in the meeting in the city would stare at each other.
Approaching the county town, it was a different scene. The garrison soldiers on the city tower were neatly lined up and patrolling in an orderly manner. The soldiers in front of the city tower stood aside and followed the clerks to inspect the goods of the passing merchants, as well as the tightly wrapped goods.
Real baggage.
"What, confiscate weapons?"
The scribe holding the pen said expressionlessly: "The weapons are not confiscated, but they need to be deposited in the Yamen to be picked up when leaving the city."
"I have traveled all over the country and have never been to any big city. Why do you have such rules in Juling County?"
The sword-wielding Jiang Hu Ke was shocked, but when he saw the soldiers beside him in full armor and burly figures, his voice lowered unconsciously: "Do you know swordsmen? The sword is with the person, the sword...
…”
"It's better to hand over the knife."
Looking up at the tall shadow and meeting the cold eyes, Jianghu Ke handed over his weapon honestly. Without any nonsense about the sword being there, he received his weapon token and hurried into the city with it.
.
Others have long been accustomed to it. This is the rule in Juling County, whether it is a big city or a county town. If you are unwilling to hand in your weapons, you will not be allowed to enter the city.
The scribes were too lazy to roll their eyes. They had long been accustomed to the noisy behavior of these Jianghu people, and they were always worried that the Yamen would swallow their things, or trick them into the city and kill them on the spot.
It's not that the weapons won't be returned to them, it's just that they can't get them until they leave.
The subsequent conjecture is even more nonsense. The purpose of entering the city to collect weapons is for stability, lest they cause trouble in the city and disturb the people of the big city.
Liang An, dressed in black attire, walked up to the scribe with his weapon in his arms, stored the long sword in his hand on the weapon shelf nearby, received the token to enter the city, registered his name, and then entered the city.
…
In the city of Juling County, the Taoist temple located on the hill looks quite huge. There is no difference between the Taoist temple and the one in Jicheng. The main hall enshrines a tall statue of six feet tall, but the statue has its eyes closed at this time.
The red-robed Taoist who came out of the retreat first offered incense to the statue of the god, then turned and walked to the back hall. He went to the courtyard located in the back hall of the Taoist temple. There were not many people gathered here, but they were all acquaintances.
Lieutenant Chu of Jiangmo Yamen, Mingyang whose cultivation level was sealed, and Huang Ci who was lying on a bench with dementia and needed someone to take care of him.
Seeing Chi Xuan appear, Mingyang wisely avoided it.
Chu Ge put down the chess piece in his hand and said calmly: "Have the monks from the Yamen entered the city?"
The entire Juling County has been reduced to Chi Xuan's dojo. No matter how well the opponent disguises himself, any real cultivator who appears will be discovered. Chi Xuan came to see them, prisoners, probably to obtain some information.
Chu Ge has seen the changes in the past few years. Juling County has become better and better under Chi Xuan's governance, and there are more and more believers. The rich incense and wish power seem to be solidifying in the sky.
Don't look at it as if there are no clouds in the sky. In fact, if you use your Dharma Eyes, you will notice something strange above your head.
Chi Xuan did not talk to Chu Ge about the Jiangmo Yamen. Instead, he sat on the side of the stone table, picked up a white piece and dropped it on the chess formation: "How does Lieutenant Chu think of the county today?"
"Taoist Master, there is no need to say more."
Chu Ge didn't know what he should complain about or condemn Chi Xuan. In fact, there was no difference. The only thing he could hold on to now was his energy.
If even he doubts himself, he might really surrender.
But can it?
If he was the only one who could do well, he might actually give it a try, but his whole family is in the capital. Once he surrenders, the whole family will follow him to death.
It's better to kill yourself here, and the court can still provide some subsidies.
"The Demon-Conquering Captain of Yunzhou is dead. His name was..." Chi Xuan muttered as he recalled the other person's name. He had never seen that person before, but had only heard about it from a businessman who collected intelligence.
"Mu Chenyong." Chu Ge immediately called out the other party's name.
"Yes, that's him."
"He died. He was killed by the leader of the rebellious Tenri Sect. He fought to the last moment and shed the last drop of blood for the imperial court. However, Pindao heard that his family did not receive any compensation and instead ran away to death."
Chi Xuan calmly told what he knew. He had told Chu Ge many stories like this.
In fact, Chu Ge should thank him. Chi Xuan not only didn't want to be discovered by the court, but also because he had a good impression of the monks of Jiangmo Yamen, so he kept them awake.
Chi Xuan has no favorable impression of the Tenri Sect and even hates it.
I don’t know where the other party got the method from, and it rose much faster than him, but the other party is a pure cult that uses people’s lives to accumulate incense and power.
He suspected that it was funded by a senior official in the imperial court, otherwise it would not be so powerful. However, the other party is a rootless duckweed with a very shallow foundation. If his reputation spreads, he will receive even less incense and wishes in the future.
"How much territory do you control?" Chu Ge put down the chess pieces in his hand and picked them up again and placed them on the chessboard.
"Three of the six counties in Xuzhou have fallen into my hands. The Eagle and Wolf Escort Bureau is spread across seventeen states. There are hundreds of large and small businesses in total. Our business can reach the war-torn areas in the north."
"Recently, business has been getting harder and harder. It used to be easy to buy, but now military supplies have increased three to four times. It's not as cost-effective as making it yourself. Fortunately, the development has been good in recent years."
"With Xuzhou as the base, there are resettlement sites in other major states, gathering millions of refugees."
"If it weren't for taking into account the influence of the imperial court in Xuzhou, the remaining three counties would have been swallowed up by Pindao a long time ago. Not many of the banner officials of Jiangmo Yamen surrendered. Pindaofa's spiritual stones were twice as much as those of the imperial court. In general,
Someone is willing to help.”
"Pindao bribed Fangzhou Mu again, and the court has withdrawn the wanted order against Pindao." Chi Xuan counted his family treasures and calculated his family fortune with his fingers. It turned out that in a blink of an eye, he had already controlled territory close to three counties.
The entire Great Cang Dynasty only had twenty-one states.
Chu Ge listened to Chi Xuan's description in shock, and finally closed his eyes and sighed: "That day, I was the one who lived in secret. If I died, maybe the court would..."
"There are no ifs in everything, and besides, the captain cannot die." Chi Xuan stood up, dropped the white piece in his hand on the chessboard and said: "Dinghai Slays the Dragon, the captain, it's time to die."
Chi Xuandao: "I hope the captain will consider it carefully. I can't wait too long."
His cultivation has reached the late stage of foundation building, and the sun in the sky is getting weaker and weaker. Tu Shanjun speculates that there will be signs of death in another twenty or thirty years, and no one knows what will happen by then.
If the cave really collapses, it doesn't matter. The people can be moved to the outside world, but he needs strength and more time. If he doesn't have both, how can he do such a big thing.
He didn't have much time to persuade Chu Ge to surrender, and this was probably his last attempt.
Chu Ge clenched his fists, sighed, opened his hand, took a white piece, dropped it on the chessboard and said, "I hope my family is safe."
"Don't worry, Lieutenant Colonel. Not only did Pindao bribe Zhou Mu, he also has connections in the capital, and he can quietly take out Captain Lieutenant's family."
Chi Xuan said with a smile that he had already made all the preparations and was familiar with these things. After all, Gu Ming's family was stolen by him in this way. He would be more familiar with stealing another family.
"Chu Ge, meet my lord."
Chi Xuan excitedly helped Chu Ge, who was bowing and saluting, and said loudly: "Okay, okay, it's a blessing for me to have Mr. Chu help me. This decadent dynasty does not deserve the loyalty of someone like Mr. Chu."
"Let us create a prosperous age together."
"Achieve peace in the world!"
…
Liang An walked into the Jiangmo Yamen in the county town with his token in hand. He was greeted by a strange flag officer who was not Gu Ming as he had imagined. He asked, "Where is Captain Gu?"
Chang Xun said: "When Captain Gu went to arrest the cultists, he was not in the yamen."
Liang An always felt that something was not right in the atmosphere, but he could not tell what was wrong specifically: "Then I will wait for him here. When he comes back, I will look for me again."
After talking about Liang's case, he walked out of the yamen, feeling more uneasy than before. He planned to go to the county magistrate's yamen first, and wait until Gu Ming came back to investigate the case that had been ordered.
"The Sheriff is quite a capable man."
Liang An nodded secretly. He came from the southern land where wars were frequent. The place had long been in chaos. There were all kinds of monsters and ghosts. There were dozens of cults alone, and several wild gods died under his sword.
So I am very satisfied with a quiet and peaceful place like Juling County.
The people live and work in peace and contentment, and there is quite an appearance of peace.
The charlatans on the street also had their claws confiscated.
As the saying goes, murder starts with a sword in hand. Without weapons in hand, the number of cases of violating the law is reduced by 60 to 70%. The remaining ones are just fists and feet, and they will be quickly arrested and arrested.
Before he could continue to appreciate it, a voice called out to him.
"Brother Liang."
Liang An turned around and looked over, his eyes full of surprise, because one of the orders he received was to find this person.
"Brother Chu?"
"It's down there."
Chu Ge cupped his hands and looked at Liang An with a smile.
Liang An watched Chu Ge warily, because Chu Ge was a man who had been missing for three years.
Ordinary people may be happy when a person who has been missing for three years without any news suddenly appears, but as a monk, the first reaction is to be alert.