Chapter 324: Seven days of martial arts exercises to test the bottom line
As the captain of a county, Qi Heyao had some simple contacts with the Si family in the past, and the friendship was not very deep.
But at this time, Qi Heyao, who was already desperate, after hearing the message from the Si family, he was like a drowning man grabbing a life-saving straw, and he would hold on to it no matter what.
He came out again, still saluting Li Qingwan, and deliberately ignored Tie Tang in the courtroom.
"Sir, December 15th is the day for martial arts trials in our county. The lower officials have been practicing for a long time and setting up formations for a long time. If the generals are changed before the battle... I am afraid that the sergeants will be dissatisfied.
Do you dare to ask for a seven-day reprieve to pay the talisman? After the martial arts test is over, Qi will immediately take up the position of Zhongzheng?"
Tie Tang's expression remained unchanged, but he was murmuring in his heart, because he had not known about the martial arts test before, nor did he know whether what Qi Heyao said at this time was true or false.
Lu Zhengqing on the side seemed to know what he was thinking, and immediately secretly sent a message to explain to him.
"This is true, and it is not a temporary idea. It is a long-standing practice. Every year at the end of the year..."
It turns out that every year at the end of the year for the army, a city would send a general to inspect the army of a county in the six subordinate counties.
This test is quite complicated and is not something you can do casually.
People coming from Fucheng need to check whether the military establishments in various places are full, whether there are people who are taking advantage of their wages, whether there is an excess or shortage of establishments, whether vacancies need to be cut or filled, etc.
Of course.
The most important thing is to test the strength of the soldiers. This is an important weapon of the country and cannot be neglected.
At this time, Qi Heyao made a fuss about the martial arts test... At least from the outside, it is absolutely justified.
After hearing this, Tie Tang gently pressed the desk and glanced at Li Qingwan.
The breeze blew by, fluttering the red robe, and Li Qingwan just said lightly: "There is no room for negligence in martial arts trials."
On the surface, he was telling Tie Tang that the matter was serious, but in reality he was admonishing Tie Tang not to act rashly.
With someone from the Si family, Qi Heyao has the support of power. Now if he wants to force the other party to sign a talisman, it may cause an accident.
The two brothers Tie Long and Tie Hu, who were watching from the back of the courtroom, saw this appearance and immediately felt that Tie Tang was unfair.
"Brother Fang, what do you think my lord is doing? He holds the power of the county guard. Can't we just take this person down? There are so many experts present, why are we talking nonsense to him?"
Fang Lexian stopped his feet and formed a shimmering restriction, enveloping the three of them.
"How can officialdom be so simple?"
"It's not that Qi Heyao doesn't agree with him now, but he has shown that there is a reason for the incident and wants to make the agreement more slowly, so there is no big flaw.
Do you understand?
It’s not that people don’t interact with each other, they just do it slowly, which makes sense when applied to Chaoge.”
Tie Long said angrily: "Now that you are the governor of the county, can't you force him to hand over the military talisman?"
"It's not impossible, but the consequences may be very troublesome. If you insist on finding faults... Brother Tie can only make a fuss over some minor flaws.
If you really piss off Qi Heyao and he quits his job, but you start a mutiny and rebel, Brother Tie won’t be able to come down."
"Brother, what I said is true. If he rebels, just rebel. I will annihilate him as soon as the Lord gives an order. Can he still fly into the sky?"
Fang Lexian laughed loudly and patted Tie Long on the shoulder several times: "It's a good thing you didn't join the officialdom, otherwise you might not have survived for three days.
Brother Tie’s reputation is still shallow now, and his strength is not enough to convince everyone present.
If he really pushes too hard and makes the opponent jump over the wall, let alone whether he can suppress the rebellion by then, how many of the officials present will give him their full support?
Mutinies and disasters occur frequently, which may lead to other inexplicable disasters.
These are all unforeseen circumstances!
Even if Brother Tie is very capable and can forcefully coordinate many officials in Qingshui County to suppress the mutiny and rebellion as quickly as possible, it will still be a thankless task."
"Why is this? The rebellion was suppressed on the spot. Maybe if you report it, you can get some credit. How could it be bad?" Tie Long didn't understand.
"Name!"
"If word of this gets out, my reputation will be ruined."
"The so-called fame and wealth, fame and fortune, fame is beneficial, especially in the officialdom, the importance of a person's reputation is not much weaker than his strength.
Even if I can suppress the rebellion in time, it will be very unpleasant if word spreads about it, and I may even be dismissed from the position of county guard on the spot.
What do you think...
It would be great if you were asked to become an official. You provoked local mutiny as soon as you took office. Which superior would like such a subordinate?
Is this kind of official really capable?
The local county that has always been calm has caused outrage, rebellion and riots just because you took office. Once this impression spreads, no one will think highly of you.
Therefore, the way to be an official...not only must you have the strength to calm the storm, but you must also have the ability to quietly and thunderously sweep away holes.
When it comes time to really break up and overturn the table... Even if you win, you still lose."
Tielong sighed: "This official position is really difficult!"
As Fang Lexian said, Tie Tang has also considered all aspects. It is impossible for him to completely break up with the local officials just after taking office and before he has secured the position of county governor.
Coupled with Li Qingwan's hint, he quickly made a decision.
"Since there is such an important matter, why didn't Lieutenant Qi say it earlier? It almost ruined our friendship. Performing martial arts and testing skills is a major military matter. I hope Captain Qi will work hard and not bring shame on me, Qingshui County."
Qi Heyao's brows trembled, and he asked secretly: What relationship do I have with you?
However, when he heard Tie Tang's name, he knew that his military power was temporarily preserved, at least for seven days.
He quickly bowed to Tie Tang and saluted: "I didn't think well and almost bumped into Mr. Tie. I am busy with military affairs. Please allow me to retire first.
Please rest assured, sir, after seven days, Qi will not fall into the power of my Qingshui!"
Tie Tang had already given him a step, so Qi Heyao still dared to hold on to his back, so he hurried down the slope and called himself "Sir". He would wait until he returned to the base camp to consider everything.
Tie Tang smiled slightly and waved his hand: "Qi Duwei has military duties, so he can just go."
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After he left, other officials did not want to or dared to ask to leave.
Every time a new county governor takes office, it means that there will be a major reshuffle of the county's power structure. If you don't try to show your face and gain favor at this time, you may be squeezed out by then.
Therefore, the atmosphere of the following meeting was extremely lively. Regardless of whether they had taken sides in the past or were involved in factions, everyone began to try their best to establish friendship with Tie Tang and treat each other with courtesy.
It feels really good to be praised!
Tie Tang felt a little distracted at first, but after doing it more times, he began to feel a little boring. At the same time, he began to be alert in his heart and could not be immersed in the quagmire of officialdom.
Strength is the foundation of this world.
After briefly getting to know all the officials under his command, Tie Tang quickly made a decision and left the meeting. Among the officials, he was invited to another banquet.
This reception banquet was indispensable. Tie Tang was sitting at the main seat and was being toasted and drank one glass after another.
Seeing that this attitude could not be stopped, Tie Tang decided to give the many officials in Qingshui County a hard blow and test their bottom line.
"Everyone, Tie's trip to the Holy Capital has opened his eyes. At the same time, he has also realized the shortcomings of our Qingshui County.
There are many improvements here...Do you have any ideas?
There are no official ranks at the banquet, so everyone can say whatever they want without taking it seriously."
Some things are difficult to say in official circles, but it is different when it comes to private banquets.
But as soon as they heard that Qingshui County was to be improved...the mouths of many officials who had just spoken back to each other seemed to have been sewn shut by needle and thread, and the banquet instantly became silent.
Tie Tang sneered in his heart, knowing that what Fang Lexian said before was true.
Even if he is willing to contribute money and effort...
I'm afraid that this matter of setting up the formation will not be so easy to negotiate.
At this banquet, Li Qingwan and Qiu Zhengyang did not come. Only Lu Zhengqing and He Changsheng supported Tie Tang.
The two of them knew that Tie Tang wanted to do something, but they didn't know the core of it, so they looked at their subordinates to support him.
Gao Zhuo, the commander of the county, stood up and saluted Tie Tang: "Your Excellency is an unrivaled genius with a great reputation. It won't take long to reach the fairyland.
Under your leadership, I believe Qingshui County will get better and better.
Moreover, Qingshui County is also the hometown of a certain Gao. If your Excellency is willing to establish a new law, I am willing to serve as a vanguard and fight through mountains of swords and seas of fire without even frowning."
His words first pointed out Tie Tang’s identity.
Tell the other officials present not to make too many unnecessary struggles and offend a talented person who can ascend to the fairyland. This deal cannot be done.
In addition to expressing my position and supporting Tie Tang... I also have some true inner thoughts.
After all, Tie Tang's reputation has long been spread in Qingshui County, and he is really capable. He may really be able to manage Qingshui County in an orderly and prosperous way.
Immediately after Kong Gaozhuo, several more officials stood up and expressed that no matter what Tie Tang did, they would fully support him.
These people spoke without any hesitation, because they had already joined forces and belonged to the faction of Lu Zhengqing and He Changsheng. All they had to do was follow their leader.
Tie Tang nodded repeatedly after hearing this, then glanced around at other officials who had not expressed their opinions, and immediately dropped a piece of bombshell news.
"I want to imitate the prefectures and gather the power of a city to build a city defense formation. I wonder if you have any good ideas?"
As soon as these words came out, chopsticks were thrown, bowls were thrown, and the sound of coughing was heard again and again.
Many people were truly shocked.
Even Lu Zhengqing and He Changsheng, who were familiar with Tie Tang, raised their eyebrows. They did not expect that Tie Tang would make such a big deal when he first came up.
Fortunately, He Changsheng came from a poor family, and his family was not large, so he basically relied on his reputation as the chief county police officer.
But Lu Zhengqing is different!
In addition to being the Prime Minister of Qingshui County, he also has the entire Lu family behind him.
As the No. 1 family in Qingshui County, any action in Qingshui City will inevitably conflict with the interests of the Lu family.
Especially for such a major event as setting up a city defense formation, the Lu family cannot stay out of it.
Even if he thinks highly of Tie Tang personally and has a deep friendship with him, as a member of the Lu family, he has to think about the Lu family.
As long as family interests are not involved, Lu Zhengqing naturally fully supports Tie Tang. Even if there is some conflict between the two, he can choose to give in.
But the city defense formation... was really involved, and it was no longer up to him to make a personal decision.
Lu Zhengqing is like this, and the reactions of other officials can be imagined.
Most of the officials are from wealthy families and have a strong base in Qingshui City. If you want them to give up their own interests, it is really a cut.
Letting Tie Tang be the county governor is justifiable and no one will have any objections.
Therefore, even though Tie Tang didn't have much foundation in the hall, he easily recruited most of the officials.
But now that their personal and even family interests have been touched, the situation is completely different.
Many people didn't even do anything superficial, they stood up one by one and made excuses to leave.
"Ugh~ Sir, I'm too drunk to drink, so I'll take my leave first."
"Sir, I have boiled a pot of hot chicken soup at home and ordered you to rush back in time. I have to leave first."
"Sir, I have a wife and concubine at home who is about to give birth. I apologize for the inconvenience."
"Oops, it hurts. I think I've eaten something bad. My abdominal pain is like cramping. I need to seek medical treatment immediately. Please forgive me for being so slow."
.......
Every powerful court official seems to have been cursed at this moment, and everything is wrong with him.
Less than half a stick of incense.
The ten tables full of officials all left cleanly.
Even some officials who were not involved in the process chose to leave on the spot in order to avoid right and wrong.
At this time, only Tie Tang, Lu Zhengqing, He Changsheng, and Tie Long, Tie Hu, and Fang Lexian were sitting at a table downstairs.
He Changsheng had the closest relationship with Tie Tang, and there were not many interests involved. After seeing people exposed, he began to speak frankly about what was on his mind.
"Setting up a formation? Why do you have such an idea? Not to mention whether these aristocratic families in Qingshui City are willing, the county doesn't have that much money.
Don’t you know how much a city defense array costs?”
Tie Tang picked up the wine bottle and poured a glass for Lu Zhengqing, then picked up his own glass and drank it all in one gulp.
"What do you think, Mr. Lu?"
The Lu family is the number one aristocratic family in Qingshui County. Dealing with the Lu family is half the battle.
On the contrary.
If the Lu family takes the lead in opposing...
That would be difficult!
Lu Zhengqing raised the wine glass that Tie Tang filled and drank it all in one gulp. After putting down the wine glass, he slowly said: "Of course Lu agrees."
"It's just... I'm afraid the Lu family won't nod so easily."
Tie Tang understands that Lu Zhengqing is Lu Zhengqing, and the Lu family is the Lu family, and they cannot be confused.
"How do you think I can convince them?"
Lu Zhengqing frowned, as if he thought of something, and slowly shook his head.
"Difficult!"
"Once the formation is down, nothing can be controlled by anyone. Even if the method of controlling the formation is only in your hands, many clues will inevitably be leaked. They will not agree so easily.
Since you have this proposal, you must have made a lot of preparations, so you might as well talk about it and work together."
Tie Tang pointed down: "The earth wizard downstairs is a member of the Fang family. He has a good relationship with me and got me the opportunity to come to the Fang family's formation master.
Once that master arrives, he can coordinate the dangerous terrain of Qingshui City and build a tailor-made city defense formation.
In terms of money...Brother Fang will do his best to help me. With the Fang Family Treasure Pavilion here, the price will never be too high.
As long as each of the major aristocratic families in Qingshui City contributes a small amount, I can make up for all subsequent expenses."
The Fang family, masters of formations, tailor-made several key words in a row, making Lu Zhengqing and He Changsheng's pupils shrink.
They naturally knew what it meant. It was obvious that Tie Tang had made full preparations and it was not just a sudden move.
"Do you... have so much money?" Even Lu Zhengqing didn't believe it.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Tie Tang took out a white paper fan and flicked it, and three white jade bottles fell down. Inside were the lucky numbers he got at the Qu Liuliu Shang.
"There are almost 30,000 years of life here, which can be used as principal. I can make up any difference in the future. If it doesn't work, I can also make a profit with Brother Fang.
He is a member of the Fang family, so it is not difficult to use some natural and earthly treasures.
I am about to enter the realm of witches and wizards, and it will be just around the corner to break through the immortal gate. Money matters will never be a problem."
"Hiss~"
He Changsheng took a deep breath and took a white jade bottle to check in disbelief.
When I saw that it was full of life elixirs, my mouth almost dropped.
"Good boy, where did you go out to rob the rich and give to the poor? It's just thirty thousand yuan for a lifetime. I've worked hard for so long, and all my belongings combined don't even amount to that much."
With the support of the Lu family, Lu Zhengqing has a higher vision and stronger financial resources. But when he sees 30,000 years of life before his eyes, he has to tremble.
Moreover, Tie Tang's move has almost shown his determination. The formation of the formation must be carried out, and all obstacles in the way will be kicked away by him.
Lu Jia, Tie Tang.
When the two collided, it seemed that Tie Tang was the vulnerable one, but Lu Zhengqing knew that Tie Tang's ability was by no means that simple.
"I'll go back and check it out first. If I encounter any difficulties, I'll come to you for discussion. You don't have to rush. You can wait for a year and a half until you are firmly established as the county governor..." Before Lu Zhengqing finished speaking, he was interrupted by Tie Tang with a wave of his hand: "I will never wait too long!"
There was divine light in his eyes, and the sun and moon appeared in his pupils, and the boundless starlight gathered in them. The blood flowing all over his body was like a sea, and his heartbeat was like thunder. It was like a god and demon came to the world, and the terrifying energy spread from the restaurant, making the masters of the entire Qingshui City
They all feel something.
"Seven days later——"
"No matter whether Qi Heyao will be obedient or not, I will cleanse the entire Qingshui City!"