Thian Hock Palace arranged a large-scale reception banquet. Although no outsiders such as wealthy businessmen participated, except for the Grand Protector, most of the prominent figures from the Lion City Central Dao Sect and the imperial court were present.
Qi Xuansu freshened up a little before attending the reception banquet. Since he did not have a suitable crane cloak, he simply attended in casual clothes.
Due to the previous unexpected incident, the atmosphere of this reception banquet was not very good, but many people still took turns toasting to Qi Xuansu, and Qi Xuansu did not refuse anyone who came.
At the same time, in another place, some people were also drinking.
These people are not qualified to go to Tianfu Palace to participate in Qi Xuansu's reception banquet, because they are not members of the Taoist sect, but it does not mean that they have no weight, because the Lion City is still a city of merchants.
These people are all well-known and wealthy businessmen in the Lion City. If their business reaches a certain level, they will inevitably participate in political affairs. At this level, big businessmen have to pay attention to the changes in the situation, whether they want to or not.
Some of these businessmen live in seclusion and are the real bosses behind the scenes, while some stand in front of the stage and are well-known celebrities.
Of course, it's not as simple as drinking wine when they come together.
The businessmen practice a separate meal system, which is to imitate the ancient etiquette, with one table per person and east and west. The main seat facing south and back is empty and replaced by a sparkling water curtain.
A relatively young businessman stood up and pointed toward the water curtain. The scene on the water curtain changed accordingly, revealing a profile portrait of Qi Xuansu.
It can be seen that this is the image left by Qi Xuansu when he came to the Lion City last time. Because no one can run to the front to take a picture of Qi Xuansu, the angle can only be from the side.
At that time, Qi Xuansu was still wearing the crown of the Five Sacred Mountains and did not wear the Sword of Wisdom. He seemed to be listening to someone introduce something, so his eyes were focused and his expression was serious. The corners of his mouth were pursed, making his whole profile look a little cold.
The young businessman introduced, "Qi Xuansu, whose nickname is Tianyuan, has no nickname. He is twenty-seven years old this year. He was promoted to the second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest by Jin Que not long ago. He is the youngest among all living Taoist priests in the Taoist sect. He also serves as the acting chief of the Borneo Taoist Office.
The deputy palace master is also the youngest among all the current chief deputy palace masters. His rank in the Taoist palace is only below the head master and the master master. He is the nominal third person in the Tao government and is now the de facto Taoist priest.
The second most powerful person in the government, he is on the same level as the king in charge of the government."
A middle-aged businessman with a thick cigar between his fingers exhaled a cloud of smoke, "What is a young talent? This is it. This is the person who is expected to take over Yujing in the future. Now he has come to our little lion city."
, causing the whole city to tremble, and causing such a big battle, is it a big deal?"
The young businessman said, "Secret societies, Nanyang people, and Westerners, these are the reasons why Qi Zhenren came to our Lion City."
"These are all scabies. I think it is still an internal struggle within their Taoist government." Another businessman said, "Everyone knows that Chen Zhenren has defected. For so many years, Chen Zhenren has been doing well, but when Qi Zhenren came
, Chen Zhenren defected. Everyone can guess what happened here. In the final analysis, it was Zhenren Qi who forced him. It can be seen that this Zhenren Qi is not a good person. In Shenglong Mansion,
The trouble has been turned upside down and we are still going to come to the Lion City to continue making trouble. I am afraid that the good times are coming to an end."
A white-haired old man drank a glass of wine and said, "I heard that this Zhenren Qi came to Nanyang with the mission of rectifying the Taoist government in Borneo, intending to overthrow Zhenren Wang and Zhenren Chen. Now Zhenren Chen has fallen.
In Thang Long Mansion, then when Master Qi came to Lion City, he naturally went to Master Wang. After all, the Nanyang United Trading Company is in Lion City. This is not only Master Wang’s pocket, but also his weakness.”
As soon as these words came out, everyone fell into silence.
At the reception banquet, Qi Xuansu raised his wine glass and said, "The Lion City is the most prosperous place in Southeast Asia. It is a shining pearl in our Southeast Asia. Even compared to Jinling Mansion in the Central Plains, it is not inferior by much."
Xie Jiaofeng hurriedly said, "This is all the result of the joint efforts of the Taoist government and the Nanting Protectorate under the leadership of Jinque and the imperial court."
The Taoist priest in charge of Tianfu Palace praised the palace and said, "The Protector-General, Deputy Protector Xie, and Deputy Protector-General Qin have made a lot of efforts for the development of Lion City over the years. Business is prosperous, order is stable, and the people live and work in peace and contentment."
Qi Xuansu said nothing, somewhat noncommittal.
Chen Jianqiu spoke on his behalf, "The prosperity of commerce is true, but the order is stable..."
For a moment, everyone's smiles froze.
The chief Taoist priest could only bite the bullet and said, "There are indeed deficiencies."
Qin Hengjun had no choice but to speak, "Fellow Daoist Chen is right. We still have many areas that need to be strengthened and improved. Master Qi's visit to Lion City this time shows his care and concern for our Lion City."
Xie Jiaofeng also immediately expressed his position, "Please rest assured, Master Qi. Under the guidance of Master Qi, we will find out the deficiencies and make up for them, and make immediate changes to satisfy Master Qi, satisfy the Taoist government, and satisfy Jin Que."
Qi Xuansu finally said, "Not only do we want to satisfy the people above, but more importantly, we need to satisfy the people below. This is actually the same thing. If the people below are satisfied with something, the people above will be dissatisfied? On the other hand, if the people below are dissatisfied with things, the people above will be very satisfied."
?The bottom is the cornerstone. Without the support from below, no matter how tall the building is, it is just a castle in the air."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
At this time, Xie Jiaofeng lost the charlatanism in front of his subordinates, leaving only the bureaucratic atmosphere. He changed the subject without leaving any trace, "Master Qi, many fellow Taoists are looking forward to your visit to the Lion City this time and can't wait to meet you."
You are a hero on the battlefield of Fenglinzhou."
The young businessman on the other side continued, "I have nothing to gain, and women have no luck. This is not a small ambition." Rumor has it that when Qi Zhenren was still a Taoist priest in charge, there was a Mr. Gao who spent 200,000 peace coins in the imperial capital.
, begged the then Chief Qi to show mercy, but was rejected to no avail. In the end, Mr. Gao died in the hell prison of the Imperial Palace. As for women, Qi Zhenren was a conservative in the Taoist sect, except for the noble daughter of the Zhang family.
, I have no in-depth contact or interaction with other young women, and I am almost not close to women. The little method we used last time does not make much sense."
The businessman holding the cigar had lost interest in puffing away the smoke. "Not long ago, Master Qi was assassinated. The assassin used heavy firearms. Could it be the handiwork of some of you here?"
"Although it has always been said that money can help the gods, I am afraid that not many people dare to touch heavy firearms. That would be the crime of robbing a family and exterminating a clan, let alone using heavy firearms to assassinate a real person who is expected to take over Yujing.
What's the benefit to us?" Another businessman said, "If you ask me, this is still an internal fight among their own people in the Taoist sect. Qi Xuan Sucheng is also the one who is expected to take over the Yujing, and the loser is also the one who is expected to take over the Yujing."
The young businessman said, "The biggest problem is that Qi Xuansu may make a big fuss out of this sudden assassination incident. Under the original circumstances, Tianfu Palace and Nanting Protectorate would have restrained Qi Xuansu, and they definitely don't want him to investigate too much."
Deep. But under the current circumstances, these two families are in trouble in front of Qi Xuansu because of this matter. In order to clear themselves of their responsibilities, they have to help Qi Xuansu find out this matter, even harder than Qi Xuansu. In this way, they will
It became a knife in Qi Xuansu's hand. But everyone knows that many things in Lion City are not investigated."
Someone said, "Could this assassination incident be a show arranged by Qi Xuansu himself? Just to let him take control of Tianfu Palace and Nanting Protectorate."
The young businessman said, "It's possible, but things have already happened. Tianfu Palace and Nanting Protector's Palace have also been manipulated by Qi Xuansu. Should we discuss it again?"
It no longer matters that it is a play performed by Qi Xuansu himself, the question now is, how should we respond?"
No one spoke.
It's coming hard and it's hard to deal with it.
When Qi Xuansu came to the Lion City last time, they had already used some soft methods, but to no avail. The set of Xuansheng cards that they had worked so hard on was transferred by Qi Xuansu to the large library of the Borneo Taoist House.
The Xuansheng card is a test stepping stone. To put it bluntly, it is to test Qi Xuansu's attitude. Qi Xuansu has also clearly expressed his attitude through actions, so no matter how big the gift is later, whether it is two hundred thousand or one million, it will not be given.
Already.
But if you want to be tough, there is no tougher method than assassination.
Someone has already used it, but now it seems that it is of no use. Instead, it has become Qi Xuansu's weapon.
The white-haired old man picked up the wine glass, but did not bring it to his mouth. He said, "Everyone in Nanyang has had some business dealings with Nanyang United Trading Company over the years, and they also know some of the inside stories of Nanyang United Trading Company. Qi Xuansu is sure
Qi Xuansu is not easy to get along with because he will make decisions from us. Is it possible that Wang Jiaohe is easy to talk to? For now, there is no good fruit to be gained by offending anyone, but it is a dilemma. "
When faced with a dilemma, one cannot look at both sides, there must always be a choice.
Do you firmly believe that Zhenren Wang can still stand in Nanyang? Or do you believe that Zhenren Qi can change Nanyang?
If you side with Zhenren Wang but Zhenren Wang doesn’t fall, you will definitely get settled. But if you side with Zhenren Wang and Zhenren Wang falls, not to mention that after Nanyang United Trading Company was seized and collapsed, you will definitely not be able to take such a large share.
, maybe even be implicated as an accomplice.
How to stand in line is not only a test of judgment, but also a test of courage, and it also requires a gamble on luck.
After the reception banquet, Qi Xuansu asked Tianfu Palace to arrange for two female Taoist priests to take Xiao Yin to clean her up, and then received a message from Zhang Yuelu.
Zhang Yuelu was right there with Ziguang Society. With Ziguang Society's well-informed nature, he naturally knew the news of Qi Xuansu's assassination immediately, and also learned that Qi Xuansu was safe and sound.
Therefore, Zhang Yuelu deliberately left some time to spare, assuming that he would contact Qi Xuansu after the reception banquet was over.
Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu reported that they were safe, and they exchanged information on each other. The woman marked by Zhang Yuelu had left the underground auction house. As soon as she arrived at the warehouse of Nanyang United Trading Company, Zhang Yuelu would take action immediately.