Chapter 568: Going to Yangzhou

Chapter 568: Going to Yangzhou

Chapter 568: Going to Yangzhou (Total 12K today, 3 chapters added)
Three days later, Dongyang County, Qingzhou.

Prince Yong's Mansion.

The journey from the capital of Jiankang to Dongyang is long. Generally speaking, the imperial court would send edicts or documents to the imperial residences in various states via cloud carvings, which would then be reported by special eunuchs.

Considering that Dongyang was the provincial capital and it was not a wartime period, this time the imperial edict was sent directly to the palace.

"Governor of the whole country?"

In the pavilion of the palace garden, Jiang He put down the ancient book of Fu Shi and carefully studied the imperial edict.

The Sixteen-State Salt and Iron Inspector General was a temporary establishment. In terms of rank, he was of the first rank, but he had almost no power.

The job was to record the locations of the salt and iron industries, which meant reporting on the local aristocratic families who controlled the salt and iron industries. Once they were registered, they would become the focus of rectification.

In fact, each big family basically has its own salt fields and mines. The former is indispensable for maintaining daily needs, and the latter is indispensable for refining armor and weapons. Therefore, the investigation targets focus on those small and medium-sized families that are not well-known. Even if the imperial court changes, it is impossible to go to war with the main collaborators in "co-governing the world".

Jiang He casually threw the blank Salt and Iron Records on the ground.

"Aren't you going to be obedient?"

Outside the pavilion, Pei Xuanran, who was dancing with a sword with a graceful figure, stopped. Her plump body suddenly shook. She put down the ordinary iron sword, and tied her hair with her bare hands, her expression still cold.

Because there were noble ladies from Pei's family coming to inquire about the news, she was occasionally qualified to go out and rest.

"There is no personal feelings involved, and no reward. It's humorous that he would bring up such an offensive thing."

Jiang He sneered and picked up the Fu Shi Classics. Since his arrival, he had rarely been idle, and his Dragon Spear technique had been fully upgraded to immortal.

Pei Xuanran gritted his teeth and said, "What about you and me?"

Jiang He looked up in surprise, "Don't you want to live anymore?"

Pei Xuanran was a little indignant and said coldly: "According to the identity given by Yuanqi, I am at least the princess and the eldest wife. How can I be locked up in the military seal on weekdays?"

"Isn't the princess also a mortal?"

"As you said, you've made fun of me so many times, shouldn't you give me something in return?"

Pei Xuanran felt that she had suffered a great loss. The other party had been getting it for free, and she could have put forward some conditions.

Jiang He seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "What on earth gave you the illusion that I'm easy to talk to?"

boom!
The domination from the source of her bloodline erupted, Pei Xuanran's face turned pale, and she immediately knelt on the ground. The duke-level source blood in her body was facing her epic status.

"The victor is the king and the loser is the bandit. Just be thankful that you are alive."

Jiang He's eyes were calm.

If he was caught by Pride, his fate would be similar to that of the other party. Putting himself in his shoes, this guy should have thought of escaping and was planning to put it into action.

"I'll give you half of the Jiejian technique."

Pei Xuanran raised her delicate and beautiful face with a hint of provocation on her expression. Her exciting figure was as tempting as a ripe fruit.

Jiang He said nothing, but just flicked his fingers lightly, and a small black sword shot out from his fingertips, invisible and colorless, but when it hit the beam, it really pierced through it.

Pei Xuanran's face was pale, her eyes confused and filled with fear. She couldn't help but cover her cherry lips with her hand, and dusty memories flooded into her mind.

Jiang He shook his head and said, "You are very obedient sometimes. The sword-robbery technique, the life-robbery technique, and your Taoism in the Divine Court World are no longer secrets to me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zang Bingzhang put away Pei Xuanran.

The legendary sword technique is not a martial art, but a skill, from the birth of the natal sword to the cultivation of a full set of techniques.

[Name: Destiny Tribulation Sword]
[Category: Skills]
[Quality: Perfect]
[Effect ①: Ultimate sharpness/strength/destruction]
[Effect 2: Xingyue - Seize dominance, an ability to seal the target. Whether it will succeed depends on the status, and the specific time depends on the comparison of the spirit values ​​of both parties.]
[Note: Different creatures will have their own natal calamity swords with different characteristics. Calamity means both plunder and disaster. This sword can grow by plundering treasures or abilities with the attributes of the moon. The highest quality is legendary.]
For Yu Jianghe, this sword technique can only serve as an auxiliary means, and it is completely unnecessary to major in it.

"A legend, immortality, epics, the foundation of the Holy Martial Ceremony needs to be strengthened."

Not long after, two evil soldiers belonging to the Crushing Front Army brought Yuan Changling's body, along with two immortal weapons including the Red Fish, one of which was a ransom.

Jiang He pierced the corpse's heart and absorbed the blood. He tried to use the time ring to repeatedly progress, but the mysterious realm symbolized the essence of life's blood, which was obviously not something that could be repeated infinitely.

[Hint: Your Immortal Sin Poison has been upgraded to LV50, awakening the ultimate ability Deep Sin, the intensity of the poison has been increased by 100%, the lethality of the poison has been increased by 50%, and the duration of the poison attack has been halved]
"Pure toxic enhancement."

Two immortal-level weapons were fed to the Changhen Dragon Spear, and there are still three weapons left for upgrading.

[Hint: Your special weapon has been upgraded, it is as heavy as a small artificial island, and it is as light as a feather.]
Jiang He took out the Dragon Spear, and as he let go, the spear body containing extreme weight and sharpness pierced into the ground and continued downwards. The pavilion collapsed, the surroundings shook violently, and cracks covered the entire garden in an instant.

He took back his spear and said to the two fallen evil soldiers, "Let Pei Yuchun come over."

"clear."

A quarter of an hour later, when Pei Yu came over, he found that King Yong was fiddling with the remains of Yuan Changling.

"Your Highness, he is a prince of the royal family after all. You should forgive him if possible. It will be morally damaging if the news gets out." Pei Yuwu said helplessly.

Jiang He clapped his hands and Yuan Changling immediately moved. Due to the loss of his blood essence and the demise of his soul, this armored man had the body and melee skills of a complete hero, but he could not activate his abilities.

A complete hero can basically not beat anyone, but when it comes to bullying a sub-hero, it’s the same for almost anyone.

Iron Man Technology + Evil Puppet Technology + Great Golem Technology + Howler Surgery + Fukushi Puppet Technology can be regarded as the masterpiece of this master alchemist.

Being able to complete a masterpiece means that one's overall level has reached the top level of a master. The results of the remedial lessons in Fu Shi's ancient books during this period have been extremely significant.

"Ah Si, stay with Lao Hei and remember to find a mask."

"Here."

Ah Si clasped his fists, accepted the order, and left the spot.

Pei Yufen stood there in a daze for a long time when he saw this, and then forced a smile.

"Your Majesty, you are truly an omnipotent person."

Jiang He comforted him casually: "To make an armored guard, the auxiliary materials needed are countless."

This was the truth. He had dismantled most of the non-offensive facilities in his alchemy tower and had only just been able to put it together.

"There is a Salt and Iron Record on the ground. You should have received the news. List all the noble families in Nanliang and pay 100,000 taels of silver. You, the Pei family, will have your name crossed out." Jiang He said, "Wait for you to go back and inform everyone in Qingzhou."

He had no intention of working for the emperor, so he would rather take this opportunity to plunder money, food, weapons, or even martial arts techniques.

If you write them all down, it will be clear who didn't give it.

As for making the emperor angry, anger will damage the liver, so just ask the imperial physician to replenish it.

Pei Yufen's expression turned strange. He didn't care about the money so much. He said, "Your Highness, are you not going to support the Crown Prince?"

If you disobey the emperor, you have to join the noble families. The leaders of the noble families are Wang and Xie. The former is a pure culture, and the latter is a military force. Both have a close relationship with the eldest prince. "Now the prince needs my support." Jiang He said calmly: "Those who are not strong enough are fence-sitters. Besides, it's just a one-time cooperation."

If he is timid before the battle and still acts the same after winning, then all his efforts would have been in vain.

Pei Yu met with etiquette and said goodbye. As a land immortal and a powerful vassal king, Prince Yong was qualified to do whatever he wanted. Or, the more greedy, lustful, arrogant and unambitious he was, the more acceptable it was to those in the palace. After all, before the new emperor ascended the throne, he had a certain legitimacy to inherit the throne.

Within just a few days, Qingzhou was in an uproar.

……

Capital city, Prince’s Eastern Palace.

"Nearly one million taels of silver, twelve volumes of top-level skills, countless calligraphy and antiques, and three hundred thousand dan of grain..."

In the study, the crown prince showed a rare look of joy and said, "Brother Yong, don't you want to compete for the emperor's favor?"

Pei Ge Lao put his hands together and replied, "Your Majesty's attention means that I will be dragged into the whirlpool of the capital and abandon Your Highness. Prince Yong and Your Highness are brothers and sisters, so naturally they will not do that."

Fighting against the aristocratic families for the emperor is the path of a lonely minister. The only chance of survival in the future is to become the emperor, or to be invincible like Master Lu Tianzhen.

The latter is generally recognized as difficult as ascending to heaven, and there is Xiao Qingzhi, who is second only to the emperor in the palace. So there is actually only one way to survive, and the price is to become enemies with the princes vying for the throne.

"My brother has done his duty, and I, as his elder brother, cannot be worse."

"Your Highness, why don't you give me the sword that is on the Divine Weapon List? In my opinion, gifts should either be of your own accord or extremely valuable. Otherwise, it is better not to give it at all."

"Your Excellency's words..." The prince hesitated for a moment and said, "Your words are wrong. Prince Yong is not yet an adult, and it is difficult to keep valuable things. It would be more appropriate to give him some delicate items."

The corner of Lord Pei's mouth twitched. The reason why this prince could be honored to this day was, firstly, he was the current queen, and secondly, he obeyed the emperor's orders. However, the other reasons were not so outstanding.

"Quick, get the Zhongshu Sheren and Fengma Yanque over here."

After a moment, the eunuch led five people in.

Different from Zhongshu Sheren and Reading Guild, which rely on the route of indigenous forces in world missions, Fengma Yanque is the strongest assassination guild of the third level in the battlefield of all living beings.

Fengmen: Specializes in poisons and hidden weapons.

Ma Men: He is good at disguise and deception, and assassinates the target after getting close to him.

Yanmen: Focuses on light skills and is responsible for high-difficulty pursuit and killing missions.

Quemen: Mainly women, using beauty to lure and kill targets.

There are four branches of the guild, with a total of one hundred people, and all the leaders have golden skills. After coming to this world, the four leaders broke through to the sub-hero level. In addition to their special physiques, they also have the help of the prince's power to complete some super-large serial tasks, so the difficulty is not so great that they cannot be completed.

"I wonder what instructions your Highness has for you today?" The secretary said, "I will listen to them in person."

"It's not teaching." The prince waved his hand and said, "You all know Prince Yong."

The four leaders looked at each other, and the answer was actually very clear - a world-class BOSS that was close to perfection.

Unlike the present situation, all living beings have survived for countless years and the relevant knowledge has been very complete. In a real world, there is usually one or several extremely powerful ceilings, which are the so-called "world-class BOSS".

Such life forms are hard to come by, and the world usually protects them consciously. It is impossible to spy on them through divination or other means, and thus kill them in advance.

But not being able to tell the truth also means there is a problem.

At this moment, Prince Yong is obviously the main force in the Crown Prince's camp. The eldest prince has the support of a large number of aristocratic families. The third prince is Xiao Qingzhi's nephew. He is protected by the Night Guards and Xuanjin Villa, and is also a sacred beast envoy.

There is only the prince, and unless he is just cannon fodder, there should be a strong person to maintain the balance.

Elder Pei said softly, "The New Year is coming in two months, and Prince Yong will be on tour soon. The Crown Prince, thinking of the brotherly love, wants to give Prince Yong a generous gift when he returns. Silk and antiques are not very solemn, so I wonder what you think."

Lord Pei silently emphasized the word "generous gift".

"Absolutely not! How can the love between brothers be tainted by the smell of money?" The Zhongshu Sheren was shocked.

The prince's face lit up with joy.

Lord Pei had a blank expression on his face. The fight had actually come to him.

……

Qingzhou, Gaomi City.

The palace's convoy set out from Dongyang and stopped here.

Although it was called a caravan, it actually only had one carriage and a hundred skeleton dragon riders as guards.

There were strict rules for vassal kings to leave their counties, and there was no need to be so rigid about it. However, the cabinet had previously issued an order to depose Jiang Ada, the commander of Dongyang, and escort him to the capital.

However, the next day, Dongyang rioted, and the cabinet ordered Jiang A to be reinstated and sent troops to suppress the rebellion, and the matter was barely resolved.

Jiang He asked people to hand over the recently looted silver to Gaomi General A'er. In addition to reorganizing the Gaomi army, he sent people to Xuzhou and other places to secretly purchase a batch of food and military equipment.

"Your Majesty did not expect that the prince would have such an idea. If this is the case, it does not mean that he must be the villain. After all, military and national affairs are more important. However, the king never jokes, and the prince must always consider the face of the royal family."

Outside Gaomi City, the troops from the capital were approaching to join forces.

A eunuch in a dragon robe stood outside the carriage and spoke with his head bowed.

Behind the curtain, Jiang He said, "Qingzhou will not be lost, and this time the governor will not gain nothing."

"Your Highness is magnanimous." The eunuch in the dragon robe stepped back.

The land immortals who have killed their own kind are qualified to stay out of it. Moreover, as a member of the royal family, Prince Yong's mere existence is a huge deterrent to the rebels. Emperor Wu of Liang acquiesced in this trick, but Qingzhou cannot have any problems, and the governor must find a scapegoat. Face is secondary. If the salt and iron state-owned enterprises are to be implemented, they must not fail miserably in the early stages. The significance of the result is greater than the results.

The royal palace convoy merged with the capital's convoy, and the team became even larger, reaching more than a thousand people, including the second-rank Governor of the Grain Transport System, the fourth-rank Inspector of Salt, and other high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Revenue, as well as their family members, servants, maids, and guards.

Prince Yong's carriage was surrounded by a hundred dragon riders.

There were only Jiang He, Wu He, Zhuang Ya, and a three-year-old unnamed girl in the carriage.

"Boss, Sheng Gui married into the Yu family of Yangzhou, which allowed him to sit on the position of commander. When he went to Dongyang to take up the post, Yu bought him a concubine, who gave birth to a daughter. The concubine committed suicide after the war. Yu sent someone to write to us a while ago, asking us to see them off on the way." Wuhe reported.

To monitor the salt and iron industry, Yangzhou is the first stop.

But recently, the Yangzhou area in the south of the Yangtze River has been full of bandits and rampant evil cults, and the chaos is comparable to that of the frontier areas.

Sure." Jiang He nodded, "Sheng Gui died while defending the city. Compared to the Qingzhou family, he has some connections with them. I'll send him off on the way. Where did the Yu family come from?"

"Yu family is Xie family's money bag." Wuhe replied.

(End of this chapter)