"Dao Chengyi! Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! You are ultimately a commoner! I am an official! How can a commoner fight against an official! I advise you to hand over all those businesses to the government for management!"

The wine glass slammed heavily onto the table. The unusual movement at the main table, where only two people were present, naturally attracted the attention of others. Some people were already secretly preparing their moves under the table, ready to strike and kill the person opposite them at any moment.

They finally started arguing, but thankfully they couldn't reach an agreement, otherwise they really would have had to move out with their whole family.

Those who had joined Qin Fengmu and Dao Chengyi's subordinates and hadn't left thought that they wanted to see this confrontational atmosphere from above! That way, they could take advantage of the chaos and climb to new heights!

"As a parent official, the Taizu Emperor of Xinxiu made a pact with the Daoist Master that Xinxiu is the heart of all people under heaven, and the sage is the parent of all people under heaven. He should not impose exorbitant taxes and levies, but should govern with benevolence and harmony."

"This covenant is also a covenant between the Sage and all the officials and ministers. We are of one mind to govern, one mind to serve the people, and one mind to serve the court. I have never violated the laws of the Heart, and all my money has been handled cleanly and honestly. Furthermore, I have the inscription 'Loyal, Honest, Kind, and Benevolent for the People' by the Prefect of Tianhan, Louzhou. I have also petitioned the court and been granted the title of Qingmang Guard, with a rank equivalent to the eighth grade."

"You can't punish me!"

Xin Su governs the country with martial prowess and the world with civil administration. He values ​​the distinction between officials and commoners most because it represents the authority of the ruler. Although Dao Chengyi does not serve as an official, it does not mean that he may be directly suppressed by the government.

"See if I can deal with you! Dao Chengyi, do you dare to put your hand on your conscience and say that everything you did in Qingmang was truly selfless and devoted to the people? Let me tell you! Your conspiracy won't last long! Because I will expose them all!"

Qin Fengmu pointed at Dao Chengyi's nose and spoke, while Dao Chengyi calmly drank his wine in the face of the angry curses that were about to land on his face.

"Magistrate Qin must be drunk. I have done my best for myself and for the people of Qingmang. If Magistrate Qin wants to investigate, then go ahead and investigate."

Qin Fengmu looked at Dao Chengyi, who remained calm, with admiration in her eyes, and then turned and left, leading half of the banquet guests to leave in silence.

The song and dance bands, and the prostitutes playing flutes and zithers, all dared not utter a sound. Dao Chengyi waved his hand.

"Let the music continue, let the dancing continue. Since Magistrate Qin has no interest in what follows, I will have a private conversation with you all behind closed doors."

They said they were talking privately behind closed doors, but with so many women entertaining customers here, it was probably just a deliberate attempt to let Magistrate Qin hear them.

"I've come today to talk to you all about something concerning Qingmang City."

"Three years have passed since the Qingmang Rebellion. In these three years, thanks to the cooperation of the current magistrate Huang Yulang, everyone present, and the people of Qingmang, Qingmang City now has a population of about 150,000. Including the population of the various townships, the total is about 230,000..."

The increase in population is simply due to more births, plus a large influx of people, many of whom are naturalized Jiuyue people and refugees from other regions.

In recent years, the Jiuyue tribe has been launching increasingly aggressive attacks, and the two cities on the border of Qingmang are also frequently attacked. Only Qingmang in Cangjing Prefecture is doing better.

As for why the imperial court hasn't sent troops yet, it's simply because the reforms are in full swing, and the officials are just short of taking action in the court.

The situation was so dire that even those of them on the frontier could hear about it. The reason they had chosen to serve under Daocheng and hadn't left was because the turmoil in the interior was terrifying.

As for the Qin family of Jiangning, Qin Pingzhang, a second-rank official in the imperial court, clearly belonged to the Baiyijing faction. Unfortunately, their prefect of Louzhou was an anti-reformist.

So upon careful consideration, the reason why things are the way they are today is the same, and the people standing here are the same too; they are all the same kind of people.

So it's not hard to guess what the next project will be. Once the political figures present figured it out, Dao Chengyi's plan became straightforward.

"To develop the old site in the west of the city and expand the scale of Qingmang City, we need to dredge the last section of the Linghu Lake and Linghe River in the next few days to prevent flooding during the rainy season."

Dao Cheng sipped his tea. The purpose of Magistrate Qin's visit was nothing more than to seize the remnant of the half-step Martial King who wanted to ascend to the heavens in one step, and then take the opportunity to touch the core of the Demon God to clear the path to Martial Saint.

Dao Chengyi didn't really care about this, because in the past three years, he had already used blood-path methods to devour the flesh and blood of the demon god, and was just thinking about how to bring out the hidden Blood Wings, so he took this opportunity.

Currently, the Gu Master realm is stuck at the fourth level. To reach the fifth level, one needs to cultivate to the half-step Martial King realm, but the materials used for cultivating to the half-step Martial King realm cannot be inferior.

"The project of changing the river course is a great achievement for the present and a benefit for future generations. We will naturally follow your advice, sir. However, such an important matter may not proceed smoothly without the approval of the new magistrate."

The present-day Lenghu was not Lenghu in the past; it was formed by the Leng River, which was connected to a huge crater created by the calamity of Houbian.

From that time onward, Qingmang frequently experienced sudden floods during the rainy season, but due to the great convenience of river transport, no one before them wanted to change it.

Dao Chengyi was different. Two years ago, he boldly proposed a plan to change the river course, block the river, and use the canal to create farmland. There was a river that passed through the Qingmang area on the other side of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

This river is adjacent to Linghu Lake and happens to be located in the main direction of Linghu Lake's cargo ships. Dao Chengyi's plan was simple: build a dam on that river to block the water and then connect it to the Ling River.

This not only solves the problem of rising water levels in Linghu Lake, but also intercepts a water source channel for the Jiuyue people, adding more fertile soil to Qingmang, and can even flood the mountains when necessary.

Regardless of whether it was too harsh on the Jiuyue people, the project was extremely difficult in terms of scale. However, Dao Chengyi lived up to his reputation as a genius and used his Fushan Fist to plan a complete excavation route for the mountain range.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!