Cui Zhiping laughed and said, "Let's not think about these things anymore. Sandcastle is not what it used to be. The old ideas and practices are no longer applicable."
Lu Bin said, "I know this better than you do. The auxiliary government is there to balance military power. Whether it's Leader Sha or Elder Chen, they are both implementing the master's governing ideology. I support the separation of military and government. Soldiers shouldn't think too much and should focus on fighting."
Cui Zhiping: "It's rare that you know this."
Lu Bin rolled his eyes: "Now is not the time to talk about this. We should both be more careful on this last stretch of road. If those bandits suddenly turn around and attack again, we'll both be in deep trouble."
"Okay, I understand."
...
"They're all dead?"
"Yes, Mad Dog and Yuan Yongliang both sacrificed their lives. This is the evidence they looted. That gang of bandits used this thing to catch us off guard."
Qin Che glanced at the charred cannon barrel on the table, which looked like a fire poker, and said, ".75 caliber, incendiary gun, a new weapon for Wall One..."
"right."
"Is the loss significant?"
"It's not small at all; nearly thirty tons of goods are gone."
Qin Che shook his head, looked at Li Mi beside him, and asked, "What do you think?"
Li Mi, who had now become Qin Che's chief secretary, pondered for a moment before saying, "Sir, it was the city council's doing. They've been setting up new weapons testing grounds in several cities in the southwest region, resulting in the deaths of many innocent civilians. Those bandits are ruthless and operate on the fringes of the First Wall and West Fort's sphere of influence. I heard they're called the 'Scorpion Gang,' and their leader is a veteran who has fought on many battlefields."
Qin Che nodded and said, "Before I came to Xibao, Hu Jinglin, an old subordinate of Sha Qingsui, told me that the bandits around Xibao were deliberately cultivated by the First Wall to be tools for them to do shady things. Among them, the most powerful bandit group should be this so-called Scorpion Gang. Who do you think they are working for?"
Li Mi shook his head: "It's hard to say for now. We need to investigate, and we need evidence."
Qin Che smiled and pointed at him, then looked at Lina: "Madam, you've seen his caution, haven't you?"
Lina rolled her eyes and said, "The problem is how to solve this now."
Qin Che shook his head: "Thirty tons is nothing, it's insignificant. But... I didn't expect more than eight hundred people to die. It was just a bunch of bandits..."
Lina frowned and said, "With such heavy casualties, they were not just a group of bandits, but a well-trained elite force!"
Li Mi chimed in, "Many powerful forces in the old city of the southwest have died at the hands of the Scorpion Gang. They also control the key positions of officials in several cities in the southwest, forming a huge interest group. Of course, their origins are all within that wall."
Qin Che said, "Go and investigate. Find out whose tools the Scorpion Gang is using. Make sure you have enough evidence, and then report back to me. Keep a calm mindset. When the other side makes a move, we can't just not respond. But first, we need to figure out who we're dealing with."
Lina said, "You became an advisor to the Awakening Department, sat on the Elders' Seat, and became a member of the Fu Party. Who will be most affected? That person will be the most suspicious."
Qin Che shrugged: "That makes sense, but given the current situation, nobody can say for sure."
"The city council is in complete chaos. Fu Xian alone has more than a dozen factions under his control. It's hard to guarantee that my rise to power won't affect the interests of my own faction's internal organizations and incite conflicts, so he's secretly taking action."
Lina said, "But this is easy to judge. If it was done by Fu's faction, they will not go too far. They will stop here and only want you to suffer a loss."
Qin Che nodded appreciatively, his gaze gradually darkening: "If it was done by the enemy, then they must have a backup plan."
Lina: "Are you going to stick to the status quo and deal with everything the same way?"
"Before the situation becomes clear, we must not act rashly. Listen carefully, we can bear any kind of loss, because sooner or later... we will be able to take it all back from our opponents!"
After Li Mi and Lina left.
Qin Che yawned and said, "Just say what's on your mind, my esteemed minister."
In the room, a ray of light slowly emerged from the wall, and Li Xin's voice reached Qin Che's ears, saying, "You were able to sense me even with this?"
Qin Che laughed and said, "What's so difficult about that? Your psionic particles are like bright fireballs to me. I'm not blind."
As the light gathered and solidified, Li Xin slowly landed, sat across the table, and frowned, saying, "Something went wrong."
"What's up?"
“There are people in the city council maneuvering to delay the graduation of this year’s psychic students. All the promising new talents they’ve been eyeing have refused. They were supposed to go straight to work in the department after graduation, but they’ve all gone back on their word. Here’s the list, take a look.”
Li Xin handed over a small booklet.
The list contained detailed information on names, genders, ages, psychic abilities, and family backgrounds. Qin Che's eyes lit up as he was drawn to the psychic abilities of several individuals. He pointed to their names and couldn't help but ask, "Are all of these coming to the ministry? Allocate them to me."
Li Xin shook his head and said with a wry smile, "I already told you it's impossible. The graduation period has been postponed. I heard it's an order from the royal family. They persuaded several factions in the city council to express their support. Also, I've taken a liking to the few you've chosen, but unfortunately, they all declined our invitations, saying they still want to work elsewhere. I've investigated their reasons, and there are no problems."
Qin Che frowned and said, "Someone is deliberately blocking the talent supply channels for the Awakening Department."
"That's right, it's about this matter. I've come to discuss it with you."
Qin Che fell into deep thought.
In previous simulations, the Awakening Department did encounter similar problems. After Qin Che became an advisor, he would go to the outer realms to scavenge for psionicists and recruit them for his own use, or he would take on disciples and train them himself. There was never a simulation in which the Awakening Department was able to recruit people from the psionic academy without being affected.
“These young people who graduated from advanced psionic academies never had trouble finding jobs inside the walls. Coming to the Awakening Department is tiring and tough, sometimes even life-threatening. They also have to sign all sorts of agreements and face all kinds of scrutiny. Anyone would find it troublesome,” Qin Che said, putting down the list.
Li Xin rolled his eyes: "So what?"
"Perhaps the city council is also wary of us. What Old Fu is doing will not go unnoticed. It's just that because of his high position, there are some things that cannot be said openly, so he can only do them in secret."
"Who could it be..." Li Xin said, stroking his chin.
Qin Che shook his head. "Go investigate these students first, see if they've accepted any bribes. But don't do it openly. Send a few capable people to investigate secretly. Once you have the results, don't rush to tell Elder Fu. Come and discuss it with me first..."
Haste makes waste.
Upon hearing this, Li Xin nodded emphatically: "Okay, we'll do it your way."
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