Chapter 572: The Prosperous Era, the Rise of Insects
Although the process and results of this battle were deliberately downplayed by the Wanxian League officials, we can get some clues from the various actions of the Wanxian League after this battle.
The various offensive orders that had just been issued were urgently canceled; all states were instructed to defend themselves strictly to prevent infiltration by the Five Elders; no state was allowed to start a war lightly, and the task at the current stage was mainly defense.
The conscription orders from the front to various states became more frequent.
"They change their orders every day, what a makeshift team!"
Almost overnight, the battle strategy changed 180 degrees, causing all the monks of the Immortal Alliance to complain from the bottom of their hearts.
However, due to the might of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, no one dared to speak directly to them. They only expressed their deep sorrow in private gatherings.
The progress of the war is not subject to the will of the monks.
It's just that suddenly, from seemingly having the upper hand, the two sides were in a stalemate.
The foreign war was frustrated and the domestic situation was not at peace either.
At the headquarters of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, it was said that many high-ranking cultivators were dismissed and investigated. Even some veteran Hedao cultivators with deep backgrounds and long tenure were not spared.
However, the reason why they were interrogated was unknown.
Even after these monks were released, even though they had been tortured and looked extremely weak, they were very secretive about the matter and refused to talk about it in detail no matter how much they were questioned.
This has led to suspicion and panic among the people.
After all, no one wants to be the next person to be taken away for interrogation for no apparent reason.
But Li Fan knew that the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance was trying to catch a non-existent traitor.
No matter how hard they tried, how could they have imagined that the person who leaked the Tianxuan Soul Sealing Array diagram was actually a little Jindan cultivator who had never been involved in this matter and was far away in the border of the Immortal Alliance: Cong Yunhai?
So this is an investigation that is doomed to produce no results.
Perhaps, the case will end up being hastily closed with a few unlucky guys being tortured into confessing.
And there will be a few more innocent names added to Li Fan’s list of injured.
After gaining a general understanding of the course of the war over the past year, Li Fan flipped through the many messages that He Zhenghao had sent to "Zhou Qingang".
Basically they were asking and urging him when he would be released.
At the beginning of the retreat, the messages were very frequent. But later on, I don’t know whether I gave up or for some other reason, the messages became less and less frequent.
"The Secret Envoy is in deep retreat, and so are you, Brother Zhou."
“I can’t even contact anyone.”
"Now everyone has learned it well. They have destroyed their communication talismans and claimed to be in seclusion."
"If this continues, I'm afraid that our Congyun City Government Hall won't even have ten people to work for us! When the secret envoy comes back, how should I explain this to him?"
…
He Zhenghao complained bitterly, but Li Fan snorted coldly.
"Do you still have eyes for me, the secret envoy?"
Not wanting to bother with the dying man, Li Fan cleared the information in the communication talisman in the blink of an eye, then left the secret room and quietly appeared in the lobby of the Governor's Hall.
"Brother Gao, the position of [Medicine Quality Inspector] in the Dan Hall has recently become vacant. Someone offered me 50,000 contribution points to buy this position. What do you think?"
"I think it's a little too little. It should be at least 80,000."
"After all, I earned 130,000 contributions from my position as the [Captain of the Martial Arts Team] in the Martial Arts Hall not long ago. This time..."
As He Zhenghao was talking, he suddenly discovered that there was one more person in the scene.
The words stopped abruptly, and He Zhenghao looked at "Zhou Qingang" with embarrassment, feeling a little embarrassed for a moment.
Gao Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, not at all flustered at being caught abusing his power for personal gain.
Instead, he smiled and greeted "Zhou Qingang" very naturally, "Friend Zhou Dao, long time no see. It's just in time for you to help us with some advice!"
As he spoke, he pulled Zhou Qingang closer and explained to him again the whole story of how the two of them were selling vacant positions in Congyun City.
And he looked at Li Fan with anticipation, waiting for his answer.
This move instantly resolved the awkward situation between him and He Zhenghao, and at the same time eliminated the estrangement between him and Zhou Qingang, whom he had not seen for a long time, and turned to recruit him to join the group.
Even Li Fan, who had been in the officialdom for hundreds of years, couldn't help but praise her as "beautiful".
He looked at the two of them with a half-smile, and he did not choose to be an upright person who hated evil and vowed to expose the two of them.
After pretending to think for a while, he slammed the table and said, "Eighty thousand contribution points?"
"It's still too little! One price, 160,000 contribution points!"
"Do you want love?"
Unexpectedly, Zhou Qingang's appetite was bigger than his own, and he doubled the price as soon as he opened his mouth.
He Zhenghao was stunned.
But after a moment, he came back to his senses, smiled bitterly and persuaded: "Fellow Daoist Zhou, you may have just woken up from seclusion and don't understand the current market situation."
"The position of [Medicine Quality Inspector] can only be sold for 80,000 at most. After all, we are not the only one selling it in Cong Yunhai. Others choose us only because the price here is low and they can buy it as a stepping stone."
"You doubled your money in one go..."
He Zhenghao shook his head: "With this money, why don't others go to Luoyanzhou or other more prosperous places?"
Gao Yuan also nodded in agreement.
Li Fan sneered and looked at the two of them, his eyes revealing sarcasm: "I don't understand the situation? Do you think that I have been in seclusion for this period of time and I know nothing about what is happening in the outside world? I think it is you two who are confused about the situation now!"
"Zhou Qing'ang's" behavior is very different from his previous style.
Zhou Qingang is a relatively steady person, and he is not the kind of person who would act without a purpose.
Could it be that...
Gao Yuan and He Zhenghao looked at each other, both with surprise and suspicion in their eyes.
As the saying goes, if you don't do anything wrong, you don't have to worry about ghosts knocking on your door. Just this simple sentence scared the two of them.
He Zhenghao leaned forward and asked cautiously, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, where did this come from?"
"Zhou Qingang" did not answer, but just glanced at Gao Yuan beside him.
There was a flash of anger in Gao Yuan's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it, put on a smile, and posed as if asking for advice.
At this time, Li Fan slowly said: "The battle of Tianlingzhou is coming to an end, and the fighting will soon subside. You who took advantage of the chaos of the war and the special period of no one to buy and sell official positions are about to come to an end!"
When these words were spoken, Gao Yuan and He Zhenghao were both shocked.
This time it's not an act.
After a brief moment of shock, a hint of disbelief appeared in both of their eyes.
He Zhenghao asked quickly, "There was no news of this matter, how did Brother Zhou know about it?"
"It's not that we don't believe in fellow Taoists, but this is really a matter of great importance to the Immortal Alliance, so fellow Taoists must not speak carelessly." Gao Yuan also helped.
"How do you know?" Zhou Qingang glanced at the two of them with cold eyes.
"Of course it was the secret envoy who told me!"
(End of this chapter)
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