Chapter 47: Evil in the World
The imperial capital of Shenjing.
Zero loop line.
To the Winter Palace.
The strong critical architectural style makes the ongoing banquet seem cold.
The attendants, dressed in gorgeous clothes, carried metal-woven tableware and presented sumptuous food to the long banquet table.
In this tableware with a cold, steel-like texture, the steam from the food seems to be frozen.
The hall is surrounded by solemn statues, and the decoration is mainly composed of pointed corners and pointed arches. It has the characteristics of high straight points and strong piercing meaning, appearing sharp and majestic, just like the meaning represented by the Supreme Council.
As one of the eight highest-ranking councilors, Yu Zhongxian was undoubtedly the protagonist of this banquet.
He sat at the top of the long table, in a huge, high-backed chair made of black iron-lead alloy. His figure was extremely thin, but no one dared to ignore the enormous power contained in this seemingly thin body.
After the long table was piled with food, Yu Zhongxian moved his fingers, and as if receiving an invisible order, all the attendants bowed and retreated, leaving only a few people. The metal door closed behind them, and the only light source in the entire hall was the metal grille skylight above their heads.
"Chang Hai."
Yu Zhongxian said coldly, his icy voice echoing in the solemn hall, making people even more creepy.
"Tell me, what's the situation in Zhongzhou?"
A scarred man below replied, "Master Yu, three manors in Longmo Mountain have been burned to the ground. The Zhongzhou Public Security Bureau has stated that they will track down the murderer, but they have refused to accept the evidence we sent."
"Ren Qingshan, the second-in-command of the Qing army, only kidnapped a few insignificant housekeepers, women, and servants. Young Master Xiao had gone to the Green Grassland to fool around. He turned off his satellite phone because he was afraid of being found. Therefore, Ren Qingshan really didn't capture him."
Yu Zhongxian raised his hand, and a big bald man walked up behind him.
"Go find some dirt on the Chief of Police of Zhongzhou."
The bald man took the order and left.
Yu Zhongxian continued to ask: "What does Sheng Huaixuan say now?"
"He wants us to stop reviewing aid, suspend auditing disaster relief supplies, and stop interfering with the Empire's normal support for East Qinzhou."
Yu Zhongxian sneered: "Even if he catches my kid, it's impossible."
"The General is wise."
Everyone in the hall said in unison.
Yu Zhongxian picked up his exclusive three-pronged cutlery and picked up a piece of Hotan marbled beef melted in thick butter.
After this action, others picked up their cutlery and started eating.
"He Chenggong," he asked the one-eyed man at the bottom left, "Is there any news from Changshan County now?"
The one-eyed man looked very unhappy. He bowed slightly to Yu Zhongxian and said:
"The first plot must have failed, and all those involved were imprisoned by the new mayor of Changshan County, Lin Wen."
Yu Zhongxian's face visibly darkened, and the buttered beef slipped off the silver fork and fell onto his leather boots.
A maid behind him quickly knelt down to help him dry it.
Yu Zhongxian put down his cutlery, looked at the one-eyed dragon with a stern expression, and asked, "What exactly is going on? I've mobilized so many resources and even issued an inspector's warrant, and that bald guy is patting his chest and saying that the new county governor is a complete idiot and hasn't even formed a guard. Isn't it easy for him to overthrow him?"
The one-eyed man hesitated for a moment, then said, "According to our later investigation, it seems that the new county chief is extremely powerful and was able to quell the riots alone..."
He couldn't continue speaking because Yu Zhongxian's expression had become extremely dangerous.
"Are all my people trash?"
He stepped on the head of the waitress who was polishing shoes. The boots, made of the hard skin of a rare South American giant crocodile, hit her head hard on the marble floor with a dull thud that could be heard clearly in the hall.
"How much does the Dark Agency cost me every year? And all they produce is this kind of trash?"
"Or are you using this rumor to fool me?"
The one-eyed man quickly said, "Of course not, Lord General, it's just that our people have been almost completely wiped out, so the news is inevitably distorted."
"Combining some other information, it seems that the new county chief fought with twenty or thirty rebels for a while, and only after the garrison commander Guan Dashan arrived with his troops did they suppress the rebels."
"Very good, it seems that you are even more useless than I thought. Thirty people can deal with one person, which is really amazing."
"Also, what does annihilation mean?"
Yu Zhongxian stared at the one-eyed dragon:
"I remember I had many hidden agents. Unlike those secret police inspectors who were only in name only, they were my real elite troops, waiting to instigate a civil uprising."
The one-eyed dragon swallowed and lowered his head.
"Master General, they have all, have lost contact."
As soon as the words fell, the hall fell into deathly silence.
Everyone lowered their heads.
With a bang.
Yu Zhongxian poured the entire plate of black swan sashimi onto the one-eyed dragon.
The sauce was all over him, and the thin slices of swan meat hung on his hair and shoulders, but he didn't dare to move.
"very good."
Yu Zhongxian's cold voice came from above.
"It seems like I really have a bunch of useless people who can't even influence a small county governor."
"I've lost so many elites that I spent so much money to train. No wonder Sheng Huaixuan dared to ask for such a high price."
"What should we do now? Can anyone tell me?"
The silence lasted only ten seconds before the middle-aged man at the first position on the right spoke.
"Master General, I think we should prepare for both scenarios at this time. Immediately send someone to privately redeem that kid from Changshan County."
"At the same time, we must completely cut off any imperial aid to Changshan County, even if it only allows a little to Dongqinzhou."
"Changshan County itself is a severely affected area, extremely poor, and has many victims. If supplies are blocked, they will riot sooner or later."
"If we exert more strength at that time, we can defeat the new county chief and at the same time bite off a piece of flesh from Sheng Huaixuan, which will greatly undermine the arrogance of the imperial faction."
"That's inappropriate!" Someone stood up and retorted, "If we fight that brat through Sheng Huaixuan, won't that be a waste of time? Even if we kill the aid, won't Sheng Huaixuan come to our aid? Now that we've alerted the enemy, Sheng Huaixuan will definitely keep protecting that brat!"
"We can also check his dirt!"
"He used to be the mayor! What black material did he have? At most, he made some money and took possession of a few decent girls. What's the point?"
"That's right. Maybe Sheng Huaixuan is behind everything that happened in Changshan County. What does that brat know? He's just a puppet!"
"wrong."
A young man stood up and spoke calmly.
"If that's the case, why did Sheng Huaixuan go to such great lengths to get the Jiedu authority? He's already the General Governor. If he gives Jiedu authority to a subordinate, wouldn't that just be dividing his own power?"
"So, the new county chief must be someone who can stand on his own."
After hearing his words, Yu Zhongxian showed a slight smile on his face. He sat down again and kicked away the waitress who had already fainted. The confidant behind him immediately understood and dragged her out.
"Well said. It's rare to find someone with brains. Keep going, Shaohu."
The young man bowed before continuing.
"Judging from the recent actions, there must be a major problem within Sheng Huaixuan, otherwise the new county chief wouldn't have so little support."
"But there's no news from outside right now, which proves that Sheng Huaixuan is still in control of the situation. If we attack with all our might, it won't have much effect. It might even trigger a collective hatred among them, which would be counterproductive."
"I think the most feasible plan right now is to pretend to attack aggressively, but actually use soft tactics and internal tactical tactics to hold Sheng Huaixuan back. He must be very afraid of internal problems right now."
"At the same time, we will launch a fierce attack on the new governor of Changshan County. He has only recently taken office and has a weak foundation, making him the only weak point in East Qinzhou. He is also young and hot-headed, with a limited understanding of the true empire, making him an easy target for our trap."
"As long as we overthrow the new county chief, Sheng Huaixuan will have a flaw, and we can take advantage of the situation to bite off his flesh."
"This is just my humble opinion. Please consider it as you see fit. I'm done."
After the young man sat down, there was silence in the hall for a long time and no one spoke.
Until Yu Zhongxian applauded.
"As expected of Yang Shaohu, perhaps in the near future, I will witness the new star of the empire shining brightly."
Everyone at the table then began to praise.
After a round of compliments, Yu Zhongxian set the tone.
"Kill that little bastard first, then deal with Sheng Huaixuan."
The banquet ended quickly, and the servants came in one after another, cleared the table of food that had hardly been touched, and threw it into the trash can.
There is no rule in the Winter Palace to eat leftovers, even servants are not allowed to do so.
The entertainment activities after the banquet began. The maid who was stepped on unconscious was dragged up. Yang Shaohu was unwilling to get involved in these dirty things, so he walked to Yu Zhongxian. Coincidentally, Lai Juncheng, the general manager's "right-hand man", was also there.
Lai Juncheng said, "...So, in fact, when it comes to the flood, Dongqinzhou and Changshan County are separate. This is probably because Sheng Huaixuan wants to get more assistance for Changshan County and at the same time put aside some of the responsibility for the previous county governor's poor flood prevention."
"Therefore, the Empire's aid is now divided into two parts: one for Dongqin Prefecture, and the other for Changshan County, which suffered the most severe flooding. This actually helps us act. We can use audits and council reviews to single out Changshan County."
"We can also pretend to negotiate with Sheng Huaixuan and loosen up Dongqinzhou a little."
"If Sheng Huaixuan doesn't want to cause internal strife, the support he provides to Changshan County shouldn't be too much."
"As long as we use our headquarters' connections, we can put a hold on Changshan County's aid indefinitely, so they won't receive a single cent of aid in their lifetime."
"There are at least hundreds of thousands of refugees in Changshan County. They have nothing to eat or drink. Even if they don't rebel, more than half of them will starve to death. Then we'll have an excuse!"
Yang Shaohu knew he shouldn't speak, but he couldn't help but say, "Isn't this too much? We have other means."
Lai Juncheng's cloudy yellow eyes swept over: "Shaohu, this is the method with the lowest cost and the least risk."
“But so many people died…”
"Young Tiger!"
Yu Zhongxian's cold gaze also swept over.
"Stop talking so much."
Amid the screams of the woman behind him and the laughter of the crowd, Lai Juncheng continued speaking.
"Coupled with the secrets we have, we will definitely be able to embarrass Sheng Huaixuan at the upcoming joint meeting of the thirteen states."
After discussing for a while, Yang Shaohu heard someone shout, "This bitch has fainted again! Wake her up!"
Yu Zhongxian turned a deaf ear and stood up: "That's it, I'll leave everything to you."
Lai Juncheng bowed slightly and said, "I will definitely live up to the high expectations of the General Manager."
Yang Shaohu closed his eyes and said at the last moment, "General, I want to add one thing. The Seventh Construction Corps is responsible for their reconstruction work. If we investigate the head of the Corps, we can coerce him into asking for an exorbitant price. If Changshan County has no money, the reconstruction work will be shelved, which will further undermine their confidence. If they have money, they will also bleed heavily, making their situation even worse."
"good!"
Lai Juncheng clapped his hands.
"That's a great idea. Use minimal force to hit their most vulnerable spot. If I were your enemy, I'd be terrified."
Yu Zhongxian nodded and said, "Not bad, Shaohu, you performed very well today. Tell me what reward you want."
Lai Juncheng smiled and said, "This is a rare opportunity. Think about it first."
Yang Shaohu didn't hesitate and pointed behind him: "I want her."
Yu Zhongxian was a little surprised: "Her? What's so good about that bitch? If you want a woman, I can give you 100 who are much better than her."
Lai Juncheng smiled and said, "Shaohu, with your talent, I think the First Princess would also like to talk to you."
Yang Shaohu gritted his teeth and whispered, "I just like her."
Yu Zhongxian smiled and shook his head: "I really don't understand the tastes of young people, but she attended the banquet and originally couldn't walk out alive, but since you asked, I'll make an exception. Just remember to keep an eye on her."
He raised his voice slightly and said, "Boys, stop playing around. This beautiful girl has already been taken."
The noisy crowd stopped and looked at each other. Yang Shaohu walked over, said nothing, picked up the dying woman, and walked out the door.
Everyone finally understood and burst into laughter. Someone shouted sarcastically, "So the Empire Star likes this tune?" This caused even more laughter.
Yang Shaohu didn't say a word from beginning to end, and at the end, Lai Juncheng whispered, "Yang Shaohu is not the same kind of person."
Yu Zhongxian said nothing, only leaving one sentence at the end of the show.
"If those untouchables are spineless and will never rebel until their death, you can use other means. Just kill that little beast."
(End of this chapter)
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