Chapter 322: Exploiting Others (Part 1) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
"The Xu family of Tianhai? Xu Jie has such a powerful background?"
Chen, the poor devil, suddenly felt a deep envy for Wu Xian.
Look at them, that's the right way for a powerful lord to operate, easily gaining the assistance of the Xu family who can take on seven opponents single-handedly. Unlike me, I have to stretch every penny to two, and even with such frugality, it's not enough, and I'm always struggling to make ends meet.
How poor was she?
Do you know the custom of sending away the "poverty ghost" on the sixth day of the first lunar month?
She was the one who was kicked out of the house.
Gu Chi chuckled, but when he met Shen Tang's gaze, he suppressed his laughter and said, "My lord isn't that poor."
Shen Tang pouted: "You always know how to comfort me."
Gu Chi couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter.
Shen Tang: "..."
It has little lethality, but is highly insulting.
What's so funny about that?
Meanwhile, Xu Jie and his men were also settled into lodgings. The lodgings were the hideouts of several local gangsters. Part of the buildings had been damaged in the fighting, but the rest could still be salvaged and used. This was already the best and most respectable "guest house" in Fugu City.
Shen Tang herself sometimes stays in a tent when she gets busy.
This place is not far from the administrative center.
The attendant tidied the bed and then took out a tea set.
Xu Jie gestured for him not to hurry, and fiddled with the jade pendant with the sun and moon rising together pattern at his waist. The jade pendant was warm and delicate in texture, and even a commoner who did not know much about jade could tell at a glance that it was of considerable value: "What do you think of Shen Jun as a person, after you've been looking around all this time?"
The attendant thought for a moment and then offered a fair assessment: "Although Lord Shen is young, he acts with method and discipline, and—"
Xu Jie sat down by the window, looking at the somewhat desolate and dilapidated courtyard outside, which was neglected by others. He raised his hand to signal his attendant to continue. The attendant said, "I don't think we should be fooled by Shen Jun's age. He has no family background, no foundation, and no reputation, yet he has received the full support of several literary figures. How could he be just a young child?"
“That’s the truth, but some people just don’t understand it.” Xu Jie shook his head, thinking of the different voices under Wu Xian’s command. “Although I don’t like Qin Gongsu, to be fair, among Wu Xian’s subordinates, Qin Gongsu is definitely among the top three in terms of his ability to recognize talent.”
Previously, when troops were dispatched to suppress the rebel army of the Prince of Zhi, the Four Treasures formed an alliance, but Xu Jie did not go. In fact, a considerable number of Wu Xian's elite troops did not go either, as exposing their strength too much would easily arouse Zheng Qiao's suspicion. Therefore, this group of people did not know Shen Tang.
He didn't take Qin Li's account seriously.
They even scoffed at it.
Shen Tang's forces are even weaker than Zhao Feng's. Zhao Feng must have played a major role in Shen Tang's success in eliminating the bandits around He Yin and establishing a foothold in Fu Gu. What kind of ability is it to rely on someone else's troops? He completely disregarded Qin Li's suggestion of "vigilance first, suppression second, and appeasement last."
This level of attention is giving this brat way too much credit.
Has the force you've cobbled together exceeded two thousand? Of those two thousand, are there even a hundred who can be considered elite?
As for the "evil scheme" that Qin Li feared...
To put it bluntly, there's absolutely nothing to worry about regarding the lord served by "Evil Scheme," right? Has Qin Li forgotten how his previous lords, including Qi Shan, all died? As long as Qi Shan is alive, Shen Tang will surely meet a violent end.
Other literary figures?
Are Kang Jishou and Gu Wangchao very famous?
The only one with any reputation, "Chu Yao," was merely riding on the coattails of a dead person's fame; the three heroes of Chu Kingdom are well-known to have faded into obscurity.
Let's talk about the brave warriors...
There was only one Left Vice-Chief, Gongshu Wu, who was ranked tenth.
I've never heard of the name Gong Shuwu.
This person, despite being a tenth-rank Left Vice Minister, did not even have his own private troops, which would be a major weakness in his future command of troops on the battlefield.
This is truly a makeshift operation.
No, even a makeshift team like this is far more sophisticated than others. It's no wonder many under Wu Xian's command disregarded Shen Tang, considering Qin Li's suggestion an overreaction. Before coming to He Yin, Wu Xian's men had held two discussions regarding Shen Tang's matter.
Xu Jie maintained a neutral attitude towards Shen Tang.
I don't advocate for appeasement, nor do I advocate for suppression, nor do I advocate for treating people like dirt. The current situation is still hard to predict. As long as Zheng Qiao remains in power, people like Wu Xian, Gu Ren, and Shen Tang should just focus on managing their own territories and taking care of the people under their jurisdiction.
Others?
Ha, it's too early.
The attendant added, “Master, you know best what the previous River Governor was like, but as we’ve traveled along the way, Fugu, the River Governor’s seat, has already shown signs of prosperity… Master, how long has Lord Shen truly been in charge of the River Governor’s office? One month or two?”
Xu Jie said, "About two months."
The attendant then asked, "At most two months, could such a poor and desolate place be revitalized in the hands of others?"
Xu Jie said, "It's difficult."
The messages received by others were only superficial.
Within the territory of Heyin, chaos, poverty, and the wickedness of the common people were all intertwined, but the specifics of the chaos, poverty, and wickedness of the common people were unclear. Xu Jie, however, was different. The Xu family's main base was in Tianhai, but they also had influence in other places.
As Tianhai's neighbor, they naturally tried to expand their territory towards Heyin—and the result? Well, that was a disaster. Even merchants weren't willing to come and do business, which only showed that this place was indeed so poor that there was no profit to be made. Add to that the oppression from a few local tyrants and powerful figures... Heyin was like a dead tree with a hollow heart and rotten roots.
Now, this dead tree has been reborn.
Xu Jie said, "Let's go for a walk."
As Wu Xian's envoy, and Wu Xian being Shen Tang's "Brother Wu," this title not only guaranteed him unimpeded passage through Fugu but also ensured he had a dedicated "guide" to lead the way. However, Xu Jie never expected that the "guide" would be Gu Chi.
One of the four literary figures under Shen Tang's command.
The two exchanged greetings.
The atmosphere was harmonious, and they soon began to address each other by their courtesy names.
Gu Chi was unpretentious, taking Xu Jie around everywhere. Like Shen Tang, he didn't care about appearances and openly displayed his poverty, doing so with a sense of righteous indignation. Xu Jie even sensed a hint of pride on Gu Chi's face.
Xu Jie: "..."
What's there to be proud of? On second thought, being able to bring a withered tree back to life is indeed something to be proud of.
Little did they know, this is the same principle as begging for alms; the key is to be shameless and not to put on airs, to be poor openly and honestly.
Gu Chi brought Xu Jie to the southwest corner.
The main venue facilities for the sports meet had not been completely dismantled and looked quite messy. Gu Chi explained, "Wen Zhu arrived a few days late. If he had arrived a few days earlier, he could have made it to the sports meet."
"Sports Meet?"
"Yes, my lord wants the common people to have some fun too." Gu Chi didn't hide anything and offered some information. Xu Jie was observant; he could easily find out the details by sending someone. There was no point in hiding anything. "I personally think it should be done every year..."
Xu Jie had never heard of such things before. When he heard that there was a pig-riding event, and the first-place winner carried a pig to the finish line and even got a prize of a large, fat pig that Shen Jun had raised from a piglet, he was surprised and amused: "Is that really true?"
"Wangchao, where is this place?"
Unbeknownst to him, he was led to the entrance of "Fugu Department Store". The store was wide open, with shelves lined up everywhere, and he could vaguely see a few people standing and hesitating in front of the shelves. It looked like a shop, but he had never seen a shop of this type before.
(End of this chapter)
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