knife

Chapter 610 Closed-Door Talks
On the dock, in front of a large group of gentry and officials, Li Dachui fully demonstrated his eagerness to seek out talent and his magnanimous demeanor as a leader. He painted countless rosy pictures and promised many visions. Then, surrounded by the crowd, he arrived at the Huai'an Prefectural Governor's Mansion, where a grand banquet had already been prepared.

After several rounds of drinks, everyone left satisfied.

Once only a few top figures from the eight towns of Jiangnan remained in the room, the atmosphere lost its previous liveliness and ease, and instead became somewhat solemn.

Everyone knows that what happened before was just a show for the public, meant to reassure people.

Only then will the two sides truly discuss many substantive issues.

These issues are undoubtedly fundamental to everyone here.

Huai'an should have a prefect, as it had always been the residence of He Zudao, so there was only one assistant prefect in charge of local affairs. The assistant prefect's surname was Huang, given name Chang, and he was a member of the prominent Huang family in Huai'an. He was only in his early thirties, young and capable.

Prefect Wang Zhenxi of Jingling County was quite old, nearing sixty, and his martial arts cultivation was only at the peak of the seventh rank of the Xuan Yuan realm. However, in Jingling County, the Wang family was the most powerful. It was said that the Jingling Wang family had some connection with the Taiyuan Wang family, but Li Dachui thought it was probably nonsense, perhaps just a tactic by the Jingling Wang family to raise their own status.

Otherwise, if the Wang family of Taiyuan had been almost wiped out by He Zudao, would He Zudao have tolerated him in Jingling if he really had any connection with the Wang family of Taiyuan?
Prefect Sheng Ju of Chunling County was in his early forties, in the prime of his life. He was strong and powerful, and his martial arts skills had reached the eighth rank of Xuan Yuan, making him a match for Su Qi of the Demonic Sect.

Generally speaking, those who can reach this level in external martial arts training can actually fight against a ninth-grade Xuan Yuan master, but the training process is extremely arduous.

This Sheng Ju is from a prominent family, yet he was able to endure such hardship, which shows his strong will and makes him a remarkable person.

Yue Qi, the prefect of Anlu, was skilled in both literature and martial arts, and was the leader of this group.

Everyone in the room turned their attention to Yue Qi's face.

Yue Qi stood up, but unexpectedly knelt down with a thud. There was a table between them, and this time Li Dachui didn't have time to help him up. He just said, "Prefect Yue, what is the meaning of this?"

"Yue Qi begs for forgiveness from Your Highness!"

"What crime have you committed by gathering here with me and everyone else to celebrate this grand occasion?" Li Dachui asked with a smile.

"Your Highness, it was I who let Chen Jianren, He Zudao's concubine, and his son He Bule escape!" Yue Qi said. "The He family and Your Highness have an irreconcilable feud. I watched them leave without stopping them, which is a crime. However, He Zudao treated me very well when he was alive, and he did not mistreat me when He Qiku was still in the Eight Towns of Jiangnan. So I really couldn't bring myself to do it!"

Li Dachui burst into laughter, walked around the table, and helped Yue Qi up: "I thought it was something serious! What crime is this? He Qiku and He Zudao have a grudge against me, but it has nothing to do with his son. This He Bule is only fifteen years old, isn't he? He wasn't even born when his grandfather and father betrayed us! Prefect Yue is loyal and righteous, which I admire. It is precisely because of this that I, Li Dachui, am happy to work with you and be your friend, because your character is impeccable and you are worth befriending. If you really put the heads of He Bule and his ilk before me today..."

Li Dachui paused for a moment, then looked at the others in the room before continuing, "Then I can only work with you and follow the rules in everything, but I dare not be your friend! One must be a good person before doing anything else!"

At this point, everyone else in the room breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, they were involved in this matter as well. "Your Highness is kind and benevolent!"

"Not really. He Qiku didn't die a natural death, and He Zudao was killed by me on the battlefield. Now that He Bule is gone, no matter what happens in the future, I'm afraid his descendants will have a hard time getting ahead for generations. The He family betrayed my parents back then because they wanted to get ahead and become people of high status, but despite all their scheming, they couldn't achieve their goal. I think this is the greatest punishment for them. The rest is not worth mentioning!"

Everyone thought so too.

Nothing kills more than destroying one's spirit.

To make the He family and their descendants taste this bitter fruit generation after generation, spending their lives in endless regret, would probably be an even harsher punishment.

"Everyone, please sit down!" Li Dachui said. "I know that although you have decided to work with me on important matters, you are still somewhat uneasy. Many of my affairs and policies outside the Great Wall may be misunderstood, causing you all anxiety. Why don't we be open and honest today and make things clear so that we can work together without any lingering doubts or hesitations?"

It was obvious that the people in the room were taking deep breaths, clearly indicating that they had made up their minds.

This time, it was Wang Zhenxi, the prefect of Jingling County, who stood up on behalf of everyone.

Li Dachui couldn't help but laugh at everyone's little schemes.

Wang Zhenxi, in his early sixties with white hair, spoke on behalf of everyone. Even if Li Dachui didn't approve, such an old man could simply use his old age and senility as an excuse to go home, hand over the position of prefect to his son, and then find a manor to live out his retirement. What could Li Dachui do to him?

“Your Highness, all of you here are prominent local families. Looking back, we have hundreds of years of history and a large family with many descendants. All we want is for our families to continue and for our descendants to live a good life!” Wang Zhenxi said. “It is said that Your Highness is implementing a policy of curbing powerful and aristocratic families in the border regions. There are many restrictions on families like ours. Although it is not as crazy as He Zudao’s actions in Hedong and Hexi, everyone says that Your Highness is using a soft knife to cut people, or at least not hurting them as much. But as a result, I am afraid that families like ours will gradually decline.”

Li Dachui asked with a smile, "Since everyone thinks that way, why did you decide to cooperate with me instead of going to Linghuye?"

"If we, these remnants of a defeated army, were to surrender to Linghu Ye, we would be pushed forward by him to be his vanguard, his scapegoats, to fight His Highness to the death. We feel that would only hasten our demise. But cooperating with His Highness offers at least a few decades of buffer time, during which perhaps something will change," Wang Zhenxi said. "The policies of the court are not static; given time, there will always be some changes, and even if there are no changes, perhaps some changes will be brought about!"

Li Dachui laughed loudly: "Prefect Wang is quite frank. However, regarding the policies of my Northern Court, he does indeed have some knowledge but not the other side!"

"Please enlighten this old man, Your Highness!"

Li Dachui said, "Does Prefect Wang think that all the officials of the Beiting Protectorate outside the pass are penniless?"

Wang Zhenxi was taken aback and didn't know how to answer Li Dachui's question.

"Little Cat, tell Prefect Wang how much you're worth now?" Li Dachui said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)