Longzang

Chapter 907 Interrogation
“If it weren’t for you today, our casualties would have been much greater if the Flame Demons had stormed into the fortress. Your other follower is only seriously injured, and the hamster is still alive, so don’t worry. You killed enough Flame Demons today, so the third floor of the Library Hall is now open to you as well. From now on, there are no restricted areas for you in the fortress; you can go anywhere.”

With that, Ronglong tossed a token to Wei Yuan, saying, "This is my token. Now your authority is the same as the other three Desolate Witches."

Wei Yuan was quite surprised and said, "You trust me that much? Isn't this a bit too fast?"

Molten Dragon said, "To me, only the Flame Demons are the real threat. Apart from that, neither the conflict with the Nether Witches nor the blood feud with the Liao Clan can compare to the Flame Demons. We are here not to resist alien races, but to resist alien species! You have killed so many Flame Demons, and whatever secrets you may have, I don't care."

If you've seen the Heavenly Pillar, you'll understand that when the Flame Demon swept through the entire Desolate Realm last time, it probably wasn't even using its full power.

"Didn't the Ancestral Witch know about this?"

"The Ancestral Witches have too many things to do..." Molten Dragon didn't delve deeper into this topic.

"I will do my best to kill the Flame Demon," Wei Yuan said.

"That's good." Molten Dragon stood up and said, "It's time to send the warriors home. Your attendant is inside too, come and take a look."

Wei Yuan followed the Molten Dragon out of the secret chamber and headed towards the great altar in the center of the fortress. Three Desolate Witches were already there; they weren't surprised to see the Molten Dragon and Wei Yuan arrive together. In this battle, Wei Yuan's combat prowess had nearly reached that of a Desolate Witch, and he had even killed a Royal Flame Demon.

Although the individual strength of the Flame Demon was slightly weaker than that of a Power Witch of the same realm, even a Fallen Realm expert was still a Fallen Realm expert. The fact that a Power Witch could kill a Fallen Realm expert Flame Demon meant something that these Wild Witches naturally understood.

At this moment, the fallen warriors were placed into specially made soul coffins. Many priests collected as many torn pieces of the warriors' bodies as possible and put them into the soul coffins together.

The priests would then smear the corpse with a strong-smelling sacrificial oil. This oil contained special spices and was infused with a large amount of sacrificial power, which could stabilize the soul and maintain its karmic connection with this life.

In this way, after reincarnation, powerful sorcerers will have a certain chance of retaining their cultivation talents from this life, giving them a much higher starting point than ordinary sorcerers. Some sorcerers with exceptional talent and good fortune may even be able to awaken some of their memories from this life.

After these powerful sorcerers are reincarnated, they will gradually grow into the backbone of the new generation of sorcerers, thereby boosting the overall strength of the sorcerer clan.

The processed soul coffins were neatly stacked in rows on the great altar, awaiting the completion of the ceremony. Afterwards, the physical bodies would be buried beneath the fortress, becoming part of the fortress's grand formation. This was also part of the oath sworn by the power sorcerers upon reaching the forefront. All power sorcerers followed this vow, without exception.

Wei Yuan came voluntarily, not as a death row inmate, so he was not bound by the oath.

Zhen Gang's body was also placed in a soul coffin, which Wei Yuan did not stop. In this ritual, the shamans sacrificed their own spiritual bodies to increase their chances of reincarnation and potentially retain their cultivation talents from this life. For the power shamans who came to Fengmang, it was, in a sense, equivalent to being reborn. Wei Yuan felt that this was also a good thing for Zhen Gang.

After the ceremony, Wei Yuan went back into the library, but this time he came out after only three days and returned to his residence.

Standing in front of the courtyard gate, Wei Yuan noticed that there was another plaque next to the original one for the Great Wilderness Craftsman God, and it possessed even more concentrated fortune than the Great Wilderness Craftsman God. This plaque was inscribed with: Great Wilderness Spear Saint.

The new plaque was not designed by Hunter Trinity, but was presented by all the powerful witches together.

……

In Jitian City, the city lord's main hall was shrouded in dark clouds, and bolts of lightning continuously struck the palace, destroying many palaces.

This was not a heavenly tribulation, but the wrath of the Nine-Eyed Heavenly Witch, each bolt of lightning a roar from which tormented her. This fury had been burning for three whole days, and at least one unfortunate Wild Witch had been torn apart by the Nine-Eyed, while hundreds of Power Witches had died as a result of its wrath.

No one knew what Jiu Mu was angry about; all they knew was that they absolutely couldn't provoke him at this time.

In the vast palace, not a single shaman dared to linger. Even a wild shaman might be severely injured by the lightning, which was comparable to a heavenly tribulation, and a powerful shaman would surely die if struck by it.

Inside the central hall, Nine Eyes revealed his complete form and was frantically smashing everything in the hall. The hall had long since been emptied; he was now smashing the raw stones of the desolate realm. Under his repeated blows, the incredibly hard stone slabs gradually cracked and shattered. Nine Eyes accomplished in three days what a thousand craftsmen couldn't finish in a hundred years.

Finally, Nine Eyes felt a bit tired. His magical power was almost depleted, and he could barely lift his arms. His body was covered with tiny wounds caused by overexertion.

He was panting heavily, shouting in a voice no one could understand, but only he knew the true meaning: "It's an open conspiracy! It's an open conspiracy! They absolutely did it on purpose, absolutely!"

He finally calmed down and muttered coldly to himself, "You're not going to give me a way out, are you? Then none of us will have an easy time!"

Several days later, new reinforcements arrived at the Edge of the Peak. The Molten Dragon was quite surprised to see this force, which included two Wild Witches and a full three hundred elite Power Witches.

……

Qingming, Zhang Sheng put down the account book in his hand and casually asked a few questions.

An elderly man sat opposite her, his whole body tense and he seemed extremely nervous, but he answered her questions flawlessly, and he remembered most of the numbers in his mind, speaking fluently.

This old man is one of the six chief managers of Qingming Money Shop, currently in charge of Qingyuan business throughout the Zhao Kingdom. Qingming Money Shop was originally inconspicuous, but after Wei Yuan founded Qingyuan, it became the main issuer of Qingyuan, and its status soared, making it a behemoth in the money shop industry.

Some of the questions Zhang Sheng asked were very common, while others were extremely tricky and obscure. Fortunately, the old man, who had become the person in charge, was truly capable, and he answered most of them based on his memory alone. For the few questions, he simply checked the ledgers and answered them. Zhang Sheng did not comment on whether it was good or bad, but simply told the old man surnamed Su that he could leave.

After stepping out of the courtyard, the old man boarded the carriage. After closing the door, he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, slumped down inside the carriage, and could barely sit up.

There was a young man and a beautiful woman in the carriage. They came over together and helped the old man up. The young man asked, "Godfather, have you been harassed?"

The old man took a breath and then shook his head, saying, "It's alright, but the questions were a bit off-topic. I could tell he didn't know much about money shop operations, but it wasn't intentional.

The young woman said, "My godfather is the pillar of the money exchange. He's been there since the very beginning and has been with it ever since. Even the Realm Master has to treat my godfather with utmost respect."

The young man also said, "What makes Qingyuan so popular everywhere? It's Qingming Money Shop! And who does the money shop rely on? It relies on the six chief managers! My godfather is ranked second among the six chief managers. Without my godfather, where would Qingyuan come from?"

The old man stroked his beard and smiled, but still said, "Qingyuan was created by the Realm Lord. Looking at it now, it is simply earth-shattering. Even if an immortal descended to earth, it would be no more than this. However, Qingyuan has undergone many complex changes since then, and it is no longer comparable to what it was back then."

"You two are still far from grasping the true essence of Qingyuan. Remember, you must not be impatient; you need to calm down and put in several more years of hard work before you can truly make progress."

The young man and woman agreed, then exchanged a glance and a knowing look. The man said, "Godfather, those families are pressing us again about that matter..."

The elderly man surnamed Su frowned and said, "I don't know why, but I feel terrified whenever I think of that person! Let's put that matter on hold for now. If they urge us again, just keep dragging it out."

The young woman was somewhat surprised and said, "I heard that our Realm Lord is still only at the Foundation Establishment stage, with rather mediocre talent. You, sir, are you afraid of him?"

The old man sighed, "My Dharma form is not good at killing, so I might actually be defeated by the Dao Foundation of the Primordial Palace."

The young man said anxiously, "With the Realm Lord missing, you are now in complete control of Qingyuan! This is a once-in-a-century opportunity. If the other leaders get there first, we won't have such good conditions."

The elderly man surnamed Su seemed somewhat tempted, but he shook his head and said slowly, "The world of currency is ever-changing, and it's not necessarily a good thing to act first. Let's wait and see, there's no rush."

The young men and women tried to persuade him again, but the old man refused to nod, and the carriage had already gone far away.

Inside the hall, orbs of light floated around Zhang Sheng, while attendants brought in stacks of account books. Zhang Sheng opened them one by one, reading rapidly. In the rear hall, orbs of light floated everywhere, each with a swordsman standing before it. They weren't attacking with their swords, but rather analyzing and processing the countless numbers in the account books.

Gradually, countless mysteries emerged from the vast sea of ​​numbers, and then the swordsmen continued to deduce further based on the mysteries they had already discovered, to see what would happen.

Zhang Sheng's lips suddenly curled upwards slightly, and he muttered to himself, "So this is how it can be done. Interesting! But it's a delicate matter; we need to verify it further before we're absolutely sure. Someone, come here!"

Zhang Sheng then summoned his servants and ordered them to invite Yu Zhizhuo over.

A moment later, Yu Zhizhuo arrived, bringing with him more than ten cultivators and several hundred thick ledgers. Upon seeing Zhang Sheng, Yu Zhizhuo said, "The main ledgers of the weapon forging workshop from the past few years are all here. If you want to see the details, I'll have someone move them, but that would be too many, probably more than seventeen thousand volumes in total."

The weapon forging workshop was already a behemoth, now capable of supplying the common equipment for Qingming's hundreds of thousands of troops, and also providing the tools and utensils used by the thirty million people in the territory. What Yu Zhizhuo brought out at this time was the entire ledger of the weapon forging workshop, which, even just including the major categories, already numbered in the hundreds.

Zhang Sheng said, "I'll keep an eye on these for now. If I need anything, I'll trouble you, Senior Brother Yu. Senior Brother, there's no rush to leave. I have some questions I'd like to ask you. For example, what's the basis for pricing the breastplates when we sell them?"

Yu Zhizhuo was taken aback. This was a basic question, but it was far too basic. However, out of respect for Zhang Sheng, he still earnestly said, "It's very simple. First, we have costs, such as refined iron, charcoal, and so on. Craftsmen and Dao Foundation cultivators also need to eat and drink, just as cattle and horses need fodder. All these miscellaneous things added together constitute our costs."

Then there is a price cap, which is the price at which the nine states purchase the same armor. For example, the Zhao army buys a set of superior breastplates for fifty taels of silver, the Western Jin for fifty-five taels, and the Western Jin northern border army for sixty taels.

Our price will eventually fall between the upper and lower limits. However, it will inevitably be far from the upper limit, generally around 40%, because there are too many intermediaries involved, and everyone at each stage wants to make a profit.

Zhang Sheng nodded and then asked, "How should we price the goods to maximize the total silver taels? And how should we price them to maximize our profits?"

Yu Zhizhuo was taken aback again; these two questions were rather profound. So he began to explain in detail, taking into account the surrounding situation and the current state of the nine kingdoms.

And just like that, the two chatted for a whole day and night.

As they were leaving, Yu Zhizhuo asked in bewilderment, "I thought you wanted to investigate corruption within the weapon forging workshop. Why are you suddenly asking so many questions about prices? Isn't pricing simply a matter of following market trends?"

Zhang Sheng said, "There's no rush to investigate corruption now. Even if those people embezzle a little, they have nowhere to spend it. When Qingming's internal salary system is perfected, the flow of goods is unimpeded, and everyone has private property, that's when we can thoroughly investigate corruption. Even if someone embezzles money now, it's just temporarily holding it for us."

After Yu Zhizhu left, Zhang Sheng summoned Sun Yu, Xu Henshui, Chuhe Laodao, and other local figures, questioning and investigating them in detail, and also requesting their account books. Half a month passed, and Zhang Sheng had thoroughly investigated all the important properties within Qingming.

Only then did Zhang Sheng order the mobilization of his troops, and the army marched toward the Biyue territory.

(End of this chapter)