Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 284 Prefect Xiao Qinyan's Measures to Stockpile Grain
In the evening, dinner was ready at Xiao Qinyan's residence.

The table was set with thirty-six dishes of all sizes, including meat and vegetables, hot and cold dishes, as well as three different kinds of fine wine, all served in precious porcelain.

The presentation is also very particular.

Thirty-six dishes are arranged together, blooming like a flower.

Normally, seeing this scene would whet Xiao Qinyan's appetite, but today he frowned and said, "Why are there so many dishes?"

The butler standing nearby was taken aback upon hearing this: "Master, this is just the usual standard."

Xiao Qinyan still frowned and said, "In the future, reduce the scale to four dishes and one soup."

The steward quickly flattered, "Sir, your diligence and thrift are exemplary for officials! But if you want to be frugal, you can do it another time. All these dishes have been prepared today. Wouldn't it be a waste to throw them away?"

Seeing this, Xiao Qinyan nodded, but said, "In that case, go and find someone to come and taste the dishes first."

"Try...try the food?"

The butler was puzzled, but he could only do as he was told.

He then summoned servants to taste each of the thirty-six dishes and three jugs of fine wine on the table.

By the time we finished eating, the dishes on the table had all gone cold.

Xiao Qinyan, however, felt relieved and began to eat heartily.

After dinner, the servants cleared away the leftovers, but they were secretly grumbling to themselves.

"What's wrong with the master today? Not only is he letting people taste the food, but he also wants to reduce the standard of dining in the future?"

"You probably don't know, but recently a powerful new force has arrived in this city—the Sun Moon Cult. I'm afraid, sir..."

Shh! Shut up! Are you guys out of your minds?!

Xiao Qinyan's unusual actions today were indeed due to the Sun Moon Cult.

The information revealed by the previous actions of the Sun Moon Cult had truly frightened him.

The river bandits were a problem that the entire Song Dynasty could not solve. Along the major rivers, there were various river bandit forces, and they were almost impossible to eradicate.

The same applies to Suzhou.

Over the years, the authorities have only managed to find one high-ranking member among the river bandits; all others have remained undetected.

However, the Sun Moon Cult not only knew the leader of the bandits, but also the specific identities of the high-ranking members below him.

Not to mention that after that, the Sun Moon Cult beat up hundreds of people who were involved in the same incident.

The scariest thing is that not one was missing, and not one was extra...

The fact that there were absolutely no mistakes can only prove that the whole thing was under the close surveillance of the Sun Moon Cult from beginning to end, from top to bottom.

What a horrible thing this is!

Throughout the entire city of Suzhou, from government offices to the residences of individual officials, there were probably members of the Sun Moon Cult watching them.

Xiao Qinyan dared to target the Sun Moon Cult because he had his own confidence.

He was the prefect of Suzhou, not an ordinary minor official, but the head of a region and a powerful regional official.

If the Sun Moon Cult dared to kill him, the entire imperial court would likely be shaken.

Another source of his confidence was the presence of powerful experts protecting him, including grandmaster-level masters.

According to the information he gathered, the leader of the Sun Moon Cult was merely a Grandmaster-level expert.

That's why he wasn't afraid.

But no one expected that the Sun Moon Cult would have such methods and such power.

In this way, the Sun Moon Cult could kill him without even having to lay a hand on him.

For example, poisoning food.

They poisoned him to death.

The martial arts master protecting him was completely unable to provide any assistance.

Since the imperial court couldn't find the murderer, it naturally wouldn't seek revenge against the Sun Moon Cult for his sake.

Or if something goes wrong while riding a horse or sitting in a sedan chair, the death would be even more inexplicable.

Therefore, Xiao Qinyan was truly afraid.

Reducing the daily food portions reduces the enemy's chances of poisoning the food and makes it easier to test the food for poison.

Otherwise, we can't just wait for others to finish all thirty-six dishes before we eat, can we?
The food has gone cold.

This change is just one of many cautious measures taken by Xiao Qinyan.

The person who has reached his current position can be described as greedy, malicious, and bribing his superiors, but he cannot be called stupid, foolish, or careless.

A career in officialdom is like walking a tightrope; one wrong step could cost you your life.

Although Xiao Qinyan has a powerful backer, this backer is not from his bloodline; he climbed up the ladder himself, so it is not as stable as other backers.

In every matter, one must consider oneself, one's subordinates, the emperor, and even more so, one's backers.

The saying "think thrice before you act" is an understatement when describing him.

Such a person, when cautious, is truly impenetrable, leaving no loopholes whatsoever.

Food must be tasted by someone first, three carriages are used for going out, and there are never fewer than four guards around.

In particular, the martial arts master he invited was often by his side to protect him.

He could tolerate such behavior, but those around him could not.

Everyone else was his subordinate, and they dared not voice their opinions.

But there was another person who, although employed by him, was of equal status to him.

It was that martial arts master.

Thinking back to the past, although he was employed by Xiao Qinyan, he usually just lived in Xiao Qinyan's house, and only took him with him when he went out.

He usually lived a very happy life.

As a wandering martial artist, he had been quite diligent in his martial arts training in the past, but now he had long been corrupted by wealth and only cared about enjoying himself. Naturally, he could not accept the life of following Xiao Qinyan every day.

A few days later, the martial arts master gave Xiao Qinyan his opinion.

Xiao Qinyan was secretly furious, but he still spoke kindly to the only martial arts master by his side.

They simply said that the Sun Moon Cult was threatening them recently and they needed to trouble them to keep an eye on them. After a while, they would naturally no longer need to.

He also said that when the government gave him a ten-day holiday, he would stay at home and not go out. At that time, he would send him a hundred taels of silver and let him go to have fun.

The term "旬假" (xúnjiǎ) refers to the fact that officials in the Song Dynasty would have one day off every ten days.

It hasn't been more than a few days.

The grandmaster then put up with it for the time being.

When Xiao Qinyan woke up on the day of the holiday, the other person was nowhere to be found.

He received news of the other person's death while he was having lunch.

This really scared Xiao Qinyan.

After much thought, I realized that this stalemate couldn't continue, so I decided to just admit defeat.

He then hosted a banquet at the largest restaurant in the city and sent invitations to the Sun Moon Cult.

However, he did not see the elegant and peerless leader of the Sun Moon Sect, Dongfang Bubai, dressed in red, but only Tong Baixiong, an elder under Dongfang Bubai.

The two sides had a very pleasant conversation and finally agreed at the banquet that in the Jiangnan region, officials would remain officials, ordinary people would remain ordinary people, and people from all walks of life would remain people from all walks of life, with no interference between them.

After a hearty meal, Xiao Qinyan saw Tong Baixiong off and returned to his own residence. He went to his bedroom, activated a mechanism, opened a secret passage beneath the bedroom, and entered a hidden room.

This is a top-secret place within the entire mansion, known only to Xiao Qinyan.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief when he arrived here.

His expression suddenly changed, the smile that had been on his face instantly turning into a look of rage. He pounded his fists on the table in the dark room to vent his anger.

"The Sun Moon Cult... has gone too far!"

Xiao Qinyan gritted his teeth.

He never expected that even after he had yielded and even hosted a banquet to invite the Sun Moon Cult, they would only send one elder!
humiliation!

shame!

Who is he?
The prefect of Suzhou, the head of a region, a powerful official in charge of the frontier, could decide the lives of hundreds of thousands of people with a single word.

The Sun Moon Cult is nothing but a bunch of outlaws from the martial arts world, who even fled from the Ming Dynasty. What right do they have to humiliate him?

For a moment, Xiao Qinyan couldn't help but think of his past.

He was originally a scholar who married the daughter of a former high-ranking official in the court, becoming an adopted son-in-law in her family. He suffered all kinds of humiliation in her family.

In a fit of rage, he risked his life and reputation to enter the capital. After years of hard work, he finally managed to curry favor with the Empress and secure the position of Prefect of Suzhou.

I haven't tasted this humiliation for countless years.

I never expected to have this feeling again today in front of the Sun Moon Cult.

"The Sun Moon Cult..."

Xiao Qinyan gritted his teeth and secretly vowed: I will exterminate you all, leaving no one alive, to vent the hatred in my heart!
The next day, however, he was all smiles again, and when facing his colleagues, he simply said that he had resolved the matter of the Sun Moon Cult.

The other officials naturally knew how he had solved the problem, and while they secretly despised him, they all wore flattering expressions on their faces.

Although Xiao Qinyan did not have the ability to read minds, he was a shrewd official and keenly sensed the sarcasm behind the smiles of many officials. He was secretly angry and his hatred for the Sun Moon Sect intensified.

After that, they pretended that the Sun Moon Cult did not exist, but secretly they continued to collect information about the Sun Moon Cult.

However, the information he collected surprised him greatly.

"This! This Sun Moon Cult... stockpiling grain?"

With his connections, he easily learned from other high-ranking officials about the large-scale acquisition of goods by countless people throughout the Song Dynasty some time ago.

These supplies will most likely end up in Suzhou.

Even now, there are still forces that continue to acquire them.

Xiao Qinyan felt his heart pounding wildly.

He was certain that the force frantically collecting resources was the Sun Moon Cult.

The purpose of the other party's actions... although it was only a guess, it still terrified him.

"No wonder...no wonder the Sun Moon Cult doesn't care about the rules of the Song Dynasty at all. So they want to...This won't do. Right now, I'm in charge of Suzhou. If they..."

Xiao Qinyan's expression changed several times.

"No! I have to leave! I must leave Suzhou as soon as possible!"

but……

"This also seems to be an opportunity..."

Actually, it wasn't intentional on Dongfang Bubai's part that she didn't accept his invitation to go in person, but instead sent one of her elders.

It's because Dongfang Bubai wasn't in Jiangnan at that moment.

She has returned to Qingxi County to handle the affairs of the Ming Cult under her command, and is using this opportunity to vigorously expand the Ming Cult.

Suddenly, the silver medal on his body trembled.

I entered my inner energy and checked; it turned out to be a message from Jinjiu.

"Oh? Xiao Qinyan has already discovered it? It seems that this Suzhou prefect is not an incompetent person after all."

Dongfang Bubai smirked and replied, "So what if you found out? Didn't you say that the Sun Moon Cult exists to attract attention and cover up the development of the Ming Cult?"

"Since you've already made up your mind, then I won't interfere any further."

Zhou Ming replied with a message, and then really didn't ask any more questions.

You know, he's very busy too.

Every day, he cultivates himself, comprehends the Three Swords of Xuan Yang, and also deals with matters concerning the Demon God.

Especially recently, the succession ceremony for the head of the Imperial Sword Manor is about to take place.

We need to prepare well.

However, before that, another matter had already been resolved.

Qin State.

Xianyang Palace.

The First Emperor, Ying Zheng, is processing memorials.

He reached out and grabbed a memorial, which flew out of thin air and unfolded in front of him.

Ying Zheng's gaze was sharp as he quickly skimmed over the memorial, then wrote a red annotation with his vermilion brush.

With a wave of his hand, the memorial flew directly to the other side.

He is extremely fast, processing a document in almost half a minute. He only needs to think more when he encounters difficult problems.

And these memorials continued without interruption.

Although it was daytime.

Candlelight illuminated the surroundings, and the luminous pearl emitted a soft glow.

Ying Zheng's skin was as smooth as jade, without a single wrinkle, except for two mustaches that revealed his age.

But overall, he still looks very young.

Zhao Gao entered the palace with small, silent steps, only deliberately stepping harder when he got close.

Just as Ying Zheng raised his head, he arrived right in front of him.

"Your Majesty, Master Yoda has been invited to the palace."

"Oh? Please come quickly."

Ying Zheng put down the vermilion brush and said.

"Yes!"

Before long, three young men were seen helping a short old man into the hall.

The old man was clearly quite old, weathered and wrinkled, especially his hands and feet, which had been replaced with mechanical devices.

Ying Zheng looked at the four people and couldn't help but recall the information about them.

Crystal Armor!

This is intelligence coming from the Ming Dynasty. It is said that someone has developed a treasure that can conjure armor out of thin air.

However, this kind of treasure requires the support of something called 'Heavenly Crystal'.

What is this Heavenly Crystal? Most people probably have no idea, but those ancient and powerful forces have records of it.

The Qin state, in particular, knew this very well.

Because decades ago, all ten Heavenly Crystals were in the hands of the Qin Kingdom!

Unfortunately, the remnants of the six states were treacherous and cunning, and they actually plotted to seize those Heavenly Crystals from the Qin state.

Even though the Qin state reacted quickly, they only managed to recover two.

Including the one that remained in Ying Zheng's possession and never left, there were only three.

The other seven are scattered throughout the world, and they are not the remnants of the six kingdoms; they have all been hidden somewhere.

This Master Yoda was also a genius, able to extract energy from the celestial crystal to create such a mysterious treasure.

Unfortunately, he met the wrong person and was pushed off a cliff.

Fortunately, the three young men from the Western Regions were grateful and, upon learning of the incident, returned to the Western Regions and rescued Master Yoda.

Otherwise, such a genius, even if he were lucky enough to survive falling off a cliff, would have starved to death.

After all, in a chaotic place like the Western Regions, it is extremely difficult for someone who has lost an arm or a leg to survive.

It was thanks to these three young men that the Qin army was able to find Master Yoda and bring him back.

(End of this chapter)