Da Zaojun

Just as Song Wuji was thinking about the matter of refining the cauldron.

In Hongzhou Prefecture, the prefect, the city god, and the general had already started a small meeting to discuss matters.

"Those who killed Hei Luan and Wu Tong refused to enter the city, and the soldiers also refused to enter the city and accept orders."

The prefect and the general were both officials by training, so they naturally knew what was going on.

"He's already showing no regard for the imperial court."

What's the point of mentioning the imperial court now?

"Those who can fight their way out are all born generals. Even a county lieutenant like him can vaguely sense the aura of a celestial star."

The City God was the most clueless: "The City God is causing trouble over there, so why are you suspecting me?"
Although the City God of Hongzhou had considered turning all the people into believers, the prefect and the general commanded a total of 20,000 troops in Hongzhou. Even at the beginning of the demonic chaos, many were sacrificed, especially during a demon attack on the camp, which caused a commotion and many people died.

On another occasion, a terrifying atmosphere permeated the city, and a large number of people panicked and rioted. The government troops failed to suppress the riots effectively, and another group of people died.

This batch, numbering only three thousand, is the result of training during the chaotic period of demons and monsters over the past six months.

The military system of Hongzhou Prefecture is called "Fubing" (府兵), which is different from Song Wuji's "Wuzu" (武卒). Wuzu is based on martial arts, while Fubing is based on the prefectural city and its role is to protect the prefectural city.

Therefore, the elite infantry were good at attacking, while the local militia were good at defending cities.

In addition, other rituals in the city were basically based on the rituals of the twenty-four offices of the City God. Theoretically, the City God of the prefecture was in charge of the City God of the county and was a fifth-rank official, but due to the fall of other cities, the population had also decreased.

Therefore, the county god of Taichang County was only of the eighth rank before, and was restored to the seventh rank after the surrounding areas were subdued.

The same applies to the City God of this prefecture. He fell to the sixth rank, but if a demon devours him, the demon can become a fifth-rank deity.

As for prefects and generals, although they hold official positions, these positions originate from the army, the imperial court, and the common people. With only 70,000 to 80,000 common people remaining, only 3,000 out of 20,000 soldiers left, and no contact with the imperial court, they can only exert the strength of a seventh-rank official.

The fact that it was able to hold out was largely due to the rich heritage of Hongzhou Prefecture City, which has existed for two thousand years since its founding in the Han Dynasty. In addition, after the demons broke through the county town, they each competed for the title of Demon King, and the Demon King led them to attack the prefecture city.

It was only because these demons encountered Song Wuji that they were surrounded by demons. Even if the secret realm could produce food, what about other things?

Especially oil and fresh meat.

The only meat available in the city is fish, but eating fish for a long time makes people thin and frail, and the fat content decreases as you scrape it off.

Many people die this way—from illness or from weakness.

They dared not throw the corpses outside the city or into the river, because the demons who ate them could even transform into human form.

“These kinds of people cannot be subdued,” the general said. “However, their troops are fewer than ours, only five hundred, but they are all elites. Judging from my observation of their aura, they are basically all ninth-rank. Moreover, their encirclement and suppression of demons is very orderly, which means they often do this. There are almost no casualties. In addition, their weapons seem to be made of gold and bronze!”

When bronze was first discovered, it was golden and was called gold-copper. It only turned bluish-green when it was unearthed.

"We have the Salt and Iron Bureau here, which can also smelt weapons, but there are still very few divine weapons that can be classified as high-grade."

"They said they're going to a meeting at Laolong Mountain. Should we go?"

"Allies? Still want to play the same old tricks as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods?"

"Fragmentation leads to a narrow perspective; how can we function without unification?"

"So, will you subdue him, or will he subdue you?" "If a real fight breaks out, it will probably be an internal struggle. His invitation to us to form an alliance is probably a test."

"Old Dragon Mountain is the lair of demons. The fact that he was able to occupy it is a testament to us."

The general asked, "I would be willing to join his ranks and lead troops to fight demons. What about you?"

The City God said, "He is quite wary of the divine way, and he specifically inquires about matters of the divine way. In addition, he seems to be following the path of becoming a god in the flesh. If we allow him to enter the city, we can only abdicate."

The prefect nodded in agreement: "Me too. I am a high-ranking official appointed by the imperial court, governing a region. If we had needed to join forces to kill the demons, I would have definitely stepped down. But he is too powerful and would only rebel against the king. I am paid by the emperor and cannot betray him."

All three of them actually intended to submit, since at this point, they felt more about responsibility than power. After six months of hard work, they had almost exhausted their luck several times, and their hair had turned white, except for the City God, who was in a slightly better state.

Therefore, the three of them, as the prefect and general of the human race, actually wanted to reunite with Song Wuji, but they also had some selfish motives and did not want to lose their power.

The City God, however, did not want Song Wuji to enter the city and wanted to maintain his autonomy, but he did want to communicate with Song Wuji or negotiate a price.

Of course, this is a situation that Song Wuji is unwilling to hear from them. If Song Wuji were the kind of person who respected hierarchy and acknowledged them as his superior, they would be the happiest.

However, Song Wuji refused to enter the city or allow his troops to enter. Instead, he focused on eliminating demons outside the city and sent Chen Xiu to garrison Jianxin County. In Jianxin County, he rebuilt the city and trained new troops.

"If he can kill demons, he can kill me too." Finally, the City God said, "I don't want to confront him. You two go out of the city and talk to him. I don't expect you to say nice things to me, just tell me the truth."

The prefect and the general exchanged a glance: "You wouldn't take advantage of our absence to commit a blood sacrifice on all the people in the city, would you?"

The City God rolled his eyes and vanished in a wisp of green smoke.

"That person's letter indicates that he has already suffered losses. This old fellow has indeed used our luck to cultivate the Twenty-Four Departments and various rituals, which are biased towards unorthodox methods. It's just that due to the great external pressure, he hasn't exploded yet."

"This pressure used to come from demons, but now it comes from our human race."

“His faith in incense is his life, I don’t believe he would be willing to change his own.”

"Don't forget, he said we should give him the souls of the dead, that they would belong to us during the day and to them at night."

"Nowadays, there are more ghosts than people in this city."

"Let's write a letter and explain the situation."

The general said, "I will lead my troops to remain stationed here to prevent the City God from suddenly performing a blood sacrifice."

"You will take a group of officials to the alliance meeting."

"Having defended the city for so long, I have repaid the debt of gratitude I owe the emperor. But beyond that, what is more important is the greater good of humanity. And within that greater good, the most important thing is to kill the demons and restore the Han dynasty's land."

"If the court blames us in the future, we can just commit suicide to atone for our sins."

"We still need to preserve our usefulness."

"The imperial court... I don't know what's going on with it."

"The emperor is the Son of Heaven, blessed by the true dragon's fortune. We can still receive blessings and have the strength of the seventh rank. The imperial court will definitely control the power as well."

(End of this chapter)