Da Zaojun

Master Bao was amazed by how quickly the City God changed his expression.

When they came out, they saw Li Guang and E Yu, the general of Hongzhou, waiting for them at the City God Temple.

When E Yu, the general of Hongzhou, met Li Guang, he was initially surprised. After learning that Li Guang was Song Wuji's man, he inquired carefully about the current military affairs and the future deployment of troops.

If Song Wuji were ignorant of military affairs, he certainly wouldn't be willing to delegate authority to someone who knows nothing. At least Chen Xiu, the county magistrate, was practically an amateur.

But Li Guang was knowledgeable in military affairs; many of his skills were basic. Moreover, he had retired from the Heavenly Court as a first-class general and was now only equivalent to a third-class general.

But in fact, he already has the talent to lead, at least in terms of being steady and methodical, there is nothing wrong with him.

The more the General of Hongzhou listened, the more alarmed he became. He felt that the young general in front of him was no ordinary person. Little did he know that Song Wuji had sent out his most capable and knowledgeable troop commander.

Li Guang relayed Song Wuji's message, and the general of Hongzhou said, "They say that heroes emerge in times of chaos, but this is not a time of chaos for humans, but a time of chaos for demons. Our population is dwindling with each battle, and we are increasingly afraid to fight. The fact that someone can take over is a relief for us. At least the fall of our territory is not in our hands, and we don't have to bear the infamy for all eternity."

"Your Excellency the Prefect has been working tirelessly day and night, and you used to spend your days in Hongzhou drinking wine, composing poems, and doing nothing, which was the best policy you could have, allowing the people to live and thrive. But now this has happened."

"He did it on a whim, even though he had personally killed two demons."

"Of the 300,000 people we have now lost, only 60,000 remain. We two are ashamed to continue serving as officials."

"It's just that there hasn't been a suitable person yet, plus the City God has some ill intentions, and the demons outside are powerful."

"If Lord Song is willing to enter the city, we are willing to hand over military and political power. We only have one request: that the people of this city be treated well."

If it were a chaotic world, this general would not have relinquished his military power. But now, with demons causing chaos, the original 20,000 troops under his command suffered heavy losses due to the demons attacking the camp and causing a riot. These few thousand soldiers were recruited later.

Although it is said that a merciful general cannot command an army, the sudden loss of so many people put immense pressure on him. He even considered atonement with his own death and dying for his country before the city fell, but fortunately, he persevered.

Seeing that the Hongzhou general had been relieved of a burden, Li Guang thought to himself, "He is also knowledgeable in military affairs. He is more suitable to be my general than Chen Xiu. When the time comes, I will have him command the Zuohu Army and teach him the rules and regulations. Then these several thousand soldiers will be ready to serve."

After this, Li Guang revealed his identity. Upon hearing that Li Guang was a famous general of ancient times, E Yu, the general of Hongzhou, became even more excited and happy.

That's how we reached a consensus: let's surround the City God Temple first.

Upon seeing Master Bao emerge, Li Guang inquired, "How did it go?"

"He was willing to relinquish power and submit to the local ruler's arrangements."

Li Guangdian said, "This is the manifestation of a ghost or spirit."

Immediately afterwards, they met the prefect of Hongzhou together. The prefect of Hongzhou was a middle-aged scholar who was over fifty years old. He had a refined and elegant demeanor, but his hair was almost completely white.

This person's name was Zhao Yongzhen, and he was once listed in the Imperial Academy.

After the chaos caused by demons, he was given the destiny of Confucianism and literature. Although he was not Wenchang, Wenqu, or Wenkui, he was still given the incomplete status of the [Red-Clothed Star Lord]. This star lord belongs to the Wenchang Emperor and is in charge of judging the quality of people's writings. He likes to use a red pen to write comments and his clothes are stained with cinnabar, hence the name Red-Clothed Star Lord.

After meeting with Master Bao and Li Guang, they began to discuss business.

The first thing we'll discuss is "famous instruments".

Zhao Yongzhen said, "Lord of the Realm, Lord of the Realm, is not a formal official title. It needs to be a formal name."

“My household is governed by the Kitchen God, and is associated with the element of fire.”

“Fire is a good element!” Zhao Yongzhen said. “The Han Dynasty was ruled by the element of fire, and Emperor Gaozu of Han was the son of the Red Emperor.”

"How about calling me King of Han?" "We submit to the King of Han, intending to restore the Han dynasty's lands and rivers, revive the glory of the Han, drive out demons, and protect the borders and people!"

"In this way, no matter which dynasty everyone serves, they are all Han subjects."

Li Guang, a minister of the Han Dynasty, couldn't help but nod and thought to himself, "Giving names and bestowing weapons is a great achievement. This old scholar probably has some skill. When the ruler of this region establishes a country in the future, he will probably be the founding prime minister."

Although Master Bao was not very educated, he understood the goodness of the word "Han" and nodded: "You can go back and report this to the local lord."

"The rest of the problems are not problems," Zhao Yongzhen said. "Recently, some peddlers and laborers have come to Hongzhou to do business. I have also inquired about it. His Highness the Prince of Han loves the people like his own children and is extremely brave. He can fight against evil demons and spread his benevolence widely. The people are in His Highness the Prince of Han's hands. This old minister is grateful to the point of tears. I am amazed that Heaven has eyes and has allowed us to see the light of day!"

Zhao Yongzhen immediately burst into tears, sighing and lamenting. He cried for the people, for the previous dynasty, prayed to the late emperor, and offered sacrifices to heaven and earth.

This convinced Li Guang even more: This old fox is probably about to rise to power. He must have thought about this hundreds of times.

The other officials, both high and low, were somewhat embarrassed, as their acting skills were simply not up to par.

After explaining all that, Master Bao asked about something he was very concerned about.

Zhao Yongzhen said, “In Jiangnan West Road, rice cultivation has a history of eight or nine thousand years. In ancient times, this place was called Nancang, just like Taihu Lake is called Taicang, which means the granary of the south. During the Qin Dynasty, when the prefecture and county were established, it was renamed Nanchang.”

"That secret realm is a place where the ancient Yunmeng Marsh has not yet receded, so the area is extremely vast, like a grotto-heaven."

"Rice can be grown on the mudflats along the Yunmeng Marsh. There are ancient tribes there, who seem to have migrated south even before the Qin Dynasty, possibly during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Some of them raised crocodiles, and some raised wild boars."

"Of course, there are also people who practice slash-and-burn agriculture, but their grain yield is extremely low."

“We had armor and iron tools, so we were quickly revered as gods. After some time, we taught them farming, pottery making, and clothing making.”

“Let them help us cultivate farmland, plant rice, and then offer it as a sacrifice to us.”

Zhao Yongzhen said, "Perhaps, we are no less important to the people of these secret realms than Shennong or Yao and Shun."

Upon hearing that it was even more ancient, involving the pre-Qin period, and possibly even earlier than the Shang and Zhou dynasties, Li Guang was astonished: "This is truly a huge mess."

Master Bao, however, didn't feel anything. After all, the Tiger Fang Kingdom was located in Taichang, and it was an ancient people from the Shang Dynasty.

"However, the ancient Yunmeng Marsh is extremely dangerous, so we did not explore it."

"But one day, we seemed to see a strange beast from the Classic of Mountains and Seas."

"Spinning Turtle!"

With the body of a tortoise and the head of a bird, it dwells in water and controls fire.

"That's why we don't dare to explore recklessly, and only occasionally kill some ordinary wild animals for the army to eat."

Upon hearing this, Li Guang recalled a secret he had heard in Heaven.

The Classic of Mountains and Seas is the realm of mountains and seas, the beast garden of the Heavenly Emperor.

It is the Heavenly Emperor's zoo, which is to seal the entire world in a heavenly book and stuff all kinds of rare and exotic beasts into it.

(End of this chapter)