Promise!

Chapter 184, Inspection

As the winter snow melts, grass grows and birds sing, and all things flourish... Time flies, and before we know it, it's the beginning of summer again.

The eighth day of April.

That day, Zhuang Jin received news that a civil unrest involving hundreds of people had broken out in the neighboring Qinghe County the day before. The reason was that Qiu Yizhi was greedy and insatiable, and had put pressure on two wealthy families. In the end, this burden was shifted onto the common people, who could no longer bear the exploitation, and thus the unrest occurred...

Afterwards, the county government intervened, and the news reached the prefectural city. The prefectural government protested against the Shen family, and the two prominent families in Qinghe County within the Shen family also impeached Qiu Yizhi, the county garrison commander.

"There were signs of this all along!"

Back in late October of last year, when Zhuang Jin broke through to the fourth meridian realm, Teng Yuansong came over and the two talked about it.

Unlike Linji County, Qinghe County did not purge two powerful families and support puppets who could be manipulated at will. Qiu Yizhi was greedy, ruthless, and reckless—this can be seen from his actions against Pang Shusheng and his showy duel with Zhuang Jin, where he remained extremely calm throughout and decisively abandoned his son.

The environment of Qinghe County, coupled with Qiu Yizhi's personality, led to a chaotic and unsightly dispute with two powerful families over profits. As a result, many people fled the county, giving rise to the ridiculous saying, "Qinghe is not a good place."

Last year, after Zhuang Jin learned of this, he wrote a letter advising Qiu Yizhi to restrain himself, but Qiu Yizhi obviously did not listen, which led to the current situation.

'This has nothing to do with me. I could have simply watched and laughed it off, observing from the sidelines... But now the situation is unfavorable. I fear this fire will only grow bigger and eventually implicate me!'

As the saying goes, a wise person seizes opportunities, and an enlightened person understands fate. Upon hearing this news, Zhuang Jin, like a cicada sensing the coming autumn wind before it even stirs, was already on high alert, thinking further: 'In the past six months, the struggle between the Shen family and the Medicine King Gang over the medicinal fields has intensified. Those at the rank of Offering Master have not yet truly perished, but some have already sustained minor or serious injuries.'

'The position of county garrison commander was no longer something everyone hated, but rather something highly coveted. The county towns below had become havens from the war. If Qiu Yizhi, the county garrison commander of Qinghe County, made a mistake, it could very well implicate the entire group of county garrison commanders, giving other officials an excuse to open a loophole…'

Other officials from the prefectural city wanted to come and replace the original county and town governors, but the original county and town governors, like Zhuang Jin, naturally did not want to give up their positions.

"Sitting in the position of County Governor of Linji County for nearly a year, I've enjoyed peace and stability. Back in February, I broke through to the fifth meridian. Now, I've accumulated 30-40% of my fifth meridian cultivation. With another year or two of accumulation and dormancy, reaching the sixth meridian will be a natural progression. Opening the Ren and Du meridians and entering the embryonic breathing state won't be difficult."

Good things are desirable, so competition for them is inevitable!
Zhuang Jin was never lacking in determination, courage, and wisdom for struggle: 'Here, we should begin preparations... Also, in the prefectural city, please have Fu Shousong keep an eye on the news...'

Over the past six months, his interactions and cooperation with Fu Shousong have become increasingly close: Zhuang Jin occasionally purchases resources such as animal tendon ointment through Fu Shousong's channels, and Fu Shousong receives some purchasing fees. With their interests intertwined, they have developed a rather good relationship.

'With Fu Shousong paying attention and getting the news first, even if there are any unexpected changes, we can still gain the upper hand...'

……

In the capital city of Yunnan, at the Shen family residence, a small meeting of senior executives was held.

"The people of Qinghe County have rebelled, and the government has transferred the case to me... The intention to hold them accountable is self-evident..."

Shen Xianhong looked at everyone and said, "Esteemed guests, please share your thoughts and opinions on this matter!"

"Qiu Yizhi is greedy and insatiable, which has incited a popular uprising. He should be immediately removed from his post as county garrison commander and recalled to be held accountable, which will be a way to give the government an explanation."

"This matter should be handled swiftly. If it is not handled properly, it may damage the relationship between our powerful Shen family and the government."

"We also need to consider the ideas of the major families in the county. These families offer medicinal herbs in the middle and end of the year, which is the foundation of my Shen family. Now we are fighting with the Medicine King Gang. We must stabilize our base to prevent them from taking advantage of us. Therefore, it is urgent to recall Qiu Yizhi, the Imperial Envoy, and replace him with a county governor who is more lenient."

Originally, everyone was discussing the matter at hand and expressing their opinions, but when the topic turned to the selection of a replacement for the county governor, the conversation suddenly veered off course.

"I agree. If someone can't do a good job, we should replace them and let someone who can do it take over. I think the best candidate for the position of County Garrison Commander of Qinghe County should be someone experienced and steady..."

"The stone statue is referring to me! I, Yao, am not very talented, but I am willing to give it a try!"

"The Yao family has many members, so let me take on this arduous task of going to the county town!"

"Let me be fair: Master Shi is a bit old and his energy is waning; Master Yao has a large family but is somewhat weak; Master Bao is strong enough, but he is known for his fiery temper... The position of County Commander of Qinghe County still belongs to this old man!"

"Pah, Jie Gongfeng, what kind of fair talk is that?! I'm too embarrassed to even call you out on it... You really have no shame at all!"

……

At this moment, the entire room was in complete chaos, like a vegetable market. These worshippers, who were high and mighty in the eyes of the servants, had all lost their usual composure and were scrambling to volunteer themselves. When they got emotional, some even cursed and rolled up their sleeves.

The interests involved are too great. Now the prefectural city is like a swamp, while the county towns below, which were once deserted even by dogs, have become a paradise. Naturally, the county governor is envious and jealous of this!

In the end, it was Shen Xianhong who spoke up, stopping the argument and getting back to discussing the matter itself.

"The county garrison commanders were originally appointed to guard against the Medicine King Gang... but now some garrison commanders have lost their restraint and turned a good thing into a bad one... Now it's Qinghe County that's been exposed, but who knows how many more haven't been exposed yet..."

"Yes, when a mouse appears in a room, it means that there is likely a mouse nest in an unseen place... We can't just check every single one that appears; we should be prepared!"

"Why not send out inspectors to conduct on-site investigations in each county and see if our county and garrison commanders are competent..."

……

Soon, the proposal to send out inspectors was passed by a large majority.

The original intention of the inspectors was to investigate problems—to investigate those with problems and to deter those without. However, in practice, it is easy to imagine that the investigation would be expanded, and problems would be found even when there were none, thus creating opportunities for them to take over.

The situation that Zhuang Jin least wanted to see still happened.

Next, another dispute arose over the selection of the inspector, and Tao Mengran, the Taoist priest behind the Fei family in Linji County, was finally chosen. He was the grandson-in-law of the Fei family's former Taoist priest.

This person's three realms are neither high nor low, neither too high nor too low, which is also the result of compromise among all parties.

For matters that are not of paramount importance, Shen Xianhong always acts as a referee, not getting involved himself. He waits for the various parties to contend before agreeing and approving the chosen candidate. ...

After the high-level meeting adjourned, another retainer approached: "This time, Retainer Tao should not only be in Qinghe County, but should also make room for at least three other positions, one of which should be his own..."

Tao Mengran understood what the other party meant: if there were fewer than three, she would be the first to be eliminated.

Frankly speaking, this person is quite fair when it doesn't involve personal interests, but when it does, it's hard to say... He was pushed into this position by various parties in the power struggle, and he has to give back to those behind him.

Tao Mengran looked at the list of county and town governors in the other six counties besides Qinghe County.

One radish, one hole. To make room for the hole, you naturally have to pull out the radish first. This time, you have to pull out three radishes from these six counties.

Tao Mengran first circled Sun Mingbi's name. Sun Mingbi had some connections and background, but his strength was too low. Then she was troubled by the remaining five people.

The county magistrates of Anfeng, Danhua, Yuyang, and Guangping were all selected through subsequent competitions. They were at least at the third level of the Qi Condensation Realm and had deep connections and backgrounds. Zhuang Jin was no less impressive. He was valued by the family head and had great potential. As for his personality, he didn't actively provoke trouble, but if someone did, he would explode at the slightest provocation and would hold a grudge. It would be difficult to choose two people from these five.
—Don't think that just because he was once a retainer of the Fei family, he can do anything to Zhuang Jin. His relationship with the Fei family has long been strained. Otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of asking for a favor to let things go when Zhuang Jin came back... Considering all this, he is unwilling to provoke Zhuang Jin unless there are significant interests involved or it is absolutely necessary.

'We can only go down first and see how things go,' Tao Mengran thought to herself.

……

Not long after Tao Mengran left the prefectural city as the Shen family's inspector—

With the extensive cooperation of various parties within the Medicine King Gang, Sikong Rui, the head of the Hall of Ceremonies, managed to evade the Shen family's surveillance and leave the city.

Yes, he got promoted, from the deputy head of the Punishment Hall to the head of the Auditorium.

Promotion stems from strength. The person took a faulty Meridian Opening Pill, which damaged his meridians but also broke through the bottleneck of the second meridian. After recovering from his injuries, he broke through to the second meridian realm. Thanks to his merit in looting medicinal herbs, he was given a perfect Meridian Opening Pill, which enabled him to break through to the third meridian realm now.

Sikong Rui's departure was part of the Medicine King Gang's strategy: with trouble brewing in Shenjiaqing County and an inspector out investigating, the situation in the surrounding counties was extremely delicate. The plan was to send this man out to see if he could seize an opportunity to stir up some trouble, attract the Shen family's attention, and support the Medicine King Gang's actions against the Shen family's medicinal fields in the prefectural city...

After this strategy was proposed at a high-level meeting of the Medicine King Gang, Sikong Rui volunteered to take on the task.

Just as Zhuang Jin had predicted: Sikong Rui is extremely vengeful. If he lets the other party go, and if the Medicine King Gang has any plans to target him in the future, he will definitely volunteer to fight in order to avenge that incident.

Considering Sikong Rui's eagerness for battle, and that Shen family inspector Tao Mengran was also at the third meridian realm, the Medicine King Gang leader agreed to Sikong Rui's request, as long as he was not forced into a corner and would not do anything that would disrupt the balance.

"Now that I have reached the third stage of the Meridian Opening Realm, if I have the chance this time, I vow to avenge last year's grudge against Zhuang Jin!"

Sikong Rui murmured to himself, looking toward Linji County with a cold expression.

……

"Sending out an inspector...to investigate the six counties...Is this inspector Tao Mengran, the third-level cultivator of the Meridian Opening Realm? These are turbulent times!"

Zhuang Jin learned of Tao Mengran's departure three days later through Fu Shousong.

After the incident in the east of the city, although Fu Shousong landed safely, Shen Xianhong and the other retainers kept a grudge. Now that he and Zhuang Jin had obtained a Meridian Opening Pill and broken through to the fourth meridian realm, he knew that he could not get the position of the county garrison commander. Since he could not get it, he naturally did not mind passing on the message to Zhuang Jin and doing him a favor.

Not only Fu Shousong, Zhuang Jin also received letters from Qiu Yizhi and Sun Mingbi.

Qiu Yizhi, needless to say, was the instigator of this matter and the source of the trouble. In the letter, he expressed regret, saying that he regretted not listening to Zhuang Jin's advice. He also mentioned that the garrison commanders of various counties were of one mind and asked Zhuang Jin to speak on his behalf.

Sun Mingbi, his former superior, has not yet received news of the Inspector. However, having reached the Meridian Opening Realm, he is no fool. He can see the bigger picture from a single leaf and realizes that the situation may escalate. He sends a message hoping for mutual assistance.

Qiu Yizhi probably knew he couldn't keep his position, but in his desperation, he was grasping at straws. And his old superior, Sun Mingbi?

Zhuang Jin shook his head slightly. Putting aside the fact that the other party was at the same level of cultivation while he was at the fifth level, how could they help each other when their strengths were so mismatched? Just one point: that inspector came down here to eat meat; he couldn't possibly return empty-handed. Someone had to sacrifice himself to feed the tiger!

'Besides Qiu Yizhi, among the other six county garrison commanders, including myself, Sun Mingbi is the lowest in terms of skill level, only at the first stage of the Meridian Opening realm. I'm afraid he'll be the first to be eliminated this time…'

He thought to himself, then called his servants to deliver the inspector's message to him first, doing him a favor. This was considered mutual assistance; there was nothing more he could do.

"Everyone should mind their own business; ultimately, it depends on each individual... How should I handle this?"

Zhuang Jin thought for a moment, then adjusted his Turtle Breathing Technique to bring his presence to the Three Meridians Realm.

"Two visible meridians are not enough; revealing four or even five meridians would be an exaggeration and attract the attention of the Medicine King Clan..."

More importantly, this kind of thing isn't about having the highest level of cultivation; there might be a moral blackmail of "with great power comes great responsibility"—you're so powerful, the city needs you even more, are you going back or not?
For example, Mu Mingxi, the head of the General Affairs Department, and Li Ping, the head of the Law Enforcement Department, were unlikely to leave due to their power and positions, and instead hid in the county towns below.

"Three meridians is just right. This level of strength isn't something to be trifled with; it allows for equal dialogue with Tao Mengran without being burdened by moral constraints related to strength or responsibility."

"Once I have the right to engage in equal dialogue, then it's time for an exchange of benefits, promising favors, ideally overwhelming the other party... As long as I can maintain this position, I wouldn't hesitate to pay the price of hundreds of thousands of taels of silver."

Zhuang Jin is not an inflexible person. She doesn't scoff at social niceties or gift-giving. As long as she doesn't violate her bottom line, she considers the pros and cons and whether it's necessary.

'First, show courtesy, then resort to force. Demonstrate strength to show your right to negotiate, then try to overwhelm them with benefits... Reaching an agreement would be ideal...'

'If they won't listen to reason or pressure, and are determined to take my place, then the conflict is irreconcilable. In this worst-case scenario...'

He closed his eyes in deep thought, making various plans.

……

(End of this chapter)