What's wrong with me, a powerful minister, supporting a few female officials?

Chapter 202 What a beautiful snake spirit!

Nangong Sheyue's pretty face darkened slightly as she turned to look at Su Mo: "Commander Su, follow me closely!"

The way Su Mo is addressed has changed again.

They have clearly entered a ruthless killing mode!
Su Mo looked at the thatched house with suspicion.

It was only about 100 square meters in size, with three or four thatched houses surrounding a courtyard, and there was nothing particularly special about it.

He had assumed that the serpent would hide in mountain caves or secluded places such as ravines and streams that were difficult for ordinary people to reach.

Seeing Nangong Sheyue's alarmed expression, Su Mo also tensed up: "Is the demonic python really hiding in the thatched hut?"

"That's really impressive?"

Nangong Sheyue did not answer Su Mo. With a dark face, he slowly approached the thatched hut.

Su Mo also concealed his aura, gripped the battle sword at his waist, and quickly followed.

Approaching within two zhang of the thatched hut, Nangong Sheyue suddenly launched an attack, her shoulders jerking violently as she pressed her two jade palms lightly against the hut.

Instantly, a surge of immense magical power erupted from his palms.

The dilapidated thatched house, which was already on the verge of collapse, seemed to have been detonated by a powerful landmine, and it collapsed with a roar.

At the same time, Nangong Sheyue's slender hand swept slightly across her waist, and two short, cold iron crescent blades fell into her palm!

Then, I suddenly froze.

Su Mo was also dumbfounded.

The surrounding area was crumbling, and the thatched hut, with its beams, pillars, and roof collapsed, offered a clear view of the situation inside.

A girl, about seventeen or eighteen years old and dressed in a cloth skirt, was sitting next to a wooden table, staring in astonishment at Nangong Sheyue and Su Mo.

He held a plump, struggling pheasant in his hand, already bringing it to his mouth.

After a slight pause, Nangong Sheyue's eyes flashed with a fierce light. He raised his hands, and the crescent-shaped short blades transformed into two beams of cold light, shooting straight towards the woman's head like lightning!

The woman in the hut reacted very quickly.

Suddenly, he flung the pheasant in his hand toward the crescent blade.

A cloud of blood mist exploded in mid-air.

The woman had no courage to fight Nangong Sheyue. Taking advantage of the blood mist, she took off running!
Nangong Sheyue snorted coldly, and with a flick of her wrist, the crescent-shaped short blade circled in mid-air before swooping down to strike the woman on the back of the neck.

In a hurry, the woman turned around, opened her mouth, and spat out a shield of snake scales to block the attack of the crescent blade.

Unfortunately, it only managed to withstand a few blows before being sliced ​​to pieces by the crescent-shaped short blade.

The woman watched in despair as two cold beams of light slashed toward her neck.

"Wait!"

At this critical moment, Su Mo suddenly let out a deep shout.

The crescent-shaped dagger swept across the woman's neck before quickly returning to Nangong Sheyue's hand.

A few strands of hair drifted down the woman's shoulders.

Nangong Sheyue, having sheathed her crescent-shaped short blade, frowned and looked at Su Mo.

"What do you mean by this, sir?"

Su Mo glanced at the terrified woman, then at Nangong Sheyue, and took a deep breath: "My lord, this is... a demonic python?"

Nangong Sheyue nodded: "Not bad!"

"This woman is the third-grade demon python!"

He paused, then said coldly, "Foxes, snakes, and other evil spirits are most likely to manifest in human form. Once you kill them, they will reveal their true forms!"

Upon hearing this, Su Mo became even more curious and scrutinized the woman.

Sure enough, they sensed a strong magical aura emanating from the woman, just like the White Tiger Pill.

It's just many times more powerful.

I thought this was a low-level immortal world, where the strength of immortal cultivators was far less than what was described in cultivation novels, where they could move mountains and fill seas or cleave the heavens at the drop of a hat.

When he turned around, he saw a monster in human form!
What's even stranger is that the transformed demon's strength is incredibly weak; it can't even defeat Nangong Sheyue, a cultivator at the Returning Aperture Realm.

This is absolutely mind-blowing!
Then he looked at the snake spirit woman.

Her skirt and hairpin were simple and plain, and her face was youthful, like that of a high school student. She was quite pretty and delicate, and even the simple skirt and hairpin could not hide her beauty. She looked a bit like a cartoon version of Bai Suzhen.

I can't bring myself to do it because she's too young!
Su Mo took a deep breath and beckoned to the woman: "Come here!"

The woman hesitated for a moment, knowing that she could not escape Nangong Sheyue's pursuit, and finally walked timidly toward Su Mo.

Then he glanced at Nangong Sheyue in horror.

Su Mo looked the woman up and down, asking three questions in a row: "Are you a snake spirit?"

"How did you end up on Lonely Peak?"

"Have you ever eaten people?"

The woman immediately knelt down: "Immortal, spare my life! My lord, spare my life!"

“I have cultivated myself on Lonely Peak Mountain for a hundred years, and I have never done anything that is against heaven and reason, let alone eaten people.”

She pointed to the fields in front of the thatched cottage: "May the Immortal see this clearly!"

“These fields were all cultivated by me. I usually grow grain crops and hunt pheasants and wild boars in the mountains to make a living. I have never harmed anyone.”

Nangong Sheyue snorted coldly: "Even if they didn't eat people before, they will sooner or later!"

"Such evil spirits must be slain as soon as possible!"

Ignoring the indignant Lord Nangong, Su Mo looked at the snake spirit suspiciously and asked, "Have you been cultivating for a hundred years?"

"After a hundred years of cultivation, you've only reached the third-grade demon python realm?"

He truly never imagined that the girl, who looked only seventeen or eighteen, was actually a centuries-old demon!

The woman quickly explained, "We spirits and monsters have a difficult time cultivating. It takes thirty years to awaken our intelligence, and several more decades to refine our throat bones, transform into human form, and comprehend the art of cultivation. The day before yesterday, we advanced to the third rank."

Su Mo was speechless, then asked, "Do you still need to grow food to make a living?"

"A monster like you could easily catch wild beasts in the mountains to eat, wouldn't you?"

The woman hesitated for a moment before saying, "This servant dares not!"

“Extensive hunting of wild animals in the mountains will easily attract the attention of the immortals of the capital.”

"Moreover, I have a large appetite, and there are not many wild animals on Lonely Peak Mountain. Moreover, there is competition among the mountain people. If we start hunting them indiscriminately, we will not be able to continue in the future."

"Therefore, they only catch some from time to time, and usually have to replace meat with rice."

Su Mo was speechless.

With strength comparable to a demon in the Divine Realm, how could he end up in such a miserable state? It's utterly mind-blowing.

Hmm... it seems that she was only a second-grade demon before, and her combat strength was probably not even as good as mine. Thinking about it this way makes a lot more sense.

However, this monster seems to be quite intelligent, and it understands the principle of draining the pond to catch all the fish.

After a moment of silence, he asked a question he really wanted to know: "Don't you eat rats?"

"There are plenty of rats in the mountains, so the hunters wouldn't compete with you for them, would they?"

The woman hesitated for a moment, then uttered, "I don't eat mountain rats..."

"Moreover, the mountain rats dare not approach within a mile of me, so there is nowhere to catch them."

"And... hunters also hunt mountain rats."

Su Mo...

The woman suddenly blurted out, "But I don't eat it. I usually eat snake more often."

Su Mo was completely speechless.

The rats don't eat it, they eat their own kind!

Could this guy be a snake or king cobra that has become a spirit?
After hesitating for a moment, Su Mo turned to look at Nangong Sheyue: "Lord Nangong, since she has not done anything immoral, let's forgive her this time."

Nangong Sheyue raised her eyebrows slightly.

Su Mo then added, "It just so happens that I need her too!"

Nangong Sheyue was slightly taken aback: "Where would you need her?"

He then coldly stated, "Even so, evil spirits are unacceptable!"

"It should be known that humans and demons cannot coexist!"

"The proper course of action is to kill such evil spirits, then consume their flesh and blood, and devour their gallbladders to nourish ourselves!"

Upon hearing this, the woman's pretty face turned deathly pale, and she began to tremble violently!
Her strongest demonic shield couldn't even withstand a single round from Nangong Sheyue before being shattered, so she naturally knew that her strength was far inferior to Nangong Sheyue's.

At this point, all he could do was keep kowtowing to Su Mo and Nangong Sheyue, pleading, "Immortal, spare my life! My lord, spare my life!"

Su Mo said in a deep voice, "The sweet potatoes I planted are most vulnerable to being eaten by mountain rats and wild boars. Keeping them will be of great use!"

To be honest, Su Mo is also quite afraid of mice.

It's a tiny thing that I could easily crush with one step, but I'm inexplicably afraid of it!

Everything was better in ancient times.

The problem was that there were so many snakes, insects, cockroaches, and mosquitoes that Su Mo found extremely unpleasant.

Even in the mansions of the capital, it was the same; a rat would jump out from time to time, which was quite hateful.

Especially since the rats steal grain and cause harm to people!

Many families keep a large cauliflower snake in their homes to ward off rats.

With this snake spirit in charge, we can plant sweet potatoes on a large scale in the mountains in the future and no longer worry about rodent infestations.

Seeing Su Mo's serious expression, Nangong Sheyue became suspicious: "Is it really useful?"

Su Mo nodded emphatically: "I'm not lying to you, sir!"

Nangong Sheyue snorted and said nothing more, but she put away the two crescent-shaped short blades.

Su Mo nodded to the woman: "Get up!"

The woman kowtowed heavily to Su Mo and Nangong Sheyue again, saying, "Thank you for sparing my life, Immortal! Thank you for sparing my life, my lord!"

Su Mo's tone turned slightly serious: "This Lonely Peak Mountain is my fiefdom!"

"If you stay here obediently from now on, I will naturally protect you. But if you do anything wrong, I will not let you off the hook!"

The woman said urgently, "I will obey your orders from now on and will not dare to disobey!"

Su Mo never expected that what started as hunting a demonic python would end up being the taming of a beautiful snake!

"Do you have a name?"

The woman shook her head and said, "My true form is a white snake, so I usually refer to myself as Little White." Su Mo blinked: "Are there any mountain hunters named Xu Xian in the mountains?"

The snake spirit Xiaobai paused for a moment, then shook her head: "I am familiar with most of the hunters and villagers in the mountains, but I have never heard of Xu Xian."

Su Mo waved her hand: "Never mind if you don't have one."

"You should go back now."

He paused, then added, "Don't wander around too much lately. Many people have heard that there are spirit pythons in the mountains and might come to hunt them down."

If you actually encounter it, just scare it away.

Upon hearing this, Xiaobai's pretty face changed slightly.

Then, he glanced subconsciously at the ruins of the thatched hut, but dared not say anything more, and respectfully took his leave.

There are several thatched huts; you can switch to one to stay in.

Anyway, they wouldn't dare ask Nangong Sheyue for compensation for the losses.

Nangong Sheyue watched the snake spirit sway her graceful waist as she left. That snake waist was so slender that it could be grasped in one hand. She couldn't help but snort again: "Does my lord really use her to drive away snakes and rats?"

"Could it be that you're reluctant to kill this snake spirit because of her beauty?"

Su Mo nodded emphatically with a serious expression: "Really!"

"This humble servant is terrified of rats and plans to have her go to the city residences to drive them away from time to time!"

Nangong Shoots the Moon...

Su Mo hesitated for a moment, then finally couldn't help but ask, "My lord, is she really only at the third rank? Isn't she a transformed great demon?"

Nangong Sheyue looked at Su Mo expressionlessly: "Who told you that those who take human form are great demons?"

"Old man with white beard?"

Su Mo was speechless for a moment.

Cultivation novels are a killer!
This seems more like the world of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

Those fox spirits and snake spirits that seduce scholars can also transform into human form, but their strength is extremely weak; any Maoshan sorcerer could probably kill them.

Nangong Sheyue snorted: "Since you spared its life, you'd better keep a close eye on it!"

"If this demon causes trouble, show no mercy and kill it on sight!"

Su Mo nodded: "Understood!"

The two then returned to Shenma Rock.

Su Mo then called over the farmers and inquired about the snake spirit's condition.

Just as the snake spirit had said, she indeed cultivated farmland in the mountains and planted crops. She would occasionally exchange grain for prey with the mountain people and hunters, or ask the mountain people to buy meat from the city.

Moreover, the villagers of Gufeng Mountain do not frequently disappear; on the contrary, on several occasions when hunters were in danger, it was women who saved them.

The mountain people respected her greatly, seeing that she always looked young, and even revered her as a mountain goddess.

Su Mo thought for a moment, then made a stone tablet on each of the main mountain paths leading into Lonely Peak Mountain. He asked Nangong Sheyue to carve the words "Lonely Peak Mountain is a fiefdom; trespassers will be killed without mercy!"
With these warning stones, not many people would dare to trespass on Lonely Peak Mountain to capture the spirit python.

This is no joke.

The enfeoffed marquis had absolute control over his fiefdom!

If someone trespasses on a fiefdom, they should be killed; it's no use reporting it to Wannian County!

Everything on Lonely Peak Mountain belongs to Su Mo, including the rats in the mountain!

The mountain dwellers and hunters pay their taxes to Su Mo, not the imperial court!
In theory, a feudal lord like Su Mo would hold military and political power for generations within his territory.

However, according to etiquette, one must obey the king's orders, regularly pay tribute to the emperor and report on one's duties, and has the obligation to send troops and perform military service.

However, the feudal lords were powerful, and the tribute was merely a formality, with most paying only a token amount of silver. The Great Wu Dynasty was unable to truly control the feudal lords.

Of course, a few stone tablets alone may not be enough to scare everyone away.

We still need to build our own "army".

Su Mo has already sent a letter to Chen Qian's third uncle.

It seems that illegal salt production is no longer feasible. There's no need to keep too many people in Changping County. Transferring the people from Niujiazhai from Xianyanshan to Gufengshan would be just right.

While pondering this, Su Mo returned to the artisan camp with Nangong Sheyue.

A mere snake spirit is nothing more than an interlude.

It was only when it came to a big business like bicycles that Nangong Sheyue and Su Moxin truly focused on their interests.

Jiang Lan was asked to attend to Nangong Sheyue, while Su Mo then approached Ding Bashi alone.

He immediately said, "This bicycle is well made; I am very satisfied!"

"At the end of the month, I will restore your civilian status and establish a blacksmith department, with you serving as its head!"

Upon hearing this, Ding Bashi was so excited that he trembled all over and immediately knelt down and kowtowed: "This humble one thanks you, sir!"

He paused, swallowed hard, and looked at Su Mo with a fawning expression: "My lord... what kind of official is this minister equivalent to?"

Su Mo got angry when he saw the guy's expression and snorted: "You want to be a junior officer in the Embroidered Uniform Guard! All the blacksmiths will be under your command!"

Ding Bashi was stunned for a moment.

Then he swallowed several mouthfuls of saliva.

Su Mo then added, "In a few days, I will send another three hundred blacksmiths!"

Ding Bashi felt his throat go dry instantly!

Can you manage hundreds of people?

Su Mo snorted heavily: "How many bicycles can the artisan battalion make in a month?"

Ding Bashi then came to his senses and hurriedly said, "Reporting to your Excellency, if the blacksmith's workshop didn't do any other work, it could build ten carts!"

Su Mo frowned: "Too little!"

"If we had another three hundred blacksmiths, how many could we make?"

Although Ding Bashi was obsessed with officialdom, his blacksmithing skills were undeniable. After thinking for a moment, he said bitterly, "Sir, even if I had to pass on to them the secret techniques you taught me for forging chains and bearings."

"I'm afraid they can't make many."

"Chains require too many parts, and even with calipers, there are still a lot of scrap parts."

"Bearings are even more difficult to manufacture; it takes an extremely long time just to make a steel ball of the same size!"

"This requires pouring molten iron into a mold, letting it cool, and then carefully grinding and polishing it. If you don't do it right, you have to start all over again."

Su Mo said calmly, "If you can build one hundred bicycles within ten days, I will reward you with one hundred taels of silver!"

"In addition, the blacksmith department will receive a reward of one tael of silver for every bicycle made!"

Ding Bashi's eyes widened instantly as he stared at Su Mo in disbelief: "My lord... my lord, are you serious?"

If one could make one hundred bicycles in ten days, wouldn't one be able to earn two hundred taels of silver?
Even if I give away 100 taels, I'll still get 100 taels back!

Instant financial freedom!

Furthermore, Lord Yin said that all artisans will receive a basic salary of 300 coins, and the more points they accumulate, the greater the rewards will be!

Ding Bashi didn't even dare to imagine how much silver he would eventually get!

Su Mo glanced at him expressionlessly: "Are you questioning me?"

Ding Bashi hurriedly replied with a fawning smile, "This humble servant wouldn't dare!"

He rolled his eyes and suddenly said, "Sir, even if we bring three hundred more blacksmiths, it's impossible to make a hundred bicycles in ten days."

"but……"

Su Mo snorted: "Speak!"

Ding Bashi hurriedly said, "In my opinion, the most time-consuming part of a bicycle is the bicycle chain!"

"I think that if an iron axle is used with gears at both ends to connect the pedals and the wheels, it should greatly speed up the manufacturing of bicycles."

As he spoke, he picked up an iron bar and gestured on the ground, drawing out the iron axle he envisioned.

Su Mo looked down and was immediately stunned: "Shaft drive?"

Ding Bashi immediately began to flatter him: "Sir, you are truly amazing! This is just a simple iron shaft transmission!"

He pointed to the wheel pattern at one end of the iron axle: "The pedal wheel drives the iron axle to rotate, and the iron axle drives the bicycle wheel, which should have the same effect as the bicycle chain."

"It's just that it will be more strenuous to ride."

Su Mo took a deep breath and stared intently at Ding Bashi for a long time!
Found a treasure!

The creativity of humankind in this world should not be underestimated.

Of course, silver plays the most important role.

If Ding Bashi hadn't been pressured, he probably wouldn't have been willing to reveal this shaft transmission technology!

Su Mo nodded slightly: "Alright! Tomorrow, you will build a shaft-driven bicycle!"

Ding Bashi: "Sir, please wait a moment. It should be finished in an hour."

Su Mo...

Seeing Su Mo's expression, Ding Bashi quickly explained, "That's how it is."

“I saw an adult riding a bicycle yesterday, and that's when I had this idea.”

"There happens to be another set of parts. I was thinking that if the adult's bicycle breaks down, I can replace it immediately so as not to disappoint the adult."

"If we fix the drive shaft within this hour, we can assemble it immediately!"

Su Mo remained silent for a long time before finally patting Ding Bashi heavily on the shoulder: "You're such a waste that you're not in the officialdom!"

The words just fell.

But then Yin Rou rushed over: "Teacher, Lord Leng has come to the artisan camp again!"

"Lord Nangong requests that his disciple escort him back to the government office!"

Su Mo's lips twitched slightly.

Is this cold weather a sign of illness?!
Even if bicycles are really profitable, do you really need to come here every day to check on them?
Besides this trivial matter, is there really nothing else to do?

Isn't she the Empress's confidante? Shouldn't she be as busy with state affairs as the Empress?

Having just acquired his own Sun Tzu's Art of War, does he now intend to use his own Thirty-Six Stratagems?
Could it be because of my sweet potatoes?
Su Mo immediately became alert.

This is my trump card for future survival, used to promote myself and the Commander!

Before cultivating a large number of sweet potato seedlings, Su Mo absolutely did not want outsiders to know about it!

After instructing Ding Bashi to continue making bicycles, Su Mo took Yin Rou to see what kind of tricks Leng Xixi was up to this time!

(End of this chapter)