Immortal Dao Fruits, Cards to Help Me

Chapter 66 Sealing off the City God?!

"Hey! Sir, you really don't know?"

The waiter had the same expression a Shanghainese person would have when encountering a despicable outsider.

Chen Xiuxian cupped his hands in greeting: "Forgive my ignorance, but I've been living in Wadang Fortress for a while now, and the boar-men have been harassing me from time to time. I've been keeping an eye on the battle..."

Upon hearing this, the waiter's expression immediately softened.

"Sigh, peaceful days are few and far between. How could this boar-man be so wicked!"

He cupped his hands in a gesture towards the north and said, "You ask who the City God of Shencheng is? That is none other than Lord Li Chengliang, the Marquis of Ningyuan in Liaodong!"

Chen Xiuxian: "Could it be that the emperor personally bestowed the title?"

"Of course!" The waiter tilted his head back, looking quite proud.

"In mid-June of this year, the Emperor, grateful for the Earl of Ningyuan's merits in guarding Liaodong, issued an edict to confer upon the Earl of Ningyuan the title of City God of Shencheng!"

"Hiss~ Thank you for clearing up my doubts, Brother Er. This is truly a great thing!" Chen Xiuxian cupped his hands in thanks.

Whether it's a good thing or not is still hard to say!

Chen Xiuxian was certain that after browsing dozens or even hundreds of posts about Liaodong, he had not seen any mention of a City God.

Not to mention Shenyang, the largest city and center of Liaodong.

If there were a City God here, things would be different.

Players can establish a connection with the City God Temple through certain means and then level up by following the route of the Underworld City God.

It's impossible that no one mentioned it!

In mid-June of this year, the emperor issued an edict... At that time, I had only been here for a little over a week. It couldn't be that my butterfly wings had flapped all the way to Yanjing and could influence the emperor, could it?

Speaking of emperors, the current Emperor Tianshun is described by players as "unyielding in will and unshakable in mind".

That was the man who received the imperial seal from the retired Emperor Kangchang!
The retired Emperor Kangchang reigned for fifty years, deposed the crown prince twice, and caused the Nine Princes' Succession Struggle, which lasted for more than ten years before finally producing this Prince Juan. That was no joke.

Emperor Kangchang, the retired emperor, ascended the throne at the age of 18 and abdicated at the age of 68, reigning for 50 years. His old guard was quite solid.

Constrained by filial piety, the emperor was unable to remove the ministerial staff left by his father and could only erode them little by little.

Now, six years after ascending the throne, he has only regained control over finances and some personnel matters.

The retired emperor still holds the main military power!
In this situation, how could this hard-minded emperor, who didn't really believe in ghosts and gods, possibly expend the nation's already limited resources to appoint a city god?

Moreover, it was Li Chengliang who was officially appointed.

Li Chengliang, the Earl of Ningyuan, guarded Liaodong for 22 years, fighting against everything from werewolves to horsemen to boarmen to Japanese devils!
It can be said that his contribution is indispensable.

However, he can only be described as having both a good reputation and a bad one, because the Boarmen were made big under his leadership.

The living environment north of Liaodong was too harsh, making it meaningless for the Great Shun Dynasty.

Therefore, taking the initiative is not advisable; even if you win, it will only increase your losses, and you will still lose.

Therefore, Li Chengliang chose to use one ethnic group to control another, winning one wave and then attacking another.

Why was the Wild Boar King Hachi called "Slave" by the people of Liaodong?
He had indeed served as a household slave for Li Chengliang, and later gained his trust and was sent to establish his own power base. He was supported by the Liaodong General's Office to suppress other wild boar tribes.

As Li Chengliang grew old, Hachi began to rise in power, and the military expenses in Liaodong suddenly became a major burden for the Shun dynasty—of course, some people also said that Li Chengliang was supporting bandits to enhance his own power. For this, he was impeached by many important officials of the court.

The reason it was able to end peacefully was because a single move in Liaodong had far-reaching consequences...

The exact situation is unknown, but after Li Chengliang died two years ago, Hachi became arrogant.

They even established a nation last year!

They are now frequently harassing the border along the Great Wall.

In this situation, would the emperor appoint him as the City God? Was he worried that the Li family, a powerful military clan, didn't have enough influence in Liaodong?

The City God isn't just a figurehead; there really are ghosts and gods in this world!

"Holy crap, what's going on?!" Chen Xiuxian was completely confused.

This sudden turn of events left Louis XVI completely baffled, much like Louis XVI holding Head & Shoulders.

It is said that the City God Temple has been under construction for almost five months and is scheduled to hold a formal consecration ceremony on the fifth day of the first lunar month next year.

This change is quite significant, and it's unclear what impact it will have on the historical development of Liaodong.

……

In the dead of winter, there's really nothing we can do.

Chen Xiuxian and Lao Niu went to the General's Armory and exchanged some items. To be honest, Chen Xiuxian wasn't very interested in them. They were all ordinary goods.

What's my net worth now?
The seven Calabash Brothers call me Grandpa, and the two snake spirits are my wives/demons.

Not to mention that I have a whole bunch of white and green cards on hand, and I don't know what to do with them!

Compared to these, the things used by ordinary people are really quite common.

The armory had mostly white armor, which was considered excellent for ordinary people.

Green items are very rare, and their prices are extremely outrageous!

Isn't this just ripping people off?
Chen Xiuxian and Lao Niu's combined merit points are enough to exchange for about two and a half items!

so funny!
Chen Xiuxian now has six pieces of green equipment, Lao Niu has four, Dou Zhongde has two, and Mimi couldn't wear any equipment, so she learned some skills and spells.

Look how poor you guys are!

However, he did see a lot of materials on the exchange list.

"Excuse me, can these also be exchanged?"

"Sure. But most people don't need these, do they?" said the clerk in charge of the warehouse.

Finally, Chen Xiuxian found a warehouse full of materials in a warehouse that hadn't been opened for a long time!
Finished products are naturally more expensive than raw materials, since turning materials into finished products is a difficult process. There are also risks involved.

Some materials are unusable, or even unrecognized, and their uses are unknown, so they cannot be valued and are simply left to gather dust in warehouses.

Shenyang is the center of Liaodong, and the General's Office is full of talented people. Surely they wouldn't be unaware of some precious materials?

But by this time, Li Chengliang had been dead for two years, and several generals had been replaced after him. The organization was bloated, the processes were rigid, and the personnel were chaotic. Even if there were materials and capable people on one side, it would be a problem to get them to meet!
Wouldn't it be better to use that energy to make more money?
Then these will all benefit Chen Xiuxian!
The officials in charge of the treasury and exchange were overjoyed.

Because of this meritorious service, Chen Xiuxian gained some fame.

With instructions from above, these low-ranking officials in charge of lucrative departments dared not cheat him.

But if he chose it himself, then it's not our fault!

Chen Xiuxian felt that he had used one merit point to exchange for almost ten times the amount of precious materials, many of which would be useful in the future.

Even if you don't need it, it's good to keep it. You won't be able to find it on the spot if you really need it later!

Chen Xiuxian obtained two sets of red-quality Tier 4 materials alone!
There are seven or eight types of blue Tier 3 materials!
The rest are all Tier 2 materials!

He used up all of Lao Niu's merit points for this.

Anyway, a normal replacement wouldn't be cost-effective.

The officials were even happier!

These are things I've had for years, almost forgotten about. I never expected anyone would want to trade them!
Replace them! Replace them all!

When the time comes, you can use the merit points earned from exchanging this junk to offset your debts with the high-quality items from the armory, and then resell them for a huge profit!

What do you call this? A win-win situation!
Aside from exchanging materials, Chen Xiuxian hasn't done much these past few days except wander around Shencheng.

This city is really big!

Moreover, there are many different types of functional buildings, from academies to Confucius Temples, from martial arts training grounds to drill grounds, from Dongyue Temples to Buddhist and Taoist temples, from markets to workshops, from brothels to gambling dens...

Those large merchant caravans that traveled to the areas beyond the Great Wall would eventually stop in Shenyang.

Specialty products from most of eastern Liaoning are traded and delivered here.

What was Wadang Fort before? It was a small castle on the Great Wall where soldiers were stationed for guard duty.

The permanent population is about three to five thousand people, plus people from more than a dozen surrounding villages who come to the market from time to time, or some public institutions.

But what is the state of Shenyang now?
The number of people I saw along the riverbank, where storytellers and opera singers gathered during the day, was more than the number of people in Wadang Fort!
Those various acrobats, crosstalk performers, storytellers, snack vendors, peddlers carrying loads of groceries, itinerant doctors with banners in one hand and bells in the other...

Along that narrow, four- or five-meter-wide frozen river, there must be three to five hundred street performers of all kinds!

With the addition of small business owners and customers strolling around looking for fun, it was quite a lively place.

Chen Xiuxian has been here for almost half a year, and this is the first time he has experienced this kind of atmosphere!

With the weather so cold these days, going out to fight monsters is a bit of a stretch.

Before reaching the Gang Sha Realm, the influence of climate is extremely significant.

All he can do now is wait for the dungeon to open!
Another thing is to go on the forum every day to collect information and intelligence about Shenyang.

A city of over 100,000 people like this holds immense opportunities!

(End of this chapter)