You, a tyrannical ruler, roam the heavens; you cannot understand my joy.

Inside the main hall of a grand mansion in Nantong City.

The true core of Lu Zuo's forces, apart from the Soul-Snatching Ghost who was still in Dongyang, had all gathered here at this time.

"His Majesty has appointed me as the Prefect of Nantong?"

Chu Yunlong paused, looked at Lu Zuo, and said uncertainly, "But I've never been an official."

"It's only temporary." Lu Zuo smiled slightly: "You have experience in leading the rebel army and managing people and affairs. You are more than capable of serving as the prefect for me for a month."

"Moreover, Huang Ye and the others are also assisting us."

"For the next month, all you need to do is stabilize people's livelihoods and prevent any unrest."

Chu Yunlong pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Since His Majesty trusts me, I will give it a try."

Huang Ye, who was standing to the side, asked, "So, what are the plans for a month from now?"

Lu Zuo: "One month from now, I will disguise myself as I did when I first met you, and take the name Lu Zuo to serve as the Prefect of Dongyang and govern Nantong."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the others became somewhat strange.

There's an indescribable, inexplicable sense of absurdity...

Judge Yin thought for a moment and asked, "Your Majesty, Jiankang is thousands of miles away from Nantong. Even if you change your appearance and name and take charge of Nantong, it is still a case of 'distant water cannot quench immediate thirst'."

"We're just江湖武夫 (jianghu wufu, meaning martial arts practitioners), how would we know anything about governing a place?"

"I'm afraid that implementing your decrees will lead to many problems..."

"If this continues, chaos will inevitably ensue."

Lu Zuo waved his hand: "I have my own way of handling this matter, you don't need to worry about it."

"The most important task at hand is to complete the tasks for the next month according to my instructions."

"Firstly, people with governance experience should be selected from among the common people and appointed to various official positions, such as county magistrate, merit officer, and household officer. All of them can be promoted."

"Regardless of whether they come from a poor family or are commoners, anyone who has managed more than 30 people is eligible to run for election."

"But we must carefully screen and rigorously examine those who are of upright character and appoint them to positions."

Ordinary people are illiterate and uneducated, and in the eyes of many, they are a group of uncultured and ignorant people.

Life experience and knowledge are also a form of culture.

Throughout history, in many groups formed by commoners, the management skills of those well-educated people were often inferior to those of those who were illiterate.

Of course, this method of employing people is only suitable for the initial stage.

If we want to grow and expand in the future, we need to cultivate knowledgeable talents.

Huang Ye nodded, then asked, "What about the original officials?"

Lu Zuo's eyes turned cold, and he said in a deep voice, "Replace those who need to be replaced, and kill those who need to be killed!"

Given the utterly corrupt state of Southern Chen, the administration was in a truly appalling state.

If we kill them all one by one, there might be innocent people among them.

But if we kill every single one, there will inevitably be some who slip through the net!

Lu Zuo had no reason to show them any mercy.

"Secondly, when I leave, I will take more than 90% of the troops in Nantong with me. You must cooperate with Xie Guyan and others to train a new army as soon as possible."

Thirdly…

Immediately, Lu Zuo rattled off more than a dozen strategies.

Examples include recruiting skilled workers from the local community, building schools, and distributing land from prominent families in Nantong to disaster victims.

He chatted with Chu Yunlong and the others until late into the night before leaving and returning to the prefect's mansion.

……

The next day, early morning.

[Missed the morning court session; internal strength +5.]

[Enchanted by beautiful women, internal strength +1.]

[Excessive indulgence in lust, bonus reward: Cultivation +1299.]

[Digging your own grave, bonus reward: Charm skill +50.]

[Leading a rebellion, utterly absurd, Dao Enlightenment +2.]

[Desecrating a widow: Extra reward, cultivation +1000.]

[Reusing a wicked concubine can bring ruin to a country; calligraphy +10, painting +10, chess +10, musical instrument skills +10.]

"They gave you an extra thousand cultivation points?"

"not bad……"

"In that case, there are plenty of lackeys in the capital that we can kill."

After muttering a few words to himself, Lu Zuo got off the bed, and Fan Qinghui, who had already woken up, immediately helped him get dressed and wash up.

"Your Majesty, my senior sister arrived in Nantong yesterday."

"She has long admired Your Majesty's reputation and wishes to meet you..."

Fan Qinghui originally planned to wait until after returning to the capital to arrange for him and Bi Xiuxin to meet.

However, since Lu Zuo advanced to the Three Elements Great Perfection, he has become increasingly powerful, which she finds difficult to bear. Therefore, she has to arrange this matter in advance so that someone can help her share the burden.

Another master from Cihang Jingzhai?

Lu Zuo hesitated for a moment, then said, "Go and call her over."

"Yes."

Fan Qinghui bowed gracefully, then turned and left.

She had barely left when she heard the soldiers' voices outside the door.

"Your Majesty, an urgent message has arrived from Jiankang."

Lu Zuo retracted the token and said in a deep voice, "Bring it in."

With a soft creak, the door slowly opened, and a soldier walked in holding a black letter, which he respectfully handed to Lu Zuo.

A black envelope?

Urgent letters from the imperial court usually only had feathers attached; this was the first time he had ever seen a black envelope.

Who sent it?

The soldier replied, "Your Majesty, it was sent by the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs."

Zongzhengji?

A department that manages the internal affairs of the royal family?

Lu Zuo reached out and took the envelope, instructing, "You can go out now."

"Yes."

The soldier bowed respectfully, then turned and left the bedroom.

After he left, Lu Zuo opened the envelope, took out the letter, and looked down to read it. The opening read: "The Shadow Guard respectfully presents this to Your Majesty."

"Shadow Guard?"

Lu Zuo's pupils suddenly contracted!

He instinctively held his breath and continued looking back.

"The Xuan-character dungeon in the Imperial Mausoleum collapsed, and the Underworld Emperor broke the lock and escaped."

"The Shadow Guards have now come out in full force, but although Yin Tianzi is seriously injured, he is still very powerful and will be difficult to capture in the short term."

"To ensure a foolproof plan, Ye Jiu, carrying a dragon-scale dagger, secretly headed south to protect His Majesty."

"When His Majesty sees the Dragon Scale Dagger, he will know the identity of Ye Jiu."

These few words sent a chill down Lu Zuo's spine!

What level of existence are the Shadow Guards?

Thirteen people are enough to wipe out any one of the nine great families!

and……

They can even tell whether someone is of royal blood!

Once that nightingale arrives...

The consequences would be unimaginable!

But what's even more deadly is that underworld emperor!

How terrifying would it be if the entire Shadow Guard were to remain holed up in the imperial mausoleum, guarding it without daring to leave even for a moment?

He harbored deep hatred for the Southern Chen imperial family and wondered if they would spare him, the emperor, after escaping the dungeon.

"I'm afraid I'll be the first one they want to kill!"

"wrong."

"Since the Shadow Guard only sent one person south to protect him, it means that the Emperor of the Underworld did not flee south."

"In other words, as long as I deal with this Night Dove, I'll be safe for now!"

"But the key issue is..."

"What level of cultivation does this Night Dove possess?"

"The Great Completion of the Three Elements, or the Opening of Heaven and Earth from Within?"

After thinking it over, Lu Zuo felt that the possibility of Chu Cheng opening up the inner world was greater.

After all, to have thirteen people directly confront one of the nine great families, one would need to be at least at this level!

at the same time......

Lu Zuo was very curious about what secrets this Yin Emperor was hiding.

Why has the Southern Chen imperial family kept him imprisoned until now?

Why was this information included in the "Secret Records of the Chen Family" so that only emperors of past dynasties could know it?

If you could only read one novel about the infinite universe in your lifetime, it would probably be "Wandering in the Heavens as a Tyrant: You Don't Understand My Joy".