Villain: After I died, all the heroines cried themselves to sleep.

Outside Hanyang City.

The three major clans of Du, Gong, and Pu in the area had received advance notice and came to the city gate to welcome Luo Zheng to his fiefdom.

After Wei Yang's reforms, the central authority of the Liang state was greatly enhanced, and the local powerful clans, even as local strongmen, were basically unable to contend with the government.

Moreover, Luo Zheng, the Lord of Hanyang, was a rare example of a powerful feudal lord in the Liang Kingdom.

Therefore, these three clans dared not be negligent in the slightest.

"I never imagined that Hanyang would become a place for feudal lords."

"The clan chief said in a low voice."

If it were a nominal seal, that would be fine, but it's a real seal.

It's like these local forces now have an extra master to serve.

"Lord Hanyang is Zheng, the eldest son of King Liang. I have heard that Prince Zheng is humble and gentle, not an tyrannical ruler. If we strengthen our stance a little and praise him highly, I think he will not make things difficult for us."

The Du clan patriarch stroked his beard, looking confident and composed.

He had already learned the news from Xianyang that Prince Zheng had failed in his bid for the position of crown prince and was therefore sent to Hanyang by the King of Liang to be enfeoffed.

Moreover, the other party has a weak personality and is very likely to choose to compromise with them.

At that time, Hanyang will still be controlled by these three families.

"Could that really be true? But something doesn't feel right to me..."

The head of the Park clan suddenly spoke.

The three of them looked up at the same time.

Dust billowed along the official road as a thousand-strong elite force marched in with overwhelming force.

Even before the army got close, a terrifying and chilling aura was already palpable.

Unstoppable.

……

Luo Zheng met the three clan heads who were waiting for him outside the city gate.

He originally thought that the Du family's retainers were arrogant and domineering, and that the powerful families of Hanyang would probably be difficult to get along with.

Following the usual pattern, he will inevitably have to put on a show of taking office in Goose City.

So we wanted to give them a warning first, so that we could proceed with the subsequent land redistribution.

As a result, the three family heads immediately knelt down before Luo Zheng.

With a beaming smile, he invited him into the city.

They were incredibly obedient.

This made Luo Zheng the Louis XVI for a time.

Totally confused.

Even the Du family retainers, whom they had prepared to use to establish their authority, seemed superfluous.

But then he heard Li Tonggu beside him bow with admiration.

As Sun Tzu said, "To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill."

"A wise man uses a thousand cavalry to launch a surprise attack, overwhelming people with his overwhelming power, thus establishing his authority. Then, he only needs to release the retainers of the Du family to demonstrate his benevolence and righteousness, thus establishing his virtue."

"With such a combination of kindness and severity, the powerful clans of Hanyang had no choice but to submit and dared not disobey."

"..."

Stop bragging, stop bragging.

If you keep bragging, you'll get blown away.

Luo Zheng thought to himself, "This is a bad omen."

Li Tonggu and Feng Lu took turns flattering each other.

Upon entering Hanyang City, Luo Zheng and his group first checked into the county temple.

Previously, the position of magistrate of Hanyang was temporarily held by the three families of Du, Gong, and Pu. Now that Hanyang has become Luo Zheng's fiefdom, the position has naturally become vacant.

Li Tonggu and Feng Lu went to take over the county temple's documents and materials, while Bai Jian went to take over the military and city defenses of Hanyang.

As for Luo Zheng, he was invited by the three families to attend a banquet to welcome him.

I'll also take this opportunity to get to know the elders of the city.

At the banquet, after several dishes had been served, Luo Zheng got straight to the point.

"On my way to the capital, I met a Mohist who said that Hanyang was frequently flooded. You've invited shamans and priests to collect taxes, and you plan to sacrifice young girls to appease the River God and quell the floods?"

The three family heads of Du, Gong, and Pu exchanged glances.

When they welcomed Luo Zheng into the city, they had already spotted Sui Qin, who was with Luo Zheng.

So the Du clan chief, Qian, replied with a smile.

"This is indeed true, but there may be some misunderstanding. That Mohist is a truly arrogant and unruly person. I hope you, sir, will see through this."

"Yes, yes..."

Others echoed his sentiments.

According to their explanation, marrying a wife from the River God is a tradition that has continued in Hanyang for over a hundred years.

Legend has it that a river god lived at the confluence of the Bao River and the Han River, and would awaken once every few decades to stir up storms in the water, causing countless floods.

Only by offering a beautiful virgin to the river god can his anger be appeased.

"The people of Hanyang all know about this. That Mohist was just an outsider, yet he spoke wildly and made unwarranted accusations against us. We had no choice but to expel him from Hanyang."

The head of the Du clan repeatedly protested his innocence.

Seemingly fearing that Luo Zheng would dislike the matter of sacrificing young girls, he continued to add explanations.

"Moreover, the women we are sacrificing this time are not from respectable families; they are the offspring of treason. Offering them to the River God is a way to atone for their family's sins."

"Let's leave those aside for now."

Luo Zheng waved his hand, then asked casually.

"And what about the taxation? Didn't you collect a million coins' worth of taxes?"

"..."

The smiles of the three family patriarchs froze instantly.

……

After the banquet ended, Luo Zheng returned to the county temple.

Li Tonggu and Feng Lu had already packed up the documents and came out to greet Luo Zheng.

"A gentleman goes to the meeting alone; what will the outcome be?"

"Stop talking."

Luo Zheng shook his head and slammed his hand on the table.

"Those three families, Du, Gong, and Pu, are shameless. They're doing this so-called 'River God Marries a Bride' thing. It's all a pretense to quell the floods, but their real purpose is to amass wealth. They even want to give me 70% as a bribe."

"Hanzhong and Guanzhong are separated by mountains, and rebellions often occur in the Bashu region, so many barbarian customs remain, which are difficult for the government to control."

Li Tonggu shook his head as he analyzed, seemingly trying to comfort Luo Zheng.

Feng Lu scoffed disdainfully.

"These three families of Hanyang are truly laughable; they actually underestimate gentlemen and attempt to bribe them."

Luo Zheng nodded in deep agreement.

"That's right! How come it's only 70%? The taxes from Hanyang are my money anyway; I should get 100%!"

"...?"

Li Tonggu and Feng Lu both looked at Luo Zheng.

Luo Zheng also looked at the two of them.

These two treacherous officials seem completely out of touch with reality.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"...What you say is very true. The three men used the taxes from your fiefdom to bribe you, committing the crime of falsely accusing your superior. According to the law, they should be punished with the death penalty."

Li Tonggu and Feng Lu reacted immediately and bowed.

"..."

Luo Zheng was speechless.

He truly is a treacherous and wicked man, always resorting to extreme punishments.

He ignored the two guys and changed the subject.

"I listened to them talking so earnestly, so I agreed to their request, planning to attend the River God's wedding ceremony in a while so I could settle accounts with them as well."

Luo Zheng needs to manage his fiefdom in order to return to Xianyang and compete for the throne in the future.

In reality, he didn't have much time left.

Therefore, he had to subdue the three major clans of Hanyang as quickly as possible, while also dealing with the floods, and completely take control of his fiefdom.

The matter of the River God taking a wife is precisely the best breakthrough at present.

The script has been arranged.

After all, he is someone who has received compulsory education.

Even elementary school students know the story of Ximen Bao governing Ye.

……

For the next few days, Luo Zheng stayed in the county temple, quietly waiting for the day when the River God would take a wife.

The tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease.

One day, an unexpected person came to visit.

Shen Xie paid his respects to Lord Hanyang.

The newcomer bowed politely to Luo Zheng, accompanied by a young man in plain clothes.

Luo Zheng looked at the strange pair with a hint of curiosity.

Although we weren't very familiar with each other.

But he had actually met Shen Xie in Xianyang.

The other party was a person from the State of Chu, who, until recently, had been staying in Xianyang as a hostage with the Crown Prince of Chu.

During the period when Luo Zheng was preparing to be enfeoffed, Shen Xie did something big.

At that time, the King of Chu was critically ill and could die at any moment.

Shen Xie was worried that the crown prince would not be able to return to Chu, so Chu chose to appoint another crown prince.

So he devised a plan to have the crown prince disguise himself as an envoy of the State of Chu and escape from the State of Liang, while he stayed behind to buy time and help the crown prince escape smoothly.

Luo Zheng still remembers that when King Liang found out, he was furious and almost killed Shen Xie.

In the end, Fan Ze persuaded King Liang to release Shen Xie.

But that was two weeks ago.

Logically speaking, Shen Xie should have returned to the State of Chu from Wuguan Pass long ago.

I never expected to end up here.

Luo Zheng directly raised this question.

Shen Xie did not hide anything and answered truthfully.

"We originally intended to follow the Bao River into the Han River and sail eastward back to the State of Chu, but because the Han River is turbulent and difficult to navigate, we have no choice but to stay in Hanyang."

"If it's a flood problem, why did you come to me, Lord Shen?"

Luo Zheng raised his eyebrows.

"Only a gentleman can accomplish this."

Shen Xie bowed to Luo Zheng again with great ceremony.

"I have heard that the Han River is turbulent, which is the work of the River God. The powerful families of Hanyang are planning to perform the ritual of the River God taking a wife."

"However, the so-called River God is actually a demon that stirs up trouble. I would like to ask you, sir, to stop this human sacrifice, lure the demon out with a plan, and then destroy it."

At the same time, the young man in plain clothes beside him also bowed to Luo Zheng.

"My name is Zhang Mo, a Taoist practitioner from outside the secular world. I have been invited by Lord Shen and have come down the mountain on my master's orders to rid the people of Hanyang of this evil spirit."

Luo Zheng glanced at the young man a couple more times, surprised.

The Taoists have all arrived.