Shulong Daojun

"You!" The prefect glared at him, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty. After a moment, he adopted a somewhat aloof demeanor and said, "This is absolutely impossible. My rank is six hundred shi, and I am a member of the Great Yu Dynasty..."

Before he could finish speaking, a gleaming dagger was suddenly thrust in front of him, no more than a foot away from his face.

The gleaming blade was pointed directly at the prefect's eyes, causing him to choke on his words. Terrified, cold sweat poured down his back, and he stammered, "Spare me—"

Without saying a word, Jiang Heng drew the sword from the person beside him and strode forward.

He sneered, brandished his sword, and then slammed it down heavily on the prefect's shoulder.

Snapped--

"Ah! No, don't kill me!" The prefect's face turned deathly pale instantly, he was so frightened that he almost screamed.

Fearing for his life, and thinking of what he had just swallowed, he choked on his food and could only beg for mercy.

At this moment, Jiang Heng gently brushed the Prefect's shoulder with his knife, pressed it against his neck, and said calmly, "Prefect, please think about what I asked earlier."

The prefect glanced at the blade and felt a slight stinging pain in his neck. Without hesitation, he quickly forced a fawning smile: "It is my... no, my honor to serve Lord Jiang."

Jiang Heng smiled and said, "A good bird chooses a good tree to perch on; the Prefect is certainly a man who knows how to seize the moment."

As soon as he finished speaking, he slowly withdrew the knife, then stepped forward to the next person, picked up a small mud ball in his hand, and did the same.

After the man woke up, he shouted in a fierce but weak voice, "The Prefectural Magistrate will surely punish you to death!" But when he suddenly saw the Prefectural Magistrate standing to the side with his head bowed and eyes lowered, his heart skipped a beat, and he became obedient.

The same applies to all the remaining officials thereafter.

After all, the Prefectural Magistrate was already in such a state, so what reason did they have not to comply?

Of course, a few who refused to back down were threatened by Jiang Heng with their families, and after gritting their teeth for a moment, they finally relented and obediently bowed their heads.

Seeing Kong Ling and the others standing nearby, they all knew perfectly well that it would be easy for over a hundred people to break into the house and take lives in the dead of night.

At this point, all the officials who had come to the banquet had complied.

Seeing this, Jiang Heng felt a little more at ease, and a strong sense of joy welled up in his heart, causing a smile to bloom on his face.

In this situation, the expectations of the Manifestation God should not be disappointed.

However, this is only a temporary solution; we still need to think of a long-term approach.

Fortunately, there were those little mud balls.

Although it was indeed made of mud, the prefect and others were unaware of this and assumed that they had actually swallowed a poison pill.

Thinking of this, Jiang Heng looked up at the officials of Pingjiang City and smiled, "Since you have chosen to follow me, you are now my people. Please rest assured that the poison in your bodies will be cured."

Five days later, the antidote will be distributed to everyone.

The prefect and his men's eyes lit up slightly, a hint of joy on their faces. But the words that rang in their ears the next instant made them gasp for breath, daring not to speak their anger:

"However, there will be another pill that you will all need to take at that time. It was also made by a talented person and it is a good thing."

Jiang Heng spoke casually, with a smiling expression. After a slight pause, he continued, "I know some people will have different thoughts, so I'm making things clear to everyone first."

There should be many doctors in the city; you can go and visit the sick.

But since it was crafted by a person of exceptional talent and ability, it must have its own mysterious aspects, and it's hard to say whether we can figure it out.

If I find out who did this, I won't give them a pleasant look.

Having said that, he brandished the sword in his hand, and the blade flashed past everyone.

The prefect and his men cursed inwardly, but outwardly flattered, "We dare not, we will certainly do our utmost to serve Lord Jiang."

Jiang Heng nodded: "You may also report and expose each other's wrongdoings. Those who are confirmed to be correct will also be rewarded."

Constantly working tirelessly for the people's livelihood inevitably leads to accumulated illnesses; it's not impossible that some nourishing medicine might be necessary in such cases.

This statement came out.

The officials exchanged glances, their faces showing a mixture of joy and unease, their gazes tightening.

The prefectural magistrate was filled with remorse.

I knew this, why should I be at the beginning?

But less than half a breath later, a thought crossed his mind, and he cupped his hands and smiled, saying, "Lord Jiang's consideration is truly a blessing for us."

Upon hearing this, the remaining officials followed suit.

Jiang Heng smiled and waved his hand, instructing, "Go and rest. Tomorrow at dawn, open the city gates wide and come with me to welcome the lord into the city."

The prefect and his entourage were startled, their eyes wide with shock, thinking, "There's even an official here?"

However, he dared not be negligent and quickly bowed, replying, "Yes, Lord Jiang."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Prefectural Magistrate shouted a few times, summoned a servant, and whispered a few words to him. The remaining officials were then led to a place in the Prefectural Magistrate's residence to rest.

Meanwhile, servants arranged a place for Jiang Heng and the leopard-eyed man to rest.

Before Jiang Heng could rest, he nodded slightly and went with the leopard-eyed man and others to another banquet, where they used the same method to force the bound guards to submit.

After the matter was over, he asked the man with leopard eyes to convey the news of welcoming the God of Manifestation to Beichen.

The man with leopard eyes nodded in agreement.

Silent all night.

The people of Pingjiang City were still immersed in the joy of the siege being lifted, unaware that the officials in the city had already changed their minds.

The prefect and others stood behind Jiang Heng, waiting cautiously at the city gate, gazing into the distance, secretly wondering: Who exactly is that person?

Before long, a gentle-looking figure, holding a child's hand, slowly approached.

The man appeared to be a young Taoist priest, walking in the sunlight, followed by a large, dark crowd of people.

Upon seeing the figure, Jiang Heng excitedly cupped his hands and stepped forward to greet him, saying, "My lord."

The prefect and the others looked surprised, and a step later, they also bowed in unison.

Seeing this, Lin Shu nodded and smiled, then subtly used his magic to lift everyone up, saying, "No need for formalities, it's still early, have you all eaten yet?"

Jiang Heng shook his head slightly.

The prefect and the others were slightly taken aback, not expecting this official to say such a thing. He was completely unpretentious and appeared very kind.

However, since they had arrived early to greet him and hadn't had breakfast yet, he shook his head as well.

The scales were clear.

After leading the crowd in a shout yesterday, he led the people behind him to retreat several miles to await news.

When he received a message from Beichen Ranxiang late at night, he discussed it with him and decided to send the people from the two counties to Pingjiang City in batches.

After several days, the grain reserves in Chuxian County were running low, and new grain was urgently needed to replenish them in order to satisfy the food needs of all the people.

According to the previous plan, this is the time to requisition the grain stored in the homes of wealthy families in Pingjiang City.

Thinking of this, Lin Shu slightly raised his hand and said softly, "In that case, let's go together."

Fortunately, the people behind us hadn't eaten either, so we could just prepare some thin porridge.

Later, Brother Beichen will also arrive with the people from another county.

Before he could finish speaking, he remembered something and added, "Oh, right, we also need to prepare some food for the people who were besieged earlier. I hope we can prepare it as soon as possible."

"I'll trouble you with this matter, Brother Jiang."