How Wasn't He Also Stalling for Time?
Within Falling Star City, almost all the people were seething with anger, but what use was Soul Sand if they didn't sell it?
If we don't exchange our money for cash, how will we buy rice? How will we survive?
"Damn Dales!"
Someone whispered through gritted teeth.
Some people cursed under their breath.
Ultimately, however, most people chose to sell the Soul Sand Soul Sand they had, since they couldn't hire someone to escort it to other major cities and had to carry it back home.
I'm tired too.
The servants and guards of the City Lord's Mansion also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Despite being Soul Master, those guards were terrified of so many civilians. If they were to swarm around them, they would die too.
But!
[Ordinary people are just ordinary people! Cowardly! Despicable! They don't even have the courage to pounce!]
The guards thought this to themselves, and didn't hold back with their words, shouting:
"What are you pushing for? Come one at a time!"
"The city lord is willing to accept your Soul Sand and Soul Crystal out of pity!"
"·····"
Amidst the shouts and rebukes, the anger in the hearts of the people surged, but in the end, no one dared to be the first to speak out. They could only lower their heads and sell their Soul Sand and Soul Crystal at low prices.
When the army that had wiped out the Fallen Ones returned victorious, Zhou Qing witnessed the following scene:
The city's roads were riddled with potholes, and the people no longer dug for Soul Sand and Soul Crystal. Their faces were filled with resentment and sorrow, but when they saw the team that had exterminated the Fallen Ones return and learned that the Fallen Ones had been wiped out, a hint of joy finally appeared on their faces.
At least, they believed that with the Fallen Ones gone and the bandits gone, they could swallow their anger, endure for a few more years, and perhaps then they could live a better life.
But is that really the case?
no.
The first thing the Fake Dales did upon his return was to raise taxes again, citing the fact that some people had died in the operation to exterminate the Fallen Ones, and that all the citizens of the city needed to contribute money to provide compensation. In addition, a super-large Soul Tool Core Formation was set up underground in Falling Star City. Although it has now been destroyed, in order to be more thorough, the roads and buildings will need to be gradually modified in the future.
And all of this requires money!
Who will pay for it?
All of this is for the sake of ensuring a better life for the descendants of the city's residents, and naturally, it is the people who pay for it!
In an instant, the resentment of the people in the city grew even stronger!
Looking at the people who were burning with anger but dared not speak out, Zhou Qing felt a pang of pity, but then became even more determined to overthrow the world.
Then--
Create a new world!
Now, let's test whether the ordinary people of this world truly possess the courage to raise a sword against the powerful and wealthy!
Even when driven by the strongest and most direct emotions of anger, one still cannot stand up—
I'll have to find another way.
Seeing this, Tang San grew even more disgusted with Dales. If it weren't for his Qing Ge's ambition to achieve great things and conducting an experiment, he would have assassinated such a person long ago.
This is what most of the Tang Sect disciples did in their previous lives.
However, Tang San now understands that this approach doesn't solve the fundamental problem; it can only serve as a deterrent for a limited time...
After the celebration banquet, Zhou Qing, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Romantina moved into Dales's house.
Among them, Tang San and Romantina, one was a disciple of the Tang Sect in his previous life and had received Confucian education, and the other, although a pervert, had decent manners on the surface, so they both acted like guests.
But Zhou Qing and Xiao Wu completely treated this place as their own home.
Xiao Wu is easygoing and carefree, so she naturally wouldn't deliberately make herself unhappy.
Zhou Qing's reasoning was much simpler: Dales was the enemy who killed his birth parents, and now he was under "surveillance" and would have to be killed openly afterward, so why should he be polite?
After learning of the letter sent by the Fake Dales inside the mansion, Dales grew even more hateful towards Zhou Qing and even wanted to order his assassination.
But upon closer reflection, if something were to happen to this person at his residence, wouldn't that confirm his collusion with the Fallen Ones?
Norman might just bring his men and effectively place him under house arrest!
Once the higher-ups of the Star Luo Empire and the Spirit Hall conduct a thorough investigation, even if he has some connection with Zhong Dingxiu, it won't save him.
Therefore, Dales dared not show himself and could only have the Fake Dales stall Zhou Qing and the others for half a month to a month, while he himself secretly tried to destroy the evidence in the Falling Star Spirit Hall Branch.
Once that letter is destroyed, his room for maneuver will be much greater. No matter how severe the punishment from above, it will only amount to losing his position as city lord and being stripped of his Baron status.
But he is a Soul Elder! He can no longer contact those connections in Star Luo City, but in Falling Star City, he is still the local tyrant!
Even if a new city Master in Falling Star City in the future, he will still be subject to his checks and balances!
Of course, this was the worst-case scenario Dales had considered. If handled properly, he might even be able to retain his position as city lord, at most losing a few years' worth of salary.
We can make up for it entirely from the people in the city!
Furthermore, he has collaborated with Xiao Lang of Nuoding City, and in the future, he may even connect with other small cities and towns to hold a larger-scale Fellowship Soul Master Tournament. Tickets for just one tournament can generate huge profits.
But that's not the key point. The key point is that once these small towns and cities on the border between the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empire empires become closely connected and their interests become complex, then with just a little guidance, the probability of unrest will increase significantly, and the Star Luo Empire's justification for attacking the Heaven Dou Empire will become even more compelling...
"Lord City Lord, isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to increase taxes as soon as you return?"
At the dinner table, Zhou Qing brought up this matter, saying, "I think you're going to be collecting taxes for ninety years from now."
Fake Dales's mouth twitched. How could he know any of this? He was just following his master's orders. He said, "Ninety years later? That's too exaggerated! Twenty years at most! Besides, people who can live in the city have lived there for at least six generations. Which family doesn't have seven or eight Gold Soul Coin in savings?"
Hearing this, Zhou Qing was stunned, feeling as if he had returned to his past life—an expert said that everyone has at least 500,000 yuan in savings.
How similar this is to what this Fake Dales said?
History does indeed repeat itself!
In the process of taxation by dynasties throughout history, the lower-level implementers probably all thought the same way as this Fake Dales.
[This was definitely said by Dales; this imposter is just repeating it...]
Thinking this to himself, Zhou Qing asked aloud, "Oh? Are the people in the city this wealthy?"
"That's right!"
The Fake Dales proudly declared, "Under my rule, they are able to live such a wealthy life."
As mentioned earlier, the city's residents have seven or eight Gold Soul Coin in savings, the result of six generations of hard work...
Now they're saying it's because of Dales' effective governance...
Are you trying to stall me?
Zhou Qing sneered inwardly; wasn't he also stalling for time?