The Xiao Clan

The Xiao Clan

Yan was, of course, of the Si Family's bloodline. The imperial family could form marital alliances with the Three Great Families year after year, and Yan naturally had its own allies as well.

Northern Liao was an outer vassal state, carrying the bloodline of the barbarian tribes. Their tribes had pledged allegiance to Great Jin, trading and intermarrying with Great Jin, and obtained enormous benefits.

Then they turned around and did business with the barbarians, building up their own strength. They thrived between the two sides.

The Northern Liao Xiao Clan had a marriage alliance with King Yan's family in every generation. The men of King Yan's family were naturally all surnamed Si. They did not even need to observe the rule about changing their surname to Yuan or Bai. The Imperial Clan Court could do nothing to them.

(This once again demonstrated the necessity of stripping the vassals of their power.)

The Xiao Clan had always been domineering as well. They themselves possessed the bloodline and traditions of the barbarian tribes, while also studying the culture of the Central Plains.

The two sides were mutually dependent. From the very beginning, the daughters of King Yan's family had all taken their mothers' surname.

Fan Jin certainly did not know the Princess Xiao from earlier, but he recognized the carriage and insignia. In particular, he had heard about the way their family conducted itself.

So he would rather choose to yield and swallow his anger.

He could not afford to provoke them, but he could afford to hide!

In fact, Fan Jin had received more than just Li Jixu's letter. He had also received a letter from an Academy teacher, offering guidance on some of his subsequent arrangements. Naturally, the most important thing was to follow Li Jixu's arrangements. The two of them had to coordinate properly.

Li Jixu would certainly meet Fan Jin first to discuss the various administrative affairs. Ming Shu naturally had no standing to join them, so she was invited to rest in the rear courtyard first.

The rules that had governed the world were suddenly beginning to collapse at a rapid pace. It could be expected that the examinations across the realm would certainly not be held normally in the new year.

For the countless students under the Academy system, the north and south would each hold their own examinations. By then, it would no longer be the various academies and Lineages that negotiated among themselves and distributed the quotas according to the old rules.

For students from humble backgrounds like Fan Jin and Xiao Shiyi, who possessed a certain level of learning and talent, this was also a rare opportunity. They would be tested on their true ability! Everyone would have to fight with all their might for the quotas.

Otherwise, after several rounds, the gap between the north and south would only grow wider.

Li Jixu could now be considered a member of Qi Lu Academy, but he was also a member of the Li Clan. His position was therefore rather complicated, but at least he did not belong to Sacred Reign Emperor's side. Judging by how smoothly he had been promoted in this region, he was probably entangled with the Zhao Clan in ways that were difficult to explain.

"This year's examination duties are very demanding. If not for the pressure from His Majesty's side, he wouldn't have thought of this at all. The main matter is that the Academy will first send some of our local students back here." After some pleasantries, Li Jixu got straight to the point.

"There was such a precedent before." Fan Jin nodded as he replied.

"This year is different. These people won't merely return to their native places to take the examinations. Some of them are to be directly stuffed into our government offices. Do you understand?"

"Positions like those low-level clerks that don't need to be reported to the Imperial Court?"

"Not only those. When necessary, positions such as County Lieutenant, County Assistant, and key posts in the six offices must also be given to them. We'll see what the Academy arranges." Li Jixu shook his head and sighed helplessly. "The Academy's opinion is to take precedence. If they refuse to listen and cooperate, you should ask the Academy to step in and handle it."

He was afraid Lord Fan had not understood, so he added that last sentence.

"So you're not planning to follow the old rules anymore?" Fan Jin was also deeply troubled. He was not the sort of strong, exceptionally capable person.

He had only made it this far because he had been lucky and endured hardship until he clawed his way up.

Precisely because he was not particularly outstanding, his colleagues were not afraid of him competing with them for anything. They had therefore let him remain in this position for so many years.

Li Jixu nodded and gave him a meaningful look. Before meeting him, he had also gathered quite a bit of information about Fan Jin and formed a certain understanding of him.

He knew Fan Jin was indecisive, so he let him digest things first and rest for a while before continuing their discussion of other affairs later.

Only after seeing him out was Ming Shu invited over.

There were only three of them, and all three trusted one another, so they went together to pay their respects to Prefect Li Jixu.

Little Zhao had only met her a few days ago. Prefect Li also knew Chong Li's other identity, so he did not say much when she came with Ming Shu to meet him.

Little Zhao presented Ming Shu's gift. Li Jixu showed no trace of disdain and personally accepted the small gift box.

Inside were several relatively large pearls seized from pirates.

They contained abundant Spiritual Energy.

For female cultivators, wearing them for a long time had a good effect.

"I've only just taken office, and there are still many affairs to deal with, so let's keep this brief. This winter, the barbarian tribes will certainly move south. The northern defenses are all sharpening their weapons and readying their troops. Our pressure here is not from the north, but from the south."

"Whether by sea route, canal, or other waterways, King Chu's side has the ability to invade this region. So we must face pressure from the north, east, and south at the same time."

"Your Baishi Town occupies a rather special position. It is our prefecture's eastern gateway to the sea, and it also borders Langya Prefecture to the north. Therefore, within the limits of my authority, I can provide provisions and pay for a hundred militiamen. As for the men, you'll have to find them yourself. We only have fifty sets of discarded old equipment. Don't turn your nose up at them."

Li Jixu briefly explained the difficulties Ming Shu might face going forward.

Ming Shu naturally had no dissatisfaction at receiving such a great benefit out of nowhere and immediately expressed her thanks, saying it was all thanks to her superior's consideration.

She had to face pirates anyway. Having one more unknown enemy coming from the south was merely another threat to deal with.

She could recruit and train soldiers slowly herself. Ready-made troops certainly would not obey her commands, and there were many places in the prefecture that needed soldiers as well.

Drawing pay for nonexistent troops was the most common practice. Telling her directly to find the soldiers herself actually meant that part of the provisions and pay would be pocketed. No one could even say how much of the provisions and pay would reach her when the time came.

And they had not said how long they would provide it, either. Perhaps they would only provide it for one year.

Ming Shu naturally knew all this, but she said nothing more. She carefully memorized everything and declared, "If Prefect Li ever needs my services, just give the order!"

"How long has it been since we last met? You've already learned to use those jianghu expressions of ours—'I,' 'this old man,' and 'your humble servant'!" Li Jixu roared with laughter.

"Young people really do learn quickly. The future belongs to you young people."

Ming Shu hurriedly waved her hands and said she understood nothing at all and still needed Lord Li to teach her more.

Seeing that there was nothing else to discuss, Li Jixu told Ming Shu and the others to collect the supplies first and then return early.

They did not need to wait for County Magistrate Fan Jin on the way back.

Ming Shu went with Little Zhao and Chong Li, carrying the issued documents, and found the clerk in charge. Little Zhao went over to negotiate, slipped him some silver, and smoothly obtained a cart of grain and another cart of weapons and armor. Though battered, they were barely usable.

They also paid separately for the two carts and bought them outright. The office certainly had no time to send them back, so they had to pay extra.

In any case, it all ended up in the pockets of these petty clerks. Once they had cultivated good relations with them, it would be easier to come ask them for help in the future.

Chong Li did not spare them a second glance. With her status and background, she certainly had no need to be courteous to them. Ming Shu and Little Zhao were different, however. They might need to trouble these people often in the future, so it was naturally better to build a good relationship.

With this assistance, their financial predicament was greatly eased once more. As long as they made it through this year, the harvest from the fields would ensure that next year's food supply would not be much of a problem.