Come Later to Treat Your Hemorrhoids

Radiance's territory was by no means small. Although Le Yu had never seen a detailed map of the entire country, he estimated from the scale of a rough map that Radiance was about the size of East Asia's landmass in his previous life.

Compared to its vast territory, Radiance's administrative divisions were incredibly crude. The country was divided into nine major administrative districts, which were further divided into prefectures, counties, banners, townships, and villages. It was practically as if the entire country had been divided into a nine-square grid, with every administrative unit inside each square assigned to that district. It was a farce.

Rather than administrative districts, they were more like war zones.

Even Kinai District, the directly administered district at the heart of Radiance, had the Blizzard Guard, the Gendarmerie, the Palace Guard Department, and other Imperial Guards defending Flame Capital. The eight major administrative districts bordering the frontier went without saying. Every district had a frontier army, and every army had a history spanning over a hundred years. They had even become a source of pride and aspiration for the local people, just as the Coastal Army was to the people of Star Engraving Prefecture.

On top of that, Radiance had a large population and productivity that had reached the level of the Industrial Revolution. Every administrative district was naturally a kingdom within a kingdom. If they needed soldiers, they had veterans of a hundred battles; if they needed provisions, they had granaries filled to the brim; if they needed people, they had the entire district at their disposal. And now, with the old emperor dead within and the Skyline District in rebellion without, any ambitious person who did not launch a rebellion would practically be wasting the advantages of timing, terrain, and popular support.

Therefore, it was perfectly normal for people like Lu Zhong and Ding Yi to harbor rebellious intentions and attempt to overthrow the Radiant Court.

The emperor's throne went around in turns. Next year, it would be my family's turn.

Don't blame your humble servant for being inhuman. The throne is simply too tempting...

Le Yu had no idea why the Radiant Court had divided its administrative districts so crudely, but the court was not truly so White Lotus-like that it would allow the frontier powers to expand unchecked. Before the Skyline rebellion broke out, the court still held absolute authority over appointing administrative officials. It also implemented a three-year assessment system to evaluate the achievements of regional governors and carry out transfers, promotions, demotions, and other personnel changes, preventing regional governors from cultivating their own forces.

Besides that, the court had also implemented an extremely strange policy: administration by outsiders.

The highest-ranking leader of each administrative district was the administrator. At the same time, however, every administrative district contained a directly administered prefecture or county controlled by the court, and the administrator could not interfere in the affairs of that directly administered prefecture or county. Generally speaking, the directly administered prefecture or county in each district was often the city most developed in terms of culture, economy, politics, industry, and other aspects!

In other words, although the administrator wielded enormous authority, he could not lay a finger on the strongest prefecture or county in his jurisdiction! The administrator could discuss matters and cooperate with its prefect, but if the prefect refused to cooperate, the administrator had no authority to force him to obey!

This was the court's open strategy. If an administrator harbored ulterior motives, the directly administered prefecture or county would be a nail driven into his territory. Moreover, such a prefecture or county often accounted for twenty to forty percent of the entire district's size and power, making it impossible for the administrator to ignore.

If the directly administered prefecture or county, with its immense size and power, harbored ulterior motives, the administrator could order the other prefectures and counties to surround it. Furthermore, because the directly administered prefecture or county was too large, it would create a siphoning effect that drained the surrounding regions. Although they would not necessarily become hostile, the other prefectures and counties could never be of one heart with it. Compared to rebelling—a job that could cost them their heads—quelling the rebellion while taking the local tycoon's wealth seemed like the more profitable choice.

The worst possible situation was for both the administrator and the directly administered prefecture or county to harbor ulterior motives at the same time.

Yet one only had to look at the struggle between Administrator Lu Zhong and Prefect Ding Yi to know that the court's policy was still effective. Ding Yi, who controlled the strongest prefecture, would never submit to Lu Zhong. Meanwhile, Lu Zhong, who controlled Morning Wind District, was certain to bring Star Engraving Prefecture under his control.

If both sides harbored ulterior motives, they could never make peace. They were bound to turn on each other like dogs.

In the Zhou family residence, the Statistics Department agents looked at one another. Old Master Zhou's words had been like a basin of cold water poured over their heads.

Could Prefect Ding really defeat Administrator Lu?

They had taken sides far too early. If Administrator Lu won later, the Statistics Department would certainly be purged.

They had heard a little about Lan Yan being Prefect Ding's student. But their relationship with Prefect Ding was merely one of employment. Naturally, anyone who could enter the Statistics Department could not have any principles or lofty ambitions. Anyone with ambition had long since been swept out the door. Most of those left were scum who would use any means and sacrifice any reputation just to climb higher, so they could hardly be said to possess much loyalty.

If following Prefect Ding really meant walking straight into a dead end...

At that thought, many agents slowly lowered their guns and hesitantly looked toward the squad leader and deputy squad leader. Chen Fu's expression remained unchanged, but he was looking at Le Yu. He seemed to be waiting for Le Yu to state his position before saying, "Same here."

Bang!

A gunshot suddenly rang out, and a hole was blasted into the ground in front of Old Master Zhou.

"You treacherous rebel, on the brink of death and you're still trying to sway people and slander Director Lan!" Ai Lili pointed her pistol at Old Master Zhou and personally walked over with handcuffs. "Once you get to the Statistics Department, I'll see whether you still dare to talk tough!"

Old Master Zhou's body trembled, but he stubbornly said, "If you arrest me, there'll truly be no room for reconciliation! Administrator Lu and I were classmates and close friends! Whatever you do to me, Administrator Lu will surely repay tenfold!"

I almost forgot there was a Lan Yan fan here... Le Yu smiled. "Old Master Zhou, why are you talking so loudly? Are you afraid people won't know you're trying to recruit the Statistics Department? I never expected you to be so loyal to Lu Zhong. Even with nowhere to run, you're willing to sacrifice your life to sow discord between the Statistics Department and Prefect Ding. Is this the legendary death informant?"

Le Yu's reminder brought the Statistics Department agents back to their senses. So many people were watching. Everything Old Master Zhou said would soon appear on Prefect Ding's and Director Lan's desks. The danger from Lu Zhong was far away, but if they performed poorly, Lan Yan's punishment was right before them!

"Every word I've said is true! Don't say you weren't warned!" Old Master Zhou panicked. He did not want to say such things in public either, but if he was truly captured and taken to the Statistics Department, they would surely flay him alive. Lan Yan would never listen to his nonsense, but these Statistics Department agents could still perhaps be persuaded. "Spare our lives, and when Star Engraving Prefecture falls, I'll guarantee that none of you will die—"

Bang!

Le Yu raised his pistol and fired directly at Old Master Zhou. The bullet grazed past Old Master Zhou's ear, tearing away a layer of his scalp.

Old Master Zhou was instantly rendered speechless. His legs went weak, and he fell to his knees, allowing Ai Lili to arrest him.

"Fine shooting." Chen Fu whistled and directed the other agents to arrest the people. "I've never seen you practice with a pistol before. I didn't know you had that skill."

No, I guarantee Qian Yuliu definitely did not have that skill.

Because I was aiming at the floor in front of Old Master Zhou just now...

Le Yu looked at the pistol. Heaven knew why the bullet had flown upward when he had aimed downward. Perhaps the recoil had simply been too strong. He had not expected Qian Yuliu to be so hopelessly lopsided that he could not even shoot properly, costing Le Yu his chance to play ADC.

"Ai Lili and Zhou Guangshi, take five men and escort the prisoners back to the Statistics Department. The rest of you, come with me to the next house and go hunting."

"Go hunting?" Chen Fu was initially baffled, but then he suddenly understood. "You mean we're treating those wealthy merchants as game? Let's go hunting!"

When they returned to the armed light truck and were about to get in, Le Yu suddenly sensed something and looked toward Chen Fu.

"What... Huh?!"

Before Chen Fu could finish speaking, he felt an unknown object strike his head. He cried out, clutched the wound, and looked around in pain. "What hit me just now?"

"A pebble. It flew off to the side after hitting you."

"Who threw the pebble?"

"Maybe a crow was trying to grab a pebble to drink water, but it lost its grip, so the pebble fell from the sky and hit you on the head?"

Chen Fu got into the vehicle and thought about it for a long time, but he still could not figure out why a crow would need to grab a pebble to drink water. Le Yu sat in the passenger seat, stuffed the pebble into his dark-blue coat, and took out the silk cloth wrapped around it. Written on it was Yin Yinyin's message for today—

"Come later to treat your hemorrhoids."

Fuck, no wonder he wasn't worried about the pebble hitting anyone else!