The orders came urgently. The Black Tower even stated outright that the entire group was to set out together, without delay.
Everyone, high and low, knew this was a means of mediation and appeasement. Hunting down a cunning Core Condensing expert like Reckless Vajra and heading down to Jiangdong to press for grain were two entirely different assignments. The former was grueling, difficult, and even dangerous; the latter was essentially a publicly funded holiday with a tidy windfall thrown in.
Although this was papering over the cracks, the winners and losers had nonetheless been decided.
No one in Bai Yousi's Patrol Group expressed any dissatisfaction. Leaving aside the others, who were all happy with this outcome, neither of the two people directly involved, Zhang Xing and Bai Yousi, said anything either.
In fact, whatever Bai Yousi thought, Zhang Xing felt somewhat relieved instead-not because he had become afraid of anything. After surviving that day's confrontation, he believed he was no longer in any danger. All that remained were a few political tricks played in the palms of powerful men, and when it came to playing political games, he was even less likely to fear those fighting men.
Mainly, Zhang Xing truly felt that the political environment in the Eastern Capital was terrible. His Majesty simply refused to leave things in peace: kill a thousand or so people today, conscript a hundred thousand corvée laborers tomorrow, then kill another thousand or so the day after. Given enough time, it would be strange if anyone with a spark of fire in his heart did not end up as listless as Li Ding, with dark circles under his eyes.
An environment could alienate people. Watching such things day after day, powerless to act, even the most outstanding people would grow muddleheaded and indifferent.