"How could it be anything as serious as military authority?" Gong Qinian hurriedly laughed it off. "It's merely the right to recruit prefectural troops within the city. Once the new commander takes office, it will naturally be handed over."
"And what if he refuses to hand it over?" Mu Hongqing did not let the matter slide, asking with a smile.
Gong Qinian paused, then said in amusement, "Surely it won't come to that? He's so young. How overbearing could he be? Besides, this isn't the previous dynasty. Trying to wrest military authority from those bloodline clan generals? He must be dreaming."
Toward the end of the previous dynasty, conflicts between many officials in Jiangnan and the aristocratic clan generals had already grown extremely fierce. There had indeed been forceful sorcerer-officials who seized control of the prefectural troops.
After all, the soldiers at the city gates controlled the checkpoints, and their routine extortion seriously affected the business environment. Especially in a prosperous city like Liuzhou, guarding the gates was a lucrative posting.
Naturally, both the local government and the commander wanted that authority in their own hands. In theory, although the city guards held military posts, they also had to record goods passing through the gates, which involved taxation. If military officers controlled them, conflicts with the civil administration could easily arise. Thus, civil officials had long ago proposed that local governments use their own funds to maintain prefectural troops responsible for the city gates and checkpoints.
But because the military generals were too powerful, the proposal had never passed.
"That's because you've always served in Jiangnan, my lord, and never been north!" Mu Hongqing said with a smile. "In some parts of Northern Yan, there are plenty of aristocratic clan generals and plenty of sorcerers serving as local officials. The fight over control of prefectural troops can be fierce."
"Huh?" Gong Qinian paused, but then smiled again. "Well, that can't be helped. Urgent circumstances call for flexible measures. Young Lord Chen went there to take over such a mess. Asking for control of the prefectural troops isn't unreasonable, is it?"
Mu Hongqing stared at him in surprise. He was already taking his side?
It seemed that fellow named Chen Qing was quite good at winning people over. They had met only once, yet he had already earned such favor from this provincial administration commissioner.
"Then let's wait and see..." Mu Hongqing said with a smile as well. "I hear the new commander is quite a troublesome fellow."
"The new commander? He's already been appointed?" Gong Qinian asked curiously. "You certainly are well informed, Lord Mu. Would you satisfy my curiosity?"
"Yuchi Feihong!"
"What?" Gong Qinian shuddered at the name and nearly spat out his tea.
"That madman from the Yuchi Household?"
The Yuchi Household had produced two outstanding talents in this generation. The first was Yuchi Peng, who had beaten up his own father at seventeen and inherited his title. The second... was the eldest concubine-born son, known as the Little Butcher, who had slaughtered countless enemies in the frontier war against Northern Yan and achieved astonishing military exploits: Yuchi Feihong!
Yuchi Feihong was five years older than Yuchi Peng. His exceptional aptitude had once led people to believe that the Yuchi Household might choose merit over birth in passing down its title this generation. But the legitimate son, Yuchi Peng, had proved capable himself. Otherwise, who would inherit that title really would have been uncertain.
Yet Yuchi Feihong was more famous for his unruly, brutal temperament than for his formidable strength. Last year, the court had won a great victory against Northern Yan, bringing all Seven Cities of Yanyun into Great Jin's territory.
During that campaign, Yuchi Feihong had captured the woman already designated to become Northern Yan's crown princess. He could have used her as a hostage to force Northern Yan to make concessions, but with lust addling his brain, he had actually slept with her and then tortured her to death!
This had forced Northern Yan into a bloody fight. Although Yuchi Feihong personally led his troops to defeat the Northern Yan crown prince's Black Iron Guard, the leading civil officials had still impeached him and landed him in prison.
In the end, His Majesty had raised the rod high only to lower it gently, sentencing him to just a hundred strokes of the military cudgel and confinement at home to reflect on his actions. Many civil officials had been dissatisfied!
Such a savage man was said to have frequently massacred entire cities while fighting in the north. Since entering military service, he had drawn countless impeachment memorials, and in the end, he had even subjected another nation's future crown princess to such humiliation. What kind of conduct was that?
His Majesty had actually sent a madman like this to Liuzhou? Did he think Liuzhou was not chaotic enough?
Gong Qinian gritted his teeth in anger. "What is His Majesty thinking?"
"You would do well not to speculate recklessly about His Majesty's thoughts, Lord Gong," Mu Hongqing said quietly, setting down his teacup.
"You're right to remind me, Lord Mu..." Gong Qinian hurriedly apologized, but then could not help saying, "But this really is... Wait, didn't you say before that Chen Qing was on very good terms with Yuchi Peng?"
"That is indeed what people say," Mu Hongqing replied with a smile. "However... Yuchi Feihong and Yuchi Peng are not on good terms..."
Gong Qinian: "..."
"Then... perhaps I should write Lord Chen a letter after all, telling him not to quarrel with that madman over mere control of the prefectural troops. Ah... honestly, shouldn't they send a mature, steady commander at a time like this? Who recommended that madman?"
Mu Hongqing merely smiled at that. "He may not be willing to spit out what's already in his mouth. Let's wait and see. Perhaps Liuzhou will become livelier than we imagined..."
"M-my... my lord, this mountain path is steep and dangerous. Are... are you really going up alone?" the coachman asked, trembling.
Great Azure Mountain was utterly deserted. Once night fell, not even a bird could be seen. The uncanny silence was frightening, and coupled with the distinctive, dragon-like howl of the wind within Azure Dragon Mountain, it was truly unnerving.
"Then will you come up with me?" Chen Qing looked at him in amusement.
"Er... well, no, I'd better not. My lord, your literary talent protects you from all evil. This lowly one has no such protection. I'd best stay down here and watch the horses for you."
"All right... watch them properly, and don't run off." Chen Qing shook his head and headed up the mountain along the familiar route.
Although this was only his third visit, each time he had come to do something momentous and memorable. Naturally, the route had left a deep impression; he would not get lost even with his eyes closed.
Before long, a familiar fellow threw his arms around Chen Qing.
This time, there was no underarm stench, only a faint lotus fragrance.
"It worked?" Chen Qing turned to look at him. Ghost Child was no longer that bizarre contrast of a muscular body and an adorable child's face. He had truly taken on the appearance of a little girl, dainty and cute. Since he had no suitable clothes, his bottom was still bare.
Chen Qing said helplessly, "But before we go back, you have to help Daddy find something."
"What is it?" Ghost Child finally let out a breath of relief. He could not do everything Daddy said.
"Do you know of any demons or ghosts in this mountain? Preferably ones that have lived here a long time and never touched human flesh!"
"Huh?" Ghost Child paused. "Daddy, how did you know there were demons and ghosts here that don't eat human flesh?"
Chen Qing smiled at that. "Because you're here..."
With Ghost Child's oppressive presence, most wild beasts stayed away. But this also meant that the plants and fruit on Great Azure Mountain went unharvested and accumulated in abundance. For demons and ghosts who knew about Ghost Child's circumstances, this was an excellent place to live in seclusion.
There were few humans, no ferocious beasts, and more than enough wild fruit...
Of course, the prerequisite was that they kept a respectful distance from humans. Those who craved human flesh would naturally mingle in bustling places.
"What does Daddy want them for? They're all weak, useless fellows."
"Daddy wants to make them door gods," Chen Qing said with a smile.
He could not control fierce ones yet, so he could only start with demons and ghosts that did not even dare approach human settlements.
Yes, in Chen Qing's design, no class path could do without demons and ghosts. This was true of bloodline warriors, sorcerers, and the divine path style alike.
Only demons and those with demonic bloodlines could be invested as gods!
"Door gods?" Ghost Child immediately grew curious. "What are those?"
"Gods who guard the gates of great cities and protect the people inside. Whenever demons approach, they manifest their power, expose them, and suppress them!"
"Does... does something like that exist?" Ghost Child stared blankly. He had lived in the human world for so long, yet had never seen such a thing.
Man-eating demons could mingle with crowds and enter cities at any time. Neither sorcerers nor those bloodline aristocratic clans could easily detect them. This was also why humans struggled to eliminate the threat of demons.
Sorcerers could establish spell formations to guard against demons, but the demons had to trigger their restrictions first. Generally, as long as a demon did not slaughter people on a large scale within the city, it was difficult to trigger a formation. Maintaining formations also required enormous expenditure on sorcerers. Even during the height of the sorcerers' prosperity, there had never been word of humanity being able to defend against demons on a large scale.
As far as Ghost Child knew, if a demon merely wanted to satisfy a craving by eating one or two people, it seemed that no one could stop it at all.
"They didn't before, but with Daddy here, they soon will!" Chen Qing smiled as he stroked Ghost Child's head.
As long as he ignored that imposing thing below, the little child was rather cute, and his voice was adorable too.
"Is Daddy going to catch those little demons and make them door gods? Can Nezha be one too?"
Chen Qing shook his head in amusement. "Our Nezha is going to become a great god someday!"
Once demons and ghosts accepted investiture under the Divine Path system, they were bound to that system for life and could not change. Those in the door god system could only advance to higher-ranking door gods.
Even if he conquered the Heavenly Capital one day, the door gods under his command could only advance to Forbidden Palace door gods, not become great gods of conquest. With Ghost Child's aptitude, he could not be wasted on guarding gates.
But if door gods held such a low divine rank, why did Chen Qing want to invest them first?
That involved the mechanics of the divine path style his partner had designed.
According to the divine path style's mechanics, when someone first gained an official post, public faith in them was weak, and their official seal's power of investiture was limited. In fact, they could only invest one or two gods. At this stage, they had to be extremely careful about the type of god they chose.
The divine path style's first challenge was deciding what kind of god to invest in, then using that god to win the admiration and recognition of the people under one's rule, thereby gaining greater Power of Divine Investiture.
Many players failed to understand this. For their first investiture, they chose either a mountain god, a river god, or an underworld City God for an entire city. In truth, these broad-category divine positions not only wasted the Power of Divine Investiture but also took a long time to recoup their cost. They were strongly discouraged for beginners.
This was also why so many players who failed to understand the mechanics died at the very first step!