Sharing the Spoils

When Tie Liuyun entered, he was wearing brand-new Second Tier official boots. He walked with a powerful stride and his face was radiant. It was easy to see that this Commander Tie was riding high after abandoning his post Jingnan Prefecture and joining their ranks.

In front of the group of minor Qi Refinement in the hall, the old man made no need to hide his joy and said with a beaming face, "The Lord has entrusted me, Tie, with the task of rebuilding the markets and wards in various counties. The officials of the other counties will be coming to your Pingrong County soon to discuss matters. Prepare well."

As soon as Tie Liuyun uttered those words, Kang Dabao sensed something was amiss. These few dozen words contained a great deal of information.

Firstly, the Yue Household not only lost power with the Two Instruments Sect, but the Three Incense Cult also destroyed the markets and workshops that had received the Yue Household's business licenses. On the state court side, they also failed to gain any advantage; this lucrative prize was given to Tie Liuyun by the Earl of Earl of Nan'a Kuang Liuting. Trying to please both sides is just suffering on both sides, and it's unknown whether the Yue Household will make any moves afterward.

Secondly, it seems Huo Bing is truly failing. Rebuilding the market should have been Huo Bing's responsibility as the Cloud Horn Prefecture, but Kuang Liuting assigned it to Tie Liuyun, which is a blatant favoritism towards Tie Liuyun, a more capable Foundation Establishment True Cultivator. If the Huo Household cannot produce a Foundation Establishment in the next few years, their fate after Huo Bing's death will be uncertain.

Thirdly, given that Pingrong County had never been the center of Cloud Horn Prefecture for nearly two hundred years, why did Tie Liuyun choose Pingrong County as the venue for the council? Was it to pave the way for his nephew Tie Xishan, or because his family had previously been in charge of Chongming Market?

Once Tie Liuyun spoke, the three minor officials in blue robes, including Kang Dabao, had no choice but to obey and had no right to negotiate.

"Well, Lord Bo said that since the markets and workshops attacked by the beasts were all markets that had received the Yue Household's business licenses, then the Yue Household should provide compensation to the members of each family who were harmed by the Three Incense Cult and its rebellious villains, depending on the circumstances."

The other counties have already submitted their reports to me. The Chongming Market in Pingrong County is to be managed by the County Magistrate Kang, Linghe Market is to be adjudicated by the Chief Clerk Tie. Magistrate Luo, please take care of the overall situation. After you have compiled all the reports, submit them to me, and I will personally go to Han City to ask the Yue Household for their help."

The three men immediately accepted the order, understanding its meaning.

Everyone knows that these are just high-sounding words from Tie Liuyun, such as "self-judgment," which is just a way to reward his subordinates.

Kang Dabao and Tie Xishan shared the spoils, while Luo Heng remained a figurehead. If the Yue Household were to rise again in the future, it's possible that our County Magistrate Luo would have to condescend to take the blame.

To be fair, Tie Liuyun has indeed secured a lucrative opportunity. In Kang Dabao's Chongming Market, most of the merchants are relatives and friends, and the relief funds are mostly distributed based on conscience, so it's hard to say how much they can earn. Tie Xishan, on the other hand, has absolutely no connection with Linghe Market, so he's likely to make a fortune.

As for Luo Heng...

The matter was settled, the meeting adjourned, and both Tie Xishan and Luo Heng returned to their respective government offices.

The Sect Leader Kang Da was kept behind by Tie Liuyun, who, despite being a Foundation Establishment, adopted the demeanor of a kind elder. He not only inquired about Kang Dabao's recent difficulties in cultivation but also answered his questions one by one without showing any sign of annoyance.

Personal instruction is a privilege usually reserved for close disciples and nephews. However, thanks to the Daoist Black Shoes, Sect Leader Kang Da is also able to enjoy this privilege.

"I should have called the Third in to listen too." Tie Liuyun didn't hold back anything in this sermon. Although it was far less insightful than that of the Daoist Black Shoes, the Sect Leader Kang Da gained a lot from it.

Although the Daoist Black Shoes often taught Kang Dabao, the former was, after all, a genius. Many things that Kang Dabao considered crucial, the Daoist Black Shoes would not elaborate on. He would only focus on explaining some difficult points.

Although Kang Dabao benefited greatly from the sermons of the Daoist Black Shoes, in all honesty, he gained the most from listening to Tie Liuyun's sermon today.

He reached into his Storage Bag, mounted his old donkey, and found Jiang Qing waiting at the door with his Black Blood Colt. The two of them returned together to Kang Dabao's county magistrate's office in Pingrong County.

The news had already spread from the county government office, and all the officials and clerks at the local government office had gathered neatly and knelt down in a line at the entrance.

Kang Dabao wasn't here to investigate whether they had committed any crimes. He had a lot of his own business to attend to and didn't have much energy to deal with these parasites.

So he gave a few perfunctory words of advice and then sent everyone back to their respective duties.

Once inside the official temple, Kang Dabao sampled a few bites of the Spirit Cuisine that the officials had pooled their money to buy. The chef at the restaurant they had gone to was clearly not skilled enough; his cooking was not as delicious as Jin Shilun's.

The lower-ranking officials weren't very attentive either; they hadn't even bothered to find out that Sect Leader Kang Da had a fondness for braised pork knuckle, so the meal was rather unappetizing. Kang Dabao and Jiang Qing decided to each find a quiet room to cultivate themselves.

Kang Dabao first set up the array and restrictions. It was inconvenient to use such a precious item as the Clear Eyes Treasured Liquid in this simple and quiet room. If something went wrong, it would be a waste of its precious resources.

He had just broken through his cultivation level and needed to consolidate it properly. In between circulating his qi, he would occasionally take the refined corpse out of the corpse-nurturing bag to take a look.

This corpse was badly injured in the battle against the Second Tier Gold-Devouring Rat, and was almost torn into pieces and completely destroyed. If it wants to be refined and restored, it will probably need to be nurtured in a corpse-raising ground for many years.

However, the power of this refined corpse did not meet the expectations of Sect Leader Kang Da. Whether or not to spend so much effort to restore it was a matter that Sect Leader Kang Da should carefully consider.

Now his second Garrison Earth Azure Origin Shield has also been destroyed, his Silver Mace is gone, and his White Bear Fang Banner has been greatly damaged and is no longer suitable for battle. As a result, the only usable Law Artifact left in the hands of Sect Leader Kang Da is the short blade he obtained from the Evil Granny.

The short blade is indeed sharp, but its effectiveness is too limited, making it ineffective against skilled opponents.

Finding one or two more suitable Law Artifact has now become an urgent matter for Sect Leader Kang Da.

However, this matter cannot be rushed. We should wait and see if there is an opportunity to visit large cities like Han City and Xuanwei City before making any further inquiries.

Another half month passed before the chief officials of the thirteen counties finally gathered.

It is worth mentioning that the successor to the magistrate position in Tanggu County remains undecided because the candidate recommended by the Huo Household has not been approved by the state court.

Therefore, Tie Liuyun appointed Tie Xishan to handle all matters related to Huo Bing's hometown of Tanggu County.

This is rather intriguing. First, the Huo Household lost ownership of the Spirit Stone mine in Tanggu County to the state government, and then they couldn't even appoint a Tanggu County.

His family's situation in the state court seemed far more difficult than Kang Dabao had imagined; they might soon lose the position of Tanggu County they had held for a century.

Sect Leader Kang Da, dressed in a plain blue official robe and wearing a jade belt, stood at the very back of his colleagues with his head down, as always.

Even with his low-key demeanor, he still inevitably attracted the attention of most people in the room.

At this time, Kuang Liuting had just arrived in Cloud Horn Prefecture, and most of the county officials who Xie Fu of Pingrong County were no longer alive. The people present today were far superior to their predecessors in terms of both cultivation and family background.

The Sect Leader Kang Da stood out quite a bit among them.

Regardless of his reputation for bullying women, his first meritorious service in battle, his marriage to the eldest daughter of the Fei Household at the grand wedding attended by the Earl of Earl of Nan'an, and finally his safe return from the perilous Tanggu County Spirit Stone mine under the guidance of a mysterious and powerful Daoist Black Shoes.

All of this made it impossible for the assembled spies of the Immortal Dynasty to ignore this mere Qi Refinement Leader any longer.

In terms of cultivation, Sect Leader Kang Da, though only forty years old, has already Qi Refining Seventh Layer of Qi Refining, and is genuinely on track to Foundation Establishment. Based on this speed alone, he is easily among the top five of everyone present.

In terms of power, he is the leader of a sect. Even if the Chongming Sect is not very powerful, it still has twenty or thirty Qi Refinement cultivators that he can command at will. This is much better than the county magistrates in the arena, who are mostly abandoned by their Lineage.

In terms of background, they have the Daoist Black Shoes as their backer, a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator whom even the Prefectural Magistrate Fei Nanying with respect. According to rumors, he is a potential Golden Core cultivator.

In terms of family lineage, even if you were to list all the children and grandchildren of Golden Core False Core cultivators in the entire Shannan Circuit, very few could rival the influence of Sect Leader Kang Da.

Looking at it this way, Sect Leader Kang Da, standing at the head of the crowd, was truly an outstanding figure, a crane among chickens, and could not help but attract everyone's attention.

But soon after, the real protagonist appeared, and everyone's attention turned back to him.

Tie Liuyun walked out from behind the yamen and sat down on Luo Heng's county magistrate's throne with an air of grandeur. After looking down at the assembled cultivators for a while, he nodded in satisfaction and said, "The Lord has entrusted me with the responsibility of overseeing the reconstruction of the markets and wards in all the counties of Cloud Horn Prefecture. There are some details that need to be explained to you all in person, so please listen carefully."

"Yes," the cultivators replied in unison.

"Firstly, effective immediately, all markets and hamlets within Cloud Horn Prefecture shall be issued commercial permits by the Cloud Horn Prefecture Court. Each county must rigorously investigate each location; if any household still possesses counterfeit permits and fails to submit and destroy them within one month, they shall be treated as traitors and sentenced to exile of their entire clan."

Tie Liuyun slammed his gavel, casually explaining the state court's major actions. He then produced a map of magical Law Artifact covered in red dots and casually circled it:

"Secondly, effective immediately, the aforementioned twenty-seven former market and residential area sites will be placed under the unified management and reconstruction of each county. They will no longer be the private property of any individual household. The prefectural government will dispatch a special market officer to oversee them, holding a rank Principal Ninth Rank. Each county must cooperate fully."

"Yes!" Kang Dabao suppressed the urge to question him and answered in a muffled voice.

"Thirdly, for subsequent large-scale transactions with the state government, these twenty-seven markets and residential areas will be given priority in supplying goods. Of the market tax revenue from these transactions, 30% will be retained by each county as public funds, and the remaining 70% will be turned over to the state government. In principle, the families of officials within the county's middle class will have priority in renting and purchasing shops, and the state government will exempt them from taxes for the first ten years."

"Yes!" At this moment, joy appeared on the faces of the cultivators, knowing that this was a sweet treat offered by the state court, and upon reflection, it was a considerable gain.

Fourthly, considering the meritorious service of Kang Pingrong County, the prefectural government will not appoint a market magistrate for Pingrong County; Kang County Lieutenant will continue to be in charge.

Tie Liuyun's words shocked everyone present.

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