The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror
Chapter 176 - 103: Counterattack and New Breakthrough! (3rd Update, Please Subscribe)_2

Chapter 176: Chapter 103: Counterattack and New Breakthrough! (3rd Update, Please Subscribe)_2

Xu Qing sneered, wondering if he was supposed to just stand there and let others slaughter him to be considered well-behaved.

What kind of reasoning!

"Remember, I am the one who provides food for everyone. If I have no food to eat, neither does anyone else."

"Understand?"

Xu Qing left the County Government with his hands behind his back. As for Zheng San, he had already been detained; as Xu Qing stepped out of the main hall, Zheng San was being brought in for execution.

Beside him, Guo Zhuang spoke up, "Make sure to beat him soundly."

In the Government Office, to beat someone soundly meant to strike with full force.

A hundred lashes would be more than the average martial artist could withstand.

County Magistrate Zheng’s face turned ashen as he watched the Government Officials carry out the execution in front of him. He almost couldn’t restrain himself from stepping forward to intervene but managed to hold back.

He didn’t know just how audacious Xu Qing really was.

If Xu Qing dared to kill him, it would all have been for naught – his achievements, name, and position.

He couldn’t bear that thought.

Even if he failed to handle this matter well, once he returned to his hometown, he would still be a Scholar, having the opportunity to hold office again in the future.

Worst comes to worst, he could still exploit the local people.

He could not afford to take the risk.

Guo Zhuang followed Xu Qing with quick steps. Xu Qing said, "Go to the storeroom and ask the accounting manager to withdraw five hundred taels of silver to be sent to the Golden Ray Monastery, in the name of the County Master. Say that a vile servant acted recklessly under his name, causing trouble, and now has been executed by the County Master in an act of justice. The County Master feels deeply ashamed and has thus decided to offer fire loss compensation to the Golden Ray Monastery. Make it a grand gesture, announce it with gongs and drums."

"Yes."

...

...

At the Heavenly Fragrance Courtyard, in the Mei Xiang Lodge.

"My lord, they have all been found. Here is a list of names, their current residences, and places where they have settled."

As soon as the incident happened, Su Lianqing, as Xu Qing’s top intelligence agent, swiftly took action. In just half a day, she managed to gather information about those who spread rumors.

Xu Qing didn’t look at the list and said, "Deal with them directly."

"Yes." Su Lianqing hesitated for a moment, then asked, "My lord, how do we wrap things up with County Magistrate Zheng?"

Xu Qing: "Imperial Officers from the Court cannot be killed outright. We must act with a baseline of principles."

Su Lianqing: "??"

She felt like she might be misunderstanding the meaning of "baseline."

Xu Qing coughed and said, "In any case, killing is not an option for now."

Su Lianqing seemed to realize something and said, "I just worry he might cause more trouble later on. After all, he is the County Magistrate, an Old Master. If he’s willing to put his pride aside and find support among the local nobles, coupled with the forces behind him continuing to send people, we will still be in a passive position."

Xu Qing was not yet influential enough to dominate the Jiangning Prefecture, and as he was not a Scholar yet, he lacked a convincing moral high ground.

This action was perhaps too rash.

Making a big deal out of small issues serves as a threat. If Xu Qing relented this time, it would likely cause his subordinates to lose confidence in him and invite relentless pressure from the opposition.

It was better to deliver a strong punch now to prevent endless blows later.

No matter how adverse the situation he faced now, it could not compare to the war of founding in his previous life.

That was a head-on confrontation with the elite forces of the world’s number one superpower, fresh from World War II.

Xu Qing: "Your concerns are not unfounded. However, Magistrate He and my mentor will help me sort out the aftermath."

"They’ll help you after making such a scene?" Su Lianqing was skeptical.

But she wasn’t afraid; originally a rebel herself, if her lord truly fell this time, she would simply join him in starting the New Lotus Sect, swallow the Luo Sect as well, and take down every scoundrel in the Great Yu Dynasty from top to bottom.

And if things did not work out, dying was but a minor matter.

In terms of loyalty to Xu Qing’s cause, even Su Lianqing was above Guo Zhuang and other close associates.

Xu Qing knew that it was a matter of principle.

Thus for important matters, Xu Qing wouldn’t conceal them from Su Lianqing. Moreover, she was a professional, providing an additional perspective for consultation and helping Xu Qing polish the details.

He said, "Before I came here, I wrote a memorial. It’s about converting rice cultivation to sericulture."

"Converting rice to sericulture?"

"If all goes well, this will become the next national policy. And it will start with trials in the Jiangning Prefecture." Xu Qing explained the gist.

Su Lianqing, understanding these matters, couldn’t help but ask, "But what about the grain supply?"

"We will import it via sea transport." Xu Qing’s venture into the textile industry wasn’t a shot in the dark; it was a well-considered move. He used the proposal to convert rice to sericulture as bait, and regardless of its success, it looked highly feasible.

Moreover, with the Jiangning Prefecture as the pilot point, the policy wouldn’t be spread out all at once – a balanced approach.

With the character of the Grand Secretary, he would not disagree.

Similarly, Magistrate He, a traditionalist, would find it difficult to reject this proposal because Magistrate He’s family was a major producer of silk. To turn down the chance for affordable raw silk would be unthinkable.

If he dared to reject this, his family would likely remove the tablets of his ancestors from the ancestral hall, and he himself would not be buried in the family cemetery after death.

Moreover, Xu Qing was expected to hand this matter over to Inspector Wu to handle. Not only could Magistrate He not refuse, but he would have to co-sign.

Since Inspector Wu, the Imperial Censor in charge of overseeing South Zhili, saw the advantages of this policy, Magistrate He, as a local official, would seem to oppose Inspector Wu if he did not follow suit — a serious issue.

While Mr. Wu couldn’t influence Magistrate He’s performance assessment at the Ministry of Personnel, he could impeach him – and that was even more concerning!

To carry out the conversion from rice to sericulture smoothly in Jiangning Prefecture, Magistrate He would indeed need Xu Qing’s assistance.

Because Xu Qing wasn’t one of the large landlords in Jiangning Prefecture, his interests wouldn’t be harmed by the conversion to sericulture. The rest of the nobles, on the other hand, did not wish for the conversion.

They controlled the land, essentially controlling the populace through grain production – this was where the nobles drew their true confidence.

If the land was not used for grain, they had to sell the raw silk they produced instead of hoarding it. This meant they would have to appease the imperial weaving bureaus and other big families that controlled the silk industry.

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