Lord of the Desert

Chapter 476 Confrontation
Two days later, it was the third day of July.

Princess Xiande's Mansion.

Xiao Chu was wearing a light crimson dress, holding a bag of fish food in one hand and supporting her chin with the other.

The colorful koi fish crowded together under the water pavilion and waited for a long time, but still did not get any food.

“That was basically the gist of our conversation that day.”

Hong Fan sat opposite her, brows furrowed.

"I wasn't in a good enough position to fully grasp his thoughts."

“Perhaps the Martial Arts Academy doesn’t really care about the results of this land survey. First, the Qingdi Sect is not considered a top-tier sect. Second, if they are really liquidated, their tax base will only be a few tens of thousands of guan for a year. Perhaps Guan Qimai wants to bring the Shengyu Army down with him and create a situation where the Martial Arts Academy and the royal family can work together…”

He told Xiao Chu everything, but the more he spoke, the more difficult it became to speak.

There is no doubt that measuring the land is in line with righteousness.

At a time when aristocratic sects rule most of Kyushu, Guan Qimai, who stands out and faces the four directions alone, has always been admired by Hong Fan. And Xiao Chu, as the eldest princess - a core member of the royal family, the number one aristocratic family - naturally enjoys the fruits of imperial rule and exploitation.

If class interests are taken into consideration, he should naturally stand on Guan Qimai's side.

But a person's social relationships are far more complex than a single narrative.

On the one hand, Hong Fan and Xiao Chu are comrades-in-arms who have shared life and death together, and their feelings have grown stronger after more than a year of friendship; on the other hand, Guan Qimai will do anything to the extreme and will not hesitate to use others.

Since he walked out of Jianwei Palace two days ago, he has been thinking non-stop, horrified by the conflict and tear in his heart.

A man named Hong Fan has self-proclaimed advanced views and grand social ideals, but at the same time he does not live in a vacuum and has his own vital interests and social identity.

Private schemes, martial arts monopoly, class nobility...

Hong Fan always felt disgusted when he saw these words, but why had he never taken the initiative to think about clearing out the hidden fields in the clan or cracking down on tax evasion since he was listed on the Tianjiao List?
Thinking back more deeply, every time he sat on the high platform and saw the red-robed cavalry in heavy armor crossing the Hong Mansion's parade ground with an iron attitude that violated the Great Hua Law, he always felt proud and domineering in his heart.

[When Guan Qimai's true intentions were revealed, I thought about it and decided to take on this mission. Was it for the purpose of farming? ]

Hong Fan asked himself.

[No, of course it's for the "Burning Explosion"! ]

When he thought of this, he felt painful and frustrated, just as he had faced his own fear of death and hesitation under the pressure of Zhan Yuanzi's blood feud.

After tearing off the noble mask brought by his upbringing in his previous life, Hong Fan discovered that he was still that shrewd pragmatist at heart - this person did miss Duan Tiannan all the time, but in the darker part of his heart, Li Heming had always lived there.

A white bird skimmed across the clear water in the pond with its claws stretched out.

The koi fish are still waiting silently.

Hong Fan rarely showed any sign of embarrassment.

"Your Highness, I..."

"I'll just lend him to you."

Xiao Chu looked at Hong Fan leisurely, smiled and waved his hand lightly.

"what?"

This was a development that Hong Fan had not expected.

"You are a person who was born in a remote place, but I don't know how you grew up. You like to think about everything in the highest terms and scare yourself."

Xiao Chu straightened his back and finally sprinkled the first handful of fish food to the anticipation of thousands of fish.

The sound of splashing water in the pool broke the tense atmosphere.

"Although the headmaster is busy with many things every day, he is not like those powerless ministers in the cabinet. It is not his style to make careful calculations and use the opponent's force to defeat him. And no matter what, you are just a natural..."

Xiao Chu said casually, glanced at Hong Fan's expression, and quickly changed his tone.

"Let's just say you are equivalent to the first level of Yuanci."

She suppressed her laughter.

"If it is really an important matter that shakes the foundation of the country, even if the headmaster does not go himself, he will not ask the imperial guards for help. For the Huaiyang Kingdom and the Zhenbei Guard, he went to Langya, Hejian, and Xueman in person from the beginning to have face-to-face talks with the Queen Yi, the Two Saints, and Lord Kou." Although Hong Fan was embarrassed to hear this, he felt a lot more relieved.

"As for scheming against you so cruelly, it is actually his usual style of doing things."

Xiao Chu considered his words for a moment.

"Unless they are his own people, the headmaster would not use only nine out of ten if he could use all of them - it is said outside that he not only sucks the marrow out of the bones, but also chews the bones into pieces and swallows them.

I remember you mentioned that the Zhangwu Academy had recruited you more than once, from Xu Guinian to him in person, but you were determined not to live under someone else's roof. In this case, your relationship will end at four transactions, and how can you make more money in a transaction without making any? You have a high reputation, great potential, and are good at business, so the gods are not reluctant to be polite to you, but the gods are only the rulers of a region and have a lifespan of a few hundred years, while the martial saint is the uncrowned king of the world. "

Hong Fan could not help but appreciate Xiao Chu's subtle advice after hearing his long words.

After careful consideration, he indeed found that the flowers and brocade he received after returning from Shengzhou made him arrogant, as if it was his right to be treated differently by the people of the world.

[I feel resentment because the Martial Saint looked down on me. I really don’t know what to do…]

Hong Fan suddenly realized something, and not only did his aversion to Guan Qimai decrease by a large margin, he also began to admire Xiao Chu.

He has always been good at using interests to weigh others, and he prides himself on having a high emotional intelligence, but the other person seems to have a natural talent for empathy and can grasp other people's emotions more directly.

"You have spent a lot of effort on the firearms of the Longxiong Camp during this period. I will let Song Xuan Ge lead three teams to follow you."

Xiao Chu said after spreading the fish food.

Song Xuan Ge is a military commander of the Longxiang Camp. He has become quite familiar with Hong Fan due to firearms training in the past few months.

"Do I need to ask your Majesty?"

Hong Fan nodded in agreement, feeling touched, so he couldn't help but ask more.

"No need. I have been very cute since I was born. I have always been favored by my father and elder brother. When I was young, I bullied my younger brothers but was never scolded."

Xiao Chu shook his finger, speaking with pride.

"Besides, I have seen a lot of ups and downs over the years, and I am not without means. Since you have accepted this task, I will ask Zhou Gong to visit several large families in Qingzhou in the next few days to build relationships and gain some benefits for me. In this way, when the Shengyu Army escorts you there, they will not overreact."

Hong Fan was completely relieved after hearing this. He didn't know how to express his gratitude for a moment, so he could only clasp his hands and bow repeatedly.

"Oh, it's just a small favor, why be so pretentious? Just be grateful."

Xiao Chu pretended to be generous.

Soon both of them laughed.

Hong Fan was a man with a strong character and strong opinions.

Looking back over the past few years, he rarely lost the initiative in a conversation, but Xiao Chu was able to do it without making him feel disgusted.

"It has always been difficult to farm. Although the Qing Emperor Zhen Sect has lost its Yuanci, it is still a famous sword sect in Jiuzhou. Do you have any idea of ​​what to do when you go to Qingzhou?"

Xiao Chu changed the subject.

"I have written some rough drafts in the past two days."

Hong Fan nodded.

“I plan to do it in two lines.

The first is to look through the official fish-scale books of Cangxu City, copy out all the land registered under the name of Qingdi Zhenzong, confirm its location, area, type, and tax level, and then conduct an on-site comparison and verification of the land in the books to find the cultivators and owners; the second is to accept anonymous letters of reporting from locals, and then conduct targeted verification - a martial arts sect that dominates a city probably has no shortage of enemies.

Of course, whether it is checking the register or the land, the difficulty lies outside the matter; I am mentally prepared for delays, deceptions, and even armed confrontation..."

At this time, the koi that had eaten all the fish food were gradually dispersing, and the green water pavilions of the princess's mansion were blending into the gentle breeze of July in the capital.

Xiao Chu had been in a relaxed mood since the beginning of the conversation, but when he saw Hong Fan's serious expression and thought that he was about to go to Qingzhou, he suddenly felt disgusted with the distance of Kyushu and the long time.

Therefore, the specific words directed at Du Tian were condensed into a warning when they came out.

"If there is danger, it is best to run away."

PS: The total number of words is just over 19,000.

Happy March to everyone~~
(End of this chapter)