On the Avenue.

Chapter 272: Guarding and Stealing
The three cabinet officials came to Chen Tang. Xia Canghai greeted them and said, "Master Chen, the Xia family does not want to be your enemy, but our family business is too big, and there are always some shortcomings in discipline. I hope you can forgive me, brother."

Chen Tang remained calm and returned the greeting, "I dare not."

Gao Quan came over and laughed, "Lord Chen has done a good job in managing the Ministry of Revenue, and he is also a good father. A good father will have a good son, a good father will have a good son!"

Chen Tang bowed and said, "Mr. Gao, thank you for your compliment."

Yan Shuhe came to him and said, "Please be magnanimous and don't take it to heart about what happened today. I will restrain the people in the clan."

Chen Tang said: "I am extremely terrified."

The three adults left.

Chen Tang watched them go away, quite puzzled. Just as he was about to ask Chen Shi, a voice said, "Master Chen, would you like to go for a walk together?"

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a carriage parked not far away. The window was open, revealing the profile of the Cabinet Prime Minister Zhang Fuzheng.

Chen Tang walked over and saw a servant opening the car door. Zhang Fuzheng had not come out yet. Chen Tang hesitated for a moment and got into the car.

Zhang Fuzheng asked him to take a seat, and the carriage started moving.

The carriages were moving from Guangjiku to the Ministry of Revenue. Along the way, Zhang Fuzheng didn't say a word and just sat there quietly.

Chen Tang sat opposite him, looking at the old man without saying a word.

When they arrived in front of the Ministry of Revenue, the carriage stopped.

Zhang Fuzheng said: "Many people just want me to have an attitude."

Chen Tang was slightly startled, then immediately understood and said, "Your Excellency the Prime Minister rode with me in the same car and sent me to the Ministry of Revenue to show your attitude to outsiders."

Zhang Fuzheng nodded slightly and said, "It's not enough."

He stood up and opened the car door for Chen Tang.

Chen Tang looked at him deeply, bowed slightly, and got off the carriage.

"Lord Chen." Zhang Fuzheng said.

Chen Tang turned around and saw Zhang Fu smiling.

Chen Tang smiled back.

Zhang Fuzheng returned to the carriage, restrained his smile, closed the door, and drove away from the Ministry of Revenue.

He didn't need to say much. Just a few small movements, a smile, and a call could make his attitude clear to all the forces in Xijing.

As a descendant of an aristocratic family, he must strive for the greatest benefit for his family as well as for his own benefit.

He had little experience and could not compete with the former Prime Minister Yan Xianzhi for the position of Prime Minister. If he wanted to secure the position, he had to find another way.

Before the arrival of Creator Xiaowu, Yan Xianzhi gave up the position of Prime Minister, and Zhang Fuzheng took the blame and became the Prime Minister, taking the blame.

Now, the ancestor of the thirteen families has recreated the creature Xiaowu, and the two sides are restraining each other. Yan Xianzhi wants to take back the throne of the Prime Minister, but Zhang Fuzheng has paid so much, how could he give him this opportunity?
Not long after, all the officials in Gongtian Prefecture, from the prefectural chancellor to the governor, and from the instructors to the inspectors, were arrested on charges of corruption and abuse of power, and were handed over to the East Factory and the Dali Temple for interrogation. The prefect, Xia Jiuge, took the blame and handed in his resignation, returning home.

For a moment, the whole government and the public were shocked and in uproar.

On the third day after the scholar Hai arrived in Beijing, the Gongtian Prefecture was in turmoil, even greater than the shock caused by the magic change in Gongzhou. The legend about the scholar Hai became more mysterious.

The Gongzhou rebellion only resulted in the annihilation of all local officials, but this time all the Beijing officials from Gongtianfu were wiped out. The weight of the officials in the two places is incomparable.

Gongtian Prefecture was in charge of finances, taxes, criminal justice, state affairs, provincial and imperial examinations in the capital area, and had enormous power. All matters, big or small, in Xijing and the surrounding areas except for the government were under the control of Gongtian Prefecture.

Not everyone can be the prefect of Gongtian Prefecture. He must be someone trusted by the court.

Xia Jiuge was born into the Xia family, one of the thirteen families. Now that he has retired and returned to his hometown, his successor must also be someone from the thirteen families. However, the power shift involved is not something outsiders can know.

Chen Shi returned home after a busy day. Chen Tang was already waiting at home and said, "The meal is ready."

Chen Shi washed his hands and face, glanced at the food on the table, and saw that the table was already full, so he asked, "Is it cooked in a black pot?"

"How do you know?" Chen Tang was puzzled.

Chen Shi sat down and said with a smile: "Hei Guo thought I was growing, so he cooked more meals."

Chen Tang was silent for a moment, feeling that he had not done as good a job as Hei Guo.

"How do you feel about Guangjiku?" he asked.

“It’s great, everyone is so friendly.”

Chen Tang nodded and said, "Those people you tied to the rocket?"

"Don't worry about them, they have been dismissed and investigated."

Chen Shi said, "Their family also came to Guangjiku and apologized to me."

Chen Tang was silent.

After a while, Chen Tang said, "Do you know why they are afraid of you? Today, several senior officials from the cabinet came to me and respected me because of you. This was not the case in the past."

Chen Shi thought for a moment and said, "There may be two reasons. The first is because of the cloud of corpses over Xijing."

Chen Tang nodded gently. The corpse cloud was caused by Xiaowu, the creator. Xiaowu did this to put pressure on Xijing and make them hand over the real culprit who cut Chen Shi's divine fetus. The Thirteen Families should have known the reason, so they were cautious about Chen Shi, fearing that Xiaowu, the creator, would start a killing spree.

"Another reason is that there might be something inside me."

Chen Shi said, "When Grandpa rescued me from the underworld, some things may have followed me in and hidden in my body. During the Gongzhou Demonic Change, I was beaten to death by a beggar, and the things in my body erupted, causing the second demonic change. This may be the reason why Xijing was unwilling to take action against me, which triggered these things."

Chen Tang asked, "What is it?"

Chen Shi hesitated for a moment and said, "It should be a lot of demons."

Chen Tang's heart skipped a beat and he asked, "How did they get into your body?"

Chen Shi opened his clothes, revealing the green ghost hand on his chest, and said, "It may have entered my body through this ghost hand. Granny Sha, Uncle Qingyang, and Uncle Hu know about this, but every time I ask them, they hesitate and refuse to speak clearly."

Chen Tang looked at the green ghost hand and saw that it moved slightly, like a living thing.

"Does it hurt?" he inquired.

Chen Shi felt warm in his heart and smiled, "It hurts. It crushed me to death many times. Fortunately, Grandpa, Granny Sha and Black Pot saved me many times."

Chen Tang glanced at the black pot sitting on the table and picked up some vegetables for it.

While the father and son were eating, Chen Tang said, "If you are unhappy working at Guangjiku, I can use my connections to transfer you out."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "I am very happy with what I did."

"Don't be corrupt and abuse your power."

"I don't!"

Early the next morning, Chen Tang went to court early. Chen Shi took Hei Guo out and came to the Ministry of Works. Hei Guo looked around.

Not long after, a clerk came out in a hurry, and Chen Shi left, followed by the clerk.

Chen Shi came to a teahouse and sat down. The clerk sat opposite him. He looked at the black pot outside the door and was quite surprised. He smiled and said, "Yan Jiu from Lu Ban Sect, nice to meet the instructor!"

Chen Shi asked, "You work in the Ministry of Industry? What's your position?"

"We don't have official positions, we are just clerks." The minor clerk Yan Jiu said, "We are responsible for the construction, we have no rank, we are just responsible for the work. Those with ranks are the ones who manage the people in the office, prison, and other places. Those of us who don't have family backgrounds can't get promoted."

Chen Shi was stunned: "People who work can't be officials? What's the logic behind this?"

"This has been the rule since ancient times. This is the way the world is." said the petty official Yan Jiu.

Chen Shi said: "Where is your sect leader? I need to use the power of Luban Sect to help me investigate something."

The clerk Yan Jiu stood up and said with a smile, "Wait a moment, Master. I will go and inform the Sect Master."

"Situ Wen is also in Xijing?" Chen Shi was surprised.

Not long after, Situ Wen, covered in dust, hurried to the teahouse. He looked at Hei Guo, who was standing outside the door, in surprise. He quickly came to sit in front of Chen Shi, drank the tea in the cup in front of him, and said with a smile, "What's the matter, Master?"

Chen Shi wondered, "Why is Tiangong in Xijing?"

Situ Wen smiled and said, "My disciples of Lu Ban Sect are all over the world. Fifty percent of the clerks in the Ministry of Works are disciples of Lu Ban Sect. Although our cultivation is not high, we are needed to build city towers and defenses and refine treasures. Recently, Xijing has a lot of business, so I am needed to supervise the construction."

Chen Shi told the story of Du County's search for Zhong Kui. Situ Wen smiled and said, "There are many disciples of my Lu Ban Sect, and there are quite a few in Du County. In recent years, my Lu Ban Sect has been needed for building houses, funerals, relocating graves, building bridges, and repairing roads in urban and rural areas of Du County. But when it comes to finding people, of course, the Hongshan Hall Talisman Masters are the best."

"Hongshan Hall?"

Chen Shi was so shocked that he asked in a lost voice, "When did Hongshan Hall open to Xijing?"

Situ Wen said, "We established a branch in Xijing before the New Year. Although there are no evil spirits in Xijing City, there are many and fierce evil spirits in the suburbs of Xijing. The government has repeatedly sent troops to eliminate the evil spirits, but the effect is not great. Therefore, many talisman masters rely on this for their livelihood. So Master Yu came here before the New Year and established a branch of the Talisman Master Association."

He explained that the Hongshan Hall Fu Shi Association did not come to the capital, but was active in counties and villages outside Xijing to worship Mazu in order to avoid government interference.

There were many talisman masters with extraordinary abilities in Xijing. They worked as minor clerks without official titles in the Qinglisi, the yamen of the six ministries. As the salary given by the court was too little, in their spare time, they worked as talisman masters and went to the countryside to sell talismans to exorcise evil spirits and earn some money to make a living.

Therefore, the Hongshantang Talisman Master Association was more prosperous in Xijing than in Gongzhou.

The Talisman Master Association itself is a mutual aid association for Talisman Masters, where they exchange talisman techniques and help each other. Most of these petty officials are not from aristocratic families, cannot climb up, do not have superior skills, and cannot improve their cultivation. Instead, they can learn good skills by joining the Talisman Master Association.

Situ Wen said: "Leave this matter to Zhuge Jian. Within three days, we will definitely find that Zhong Kui."

"Zhuge Jian is also in Xijing?"

Chen Shi stared at him, "Zhuge Jian also came to Xijing, are you hiding something from me?"

Situ Wen shook his head and said, "No. Zhuge Jian is now the incense master of Hongshan Hall. He came to Xijing with Master Yu to discuss the Xijing branch of Hongshan Hall."

Chen Shi looked at him with a half-smile: "Where's Shao Jing? Has Shao Jing come?"

When he was in Xinxiang years ago, he informed the talisman masters of Hongshan Hall that Shao Jing was the shopkeeper of Tianting and asked them to pass the message to Yutian City.

Situ Wen smiled and said, "The shopkeeper's business is very good in Xinxiang, but Xinxiang County is a small place after all, so he opened a branch of Juxianlou in Xijing, right on Nanjing Street. The shopkeeper also said that the coach's resurrection pills are selling very well, but unfortunately they are sold out. I hope the coach can send another batch."

Chen Shi crossed his arms over his chest and sneered, "So, you are also in Xijing City?"

The teacher he was talking about was Fu Leisheng, a private school teacher in Qiaowan Town.

Situ Wen shook his head and said, "The master is not in Xijing City. He is teaching talisman masters at the Xijing branch of Hongshan Hall. The Xijing branch of Hongshan Hall is in Gaoshan County under the jurisdiction of Xijing."

Chen Shi frowned and asked, "Who else has come to Xijing?"

Situ Wen smiled and said, "There are also the older generation in the Heavenly Palace."

Chen Shi's heart skipped a beat: "Grandma Sha? Uncle Qingyang? Uncle Hu? Are they coming to Xijing too?"

Situ Wen smiled and said, "Now they are the guest officials of the Xijing branch of Hongshan Hall. Although we youngsters can't fight, the guest officials are very good at fighting."

Chen Shi frowned. These lawless guys in Heaven had all come to Xijing.

Gaoshan County was a county under the jurisdiction of Xijing, only a hundred miles away from Xijing. Guangjiku was built thirty miles outside Xijing because there was too much gunpowder and they were worried about explosion. The two places were not far away, so it was very convenient to travel back and forth.

Situ Wen asked, "Does the coach want to see them?"

Chen Shi's eyes flickered, and he smiled and said, "Meet, of course. Tell them to meet at Guangjiku."

Situ Wen immediately found a talisman master and asked him to contact Yutian City, who would then notify Grandma Sha, Qingyang and others.

Chen Shi paid the money and went out with Situ Wen to Guangjiku.

Black Pot quickly followed the two men.

Situ Wen looked around and whispered, "Master, there are many listeners monitoring us. Moreover, there are many spies from various forces in Xijing..."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "That's why Black Pot needs to follow us. As long as they are not masters like Chen Tang, Black Pot can tamper with their memories and cognition."

Situ Wen felt relieved and asked, "What is Master Chen Tang's cultivation level?"

Chen Shi shook his head and said, "I don't know either, but it should be strong."

The two of them talked as they walked along the way. Situ Wen had made great progress in practicing the Dragon Skirt Art compared to half a year ago, and now he was already at the Spiritualization Realm. He was originally at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm, and with the complete Dragon Skirt Art, it was a natural process for him to break through the Nascent Soul Realm and become a Spiritualization Realm.

Chen Shi took out a wooden box and handed it to him. Situ Wen opened it and saw a magic weapon inside, which was a huge furnace with a diameter of more than ten feet. There were thousands of mirrors in the furnace.

Situ Wen was startled and asked in a lost voice, "The treasure of Bailian Hall?"

He quickly shut up. Bai Lian Tang also had many disciples in the Ministry of Works and had influence in Xijing. If the people of Bai Lian Tang knew that their Xuan Ji Bai Bian Furnace fell into the hands of Lu Ban Sect, there would probably be another big dispute.

Chen Shi asked: "Can the casting techniques of the Baibian furnace be used on the Luban Sect's magic weapon cardinal?"

Situ Wen couldn't hide his excitement, and said with a smile: "Lu Ban Sect is famous for casting magic weapons. Back then, Bai Lian Tang split and separated from Lu Ban Sect, which seriously damaged our vitality. Our Lu Ban Sect also refines magic weapons, but because of the split of Bai Lian Tang, the inheritance is not as good as before. Xuanji Baibian Furnace and Cardinal can complement each other!"

Chen Shi smiled and said, "That's good."

They came to Guangjiku, and soon after, Granny Sha, Qingyang and Hu Xiaoliang also arrived there.

The clerks in Guangjiku knew that the ambassador had an extraordinary background and even the prefect of Gongtian could not afford to offend him, so they did not dare to ask about Chen Shi's actions.

Granny Sha and Qingyang entered the Guangjiku, staring at it with wide eyes and touching everything. Hu Xiaoliang was timid, so he quickly told them not to touch anything randomly, lest it explode.

Situ Wen also stared at it, muttering: "In the past, these were all made by our Lubanmen, but now they are all made by the Ministry of Industry... Coach, can you put a few more?"

He stood in front of the caltrops that were more than a meter tall and looked at Chen Shi.

As soon as these words were spoken, Granny Sha and Qingyang immediately looked towards Chen Shi with expectant expressions.

Chen Shi smiled and said, "I am the ambassador of Guangjiku. The things in Guangjiku are mine. I will write a note to you later."

Everyone's eyes lit up, and the deputy envoy of Guangjiku was sweating all over. He said in a trembling voice: "Sir, it's hard to explain to the inspector..."

"Then don't explain."

Chen Shi said to the outside of Guangjiku, "Black pot."

A big black dog walked into Guangjiku, but the deputy envoy of Guangjiku and a group of minor officials turned a blind eye to the dog.

Chen Shi's confidence increased greatly as he looked at the countless firearms in the warehouse.

"With the three seniors from the Heavenly Court, Shenpo, Tianhu and Qingyang, and the vast storehouse of firearms, I want to see how capable this Zhong Kui is in fighting!"

——Thanks to the new alliance leaders Talking Weird Lamp, Can’t Afford a House, Great Wall Soldier, and Chaoyan Huaixi for their rewards and support. Thanks also to sy2246 ​​for another alliance leader reward.

Please give me a monthly ticket to reach the monthly ticket thirteen!
(End of this chapter)