Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 190 Struggle for Power
"Haha, the mayor is too polite. It's only natural for us to be ministers in the same palace." Taoist Huolong looked even better after hearing Kang Dabao's words. The annoyance he had felt towards Deng Baichuan and Xu Yingshi seemed to have dissipated a lot. He felt that the fat man in front of him looked extremely pleasing to the eye.

Xu Yingshi was about to speak when he was interrupted by Sect Leader Kang. Then, seeing how humble Kang was in front of Huolong Taoist, who was only at the Qingye Foundation Establishment Stage, he looked down on him even more. He just snorted coldly and said no more.

Although Deng Baichuan's temper was better, he had no intention of improving it. Sect Leader Kang seemed not to notice that the atmosphere was unusual and continued to chat with Taoist Fire Dragon before turning his attention to Deng and Xu.

"You two have worked hard recently." Kang Dabao smiled warmly and spoke politely.

"The mayor has gone too far. It is only my duty to be loyal to my country." Xu Yingshi still did not respond, but Deng Baichuan paused and still responded in an official tone.

"You are now thinking of serving the country with all your heart. Why didn't I see you when I was captured and sent to fight for my life with the disciples of Wuxiang Sect?" The head of the Kang Sect complained in his heart, but his smile remained unchanged. He immediately asked, "I wonder if the state court has issued any decree recently?"

"That's something you'll have to ask Senior Huolong." Deng Baichuan shook his head and looked at Taoist Huolong. Kang Dabao and Xu Yingshi also looked over, finally making Taoist Huolong feel the treatment that a senior who builds his foundation deserves.

The old man had prepared a plan in his mind, and then he said, "When Mr. Fei heard the layout presented by Chief Accountant Deng, he was very satisfied. He was also very pleased to hear that Lieutenant Xu Jia had recently wiped out all the bandits and robbed the nearby repairmen. Finally, he praised Lieutenant Kang for his command."

"Get to the point!" Taoist Huolong's flattery did not satisfy Xu Yingshi. Before he could finish, the latter interrupted him with a glare.

This made Huolong Daoist even more angry. "What a rebellious young cultivator! If you didn't have the blood and flesh of the Xu family from Dai County hanging on your body, I'll see how I would deal with you this time!"

However, this thought was only fleeting. Since Taoist Huolong was willing to kneel down and accept the amnesty from the state court, he was definitely not a person who did not value his life.

Therefore, even if Xu Yingshi, a descendant of a Yuanying family, spoke in an offensive manner, he would not dare to touch him even with a finger.

So the Taoist Fire Dragon had no choice but to put on a forced smile, thinking in his heart that it was very difficult to serve these young masters. It was more satisfying to kill people and rob when he was a black bandit.

"Sima Fei sent me to tell the three of you that now that the market has been fully prepared, we should first choose an auspicious day for the opening and report it to the Sima Mansion. If the two Simas are free on that day, they will also come to cut the ribbon." Taoist Huolong said this briefly. The three people had different thoughts and answered yes without saying anything else.

"The auspicious date for the opening of the business was not reported to the Governor's Mansion, but submitted directly to the Sima Mansion." Upon hearing this, Sect Leader Kang was surprised, thinking that Sima Fei didn't even want to go through the motions in front of Huo Bin.

As a military officer, Sima Fei should not have any involvement in matters related to people's livelihood and commerce in Chongming Market. But now he is directly in charge of the matter, bypassing the governor's office.
I wonder if Huo Bin, who was slapped in the face by his colleagues one by one, still has a piece of good meat on his face? This old man is already in decline. In the past few years, Tie Liuyun, who is also from the local faction, has repeatedly bullied him. After Fei Sima's actions, the foundation builders in Yunjiaozhou are afraid that he will not be taken seriously.

"That's good. This way, he won't have time to pursue the matter of me sleeping with his distant niece." Sect Leader Kang Da thought secretly. Because of the last time he was sent by Huo Bin to the spiritual stone mine in Tanggu County and almost died there, Kang Dabao really had no good feelings towards Huo Bing, the old foundation-building master.

Later, there were a series of events that helped the Kuai family fight against the Huo family. I think that in Huo Bing's eyes, the head of Kang Da was not a good thing either. If the latter really died earlier, it would be a good thing for Kang Dabao.

"It's just a few small things, we juniors can take care of it, so Senior Huolong doesn't have to worry about it. I have already sent people to prepare the cave mansion, and received a second-order medium-grade spiritual vein, which is just right for Senior's practice." Deng Baichuan made a gesture of invitation, and Taoist Huolong knew that he was trying to get rid of him.

"I'm almost two hundred years old, but I was chased away by three little brats. They really treat me as a thug." Taoist Huolong was even more dissatisfied, but he still didn't dare to get angry. He could only follow the waiters out in shame.

"He is a foundation-building cultivator after all. My two fellow Taoists, please be careful not to humiliate him too much." As soon as Taoist Fire Dragon walked out of the door, Master Kang in the room put away his smile, looked at his two colleagues and spoke sternly.

"Let Lord Mayor know that our David Immortal Dynasty is very big, and not all Qigong cultivators in the world are as afraid of foundation building as your fellow practitioners in Yunjiaozhou. The Ninth Prince was only twelve years old, but he fought alone against three Bingye foundation building cultivators with his Qigong body and won a great victory." Xu Yingshi could not hide the sarcasm in his words.

When the Five-phase Gate was attacked, Kang Dabao was just a pawn under his command. Unexpectedly, after the battle, Kang Dabao was commended by the state court, while Xu Yingshi was reprimanded by Sima.

That would have been fine, but the Fei family in Yingzhou actually wanted to marry off their daughter. They felt that marrying off a concubine's daughter first was not enough, so they replaced her with a legitimate daughter and married her off at the wedding banquet.

To be fair, even someone with a background like Xu Yingshi would be somewhat envious of such an opportunity.

After all, the daughters of the Fei family are famous all over the world. Since the establishment of this dynasty, countless princesses and ladies have come out of them. Although Xu Yingshi was born into a prominent family, he was only born as a concubine.

Even if you count dozens or hundreds of generations back, you can still find an ancestor who has reached the Nascent Soul stage, but if you want to marry the legitimate daughter of the Fei family, you still need to be of some quality.

If fame and fortune were not so hard to come by, why would he leave the wealthy capital and come to Yunjiaozhou to seek a future?

Xu Yingshi spent a lot of effort to slightly improve his image in front of the two Sima, and finally found an opportunity to be posted in Chongmingfang City, a place with abundant money. Kang Dabao, this annoying guy, unexpectedly became his immediate superior.
I don't know whether the fake Sima Gong, who was in charge of the appointment of the Royal Guards, did it on purpose, but to Xu Yingshi, it was really disgusting. It would be strange if he could have a good face towards Kang Dabao.

Master Kang could not see all the emotions in Xu Yingshi's heart, but anyone with eyes could see that the other party disliked him, so he did not argue with Xu Yingshi about the flaws in his words.

There are only a few Qi-cultivating cultivators in this world who can compare to the Ninth Prince, who is a golden branch and jade leaf. Not to mention practicing Qi to build the foundation, even if it is a battle between Golden Elixir and Nascent Soul, Kang Dabao would only be slightly surprised at most.

Most people in this world are mediocre. It is not easy to fight across levels. Most of the time, it is normal that a person at the first level of Qi training cannot defeat a person at the second level of Qi training.

Xu Yingshi and Deng Baichuan are too arrogant. They rely on their family background to look down on Taoist Huolong, who is a true cultivator of the foundation-building stage. Sooner or later, they will suffer a great loss.

Although Qingye's foundation building is of little use in the eyes of high-level cultivators, but in this remote place like Yunjiaozhou, how many people can successfully build a foundation on their own and who are easy to mess with?
Master Kang is not their master, so he doesn't need to say anything about this. After all, if something really happens, it can't be blamed on him.

Kang Dabao was used to being a cautious person. Even when he was facing the Taoist Fire Dragon and wanted to glare him to death with his golden eyes, he still acted respectful.

After all, if the current head of Kangda wants to deal with a true cultivator in the foundation-building stage, the best way is of course to ask Taoist Heilu for help. However, Taoist Heilu has been in seclusion since he failed to find Chen Ye last year.

This is a difficult situation. The Black Shoe Taoist cannot move. Even if the head of the Kang Sect gathers dozens of people from all walks of life in the Chongming Sect, practices the combined attack array for a year or so, and then faces the Fire Dragon Taoist head-on, they will most likely still be defeated miserably.
Revenge is not something that can be accomplished in a short period of time. The person we have to deal with is a true foundation-building cultivator who has not been able to be found in several generations of the Chongming Sect. We need to plan for the long term.

Kang Dabao ignored Xu Yingshi's words and turned his gaze to Deng Baichuan. This handsome young man with a long sword on his back came from a small family. He came to Chongming Market on the orders of his master. He would not be like Xu Yingshi who would let his emotions get involved in serious matters.

Facing the gaze of Kangda's head, Deng Baichuan just coughed and waved his hand, and the tightly closed side door opened without wind.

Feng En, the left chief accountant of Chongming Market, who worked very hard and never complained, appeared in front of the three people holding a pile of jade slips, bowed and greeted: "Greetings to the city lieutenant, the acting lieutenant, and the right chief accountant."

"No need for formalities. The Sima Mansion sent us a letter asking us to choose an auspicious day for the opening of the market. Please tell us if there is anything else that needs to be done so that we can have some reference."

During the time Deng Baichuan was in Chongming Market, apart from attracting some profitable businesses to operate here, he really didn't accomplish any real work.

However, Deng Baichuan cannot be considered a pure hands-off boss. Before Feng En came here, many matters had been reported to him individually.

Deng Baichuan asked Feng En to come here again this time because although the power to build the market town was secretly usurped by the two of them sent by the fake Sima Gun, Kang Dabao and Xu Yingshi were still the top two leaders of Chongming Market Town. It would be too much if they didn't know many things.

In addition, Gunjia Sima is a man who knows how to get things done. After all, Kang and Xu are not independent cultivators without any foundation. Gunjia Sima will not be stingy with many of the benefits that should be distributed.

"Thanks to the great blessing of the two Sima and the diligence of the two mayors, our Chongming market is almost complete. There are thirty large shops and one hundred small shops, all of which have been rented out to different households. The shortest lease is ten years, and the longest is half a century. In this way, we have recovered as much as 90% of the public funds used to build the market." Master Kang was a man who knew how to count, and he narrowed his eyes when he heard this.

Although the provincial government spent a lot of spirit stones on the construction of the Chongming Market, Master Kang had looked at all the shops in the market before the rents were offered, and had discussed them with Feng En, so he was deeply impressed.

At that time, Kang Dabao felt that the rents of these shops were not low and they might be difficult to rent out, so he even argued with Feng En about this. Unexpectedly, the provincial government got word that even if the rents were higher, they would not have trouble renting out.

Although the head of Kangda was short-sighted, he gave wrong advice.

But if it is true as Feng En said, Chongming Market has been collecting rents from shops for so many years, then the construction capital should have been recovered long ago. How could it be possible that only 90% was recovered?

As soon as Feng En finished speaking, Kang Dabao was about to ask a question, but he saw Deng Baichuan had already handed over two golden storage bags, one for each of Kang and Xu.

With just a quick sweep of his spiritual sense, Sect Leader Kang Da saw thirty mid-grade spirit stones neatly lying in the storage bag. It was unknown how many were in Xu Yingshi's bag. Kang Dabao knew it was not a small number just by looking at the satisfaction on his face.

"The two Simas were very pleased to hear about this. They thought that everyone had worked hard, so this is a special reward. The two city lieutenants can just take it with confidence. It's no problem." Deng Baichuan had a smile on his face, but he was actually paying close attention to the changes in the expressions of the two men. If there were anyone who really didn't appreciate his kindness, he would have to report it to the Sima Mansion for future plans.

"So that's how it is." Master Kang laughed and accepted it calmly. When he was a borer in the spirit stone mine, he thought that the Huo family was doomed to decline because of descendants like Huo Chun who were selfish and at the expense of the public. He never thought that these bigwigs from Gyeonggi Province were all the same.

Thinking about it again, it is not surprising. If the officials of the David Dynasty were all selfless and dedicated to their work, then how could the empire of their Kuang family fall into such a precarious situation.

It cost three thousand spirit stones just to send away a small character like Kang Dabao to keep his mouth shut. With so many officials from top to bottom in the Sima Mansion sharing the profits, I wonder how much it would cost.

Not to mention that the two Simas would naturally collect the lion's share. It was no surprise that after Chongming Market had collected rent for so many years, there was still a 10% gap in construction costs.

This spiritual stone may not be too hot to take. I think since the two Simas dare to take it, they must have the means to balance the accounts.

Even if things go wrong, the blame probably won't be put on the head of Kangda.

After all, he was praised by Nan'an Earl Kuang Liuting as a "loyal and righteous man". If he was singled out and labeled a "corrupt official", wouldn't that be a slap in the face of the Earl?
In a place like Yunjiaozhou, how different is there between slapping the Lord's face and taking up the flag of rebellion?
Since the head of the Kang family, who had a family and a business, had accepted the spirit stones, Xu Yingshi, who had come to Yunjiao Province alone to make a fortune, would not feel that the spirit stones were too hot to handle. He accepted them happily and looked at Feng En with anticipation in his eyes.

"It would be best if you could seal a storage bag after reciting a sentence."

After Deng Baichuan carefully examined the expressions of the two men, he felt relieved. He put away the sword, pen and jade slip hidden in his sleeves, and raised his head to signal Feng En to continue.

What Feng En said next made Xu Yingshi a little bored. How many shops in the market sold spiritual grains and rice, how much did they cost, how many alchemy shops were there and how were they distributed, how many brothels were there, and how many people were there.
When Xu Yingshi heard this, he became interested. After all, he would most likely become a VIP in the future, so it was normal for him to care about the price.

Unfortunately, Feng En only briefly mentioned the part that Xu Jiawei was most concerned about. After he finished speaking, he mentioned another matter: "The anti-theft office in the market has not been prepared yet. The two city lieutenants need to pay more attention to this aspect."

Kang Dabao and Xu Yingshi's eyes narrowed when they heard this. They thought that this was the arrangement made by the two Simas above them. They let Deng Baichuan take Feng En to manage the distribution of supplies, and let the two of them gather people to form an anti-theft team and jointly manage the armed organization in the market.

However, this may not be an easy task. What Taoist Huolong said before when he praised Xu Yingshi for having recently wiped out all the bandits and robbers nearby was just empty talk.

Not to mention that Xu Yingshi's several trips out were just for show, even if he really brought all the criminals nearby to justice, the three types of cultivators, robber cultivators, bandit cultivators, and evil cultivators, are just like the grass on the plain, which can grow again in the spring breeze.

There is no entry threshold to these three lines. Not only can one switch between them easily, it would not be surprising if an ordinary cultivator suddenly joined in one day.

No matter how powerful Xu Yingshi is, he is just a Qi training cultivator. How could he have the ability to wipe out all the enemies in such a short time?

The world is becoming more and more chaotic nowadays. In recent years, many foundation-building disciples who lost the protection of their sects after their mountains and temples were destroyed by the provincial government have gone out to kill and rob. As a result, the small families and independent cultivators in Yunjiao Province have had a harder time.

Since Chongming Market has set up such a large business, it naturally needs to have a reliable force on hand to deal with it.

According to the intention of the superiors, the anti-theft station to be built this time may be jointly managed by Kang Dabao and Xu Yingshi.

But when beggars go out to beg for food together, they have to make it clear who will take the first bite. So after this team was formed, it was unclear whether the surname was Kang or Xu.

Murder immediately appeared in Xu Yingshi's eyes, and Sect Leader Kang was frightened by his stare. If he had known this would happen, he would have brought Jiang Qing along as well. With the combined efforts of the three of them, even if they couldn't defeat this violent and violent guy, they should be able to protect themselves.

Now, it seems like there is some trouble.

"What? The fake captain wants to challenge me to a duel?" The atmosphere was solemn. Kang Dabao pretended to be calm and laughed.

Xu Yingshi snorted but didn't say anything, but his eyes didn't relax.

Deng Baichuan stood up with a smile and said softly, "Don't worry, the two lieutenants. My master has said long ago that we should build the thief arrest station first and let him take a look at it first."

Hearing this, Xu Yingshi's eyes softened. In his heart, Gunjia Sima, a superior who had fought his way up from a small fry to his current position, was far more important than the foundation-building Taoist Fire Dragon. Naturally, Xu Yingshi had to listen to what he said.

Since Sima Gunjia asked the two of them to build the anti-thief station first, they would have to recruit Latin soldiers and then take tests and training.

Xu Yingshi, who had suffered enough from the soldiers' laxity on the battlefield, frowned. If he gathered a group of scattered cultivators and formed an army in a hurry, he was afraid that they would not be in Sima Fa's eyes.

But he was unfamiliar with the place, where could he find anyone?

If Xu Yingshi, a man with not much brains, can think of it, then naturally the head of Kangda can also think of it.

However, after experiencing a series of events such as the expedition against the Caishi Wang family, the attack on the Wuxiang Sect, and the Sanxiang Sect's beast attack on the market, the original power situation in Pingrong County has basically been reshuffled. Many forces that were once close to the Chongming Sect have suffered heavy losses and are unlikely to be able to send manpower.

"Apart from my own disciples, where else can I get some reliable people?" Master Kang also fell into deep thought.

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(End of this chapter)