Dragon Ball, simultaneously traversing countless worlds

Zhang Xubai spews water and fire from his mouth; those magicians can do that too, they can even conjure water from an empty bowl and pass through walls at will.

Zhang Xubai can fly, but that's nothing. The magicians can also perform the "Immortal Rope," a hemp rope that goes up to the sky. People can climb up the rope and even pick peaches from the sky.

Magic tricks are not a modern invention; professional magicians existed as early as the Han Dynasty.

Huang Gong of the East Sea was equivalent to Liu Qian of the Han Dynasty.

It was precisely because they had seen so many magic tricks and so many swindlers bewitching the emperor that many officials rationally stopped believing in the existence of immortals. Xu Churen, a capable and efficient official, was one of them. He didn't even believe that Kou Zhun had transformed into the City God and fought against Luo Yan.

His mentality is similar to that of later generations of elites who have received advanced education in mathematics, physics, and chemistry, who do not believe in feudal superstitions. Even if they see something with their own eyes, they will think it is a scam and insist on finding flaws in it to explain it with their own logic and concepts.

Xu Churen's stubbornness wasn't entirely wrong, but now that his stubbornness had caused the army to be transferred away from Daming Prefecture, it was a huge mistake.

Luo Yan's army approached the city, unleashing the "Heaven and Earth Manifestation" technique, with his Iron Eagle Warriors soaring through the heavens and earth behind him.

Xu Churen, standing on the city wall, was dumbfounded as he watched the Iron Eagle Warriors descend from the sky and Luo Yan reveal his true form, wielding various ferocious weapons.

"Master, there really are ghosts and gods in this world!"

Xu Churen's worldview completely collapsed at this moment.

If even the officials are like this, how can the soldiers standing on the walls guarding the city still have any fighting spirit?

In addition, some soldiers also heard that after Junzhou was captured, Luo Yan killed almost no people except for some heinous criminals. He not only treated the surrendered soldiers well and sent them back to their hometowns, but also distributed land to the local people.

Surrender and you'll be safe, plus you'll get a share of the land. Is there anything better in the world?

Many people wavered, and some even secretly glanced at Xu Churen, wondering whether they should cut off their superior's head and open the city gates to welcome the Lotus Boy.

Amidst the unrest, Xu Churen sensed something was wrong and quickly ordered his personal guards to send a supervisory team to the city wall to calm the crowd.

Regardless of whether Xu Churen still had the will to fight or could defeat Luo Yan, as an official of the Song court, Xu Churen needed to be loyal to the emperor. Even if it were truly a rebellion by gods, he was unwilling to hand over Daming Prefecture and become a sinner for the Song Dynasty for all time.

One by one, fierce supervisory teams climbed the city walls. These supervisory teams were all members of the clansmen and sons of local wealthy gentry in Daming Prefecture.

When they heard about the fate of the local tyrants in Junzhou and learned that Luo Yan was going to judge their past sins and divide their land, they were terrified and spontaneously organized their family's henchmen, servants, and branch families to help Xu Churen defend the city.

With these men, who used to be notorious in the countryside, serving as the supervisory team, some of the soldiers guarding the city became more obedient.

The mutiny that Xu Churen was worried about was temporarily suppressed, but he dared not stay on the city wall. He quickly retreated to the inner wall and was then surrounded by a group of gentry.

"Lord Xu, you must protect Daming Prefecture! The lives of my entire family are in your hands."

"Lord Xu, I am willing to donate fifty shi of grain. Please, Lord Xu, do not let the thieves enter the city."

“I am also willing to donate fifty bushels of grain, and I will provide thirty servants to help you defend the city.”

Normally, these extremely stingy gentrymen, when faced with the crisis of the city falling and being purged, finally showed a willingness to donate money and goods, but the amount was laughable.

The person who first offered to donate grain was willing to donate fifty shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain.

Fifty shi of grain was quite a lot. In the Song Dynasty, one shi was equal to 59.2 kilograms. If he donated fifty shi, it would be equivalent to donating nearly three thousand kilograms of grain.

But this man is a famous grain merchant in Daming Prefecture. He transports grain along the Yellow River, and each boatload of grain weighs more than ten tons. The three tons of grain he donated is less than a fraction of his caravan's monthly freight volume.

Although the fact that these gentry were still so stingy in the face of disaster displeased Xu Churen, he still pretended to be moved and promised in front of everyone that he would defend Daming Prefecture to the death.

Just after Xu Churen finished making his promise, a huge explosion was heard from the outer city.

The explosion shook the ground, and Xu Churen and several old gentry almost lost their footing and fell to the ground.

"What happened? Xu Jia, Xu Jia, go see what's going on in the outer city."

Xu Churen had a bad feeling and hurriedly ordered his personal guards to investigate.

However, before Xu Jia's personal guards could make a move, a dark mass of armored soldiers appeared on the inner city wall of Daming Prefecture.

It was Luo Yan's Iron Eagle Warriors who occupied the inner city.

Their steel armor blazed with flames, and the armored warriors floated in the sky like celestial soldiers, making it impossible for anyone to muster any thought of resistance.

"The walls of Daming Prefecture have been breached. All soldiers who surrender immediately will not be killed!"

"Surrender and you will not be killed! Surrender and you will not be killed!"

The roar of the eagle echoed in the sky. The soldiers on the city wall hesitated for only a few seconds before dropping their weapons and kneeling down.

The guard Xu Jia said anxiously, "Master, there's no need to look anymore. The bandits must have used firearms to breach the city walls. They have now occupied the walls, and the defense has failed. Master, we should escape for our lives!"

Xu Churen was in a daze, staring at the Iron Eagle Warriors in the sky, lost in thought.

The gentry who had previously surrounded him all fled in terror, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"How did they break in so quickly? How could they have done it so fast!" The calm light in Xu Churen's eyes disappeared. He had failed the emperor's expectations and lost Daming Prefecture. He was filled with self-blame and even contemplated suicide.

Looking at the sword at the waist of his personal guard Xu Jia, he only thought of committing suicide by throwing himself on the sword to end it all.

Xu Churen suddenly reached out to snatch Xu Jia's waist knife. Xu Jia was terrified and quickly stopped him, saying, "Master, what are you doing!"

"I have failed Your Majesty! I lost Daming Prefecture, and the bandits could have gone straight to Kaifeng Prefecture. I have ruined the Song Dynasty. What face do I have left to live!"

Xu Jia was tongue-tied and couldn't think of a way to persuade the master. He could only struggle with Xu Churen for the waist knife, and the two of them ended up disheveled and in a sorry state.

At that moment, a magnificent giant stepped into the city and roared with thunderous force, "Where is Xu Churen?"

Chapter 208 Treating the Talented with Respect and Winning Hearts and Minds

The sudden sound was like a question from a deity in the heavens.

Xu Churen and his personal guard Xu Jia were both terrified by Luo Yan's enormous Dharma image.

Xu Churen's grip on the waist knife loosened, and he collapsed to the ground.

Looking up at the fifty-meter-tall Luo Yan, he felt as insignificant and small as an ant, filled with awe, and even the thought of suicide faded considerably.

"Immortal, Xu Churen is at your feet!" A sycophant shouted from afar, pointing at Xu Churen.

Upon hearing this, Luo Yan ignored the sycophant and simply looked down.

A man in his sixties, dressed in the official robes of the Song Dynasty, with a wrinkled and aged face, slumped to the ground.

Beside him was a young man holding a waist knife, who was making snatching and pushing motions towards the old man.

At first glance, it looks as if Xu Jia pushed Xu Churen down and was about to kill him.

Luo Yan noticed Xu Churen's predicament and angrily said, "You wicked servant, don't you dare harm Master Xu!"

He shrank rapidly and kicked Xu Jia, breaking his bones and tendons, sending him flying backward, coughing up blood.

Xu Jia: "?"

After Luo Yan returned to normal human size, he earnestly helped Xu Churen up and said, "I'm sorry to have frightened you, Master Xu."

Xu Churen was truly stunned. He stammered, "Those were my personal guards."

"What?" Luo Yan asked, puzzled.

"The one you kicked away was my personal guard, Xu Jia!" Xu Churen said anxiously.

"Uh..." Luo Yan was embarrassed. He waved his hand and used his mental power to support Xu Jia, who was on the verge of death, and said, "I misunderstood. I will heal Master Xu right away."

Luo Yan's magical power surged, and he used his miraculous healing spell. White light covered Xu Jia, his broken bones healed, and his torn muscles were repaired. In the blink of an eye, Xu Jia was back to normal.

Xu Jia, who had miraculously survived, gasped for breath, looking at Luo Yan with fear and cowering in terror.

Luo Yan nearly kicked him to the brink of death. Even Xu Jia, a fierce warrior capable of taking on three opponents at once, was afraid in the face of such a ruthless person.

In fact, Luo Yan didn't use any force at all. With his Kryptonian bloodline and Super Saiyan 3 aura, a casual strike could easily destroy a planet or even collapse a mountain. If he really used his strength, Xu Jia would have been reduced to blood and gore flying everywhere.

After treating Xu Jia, Xu Churen's attitude towards Luo Yan improved considerably, probably because he thought that Luo Yan, this rebel, was a reasonable person who would not indiscriminately kill innocent people.

Xu Churen straightened his clothes and said, "Now that Your Majesty has already captured Daming Prefecture, why would you need to look for a defeated soldier like me?"

Luo Yan smiled and said, "I want you to continue governing Daming Prefecture."

"what?"

Even though Xu Churen was worldly-wise and experienced in dealing with people, he was still shocked by Luo Yan's words.

"Does the King want me to continue governing Daming Prefecture?"

Xu Churen thought he had misheard and asked again.

"Yes, I am willing to treat Lord Xu with the respect due to a prime minister and help me govern Daming Prefecture."

Luo Yan answered again, his expression serious, showing no sign of joking.

He had two reasons for allowing Xu Churen to continue governing Daming Prefecture.

Firstly, Daming Prefecture has a large population and complex power dynamics, which is incomparable to Junzhou.

Junzhou, along with all the people in the surrounding counties, had a population of only 100,000. There were only a dozen or so local tyrants and gentry. The environment was simple, and basically any county magistrate in later generations could govern it well.

After Luo Yan used magic to instill knowledge in a group of young people, their methods and insights, while sometimes leading to mistakes in governing Junzhou, did not cause any major problems.

However, Daming Prefecture was different. In the second year of the Qingli reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, the population of Daming Prefecture had already exceeded one million.

After eighty years of development, the population of Daming Prefecture has increased several times over. Even though the population of Daming Prefecture decreased significantly after the Xuanhe Uprising, it is still very large, maintaining a scale of one million.

A city with a million inhabitants cannot be governed by young men who have only been taught knowledge but have no experience in dealing with people.

Being an official doesn't mean you can govern a place well just by reading a few books on Marxism-Leninism and urban development planning.

The most important thing for an official is to conduct oneself properly, weigh interests, and understand people's hearts.

Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—each class has its own interests and demands. Handling these demands well is the way of being an official.

Luo Yan's subordinates are currently mostly inexperienced young people who can't grasp the underlying principles, so he needs an experienced person to take charge of the overall situation.

Xu Churen was the talent selected by Luo Yan.

Xu Churen had a good reputation as an official. When he first took office, the barbarians rebelled. Xu Churen entered the village, showed them kindness, and explained the importance of trust and righteousness. The barbarians were moved to tears and vowed never to rebel again.

This shows that Xu Churen was a kind and virtuous person.

Emperor Huizong inquired about the harvest in the eastern part of the capital, and Xu Churen answered by mentioning drought and locusts. When asked, "Are there thieves in the towns?" Xu Churen replied, "Yes." Emperor Huizong then concluded that Xu Churen was honest and trustworthy, and did not deceive him.

His ability to make fluent and decisive judgments while acting as the prefect of Kaifeng demonstrates that he was not pedantic or weak, but rather decisive.

When Tong Guan was sent to Shaanxi, he wanted to stabilize prices. Xu Churen thought it was inappropriate, saying, "Once this order is issued, merchants will stop doing business, and those who hoard goods will not bring them out. In name, it is to stabilize prices, but in reality, prices will rise."

This shows that he also understands business and economics.

During the reign of Emperor Qinzong, Xu Churen was appointed prime minister and suggested storing grain to prepare for defense against the Jin army. When the Jin army retreated north, he also requested an ambush to attack their rear.

His strategy for dealing with Luo Yan was also sound; he knew to guard the ferry crossing closely and prevent Luo Yan from crossing the river.