Near Jinting Mountain, the moon and stars are sparse, the cool breeze is blowing, and there is the faint sound of cockcrows in the distant villages, indicating that dawn is approaching.
Under the reflection of the waning moon, a handsome young man wearing a pale green robe and a loose posture suddenly appeared in the air.
But now the young man fell suddenly, cursing, and seemed very dissatisfied with where he appeared.
Fortunately, a strong gust of wind was summoned in time to hold him up, allowing him to land smoothly.
Of course, the young man was Zhou Bai who was thrown out of Jinting Cave Heaven. He was treated so well there, but he abandoned it when the time came.
If he hadn't passed the wind control skill, he would really have been thrown to pieces, and if the Jinshi who came out in front of him were in mid-air like him, they would definitely not get any benefits.
However, for the sake of concealment, this location was chosen really well, far away from the road, with a dense forest just below.
Now Zhou Bai's spiritual consciousness can explore a radius of fifty feet. Within this range, there are not even intelligent living creatures, so naturally the coordinates of the cave will not be exposed.
Flying to a high place, he found the direction of Shenjing City and followed it low to fly there.
One is to take a sneak peek, and the other is that there are still some unresolved issues at the court, such as the conditions for conferring officials and Jinshi.
You definitely cannot use the wind control technique to rush back to Dingzhou. The spiritual tide in the main world is coming slowly, and you need to give everything in the world time to adapt, otherwise the order of the world will be completely out of control.
Zhou Bai relied on Perfect Daoji's sensitivity to spiritual energy and could judge that the concentration of spiritual energy in the Gyeonggi area has not increased by more than 20% and has not yet undergone a qualitative change.
Just like this, while chasing stars and stepping on the moon, the morning sun gradually appeared and the sky became bright. Zhou Bai happened to be the first batch of morning guests to enter the Shenjing City.
Whether it is the outer city gate or the inner city gate, the number of soldiers on duty has doubled, and the defenses have become obviously tighter.
During the month that Zhou Bai left, something happened to Daxu.
However, the light curtain of the city protection formation did not light up, indicating that it had not moved at all. The huge Shenjing City was still full of people coming and going, and it was full of life.
Feeling the long-lost breath of the mortal world, Zhou Baichu was still a little uncomfortable at first, and even wanted to leave here immediately and find a remote mountain forest to retreat.
This is the normal reaction of most monks who are aspiring to Taoism. Entering the world of mortals will contaminate themselves with calamity, which will definitely hinder the progress of their cultivation.
But Zhou Bai was different. He just stood in the endless flow of people for a moment, and the aloofness in his body caused by Qianxiu instantly dissipated.
He even took the initiative to go to the busiest and most crowded morning market, talk to the old man who got up early to go out for a walk, helped the vegetable vendor who couldn't pick vegetables, took out the money full of copper smell, and went to eat in this mortal morning market. Go play.
This is a place that Taoists should stay away from, but Zhou Bai was like a fish in water. The dragon and carp above his head that had not moved for a long time began to become active, and his luck was connected with the distant Dingzhou.
A large piece of white energy fell from the sky, and it was a steady stream. He quickly judged that this was the newly added foundation energy.
Looking at the current time, at the end of April in the 47th year of Daxu Xiangxing, the mining of Shiwanshan fields should have been completed, and all spring planting had been completed.
The foundation of the grain fields is gradually formed, so it has the energy of foundation.
Zhou Bai's Tao is not transcendent from the world, but transcends the world.
In front of a breakfast stall, the rich aroma of donkey meat in sauce hits your face.
Zhou Bai couldn't help but stop: "Boss, let's grill the donkey meat. Increase the amount of donkey meat."
"Okay, sir, please wait a minute." As soon as the stall was set up, customers came to the door, not to mention how happy the stall owner was.
"Boss, how is your business lately? I see there are a lot more people in Shenjing City."
Zhou Bai remembered some of the convoys he had seen at the gate of the city before, dragging their families with them to the outside of the city in the middle of the night and pouring into the city early in the morning.
And the soldiers who were guarding the city were not surprised. It was obviously not a special case today.
"Sir, you don't know that Green Forest broke out in Dongtai half a month ago, and there was a lot of commotion. Although they did not conquer the prefectures and counties, the Green Forest rebels robbed the population, money and food of dozens of counties in the three states, and local officials and soldiers were There's nothing you can do about them." As soon as the stall owner mentioned these important things, his eyes suddenly lit up and he kept talking.
"Oh, so the new gentry in Shenjing City are all refugees from Dongtai? But they are just thieves, which can't be controlled by the county soldiers, nor can the three-state army?" Zhou Bai pretended to be like this, asked.
While the stall owner was handing the wrapped donkey meat to Zhou Bai, he said pitifully: "Alas, everyone knows that the largest river in the world is the Tianjiang River, but no one cares about the longest and largest mountain range, the Taishan Mountains. There are high mountains and high roads. It's dangerous, if the green forest thieves burrow into the mountains, no matter how many officers and soldiers there are, what's the use."
It’s time to say it or not, but that’s the point.
However, Zhou Bai did not keep chatting with him. Instead, he paid the money and continued to move forward.
After eating the spiritual fruit for a year in the cave, I almost thought my stomach couldn't adapt to it, but as soon as I ate it, I realized it tasted like this.
It is said that those who eat breath will live longer, and that eating ordinary food will affect the Tao body. In fact, the real impact is very small.
Not to mention that Perfect Daoji can naturally metabolize the dirt left in the body, and at most it will waste some mana to clean it up.
Since he wanted to follow a different path from that of ordinary monks, Zhou Bai could not abandon the habits of ordinary people, lest he would stand above others and break away from his own roots.
The color is fresh and tender, the meat is fragrant but not woody, the fragrance is long-lasting, soft and delicious...
After eating breakfast of donkey meat on fire, Zhou Bai made a comment, and then continued to analyze Dongtai while listening to other information from the crowd.
The forty-eight states in the Daxu world can be divided into several major sections based on geographical attributes: fifteen states in the central region, nine states in the east, ten states in the south (four states in the south of the Yangtze River and six states in Jinghu), seven states in the west and seven states in the north.
For example, the fifteen states in the Central Region are centered on the location of Shenjing and are bounded by the prosperous areas of the ancient Central Plains; Jiangnan is separated by the Huaijiang River, but this is only in a narrow sense. In a broad sense, everything south of the Tianjiang River is Jiangnan.
Dongtai is also delimited by a standard geographical location. The long and huge Taishan Mountains are separated between the Central Region and Dongtai. There are only a few waterways and mountain roads for transportation. It is very closed. It is almost as famous as Western Shu.
The unified dynasties of the past dynasties have attached great importance to maintaining the rule of places such as Dongtai and Western Shu.
Not only were soldiers stationed there, but the Daolu Division also stationed many Taoist officials along the way to keep news flowing. This was also a method used by the imperial court to control local officials.
It is difficult for ordinary soldiers to cross mountains and ridges, but Taoist officials can do it if they take a little time. It is common for even high-level Taoist officials to directly kill the heads of rebels with their swords.
The sudden outbreak of rebellion in Dongtai sweeping dozens of counties in three states shows that there are problems within the government of Dongtai and Jiuzhou, and the army and Taoist officials may have been infiltrated.
In this way, Dongtai Jiuzhou did not dare to jointly send troops easily. Firstly, they were afraid of causing greater trouble. Secondly, they were afraid that the effort would consume resources, and the result would be easily cracked by the insider.
This is why many knowledgeable gentry in Dongtai fled to Shenjing as soon as possible, because they knew that when the central government was unable to send troops, the Green Forest Rebellion would only intensify and not subside.
Zhou Bai had expected in Dongtian that all the conflicts in the world would break out one after another after the imperial examination, but he didn't expect that someone would take action so soon.
Needless to say, Dongtai's Green Forest Rebellion is definitely supported by someone, maybe Qianlong, or maybe a pioneer for the dragon.
"In the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and other waters in the boundless ocean, all official whaling ships have withdrawn to their ports. There are rumors that countless waterspouts are gathering in the depths of the ocean, and countless people on the seaside have moved inward."
"Serial earthquakes occurred in Western Shu, and the government's disaster relief warehouses were exhausted."
"There is a severe drought in Jinghu Lake, and Yunmeng is close to drying up."
"Locusts are swarming in the north. Spring seedlings have been devoured in three counties. Food shortages are foreseeable."
"At the same time, because Dongtai Green Forest was not wiped out in time, bandits in other places are ready to take action..."
By the time he entered the inner city, Zhou Bai had already understood almost all the major events of this month. It seemed that Da Xu was not far behind?
But no matter what, the imperial court is still a well-deserved giant, and it is still orthodox in the hearts of ordinary people.
Therefore, Zhou Bai cannot abandon the banner of the imperial court for the time being. He must take this official position, and he also has to submit to the imperial court the two conditions for passing the Jinshi examination.
When he came to the Ministry of Rites again, the person who received Zhou Bai was no longer an unknown official, but Kong Hanyu, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites.
During the sacrifice to heaven a month ago, all the officials in the imperial court saw the attitude of heaven. How could they dare to neglect the Jinshi and heavenly beings in the mortal world.
He was greeted with a friendly face and treated with tea. The right minister of the Ministry of Rites was a purple-robed official of the third rank, equivalent to the governor of Dingzhou, which was completely enough to give Zhou Bai an official.
Moreover, Kong Hanyu didn't show any emotion, he spoke softly and was very harmonious during the conversation.
"Zijian's path should be one of great progress, unlike Kong who spent 20 years as a Jinshi and entered the Dao without practicing. Alas, he is just a mediocre mortal."
Test his mind?
Zhou Bai cupped his hands and said calmly: "Your Excellency, you are laughing at me. You have served the country and the people, how can you compare to me, a Taoist thief who only wants to live a long life."
Kong Hanyu was slightly startled when he heard this, and thought to himself: Sure enough, like the previous Jinshi, they all wanted to seek immortality and return to heaven as soon as possible to rank among the immortals.
However, Kong Hanyu still wanted to be public-spirited and continued: "Zijian is the number one in the second class. Have you ever thought about getting any official position?"
Zhou Bai shook his head and saw Kong Hanyu took out two copies of his confession and showed them both to him.
The first one was edited by the Hanlin Academy and was of the seventh grade; the second one was for the magistrate of Pingcang County, Beian County, Dingzhou, and was also of the seventh grade.
"What does the court mean by this? Please help me clarify this."
Kong Hanyu stood up, walked to Zhou Bai, and slapped the two confessions on his tea table.
First, he pointed to the first one and said: "Originally, according to the previous practice, the top two can only be given the position of Shujishi, and the treatment is from the seventh grade. However, Zijian is too outstanding, and the imperial court cherishes his talent and gives him a special promotion."
Then Kong Hanyu pointed to the second copy and said: "As for this, this is the promise made by the imperial court to you. As long as you are willing to serve the imperial court, the county magistrate of your hometown will be yours. And there is no need to wait for the three-year transfer period, as long as one year, it will be done immediately." Whether you stay in the county or become a capital official, it all depends on you."
After saying that, Kong Hanyu stopped talking and waited for Zhou Bai to think about it slowly.
To be honest, this second confession is really tempting, especially for him who wants to fight for the dragon.
Who doesn’t understand the idea of borrowing a shell to lay eggs? There are many hidden dragons in history who have taken advantage of the imperial court.
Once he becomes the magistrate of Pingcang County, not only Cangshan but also the entire Pingcang County will become his foundation, and he won't have to worry about anyone accusing him of evil intentions.
But the change of dynasty is the overall situation set by the heaven. If you can't work together and still do your best for the court, you will definitely not be reused by the heaven.
After the full-scale war between the two worlds breaks out, is it possible that Zhou Bai can rely on the Daxu court?
So without thinking for a long time, Zhou Bai reached out and asked for the editor's certificate from the Hanlin Academy.
Kong Hanyu did not let go this time, he held him down and said: "Zijian, the regent values you very much. If you practice like this, you may only become a small immortal official and may not live forever, but you will definitely have a seat among the high-level righteous gods in Longting." "
It turns out that a few days ago, Emperor Xiangxing, who was seriously ill in bed, issued a decree to officially appoint Jingrui as regent, temporarily taking charge of national affairs. The prince studied with him.
"Also, the magistrate of Pingcang County has been replaced. I heard that he is not very friendly to the Zhou family."
Kong Hanyu said the last sentence very softly. If Zhou Bai hadn't had good hearing, he might not have been able to hear it clearly.
The county magistrate who will make things difficult for their Zhou family is probably the backstage of the Zhao family, but he is about to break up, so why worry about a county magistrate.
Carrot and stick? It's a pity that Zhou Bai, who has his own plans, can't change his mind easily.
After his firm smile, Kong Hanyu still let Zhou Bai take it away and sue him.
"Alas, now that Editor Zhou has made his decision, he must not forget the kindness of the imperial court in the future."
"I should not forget the court's favor, but what do you think of the two conditions for Jinshi?" Zhou Bai asked directly without any embarrassment.
"Since it is a custom-made imperial examination, the court will certainly not regret it. Let's talk about it. It is a reasonable request to remember." Kong Hanyu was startled and shook his head.
】
Zhou Bai took a deep breath and said seriously: "The emperor of Pingcang County has made great contributions to the people and is deeply loved by the elders in his hometown. Please ask the imperial court to promote him to a divine rank."
Kong Hanyu nodded and signaled Zhou Bai to continue.
"The other one is for the family. Because I want to pursue immortality, I want to find a foundation for the family. Please ask the court to reward Cangshan Mountain to my family for farming mountain fields for a period of sixty years."
Kong Hanyu heard that it was quite reasonable. He did not refute it, but had some doubts: "Cangshan? No matter what you use it for, sixty years is too long, how about ten years?"
Zhou Bai agreed, held up his hands and explained: "I predict that there will be a shortage of food in the north in the future, so I just want to grow something to satisfy my hunger. You can check that my clan is the only one growing food in Cangshan Mountain."
After the dust settled, there was another round of pleasantries.
Zhou Bai left the Ministry of Rites happily with the seventh-grade red robe official uniform, the editor's personal report, and a ten-year mountain deed stamped with the seal of the Ministry of Household Affairs.
The right minister of the Ministry of Etiquette intervened, and the work was done very efficiently, and even the indictment to Long Ting was burned.
As long as Longting confirms it, Pingcang City Emperor can complete the upgrade to the divine level.
This was the condition the city emperor put forward when he took action to clean up the ghosts in Cangshan Mountain and formed an alliance with Zhou Bai. Naturally, he would not forget it.
In the Imperial City, the regent Jingrui heard Kong Hanyu's report, but he was only a little regretful and did not suspect anything.
"Come on, as long as you don't cause trouble to the court... Princes, you can loosen the rope, I want to see what they can do.
After Zhou Bai received Wei Jing at Taipu Temple, he left the city and returned to his hometown without stopping.
News also came from Xuan Yiwei that the new county magistrate was not very peaceful, and many plans of the inner government were blocked.
Looking from afar, calamities are rising everywhere, and storms are coming...
Dingzhou was in the corner and was slow to notice, but Zhou Bai could see clearly.
