Perhaps it was because the imperial court's orthodox reputation was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, or perhaps Gao Hu's attitude was too arrogant and domineering, which aroused everyone's disgust.
Several gentry officials immediately started shouting, and they were all very angry.
"What, a sixth-grade ancient noble from heaven, a general who subdues demons?"
"What's this name?"
"Could it be that you just made it up at random and used it to tease us?"
After all, Shou Heng was the county magistrate. After half a year in office, he promoted several six-room officials as his confidants.
Seeing Shou Heng's silence and embarrassment, they thought they were angry with the reckless man below the city, so they started yelling curses.
As a scholar, he read a lot of "sage books", and he did not fall behind in the scoldings with Gao Hu and others.
"You rats are very capable of doing extremely dirty things."
"You guys, don't cause trouble!"
"How dare you, my mother-in-law, dare to go against the imperial court..."
It's just that one party is making vulgar remarks all over the place, and the other party is using a gun and a stick to curse, but it has a different style.
"Okay, stop!"
Shou Heng angrily scolded his men to stop the scolding, and then said with a gloomy face: "Quickly go and invite the Taoist officials. I know the Lord of Heaven. I have also seen this ancient Lord of Heaven in a certain Taoist scripture."
"Yes, County Lord, I'll go right away."
The city suddenly became quiet. There were many scholars among them, but the one who really talked about reading the Taoist scriptures was Shou Heng, a fellow Jinshi.
Is there really a so-called demon-suppressing general?
Why would heaven violate the tacit rules of the upper and lower realms and interfere in mortal affairs like this?
How can they stop the establishment of a palace in the name of Tianjue?
Fighting, or not fighting, they will be roasted on the fire.
Soon, the army was getting closer and closer, and the Taoist officials sent to invite them hurried to the head of the North City.
Shou Heng frowned slightly when he saw that the Taoist official who had arrived was very young, and then he raised his hands with some discomfort and asked, "Is this Taoist priest Xianyun here? Is Zhang Lingdao not in the city?"
In the mortal world, although it is regarded as the orthodox and mainstream path of spiritual practice, it is to follow the Dharma first and follow the scientific path.
But it is often the solitude and large and small sects in various places that produce the most monks.
Only those who have passed the imperial examination are qualified to practice Taoism, but how many candidates can be qualified in one imperial examination?
Zhou Bai participated in the Dingzhou Rural Examination in the 46th year of Xiangxing. In a large state, the number of candidates was only fifty.
The provincial examination only takes place every three years, which means that in the three hundred years of the dynasty, Dingzhou could only have 5,000 candidates.
Excluding those who are dedicated to serving as officials and enjoying wealth and status, less than half of the five thousand people are left.
How many of these half can truly enter the Tao, and how many can make breakthroughs after entering the Tao and live to the present.
The world of immortal cultivation in Dingzhou is not prosperous, but there are only a few hundred orthodox cultivators, which is really just a minority.
It is too difficult for individual cultivators to seek Taoism, and it is difficult to gather them into a big trend. It is the sect monks who must be controlled by the heaven and the imperial court.
All sects on the list of the Imperial Daoist Records Department must regularly send sect disciples, deacons and even elders to serve as imperial Taoist officials.
It's just that the imperial court cherishes its own luck and is reluctant to give too much profit to the sect. The grades of Taoist officials given by the past dynasties will always be very low.
Generally speaking, one can be a ninth-grade ordinary Taoist official in the Taoist realm, and one can be an eighth-grade Taoist official in the mortal realm, also known as the Taoist leader.
The leading Taoist official is usually the person in charge of the Taoist officials in the county. Extraordinary events within a county can be handled by him, and the court will often endorse him.
】
When you reach the seventh level, only a real Yin Shen can take over. A county is the political center of a land thousands of miles away, and most of the time there is only one real Taoist official in charge.
Regardless of whether Shou Heng is a scheming person and likes to work hard, his background as a top three scholar and a Jinshi is solid.
For real people who have the same life span as the imperial dynasty, even if they have the same official rank, he will treat them as if they were inferior officials.
And Zhang Lingdao, whom Shou Heng said was the head of the Taoist officials in his jurisdiction, naturally had to be respected.
As for Xianyun, he is an ordinary young Taoist who has only just entered the Taoist realm a few years ago.
In addition, he also heard that he had a poor background and was a core disciple of an ordinary small sect. He could not even squeeze out one person to serve as a rotating Taoist official for several years.
Outside the city, the Demon-Suppressing Army was about to arrive, but the leader who could really relieve him of his worries was not there. How could he have much patience with Xianyun?
Xianyun seemed to sense Shou Heng's attitude, and handed over the eighth-grade Taoist official seal in his arms, and replied neither humble nor arrogantly: "Zhang Lingdao left with the seal yesterday, and his whereabouts are unknown."
"What, why didn't I, the chief official of the county, get the news? Isn't he afraid that Dao Lu Si will investigate him?!" Shou Heng's face became more and more ugly, with veins popping up on his forehead. He was obviously extremely angry.
That leader was from the second realm of Pingcang and was well-informed. He must have learned about the news in Hongni Township and didn't want to get into any more trouble.
Dong Yi, the county magistrate next to him, received the Taoist official seal and inspected it. It turned out to be the original seal made by the Daolu Department of the imperial court.
"People from outside the country cannot be trusted! I must join him!" Shou Heng slapped his hand on the battlement, and the severe pain could not cover up his panic at this time.
The leaders have all run away, and the news that Zhou Bailing has the Heavenly Lord is most likely true.
Shou Heng's attitude did not make Xianyun feel uncomfortable. Instead, he continued: "Xiao Dao studied the history of the sect and found out that the matter of Tian Jue was indeed recorded in the handbook of the founder of our sect. Heaven is above, and no majestic heavenly man would dare to do so. Tianjue’s dignity has deceived you.”
The last sentence is a very simple truth. As a heavenly being, how dare you act in the name of a heavenly noble?
There was no really stupid person present. They didn't want to believe Gao Hu's words just because it was too unbelievable.
How long has Zhou Bai been a genius? How could He De achieve such a feat? !
Some officials and gentry were still struggling, but the representatives sent by the Shi family and the Yu family took advantage of the chaos and quietly left.
They were not the only smart people. Xu Yun, the county captain, rolled his eyes, suddenly held his stomach and screamed for abdominal pain, and then left the city with the help of his own soldiers.
The incident happened so suddenly that even Shou Heng had no time to stop it.
The master who had been silent could no longer sit still and whispered in his ear: "Sir, you should choose trustworthy soldiers to guard this place."
Shou Heng looked around. Except for the three squads of government officers he could control, they were all county soldiers and patrolmen.
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he loudly ordered: "Send the order, use Captain Tu's battalion to guard the north gate, and the rest of the soldiers will withdraw first."
Since the last time he discovered that Xu Yun didn't listen to greetings, Shou Heng spent a lot of money to buy off this battalion of county soldiers.
Regardless of whether he was loyal or not, the county barracks officer Tu Xiaowei wanted to follow the path of the Sixth Prince and was transferred to Lingzhou for promotion, so he was very cooperative.
In the noisy and chaotic defense change, I don't know how many powerful gentry left, and even the chief secretary Chen Gu was mixed in with the crowd of soldiers in the lower city.
When the county soldiers of this battalion had just taken control of the walls and gates of the north city, the demon-suppressing troops led by Zhou Bai arrived.
At noon in mid-autumn, the sun was shining brightly, and five thousand demon-subduing troops stood at the foot of Pingcang City, orderly and silent.
Everyone is wearing black armor and has sharp weapons, including swords, guns, shields, bows and arrows.
The pioneer cavalry troops from Yidu who were the first to arrive at Mingmen were all brave and elite. They already made Shou Heng and other officials feel that they were in great danger. With all the cavalry troops from the three capitals in Pingcang County soldiers, it would be difficult for them to win a big victory.
Now the demon-suppressing army below is looking forward to becoming a strong army!
Ten battalions of infantry, fully equipped with armor and weapons. How was this accomplished?
They couldn't understand how the Zhou family, who was a member of the Xiang clan half a year ago, could raise an army of five thousand.
The people in the border areas are fierce, and it is possible to form an army of five thousand warriors, but where do these weapons come from?
Especially the five thousand pairs of black armor, could it be supported by the Kingdom of Jin?
Shou Heng was just an elite member of Daxu, and he understood that it was impossible with just a moment's thought. Five thousand armored stomachs was an extremely large number for the Kingdom of Jin.
So far, the Jin Kingdom has only its core infantry with iron armor.
If the higher-ups don't understand, how can the soldiers guarding the city understand? And people will have invisible fears about things they don't understand.
The black and overwhelming demon-suppressing army made many county soldiers fearful just by standing there.
Many of them had participated in the suppression of bandits in Cangshan, and they knew very well that if the other party was the kind of village patrolman, it would be easy to capture the county seat.
"One last statement, General Fumo is adhering to the destiny and preparing to destroy the enemy from outside the territory. It is now necessary to requisition Pingcang County as the place to open the government."
"Open the door within half an hour, otherwise our demon-suppressing army will directly attack the city!"
With all the demon-subduing troops in place, Gao Hu's shouts became louder and louder, and his voice containing martial arts energy was rolling like thunder.
Since he recognized Zhou Bai as his master, his military star destiny gradually came into play. He practiced the martial arts of killing based on the essentials of martial arts and made rapid progress in the country.
Now Gao Hu has reached the peak of acquired martial arts, and is only one step away from reaching the limit of martial arts training for mortals, becoming an innate master.
"Kill!" The five thousand demon-subduing troops shouted in unison, their blood surged up, shaking the dust on the city wall.
Lieutenant Tu's expression changed uncertainly. Looking at the demon-suppressing army below who were immediately building ladders and siege rams, he realized at this moment that he seemed to have been fooled.
Pingcang is short of water all year round, and even the county seat has no moat. It is completely possible to attack the city directly.
If you follow Shou Heng now, you will not only have no future, but you may also lose your life.
Captain Tu felt that he could wait no longer, so he hurriedly ran to Shou Heng and asked for his orders: "Your Majesty, Mr. Xu and I have dealt with Editor Zhou before. Maybe we can negotiate terms."
What else can Shou Heng do at this time? Civil servants like them naturally have high positions and authority in the peaceful and prosperous times, and they can settle everything.
But now that troubled times are coming and we don't have any soldiers, we can't just listen to the generals' opinions.
"Go and tell Zhou Bai that he is still Daxu's Hanlin editor and Yunqiwei, and he wants to leave some dignity for the court."
After receiving the approval, Tu Xiaowei gritted his teeth and acted as the county magistrate's envoy, and actually went out of the city to meet Zhou Bai in person.
I thought that Shou Heng's concession would delay a lot of time. At least the back and forth would prevent them from attacking the city again today.
As a result, without a cup of tea, Captain Tu returned to the city in a hanging basket in disgrace.
"Your Majesty, this is the resignation form of General Fumo, and I ask you to hand it over to the imperial court."
Shou Heng took it over and took a look. Sure enough, it was Zhou Bai's resignation form from his resignation as Hanlin editor. The content was extremely dry, with a few simple sentences.
The general idea is that since he is a general who subdues demons in heaven, he should concentrate on heavenly affairs. If he cannot fulfill his duties as an imperial officer, he submits his resignation.
This was shameless. Shou Heng had no one to rely on anymore, so he could only ask blankly: "Then he didn't refuse the title of Yunqi Lieutenant?"
Lieutenant Tu replied awkwardly: "General Fu Mo said that Lieutenant Yunqi was earned by killing the Jin man. It was proof that he protected the country and the people, and there was no need to resign."
When Shou Heng heard this, he knew that Zhou Bai just wanted to get a position without responsibility.
Resigning from the official position and retaining the title of Yunqiwei may not have much to discuss with him as the Pingcang County Magistrate, but it happens to leave some room for maneuver in the court.
If he becomes big in the future, the court may give him a fifth-class title.
Shou Heng already understood that there was nothing he could do against Zhou Bai.
At the same time, he thought of the colleagues who were also under the Sixth Prince, and all of them had achieved good positions in Lingzhou.
And I have been in the border areas of Dingzhou for more than half a year. Not only has I achieved nothing, but I have been forced into such a desperate situation.
It seems that now that the city gate cannot be opened, he has no good way out.
Shou Heng laughed angrily and said: "Hahaha, you are doing heavenly things, but you also want to separate one side. Do you think I can't see Zhou Bai's thoughts?"
"Today, I want to see if this demon-suppressing general from Heaven will attack the city!"
While Tu Xiaowei and the county magistrate were still trying to persuade Shou Heng, news from other places kept coming.
"Report, the Shi family and the Yu family bribed the south gate guard, and the south gate is now out of control."
"Your Majesty, something happened at the east gate. The master registrar led the Chen family's servants to seize the east gate!"
"Report, there was a fight in the city. The Zhao family's houses heard that the Zhou family's army was calling. They were fighting for their property and wanted to escape from Pingcang."
"The gentry in the city don't want you to start a war with General Fu Mo. They have now written a joint guarantee letter, saying that they can explain the situation to the court for you."
In just half an hour, the dignitary of the county fell into a situation where everyone was betrayed and separated from his relatives.
Time is also destiny, the right time, place, and people have been lost. He feels that Zhou Bai's raising of troops this time has been a matter of course, without any variables.
Shou Heng suddenly became sluggish and his face looked like withered grass. Looking at the eyes of Colonel Tu and the surrounding county soldiers, he knew that if he persisted, his life would be in danger.
"Master, Master, Your Majesty, it's up to you..."
The master who was subconsciously shouting was actually not around at this time. He didn't know when he left.
"That's all, let's open the city. I'll let someone do whatever I want."
Then a dramatic scene occurred. When the county magistrate who wanted to hold on to the city gave up resistance and the north gate opened wide, the cheers far outweighed the pessimism and frustration.
There was no fighting, no casualties, and anyway, the ones coming were not Jin people or other foreign enemies.
The immortal Zhou Bai was one of our own in the eyes of his fellow villagers, and he was the pride of Ping Cang.
Such a person bringing his army to Pingcang will not only do no harm, but will actually make the county safer.
Last year, a small army of Jin people crossed Cangshan Mountain. Only the rural patrolmen led by Zhou Bai dared to take the initiative. The county soldiers and patrolmen guarding Pingcang had been hiding in the city for a long time.
What's more, the heaven has announced to the world that there is an invasion of enemies from outside the territory. Now the demon-suppressing army has entered Pingcang City, which is a blessing for the residents of the city.
Whether they are gentry or ordinary people, they all understand the truth deeply: whoever can protect them in troubled times can be their master.
No, the formal etiquette of welcoming the king's master, including eating the soup from the pot, was actually replicated in Pingcang.
The gentry brought many common people with baskets for rice and pots for soup to welcome Zhou Bai's demon-suppressing army into the city.
No one dared to stand in front of this demon-suppressing army covered in black armor. Needless to say, Xu Yun, the county lieutenant, had already retreated to the barracks with two battalions of soldiers to wait for the result. However, Captain Tu thought that it was too late to make up for his fault, so how could he do it? Jumping up and down at this time.
As for the other armed forces, the patrol inspector Duan Dehou, after a long period of "cooperation" exchanges, seemed to be a vassal of the Zhou family. The third squad of yamen officers usually caught a thief, but at this time there was no one at all.
In this way, with the support of powerful families such as the Shi family, the Yu family, and the Chen family, in less than an hour, the Demon-Subduing Army had completed complete control of Pingcang County.
The county barracks, treasury, granary, city emperor's temple, official school and other important places in the city are all guarded by demon-subduing troops.
Speaking of which, the only place where swords and weapons were used was the Zhao family's mansion. In view of the fact that the direct lineages of the houses were annexed without permission and threatened the safety of the demon-defying army entering the city, Zhou Bai ordered a direct suppression and ransacked the house.
All the servants of the Zhao family were given severance pay. Those who had family members returned to their hometowns, while those who did not go to Hongni Township to find the Zhou family manor to work first and take care of food and housing.
As for the hundreds of direct descendants of the Zhao family, as long as they participated in the firefight, they were all driven out of the city and given an original Zhao family manor as a place to stay.
From now on, they will be self-sufficient and will starve to death if they want to be lazy.
A small number of good people who had not committed any crime were left by Zhou Bai to temporarily take charge of the Zhao family's property, which was unfamiliar to the inner government.
Hundreds of other properties in the Zhao family were converted into dormitories for internal government officials. His subordinates followed him and moved to the county town, so they couldn't afford not to have a place to live.
Zhou Bai decided to temporarily set up the largest and best ancestral residence of the Zhao family as the office of the county government officials, because the real Pingcang County government had been requisitioned as the residence of General Fu Mo.
The level of comfort and luxury of the Zhao family's ancestral residence was much higher than that of the county government. At least on the surface, Zhou Bai left a decent place for the county government officials and the imperial court.
But from now on, whether Pingcang has the final say is the county government or General Fumo's mansion. Well, anyone who wants to do something should know where to look.
In Zhou Bai's idea, the county government would help maintain the relationship with the court in the future, and they could usually do something to promote education and help the elderly and the weak.
When General Fumo's government peace notices were posted all over the city, order was quickly restored, and the products of the imperial government that had been blocked for a long time flooded into the market.
All kinds of wine, red mud, soap, perfume, and even Cangshan crops containing spiritual energy are all sold openly.
For a time, Pingcang County, which experienced an "accident", became more prosperous than before.
In the afternoon of the same day, Zhou Bai received a formal visit from the civil and military officials of the former Imperial Household at the Fumo General's Mansion.
"Your Majesty, my last general, please see General Subduing Demons!" Chen Zhongbang and Zhou Yuan, one civil and one military, led the crowd to kneel down and pay homage.
The former county government hall has become the main meeting hall of the general's mansion, and the former throne of the county magistrate has naturally become the general's chair for the general who subdues demons.
Zhou Bai has not yet removed his armor and stomach, and Qing Jun's face is a bit more resolute and murderous. Just sitting there, he has the temperament of a superior who is not angry and has authority.
He stretched out his hand and slowly raised it, signaling everyone to get up.
"Forget it with a big gift this first time. You don't have to kneel down every now and then."
"Heaven has allowed me to open a palace. Now that I have opened a palace, it is natural to set up an official office."
"By imperial decree, Chen Zhongbang, the former head of the Yingtian Department of the Imperial Household, is appointed as General Fumo's Palace Chief Shi, in charge of the government orders in the palace, ranking seventh rank."
Secretary Luo Yan then walked out from under Zhou Bai. He held Chang Shi in both hands and handed it over to Chen Zhongbang, who was ranked first among the civil servants, with a serious look on his face.
Even though he had been mentally prepared, when Zhou Bai was officially appointed, Chen Zhongbang couldn't hold back the self-cultivation he had honed over the years. His eyes turned red and tears overflowed.
He disobeyed Zhou Bai's order for the first time. He knelt down on the ground and said with a trembling voice: "Shi Chen Zhongbang, the director of General Fumo, thank you for your great kindness, my lord!"
The civil and military officials in the hall did not have any contempt or bad thoughts about Chen Zhongbang because of his gaffe.
From a poor family who couldn't even afford to support his family to the current seventh-rank official, the journey has been too difficult.
In addition to Chen Zhongbang's own persistence, Zhou Bai's promotion is more important. A thousand-mile horse is always available, but a bole is hard to find.
Zhou Bai was moved when he saw the true feelings of his most important minister. He went down to help Chen Zhongbang in person before continuing to announce.
"The order is that Zhou Yuan joins the army for the Fumo General's Mansion, with a rank of seventh rank, plus the command of the infantry army. If the general is absent, he can take charge of the demon-suppressing army; Gao Hu is the commander of the Demon-Subduing Army and the cavalry army, with a rank of eighth rank... Qu Zhi is the tooth soldier. The captain of the school, in charge of the flag, is responsible for the defense of the general's mansion."
What is worth mentioning here is Qu Zhi. Apart from Zhou Yuan and Gao Hu, he is the only general whose destiny is red. For this reason, Zhou Bai directly took him with him to train him.
There are too few generals.
"There are six rooms under the General's Mansion, which are respectively for officials, households, rituals, soldiers, punishments, and workers. The ministers of the six rooms are of the eighth rank."
"The Lifang is in charge of the appointment and dismissal, performance appraisal, promotion and promotion of officials, etc. Chen Zhongbang, the chief historian, temporarily serves as the director of the Lifang; the Hufang is in charge of land, household registration, taxation, finance, etc. Zhong Wei is the director of the Hufang, and Zhou Rui is the deputy of the Hufang. The principal is in charge of business; the ceremonial chamber is in charge of ceremonies, selections, academies, etc., with Zhou Lin (the second owner of the Zhou family) as the principal of the ceremonial chamber; the military chamber is in charge of military affairs, and the principal is temporarily vacant; the criminal chamber is in charge of criminal law, prison litigation, etc., and is regarded as the principal of the criminal chamber "The Gongfang is in charge of engineering, construction, farming, water conservancy, etc. Tiangongyuan has taken over the management of the Gongfang, and the principal is temporarily vacant."
Then Chen Zhongbang replaced Zhou Bai and read out the official positions at all levels below the heads of the six houses.
For example, Wang Liangtian worked for each household and divided the land; another example was that Ma Liang and Yu Ji, two talented scholars who came to seek refuge with him after hearing that Zhou Baizhong had won the imperial examination, each took up the post of ninth-rank official in the sixth house.
In short, everyone who followed Zhou Bai and gained partial trust was awarded an official title this time.
Including the equestrian instructor Lao Huang, who is the director of the carriage and horse house, and is the ninth grade; Luo Yan is the first secretary of the secretary pavilion who is the ninth grade, and the other two are the secretaries of the ninth grade. The talented students who were previously selected all have their next steps. .
With the blessing of destiny and the direct support of heaven's luck, if you don't seize the time to give your subordinates a position, it will be difficult to bear the responsibility just relying on the luck of the General's Mansion.
The next step is to naturally bring the entire Pingcang County under the jurisdiction of the General's Mansion, including the twenty-four townships in the south and north of the county.
It would not work for him if the imperial power did not go to the countryside. Starting from Pingcang, he would establish a complete grassroots management system.
The foundation of the first county’s foundation cannot tolerate any sloppiness.
The next day, the Demon-Suppressing Army, which had just settled in the county seat, was sent out in batches again, either one battalion of 500 people, or two battalions of 1,000 people, to patrol the twenty-four townships.
