Chaos reigned within the headquarters of Qingming Bank. The clerks watched the sudden arrival of a large contingent of official troops, completely baffled by what was taking place. Some wanted to step forward and argue, but the sharper ones quickly noticed the soldiers: every one of them was remarkably young and exceptionally good-looking, yet their faces were entirely expressionless, like walking statues carved from marble.
In all of Qingming, only one force was composed entirely of striking young men and women: the New City garrison, the Xu family youths.
Everyone knew the Xu family youths of New City had always been the Realm Lord's absolute confidants. Regardless of individual strength, as a whole they were universally acknowledged as the preeminent military force in Qingming, superior even to the Longxiang and dragon guard.
Now that this garrison had abruptly surrounded Qingming Bank, the cleverer clerks sensed the impending danger. They immediately raised both hands and backed against the walls, standing motionless with submissive expressions.
Other clerks recalled certain whispered rumors, their faces draining of color as they hesitated in panic. Still others turned pale as ghosts, glancing around frantically in search of an escape route.
A large contingent of fully armed warriors surged into the bank, while multiple Dao Foundation cultivators kept watch from the air.
A clerk suddenly cried out, "They want to overthrow the Realm Lord's dying decree! They are rebels! Let us fight them to the death!"
The clerk's aura erupted with mid Dao Foundation cultivation, yet a barrage of Dao arts unleashed with all his might against the soldiers armored in full nether crystal heavy plates merely caused them to stumble. Several pinnacle Body Casting warriors swiftly locked their shields together in an encirclement. Long blades thrust out through the gaps between the shields, instantly riddling the Dao Foundation clerk with bloody holes.
Gurgling sounds rattled in the clerk's throat, his eyes wide with fury and shock, yet he could no longer speak. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that he would fall to a handful of Body Casting cultivators, and so swiftly at that.
Several other Dao Foundation clerks met the exact same fate: enclosed by the Xu family youths' shields and sliced down by a flurry of blades, breathing their last in moments. Throughout it all, not a single Dao Foundation cultivator from the Xu family side had even lifted a finger.
Seeing that these soldiers showed no mercy whatsoever, the remaining clerks realized their orders were to kill anyone who resisted without exception. None dared raise a hand again.
All of a sudden, a booming voice rang out: "How dare you defy the Realm Lord's dying decree?!"
With several dull thuds, a few Xu family warriors were blasted into the air. A figure shot toward the sky—a grim-faced, colossal man with bulging muscles, crowned by a ferocious ghostly general that served as his dharma idol.
He bellowed, "Just you wait! We hold the Realm Lord's dying decree in hand; sooner or later we will crush you rebels!"
Having barked out his defiance, he spun around to flee, only to see a brilliant, blazing sun rise before his eyes!
Xiaoyu's brow furrowed, his gaze chillingly cold. With a horizontal sweep of his sword, the ghostly general was cleaved in two. Both halves burst into roaring True Sun Fire, reduced to ash in the blink of an eye. The mighty man's head flew off, landing directly in Xiaoyu's grip, while his headless corpse plummeted into the bank in flames.
The several directors hiding in the shadows turned ashen, their hearts turning to cold ash. That formidable warrior's cultivation and combat prowess had far surpassed any of theirs; they had hired him at exorbitant expense to serve as the bank's bedrock. Who could have thought he would fail to withstand even a single strike from the enemy?
Seeing the magnificent spectacle of the blazing sun suspended in the sky, everyone knew that Xiaoyu, City Lord of Yongan, had arrived. That was what truly drove the directors to despair. Everyone knew that during the contest among the Academies' academicians, Xiaoyu had only ranked eighth, with seven terrifying monsters ahead of him. And there was also Zhang Sheng, who had been pushed aside only through the concerted efforts of the other dharma idols.
From the moment the army laid siege to the bank to when the six directors were dragged before Zhang Sheng, less than half an hour had passed.
All six directors looked deathly pale. The chief director maintained some composure and spoke up: "What wrong have we done? When the Realm Lord was here, he treated us with utmost courtesy. Why must we suffer such treatment the moment he departs?"
Zhang Sheng replied measuredly, "I will not waste breath on you lot. I have only one thing to say: name everyone, inside and out, who colluded with you, and your families may be spared. The two directors who did not cosign may avoid death; they will be stripped of their status, consigned to servitude for thirty years, and upon completing their term, be transferred to guilty commoner status to start anew."
Knowing he was doomed, the chief director said fiercely, "We merely issued Qingyuan, which was also done in accordance with the Realm Lord's dying decree. How does that warrant the death penalty?"
"...Dying decree?" Zhang Sheng finally raised his eyes and cast a glance at the chief director.
The chief director felt a flash of light before him and a slight prick at his glabella. A wave of blankness swept over his mind, and after a brief daze, he could no longer remember what had just occurred.
Zhang Sheng tapped a slender, pale finger lightly against the desk. "Originally, I intended to spare your family from ruin. But since you remain unrepentant, your entire clan shall be demoted to servitude, sentenced to thirty years of hard labor, and upon completion, transferred to guilty commoner status."
The chief director was both shocked and enraged. "Without us, can Qingming Bank still function? From top to bottom, the bank is filled with our people. Can you possibly dismiss every last one of them?! It matters not if you kill me; I shall watch from the underworld to see how you clean up this mess!"
Zhang Sheng said calmly, "Now all the directorships are vacant. Do you suppose the core backbone of the bank will follow you in death, or will they strive with all their might to compete for the new directorships?"
The chief director froze, then grew agitated, hurling a barrage of curses at Zhang Sheng.
Zhang Sheng did not lose his temper. He merely remarked to the surrounding cultivators, "Those who deal in money for a long time have seen too much of the world's vanity; they are bound to possess excessive cunning but lack true courage. Having witnessed thunderous measures, I estimate that fewer than ten will hold out to the end."
The chief director's face turned the color of dirt. Reflecting carefully, he was startled to realize that what Zhang Sheng said was very likely true, yet he had not considered it in the slightest before!
Zhang Sheng lifted his finger and let it drop, producing a crisp click against the tabletop. "Too much time has already been wasted on you lot. Men, take them away and execute them according to the law."
As the six directors were dragged off, they cried out unceasingly:
"Without us, the bank will fall into chaos!"
"Spare our lives, My Lord! We were foolish for a moment!"
"We are willing to serve My Lord without taking a single coin! We only beg for a chance to turn over a new leaf!"
...
Zhang Sheng paid them no mind, turning instead to Feng Chutang. "Senior Brother Feng, are you willing to take over Qingming Bank?"
Feng Chutang frowned. "Though I understand some of it, if I am to take full command, I am afraid it will take... a month."
Xiaoyu started. He had assumed the bank would be entrusted to him and had been fretting in secret, unsure where to even begin. He had not expected it to go to Feng Chutang. Xiaoyu had initially breathed a sigh of relief, but hearing Feng Chutang say he needed only a month to take control, an odd awkwardness stirred in his chest, making him feel uncomfortable all over.
After hearing Feng Chutang's words, Zhang Sheng pondered briefly and said, "What if all remaining personnel in the bank, including those directly implicated, are placed at your disposal? How about then?"
Feng Chutang's eyes brightened. "Then there will be no issue. I will simply announce that everyone retains their original posts, and that a new director will be promoted in a month, with the candidate yet to be decided. Those people will surely rack their brains to prove themselves. As long as I leave them untouched during the first few days and treat them with extra courtesy, they will let down their guard and deploy every skill at their disposal to compete for the seat."
Zhang Sheng glanced at Xiaoyu, appearing both intentional and casual, then asked, "And what will you do after a month?"
Feng Chutang was somewhat displeased. "Are you trying to test me? While I am far inferior to you, testing me over such a trivial matter is looking down on me a bit too much."
Xiaoyu's breathing quickened slightly, though fortunately no one noticed. Keeping his expression composed, he racked his brain to consider what should be done after a month. What if the former directors' direct proteges performed the best? Would they truly be granted directorships? If not, would that not be breaking one's word?
Feng Chutang had indeed felt a measure of discontent, thinking Zhang Sheng underestimated him. Yet catching Zhang Sheng's glance and then looking around at the gathered cultivators, he suddenly understood. "This matter is actually simple. After a month, I will have grasped the bank's entire operational model and learned who is trustworthy and fit for important duties. At that point, under the guise of purging the former directors' accomplices and remnants, I can round up the guilty in one fell swoop."
Xiaoyu instinctively asked, "And what if you haven't fully mastered the bank's operational model by then?"
The moment the question left his lips, Xiaoyu's face flushed crimson, wishing he could sew his mouth shut.
Feng Chutang chuckled. "That is easy to handle; just arrest fewer remnants. Retain those who are temporarily useful, and take them in the following month. If someone proves exceptionally useful, shield him, and he will remain devoted to the core from then on. In any case, this is a grave case of treason; accomplices and remnants can still be rounded up decades later."
Xiaoyu fell silent. That truly was not something he could have conceived. But he suddenly realized that Star Lord Shaoyang had not spoken for quite some time.
With that, the bank affair was settled. All matters concerning Qingming Bank were temporarily handed over to Feng Chutang, with an agreement to revisit bank affairs ten days later during the regular assembly of cultivators.
Ten days later.
The cultivators gathered in full, while Feng Chutang wore a look of concern.
As the regular meeting commenced, Feng Chutang reported that Qingming had already purchased everything it needed from the outside world; there was simply nothing left to buy. Meanwhile, more and more merchant caravans were arriving in Qingming to purchase goods. Across more than a dozen surrounding commanderies, the brocade and cloth industries had vanished entirely. Iron forging and steelmaking had declined by more than half, with everyone switching to steel implements produced by Qingming. A refined steel cooking pot from Qingming cost less than half the price of an iron pot forged by a blacksmith.
If this trend continued, Qingming's outward sales would only grow, while inbound purchases would stall.
Yet the Qingyuan was also growing stronger by the day, its exchange rate against immortal silver climbing steadily. No one would ever be foolish enough to bring Qingyuan to Qingming just to redeem that single tael of immortal silver.
The trouble was that, in the long run, these two conditions could not coexist.
As the cultivators sank into contemplation, Ji Liuli spoke first: "At the root of it, the surrounding regions are simply too impoverished; the common folk possess nothing of value. The combined output of that entire expanse is negligible compared to Qingming. Naturally, we find ourselves selling ever more goods while having nothing to purchase in return. In the end, the most extreme scenario will see all the immortal silver of the surrounding realms concentrated in our hands, along with all the resources. At that point, we reach a dead end, where even immortal silver becomes useless, because across ten thousand li of utter destitution, there will be nothing left to buy."
Feng Chutang sighed. "During these days of studying currency, I have already recognized this problem, yet I truly cannot conceive of a solution."
The cultivators either frowned or racked their brains, unable to produce an answer for the moment.
Star Lord Shaoyang continued to play dead.
Seeing that the assembly remained stumped for a long while, Zhang Sheng finally spoke: "Why are the surrounding regions across ten thousand li so impoverished? Must they remain impoverished forever? What if we take action so that they are no longer poor, enabling them to afford the goods we produce? How about then?"
A flash of lightning seemed to strike through the minds of the cultivators, their eyes instantly brightening!
Surrounding Qingming lay vast stretches of fertile land that had yet to be cultivated or transformed, with many areas completely uninhabited. Other bountiful regions were held by incompetent fools and rapacious villains, leaving the common people destitute.
Meanwhile, Qingming had been running academies for a considerable time. Compulsory schooling was universally implemented; most people had undergone at least three months of training in the academies and were capable of reading and writing. Nearly a million had completed a cumulative year of instruction, completing their basic education—one could say the intellect of the populace had been awakened.
By this point, everyone in Qingming had enough to eat, and cultivation was advancing toward the goal of having everyone who ought to cast their body undergo Body Casting. Various cultivators in the Body Casting realm already numbered close to five million, and the count was rising rapidly. Although the vast majority were still only in the first-tier Sinew and Muscle Realm, the overall strength of the populace had taken a monumental leap.
Perfected Chuhe was the first to grasp this point. Stroking his beard, he declared in a resonant voice, "Well said! If we cannot bring the vast, untamed wilderness beyond our borders under our governance, if we cannot enable the multitude of impoverished people under heaven to eat their fill, dress warmly, and embark upon the path of cultivation, then why did we toil so hard to enlighten the people and spread Body Casting? Would that enlightenment not be in vain? The bodies we cast would have no battlefield upon which to exert their strength. How could that be acceptable!
"As I see it, raising an army of righteousness to expand our territory and seek welfare for all living souls under heaven is precisely the mission of our generation!"
The cultivators stared in astonishment. None of them had imagined that the usually jovial Perfected Chuhe could speak of conquest and expansion as something so natural and thoroughly justified.
This time, Xu Henshui could not help blurting out, "Senior Brother Chuhe, don't you love farming? Aren't farmers supposed to be the most detached from worldly strife?"
Chuhe gently stroked his long beard and said with a solemn expression, "The first half of your remark is correct, but the second half is mistaken! This old Daoist is indeed detached from worldly strife; I merely wish to cultivate all the lands under heaven.
"My aspiration is that one day, the sprouts of Qingming will be planted across all fertile soil under heaven. Only then will we not fail the painstaking efforts we poured into enlightening the people and spreading Body Casting!"
The cultivators were utterly dumbfounded. According to the classifications of the outer world, they had assumed the old Daoist Chuhe was a conservative. Only today did they realize that this so-called conservative merely believed that they, the radicals, were far too conservative.
Chapter 912