Chapter 912: Elder Yan, Are You Lecturing Me?

They had been discussing Beizhou, and now someone had run in to say something had happened there. Long Xiu and Meng Xuan were both startled.

Meng Xuan immediately asked, "What happened?"

Yi Shu glanced at him but ignored the question, continuing to report to her own master. "Shao Dengyun and Tianyu Sect have launched a massive seizure and execution of officials sent to Beizhou by the court. They struck simultaneously all across Beizhou without the slightest warning beforehand. Almost none of the court-appointed officials in Beizhou escaped. Nearly all were killed on the spot!"

Long Xiu and Meng Xuan both shot to their feet in shock. Long Xiu roared, "Outrageous! Brazen! Are they trying to rebel?"

"They have legitimate grounds for acting," Yi Shu said. "They hold evidence, verified by the court itself, of corruption and other crimes. Shao Dengyun moved at once on the grounds that the wrongdoing was too widespread and appalling, that only executions could appease public anger, and that delay might allow the criminals to escape. With Tianyu Sect cooperating, they met no resistance. No side even had time to react. After sending troops to purge Beizhou's officialdom in blood, Shao Dengyun directly appointed acting officials to the vacant posts, claiming it was necessary to prevent disorder in Beizhou."

Long Xiu stared in alarm and uncertainty. "How did evidence investigated by the court end up in Shao Dengyun's hands?"

"We don't know."

Long Xiu's expression turned ugly. "Zijin Cave's greed is showing far too plainly!"

"Whether this was Zijin Cave is another matter," Meng Xuan said.

"Hm?" Long Xiu turned back toward him, puzzled.

Meng Xuan asked Yi Shu, "You just said that almost none of the Beizhou officials appointed by the court escaped and that they all suffered at Shao Dengyun's hands?"

"That's right."

Meng Xuan gave Long Xiu a cold smile. "You heard her. None escaped. Quite a few of those officials also had tangled connections with people in Zijin Cave. Zijin Cave itself would never have acted this rashly. Do I really need to tell you who is behind this?"

Long Xiu's voice turned savage. "Niu Youdao!"

Meng Xuan said, "He is telling everyone beneath Heaven that Beizhou too is territory completely under his control. That little bastard should have been killed long ago!"

...

In the imperial palace of Yan, Xi Yao, Elder of Xiaoyao Palace; Shen Baochun, Elder of Zijin Cave; and Luo Mingjian, Elder of Lingjian Mountain stormed into the inner palace together. No one dared stop them.

Shang Jianxiong was dallying affectionately with his favored consort Aque among the palace pavilions. The sudden arrival of the three Elders startled Aque, who had been sitting on Shang Jianxiong's lap, and she hurriedly stood.

"Your Majesty certainly knows how to enjoy yourself!" Xi Yao sneered.

Shang Jianxiong rose as well and waved a hand. Aque and the others quickly withdrew.

Only then did Shang Jianxiong ask, "What has brought the three Elders here in such fury?"

Shen Baochun said grimly, "Surely Your Majesty does not mean to say you know nothing of what happened in Beizhou?"

"I know. So what?"

Shen Baochun lost his temper. "Something this serious happens in Beizhou, yet Your Majesty still has the leisure to dally with a beauty?"

Shang Jianxiong met him head-on. "And if I do not enjoy this little leisure, what would you have me do instead? Anyone who is not blind can see that people from Zijin Cave are involved behind the scenes. Zijin Cave is making trouble. What exactly do you expect me to dare do?"

Shen Baochun looked toward Xi Yao and Luo Mingjian on either side of him. "I will say it again. This was absolutely not done by Zijin Cave."

Shang Jianxiong's reply struck like iron. "Is Niu Youdao not a man of Zijin Cave? Elder Shen had better not tell me this affair has nothing to do with Niu Youdao either. Even a blind man can see that Niu Youdao is the true mastermind!"

Shen Baochun's face tightened. He had been blocked so completely that he had nothing to say.

The three visitors understood the relationships involved, but what concerned them was something else. Luo Mingjian asked, "Why did the evidence the court uncovered against Beizhou's officials fall into Shao Dengyun's hands? With evidence against so many officials, how did all of it end up concentrated in his possession?"

There were things they needed to clarify. The three major sects were worried that people at court might be colluding with Niu Youdao.

Shang Jianxiong sighed. "This happened because the men below mishandled matters. Once the crimes were verified, the case files were supposed to be gathered together and sent to the capital. Who could have expected bandits to attack them on the road? The Beizhou garrison received word and rushed out to suppress the bandits. They captured the criminals, but the evidence fell into their hands at the same time, and from there the situation spun out of control."

Shen Baochun said in a low voice, "Everything was fine. Why did you suddenly investigate Beizhou's officials? And not merely a few of them, but conduct a full investigation? Why pick up a stone only to smash your own foot?"

Shang Jianxiong answered with righteous force, "Beizhou is already beyond the court's control. The only people who can exert even a little restraint on the powers there are the local officials appointed by the court. At the very least, they can serve as the court's eyes and ears. If I told you those officials were all absolutely loyal to the court, would you believe me? The court had to investigate their crimes thoroughly and keep the evidence in hand. Any man who dared become a fence-sitter could then be ruined in both name and standing! If not for this accident, what was wrong with doing that?"

The three Elders frowned. His explanation was entirely reasonable. They truly could not find anything wrong with it.

When it came to playing this sort of game, profound cultivation was useless. Compared with Shang Jianxiong, they were far out of their depth.

After the three were finally sent away, Chief Steward Tian Yu moved close to Shang Jianxiong and said quietly, "Your Majesty, Lord Gao is here."

"Mm." Shang Jianxiong tilted his head in acknowledgment.

A short while later, Gao Jiancheng hurried over. After paying his respects, he asked, "Your Majesty, I heard the three resident Elders came over. Nothing went wrong, I hope?"

He was also worried there might be some flaw in the plan. The moment he heard the news, he had rushed over to sound out the situation.

"I've already sent them away. What could they do?" Shang Jianxiong replied. "But Beizhou surprised me. I didn't think they would truly dare act!"

As far as he was concerned, his earlier arrangement had only been an attempt to see what might happen.

Gao Jiancheng smiled. "It is a good thing. Cutting off a man's road to wealth was like killing his parents. This time, Niu Youdao has at least offended certain people inside Zijin Cave. If this continues and the contradictions keep accumulating, sooner or later there will be an eruption."

Shang Jianxiong nodded and narrowed his eyes. "I hope this time they really make a fight of it."

...

Cutting off their road to wealth had indeed infuriated certain people. Beizhou's actions had severed the annual stream of graft some of them received from there. How could they possibly be happy?

The angry voices of those involved within Zijin Cave gave Sect Leader Gong Lince a headache. Even Yan Li found it hard to keep his composure. He too had taken a share of the graft offered by Beizhou officials, and Niu Youdao had killed officials under his protection. It amounted to cutting off one of his own sources of income.

After an uproar in the council hall, Sect Leader Gong Lince led the Elders currently within the sect—Yan Li, Yuan An, Fu Junrang, Yin Yide, and Mo Lingxue—to the Maolu Annex.

Niu Youdao came out after hearing of their arrival and gave a surprised exclamation, amused. "What wind blew all of you here together?" After exchanging formal greetings, he extended a hand and invited them inside.

No one went in. They simply blocked the entrance. Gong Lince asked in a heavy voice, "Elder Niu, what happened in Beizhou?"

Niu Youdao looked surprised. "Beizhou? What could have happened in Beizhou?"

Yuan An snapped, "Stop pretending you don't know. Shao Dengyun and Tianyu Sect joined hands and washed Beizhou's officialdom in blood. You dare say you knew nothing about it?"

"Oh, that." Niu Youdao sounded as though he had only just remembered. "I wondered what great affair had brought all of you out in such force. They only killed a few corrupt officials. It hardly counts as anything."

"A few?" Yuan An said angrily. "You call that a few? Don't you know how many they killed?"

Niu Youdao answered lightly, "I was born in the countryside. Corrupt officials made my life miserable from childhood. Whenever I get the chance, however many there are, that's how many I'll kill."

Mo Lingxue said, "Those were officials appointed by the court. It was not your place to slaughter them without authorization. If everyone beneath Heaven behaved like you, wouldn't the whole State of Yan descend into chaos?"

With one hand resting on his sword, Niu Youdao raised one finger with the other. "At the very least, I guarantee Beizhou will not fall into chaos. Anyone who wants to make trouble in Beizhou is welcome to try!"

Yin Yide said, "Court officials are subject to punishment under the law. Everything has its rules. You are an Elder of Zijin Cave and one of those responsible for overseeing Great Yan. You should uphold those rules. How can you act recklessly?"

Niu Youdao looked genuinely baffled, his brows rising. "What exactly are all of you trying to say? We killed a few corrupt officials. Are you telling me that was wrong?"

"The court was already investigating their crimes," Yin Yide said. "If they deserved punishment, then the court should have punished them. What business did you have intervening?"

Gong Lince, his face equally taut, spoke as well. "There is no need to hide things or keep circling around them. We are all our own people, so we can speak plainly. Those officials had connections, to one degree or another, with the three major sects. After you killed them, Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain were furious. Their complaints have now landed on our heads. We must give them an explanation for this!"

Guan Fangyi and the others stood near the doorway watching the scene. It looked almost as if a whole group had come to surround and attack Niu Youdao.

Niu Youdao asked in return, "What explanation does the Sect Leader want?"

"This time, Zijin Cave can suppress the matter," Gong Lince said. "But when the court appoints the next group of officials to Beizhou, you are not permitted to interfere."

Niu Youdao understood perfectly. Every side intended to maneuver officials connected to itself into Beizhou's vacant posts and restore the interests it had just lost.

He chuckled. "With all of you surrounding me like this, I suppose I have no choice but to agree. Fine. I won't interfere."

Their expressions eased somewhat once he agreed. As long as their interests were not harmed, none of them cared about the people who had been killed in Beizhou. There was no need to turn the sect upside down quarreling with Niu Youdao for those men's sake. Besides, Niu Youdao was still an Elder of Zijin Cave, and Beizhou had acted with proper justification. On the face of it, killing corrupt officials was not wrong.

What they did not know was that Niu Youdao simply had no intention of confronting them head-on. They wanted to send another batch of people to Beizhou? Dream on. How can one allow another to snore beside one's own bed? He would make sure that for every one they sent, one died. He would make sure no one could sit in those posts for long. He would keep killing them until no one dared go.

Yan Li still did not trust him. He warned, "Elder Niu, with Shao Dengyun and Tianyu Sect there, you yourself said Beizhou cannot descend into chaos. Those court officials had ties to Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain. You are, after all, a member of Zijin Cave. From now on, you should consider the sect in everything you do. You cannot keep acting recklessly."

The meaning behind his words was clear. Beizhou's military and cultivation forces were both Niu Youdao's people. Beizhou was already under his control. Local officials could not threaten that control, so there was no need for him to make enemies of them.

Niu Youdao raised an eyebrow slightly. He had never been trying to make enemies of Beizhou's local officials. He wanted to force Tianyu Sect to offer a pledge of allegiance and publicly choose a side.

Naturally, he would not reveal the truth. Instead, he asked, "Elder Yan, are you lecturing me?"

"I'm only reminding you for your own good."

Niu Youdao's expression changed instantly. "Reminding me of what? Don't talk to me about Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain. I never intended to move against their people in the first place, and I never wanted to make trouble in Beizhou. Someone came after me first and insisted on picking a fight with me. Do they think I'm made of clay?"

Everyone's faces darkened. His meaning could not have been clearer: he was not targeting outsiders at all. He was paying back the people inside Zijin Cave who had gone after him before.

[End of Chapter 912]