#549 - You are a formidable opponent.

Jun Wuxie walked on the West City Avenue, feeling extremely depressed.

That old man, a family of loyal martyrs, whose son and grandson had both died in battle, was not allocated any spirit fields and had to work as a long-term laborer for the local gentry and landlords.

Aren't the families of sacrificed soldiers supposed to be taken care of by the imperial court?

Where are those pensions, the subsequent alimony?

"Your Majesty, you really disappoint me too much. Perhaps you have the heart to be a good ruler, but you are far from having the ability. No wonder the Great Zhou was held hostage by several aristocratic families back then."

Jun Wuxie was very clear that situations similar to that of the old man were definitely not isolated cases.

Just looking at how arrogant the yamen runners were in the yamen, one could see the whole picture.

Just how many people, how many officials, big and small, were involved in this?

… …

The current Great Zhou is really a bit too extravagant and licentious.

Everywhere on the street, there were places of revelry and dissipation.

Even many squares have been newly built, with high platforms erected where many young men and women sway and dance to their hearts' content, dressed in gaudy and flamboyant attire.

The women are charming.

The men are also delicate and beautiful, with white powder on their faces, black lines drawn around their eyes, red lipstick on their lips, throwing flirtatious glances, and speaking in delicate, affected voices.

Who says masculinity has charm? A man's tenderness is also beauty!

This was the banner slogan pulled up on those performance stages, with huge fonts that were very eye-catching.

Jun Wuxie narrowed his eyes slightly and watched quietly for a moment.

Below the stage, the entire square was packed with people, basically all teenagers and middle-aged women watching, constantly screaming and shouting, each one excited with flushed faces, the scene was hot and crazy.

He knew that this should be the entertainment industry that the Spirit Concubine had mentioned before, invested in by foreign merchants here.

"Very good, you actually want to use this method to weaken the bloodiness of the younger generation of Great Zhou. Let me guess, which forces are behind this? Saint Sect? Heavenly Sword Sect? Heavenly Purity Sect? What else?"

Jun Wuxie sneered in his heart. It seemed extremely ridiculous to play these tricks in the country he ruled.

He is not like the monarchs of ordinary countries, who have to consider this and that when doing anything.

Playing tricks is just courting death!

He walked out of the West City all the way, came to the vicinity of the West City suburbs, where a new town was built, very lively and prosperous.

The town has more than a dozen streets, with people coming and going in an endless stream.

When he came to this town, a surge of anger rushed to the top of his head!

Not far from this town is the Martyrs' Cemetery, where tens of millions of Great Zhou men who resisted the Western Forest guards and defended the capital city were sacrificed.

And the architectural style of this newly built town is completely different from the style of Great Zhou. There are statues of the Western Forest army everywhere on the street, and there is even a Western Forest Military Equipment Memorial Hall.

In addition to these, there are also shops that rent and sell Western Forest military uniforms. Some people wear Western Forest armor and hold Western Forest spears, standing with the statues of the Western Forest army, with people recording the scene with rune memory stones next to them.

Loud scolding came from the front.

A group of people were smashing the store, and soon a group of thugs rushed out of the store, and the two sides fought with bloodied heads.

"You bastards! How long has it been since the Western Forest massacred my Great Zhou people? My Great Zhou almost became extinct, how many people died? Those teenagers, with thin bodies, couldn't wear armor, wore cloth clothes to fight the enemy, Lord Monarch fought the Western Forest army for six days and six nights, almost died of exhaustion outside the city, and saved my Great Zhou!"

"Now, you people have actually forgotten everything, forgotten the hatred and shame, and actually ran here to wear Western Forest armor and learn Western Forest culture, you are despicable!"

"What we do has nothing to do with you? What's wrong with us wearing Western Forest armor?"

"That's right, what's wrong with me wearing Western Forest women's clothing? We like it! Good things should be learned. Look at how overreacting you are, this is a manifestation of inferiority. It seems that although the Western Forest has been destroyed, there are still some people in our Great Zhou who have inferiority engraved in their bones and dare not admit the excellence of other people's cultures."

"That's right, although the Western Forest was once our enemy, the Western Forest must have many excellent aspects to be so strong, such as in terms of culture. Is it so difficult to admit that others are excellent?"

"Look, these Western Forest-style stone bungalows have a strong sense of historical heritage at a glance. Great Zhou can't compare with others in this regard, and we still need to learn humbly."

"Bullshit! We had a lot of this kind of house in Great Zhou before, but we abandoned it later!"

"Still stubborn, other people's bungalows have a historical heritage, our bungalows lack a sense of historical heritage, a feeling of backwardness, ignorance, and bumpkin, can it be the same?"

"We must stand at a rational, objective, and neutral attitude when looking at problems, and we must not mix in national emotions. Let's just talk about the Western Forest. It was just a war between countries. If we want to talk about the people of the Western Forest, they are still good."

"Ridiculous! The Western Forest people are so violent, many Western Forest men beat their wives, is this also the good culture you are talking about?"

A woman curled her lips and said, "You don't understand at all! Are Western Forest men beating their wives? That's giving their wives a massage, it's just that the strength is a little stronger, but people can give their wives a massage, which shows that Western Forest men know romance. The men of our Great Zhou are different. There are also men in Great Zhou who beat their wives, and they are all domestic violence, which is against the law!"

"Although our Great Zhou is getting better now, we can't be blindly arrogant, we must constantly learn from the excellence of others."

"We can't just say that our Great Zhou is good, this society should allow different voices to exist!"

"That's right, we should have the breadth of mind to tolerate other people's cultures. A country needs a multicultural environment, do you know?"

"You angry youths, learn to look at problems rationally, it's good to have independent thinking."

"Alas, in a word, is it really so difficult to admit that others are excellent?"

… …

Those people naturally couldn't outargue the tourists who outnumbered them tenfold, and were so angry that they almost vomited blood on the spot.

Jun Wuxie's eyes were very cold, and he continued to walk forward.

Passing through a street, screams and laughter came from the front.

A group of tourists were role-playing in Western Forest armor, and at this moment they were chasing Great Zhou women who were also role-playing, with lewd smiles on their faces.

He couldn't stand it anymore and quickly left this Western Forest-style town.

Before long, he appeared in the military camp outside the West City.

The commander here immediately led people to greet him.

"Welcome, Lord Monarch!"

"Get up!" Jun Wuxie looked at them and said, "Do you know about that Western Forest-style town?"

"We know… …"

The generals all lowered their heads.

"Why didn't you report this matter?"

"Lord Monarch!" The generals said with red eyes, excitedly, "We have reported this matter many times, but there is no news at all. His Majesty is busy with state affairs, perhaps he has not seen our memorials at all! High-ranking officials in the court have control over the memorial channels, the water inside is too deep!"

"Now, I will give you a few tasks. Send people to disguise themselves and enter the city, secretly investigate various problems such as collusion between officials and merchants, embezzlement, etc. It must be swift, covert, and accurate. Once you have evidence, take them down immediately!"

"As for that Western Forest-style town, you will temporarily send people to secretly keep an eye on it. All those who enter this town and wear Western Forest military uniforms or other Western Forest clothing, or promote Western Forest culture, and belittle my Great Zhou, immediately take them down after they come out!"

"Yes!" The commander asked, "How should we deal with them after taking them down, kill them on the spot?"

"That's not necessary. After taking them down, register them, expel them from the city, and then report to the Ministry of Revenue to remove their Great Zhou household registration, and they must never step into my Great Zhou for eternity!"

"Yes! This subordinate will go and do it immediately!"

"Escort all those officials who have violated the law to the execution ground in the Central Capital. Also, I don't want to see any other entertainment industries in Great Zhou besides the usual normal singing and dancing. You secretly find out all the merchants involved in the new entertainment, ask them about the masterminds behind the scenes, and make them disappear from the world within three days!"

"Understood!" The commander hesitated slightly and said, "Lord Monarch, if there is such a big movement, if someone speaks ill of us in front of His Majesty, and His Majesty does not understand the situation, what if he sends down punishment?"

"His Majesty?" Jun Wuxie said lightly, "Who would you say is the real controller of Great Zhou?"

The commander was stunned when he heard this, and then laughed: "Lord Monarch, this subordinate is relieved now, I guarantee to complete the task! It is this kind of miasma in just a few months, and it should be rectified with iron-blooded methods, otherwise, we will be sorry for the tens of millions of soldiers who died in battle… …"

The commander and a group of generals looked in the direction of the Martyrs' Cemetery, their eyes reddened.

… …

Next, Jun Wuxie did not go to the South City or the North City to stroll around, thinking that the situation was similar.

He went directly to the military camps outside the South City and the North City, and gave the same orders to the generals there.

An iron-blooded storm quietly swept across the entire capital city.

It was already afternoon after arranging these things.

Jun Wuxie appeared in a certain area of the Central Capital.

There is a mountain range here, with canyons in the mountains, the scenery is very beautiful, with waterfalls and clear springs, birds singing and flowers fragrant.

The canyon is very large, with many pavilions and courtyards built of green jade bamboo inside.

"Young Master Jun has arrived?"

A strong man from the Xuanyuan Clan greeted him, very politely, and said, "Please come inside, Young Master, I will inform the Great Elder and others."

Before long, nine old men and a gentle-looking middle-aged man from the Xuanyuan Clan came out together.

The Great Elder walked over and said, "Wuxie, you are finally back. Since moving here, you haven't come to my Xuanyuan Clan yet."

"You make it sound like I've been to your former clan land before." Jun Wuxie smiled and looked at the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man immediately introduced himself with a smile: "I am the patriarch of the Xuanyuan Clan, Xuanyuan Zhudao."

As he spoke, he pointed to the other eight old men and said, "These are the eight elders of my Xuanyuan Clan, this is the Second Elder… …This is the Third Elder… …"

Jun Wuxie nodded and greeted them one by one, remembering them.

"Let's go, let's sit down and talk in our Elder Council."

The Great Elder and Xuan Yuan Zhudao smiled and led the way in front, with Jun Wuxie following behind them, and the remaining eight elders walking at the very end.

As for the two peak Saint Realm experts who had greeted him earlier, they did not follow.

With the elders and the patriarch entertaining guests, they naturally were not qualified to accompany them.

The Elders' Courtyard was actually just a relatively large courtyard built of green jade bamboo, with a total of nine rooms, just enough for the nine elders.

The small courtyard was simple, but very unique, with an old locust tree planted in the yard, which should have been transplanted.

Behind the courtyard was a waterfall, and clear spiritual springs flowed through the middle of the courtyard, making for a beautiful scene.

The Great Elder personally brewed tea, and the aroma lingered, invigorating the spirit.

Xuan Yuan Zhudao joked, "Great Elder, you usually keep this Cleansing Spirit Tea so tightly guarded when I ask you for some, but today you are so generous. It seems we are benefiting from our little friend Wuxie."

The other eight elders all laughed.

Jun Wuxie looked at them with a smile. Patriarch Xuan Yuan was telling him that their Xuan Yuan clan valued him very much.

"Wuxie, you must have come to us this time with something important, right?"

The Great Elder said while brewing tea.

"Indeed, I have something."

Jun Wuxie secretly observed the eight elders and the patriarch.

He couldn't help but be slightly surprised.

The Xuan Yuan clan was indeed worthy of being a clan inherited from the Great Emperor Xuan Yuan.

The nine great elders were all Half-Saints, and the strength of the true energy in Patriarch Xuan Yuan Zhudao's body was comparable to that of the Great Elder!

Jun Wuxie had already seen that the Great Elder's cultivation was definitely top-notch even among Half-Saints, definitely not the kind who had just entered the Half-Saint realm.

Xuan Yuan Zhudao said with a smile, "Little friend, feel free to speak your mind. As long as our Xuan Yuan clan can help, we will not delay."

"Then I will get straight to the point. I have three things that I need your help with."

"Little friend, please tell us what they are."

Jun Wuxie thought for a moment and said, "The first thing is, I need your Xuan Yuan clan to send people to secretly investigate the high-ranking officials in the capital to see who has violated the law!"

"That's simple."

Xuan Yuan Zhudao nodded in agreement.

"The second thing is, it is estimated that many high-ranking officials in the court will not escape punishment, and there will inevitably be vacancies in important positions, but the affairs need to be handled. I hope that your Xuan Yuan clan can send people to fill the vacancies and serve in important positions in the court."

"This…"

Xuan Yuan Zhudao fell silent, showing a look of embarrassment.

The other eight elders also looked embarrassed.

Only the Great Elder pondered for a moment and said, "Now that our clan has come out of seclusion, and Lord Divine Sword has asked us to fully cooperate with Wuxie, we should not dwell on other things. Patriarch, what do you think?"

Xuan Yuan Zhudao sighed upon hearing this and finally nodded.

"Then I can rest assured." Jun Wuxie also breathed a sigh of relief, otherwise he would have had to waste a lot of words. Then he thought for a moment and said, "Does your Xuan Yuan clan have enough manpower?"

The Great Elder was stunned for a moment and said with a smile, "How many people are needed for the high-ranking officials in the court? Our Xuan Yuan clan has more than 5,000 members, and more than 4,000 adult members. Because we are descendants of the Great Emperor, we are proficient in both literary and military skills."

"It doesn't need that many, just some key positions, probably only about a hundred positions."

"Little friend, please tell us the third thing."

"This third thing…" Jun Wuxie looked at the eight elders and said, "I would like to ask two of you elders to quietly go to the Northern Plains and secretly infiltrate the Bingyun Tower."

"Infiltrate the Bingyun Tower?"

The Great Elder and others were stunned.

"That's right, infiltrate the Bingyun Tower and tell the higher-ups of the Bingyun Tower that if their sect faces destruction, they can rescue a few of them and pass on the spark of the Bingyun Tower, leaving a trace of bloodline."

The nine great elders and Xuan Yuan Zhudao looked at each other, and then showed a look of contemplation, all wondering what Jun Wuxie's purpose was in doing this.

"Wuxie, what exactly do you want to do? You might as well just say it directly, don't let us guess."

The Great Elder felt that he seemed to be planning something.

Jun Wuxie immediately explained the situation facing the Bingyun Tower.

After the Great Elder and others understood the situation, he said again, "As the deadline given by those forces is getting closer and closer, the people of the Bingyun Tower will definitely become more and more anxious. At this time, if a Half-Saint appears, they will definitely ask for help, but you cannot directly help them resist the powerful enemies. My purpose is only to give them a chance to ask for help."

"Although they definitely also have Half-Saints, it seems that they should only be people who have just entered the Half-Saint realm, and they are not the opponents of the Half-Saints of those forces. They cannot come out with their own strength now, so someone needs to help them."

Xuan Yuan Zhudao thought for a moment, and seemed to understand his intention. He couldn't help but look at him with a strange look and said, "Little friend's meaning is to let their higher-ups have a chance to run out and ask for help. Little friend wants them to ask you for help, right?"

"That's right, some people in the Bingyun Tower are very stubborn. Only under heavy pressure, facing the life and death of the entire sect, facing the tragic fate that is about to come, will they let go of their status and let go of the persistence in their hearts. That is the effect I want."

"Wuxie, aren't you afraid that Mu Xuelan will be angry if you do this? Although she has left the Bingyun Tower, she was once the master of the Bingyun Tower after all."

"She wants to regain control of the Bingyun Tower, I am just helping her. As for what means, she shouldn't care too much. As long as the result is good, the foundation of the Bingyun Tower is not damaged, and no disciples are humiliated, that's fine."

"Well, that's true. However, if you just want to regain control of the Bingyun Tower, you can directly suppress those who oppose her in the Bingyun Tower, why bother so much?"

"It's different, their laws are flawed, and their path is wrong. And in the Bingyun Tower, the four guardians are the most prestigious. I need them to submit and let them tell everyone in the Bingyun Tower in person that the laws are flawed and the path is wrong, so that the people of the Bingyun Tower can willingly accept all of this."

"You really are a terrifying opponent…"

The Great Elder sighed, he suddenly realized that Jun Wuxie probably already had such a plan in mind when he forcibly broke into the Bingyun Tower.

This young man calculated the thoughts and actions of certain forces in the world with unparalleled precision, watching the matter develop step by step in the direction he wanted.

Now, when the time is ripe, he only needs to guide it slightly, and the entire plan will form a perfect closed loop.