Chapter 1649

But now the metal-encased hardwood door began to smoke, emitting a few sizzling sounds.

He looked left and right; fortunately, the sound wasn't loud, and it didn't attract unnecessary attention.

A hole was quickly melted through the door latch, and the brass lock fell to the ground.

The black shadow pushed the door open lightly and slipped inside in a flash.

In the cave behind the door, several fluorescent spores were embedded in the walls, illuminating the place in minute detail.

The cave wasn't large, only about a hundred square meters, with a bed, two chairs, and four or five stone tables.

Everywhere were bottles and jars, as well as herbs and insects soaking in jars, floating and sinking.

The black shadow opened a jar at random; inside was a cyan paste, emitting a pungent odor.

He opened another wine jar, and the things inside almost made him drop the jar—

Scorpions, dozens of black, cyan, and brown scorpions.

He didn't have time to see what other colors there were, and with a *slap*, he covered it tightly again.

Then, he began to explore this space.

"Mr. Wei's Cave" was never open to the public, and even the palace guards were very curious, not knowing what was hidden inside. But when the black shadow came in today to take a look, he was greatly disappointed.

It was too empty, too boring, and not quite what he had imagined.

There was nothing useful, so Mr. Wei is a pharmacist? Then he remembered the mission he was shouldering and hurriedly lit the spore lamp to shine everywhere.

He searched every corner of the cave; there was no secret door, at least he didn't find one.

He even crawled under the tables to search, knocked on the ground—it was solid.

There was no tunnel under the tables either.

This seemed to be just an ordinary kiln cave, with no extra tricks played on it.

He wouldn't give up and patrolled again; indeed, there were no formations, no mechanisms, and no tunnels.

So he extinguished the spore lamp, carefully pushed the door to go out, and covered the kiln door again, only then leaving under the moonlight.

This person didn't notice that a tiny spider was hiding on the jujube tree opposite the kiln cave.

He didn't leave Yongquan Shanzhuang quickly; instead, he walked toward the main road, no longer hiding.

He met two patrolling palace guards on the road; both sides looked at each other and walked on.

A quarter of an hour later, this person stopped at a row of refined houses and asked the palace guard at the door: "Is the boss still awake?"

"He's already asleep. What's the matter? I'll pass it on."

"No, no need." Just as this person was about to turn and leave, the door creaked open, and Zhao Song came out yawning: "Han Zheng? Come in and talk."

The person who broke into the mountain kiln at night was actually one of Zhao Song's subordinates. Han Zheng followed him in and whispered: "I just explored Wei Yishan's kiln cave; it's a dead end, with no passage connecting to the outside."

"And no formations?"

"Searched, none."

Zhao Song asked again: "What about the ponds in front and back?"

"One pond has flowing water and connects to the main river in the villa, but the connecting opening is very small; a person shouldn't be able to get through."

Zhao Song nodded: "Are you sure there's no other way in the mountain kiln cave?"

"Sure. I knocked on every wall, including the ground."

"Alright, get out." Zhao Song still wanted to sleep, so he dismissed him.

Tianshui City is preparing for the upcoming Imperial Flowing Plasma.

In recent years, the Imperial Flowing Plasma has occurred frequently, and Tianshui City has its own set of rules for receiving the spiritual rain, similar to the Panlong City of those years—that is, each family guards its own territory. If residents within Tianshui City take one step out to receive the spiritual rain, it is considered trespassing and will be punished.

Even if the heavens bestow grace, the noble families get more because their courtyards are wider, and the Imperial Flowing Plasma that falls within their mansion boundaries is counted as theirs. Furthermore, they have more means to catch the Imperial Flowing Plasma than just pots and pans.

He Lingchuan sits on Yongquan Shanzhuang; although it is half-new and half-old, the area is large enough.

Of course, he didn't need anyone to remind him; he made preparations one step earlier than the nobles of Tianshui City—

Even if he has other plans in secret, he still has to make full preparations for catching the Imperial Flowing Plasma on the surface, otherwise, it will arouse unnecessary suspicion. The facilities that should be built, the formations that should be laid, and the materials that should be used—not one can be missing.

These will naturally be reported to the King of Yao as well. His preparations are so meticulous and detailed that if the King of Yao didn't already know he was secretly sending the "Benevolent Seekers" away, he would really think he was racking his brains to catch the Imperial Flowing Plasma.

After the news that the Imperial Flowing Plasma was about to erupt was announced, Tianshui City became even more nervous. Because this time node is truly very subtle:

The refugee riot in Tianshui City was indeed suppressed by heavy troops, and Tianshui City caught its breath.

But everyone knows that the fundamental problem has not been solved: the refugees have no food and cannot earn money.

How can living people sit and wait for death, especially since the refugees in Tianshui City exceed ninety thousand! Although the Yao Nation has urgently purchased grain from abroad, Tianshui City is located in the center of Great Yao, not close to any border. Grain transported from abroad to the country takes at least seven or eight days on the road, and that is calculating at the fastest speed.

Distant water cannot quench near thirst.

The simplest strategy the Yao Court can adopt at the moment is to grasp both hands together:

First, forcefully suppress the refugees, and wait until the foreign aid grain arrives before distributing it.

After all, ninety percent of the refugees in Tianshui City are not Yao people. No matter how many are lost in this process, Tianshui City actually doesn't care from top to bottom; batches of foreign people squeeze into Tianshui City one after another, and in the blink of an eye, those losses seem as if they never existed.

Of course, the King of Yao also feels that there might be someone fanning the flames behind the refugee riot.

Because the timing is just too coincidental.

The Imperial Flowing Plasma coming at this juncture is truly adding fuel to the fire.

The spiritual plasma can stimulate the greed of all living things; even people with good tempers usually might go crazy because of the Imperial Flowing Plasma, not to mention the refugees who have nothing to eat or drink and whose evil thoughts are rising.

The arrival of the Imperial Flowing Plasma is a bloodthirsty potion for them, and I'm afraid it will make them even more manic.

Is the next major refugee riot coming soon? When the time comes, will it be like pressing a gourd and having the ladle jump up, becoming increasingly intense? If Tianshui City wants to prevent it before it happens, it must deploy more troops in advance.

If one wants to prevent a riot of a hundred thousand people, the original bailiffs of Tianshui City are far from enough. Moreover, there are too many shacks, and the refugees are too scattered. Therefore, under the suggestion of Bai Tan, the Yao Court mobilized the garrison to drive the refugees in the shacks to several designated large open spaces in advance, gathering them together for strict supervision.

Driving a hundred thousand people, and a hundred thousand disobedient people at that, is not a small project.

On the day the announcement was released, there were several disturbances.

Some refugees were unwilling to be driven to be concentrated, and some refugees knew in their hearts that they had participated in the riot, and once identified and caught, they would have no good end. So, following the riotous crowd to loot, burn, and kill, they didn't hold back at all.

Fires were everywhere, and the city residents were panic-stricken. Two fires caused shops along the street to catch fire, and several small temples behind the street were burned through.

Tianshui City was busy and overwhelmed. After the iron-fisted suppression a while ago, the refugees were relatively honest. Even so, the total of 13,000 garrison troops mobilized by the Yao Court from nearby were all thrown in, and they barely stopped the riots, driving them to open spaces and concentrating them.

It's so difficult now, what to do when the Imperial Flowing Plasma erupts! There are far from enough hands.

Some ministers suggested that the palace guards could also be temporarily sent to suppress the scene when the time comes.

The palace guards of the Yao King's city total 5,600 people. Previously, 900 were allocated to protect (monitor) He Lingchuan, and they are now stationed at Yongquan Shanzhuang, so there are still more than 4,000 left.

In extraordinary times, these thousands of well-trained palace guards can be of great use in Tianshui City.

When Bai Tan heard this, he was the first to jump out and express opposition, righteous and stern: "No! The Imperial Guards protect the safety of the King; how can they be mobilized to suppress rioters!"

That minister said: "The palace city has always been stable; once the palace gates are closed, where is the need for 4,000 elite soldiers to guard it? Instead, Tianshui City is short of manpower. If some major trouble breaks out when the Imperial Flowing Plasma descends, allowing the rebellion to gain momentum, it will be difficult to clean up later."

Both sides held their own views, and other ministers joined in one after another, debating until neither side could gain the upper hand.

Even You Rongzhi stood up and opposed borrowing the Imperial Guards.

The King of Yao felt annoyed listening and slapped the armrest of his chair hard: "Enough, stop arguing!"

Both sides finally quieted down, listening to the King of Yao speak:

"On the day the Imperial Flowing Plasma descends, 300 people will remain at He Xiao's place, 1,000 will remain in the palace to guard, and the rest will all be allocated to suppress the riots!"

Several ministers were arguing fiercely and hadn't reacted yet: "Your Majesty, at He Xiao's place..." Why keep 300 people there?

The King of Yao couldn't be bothered to argue with them: "I have made up my mind."

The others shut their mouths; only a few people, including You Rongzhi, understood the monarch's thoughts: He couldn't let He Xiao escape during the chaos; at least he had to keep some people to watch him.

Bai Tan's eyes drooped, but he sneered secretly in his heart:

At this juncture, the King of Yao is still thinking about the millions of taels of "gold-plating" in He Xiao's hands.

When the time comes, he will know what it means to lose the big for the sake of the small.

After the meeting, You Rongzhi privately found the King of Yao and suggested: "Your Majesty, on the night the Imperial Flowing Plasma descends, why not summon He Xiao into the palace? The palace's defensive strength can be increased to 1,300 people."

The King of Yao pressed his Qingming acupoints.

On the day of the Imperial Flowing Plasma, of course, he would summon He Xiao into the palace! All the above personnel allocations were deliberately said for Qingyang to hear; how could they really be executed? Use the real as the fake, use the fake as the real; when the time comes, change the deployment again—he must catch Qingyang off guard! On this side, Bai Hengbo privately came to find Bai Tan and whispered: "Uncle, the King ordered me to lead 300 people to surround the Jade Spring Palace and the Imperial Study four days later! Previously, this guard duty was always performed by Zheng Da!"

"The night of the Imperial Flowing Plasma?" Bai Tan was overjoyed and also let out a long sigh of relief, "Good, good, I said this job should have been arranged for you! It was worth all the effort we spent."

At that time, he went to find He Xiao overnight, bought the first-row refined house in the Youhu Shanzhuang with heavy gold, and showed his heart to the King of Yao. The King of Yao was indeed moved and promoted his nephew Bai Hengbo to the position of Supervisor of the Court Guards.

The Court Guard Supervisor is responsible for and manages the safety of the inner palace, responsible for the deployment and arrangement of the inner court guards.