Chapter 2085

"The information is incomplete, I can't see it." He Lingchuan has always been very honest in front of her, and besides, he has been leading troops abroad recently, "but this matter of Bai Sha Bay is more like a chip fabricated out of thin air. Hmm, have there been any other problems lately?"

"Smart!" Sun Fuling praised him first, "The relationship between Ling Mountain and Panlongcheng, recently it's not..."

She pondered her wording: "Smooth."

How shrewd He Lingchuan is—by putting Ling Mountain first, she means—

"Is Ling Mountain proactively stirring up trouble?"

Sun Fuling gave a faint smile: "Not long ago, Ling Mountain sent word through Mr. Xin, wishing to further cooperate with Panlongcheng."

Upon hearing this, He Lingchuan immediately sensed an opportunity: "How exactly would this further cooperation work?"

"First, Ling Mountain hopes that internal sects can establish mountain gates and impart teachings on the Panlong Wasteland and Mao River Plains."

Currently, within Panlongcheng's territory, there are no sect forces. The power structure here is very simple: horizontally, only Panlongcheng and other cities; vertically, only the military, government, and civilians.

Simple, therefore easy to manage.

He Lingchuan pondered: "How does Dean Xu view this?"

In Panlongcheng's jurisdiction, the leading unit responsible for "imparting teachings" is the Shu Min Academy.

"Dean Xu believes that once an external sect settles and takes root, management will face considerable difficulty. The goals and principles of external sects will inevitably differ from those of Panlongcheng, and will inevitably clash with Shu Min Academy."

Simply put, they are not of one mind with you.

He Lingchuan added: "These sect garrisons could also become strongholds for spies and traitors."

The forces he built from scratch—whether the Shan Shang Merchant Guild, the Black Armor Army, or the Dragon God Army—have all caught internal spies, and he knows very well that traitors have not all been caught.

Likewise, he has also planted many internal agents in other forces.

The surface relationship between Ling Mountain and Panlongcheng is good, but internally each side has its own maneuvering; if Ling Mountain wants to plant eyes and gather intelligence here, it would be quite natural.

Spies wanting to gather and transmit information, to cooperate with each other, need reliable bases—preferably legal and long-term locations—so they are not easily dismantled.

From this perspective, sect garrisons are quite suitable. Ordinary people cannot enter, and officials cannot interfere with their internal affairs.

Sun Fuling immediately added a "but": "Allowing sects to station also has benefits. These years, Panlongcheng has expanded too rapidly, and the influx of new people has been too great; the teaching staff and research capacity of Shu Min Academy are severely lagging behind. In the short term, we cannot supplement that much manpower."

Besides being a regular academy, Shu Min Academy undertakes various research tasks in addition to teaching.

He Lingchuan recalled Sun Fuling's two years of struggle in Yuheng City. Panlongcheng's acquisition of a Mao River Plain led to the construction of over forty large and small academies and private schools, keeping Sun Fuling busy enough, and the student-teacher ratio is severely imbalanced.

Now Panlongcheng's fame has spread far and wide, with people from all directions coming to seek refuge. The explosive population growth, besides challenging public facilities, housing, and material supply, has also made education a major problem.

As for sects, they recruit disciples from childhood, which means teaching must begin with literacy.

He Lingchuan stroked his chin: "Sects are very selective in taking disciples, unlike Shu Min Academy, which teaches without discrimination."

After all, those with cultivation talent in the world are few, even now that heavenly and earthly spiritual energy has revived.

"This is easy to handle." Sun Fuling blinked: "One condition we can set for allowing sects entry is that they must accept a certain number of urban and rural students each year, and we will provide the examination papers and conduct regular student assessments. Sects that fail to meet standards several times will not have an easy time in Panlongcheng's territory."

On Panlongcheng's territory, one must follow Panlongcheng's rules—this is "when in Rome, do as the Romans do."

He Lingchuan chuckled: "That's a solution. Anything else?"

"Dean Xu and Commander Zhong were still discussing just the day before yesterday: currently, residents of the Panlong Wasteland who want to obtain slightly better cultivation methods have only one path—enlistment—or, they must purchase them at high prices from some unofficial channels, which carries a high risk of being cheated."

Upon hearing this, He Lingchuan nodded repeatedly: "Indeed, this is a problem."

Panlongcheng has already made basic heart methods public to all wasteland residents. But for higher-level methods, one must exchange military merit for them.

This is actually a wartime measure—Panlongcheng wants to ensure combat-ready forces enlist as soon as possible; but now, it fails to meet the demands of the wasteland people.

Since heavenly and earthly spiritual energy is gradually increasing, those qualified to enter the path of cultivation will surely also increase, after all, people strive for higher ground. Panlongcheng must leave them sufficient room to grow, otherwise they will naturally seek a more suitable homeland.

Introducing sects can digest a large part of this demand. And future Panlongcheng will also need more cultivators.

These aspects can be considered a win-win.

"There is considerable room for negotiation on this matter, and in the end it will most likely be settled." He Lingchuan hit the nail on the head: "What other conditions has Ling Mountain offered that make Commander Zhong feel embarrassed?"

He shows exceptional concern, first because he himself is already a part of Panlongcheng—not just a thorough Panlongcheng native, but also one of its leaders, so naturally he must consider its interests;

second, in reality, the Jinjin Plains also face the same problem as Panlongcheng—that is, after achieving one's own power, or after fortunately becoming a thorn in the eye of the current great powers, what changes will occur in the relationship with Ling Mountain?

Conversely, how will Ling Mountain treat this rising nascent force? Will its attitude change?

Everything Panlongcheng is experiencing now has important reference value for his real-world management of the Jinjin Plains. Because, he will soon have to deal with Ling Mountain.

"Ling Mountain hopes to establish a new branch in Panlongcheng; and because Panlongcheng's many overseas partners are bridged by Ling Mountain, and Ling Mountain sends people to coordinate operations. Therefore, Ling Mountain now proposes that Panlongcheng should allocate a portion of the profit margin from its foreign trade to it."

He Lingchuan heard this and said nothing.

Sun Fuling continued: "Last time you weren't at the meeting, I went with Dean Xu to attend, and all the senior officials present opposed it."

In the eyes of Panlongcheng people, Panlongcheng has today's everything, and it's not all from their own hard work? People must rely on their own efforts, and cities are the same. Even if Ling Mountain extends a helping hand, it's only icing on the cake—why should they take so much money?

"But Xin Yi once said, the states and powers that Ling Mountain aids all have the obligation to repay and support Ling Mountain."

"Hmm, the word 'support' is used well." He Lingchuan took a sip of fruit dew, today unsuitable for alcohol, "Just like Bei Jia must support the Heavenly Palace."

Speaking of which, the two major forces of immortals and demons both have the quality of floating and elusive, not facing the mundane world directly, but influencing this world and achieving their purposes through the states and powers beneath them.

(End of chapter)