Chapter 198: Military Merit Rewards, the Heavenly Soul Resides in the God Temple! (6K)

The judgment of military merit in the Soldier Realm is determined through a combination of multiple aspects.

First, the recording tools carried within the army, such as Mirage Pearls, can record which enemy was killed by whom; soldiers submit them to sergeants, sergeants to officers, and so on, reported up layer by layer.

Second, the Yin God statues carried by the army, namely the Star Lord of Beneficial Calculations, will patrol the battlefield with a group of wandering gods during battle, calculating each person's military merit.

Third, the direct monitoring of the Soldier Realm, such as during the Cloud City period, where the Soldier Realm could directly observe every move and calculate exactly how many were killed.

The above three are the main statistical methods.

The calculation speed is also very fast; results are generally out the same day.

There are also many things that cannot be directly derived, nor directly seen.

For example, when Zhao Xing led people over the Flame Mountain and blew up Round Moon City, how many died? It's unclear, and there is no direct record.

This requires time and verification from multiple parties.

First, spies originally planted in Fire Dragon Pass stated the situation; on the Fire Demon side, the spies naturally knew how many had died.

Second, the Star Lord of Rebirth was invited to the original site of Round Moon City to check the number of Yin Souls, during which correspondence had to be sent to the Yin Realm to check whether any extra alien souls had appeared.

All of the above only calculated the military merit for beheading.

Blowing up cities, breaking through passes, subduing enemies, and so on—these cannot be accurately quantified and must be judged by people.

The Hundred Soldiers Tower of the Soldier Realm, based on the deductions of the 【Creation Disk】, calculates the actions of a certain person or team, determines the subsequent impact, cross-verifies, and the bigwigs arrive at a recognized opinion, thereby increasing or decreasing military merit for each army and each person.

Therefore, the judgment of military merit in the Soldier Realm, apart from beheading having the most intuitive method of judgment, cannot be calculated by oneself for the rest; one must wait for the results from above.

After breaking the city, Zhao Xing killed six seventh-rank and then stopped.

Killing one seventh-rank is only one thousand to four thousand points.

As for killing eighth-rank, it's only one hundred to four hundred points.

Lord Zhao had seen large sums and disdained competing with his brothers for these small amounts; after killing six seventh-rank, he did not continue to pursue further.

There were too many on our side; over a hundred thousand people howling as they charged through the pass city to take heads, while the garrison of Fire Dragon Pass, at most, numbered forty to fifty thousand—not enough to go around.

Zhao Xing did not go kill eighth- or ninth-rank either, because in this situation, a high-rank killing low-rank counts as stealing merit from the soldiers, and the Soldier Realm's judgment of military merit would be greatly reduced; an extreme auditor might even grant no merit at all.

Additionally, the soldiers would also harbor resentment.

It would be thankless toil.

"My big chunk of military merit still comes from the three things: stealing back the Earth Fire Lotus, planting the Earth Fire Lotus, and blowing up Round Moon City. Just these alone are quite a lot."

Zhao Xing washed his face, ordered two Swift-Walking Grass Men to carry him as he strolled leisurely back.

At this time, Liao Rulong, Wen Shaoyang, Xia Jing, and Jiang Ming had all ordered their troops to contract, with only a small portion of forces still pursuing and killing ahead.

It wasn't purely for the pursuit; rather, while chasing, they were also probing the situation of the plains inside the pass, preparing to head to the Blue Gang War Zone.

Now that the commander-level generals had been gathered, it was to question them one by one and register some merits that couldn't be directly calculated.

Inside the Marching Hall, the atmosphere was jubilant, as people had nearly all gathered.

Liao Rulong began to question and verify 'merit points' one by one:

"My unit was the first to scale the South Chengguan in this battle; we should claim the chief merit for breaking the city!"

"Do the brothers of the friendly forces have any objections?"

Xia Jing and Jiang Ming shook their heads, indicating no objections.

It was indeed Liao Rulong who charged ahead, scaling the South City Wall, and even drew the suppression of Yue Haisheng, yet he withstood the pressure, reducing the pressure on the pass and the North City Wall.

No one had objections to his taking the merit points for 'chief merit in breaking the city.'

Liao Rulong nodded in satisfaction, cupping his hands toward a certain direction of the Marching Hall; wisps of sandalwood incense rose in the great hall, and within the incense smoke stood the phantom of the Star Lord of Beneficial Calculations.

This is how the armies and generals corroborate one another; at this level of commanding generals, everyone chats first to see if they agree, so that when the Soldier Realm's judgment comes down, no one has objections and demands a review, which would be an ugly scene.

"The fortifications of Fire Dragon Pass, this is another merit point."

"The mechanisms and grand arrays in the city walls and underground—the Sea-Calming Army and the four ambush teams all have great merit."

"According to our prior agreement, since the timing of action was the same, we won't count these time differences; we only look at the effect of the damage caused."

"This section is to be judged by the Star Lord and the Soldier Realm; do you all agree?" Liao Rulong asked.

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

Wen Shaoyang and Jiang Ming spoke first.

Xia Jing hesitated for a moment, then also nodded: "Agreed."

Speaking of which, he had only just learned that Zhao Xing had blown up Round Moon City, causing the formation in the southern section of the pass city to be extremely severely damaged.

And Liao Rulong was quite the sly one; he had Zhao Xing's unit arrive inside Fire Dragon Pass early, under the fine name of: scouting the way.

This gave Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie's team more preparation time than the other three teams.

Without those two and a half days of preparation time, how could he possibly have grown so many firecrackers to blow up Round Moon City?

What left Xia Jing caught between laughter and tears was that the turncoat he had originally bought over was directly poached by Zhao Xing.

Originally, this guide should have been his man!

If Pang Guangyao hadn't guided Zhao Xing, just the journey from crossing the mountain to finding Round Moon City would have wasted more time.

With Pang Guangyao, they could avoid the mountain-patrolling teams in advance and also know which route was safer for marching.

However, Xia Jing only hesitated for a moment and did not object.

It wasn't that Xia Jing was broad-minded and didn't bear a grudge, but rather Zhao Xing had also helped him many times, and their relationship was quite good.

If Liao Rulong hadn't said Zhao Xing was in the team, with only Chen Shijie, Xia Jing would have been anxious.

As Zhao Xing said, investing in him and investing in Xia Jing made no difference; even though it was a fake move, the merit of buying over this spy still had a share belonging to him, Xia Jing.

The subsequent discussions became more trivial, basically all being disputes over merit in the cooperation among subordinates after breaking the pass.

For example, two commanders simultaneously killed a seventh-rank underground.

First, there was no Mirage Pearl record; second, there was no priest carrying a Yin God statue among the surrounding teams.

The commander of the Black Armor Army claimed he had killed the target, while the commander of the Zhenhai Army claimed he had delivered the fatal blow.

Although a mid-stage Earth Fiend Realm battle merit was worth 2,000 points, which the main generals considered insignificant.

But for the men below, these merits were substantial.

This might be the greatest merit they ever established.

So they had to fight, and they had to fight until a result was achieved.

But none of this concerned Zhao Xing.

He did not lead a unit; after breaking through the Fire Dragon Pass, he acted freely.

His merits were relatively clear.

That afternoon.

Zhao Xing's merits were updated.

Originally, before he went to steal the Earth Fire Lotus, his battle merit was over 486,000, placing him outside the top 500 on the Seventh-Rank Battle Merit List.

Now, receiving a reminder from the Earth Mirror, he immediately took it out to check.

【Divine Might Army Zhao Xing: Seventh Rank, Lower Grade】

【Battle Merit: 1,068,421】

【Pingman Battle Merit List Ranking: 5,421】

【Seventh-Rank Battle Merit List Ranking: 69】

"Awesome!"

"It hasn't even been half a year since the fighting started, and I've broken one million battle merit!"

Zhao Xing smiled happily.

In his past life, when he was scraping for merits, where had it ever been this smooth?

"Truly, a vow has been fulfilled," Old Master Zhao said, moved to the point of nearly shedding tears.

In his previous life, his luck was terrible; during the Pingman campaign, a major instance, he was either fighting Baboke of the Yan Guang Wang Ting or serving as a Transport Commissioner getting slashed by Liu Tianning.

Now it was great; in just a few months, he had scraped up one million battle merit.

Zhao Xing examined it closely; the Military Realm had provided a brief explanation of his battle merit assessment.

"Lurking at Fire Dragon Pass, retrieving Earth Fire Lotus seeds, earned 30,000 battle merit."

"Opening the volcano, leading the Agriculture Camp to cultivate fifth-rank Earth Fire Lotus, earned 450,000 battle merit."

"Blowing up Round Moon City, plus the assault reward for the Divine Might Army, a total of over 100,000 battle merit was distributed."

"Originally, I thought 300,000 or 400,000 battle merit would be enough, but unexpectedly, nearly 600,000 was awarded."

For stealing the seeds back, Yu Ziqi, Chen Shijie, and Long Xiao all received about 20,000 to 30,000 battle merit each.

The Military Realm does not look at how much risk you took, only at the results.

Bringing back third or fourth-rank Earth Fire Lotus seeds and earning 20,000 to 30,000 battle merit per person was already considered a lot.

Because Earth Fire Lotus seeds were merely seeds, only third or fourth rank.

Yet the merit for cultivating and planting was awarded at 450,000!

Although Dong He also participated, and over a thousand Agriculture Camp members contributed to planting and cultivating the fifth-rank Earth Fire Lotus.

But there was no doubt that Zhao Xing contributed the most!

It just happened that the Military Realm had released a mission regarding fire-repelling materials.

Combined with the fire-repelling magical robe and its effect on breaking through Fire Dragon Pass, Zhao Xing's personal battle merit was awarded particularly generously.

As for breaking through Round Moon City, that was also a major factor, plus the Divine Might Army was the main force in breaking through Fire Dragon Pass.

Adding everything up, it came to nearly 600,000 battle merit!

You must know, during this period, there were no opportunities to scrape up great merits, except for the Western Divine Thunder Army, which broke through Yang Qilin's first defensive line, counting as a major victory.

The main forces of the Black Armor Army in the north, the Tiger and Crocodile Army, the Blazing Sun Army, and others were still in a stalemate.

For the armies in the Fire Demon Tribe war zone, the vast majority were in a lull, yet Zhao Xing scraped up nearly 600,000 battle merit.

Precisely because of this, his ranking skyrocketed in an instant.

On the Seventh-Rank List, he jumped directly to 69, and on the overall list, he reached over 5,000!

Currently, across the entire Pingman battlefield, there are over 60,000 Sixth-Rank officials, and over a million Seventh-Rank officials.

Being able to rank 69th, he was naturally happy!

"As long as the Military Realm initiates a phased ceasefire, I can cash in these battle merit rewards," Zhao Xing thought silently.

What rewards could one million battle merit bring?

First was the title of nobility; Zhao Xing previously held no title, but now with one million battle merit, he could skip ten levels at once: three levels of Baron, three levels of Viscount, and three levels of Earl.

If the war ended right now, he would have reached the threshold for being granted the title of Hou Jue.

Of course, it would be the lowest grade of Hou Jue, with only a fiefdom of tax revenue, no actual fief land.

So, how much tax-revenue fiefdom could one million battle merit buy?

According to the rules set by the Military Realm: 10 points of battle merit equals one mu of inferior land.

A Ninth-Rank soldier, by killing one armored Ninth-Rank alien, could earn one square mu of land. (A square mu in the Zhou Dynasty was thirty paces in length and width, roughly 200 square meters).

Zhao Xing now had one million battle merit, so theoretically, he could obtain 100,000 mu of inferior land.

But in reality, the imperial court generally did not grant inferior land, because that would be purely insulting; the yield of inferior land was too low.

So a conversion was required.

The conversion rate between inferior, medium, and superior lands was decimal; this meant Zhao Xing could now receive 1,000 mu of superior fertile land, but generally, the reward would be a mix of superior, medium, and inferior, each comprising a certain proportion.

But this was merely the reward for granting land; upon rising to the rank of Hou Jue, there would also be a portion of tax-revenue fiefdom.

According to the minimum standard for Hou Jue, Zhao Xing would also have a tax-revenue fiefdom of one thousand households; this meant they would find a place for him where one thousand households would farm the land every year, and the land taxes paid by these one thousand households would all belong to him.

As long as you make no mistakes, the fiefdom can be inherited; your descendants can continue to draw from it forever.

A commander of a thousand households is the lowest tier of Hou Jue in the Great Zhou.

Zhao Xing has already reached this minimum standard.

Beyond that, Zhao Xing will also be granted a San Jie and a Xun Jie; these aspects are even more varied. For instance, Gongyi Physician is the eleventh level of San Jie; obtaining this San Jie qualifies one to submit memorials to the provincial government.

Continue rising to the 【Chaoyi Physician】 level, and one can even write directly to the Emperor to offer suggestions concerning the state.

What other functions does it have? First, once one holds a San Jie, even if sometimes without an official post, one can still advance in cultivation.

Second, one can openly discuss court politics.

The advancement of Xun Jie is equally varied; in the end, it boils down to two words: more money.

It increases the salary of soldiers while they are alive; even after retirement, the pension is tied to this.

Here, we can take Tian Hou's grandfather as an example.

Tian Shan's grandfather reached as high as a Second Rank official, but his Xun Jie reached level forty-five.

Just one tier below the highest level of forty-nine. His annual salary, converted into the universal points of the Military Realm, reached an astonishing twelve million!

Even after retirement, he could still collect six million three hundred and forty thousand annually.

When Tian Hou's father obtained this Xun Jie, he lived for another two hundred years or so.

Although this Xun Jie vanished after death, while alive, he still accumulated an astonishing family fortune.

So when Lu Bang introduced Tian Hou to Zhao Xing, saying Tian Hou was "quite wealthy," he was not joking.

They truly had money, and it was legitimate, clean money.

Of course, in this current period, even Xun Jie is not so easy to advance.

However, there is a mountain of San Jie; as long as one reaches Fourth Rank, one basically qualifies to write to the old Emperor, reaching directly to the heavens.

It just offers no actual benefits.

But now that the war is not yet finished, these war merit rewards will not be immediately granted.

If the final outcome is a victory, the various rewards will be upgraded by one tier.

If a defeat occurs, then one waits for the rewards to be deducted.

So when will the enfeoffment occur?

Zhao Xing remembers that in the eighteenth year of Jingxin, a phased enfeoffment and reward ceremony will be held.

This is because Emperor Jing is considering for the first time ending the training of low and mid-level troops and launching high-end warfare.

However, certain rewards will be immediately granted once war merit reaches a specific threshold.

That is the qualification to transform into a Yin Shen.

"The Ming Hun resides in the womb; the Tian and Di Hun constantly remain outside."

"To transform into a Yin Shen, one must first draw the Tian Hun into the temple; otherwise, if one dies later, summoning the soul will be difficult," Zhao Xing pondered.

The Tian Hun is named the "Wangsheng Hun"; now that he possesses one million war merits, the imperial court will dispatch a Yin Shen to interrogate him.

At that time, Zhao Xing can choose to forfeit the Xun Jie and San Jie rewards brought by the "one million war merits" to seek a "posthumous reputation."

"Insurance must still be purchased. The Tian Hun is useless for my cultivation; even in the convergence of the three souls within the Great Dream of Spring and Autumn, it actually has little to do with the Wangsheng Hun; it is mainly the 'Cause and Effect' Hun."

The Tian Hun is the mark each person leaves upon the heavens and earth.

Unless one reaches First Rank, one cannot see the existence of the Tian Hun.

Even if one wishes to cultivate the Di Hun, that is a matter for the Third Rank Yuan Hun Realm.

The Great Dream of Spring and Autumn currently cultivates the Ming Hun; only occasionally does the Cause and Effect Hun converge to provide warnings, but the Tian Hun actually plays little role.

Residing in the temple is, in fact, even safer.

"If I happen to die, I can still use the Tian Hun to summon the Ming Hun and Di Hun, resurrecting as a Yin Shen."

"This insurance must still be purchased."

The war merit assessment in the Military Realm ends on September 20th.

Even if there are some loose ends, they have nothing to do with Zhao Xing.

Meanwhile, the three armies are resting at Huolong Pass.

Because Lu Yuanwei's Divine Thunder Army has not yet pierced Yang Qilin's second defensive line, this army of theirs is not in a hurry to advance westward.

Liao Ru's contingent, Wen Shaoyang's contingent, Xia Jing's contingent, and Jiang Ming's contingent, adding up to a total of only one hundred and fifty thousand men.

This figure even includes personnel from the supply cities behind them.

The personnel dispatched by Wang Ting, along with all the tribes and the Fire Demon Clan guarding the Qinggang Mining District, number at least four million!

Naturally, they must wait for Lu Yuanwei to strike first.

"The fifteen armies outside will feel their way across the river by following our Shenwei Army."

"We will feel our way across the river by following Lu Yuanwei, this child of fortune."

Looking at the fifteen miscellaneous armies outside the pass, Zhao Xing could not help but smile.

"What are you laughing at? Take this!"

Xia Jing's Po Yuan Finger came whistling toward him.

Zhao Xing turned; Xia Jing's fingertip stopped at his chest. The Yuan Qi dissipated, the curved finger became a fist, and Xia Jing hammered Zhao Xing hard on the chest.

"Good for you, Zhao Xing! Your war merits have already broken one million. We fight to the death, yet we don't have as many as you."

Zhao Xing smiled and said, "I am indebted to Brother Xia for your care."

"You even use my name to recruit people. Recruiting people is one thing, but why make an oath?" Xia Jing said in a low voice. "It makes it hard for me to arrange other positions for Pang Guangyao now."

"Your fame is great," Zhao Xing said. "If I say 'I am Zhao Xing of the Shenwei Army,' who would know? People would probably turn around and leave, having no idea who I am."

"That is not because my fame is great," Xia Jing sighed. "It is my father's fame."

Xia Jing's war merits have also reached over eight hundred thousand.

This time, his spy returned a military strategy and deployment map, so the defensive formation offered no proper resistance, as it was blasted entirely at its weak points.

However, although they had won, Xia Jing was clearly still somewhat uneasy.

Zhao Xing knew what Xia Jing was thinking and immediately said, "You will surpass your father's achievements sooner or later."

Xia Jing waved his hand and said, "Surpassing my father, I fear that is a bit difficult. Just not bringing shame to him will suffice."

He clearly did not wish to discuss this further and changed the subject, saying, "Now it is different; now your fame has probably already spread!"

"You now have a million battle merits, reaching the threshold for the Third Rank of Hou Jue. Have you decided what reward to request?"

"I plan to forfeit the rewards of merit rank and scattered rank, and request a 'posthumous name'." Zhao Xing said.

Xia Jing nodded; with this choice, it was not surprising.

In fact, many qualified military generals would choose this.

After all, in the concepts of this time, becoming a Yin Spirit meant one could truly rest with the state forever, be worshipped by future generations for generations, and achieve eternal life in the Yin Realm.

"If I had a million battle merits, I would also grab such a spot." Xia Jing said, "I just do not know how many battle merits can still be grabbed on the road to the Qinggang Mining District."

Zhao Xing thought for a moment and said, "Rest assured, there will be enough for you to chop."

Just as they were about to chat a bit, suddenly the token on Zhao Xing's person trembled.

"Zhao Xing, the transport tower ship is arriving soon." The voice of Liao Ru Long came from the token, "You must come down immediately."

"I will be there shortly."

Zhao Xing said a word to Xia Jing, then immediately soared on clouds down from the fortress wall.

The transport bureau's tower ship was named the Flying Dragon Tower Ship.

It was a Sixth-Rank warship; normally, the Flying Dragon Tower Ship was only ten times larger than the Fifth-Rank Dragon Head Tower Ship.

But the transport bureau's tower ship was a special edition; its size was fifty times larger than a Fifth-Rank supreme warship.

A veritable 'Fat Dragon Tower Ship'.

It looked like a small city flying in the sky.

This behemoth did not take the usual path, cutting directly through the ten-thousand-meter Gao Wind Layer.

When landing, it was as if a great mountain fell into the fortress.

The Transport Commissioner of the Pingman Battlefield held the official Sixth Rank, Upper.

But their status was unique; upon meeting anyone, they were automatically elevated one rank, equivalent to the Fifth Rank.

Liao Ru Long, upon meeting the Transport Commissioner 'Lu Tingzhi', had to perform the subordinate's bow.

"Subordinate Liao Ru Long greets Lord Lu."

"Commandant Liao, please rise quickly." Lu Tingzhi avoided this bow and reached out to lift the bowing Liao Ru Long: "We are both Sixth Rank, where is the distinction of superior and inferior?"

Winning a battle was good; even the main officials of such a lucrative post as the Transport Bureau were polite.

"Congratulations, Commandant Liao, congratulations to the Divine Might Army, for taking Huolong Pass. Now you are famous throughout the entire Pingman Battlefield."

"It is all relying on the majesty of the imperial court that such meager merits were achieved." Liao Ru Long was humble.

However, this statement was indeed not false; the Great Zhou fighting the Southern Man, in terms of weapons and equipment, had always held a great advantage up to now.

"I heard that among the Divine Might Army, there also appeared an extraordinary Agricultural Official; I wonder where Zhao Xing is?" Lu Tingzhi asked.

Liao Ru Long immediately introduced Lu Tingzhi: "This is the Ninth-Section Captain Zhao Xing of our Divine Might Army."

"Subordinate bows to Lord Lu." Zhao Xing respectfully performed the bow, but in his heart he muttered, how did I run into this person?

Lu Tingzhi lived until the early period of Wu Di.

The highlight of this scoundrel was serving as the Transport Commissioner for the two provinces of Haizhou and Daoyuanzhou, a Second-Rank grand official!

In his past life, when embezzling, this master was the backer of his backer.

He was also the first Second-Rank grand official beheaded by Liu Tianning.

"Truly a young talent! Please, no need for the bow!" Lu Tingzhi's expression was full of appreciation.

"Thank you, Lord Lu." Zhao Xing was neither humble nor arrogant, nor did he flatter Lu Tingzhi.

Before I had no choice, now I want to be a good person... Zhao Xing thought; in this life, he did not plan to have any entanglement with Lu Tingzhi.

Even if there was an opportunity, he also wanted to borrow Lu Tingzhi's head to rise in rank.

After the routine pleasantries.

Zhao Xing followed the generals onto the tower ship.

The arrival of the Transport Bureau was mainly to provide supplies for the three armies and exchange some needed materials.

Additionally, it was for Zhao Xing, this genius who had already reached a million battle merits.

According to custom, the Transport Bureau had to make a trip to ask Zhao Xing if he wished to exchange for a Yin Spirit spot.

If exchanging, it must be done as early as possible; otherwise, if one dies later, the Heavenly Soul does not know where it is, and the cost of summoning the soul is greater.

"Subordinate is willing to forfeit the merit rank and scattered rank rewards of a million-level battle merit, and request a Yin Spirit position." Zhao Xing stated his attitude.

"Good, then you may go to the Rebirth Star Lord Hall to pray." Lu Tingzhi said, "There will be a priest to guide you on how to proceed."

"Yes."

The tower ship was large; inside it was a palace, the Rebirth Star Lord Hall.

This palace's standard was much higher than the temples in the Supply City.

To invite Zhao Xing's Heavenly Soul to reside in the temple, at least a Third-Rank divided soul of the Rebirth Star Lord must be present here.

Zhao Xing discarded all distracting thoughts and entered the palace.

A priest led him to burn incense, worship, and pray.

It was not much different from worshipping gods as usual, except there was one more process requiring Zhao Xing to contribute a drop of blood as the medium for inviting the Heavenly Soul to reside in the temple.

"Pfft~" This drop of blood was poured into the burning bronze furnace.

"The ceremony is complete; Lord Zhao may rise." The priest spoke.

Is this enough?

Zhao Xing felt no sensation at all.

"I thank you, True Lord of Rebirth."

Bowing once more, Zhao Xing rose and left the Hall of the True Lord of Rebirth.

He then checked the panel.

He found that a record indeed appeared on it:

【Jingxin Year 17, September 20; Heavenly Soul resides in the temple, obtaining the position of Yin Spirit. After death, one may transform into the body of a Yin Spirit.】

"Heavenly Soul resides in the temple, the insurance is purchased," Zhao Xing smiled. "Now I can act with full freedom."

He was about to descend the sky ship when he suddenly stopped his steps.

"Hmm?"

Zhao Xing turned his head in confusion and stepped back a few paces.

His gaze fell upon a young man sweeping the floor in the Divine Weapons Hall of the Fortune-Transfer Office.

"This face seems somewhat familiar."

Zhao Xing pondered for a moment and walked into the Divine Weapons Hall.

At this time, many officials came and went to exchange items; seeing Zhao Xing enter, someone immediately came to welcome him.

"My lord Zhao, do you wish to exchange for a Divine Weapon?"

"Just looking around." Zhao Xing pointed at the young man sweeping the floor. "The Divine Weapons Hall itself is a treasure, spotless; why would someone be sweeping here?"