Chapter 1174: The Earthworm Emerges

The soldiers stand in a circle, like stars in the sky and clouds in the sky.

The wind lifts the black cloak, the yellow dust on the official road swirls low, the Son of Heaven's personal guards are in formation, Red Mountain stamps its hooves, Liang Qu looks levelly at the military formation, clearly seeing the muscles of the warhorses jumping, seeing the wisps of white steam sprayed by the horses, the rise and fall of the armor plates of the soldiers.

The invisible pressure is like a towering mountain, rising from the ground, pouring down, the common people are silent.

The horsetail whisk waves, Imperial Envoy Li walks slowly in front, Heavenly Feather Commander Meng Meng Qiang accompanies in the middle; the Heavenly Feather soldiers hold the "Shun" character flag high, respectfully following behind.

"Wang Chao, Chai Shen."

"Here!"

The Red Blood Dragon Horse leaps out, the two riders' iron armor clanking, cold silver light flowing on the armor.

"Hold the flag."

"Yes!"

The Forbidden Army Commander presents the Great Shun yellow flag, the Heavenly Feather bows to receive it, one hand gripping the large pole, the other wrapping the flag surface, bundling it upright, leaning it on his shoulder, looking toward the east.

"Li Li Bingzhong, Zhang Zhang Shaofan."

"Here."

"Hold the flag."

"Yes!"

"Shi Yao, Miao Kun."

"Here!"

"Hold the flag."

"Yes!"

At the Meridian Gate of the Imperial City, the common people crane their necks.

Thirty-eight Heavenly Feather Guards, thirty-eight Great Shun dragon-blood horses, thirty-eight Great Shun flags, neat and uniform, step out of the ranks, in two columns of nineteen rows, stepping onto the central official road.

The sewing is uniform and clanking, the straight straps are square.

Imperial Envoy Li turns around, walks quickly to under Liang Qu's horse, and bows: "Reporting to Marquis Baron Xingyi, the team has been formed."

Liang Qu nods, looking around: "Thank you, gentlemen!"

The thirty-eight riders shout in unison:

"For the Great Shun! For His Majesty! For the King's business! We do not fear hardship!"

Imperial Envoy Li sings along: "Gentlemen, what are you doing on this trip?"

The thirty-eight riders shout again:

"Celebrating for the Great Shun! Celebrating for His Majesty! Celebrating for Marquis Baron Xingyi! Spreading our names throughout the world!"

The sound shakes the roof tiles.

Red Mountain stamps its hooves and retreats, giving way to the official road ahead, Liang Qu shouts: "Beat the drums! Send them off!"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The Harmony-Coordinating Official beats the drums fiercely, the drumbeats are dense like rain, the common people's faces are flushed, holding their breath in anticipation.

Imperial Envoy Li stands on the side of the official road and sings: "Spread to the Southern Zhili, go!"

Whoosh.

The banners flutter.

Two of the thirty-eight riders leave.

"Spread to the West of the Pass, go!"

The banners flutter again, flying in the wind.

In a flash, one capital and eighteen provinces, the thirty-eight riders spreading their names, like opening a floodgate, step into the air without a trace, rushing to the world. On the central official road, another twenty-four people fill the vacancies, take over the commander's small flags, mount their horses, the common people's eyes reveal anticipation, Meng Meng Qiang gives an order, whips the horses, and they gallop through the streets and alleys of the capital.

Amidst the attention of all.

The leading Heavenly Feather Guard's neck is red, veins jumping, shouting loudly:

"Good news! Good news! Marquis Baron Xingyi has attained the Dao and become a Saint, how magnificent is our Great Shun, the whole world celebrates together, by His Majesty's decree, a great feast for the world for seven days! Effective from the day of hearing the news!"

"Good news! Good news! Marquis Baron Xingyi has attained the Dao and become a Saint, how magnificent is our Great Shun, the whole world celebrates together, by His Majesty's decree, a great feast for the world for seven days! Effective from the day of hearing the news!"

Boom!

The silent air flows, the held breath expands wantonly.

The palace maids along the way scatter fresh flowers, falling on the official road, falling on shoulders. By the Jishui Pond, giant elephants draw water, their four hooves like pillars, raising their heads to spray water, a rainbow spanning the Jishui Pond.

The common people cheer, rushing into the inns and taverns along the way, drinking fine wine.

Pingyang, Huangzhou, Xihe, Heyuan, Datong, Hantai, Southern Frontier, Northern Court... the Heavenly Feather Guards rush through, the scouts scatter.

In April, the mountains rise, and all the towering mountains know.

In May, the Heavenly Feather spreads the names, and all the people in the world know.

Xu Xu Zishuai rushes into the street, grabs a handful of lotus petals, and scatters them into the air. The petals drift down, covering his hair. On the Heavenly Street, doors and windows are all open, seeing the scouts waving flags, running and passing by.

Red Mountain's two hooves stamp in turn, dancing with joy accompanied by the music, its mane overflowing.

The vast capital is filled with joy for a time.

"The plums are ripe."

"What?" Imperial Envoy Li turns his head.

Liang Qu grabs the horse whip and points to the scouts running far away: "At that time, I had just reached the fourth realm, registered, didn't need to pay taxes, and was coaxed by my senior brother to treat guests at the best tavern in Pingyang County, Langyun Tower."

"Because it was early summer, the cicadas chirped, the earthworms emerged, and halfway through the meal, several senior brothers said they wanted to drink the green plum wine from Master's garden. It was at this time that a scout ran to the street and shouted."

"Shouted?"

"Yes, shouted very loudly. He shouted 'Good news! Good news! Marquis Marquis Weining has attained the Dao and become a Saint, the whole world celebrates together, by His Majesty's decree, a great feast for the world for five days! Effective from the day of hearing the news!' Hahaha, mine is seven days!"

Imperial Envoy Li is stunned. He wants to flatter him, saying it's because Liang Qu is the youngest Martial Saint in Great Shun.

"Lord Li, is this the end?"

The words on the tip of his tongue are swallowed, Imperial Envoy Li bows and answers: "Reporting to Marquis Baron Xingyi, His Majesty has arranged a banquet tonight. Before the banquet, Marquis Baron Xingyi can ride around the Jishui Pond, go home first to settle down and rest, wash and bathe, and in an hour or two, I will come to inform you."

"Honk!"

The elephant trumpets loudly, spraying water at the official road, suppressing the yellow dust.

Liang Qu laughs loudly, unable to resist paying out of his own pocket to set up a ten-day flowing banquet. Helplessly, under the feet of the capital, there is no reason for him to reward others. He turns to find his master, Xu Xu Yuelong, and others to ask for some silver, crushes it into small grains, and throws them high.

"Go buy wine, go buy wine! Everyone go buy wine!"

"Roar!"

Cheers rise again.

"Marquis Baron Xingyi! Marquis Baron Xingyi! Marquis Baron Xingyi!"

"Mother! I'm back!"

The servants welcome him along the way, sweeping away the dust. Xiang Fangsu is full of smiles, striding across the family threshold in a rush.

"Oh, my good son, you finally decided to come back! It's been eight or nine years since you went to Pingyang." The woman walks out of the corridor, feigning tears and complaining.

"Huh? Didn't I come back for the New Year holiday the year before last? It's been at least two or three years. Tea, is there tea? I'm dying of thirst. Old Zhao, hurry, hurry."

The woman greets the servants to bring tea: "I heard the fleet docked at dawn, why are you only back now? It's almost dinner time."

Xiang Fangsu puts down the teapot and wipes his mouth: "How could I have time to come back? The ship stopped outside the capital, then the officials welcomed us, drinking, singing names, reading decrees, that took over an hour."

"Pacifying the Southern Frontier, the Ghost Mother Sect is gone, Liang Qu has become a Martial Saint, we from the River-Lake Office all got some light, were welcomed together, walked slowly to the Meridian Gate, and did it all over again, that took until noon."

"In the afternoon, there was the 'Martial Saint Spreading Names' arrangement. I only found time to come back after that ended. Is there anything to eat at home? I didn't even have lunch, let me pad my stomach first. Mother, you didn't see it, that scene, it was truly a sea of people, gongs and drums shaking the sky. In my opinion, don't just stay at home, go out and walk around."

"This Marquis Baron Xingyi is really too fast. The day of the Perfected Form Realm is still before my eyes." The family steward reminisces.

"A small place produces a big figure." The woman sighs. "I was staying in the room, and when I heard the names being spread outside, I was thinking, if only it were my son's name being sung."

"Pfft!" Xiang Fangsu spits out a mouthful of tea, coughing repeatedly, "If your son can get to know such a person, you should burn high incense. It's better that I'm good, I don't have such dreams."

"Hey, you can't do it, but you won't let me, as a mother, think about it? High incense of course must be burned. When your father let you go to Pingyang, I thought it was ordinary. The Ghost Mother Sect had been shrinking in Jianghuai for decades, how could it be so easy to earn merit? It would be better to go to Heyuan Prefecture. As a result, in the blink of an eye, it was cleaned up. When the names were spread, the family tavern, all forty percent off, celebrating Marquis Baron Xingyi becoming a Martial Saint. Am I, your mother, generous? I even have to pay for the labor."

Xiang Fangsu gives a thumbs up: "My father climbed high."

"That's for sure. Do you have anything to do in the next few days?"

"There must be things to do, when is there nothing to do? Today is the world spreading names, later there will be the King Enfeoffment Ceremony, the Southern Frontier and Jianghuai Merit Ceremony, I guess it will take a month. Why?"

"Introducing a young lady to you!"

"Hmm..."

Joy is not limited to one family.

Ke Ko Wenbin, Ran Ran Zhongshi, Bai Bai Yinbin, Xu Xu Yuelong... all returned to the capital today.

A parent's love is endless, returning home is a joyous time.

Dumplings when mounting a horse, noodles when dismounting. Xu Xu Yuelong rolls up his sleeves, eating egg noodles in big mouthfuls, saying vaguely: "Father, you said a month for the King Enfeoffment Ceremony, is it that fast? In the past, there was almost a year between Marquis Marquis Weining's name spreading and his enfeoffment, right?"

"That's because the situation was different. First, no one knew if Marquis Marquis Weining could advance, so naturally there was no preparation. Liang Qu is different. I estimate that when he reached the Heavenly Human unity, the cabinet had already discussed it. Second, Ningjiang Prefecture is after all too close to Southern Zhili, there are always considerations and disputes."

"Father, you are well-informed, tell me, where will Marquis Baron Xingyi be enfeoffed this time?"

"I really don't know that." Xu Xu Wenzhu shakes his head. "The two capitals are not enfeoffed, it certainly won't be Southern Zhili, Pingyang and Yixing are impossible, the hometown is also rare. In terms of conditions, the area near the Yellow Sand River in the north is more suitable for Marquis Baron Xingyi, but strategically it is not needed. Perhaps it is some place in the south."

At dusk, cheers and noise can still be heard on the streets, and patrolling soldiers can be seen everywhere.

A great feast for the world, allowing the common people to gather and drink, all taxes are exempted, wine and meat are heavily discounted, the capital is even halved, and there is a feast granted by the imperial court, with various performances, far more lively than other places tenfold.

This is the prosperity unique to the capital, everyone is sharpening their heads to drill in here.

After cleaning the mansion, the long-silent Second Liang Mansion welcomes its master, each chooses a room, restores vitality, and is full of joy.

Otter-Open runs under the Mo Long Jin Bridge, lines up copper coins, puts down half a piece of silver, points with its claws, wanting fifty portions of brain meat. The two-foot-tall Fat Catfish, "Cannot-Move," Round-Head, and Fist stand behind, drooling.

Creak.

The sunset flows in from the door crack, from narrow to wide.

"Ah!" Long Li closes her eyes, retreating in horror, "What is this, I've grown a stye, I've grown a stye!"

"Who told you not to knock? You deserve it!" Liang Qu puts his arm around Long Eying's shoulder, pulling his wife into his arms, his face not red and his heart not beating.

"Who would be hugging their wife and kissing wildly in the hall in broad daylight? And it's stringing, yuck..." Long Li strikes back, hugging her own shoulders and shivering.

"If you have a fart, let it out quickly."

Long Li hugs her arms, her cheeks bulging, and says nothing.

"Alright, tell me, what is it?" Long Long Eying laughs, interrupting the two.

"Imperial Envoy Li is here!"

Liang Qu's chest is pushed, and he has no choice but to let go of Long Eying.

"Alright, let's go eat!"

"Where is His Majesty." Liang Qu looks around, "Are we eating in the Imperial Garden?"

"The banquet has not yet begun." Imperial Envoy Li bows, "His Majesty will arrive later."

"I have seen you, Sir."

As the voice sounds, Liang Qu lowers his head and sees the boy in the courtyard respectfully bowing to him. His age is about a year or two older than Wen Wen Shi Yun, fourteen or fifteen, but he has a lot more seriousness and solemnity.

Outside, people mostly call him Marquis Baron Xingyi or Lord Liang. "Sir" is a somewhat uncommon title, mostly used by students in academies to call their instructors. Liang Qu has never been called this way before.

"Who are you?"

"My father asked me to visit you, Sir, and send a scroll." The young man respectfully holds up the book.

"Marquis Baron Xingyi, this is the Sixth Imperial Prince." Imperial Envoy Li hurriedly introduces.

Sixth Imperial Prince?

Liang Qu doesn't pay too much attention. Due to martial power reasons, the selection of the Great Shun Emperor is not necessarily among the princes, it's just a higher probability, there is no such taboo about contact. He takes the scroll, curious: "Why do you call me Sir?"

"When I was young and learning to read, the cutting-sound and standard-sound methods were agonizing. Fortunately, the teacher invented the pinyin method, saving me from that sea of bitterness. I mastered it in half a year. After much thought, Marquis Baron Xingyi should be considered half my foundational teacher, so I boldly call him 'Teacher' to bask in a bit of his glory."

Liang Qu suddenly realizes, unfolding the scroll sent by the Holy Emperor through the prince.

It is a large map, marked very flashily, with four colors: red, yellow, blue, and green.

Basically, the middle is large blue, both sides are large green, further out is small yellow, and further out is large red.

The upper and lower reaches of the Huai River, the Five Lakes, the prefectures around Jianghuai, Xihe Prefecture, Pingyang Prefecture are blue. Outside this circle of blue, most are green. Green to the border provinces is yellow. Crossing yellow is red, large red—Southern Frontier, Northern Court, Great Snow Mountain, all red.

Simple and clear.

"Can't run around anymore." Liang Qu sighs helplessly.

"You are the pinnacle of the world, every move you make attracts attention. Such limitations are a helpless move, to avoid being a bird startled by the bow, causing chaos. Once there is chaos, it could be the death of hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of people." The Sixth Prince bows. "Please understand, Sir."

"It's fine, with great power comes great responsibility." Liang Qu sits on a stone stool. He estimates that every Martial Saint who opens the Heavenly Pass, besides receiving congratulations, will receive a similar map.

Ordinary people need to register and have someone guarantee them when entering or leaving, and it's about the same for Sky Dragons.

"Tell me, what is the difference between the colors? What does green mean?"

"Blue is the range you can go to at will, Sir. Up and down the Huai River, both sides of the Huai River, and even Huangzhou and other places, you can enter and leave freely, without time limits."

"Green requires reporting. According to the process, send a visiting card three days in advance, and you can enter and leave freely. If time is tight, you can also enter and leave directly after getting the seal from the Ministry of Revenue. Southern Zhili, the capital, and most of the road provinces are like this."

"Yellow means you must obtain the permission and consent of the imperial court before you can go. Without consent, you cannot go privately, otherwise you will face questioning."

"Finally, red is strictly forbidden to enter or leave, and it is seriously regarded as treason, stripping of titles and positions."

Liang Qu nods.

Looking at the map again, it actually doesn't have much impact. Except for Lingnan and Heyuan, all the places he has been to before are blue, including Hantai.

Although Hantai is on the border, it is indeed on both sides of the Huai River.

It is not incomprehensible. Once a Martial Saint moves, the whole world knows. Without an order, going to the border for no reason, Great Shun is not nervous, but the Southern Frontier and Northern Court are nervous, which is equivalent to intensifying the conflict. If a fire starts by accident, whose pot is it?

"What do these circles mean?"

The Sixth Prince bows: "After discussion by the cabinet ministers, these are your candidate enfeoffment lands."

Liang Qu is stunned, immediately looks at the circles, and then frowns.

There are seven candidate enfeoffment lands in total.

There are two in the upper reaches of the Huai River. One location is probably near Jianshui, the size is standard, slightly larger than Pingyang, belonging to the Central Plains, very close to Huangzhou. The other location is next to the West of the Pass.

There are two on both sides of the Yellow Sand River, both in the upper reaches. The first one cannot be called barren, with many mountains and dense forests, and a low degree of development. The second one has a desert directly, counting as a border location.

Regardless of the Huai River and the Yellow Sand River, the advantage of being close to the border is that it is large. The enfeoffment land is very large, all seven or eight times the size of Pingyang Prefecture, or even ten times.

The remaining three, two are by the sea, mostly distributed evenly between Southern Zhili and Lingnan, standard.

The last one is between the upper reaches of the Huai River and Lingnan, also in the scope of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, with land demon kings.

"Which one does Lord Liang fancy?"

"Your Majesty!"

"Father!"

The Holy Emperor arrives in casual clothes and asks Liang Qu with a smile.

Liang Qu scratches his head, staring at the map and thinking for a long time: "The subject doesn't know, can Your Majesty allow the subject to take it back and think about it carefully?"

"Not knowing means you are not satisfied with any of them." The Holy Emperor opens his mouth.

Liang Qu breaks into a cold sweat.

"Is it because the border is too poor?" The Holy Emperor points his finger, "Jianshui is rich, with a large population and smooth business routes. For that railway of yours, I can make the decision to build a special line for you."

"Above Lingnan is also not bad. Although there are demon kings as neighbors, you don't have to face the Southern Frontier Great Shaman directly, there is no pressure to guard the pass, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is abundant. The population is small, but it wins in having many spiritual objects. It is also a rich place. The Withered Glory Martial Saint once practiced in seclusion here."

Liang Qu praises repeatedly: "Good place, good place."

"Hahaha!" The Holy Emperor laughs loudly, shaking his head slightly, "Wealth and nobility are there, sizes are there, north and south are there. Is it that you are reluctant to leave your hometown, and also reluctant to part with the Jianghuai Great Marsh?"

Liang Qu is a bit embarrassed.

He even regrets that he was in Yixing at the beginning. If he were in Jianshui, how good it would be. The sect is from Jianshui, Uncle Chen is also from Jianshui. Opening a Jianshui martial arts hall, things wouldn't be so tangled, everyone would be together.

Alas, Pingyang is in Southern Zhili, it is impossible to enfeoff outsiders.

The two sit opposite each other, Imperial Envoy Li and the Sixth Prince wait standing.

"Lord Liang is not material for being an official." The Holy Emperor pours tea himself and says suddenly.

Liang Qu is stunned.

"Although your official career is smooth, unimpeded, you understand human feelings and worldly wisdom, and everyone is kind to you, but Lord Liang, you have never truly experienced what it means to be an official, or rather, you don't understand the patience of being an official."

"Take your trip to the Southern Frontier, for example. You dug out Gong Qianqing's matter, and I dismissed him from office and threw him into prison, just because this matter was discovered by you, that's all."

Liang Qu is speechless, bowing: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

The Holy Emperor shakes his head: "Why thank me? To thank, thank yourself. I said, it's because of you."

"You can be unimpeded because you can bring benefits to everyone, and you also know how to 'share'."

"Dealing with the Ghost Mother Sect, you gave all the merit to the high-ranking disciples of the River-Lake Office, while you didn't touch a single thing of the Ghost Mother Sect, and even the supreme blood stones of Xiangyi County were fully taxed."

Liang Qu is shocked: "Your Majesty, this..."

The Holy Emperor smiles slightly: "Don't be surprised, the mineral vein in Xiangyi County withered, it's true. Do you remember who was supervising the local area?"

"Seems to be... a eunuch who returned to the roots?"

The Holy Emperor nods: "That old eunuch was originally enjoying his old age in Xiangyi. Who knew that two supreme blood stones would emerge from the abandoned mineral vein? He felt that you, this little child, were fresh, and learned that you had once received my oral praise, so he reported it to the capital all the way."

"At that time, I knew that you had a strange beast that finds minerals. With only a few supreme blood stones, you could still hand over half. It was clearly an abandoned mine that no one managed, and no one would know if you took them."

"You can bring benefits to others, benefits so great that others are willing to let you do things according to your temperament. Magistrate Jian Magistrate Jian Zhongyi is like this, Gong Qianqing is like this, they are all like this."

"If it were someone else, Gong Qianqing would at most be demoted, and wouldn't even enter the prison. It's just that you would be unhappy, and I felt that the value of Gong Qianqing's relationship with the South Sea King is not as high as making you happy. This, this is being an official."

"If an official has a moral flaw, bullying men and women, as long as he can handle things and solve problems, he can still be prosperous, and I will turn a blind eye."

"If you were not twenty-seven this year, but sixty-seven, seventy-seven, eighty-seven, and the benefits were not so great, all the friction would rush toward you. Even if you entered the Sky Dragon Realm, it would be the same, because you are a Sky Dragon, and the South Sea King is also a Sky Dragon."

"'The three realms are not peaceful, like a burning house, full of suffering, very terrifying,' indeed."

"So I think, if you really want to be an ordinary official, you can't stand it, and if you want to be an ordinary enfeoffed king, you won't be satisfied either." ===== CHAPTER 1175 =====