Chapter 1133

The twelfth day of the first month, Jingzhe, first phase, peach blossoms begin.

The first month's Jingzhe means the stirring of hibernation; all things emerge from Zhen, Zhen is thunder, hence the name Jingzhe.

Troops stationed in various places of Jiannan Commandery began to return in succession, gathering toward Hezhou.

Under Chen Bushi's tight arrangements, local grassroots officials have basically all taken up their posts these days, while the military also conducted a round of reshuffling; the lightly wounded, or those wishing to settle down, were arranged locally to fill the various government offices and county offices.

Jiannan Commandery and Shangfang Commandery have basically stabilized on the whole; what comes next depends on the abilities of local officials—great ability may lead to rapid development, while lack of ability means only slow simmering or waiting for trouble.

Chen Wuji ordered Zhao Chen to serve as Assistant Officer under his command and take up the post of Inspector of Shangfang Commandery, and Xu Xiu to take up the post of Inspector of Jiannan Commandery.

The appointment of inspectors for these two commanderies is a major matter, yet Chen Wuji currently has no suitable candidates; after much thought, he could only apply some pressure to these two.

Remote work is also work, after all—at least they can save the journey to report to him, saving much time; stepping out a few paces, they can deliver county affairs to his presence.

Although local affairs are tedious and complex, progress is still not bad.

But matters in the rivers and lakes are somewhat troublesome.

Chen Li led the two elders of the Lu clan, along with outstanding descendants from the Chen and Lu clans, to seek trouble with the Taiyuan Sect; the two sides have already fought for several days, ending in a stalemate where neither can overcome the other.

Yu Shi Mei took the opportunity to seize the Taiyuan Sect's external properties, disrupting their deception of the masses under the guise of divine immortals, and severely increased Chen Wuji's revenue—but the matter stalled there; at the mountain gate of the Taiyuan Sect, progress reached a deadlock.

The Taiyuan Sect indeed has two masters of the Land Immortal Realm, and they are very difficult to defeat.

Two old fellows, nearly three hundred years old, have now become the door guardians of the Taiyuan Sect; each day they do nothing but stand at the gate, fighting Chen Li and his companions until their strength is nearly exhausted, then tacitly part ways—neither fighting desperately nor allowing the other to advance further.

Everyone clearly understands that once they reach this realm, engaging in desperate combat leads to dire consequences.

Chen Li worries that if they engage in desperate combat, the common people within a hundred-li radius will suffer; while the two old fellows of the Taiyuan Sect fear that if they engage in desperate combat, the foundation they have painstakingly guarded will be reduced to ashes.

Chen Wuji received this news and had already ordered the recruitment of experts from the Spy Camp, but Chen Li intercepted him, offering no detailed reason for not needing additional troops, merely asking Chen Wuji for half a month's time to try again.

Out of trust in Chen Li, Chen Wuji agreed.

Chen Wuji could not guess Chen Li's reasons for doing this, nor did he bother to guess.

Perhaps it is because Chen Li, for the first time in so long, has taken the field as a top expert, unable to break through after prolonged attack, his dignity wounded, seeking another chance—or perhaps for other reasons.

However, Chen Wuji did not immediately withdraw the troops he had summoned, keeping them ready for reinforcement at any time.

The Ciji Zhai lacks Land Immortal Realm masters and has few Grand Masters, yet it can produce many Masters by the handful; if after half a month they still cannot break the Taiyuan Sect's defenses, Chen Wuji plans to use Master-level experts as vanguard, launching a strong assault with the Central Army.

The experience of Nan Jun's cavalry in the rivers and lakes remains there.

No matter how formidable one's personal martial prowess, he still fears a volley of ten thousand arrows.

That is, the realms of Grand Master and Land Immortal are truly beyond standard; otherwise, there would be no need to worry over these sects, for any unit under Chen Wuji's command could easily resolve them.

In Hezhou Jiangjun Fu, in Chen Wuji's study, Kong Jianshi, dressed in a plain cloth robe, set down the latest intelligence he had brought along, hands drooping, and said: "My lord, should we issue the Gold Needle Order from the sect, summoning the elders to return?"

Chen Wuji also knows about the Gold Needle Order of the Ciji Zhai.

This order, in fact, is not truly an order in precise meaning, but rather a Retirement Reemployment Certificate.

As an old-established sect with hundreds of years of transmission in the rivers and lakes, the Ciji Zhai has only one Grand Master, Kong Jianshi—this is a very strange, very unreasonable situation.

And to speak of this, one cannot avoid mentioning the Ciji Zhai's Gold Needle Order.

This sect long ago defied the customary rules of the rivers and lakes, establishing that upon reaching Grand Master, one may depart the sect and wander freely through the rivers and lakes.

The Ciji Zhai grants these individuals a stipend, or equivalent value in heavenly materials and earthly treasures, for their support.

Other sects treat such masters as ancestral objects of veneration, fearing these people will flee.

But the Ciji Zhai does the opposite—upon reaching Grand Master, they release the person.

If you wish to remain, that is also allowed—just as before, you must attend to due intelligence, and earn every penny due to the sect without shortfall.

If the sect has need of them, they must pay.

Thus, the Gold Needle Order mentioned by Kong Jianshi just now is precisely—Retirement Reemployment Certificate.

Likewise, if these individuals encounter some matter and wish to mobilize the strength of the Ciji Zhai, they too must pay.

And regardless of which of these two situations occurs, the price is not low.

"Enough, do not mention this before me—whenever you bring it up, I get a headache." Chen Wuji forcefully raised his hand, stopping Kong Jianshi from continuing.

He truly cannot afford the Gold Needle Order—not even a bit.

If calculated in worldly silver, even a casual recruit would require several thousand to tens of thousands of taels.

Of course, though this sum is high, even if dozens or hundreds of Grand Masters came, Chen Wuji could still afford it with his current wealth; what truly prevents him from using them is that worldly silver is merely a reference—these people generally do not want it.

What they want are heavenly materials and earthly treasures that can help enhance their strength.

Various strange and unusual ores and timber usable for refining are ranked second.

When Chen Wuji learned of this last year, he nearly felt heartbroken to the point of being unable to catch his breath.

But considering that these experts, whom he could summon with money, might truly be useful one day, he endured the pain and prepared some ores for them, then mixed in some silver, sending it as an offering.

Heavenly materials and earthly treasures are hard to find; once Chen Wuji obtains one, he is reluctant to part with it.

He has many women, many clansmen, and perhaps many children in the future—those things are only few, not many.

Kong Jianshi lightly laughed: "My lord, you should be able to discuss the price with the elders, or simply give them gold and silver—they now seem quite willing to serve you."

Chen Wuji felt a flicker of interest: "Is there such a matter?"

"The Assistant Officer previously encountered a sect elder in the Uyghur lands, who indeed expressed such intent, and according to him, several others also harbor similar thoughts." Kong Jianshi said.

Chen Wuji lowered his eyelids slightly: "Why is this?"

"Perhaps..." Kong Jianshi weighed his words, "Perhaps they wish to assist the lord in pacifying the world."