Chapter 479: A Thousand Threads and Ten Thousand Strands

"My Lord, the first batch of scholars has successfully entered Xiaozhou!"

"Good. Have your men protect them well; these are the seeds that will change Xiaozhou!"

"Rest assured, My Lord, this subordinate will not allow the slightest oversight!"

Inside the State Yamen, Shen Yu was still busy, and the number of things he needed to attend to was growing ever larger.

Originally, Evil Man City had already fallen, and the next target should have been Cannibal Valley. Yet, for such a long time, Cannibal Valley had not made a single move, as if this faction did not exist at all.

Logically speaking, after he arrived in Xiaozhou, Cannibal Valley should have reacted the same way as Evil Man City. As it turned out, only Evil Man City was jumping around, while Cannibal Valley showed no signs of movement whatsoever.

Since they would not move, Shen Yu could only search for them himself. But for Cannibal Valley to remain hidden here for so many years without being exposed, they clearly had some tricks up their sleeves.

Even though the Imperial Court had gathered quite a bit of intelligence over the years, they only knew the general location. As for exactly where they were, it was a total mystery.

Therefore, Shen Yu used the most tedious method: he personally searched along the general area, but even then, he could not find their exact location.

For them to remain undiscovered under his Super Perception, they must have their own methods. Unless Shen Yu could probe inch by inch, he might not necessarily find them, but that would be far too time-consuming.

At this stage, if Cannibal Valley was determined to stay hidden, it would truly not be easy for Shen Yu to find them.

Subsequently, Shen Yu made a decision: since Cannibal Valley could not be found for the time being, he would first sort out other places.

In his view, the entire Xiaozhou was practically a den of thieves; even the commoners were mostly half-citizen, half-bandit, and there were opportunities everywhere.

As long as he did a good job, the returns would be no less than wiping out Cannibal Valley. Besides, who knows, perhaps the rewards obtained from signing in at that time would solve the Cannibal Valley problem.

Of course, if Cannibal Valley dared to take this opportunity to stir up trouble, that would be even better. He wasn't afraid of them showing their faces; he was only afraid of them hiding. As long as you dare to show your face, I dare to pull you out by the roots.

To cooperate with Shen Yu, the Imperial Court also put in great effort; a large number of Black-Clad Guards were transferred in, all under his full command.

Not only those previously assigned to him, but another batch was sent later, along with a Deputy Commander of the Black-Clad Guard. Now, almost the entire Xiaozhou was under the supervision of the Black-Clad Guards, with almost no blind spots.

And Shen Yu did not hesitate; he fully mobilized the Black-Clad Guards to go deep into every region to investigate. It is no exaggeration to say that even in remote mountain villages, Black-Clad Guards might be active.

When the results of the investigations were reported, Shen Yu would usually take action himself, killing until heads rolled, killing until the entire Xiaozhou was terrified.

It was not as if no one had resisted during this process, but those who dared to resist died even faster, and their entire families were often implicated.

Evildoers being severely punished was Shen Yu's bottom line, and it was something he had to do.

Throughout the process, for those who obediently submitted to the law, their innocent family members who had never done evil would generally not be overly implicated.

But if they dared to resist, then Shen Yu would not be so polite. He would not go so far as to kill them—he could not bring himself to kill innocent people—but he would not let it go without a response either.

Have you heard of being exiled for thirty thousand miles? The bitterness of it will definitely make you remember it for a lifetime. Fewer than one in ten successfully reach the place of exile, and the places of exile are usually cold and desolate; of those who survive there, another fewer than one in ten remain.

If you think you have a tough life, you can give it a try!

Besides this, Shen Yu had another idea: he hoped to change Xiaozhou. The people here lived too bitterly and were too backward.

The economy must be grasped, and education must also be grasped. Knowledge changes destiny; this applies here just the same.

Shen Yu did not ask for the people here to pass examinations and gain fame through reading and literacy, but only for them to understand reason and know right from wrong.

It was just that Xiaozhou was backward; there were few scholars, let alone the ability to open schools on a large scale.

Therefore, Shen Yu recruited scholars from outside, but the results were equally minimal; few people were willing to come.

Come to think of it, Xiaozhou had a notorious reputation. Even when it came to being an official, many people avoided it like the plague, let alone asking them to come and preach and teach, working for free—are you kidding me?

So, Shen Yu used his trump card: he went to the Capital and talked with Chen Xing for an entire night!

Afterwards, the next day, the Imperial Court promulgated a strange decree. Whether a Cultivated Talent or a Scholar, as long as they could go to Xiaozhou to teach and work there for three full years, they could immediately be transferred away, and upon transfer, they would start as a Ninth-Rank Official.

Even for a Child Student, as long as they could come, they would be granted the status of Cultivated Talent, and after working there for three years, they would directly be treated as having the background of a Scholar.

Of course, if you were just going through the motions here, the Black-Clad Guards were not to be trifled with. You must know that Xiaozhou was currently swarming with Black-Clad Guards.

The Black-Clad Guards report on what they hear, and they are known for their ruthless methods; they would not give you preferential treatment just because you are a scholar. If you want to fish in troubled waters, you can try.

Not only would they make you go back to where you came from, but in serious cases, they would strip you of your status and never employ you for life. Only by using both methods could quality and quantity be guaranteed.

Under such generous conditions, it naturally gave many people ideas. The Dasheng Dynasty was so vast; there were always many people who were frustrated and unappreciated, and always people willing to take risks.

And the first batch of scholars had already arrived; Shen Yu's first step in transforming Xiaozhou had begun.

The subsequent matters were even more numerous and complex. Nearly half of the bandits and various evil forces in Xiaozhou had already been wiped out by him, and those remaining were trembling in fear, not daring to show their heads.

However, the intelligence from the Black-Clad Guards kept coming in, and soon, these people would also be cleared out by Shen Yu.

Coupled with the supervision of the Black-Clad Guards in various places, the security problem had been basically solved; what followed next was governance.

Transportation issues, economic problems, backward living conditions, impoverished commoners—all sorts of chaotic matters piled up on his desk, giving him quite a headache.

Regardless, every complex task must have a beginning. He refused to believe that he could wipe out Evil Man City, yet could not change a single Xiaozhou.

The first thing to do was to build roads. If you want to be rich, build roads first. Building roads drives the economy and can also increase employment; it can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

Xiaozhou's external transportation was extremely inconvenient; if this was not solved, it would never develop. As for how to start, he still had to look into it further.

"My Lord, take a rest!"

Standing beside Shen Yu, the Black-Clad Guard Deputy Commander Cheng Lin reminded him in a low voice.

Originally, when the Imperial Court sent him here, he had refused. He had been living a very good life in the Black-Clad Guard, holding a high position with great power.

But once he came to Shen Yu's side, he had to accompany him with a smiling face and be extremely cautious. Moreover, this master was not easy to serve and was notoriously ruthless; one careless move and his life would be gone.

Furthermore, the environment of Xiaozhou was simply a place where birds don't lay eggs; how could it compare to the flowery world of the Capital?

But he had no right to refuse. The Imperial Court wanted to win over Shen Yu. No, it couldn't be called winning over; they were simply trying to curry favor with him, so naturally, they had to send someone of weight.

Of the three Deputy Commanders, they finally chose him to fill the spot. Who told him to be honest in his daily life, neither taking nor occupying, nor bullying others with power? At that time, the bitterness in his heart was immense.

If they had sent someone with a dirty background, they might have been beheaded by Shen Yu the next day. Was this going to curry favor, or to provoke hatred?

So, no matter how unwilling he was, Cheng Lin had to bite the bullet and come. In this day and age, is it really that hard to be an honest man?

When he first arrived, he had even written his will, prepared for the worst.

But after spending some time with Shen Yu, his impression of him underwent a earth-shattering change.

This Lord Shen had terrifying strength, yet he did not have a shred of arrogance, and he treated the commoners as gently as a boy next door.

Unlike those people he often saw, who, no matter how approachable they appeared, could not help but carry a sense of condescension when they were with ordinary people.

Moreover, during this period, Shen Yu's busyness and toil were not for show; he was truly seeking welfare for the commoners. His actions were moving and admirable!

Moreover, having reached his level, there was simply no need for him to put on a show.

Of course, what delighted Mo Lin most was that when he performed well in his daily duties, this Lord Shen would offer him a few words of guidance, each time leaving him suddenly enlightened.

He had been trapped at the Grandmaster Perfection realm for a long time and had thought that promotion was hopeless within ten or even twenty years, yet he had not expected that after staying by Lord Shen's side for less than half a month, his realm had already begun to loosen.

To put it bluntly, Shen Yu was not his master but was better than a master to him, which was why Mo Lin became increasingly respectful toward him.

It was just that, logically, such an expert should be practicing every day, yet Lord Shen did not; instead, he was busy running around for the people of Xiaozhou without a moment's rest—what a breadth of spirit this was.

It really should be shown to that bunch of people, to let them see what it means to be an official!

Of course, Cheng Lin also did not know that ever since Shen Yu returned from Evil Man City, he had not practiced cultivation once, or rather, he did not need to at all.

Having reached his current level, he belonged to a state where there was no further progress to be made; even improving by a tiny bit was not a task that could be accomplished in a single day.

He was currently at the True Soul Realm Great Perfection, and unless he could sign in and obtain some good item that allowed him to cross this step, he was afraid he would only be able to wait for the Spirit Qi Surge and for the world's limit to increase before there was any possibility of further progress.

Perhaps in the eyes of others, he was an existence comparable to Mu Zishan, but only Shen Yu knew the difference between himself and those true heaven-favored children.

They relied truly on themselves, whereas he was purely taking a shortcut; especially an existence like Mu Zishan, who made people feel beyond reach.

Nowadays, Shen Yu's realm had reached the limit of this World, and even a tiny bit of further progress was extremely difficult, let alone surpassing the limit.

Yet Mu Zishan had done it; it was rumored that back then, Mu Zishan's breakthroughs were as simple as eating and drinking, and even when he had reached the limit of that time, it still could not trap him.

Relying solely on his own strength, he not only broke the limit but also walked further and further along this path, turning the impossible into the possible.

Otherwise, he could not have relied on his own strength to suppress the Spirit Qi Surge for over a hundred years; he was a true genius, the kind encountered once in a thousand years!

There were even rumors claiming that the Mu Zishan of that time was by no means as simple as the Transcendence Realm or the True Soul Realm; he must have been stronger and more terrifying.

However, these were only rumors; he had never met this person Mu Zishan, who only existed in those Jianghu legends.

When the older generation mentioned this name, they often did so with a trace of trembling; they were either yearning, reverent, or fearful.

Not a single person would look at Mu Zishan with an equal gaze, because they knew they were simply unworthy, and they did not even dare to place their names alongside his.

This was a genius who suppressed an era; if it were possible, he might have suppressed more than just one era.

Unfortunately, in the end, in order to protect more people, Mu Zishan voluntarily entered the Forbidden Land; the three characters "Mu Zishan" had become a swan song of the Jianghu.