Chapter 481: Such Great Audacity

"My Lord, are you truly wealthy?"

In the end, the few people in the main hall were still somewhat uncertain. The arrogance with which Shen Yu had just spoken had almost made them believe him, but it was immediately followed by a bit of doubt and anxiety.

They knew very well what the situation was like at the yamen; counting on this money being squeezed out of the yamen was something they shouldn't even dream of.

As for the situation of this Lord Shen, they also understood a fair bit. His strength might indeed be terrifying, but he was upright in character and neither corrupt nor greedy. Furthermore, they had never heard of him having any family or the like to support him.

If he were a massive embezzler, they might believe he could produce it. But for someone who was incorruptible and didn't look like a rich man at all to say he was very wealthy, how could they possibly believe it?

They were indeed short on money now, but if some incident were to occur because of money, that would be bad.

"Wait!" Seeing their expressions, he knew they didn't believe him. Shen Yu would use practical action to tell them that this master had money to spare.

Leaving the main hall, Shen Yu flashed away, heading straight for Evil Man City. For someone possessing No-Distance Power, a distance of a thousand miles was reached in an instant, and it didn't take much time at all.

As for the wealth of Evil Man City, Shen Yu found it quickly, took away most of it directly, and piled it up in the open space outside the council hall.

Just this portion filled the courtyard outside the hall, almost running out of space. Gold, silver, and jewels were piled into a small mountain, practically dazzling people's eyes.

Hearing the noise coming from outside, the people in the hall couldn't help but get up and go out to look. When they saw the situation outside, they all gasped in shock.

Many people have no concept of money; when it is mentioned, it might just be a number, naturally unable to shake their resolve.

But when this wealth was piled up before their eyes, the impact was so great that seeing it could make one suffocate.

It was only because their resolve was firm; if someone with weak resolve had come, they would surely already be calculating how to stuff this money into their own pockets.

"My Lord, these, these are..." With so much wealth, Big Brother, did you go out and rob someone just now?

No, even if it were robbery, in this broken place of Xiaozhou, where could one rob so much money?

"Have you heard of Evil Man City? This is the wealth of Evil Man City!"

Turning back to look at the crowd, who were completely unable to recover from their shock, Shen Yu smiled slightly.

"What, is there still a problem with the plan?"

"This, this..." They wanted to say something, but after opening their mouths, they didn't know how to start; they were already dazzled by what was before their eyes.

Now there was only one thought in their minds: damn it, just how rich is he?

Wait, what did he just say? The wealth of Evil Man City?

Regarding the reputation of Evil Man City, they had naturally heard of it; it was absolutely deafening. As a top-tier force that had entrenched itself in Xiaozhou for many years, it indeed had the capital to produce so much money.

But Evil Man City was a notorious den of villains; they were experts at burning, killing, and looting, but asking them to obediently hand over their own money to support the development of Xiaozhou was something not even worth dreaming about.

In other words, Lord Shen had already quietly taken down Evil Man City; this was even more shocking than the wealth before them.

The imperial court had wanted to wipe that place out for more than a day or two; countless plans over hundreds of years had been ruined, and even the Xiaozhou government had given up. One could imagine just how strong Evil Man City was.

Yet such a force had perished at the hands of this Lord Shen. It seemed the gentlemen of the imperial court were right; Lord Shen was truly no ordinary person and could not be judged by conventional logic.

In the end, perhaps gradually becoming accustomed to it, these people finally shifted their gaze away from the gold, silver, and jewels.

At this moment, someone suddenly spoke up: "My Lord, does all this money belong to the yamen to allocate?"

"Of course. I brought this money out for you to allocate. The money must be spent, and it must be used where it counts; as the saying goes, what is taken from the people is used for the people."

"Truly?" The person speaking had a face full of surprise, with what looked like raging flames in their eyes, and immediately spoke again: "My Lord, this subordinate feels that your plan is still too conservative!"

"With so much money as a foundation, this subordinate feels we can be even more aggressive!"

"My Lord, wait a moment!" Hurrying into the room, this person brought out a map and began gesturing on it repeatedly.

"My Lord, please look. This is Xiaozhou. Xiaozhou is mountainous, and the areas around Xiaozhou are actually mountainous as well!"

"My Lord, your plan to clear the mountain roads only considered Xiaozhou; in fact, we can consider all these places."

While speaking, this person drew a large circle on the map, their face carrying a hint of excitement.

"To the west of Xiaozhou is Xichuan, to the south is the Southern Border, to the north is Zezhou, and to the northwest, east, southeast, etc., are all wealthy places. It can be said that Xiaozhou is actually located in the center of this region."

"It is just that Xiaozhou's transportation is inconvenient and it is too barren, so merchant groups always take long detours to bypass Xiaozhou!"

"As long as the layout is fully completed, Xiaozhou will be accessible from all directions and connected to all sides. When that time comes, why worry about it not flourishing!"

"If we in Xiaozhou provide the money to contact these surrounding prefectures and counties to build roads together, I presume it won't be much of a problem!"

"You damn well dare to think!" Looking at the map, Shen Yu was also shocked by his plan. By this calculation, the money in his own hands might not even be enough.

"Come back quickly!" The few people beside him knew his old habit had flared up again and hurriedly pulled him back, then said to Shen Yu, "My Lord, please do not blame him; he is just too excited. Please do not mind this plan!"

"No, what he said makes a lot of sense!" Waving his hand, Shen Yu continued, "Go ahead and do it. If the money isn't enough, I will find a way!"

"Indeed, Xiaozhou is located in the center of traveling merchants. If it weren't for these vast mountains blocking the way, forcing them to take long detours, then Xiaozhou would surely be a wealthy and prosperous place!"

"My Lord, are you sure?" These two fellows were truly a match; one really dared to think, and the other really dared to do it. Where did you get the confidence that the surrounding people would all be willing to cooperate?

If he knew what they were thinking, Shen Yu would surely smile lightly. If anyone dared not to cooperate, then he would find a way to make them cooperate; was that difficult?

Besides being the Governor of Xiaozhou, he hadn't yet resigned from his position as Patrol Censor, and the power of life and death was entirely in his hands.

If he went out for a spin, he didn't believe that their own backsides were truly clean. If they were truly clean, they presumably wouldn't obstruct such a plan.

As for money, Evil Man City was so wealthy. Then presumably, Cannibal Valley, which was also a hegemon of Xiaozhou, shouldn't disappoint him.

Before the money in front of him was spent, if he still couldn't handle Cannibal Valley, then he would be doing a great disservice to his own strength.

At worst, he would really go and search inch by inch; he didn't believe he wouldn't be able to find their location. The motivation brought by money was something they couldn't imagine!

"My Lord, news has come from the Black-Clad Guard in Anping Town!" Just at this moment, Deputy Commander of the Black-Clad Guard, Cheng Lin, hurried over.

When he saw that entire courtyard of gold, silver, and jewels, even someone as well-traveled as him couldn't help but gasp in shock. Had Lord Shen robbed the national treasury?

However, he quickly gathered his composure. Do not look at what is improper; looking too much makes it easy to get trapped. Gold and silver disturb my resolve; Master's words were indeed reasonable!

"Bring it here and let me see!"

"Yes, My Lord!" Saying this, Cheng Lin carefully handed the intelligence in his hand to Shen Yu.

Taking a rough look at the intelligence, Shen Yu couldn't help but fly into a rage. "Is what is written here true?"

"What incredible audacity, to lie to me! A bunch of human scum actually daring to make false accusations first; they are simply courting death!"