Chapter 4: Advancing by Retreating

The dark horse takes the crown!

The atmosphere in the hall had just been too intense, with everyone raising their glasses in a roar; these few poems by Liu Zheng had made everyone lose themselves.

At this moment, they suddenly realized.

This spendthrift, known to the entire city, had actually won?

The entire hall fell abruptly silent.

Then, there was the sound of wine cups falling one after another.

Following that, the whole hall was in an uproar.

"Impossible..."

"How can this be!"

"He, is actually so overflowing with talent?"

Thousands of people in the hall had different expressions. Some were stunned, some regretful, some held their heads, and some roared in anger.

In short, no one was willing to accept the reality before them.

Liu Zheng had actually won...

Chen Ping also took a deep breath; the situation before him was something he had not foreseen.

"Quiet, quiet!"

The Counselor shouted a few times, and only then did the hall quiet down.

The Counselor glanced at Liu Zheng: "Congratulations to the son of the Liu Township Marquis, Liu Zheng, for successfully taking the crown at this Poetry Gathering!"

Sparse applause followed.

Liu Zheng did not mind, cupping his hands and grinning: "I accept your praise, I accept your praise; everyone, eat well and drink well! Prefect Chen? What do you say?"

Then, he looked at Chen Ping on the stage with a continuous smile, not forgetting to look at Chen Ruoshi like a lecher, his intent to profane becoming increasingly obvious.

Such shameless behavior naturally invited all sorts of abuse again.

Liu Zheng, however, did not care, chuckling: "My eyes have been like this since I was a child; you all can call it nature, or you can call it a habit. In any case, I won, didn't I? Miss Chen?"

Chen Ruoshi had just been immersed in the illusory realm created by these poems of Liu Zheng...

"When the golden wind and jade dew meet, they surpass countless others in the human world..."

She had been listening until she was somewhat dazed.

Only when her name was called by Liu Zheng did she let out an 'ah', as if waking from a dream.

"You... you lecher! Father, I..."

Chen Ruoshi's face turned slightly pale, and she was somewhat incoherent.

How could this spendthrift be so talented?

Her heart was in chaos at this moment, and she actually did not know how to refuse him.

Chen Ping waved his hand, signaling his daughter not to speak for the moment, then looked at Liu Zheng and said with as kind a smile as he could muster: "My worthy nephew truly has great literary talent! Since you have won, you should fulfill the rewards and punishments."

"No!"

"Prefect Chen, Miss Chen is a beauty of heavenly fragrance and a heart of orchid-like quality; you must absolutely not let her marry such a lecher!"

"I am willing to kill him with one sword, to pay with my life!"

These scholars were acting up again in various ways.

Liu Zheng rolled his eyes.

It's one thing for young people to make a scene! Why are you, a sixty-year-old man, beating your chest and stamping your feet?

But there were soldiers maintaining order at the scene, so how could anyone really bring a sword inside? Most were just running their mouths, showing off their own swagger of being furious for the sake of a beauty.

Chen Ping ignored them and looked at Liu Zheng, saying indifferently: "I just don't know, what is it that you want me to promise you, worthy nephew?"

Liu Zheng chuckled upon hearing this, his face full of cynical playfulness: "Father-in-law, your son-in-law pays his respects here!"

"You..."

"Presumptuous!"

"Let me kill him!"

The entire hall cursed in anger, without exception.

Chen Ping's face sank even further, and Chen Ruoshi beside him had already turned deathly pale, on the verge of tears.

"Son, what are you doing... this absolutely must not happen! This old man Chen Ping is no good sort!"

Liu Dahao was also sweating profusely from fear, pulling on Liu Zheng's arm to whisper a reminder.

In this matter, if Liu Zheng insisted on this, the problem would be huge.

Liu Zheng deliberately laughed loudly: "Father, what nonsense are you talking about? Is there anything better than being able to become the Prefect's son-in-law? This is gaining both fame and fortune!"

"Shameless!"

"Such a petty person..."

"You, a seven-foot man, actually want to become a matrilocal son-in-law?"

These words made the whole hall indignant once again.

Chen Ping, however, chuckled: "Worthy nephew, although that is so, this Prefect also admires your talent. However, marriage is a major life event, based on mutual affection. We agreed before we started that if my daughter has no heart for a happy union, there would be another kind of reward, would there not?"

Only then did the crowd remember that this rule still existed.

Chen Ruoshi, at this moment, had a conflicted expression.

Her gaze toward Liu Zheng was extremely complex.

Only then did Liu Zheng say: "What the Prefect said, is it an unconditional request that I may make? Without distinction of weight?"

Only then did the people reveal looks of mockery; so this fellow was just using retreat as a means of advance, with the goal of obtaining more benefits from the Prefect.

A playboy!

Clever little trick!

Chen Ping gave a faint smile: "That is true, but yesterday's one million in silver has already been sent to the front lines. If you, my nephew, wish to help your father reclaim his family assets, it is truly quite difficult!"

Black-hearted thief!

Old melon-skin!

Liu Zheng cursed all of Chen Ping's ancestors for eighteen generations in his heart, while his face assumed an expression of heartbreaking grief; he cupped his hands and lowered his head: "Prefect, Liu Zheng was dissolute and unrestrained yesterday, which was truly improper. This time, I have repented and turned over a new leaf. I originally thought, as the ancient saying goes, 'Love my elders and extend it to the elders of others'..."

Chen Ping felt his head swell like a bucket and immediately said: "But considering Liu Township Marquis's merit in reinforcing provisions, which counts as a huge contribution to the stability of my Liangzhou, this Prefect decides: the family assets will not be returned, but the title can be promoted to County Marquis. How about that?"

Liu Zheng was overjoyed to hear this, as it was beyond his expectations.

He had originally intended to show off his prowess at the Poetry Gathering today, thinking that if he could just keep his father's Township Marquis title, it would be a gain. He never expected that his own tactic of advancing by retreating would actually cause Liu Dahao's title to be directly promoted to County Marquis!

In the Longyan Dynasty, the ranks go from Township Marquis, County Marquis, and State Marquis, then to the titled Marquises like Champion Marquis, Pass-Internal Marquis, and Pass-External Marquis, and then on to Feudatory Lords and Feudatory Kings.

In recent years, the Longyan Dynasty's finances have been tight.

The Emperor, having no other choice, opened up the titles of Township Marquis and County Marquis to be sold for wealth. Simply put... wealthy people could purchase them with money. These two titles were even given to the Prefects and Inspectors of the great states with authorization—if you can sell them and bring the money back to me, you will even be rewarded. Thus, in this Longyan Dynasty, Township Marquises and County Marquises began to appear like crucian carp crossing a river, becoming cheap, common things. They have already started to become bottom-tier, even inferior to the previous titled Marquises!

A Township Marquis is the lowest rank, equivalent to an honorary title with a minor official status. But a County Marquis is different; that comes with a fief! It is directly equivalent to being a future County Magistrate!

A Township Marquis alone cost Liu Dahao one million in silver. This is equivalent to another one million, directly for a County Marquis?

A profit, simply a profit!

He was ecstatic in his heart, but his expression remained calm. Liu Zheng looked full of disappointment: "Ah? Prefect, is that all? Can I choose Miss Chen again? I still feel..."

"Presumptuous!"

Chen Ping shouted in anger.

Chen Ruoshi also looked extremely embarrassed.

The other scholars cursed him for having the heart of a wolf and the ambition of a beast, deserving of death.

After Liu Dahao pulled on him several times, Liu Zheng finally shook his head and sighed: "Since that is the case, I wonder which County Marquis title the Prefect will give my father?"

He looked up, feigning a greedy expression.

The crowd despised him even more.

Chen Ping had also roughly gauged this kid and felt even more contempt in his heart. He chuckled: "Currently, there are three counties in Liangzhou without a County Marquis. Why doesn't my nephew choose one himself?"

Three?

Liu Zheng hurriedly nodded.

Soon, a Counselor came out holding a pile of bamboo slips and placed them in front of Liu Zheng.

Liangzhou is one of the seventy states of the Longyan Dynasty, equivalent to a province in later times. The Longyan Dynasty has continued for a thousand years and is now on the verge of collapse, with Feudatory Kings acting independently. These titles of Township Marquis and County Marquis can be bought through "donations." At the state and county level, they are all managed by County Marquises, with no other official posts. But at Chen Ping's level, a State Marquis, that is not something that can be settled with money, and it would also come with an official post.

State Marquis is a title, Prefect is an official post. Beyond that, there are Inspector State Marquises, Prefectural Governor State Marquises, and then Feudatory Lords and Feudatory Kings; the higher up it goes, the more complex it becomes, which will be discussed later...

Within the jurisdiction of Liangzhou, there are thirty counties; this level is equivalent to a city or county in later times.

And now, basically every part of Liangzhou is managed by a County Marquis.

Only three remain that do not have a County Marquis for the time being.

The first is Wuzhou; this place is considered the most affluent of the three counties. It is located in the southeast of Liangzhou, and because it is not far from Jinghua, it is slightly prosperous. It should be the best choice.

The second is Kezhou; this place has a large terrain and a relatively large population, but the terrain is quite flat, and it holds no strategic advantage.

The third is Yinzhou; this is the most barren of the three counties and the one least favored by others. It is located in the far southwest of Liangzhou, the terrain is small, and it is mountainous with a small population; it is simply destitute. Among the thirty counties of Liangzhou, it is considered the most inconspicuous existence.

"Naturally, Wuzhou is the best!"

"That is incorrect. If you want to be a wealthy man, Kezhou is the first choice; its future development is promising!"

"But Kezhou is difficult to defend and hard to attack..."

"Haha, could it be that you think a playboy can contend for the world?"

At this moment, the scholars in the audience began to discuss one after another, opening their folding fans as if the world were in their hands. Although it sounded like they were offering advice to Liu Zheng, their tone was quite mocking.

The reason was simple: although there were many people present without official status.

But they were all people of Liangzhou; who would go to these godforsaken counties to be an official for a tiny bit of official status?

Chen Ping chuckled: "Does my nephew have a preferred choice?"

Chen Ruoshi looked at Liu Zheng, and in her heart, she actually wanted to remind him that Wuzhou was a decent choice, as it was adjacent to Jinghua and convenient for trade. The annual tax revenue was also quite high, which better suited his identity as a playboy...

"Father?"

Liu Zheng actually had a conclusion in his heart long ago, but he still consulted his old man, as this title belonged to him after all.

Liu Dahao chuckled: "My son can make his own decision; I have no objections!"

Liu Zheng said something shocking: "Prefect, I choose Yinzhou!"

"What?"

"Hahaha!"

"Did I hear that wrong?"

Chen Ping was very surprised.

Chen Ruoshi looked anxious.

Liu Dahao's expression also changed drastically.

The scholars and talents in the audience burst into uproarious laughter.