Chapter 461: New Problems

The sky had darkened once again.

Rain began to patter down, once more.

Xie Zhen knew that today, he would surely die.

When he chose this path, he had to be prepared to bear the outcome of failure.

He stood up abruptly, the pathetic, begging appearance from just moments ago completely vanished. He stared fixedly at Liu Zheng.

Staring, without pause.

Slowly, he began to look up and laugh, letting the rain drip onto his face.

"Second Brother, no matter what you think, you are the most formidable person this foolish brother has ever met in his life!"

"Without exception!"

"What Xie Fang, what Xie Ling—before you, Second Brother, they are all but fish on a chopping block!"

"It is a pity..."

"A pity you are not of royal blood!"

"A pity you are the son of a merchant!"

"But..."

"This foolish brother still believes you can stir this Longyan Dynasty into a tempest!"

"It is a pity, this foolish brother will not see it, will never see it again..."

"Second Brother, keep watch over Chuan Shu for this foolish brother; I shall take my leave first!"

Having said this, he bowed deeply to Liu Zheng, then turned and walked, without a moment's hesitation, into the final, raging inferno of the farm amidst the rain.

The entire scene fell silent.

Following this, the last high building that had been set ablaze collapsed with a thunderous boom just after Xie Zhen had entered.

Liu Zheng slowly closed his eyes.

In their short time together, he had truly wanted to open his heart to Xie Zhen.

And so.

At this moment, he could no longer distinguish whether what was on his face was tears or rain.

The Shu King.

Had passed away.

After Xie Zhen died, Liu Zheng still preserved some dignity for him. He announced to the outside world that because the Nanzhao Kingdom prince, Chen Ran, had suddenly rebelled and harbored evil designs against Longyan, Xie Zhen had led troops to provide aid and unfortunately died in battle. Liu Zheng swore to the heavens: if he did not destroy Nanzhao in this lifetime, he would not be a man!

Upon hearing this news, the entire Chuan Shu was plunged into national mourning.

Xie Zhen, who had just inherited the throne, had actually died in the prime of his life. One must know that in the eyes of the common people, Xie Zhen was a benevolent ruler. It was just that they did not know the sins behind him.

Of course.

None of this mattered anymore.

Next, Chuan Shu was in a constant state of turmoil; the Old Shu King had just passed, and the new Shu King had died in battle. The several underage heirs naturally began their various struggles for the throne. Fortunately, Xie Zhen's consort, Cao, and his eldest son, Xie Xiao, were already legitimate, and with Cao being from a prominent family in Chuan Shu with many supporters, Xie Xiao successfully inherited the throne of the Shu King.

Chuan Shu began to enter a new chapter.

Xie Xiao was only twelve years old this year and naturally could not manage major affairs.

Thus, Cao and the Cao Family became the true masters of Chuan Shu at this time.

This Cao had met Liu Zheng before.

She decided to continue the policies Xie Zhen had settled upon, which had been learned from Liangzhou Prefecture. In one respect, Cao was also extending an olive branch to the world-renowned Prefect Liu, expressing her desire for peaceful coexistence—as for how Xie Zhen actually died, did that even matter at this point?

Today, Liangshan had effectively entered the control of Prefect Liu.

With the southern gateway of Longyan in Prefect Liu's hands, it meant that Liangzhou and Liangshan had already surrounded the entirety of Chuan Shu. Whether for the sake of their own safety or for the interests of the family, there was no need for Cao to have a falling out with Liu Zheng.

She was a smart person.

"Son of the Black Dragon!"

"Son of the Black Dragon!"

Today's Liangzhou had already begun to welcome the return of the Son of the Black Dragon, Aluba, to Qiongdou. Along the way, the Liangshan People sang and danced, celebrating endlessly. Shama Zhuoyi was dead, and Naibao Rize was also dead, which meant that Liangshan would enter a new landscape.

Zimo Aluba returned to Qiongdou in the identity of the Son of the Black Dragon.

This provided the possibility for the integration of politics and religion in Liangshan.

Of course.

Liu Zheng knew that this system still needed to be established slowly. But the foundation had been laid. He believed that the future of Liangshan would surely be as solid as iron. Because in these past few days, those leaderless "Big Trouser-Legs" and "Medium Trouser-Legs" had already begun to respond one after another to the call of Qiongdou, cutting off their own trouser legs.

From this day forward, Liangshan was one family.

During this period.

Liu Zheng had been staying at the farm and had not concerned himself with matters in Qiongdou. Huobu Quli, that First Special Envoy of the Church, was kept quite busy. Yet, he would still find time to come and pay his respects to Liu Zheng, as there were still matters that required consulting Liu Zheng.

No one disturbed him.

Liu Zheng had a good rest for a while.

Most of the buildings on this farm had been burned down. Of the one or two houses that remained, Liu Zheng occupied one. During these days, he kept himself locked in the room, and no one knew what he was doing.

The thirty thousand Liangzhou Army began their reorganization.

Over these past few days, the corpses and wreckage on the farm had also been cleaned up by them.

"What exactly is this Prefect Liu doing?"

Jie Yu found Pei Yanran this day, looking full of anger.

Pei Yanran smiled helplessly: "Fourth Senior Brother, after a great battle, reorganization is necessary; is there something wrong with that?"

"It's not that, I, I, I..."

Jie Yu was speechless for a moment.

Herself!

She was, after all, a dignified Academy Yushi!

For these past few days, she had been left hanging here by Liu Zheng! This made her very depressed. This opium business made her feel like a criminal, waiting for Liu Zheng's verdict!

Pfft!

What did it have to do with her?

She felt aggrieved.

However, it was true; whenever she recalled the day Xie Zhen died and that horrific scene, she also knew how much damage the Academy's failure to supervise Chen Ran had ultimately brought to Liangshan.

Consequently.

This conflicting state of mind made her very unhappy.

"Hmph!"

Looking at the tightly closed door, Jie Yu could not help but let out a cold snort.

Inside the room.

Liu Zheng was slowly reading the letters from Liangzhou.

He had not expected that during his time away from Liangzhou, it had been quite lively... the Blockage of the Ship, the skyrocketing grain prices, the emergence of the Trade Union, the stalling of the Pension...

The Trade Union...

This was something he had not foreseen, yet it had emerged as the times required. What did this signify? Firstly, the development of Liangzhou had now reached a historical juncture. The emergence of a large number of workers and small workshops had caused significant changes in the social structure.

Capital of all sizes had begun to permeate Liangzhou society.

This was a change of the era, which Liu Zheng could not alter.

Secondly, this matter showed that Liu Zheng's combination of the Cabinet System and the People's Representative System was, in fact, a very wise choice. Between the Cabinet and the Parliament, he leaned toward the Cabinet, but he had not completely abandoned the Parliament.

The emergence of the Trade Union demonstrated the imperfections of the Cabinet System.

Amidst contradictions and conflicts, mutual supervision and integration between the two sides were the most suitable system for Liangzhou.

He organized the contents of the letters.

And the most important point...

Was the one that gave him a headache.

Xie Tianyao.

It seemed he was about to die.