Chapter 273: The Inspector

“Ghost? In broad daylight… Hehe…”

The old fisherman chuckled dryly, cold sweat dripping from his forehead, finally realizing something was off.

He had seen many passengers before, and in such situations, they would either be filled with righteous anger, panic and wet themselves in fear, or at the very least, appear impassioned while their palms trembled slightly. But this passenger was too calm.

When something unusual happens, there must be something sinister involved!

His rich life experience immediately alerted the old fisherman that something was wrong. Unfortunately, by then it was already too late.

“Isn’t seeing a ghost during the day quite normal?”

Wu Ming pushed the mechanical octopus into the water, then closed his eyes and remained motionless, as if waiting passively for his fate.

“Ahh!”

However, a fisherman behind him suddenly screamed, dragged underwater by a metallic tentacle. Moments later, blood surfaced.

Clang!

Then, another small boat was torn open by a huge hole. The fisherman on board didn’t even have time to scream before sinking straight down, leaving only a string of bubbles rising to the surface.

This scene immediately made all the boatmen’s scalps tingle with fear.

“There’s a monster underwater!”

“It’s a water ghost!”

“A demon!”

“The kid is practicing black magic!”

…

These men, engaged in dangerous and bloody work, were all strong young men. Now, gathering their courage, they grabbed fishing spears, wanting to kill the monster or directly board the boat to capture Wu Ming, the culprit.

Unfortunately, even the simplest mechanical puppet was beyond their capability to handle.

“Mom…waa…I’m so scared…”

The little girl’s crying could be heard.

“Don’t cry… it’s just a water ghost!”

Wu Ming comforted her indifferently, his eyes glancing toward the old fisherman, whose chilling gaze made the old man shudder involuntarily.

“A level one puppet beast… it’s still a deadly weapon against ordinary people!”

Wu Ming’s expression remained wooden as he allowed the mechanical octopus to wreak havoc underwater, slaughtering all the fishermen. In his heart, he was quietly comparing puppet techniques with Taoist magic.

“Hmm… this mechanical puppetry, the lower-level puppets are controlled by spiritual consciousness, which is somewhat similar to Taoist cultivation of the soul… I wonder how to control them if intelligent puppets are made in the future…”

“Why? Aren’t you leaving yet?”

Wu Ming asked indifferently to the old fisherman, who seemed to have turned to stone.

“Right away! Right away!”

The fisherman snapped out of it, glanced at his panicked wife and daughter, and without caring about the relative who was still underwater, gritted his teeth and pushed the black-painted boat away from the scene.

Behind him, the shattered hulls and patches of blood red water reminded him that this seemingly honest and sturdy man was actually a ruthless killer with strange abilities, definitely someone he couldn’t handle.

Wu Ming stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing northward, not bothering to chase after them.

With such a vast disparity in strength, if there were any sudden movements, he would kill them directly.

At this moment, he was quietly thinking about the situation in Dingzhou.

“The Zhou dynasty inherited the Shang dynasty’s legacy, dividing the world into nineteen provinces. However, after the Yongping Rebellion led by Huang Jie, the imperial court gradually declined, its authority no longer extending beyond the secondary capital. Local warlords began competing for power, chaos emerged, and regional military governors became independent, even provincial governors unable to stop them…”

“Dingzhou has seven commanderies. Originally, there was one marquis and one regional military governor; Marquis Ding governed Dingyuan Commandery, and Qi Lin governed Pingshan Commandery. Now with Wu Zhi seizing Shuangfeng, the court only retains Rinan, Zhuwu, and Jiude commanderies. Truly, all pretenses have been stripped away…”

“The current provincial governor seems to be Xu Chun, from a prestigious family background, and also a loyal minister of the court… Hehe, in these times, it’s hard to be a loyal minister…”

If one harbors ambitions of becoming a hero, one could easily seize power under the provincial governor’s name, expand the military, and suppress rebellious forces.

However, being a loyal minister means being constrained by court etiquette, bound and restricted.

After Wu Zhi’s rebellion, the situation became even more difficult to reverse. Even if Xu Chun had the will, it would already be too late.

After eliminating those insignificant pests, the second half of the journey was indeed much calmer. In less than half a day, he arrived at the Luoshui ferry.

The capital of Dingzhou was set in Jiude Commandery, surrounded by mountains and rivers, famous for the scenery of the Luoshui River.

Of course, there was also the Xie family, with whom Wu Ming had a complicated relationship, whose ancestral home was located here.

“One coin for the boat fare, one coin for the meal, not shortchanging you at all…”

Wu Ming smiled, placing the silver into the trembling hands of the fisherman, who could barely stand, and then leisurely stepped off the fishing boat.

Not far away, a magnificent city loomed into view. This was Dingzhou City, the capital of Dingzhou.

“Hmm… Speaking of it, the Xie family has been settled here for two hundred years, seemingly truly following my advice back then… Alas, our fates have already been severed, better not to meet…”

Wu Ming shook his head. Suddenly, a thought came to him, recalling the Xie Ling’er and Xie Baoyu, the envoys sent by the Xie family during his previous wedding.

“When one’s heart stirs, there must be a reason!”

With Wu Ming’s current Taoist cultivation, a slight calculation allowed him to understand the heavenly will above and human sentiments below, immediately knowing the whole story.

“These two still have a tribulation ahead; I’ll see about it then…”

He was certainly not the Xie family’s caretaker, but for the sake of their previous encounter, if they happened to come to him, he wouldn’t mind giving a slight helping hand. It would count as their heavenly fate not yet being exhausted.

“Dingzhou City…”

Wu Ming smiled slightly and directly hailed a horse carriage, slowly entering the city.

…

Inside the Dingzhou governor’s mansion.

A middle-aged bureaucrat, resembling a civilian official, was holding some documents when he halted his steps upon hearing the angry shouts from the front hall.

“How bold! Truly so bold! Wu Zhi, this woman dares to usurp power like a hen crowing at dawn. She dares to claim herself as military governor, intercepting taxes from two commanderies, appointing her own officials, expanding her military establishment. Her intentions to rebel are not even concealed anymore. She should be attacked!”

“Wait! Our provincial troops are weak and not suitable for major operations… Cough cough… Besides, we are imperial officials. Without an edict from the court, we cannot expand our military. If we use the provincial troops to attack her, it would be like smashing eggs against stones, leading to destruction. We should send an envoy to ask the court officials for their opinion… Cough cough…”

“Otherwise, won’t you fear impeachment by the Sili Censor?”

Another voice sounded weak and listless, clearly belonging to the provincial censor Gao Shun.

“It’s certainly General Zhang who wants to launch a military campaign. However, the censor is in poor health, nearing the end of his term. I’ve heard he has already submitted a request for retirement. How could he possibly agree to military action?”

“Moreover, even if we wanted to expand the military, where would the funds and provisions come from? Would the provincial governor provide them? Even if he did, whether the Sili Censor would approve is still uncertain…”

As he listened, the clerk sighed inwardly.

The imperial court’s authority was weakened by the menace of regional military governors, and its apprehension toward the provinces prompted the adoption of a strategy to fragment their power.

According to the system, each province was to have one provincial governor overseeing administration, a provincial censor managing the provincial troops, and a Sili Censor, an imperial-appointed official from the capital, responsible for supervision.

This was, in fact, a system of separation of powers among administration, military, and oversight, preventing any single individual from gaining too much power.

“Unfortunately, with the court’s decline and the accumulation of deep-rooted problems, no clever strategy can revive it…”

The clerk sighed inwardly and approached the door, respectfully kneeling down: “Reporting to the Censor, there are documents from Pingshan and Dingyuan commanderies!”

“Ah, Yu Wen, bring them in!”

Coughing slightly, Gao Shun called out clearly, able to name each of his subordinates, clearly showing his excellent memory, which was admirable.

Yu Wen felt a warmth in his heart, tiptoed forward, placed the documents down, then retreated several steps to the corner, eyes lowered, hands clasped, standing motionless.

Inside the hall, there were several other people. A general with a thick beard and wearing armor immediately asked, “What’s the content?”

His voice was loud, like thunder, making Yu Wen’s eardrums ring slightly.

“Cough cough… The Ding Marquis Shi Tai accuses Wu Zhi of acting unlawfully, killing his beloved son, and requests a campaign against her… Hehe, saying he is willing to send troops to assist in the campaign, how could this not be using our strength to avenge his personal grudge?”

Gao Shun flipped through the documents one by one: “But the next one is a recommendation from Qi Lin, the military governor of Pingshan Commandery, supporting Wu Zhi’s appointment as the military governor of Nanfeng Commandery. It seems the two factions have secretly colluded, even joining forces to denounce the Ding Marquis… Cough cough… Truly, one act ends as another begins, quite lively indeed…”

“What utter nonsense! What do these regional military governors think they’re doing with the imperial authority?”

General Zhang roared in anger, striking his palm with his fist, creating a loud noise, clearly very upset.

“Cough cough… General Zhang, please calm down. The court is weak now… Cough cough… As long as they still know to pay homage to the emperor and maintain this last bit of legitimacy… Cough, I have no other demands…”

Gao Shun seemed helpless in his words, but Zhang’s chest heaved violently. Suddenly, he saluted, “I still need to inspect the barracks. I’ll take my leave first!”

He left after bowing, clearly extremely angry.

“Sigh… Cough cough…”

Gao Shun seemed to want to stand up, but his coughing continued, forcing him to sit back down helplessly.

“Please take care, old sir!”

Yu Wen immediately stepped forward, helping Gao Shun back to his seat: “Please don’t let your anger harm your health…”

“Alas… Alas…”

However, once closer, he also heard Gao Shun’s whisper in his ear: “I have the will to kill the traitors, but no power to turn the tide. Our provincial troops number over ten thousand, but they are all old and weak, poorly equipped. The imperial court’s demands for funds are increasing, and we risk impeachment by the Sili Censor for the slightest misstep. What can the governor and I do?”

Yu Wen remained silent.

Dingzhou’s situation was relatively better, with only a few arrogant military governors.

Other provinces faced annual disasters, either floods or droughts, or rebellions by refugees. Although Huang Jie was dead, other flames of rebellion had not been extinguished. There were even those imitating the end of the previous dynasty, declaring themselves rebel kings, claiming they would overthrow the Great Zhou!

These severe pains were right in front of the court, which could only increase levies and dispatch the last remnants of elite forces to suppress the rebellions.

Hearing of continuous battles, two provinces were devastated, with countless civilian casualties, the fields littered with white bones, a truly tragic sight.

Compared to these, although Dingzhou had its own troubles, the people were still generally surviving, which was the credit of the provincial governor and censor.

“What about these documents then?”

“Keep them without sending out. I will naturally report to the governor. As for the three military governors below, let them fight among themselves…”

Gao Shun wearily closed his eyes, and Yu Wen could read his lips, clearly wanting to say “dogs fighting each other.”

He then bid farewell and came out, sighing again: “Allowing them to act freely might seem good, but once the three factions swallow each other and one becomes the strongest military governor in the province, everything will be too late. However… this is none of my business. Even if there is a change, with my abilities, can’t I protect my family? Just recently, our alliance’s senior members have had little contact. I wonder what major events have occurred at the upper levels?”