Chapter Sixteen: Picking a Fight

  With a humble and calm smile, Wu Qi stood behind Lu Chengfeng with his hands behind his back, looking up and down at the crowd of people behind Yi Yan.

  Apart from Kai Lu, who is newly appointed as the commander of the army, Yi Yan also has three most important officials by his side: the governor of Xiaoming City, the official in charge of civil affairs, and the official in charge of punishment.

  Under the control of the suzerain state of Yan, the city guard was responsible for the overall work of a certain place. The military commander was in charge of military affairs, the official officer was in charge of official supervision and evaluation, the people's officer was in charge of people's livelihood and production, and the penal officer was in charge of criminal law enforcement and daily security. The four officials were responsible to the city guard, but also had independent powers outside of the city guard's authority, with supervisory powers between them, forming a complete and rigorous official system.

  Xiao Meng City is located in a remote and desolate area, surrounded by pristine and primitive mountains. However, due to its rich natural resources, the city's annual revenue is substantial. Yi Yan is indeed a treasure trove himself, but the three officials within the city - Dian Li, Dian Min, and Dian Xing - are also adorned with jewels and treasures, their splendor rivaling that of a precious gemstone exhibition hall.

  He gazed at the people around Yi Yan with a warm and affectionate look, and found many things that were worth his attention. His hands behind his back rubbed against each other, his fingers trembling with excitement. Under the bright sky and clear air, it wasn't the right time for him to make his move, he had to wait a bit longer.

  Yi Yan, as the city defender, introduced to Lu Feng the officials who followed him. After listening to Yi Yan's introduction, Mo Qi suddenly smiled wryly. The governor, the administrator, and the judge of this small Meng City were all members of the Yi family, presumably they had come to Meng City with Yi Yan to take office and get rich.

  As Lu Chengfeng introduced himself, the officials came forward and exchanged greetings with him. Although the position of General is important, it's not worth these people's attention. It was Lu Chengfeng's identity as the eldest son of the Lu family in Yuyang that made Yi Yan come out of the city gate to welcome him. The other officials also treated Lu Chengfeng with courtesy because of this identity.

  After a round of polite but insincere words that nearly put him to sleep, Yi Yan intimately took Lu Chengfeng's hand and led him towards the City Guard Bureau in the city. The other officials closely surrounded them, chatting and laughing, making small talk with Yi Yan and conversing with Lu Chengfeng, creating a harmonious and lively scene, as if the entire Xiaoming City was welcoming Lu Chengfeng, the new commander of the garrison.

  Following Lu Chengfeng's side, they walked on one side and sized up this small Meng City.

  The road surface in the city is still good, made of rough hemp stone quarried from the mountain, and there are three-foot-wide gutters along the roadside, with clear water flowing through the gutters, gurgling, and the sanitary conditions in the city are quite good. The three-zhang-wide roadside is lined with scales of wine shops, stores, inns, and residential buildings, with a height of no more than three floors, all made of brick, stone, wood structure, covered with uniform green tiles.

  On the road, you can see at any time a large team of vehicles coming and going, loaded with all kinds of mountain goods, animal hides, medicinal herbs, minerals, etc., which are pressed to the point where the vehicle's beam is almost broken. Following the fleet were those powerful and brave men, each wearing soft armor, holding sharp knives, and surrounded by an aura of murder, obviously all being good men who had been tempered in the arena of life and death.

  The wine houses, shops and inns along the road were mostly frequented by ruffians who would fight at the drop of a hat. Occasionally, some seductive women in red and green dresses would appear, laughing and joking with these rascals in loud voices.

  Xiao Meng City, very prosperous, unexpectedly prosperous. This prosperity has a kind of savage and rough atmosphere, with a kind of deformed prosperity, but Xiao Meng likes this taste. He took a deep breath, he really liked this taste.

  The vehicles on the road, as well as pedestrians, upon seeing Yu Xian and his group, all retreated to either side of the road, clearing a wide path in the middle. In this barbaric place of Xiao Meng City, Yi Yan represented the law of the land, representing the most powerful force within hundreds of miles around the city; no one dared to offend the dignity of the guardian of the city.

  From time to time, there were also small teams of city guards wearing black clothes and armor patrolling the roads. When they saw a group of people, these city guards hastily retreated to the side of the road to pay their respects. Mo Xi looked at these city guards, but found that whether it was their cultivation or their spirit, they were far inferior to the Tianzi Bing number camp sent to Meng Village, and seemed to be just for show.

  Along the main road, walking three miles towards the city, a magnificent and majestic mansion rose from the ground in front of him.

  The mansion is several hundred meters long and wide, with a protective wall outside. This wall is much more majestic than the city wall of Xiaoming City, made of bluestone slabs, five zhang high and three zhang thick, with a defensive power at least ten times that of the city wall of Xiaoming City.

  On the wall, the soldiers in bright armor and high spirits patrolled back and forth, guarding the mansion tightly. Compared to the few soldiers outside the city gate of Xiaoming City, the patrol soldiers here were absolutely elite, while those guarding the gate were trash-like goods.

  Yi Yan revealed a hint of a triumphant smile, pointing to the mansion and laughing: "Lu Dianjun, this is the City Guard Mansion, where we usually live and work."

  Lu Chengfeng stared at the small castle in surprise, exclaiming: "Oh? The city guard and the public houses of Dianjun, Dianli, Dianmin, and Dianxing are all here?"

  Yi Yan patted his belly with both hands, stirring up a wave of snow-white flesh. He sighed and said: "Xiaomeng City is located in a barbarous and dangerous place, surrounded by dangers on all sides. Those barbarians often come to cause trouble, and the outer city walls are not reliable. They frequently kill their way into the city, burning and looting. For the safety of you gentlemen, I, as an official, spent two years of effort to build this City Guard Mansion!"

  On the side, three members of the Yi family, Dian Li, Dian Min, and Dian Xing, hastily flattered and praised Yi Yan for spending a huge amount of money to build this city guard mansion for the safety of the officials present, which is indeed a contribution to the current generation and a benefit to future generations. The many dignitaries who will take over the position of City Guard in the future must be grateful for Yi Yan's exemplary behavior of planting trees for future generations to enjoy!

  He snorted, his voice hoarse: "Since you have the money to repair the city and the prefecture, why not also repair the outer city walls? Wouldn't a solid wall be able to keep those barbarians out?"

  Three officials, Dian Li, Dian Min, and Dian Xing, were all shocked at the same time. Yi Yan's whole body was shaking like a snowflake, and he shouted in a sharp voice: "There is no money, really no money! This small city of Mengcheng has so little tax revenue every year? The city guard's account book really doesn't have any money! Repairing this wall has already used up the city guard's tax revenue for the next ten years. There is no more money to repair the outer city wall!"

  No money? Don't beg with a crooked mouth. He just quickly swept his eyes over the valuable jewelry on Yi Yan's body, worth tens of thousands.

  Lu Chengfeng dryly laughed a few times, not making a sound. He glanced at the many patrolling soldiers on the wall and then turned his head to look at the two teams of city guard patrol troops escorting them here, his eyes quietly rolling in disdain. The garrison's guards were far more elite than the city guard's patrol troops.

  After a complicated ceremony that left Wu Qi's head spinning, he followed Lu Chengfeng into the City Guard Prefecture. The seven carriages and carriage-driving slaves brought by Lu Chengfeng were all arranged to enter the Tianjun Mansion within the City Guard Prefecture, a luxurious mansion with three halls in front and three at the back, and dozens of maidservants had been arranged in advance.

  It was the first time that Mo Qi had seen who was in Lu Chengfeng's seven carriages. Apart from Old Hei and Xiao Hei, a pair of black father and son, there were eight maidservants, eight servant women, and two wet nurses who were still breastfeeding inside the other six large carriages.

  Wu Qi first learned from Lu Feng that this wet nurse was the person in charge of medicine.

  Human medicine! Don't beg for a little more understanding of this world.

  The simple arrangements were made for the maidservants and servants who followed them, when an invitation came from Yi Yan to invite Lu Chengfeng to a banquet to welcome him.

  The welcoming banquet was arranged in the inner hall of the City Guard Mansion, and the guests included all the officials of Xiaoming City below Yi Yan, with more than 200 people. As a guest of Lu Chengfeng, Wu Qi naturally had the qualifications to attend, and under Yi Yan's personal reception, he sat behind a table behind Lu Chengfeng.

  The spacious hall can accommodate four or five hundred people gathering, with a long table in the center, and Yi Yan sitting at the back of the table with difficulty. On both sides are the seats of the four major officials: Dian Jun, Dian Li, Dian Min, and Dian Xing. Except for Lu Chengfeng, who has only one person behind him, Mo Qi, the other three have three to five or more than ten door guests behind them.

  Apart from these five, other officials were arranged in three rows on both sides of the main hall according to their ranks, forming a total of six rows of desks.

  He glanced at the long, narrow table in front of him, about three feet long and one and a half feet wide, made of heavy wood, with dozens of layers of bright lacquer applied to it, shiny enough to reflect people. The lacquered surface was inlaid with intricate geometric patterns using gold and silver threads, which were both elegant and luxurious yet majestic.

  The interior of the banquet hall has a floor made of purple sandalwood, and each seat is covered with a thick, soft woolen blanket, which is very warm and comfortable. Inside the hall, there are two rows of large pillars, carved from whole logs of golden nanmu wood, with intricate carvings of dragons and phoenixes, and overflowing with gold and color, exuding an atmosphere of opulence.

  The ceiling of the inner hall is also made of purple sandalwood, with dozens of lanterns hanging from it, illuminating the entire hall so brightly that even the smallest dust particles are visible. In the four corners of the inner hall, tree-branch-shaped candelabras stand tall, holding large candles that burn vigorously. It's unclear what kind of fragrance is mixed into the candles, but a warm and comforting aroma wafts through the air.

  Just now at Dianjun Mansion, I washed up and took a bath, wrapped my shiny head with a towel, changed into a comfortable and loose silk robe, stepped on a pair of warm and soft cloth boots, and was fumigated by the warmth in the air, feeling drowsy.

  Yi Yan's style is very luxurious, but Wu Qi appreciates this luxury. At the very least, it's much more comfortable than Meng Cun's conditions. Wu Qi isn't a monk who practices asceticism, so why should he suffer when he can make himself comfortable?

  She straightened her waist and sat upright behind Lu Chengfeng, constantly sizing up the other officials sitting in the main hall.

  Everyone's attention was focused on Lu Chengfeng, constantly showing him their bright smiles. As for Mo Qi, except for a few little maids standing aside who were secretly sizing him up, no one else paid much attention to him.

  Meng Bodong immediately heard the applause of Yi Yan, he shouted loudly: "Are all the people here? Bring wine, bring wine, let's welcome Lu Dianjun. From Yuyang to Xiaomeng City, thousands of miles of hard work, Lu Dianjun must be tired!"

  Hundreds of maidservants emerged from the hall like butterflies among flowers, and in front of everyone, they set up a bronze wine vessel and poured in fragrant fine wines.

  Everyone raised their glasses and shouted in unison: "Lu Dianjun has worked hard all the way, he has worked hard all the way!"

  Lu Chengfeng raised his wine cup, smiled and stood up to make a few modest remarks. After a round of insipid pleasantries, the guests finally took a sip of the fine wine.

  Yi Yan clapped his hands again, and the maids brought up all sorts of delicious food. Each dish was a rare delicacy from the mountains or the sea, with a small portion but many varieties. The aroma wafted in all directions, making people's fingers move with desire upon smelling it.

  He hadn't had a decent meal in days, and at the sight of the fine wine and food before him, he hastily picked up his chopsticks and snatched a piece of tender, quivering yellow venison into his mouth. The aroma was rich and savory, the juices plump and plentiful - it was truly delicious.

  Savoring the delicious food in his mouth, a sudden muffled sound came from the main hall, and a bronze wine vessel was thrown to the ground with great force, smashing into a piece of copper cake.

  A burly man with a fierce appearance, standing behind Yi Hang's body, stood up and pointed at him, shouting loudly: "Where did this mountain forest savage come from? Do you know the rules? The adults haven't even spoken yet, and you're already eating?"

  Many people in the hall looked over together, and a drop of oil was slowly dripping from the corner of his mouth, which was particularly eye-catching under the lamp light.

  The room fell silent, followed by a burst of laughter.

  Today is an exception, new book period three updates! Comrades, let's vote! Those with votes, support the voting scene, those without votes, support the personal scene!

  Eating too much of this bean dish is making my teeth ache on both sides!