Chapter 154: The Guru

Feng Qishan's public trial finally commenced as scheduled. For Jiuding City, this was a thoroughly novel affair. The common folk held a deep-seated awe for authority, and the complete display of courtroom proceedings before tens of thousands of people satisfied a certain aspect of their desires. They could imagine themselves as participants, witnessing the entire process firsthand.

Ye Xin presided in person, though not in the open. After all, the inside information exposed by Feng Qishan was related to him. If he were to sit upright and openly on the bench, it would feel rather bizarre, and some might doubt the authenticity of the public trial. Therefore, his responsibility was to use his own fists to guarantee that no riots broke out; other matters did not require his concern.

As for whether the millions of people living in Jiuding City would believe Feng Qishan's words, Ye Xin knew he had no way to control it. Thus, he would simply plant a seed in their hearts for now, letting its future growth take its natural course.

To this day, Ye Xin still hoped that things would develop for the better. However, the feedback from various places left him somewhat saddened and irritated. When Xue Baiqi placed a secret letter from Master Ghost upon Ye Xin's desk, and Ye Xin had read through it carefully, a trace of gray flashed within his pupils.

However, Ye Xin quickly regained his composure, destroyed Master Ghost's letter, and then turned his gaze back to the towering stacks of official documents.

Busy throughout the entire afternoon until dusk, Ye Xin did not leave, and consequently, the officials of the Grand Commandant's Mansion dared not depart without authorization either, forced to wait within the residence.

Suddenly, a commotion sounded from outside the door. Ye Xin frowned and was just about to call out when he saw the hall doors burst open, forced open by Xue Baiqi’s back. Xue Baiqi staggered backward five or six paces before steadying himself, and immediately following him, three figures strode in with an imposing aura.

Walking at the very front was a young man of twenty-six or seven, with clear and bright eyebrows, though a hidden rage burned within his pupils and his fists were tightly clenched, clearly there to settle a score.

Walking in the middle was a robust man in his early thirties. Sporting a short beard, he possessed a vibrant, soaring, and preeminent temperament, his eyes opening and closing like lightning. Bringing up the rear was another robust man, though judging by his gait and expression, he appeared to be the deputy of the man in front.

Ye Xin possessed astonishing discernment. With a mere glance, he deduced the status of the three individuals and even guessed their origins.

"Baiqi, fetch seats for the three Masters," Ye Xin said with a smile. "I must ask the three Masters to wait just a moment; I have a small matter here that will be finished immediately."

Xue Baiqi was momentarily stunned, instantly realizing that these three strangers were untouchable figures, and obediently retreated to the side.

"You are Ye Xin? Hehehe... You've got some nerve!" the young man at the front sneered. "Do you know who we are? You expect us to wait?!"

"Naturally, I know," Ye Xin's expression remained unchanged. "My current business happens to concern the purpose of the three Masters' visit. If I do not finish handling it, I will not be able to give the three Masters an account."

"What kind of account could you possibly give us?" the young man demanded sharply.

"Forget it. We are guests who have traveled far. Since Grand Commandant Ye had already anticipated this, there is no harm in waiting a bit. It does not delay anything," the leading robust man said slowly.

The young man instantly lost his momentum, clearly harboring deep apprehension toward the leading robust man. Subsequently, the three of them took their seats to the side under Xue Baiqi's guidance. Ye Xin concentrated wholeheartedly on his final statistics, his brush flying across the paper.

A playful smile appeared on the leading robust man's face as he watched Ye Xin writing incessantly. His gaze then swept around the grand hall, falling upon the towering piles of official documents, before he smiled and said, "Grand Commandant Ye is certainly diligent."

"I dare not take it lightly. As the saying goes: when residing in the high imperial court, one worries for the people; when banished to the distant rivers and lakes, one worries for the sovereign. I do not know how many people's livelihoods will be affected by whatever I happen to write here," Ye Xin replied.

The young man wore a look of anger once more and started to stand up, but the leading robust man frowned and waved a hand to stop him.

"According to past practice, the three Masters should not arrive until a month from now. Coming half a month early this year—could it be that you heard some rumors and worried that today's tribute stones might encounter flaws?" Ye Xin asked.

"Correct," the leading robust man nodded.

"Actually, the three Masters are worrying needlessly," Ye Xin said. "As the saying goes, new faces bring a new atmosphere. Ever since I assumed the position of Grand Commandant, I have constantly pondered how to forge an atmosphere of my own. I have pretty much figured it out now: in past years, Jiuding City would produce fifty thousand primordial stones; starting this year, we will provide sixty thousand."

"What?" The leading robust man froze.

Ye Xin knew very well that the current negotiation was highly unfavorable to him. His only choice was to play his biggest card all at once, creating an impact that would force the other party to take him seriously, and only then explain slowly. Without doing this, he might not even have the time to offer an explanation.

Remaining calm was based on a judgment of human nature. In that world, a friend who worked as a bank customer service manager had once told him about a very interesting phenomenon: people with hundreds of thousands in their accounts could usually communicate rationally. If one categorized all complaining customers and identified the top ten with the highest frequency of complaints, it would be found that most of their account deposits did not exceed ten thousand.

Of course, the reasons for this were varied. Because they lacked it, they felt anxious; because of high pressure, they were irritable and quick-tempered, and so on. What was described here was merely a phenomenon that could be summarized using big data.

Power was also an asset. Possessing formidable power, validated time and again by facts, self-confidence became the norm. Such people, when encountering trouble, typically did not bare their sharp fangs and claws at the very first moment. A fierce beast only roared to intimidate its opponent; if the one across from it was merely prey, it would be too busy hiding its tracks to bother with intimidation.

He was not yet worthy of being an opponent to the Qingyuan Sect; cultivators of the Qingyuan Sect should surely be superior to mere beasts.

Those with biased personalities, quick to clench their fists and pick fights at the drop of a hat, were basically just lackeys.

Ye Xin believed that given the status of the Qingyuan Sect, they would not resort to shouting about killing and fighting right off the bat; they would always give him time to speak. However, that period would not be long, so he had to grasp the main point right from the start and then guide the development of the situation into his own rhythm.

"I saw the Golden Seal of the Upper Sect, which stated forty-five thousand primordial stones," Ye Xin smiled. "Of course, there is no need to alter the quantity on the Golden Seal; following precedent is fine."

The two robust men exchanged glances. The Golden Seal referred to the receipt issued by the Qingyuan Sect to the Great Wei State. As for the discrepancy between the quantity on the Golden Seal and the actual amount produced by Jiuding City, naturally, someone was lining their own pockets.

Such practices were difficult to eradicate, even within the sects.

"If our information is correct... the Blood Mountain Legion of the Great Yu State once invaded Jiuding City and plundered a massive amount of primordial stones..." the leading robust man said slowly.

"Indeed, our losses were catastrophic," Ye Xin nodded. "However, the Inner Treasury still holds some reserves. Combined with the family assets of Wei Juan and Guan Hanyu that I recently confiscated, everything can be converted into primordial stones. Hehe... Having just stepped into this position, I am sometimes not meticulous enough. Wei Juan and Guan Hanyu have been dead for five or six days, and it was only yesterday that I thought to confiscate their estates."

"Oh..." The leading robust man's expression turned cold. "You mean to say that only this year's tribute stones will increase to sixty thousand?"

"No, this year is the hardest; I can only manage sixty thousand," Ye Xin said. "From now on, the amount will increase year by year."

"Ye Xin, what do you take primordial stones for? You think you can just deliver whatever amount you dictate?!" the young man rebuked sharply.

"Shut up!" the leading robust man scolded with displeasure, showing not an ounce of face to the young man, before turning his gaze back to Ye Xin. "Grand Commandant Ye, this is not a matter to joke about lightly. If I report this to the Elders and you fail to deliver, I will be utterly disgraced."

In truth, it was impossible for him to report this to the Elders of the Qingyuan Sect. The five thousand primordial stones embezzled each year were divided among the younger generation themselves. If Ye Xin could deliver an extra ten thousand primordial stones annually, the resources available to him would even surpass those of the Sect Elders. To him, nothing else could compare to this, which was why he had to inquire thoroughly.

This was because he was facing the unfamiliar Ye Xin; if it were a fellow disciple or brother within the sect with whom he was on good terms, he probably would have broken into loud cheers long ago!

"I offer three guarantees. Once the Master hears them, you will have no more doubts," Ye Xin smiled. "Next year will be much easier for us because next year I will deploy troops against the Great Yu State. Whatever they plundered from us, I will make them spit back out in full."

"Deploying troops is not a long-term solution," the leading robust man shook his head slightly. "Is there anything else?"

"Secondly, the Great Wei State has no need to support so many soldiers in the first place," Ye Xin said. "In my view, two elite armies are sufficient. Starting next month, I will drastically reduce troop numbers to eliminate unnecessary expenses."

"A drop in the bucket," the leading robust man looked very disappointed. "Based solely on these two points, how much can you squeeze out? Grand Commandant Ye, are you deliberately making a fool of me?"

"The third point is the most important," Ye Xin said. "Does the Master remember how many people Jiuding City held when this rule was first established with the Upper Sect?"

"That was several centuries ago... I am not entirely clear," the leading robust man replied. "However, I heard that back then, Jiuding City was the premier city among the nine nations, and its population should have been around five or six hundred thousand."

"Today, the population of Jiuding City has already exceeded one million," Ye Xin stated.

The leading robust man was stunned for a moment, his eyes abruptly lighting up: "Does Grand Commandant Ye mean to say..."

"The yield of the Heaven and Earth Nine Tripods increases every year," Ye Xin said. "I have been calculating and tallying these past few days. Although the primordial Qi of this world is limited, the growth in human population also affects the harvest of the Heaven and Earth Nine Tripods, increasing by roughly one percent every decade. While that sounds small, the accumulation over several centuries is truly staggering."