Yu Muhe was captured, immediately drawing the attention of the surrounding crowd. Some offered cold sarcasm, while others showed concern. The more astute individuals first sought out Yu Zhijing in the hotel. With his father captured, it was imperative to inform the son quickly. Either a rescue plan would be devised, or preparations for the aftermath would commence, perhaps even purchasing a coffin in advance.
Yu Muhe began to ponder. His sudden capture this time was certainly not due to offending the Vice City Lord. It was more likely a consequence of some past misdeed that had incurred the displeasure of influential figures within the city.
However, upon considering this, Yu Muhe still felt something was amiss. He thought to himself, "I've never been arrogant or offended anyone. Could it be a dispute over interests? But I have no financial entanglements with anyone in the city. Could it be my wealth?"
With this thought, Yu Muhe immediately understood. He had indeed earned a considerable amount of money over the past half-year, profiting greatly from the monopoly of the meat industry in the eastern part of the city, along with various commissions and protection fees. He had accumulated substantial wealth for his two children, originally intended for his son's dowry and his daughter's trousseau. Now, it seemed, his wealth had attracted covetous eyes.
"The Vice City Lord's actions are utterly unrighteous. The money I earned through hard work is now being targeted by her. This is not good. To get out, I might have to bankrupt myself!" Yu Muhe mused inwardly.
Perhaps due to a preconceived notion, once Yu Muhe entertained this idea, he became convinced that Chang Jianyi had captured him because she coveted his assets, forgetting to consider other possibilities.
Soon, someone reported to Yu Zhijing, who was sleeping in the hotel. Yu Zhijing had finally managed to fall asleep, with Yu Zhiling quietly watching over him. Suddenly, members of the mercenary group rushed into the room, shouting, "Bad news, Young Master! The Captain has been captured!"
Yu Zhiling quickly intervened, "Don't shout! My brother is just asleep!"
Yu Zhiling knew that her brother's brain needed rest. He consumed a great deal of energy daily, and excessive thinking directly led to a shortened lifespan. Therefore, sleep was the most crucial thing for her brother, and no matter what happened, he must not be disturbed.
However, Yu Zhijing was now awake. He slowly sat up on the bed, his thin frame supporting him, and said, "I'm awake. What did you just say? Tell me carefully!"
The mercenary group members immediately recounted what had happened. Upon hearing the news of his father's capture, Yu Zhijing couldn't help but frown and began to think deeply. He then asked, "Have you done anything significant recently? Tell me everything!"
The mercenary group members replied aggrievedly, "No, sir. We would never dare offend the important figures above. Moreover, when members of the mercenary guild came to eat and drink, we never charged them. We treated them like lords. How could we have offended anyone?"
Yu Zhijing fell silent, then pondered carefully. He then said, "The mercenary group members will be paid their usual wages. As for my father's situation, I will handle it myself. Prepare some gifts. I will be staying in the city for the next couple of days, so you don't need to assign me bodyguards."
...
After locating his son and capturing Yu Muhe, Chang Jianyi immediately returned to the city. Yuzhou was still unstable, and she had to return quickly to avoid danger.
Zhang Xiaoqiang had been captured. This was something she could never have imagined upon waking up. She hadn't expected that the Tianlong Bureau, to which she had so carefully pledged her allegiance, would completely collapse overnight. Ultimately, she was imprisoned, awaiting her trial.
"I want to see the City Lord, and I want to see the Vice City Lord. Let me out quickly! I have important information to report to them. Don't keep me locked up!" Zhang Xiaoqiang shouted loudly from the prison. At this moment, Zhang Xiaoqiang regretted her actions. If she hadn't chosen betrayal earlier, she would still be a person of high status and authority in Yuzhou City. After all, she had been with Shen Feng since he entered the school and began recruiting personnel. Her contributions were immense, and as long as she didn't make mistakes, her future life would be without incident.
The current outcome was unacceptable to Zhang Xiaoqiang. She had thought she could abandon the darkness and join a more promising organization, so she had defected without hesitation. Now, however, she was imprisoned and might face punishment after the trial, which she found completely unbearable.
"Traitor, you just stay put inside! If you want to get out, wait until the next life!" the prison guards said unceremoniously.
Many people were imprisoned there, all of whom had chosen to side with the Tianlong Bureau during the political alignments. Now, it was time for reckoning. If they dared to stand on the opposing side, they would not be allowed to live. Choosing the wrong side meant death.
The guards' attitude was arrogant, clearly not worried that Zhang Xiaoqiang could harm them at this moment. She was merely a prisoner, someone who needed no attention!
Seeing that the guard didn't even deign to look at her, Zhang Xiaoqiang became furious. Who would have dared to look down on her like this before? Let alone a mere prison guard, even the prison commander would have treated her with respect. The result was that power was no longer in her hands, and she was at the mercy of others.
Zhang Xiaoqiang forced a smile onto her face and then said to the guard, "Excuse me, young man. Please convey to your superiors that I am willing to atone for my crimes. I have a list of many people who betrayed the City Lord, all in my mind. I can be an informant witness, and I can report them!"
In the past, Zhang Xiaoqiang would never have pleaded with a prison guard in such a subservient manner. But now, as a prisoner, to save her own life, she had no choice but to lower herself. As long as she could survive, a little humiliation was nothing.
The guard, however, replied unceremoniously, "Save it. If you want to be an informant witness, you have to queue up. There are over ten people ahead of you. Don't think you're the only one who can atone for your crimes. Just wait. In a few days, the prison will get more crowded."
Zhang Xiaoqiang was dumbfounded by this response. She had thought she would at least be taken seriously, as she possessed a lot of important information that was crucial to Yuzhou. But now she realized that it seemed if you made one wrong step, all subsequent paths would be difficult.
The casualties in Yuzhou were also tallied. After a night of chaos, over four thousand people had died, with the elderly, weak, women, and children being the most affected. After all, in the face of disaster, these individuals had the weakest resistance and were the first to perish.
"Arrange for proper burials. Also, ensure the soldiers receive adequate compensation. They are our sons of the soil!" Shen Feng said solemnly.
Tu Xuhuai quickly nodded and replied, "Yes, I will arrange this immediately. Please rest assured, City Lord. I will handle this properly and strive to help people overcome their pain as soon as possible and rebuild Yuzhou!"
At this moment, Shen Feng suddenly thought of something else and continued, "Also, pay attention. I plan to form an inspection team to patrol within Yuzhou. When I was in Wanzhou, I discovered a strange phenomenon: the issue of superficial compliance in various cities. Even when we issued instructions, the lower cities were merely going through the motions. Find suitable candidates for me to form this inspection team."
Upon hearing Shen Feng's words, Tu Xuhuai's heart skipped a beat. He thought to himself, "The City Lord seems to have grown significantly. It appears it will be harder to fool him in the future. He has even observed the phenomenon of power not reaching the countryside. This is not simple!"
In reality, Tu Xuhuai, having spent ten years in the system, was already well aware of officialdom matters, and he understood many unwritten rules. Therefore, after becoming a high-ranking official in Yuzhou, he also used similar methods to win people's hearts.
Initially, Tu Xuhuai had dismissed Shen Feng's methods in the workplace, especially after Professor Chu's death. Although Shen Feng was the high and mighty City Lord, he usually focused on the overall strategy and paid little attention to minor matters. These overlooked minor matters were precisely where Tu Xuhuai could exert his influence.
However, now that Shen Feng had spoken of forming an inspection team, it meant he had discovered the current predicament facing Yuzhou, which was the failure of power to reach the countryside.
Throughout history, Chinese power had never truly reached the countryside. Furthermore, once a dynasty weakened, it couldn't even control the counties. Consequently, no matter what policies were issued from above, they could not be perfectly implemented. For instance, Wang Anshi's reforms – could it be said that Wang Anshi was wrong? Could it be said that Wang Anshi's abilities were insufficient? Could it be said that Wang Anshi's reform proposals were incorrect? None of the above. Wang Anshi did things correctly, but with power not reaching the countryside, the lower levels simply ignored whatever was said from above.
As the saying goes, "There are policies from above, and countermeasures from below." Wang Anshi's failure had little to do with Sima Guang. Even without Sima Guang's opposition, others would have opposed him. Moreover, the power structure of the Northern Song Dynasty dictated that Wang Anshi's reforms were bound to fail.
The original China had long since changed this situation. After all, since the Chairman proposed the strategy of encircling the cities from the countryside, power had reached the rural areas. Unfortunately, when the era of chaos arrived, a backlash occurred, power was once again monopolized, and power could no longer reach the counties and cities.
Tu Xuhuai had thought that after Professor Chu's death, no one would be able to explain this principle to Shen Feng. However, now that Shen Feng had observed this on his own, Tu Xuhuai was quite surprised. It seemed it would be increasingly difficult to fool the City Lord in the future.
Shen Feng suddenly remembered something and quickly said, "Right, prepare an extra room next to my office. I've just recruited a consultant who prefers a quiet place, so please set it up."
"Alright, I will definitely complete it!" Tu Xuhuai nodded in response.
In fact, Tu Xuhuai had already heard news that Shen Feng had recruited an advisor. The so-called consultant was essentially the same as an advisor, someone who helped devise strategies.
Professor Chu had been Shen Feng's advisor, and he had formulated development strategies for Shen Feng, including the seizure of Yuzhou and the support of Yanjing. The results were significant, directly helping Shen Feng establish a foothold and leap to become the largest civilian organization. Therefore, Tu Xuhuai was also very concerned about the advisors around Shen Feng.
Upon a slight inquiry, Tu Xuhuai completely let down his guard because the news he received was utterly baffling: this newly recruited consultant had previously been a fortune-teller. What is a fortune-teller? It goes without saying, a charlatan! What level of skill could such a person possess?
"It seems the City Lord's decisions are not always wise. The City Lord also makes foolish mistakes sometimes!" Tu Xuhuai thought to himself.
If Shen Feng's recruited consultants were all of the caliber of the late Professor Chu, then Tu Xuhuai would naturally not dare to underestimate them. However, it now seemed that Shen Feng had two consultants: one was Feng Shicheng, who wrote erotic literature, and the other was a charlatan, someone who spoke differently to different people.
With these two as consultants, Tu Xuhuai felt they were completely useless. However, it was merely an additional expense for two people, which was inconsequential. If the City Lord was happy, he could even support twenty more people without issue.
Time passed slowly. As dusk began to fall, the Fengshen Palace once again hosted a banquet. This time, it was different from yesterday. The scale was much smaller, but the attendees were even more distinguished. The prominent figures of Yuzhou all attended the banquet.