Suxin killed half of the dissenters from the Six Ministries of Jiangnan Road in one go,leaving the surviving prefectural heads trembling with fear,not daring to show any dissatisfaction.
Now they have realized that Suxin never took them seriously at all.He never considered whether killing them would affect the current strength of the Six Ministries of Jiangnan Road.After all,the Six Ministries of Jiangnan Road has already reached such a state,how much worse can it get?
The other prefectural heads were released by Suxin,while Lusu,Zhao Yiming,and Liu Hao,the three strongest prefectural heads,were left behind.
The three looked at each other,not knowing what Suxin meant by keeping them.
Suxin tapped the table and said,"Don't be so nervous.I kept you here just to discuss how we can quickly recruit people to fill the vacancies in our Six Ministries of Jiangnan Road.We have more than seventy prefectures in Jiangnan Road,but now we only have a dozen prefectural heads in the Divine Palace Realm.This number is too small."
The three muttered in their hearts.Just now,you killed more than ten people without even blinking an eye,and now you think it's not enough?
However,they just complained in their hearts and pondered on the surface.
Lusu shook his head and said,"With the conditions offered by our Six Ministries,we have no shortage of grassroots warriors.With a casual recruitment,those warriors in the acquired realm will come rushing.However,it's not easy to recruit those in the innate realm,especially the existence of the Divine Palace Realm,who are considered experts wherever they go.Even if they are wandering cultivators,they won't easily join the Six Ministries,considering the bad reputation.Moreover,our Six Ministries in Jiangnan Road is currently weak,so there are probably even fewer willing to join us."
Suxin raised an eyebrow and asked,"Oh?So what do you suggest?"
Lusu cautiously said,"My suggestion is to use our existing resources to fully train the low-level constables of our Six Ministries,while also recruiting some warriors in the acquired realm to make up for it.As long as there are no accidents,we will surely cultivate a new generation of innate warriors within ten years."
Suxin shook his head.Lusu's method was too steady,aiming for no achievements but avoiding mistakes.It would indeed slowly restore the vitality of the Six Ministries in Jiangnan Road with their current resources.However,this was not what Suxin wanted,nor was it what the headquarters of the Six Ministries wanted.Ten years was too long.
Suxin turned his gaze to Zhao Yiming and Liu Hao.One was silent and rigid,similar to Li Huai,while the other was lazy and not good at dealing with such matters.They didn't have any good ideas.
Seeing their expressions,Suxin tapped the table and said,"Powerful wandering cultivators are unwilling to join the Six Ministries,detesting our bad reputation.But if that's the case,let's directly find people with even worse reputations than us."
The three were puzzled,not understanding what Suxin meant.
"Old Huang,give me the map,"Suxin said.
Huang Bingcheng immediately took out a map of Jiangnan Road from his pocket and handed it to Suxin,marked with many small dots by Suxin.
Pointing at those dots,Suxin said,"These markings indicate the locations of some bandits and thieves in Jiangnan Road.Our target is them.Jiangnan Road is prosperous in martial arts,so the living conditions for these bandits are very poor.One day,they might be wiped out by young disciples of some sects as righteous heroes.So,their survival in Jiangnan Road is very difficult.However,precisely because of this,although the number of these bandits in Jiangnan Road is small,their strength is not weak.If their strength were truly weak,they would probably be wiped out within a few days.Those who survive are all elites.Each force I marked has at least several warriors in the Spiritual Opening Realm and the Divine Palace Realm.Do you think this force is enough?"
The three were stunned.They didn't expect Suxin to have such a whimsical idea of recruiting these bandits.
Lusu was the first to oppose,saying,"Lord,this is absolutely not feasible.These bandits in Jiangnan Road are notorious for their heinous acts of burning,killing,and looting.Our reputation is already very bad,and we can't even wipe them out on a regular basis.How can we recruit them?"
Suxin said,"It's precisely because we still need to wipe them out on a regular basis that we want to recruit them now.Haven't you heard of a term called'recruitment for peace'?"
Recruitment for peace was a strategy that Suxin had seen played well by a certain dynasty in his previous life.Turning troublesome enemies into subordinates and letting them attack other troublesome enemies.This method of turning enemies into their own dogs to bite others was undoubtedly clever.At least,it didn't require them to exert any effort.
"Recruitment for peace?"Lusu's eyes showed a hint of doubt.However,he could also guess the meaning of this term from the literal sense.
But Lusu still shook his head and said,"Lord Suxin,recruiting those bandits is not impossible,but first,it will harm our already bad reputation.
The second concern is,those bandits are wild and difficult to control.Will turning them into constables of the Six Ministries lead to even greater chaos?"
Suxin sneered,"Reputation?We've become the hounds of the court,what reputation are we talking about?As for the bandits,so what?I can even tell those martial arts sects clearly that I am colluding with the government.Apart from some verbal criticism,do they dare to come to the headquarters of the Six Ministries and act as righteous heroes?Moreover,our real enemies have never been the minor nuisance of bandits,but the entire martial forces of Jiangnan Road.And these bandits,whom the martial forces of Jiangnan Road resent the most,are essentially our common enemies."
With that,Suxin turned to look at Liu Hao."You,being of bandit origin,should understand the mentality of those bandits the most.If I sincerely try to recruit them,what do you think the success rate would be?"
Liu Hao thought seriously and replied,"Very high.Honestly,except for those naturally cruel and ruthless,who is born wanting to be a bandit that everyone scorns?They are forced into this.Especially in a place like Jiangnan Road,where martial sects might release disciples anytime to roam the world.Encountering such a righteous disciple from a major sect,you basically have no choice but to escape.Even if you can defeat them,it's useless.These major sects start from the bottom and go up,so when encountering disciples from big sects that you can't afford to provoke,these bandits can only keep moving,being chased like dogs.I believe many bandits are tired of this kind of life.As long as you,Lord Suxin,approach with sincerity,those oppressed bandits will definitely join us.However,their personalities are really unstable,each daring and bold.If we really recruit them into the Six Ministries,it might bring unforeseen troubles."
Suxin waved his hand."Don't consider anything else,just focus on recruiting these people.As for whether they will cause trouble within the Six Ministries,don't worry about it.Once they enter the Six Ministries,they won't have the chance to show off."
Seeing that Suxin had made up his mind,the others stopped saying more.Suxin said to Huang Bingcheng,"Old Huang,organize manpower to send messages to major martial forces in Jiangnan Road,asking them to come to Jiangnan Prefecture for a meeting in ten days."
Huang Bingcheng was surprised."Another round?"
Suxin nodded."We need to give them another chance."
The expressions of Lusu and the others were somewhat strange.They couldn't guess what this lord was thinking.
"Alright,Old Huang,you're in charge of this matter.The rest of you come with me to the territories of the major bandits in Jiangnan Road and see how many people this can bring."
Liu Hao and others clasped their hands."Yes,Lord!"
The next day,news of Suxin cleaning up almost half of the Six Ministries'power in one day spread throughout Jiangnan Road.Some small forces secretly mocked Suxin,saying he was good at internal strife but lacked external competence.He had just taken over the Six Ministries in Jiangnan Road and started eliminating dissidents,nearly half of the strength of the Six Ministries was removed,without even planning for the future.Such impulsive behavior,they believed,wouldn't lead to anything significant.
However,some influential sect leaders saw it differently.They valued Suxin more.He had single-handedly entered the Year Gang,reclaimed the tax and supervision rights of the Six Ministries in three moves from Dong Buyi.This showed courage.By decisively eliminating dissidents like Lei Yuan,he displayed strategic thinking.Looking at it this way,Suxin,a Divine Palace Realm warrior leading the Six Ministries in Jiangnan Road,didn't seem unreasonable.
However,they soon received invitations from Suxin,causing these influential sect leaders to secretly sneer.They had just thought that Suxin was not bad,but they didn't expect him to be so inflated.He actually wanted to meddle in the martial affairs of Jiangnan Road with the current strength of the Six Ministries in Jiangnan Road.This was far from enough!
So,many sects did not take Suxin's invitation seriously and directly discarded it as worthless.
At this time,Suxin was with Liu Hao,heading to the territories of the bandits in Jiangnan Road.
When Liu Hao joined the Six Ministries,it was said that he came from a background of wandering cultivators,but before becoming a wandering cultivator,he had spent some time as a bandit in Jiangnan Road.Therefore,he was relatively familiar with the forces of bandits in Jiangnan Road.
Suxin asked Liu Hao why he chose not to be a bandit later,and Liu Hao's answer was simple.The first reason was that he was lazy.Being a bandit in Jiangnan Road was not an easy job.With various powerful martial forces and wandering cultivators around,one had to investigate the opponent's details before taking action.It was troublesome.
The second reason was that Liu Hao was afraid.At any moment,disciples from those major righteous sects might appear to uphold justice.Liu Hao didn't want to live such a precarious life forever.
