Chapter 16 – Provocation
With a humble, yet serious, expression, Wu Qi placed his hands behind his back, examining the men behind Yi Yan.
With the exception of Lu Chengfeng, who was to be the new General, standing beside Yi Yan were the three most important officers in Little Meng City: the Director of Records, The Director of Internal Affairs, and The Director of Security.
According to the law of the Great Yan Dynasty, who was the overlord of the Lu Kingdom, the task of the Mayor is to oversee everything in the city. The General is to handle everything related to the army. The Director of Records is in charge of supervising and recording the behaviors of all government officers. The Director of Internal Affairs is in charge of the economy and production. And the Director of Security is in charge of the handling crimes and the safety of the city. These four officers would report to the Mayor, but the Mayor can’t interfere with their responsibilities. The rigidness and completeness of this system even allows them to supervise each other.
Little Meng City was located in a remote area which was surrounded by a vast virgin forest and mountain, however, because it can produce a lot of raw materials and minerals, these officers had been milking their fortune here. Wu Qi had seen how many precious items that Yi Yan was wearing, but, the Director of Records, the Director of Internal Affairs, and the Director of Security were also wearing a lot of gemstones and jewels on them.
Like he was looking at a very attractive woman, Wu Qi kept eyeing the men surrounding Yi Yan, then he found more good stuff that he can ‘acquire’. He kept rubbing his palms behind his back, while his fingers were trembling with excitement. It is broad daylight, so it is not the best time for him to steal from them. He would need to wait.
As the Mayor of the city, Yi Yan introduced those officers followed behind him to Lu Chengfeng. After listened to Yi Yan’s introduction, Wu Qi’s lips curved up, The Director of Records, the Director of Inter Affairs, and the Director of Security were all from the Yi family. They must be following Yi Yan here to make their fortune.
As Yi Yan introduced each officer, they stepped forward to greet Lu Chengfeng. Although the General is an important position, it doesn’t deserve such respectful treatment. What’s made Yi Yan come all the way to the city gate to welcome Lu Chengfeng is that he is the eldest son of the Lu Family from Liyang. As for the rest of the government officers, they came here for the same reason.
After some introductions and a speech that made Wu Qi want to fall asleep, Yi Yan held Lu Chengfeng’s hand intimately and brought him to the Mayor’s Mansion located in the middle of the city. All of the other officers surrounded both men, laughing and joking all the way, as if the entirety of Little Meng City was welcoming the new General, Lu Chengfeng.
Wu Qi followed beside Lu Chengfeng, examining Little Meng City while they walked to the Mayor’s Mansion.
The road to the city was properly built with the limestone from the mountain. There was a three foot wide ditch alongside the road, where clear water flowed. It seems the sanitation in the city is pretty well-taken care. Beside the road were brick and mortar restaurants, shops, hotels, and residences with a uniform green roof. None of them exceeded three stories height.
On this wide road, push carts, fully packed with beast skins, herbs, and minerals, come and go. Behind these push carts are some strong and tall men, wearing flexible armor and carrying sharp blades. From their fierce bearings, one can easily tell they were good fighters that had gone through life and death.
The restaurants, shops, and hotels were mostly patronized by rude men, who would draw their blades just because some stranger looked at them the wrong way. Sometimes, women, who wore in sexy and seductive clothes, would appear at these places, flirting and joking with these rude men.
Out of Wu Qi’s expectations, Little Meng City was actually quite prosperous. However, this prosperity was accompanied by a rude and brutal aura. This really makes one feel odd, however, after taking a few more breaths, Wu Qi decided he really liked the feel of this city.
When carriages and pedestrians on the road saw Wu Qi’s group coming, they all moved to the side of the road and made way for them. In a wild place like Little Meng City, Yi Yan represented the law, he represented the most prominent power within this area, and no one dared to step on the dignity of the Mayor.
From time to time, city guards, who were wearing in black cloth and armor, would pass by, when they saw the group, they immediately move to the roadside and bow to them. Wu Qi took a glimpse at them and found out they were weaker than the soldier from the third battalion of Heavenly Group, who were now stationed in Meng village. No matter their cultivation level or their spirit, they like phonies in comparison.
After following the main road into the city for around three miles, a magnificent and grand mansion came in sight.
The mansion was at least a mile in circumference and had a thick wall built at its perimeter. The wall was much better than the city walls of Little Meng Village, it was built from hard rock, five feet tall, three feet thick, and at least ten times stronger than the Little Meng City.
Vigorous and energetic guards with good quality armor were patrolling on top of the wall, making sure no intruders pass. Comparing to the soldiers who were guarding at the City Gate of Little Meng City, the soldiers here were the elite, and those at City Gate were just rubbish.
With a proud smile on his face, Yi Yan pointed at the mansion and said, “General Lu, this is the Mayor Mansion, it is the place where we live and work.”
Lu Chengfeng stared at this small-sized castle, feeling amazing, and asked, “Oh? The office for Mayor, General, Director of Records, Director of Internal Affairs, and Director of Security are all here?”
Yi Yan patted his stomach with his hand, said with full emotion, “The Little Meng City is located in a desolated area, we are surrounded by dangers, the real dangers. Those barbarians kept attacking us and the lousy city wall can never hold them back, so they could come into the city and wreak havoc. For the safety of all government officers, I had spent two years to build this Mayor Mansion!”
All three directors, who were from Yi family, hurriedly praised Yi Yan for his efforts, thanking him for spending so much money to build this mansion and protect their lives. They even said Yi Yan had built something that will be beneficial for a thousand years, and that their descendants would be able to stay safe because of Yi Yan!
Wu Qi snuffled loudly, with a deep voice he asked, “Since you had the money to build a Mayor’s Mansion, why didn’t you spend the money to fix the city wall? Isn’t that a much easier way to block those barbarians from entering the city?”
Three directors were shocked by what Wu Qi said. On the other side, Yi Yan trembled, his thick fat white body shaking, and shouted with a high pitch voice, “No money, we are really poor, Little Meng City is in a desolate place. How much tax can we collect each year? The Mayor’s office had no money on the book. We had spent the tax collection for next ten years to build this wall, we had no more money to fix the city wall now!”
No money? Wu Qi twisted his lip. He just gazed at those gemstones and jewels Yi Yan wore which worth more than few hundred thousand.
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