radicalducati Chapter 143 The Liu Family Comes to Power
Chapter 143 The Liu Family Comes to Power
They did what they agreed to do. After Yang Qing and his companions rested for a while, they hurried down Hengyue Mountain and headed straight for the western suburbs of the city.
It was already dawn. In order to avoid being burned by the sun, the evil spirits that had entered the city began to retreat in large numbers. As the effect of the blood moon dissipated, the strength of these evil spirits began to decline drastically.
Some evil spirits that did not have time to retreat from the city began to sneak into the houses or cellars of the city residents, hoping to avoid the scorching sun during the day and wait for the arrival of the next night.
The monks and civilians who survived the siege began to emerge from the various buildings where they were hiding.
At the same time, in front of the government office in the center of the city, a large group of people had gathered at the gate.
At this moment, an old man bowed to everyone and said, "I have overstepped my bounds today, so let me speak first.
As the saying goes, a snake cannot survive without a head, but now the prefect of Hengzhou Prefecture, the commander of the Night Patrol and other high-ranking officials in the city have all sacrificed their lives for the city.
Although we have luckily survived this night of the blood moon, unfortunately the city has been breached. There may be evil spirits hiding in the houses throughout the city, and those evil spirits that have retreated out of the city are also very likely to come back tonight.
Therefore, at this moment, what we need most is to find a commander who can lead our remaining forces.
I, Bai Lixin, have the honor of being the head of Ping'anfang. I now represent Ping'anfang, Chongyongfang, Pingshengfang, Xingguangfang and other 16 fangs to jointly nominate Liu Chengming, the captain of the Liu family's Royal Armor Corps, as the temporary governor of Hengzhou Prefecture, to temporarily command all affairs of Hengzhou Prefecture. "
"no!"
"No! Magistrate Zhang is dead, but I am still here! How can we let a group of outsiders take on this responsibility?"
The ones who spoke were the two surviving commanders of the government army - Gong Xiao and Yue Qin. Yue Qin in particular spoke up directly to stop them.
"Master Yue, may I ask whether I cooperated with Ping An Fang before the battle?"
Seeing Yue Qin speak out to stop him, Bai Lixin lowered his brows slightly, looking fearful but still asked loudly.
"In the face of the war, Ping An Fang will provide money and men when needed, and we will provide all the taxes and men.
But yesterday, our Ping'anfang sent out a total of 2,754 able-bodied men, but so far, not a single one has returned, as all were killed in the battle.
If Lord Liu hadn't led people to kill the evil spirit at the gate of Ping'anfang, my Ping'anfang would have been flattened by the evil spirit last night!
Similarly, fifteen districts including Chongyongfang and Shengpingfang were also protected by Lord Liu’s team.”
As Bai Lixin spoke, Yue Qin's face became extremely ugly.
“I believe that our government army, the Night Patrol Division, and even our own soldiers of Hengzhou Prefecture are all good, but sometimes the level of ability is also crucial.
Last night, Lord Liu Chengming led a team of less than seventy people, and together with the remnants that had scattered from various places, he saved Ping'anfang and other sixteen markets. I believe everyone has witnessed this ability.
Instead of preparing for nearly two months and consuming a lot of manpower and material resources, in the end, the city gate was breached before even the first half of the night could be defended.
I heard that the west gate that you, Lord Yue, were responsible for defending was the first to be breached, is that right? Lord Yue.
"you!"
Upon hearing this, Yue Qin's face turned red, and waves of energy surged in his palms, and a soul soldier immediately appeared in his hands.
"Humph! I just said a few truths. Sir Yue, are you going to kill me?"
Liu Chengming, who was covered in armor, stood in front of Yue Qin with his sword and asked with a slight smile on his face.
“I have a clear conscience regarding yesterday’s battle to defend the city!
Although the city gate was breached, it was caused by the mischief of the villains, not by my own fault or the incompetence of the soldiers defending the city."
"That was caused by negligence. I have no intention of slandering the general, but after the city was breached last night, the sixteen districts in the east and south of our city were rescued by General Liu Chengming and his team.
We can see that he is well organized in both command and dispatch, and he is truly a rare talent.
Hengzhou Prefecture is in a critical moment at the moment and needs capable people to take command, so I ask General Yue to put the overall situation first.
As for who will be the city lord after this crisis is over, the higher-ups will make the arrangements.”
After saying this, Bai Lixin, the head of Ping'anfang, bowed deeply towards Yue Qin. He was already in his seventies or eighties. At this moment, in front of everyone, an elder was bowing to a younger person. Yue Qin couldn't get angry and could only step aside.
At this time, Zhou Changfeng, who was hiding aside, stood up and said: "We are all doing this for the good of Hengzhou Prefecture. Now that the prefect has already sacrificed himself, let's vote now.
Please raise your hands if you agree that General Liu Chengming should temporarily take charge of all affairs of Hengzhou Prefecture."
After saying that, Zhou Changfeng raised his hand first.
Bai Lixin and other leaders of the sixteen wards in the east and south of the city also raised their hands.
In the crowd, the head of the Lin family in the north of the city seemed to have reached some deal with Liu Chengming. After an exchange of glances, the head of the Lin family also raised his hand.
Naturally, the heads of several markets in the west of the city that relied on the Yingfeng Gang and in the north of the city that relied on the Lin family for their livelihood also raised their hands.
At the scene, more than two-thirds of the people raised their hands.
In the crowd, the Yan family in the south of the city, the only two remaining commanders of the government army, Gong Xiao and Yue Qin, as well as the two deputy commanders of the Night Patrol Division, Qi Yegui and Shen Xiaoyin, all frowned.
Qi Yegui, in particular, was in a very bad condition at the moment. His left arm was broken at the shoulder, his entire body was covered with bandages, and the wound was still bleeding.
It can be seen that even if his injuries are healed in the future, it will be difficult to recover to his previous state. At this time, he is being supported by one of his subordinates.
Several people exchanged glances, and all of them revealed helpless expressions.
The two departments, the Prefecture Army and the Night Patrol, which originally controlled most of the power in Hengzhou Prefecture, have now withdrawn from the power stage of Hengzhou Prefecture after the evil siege when the blood moon was overhead.
"Okay, since the vast majority of people agree that General Liu Chengming will temporarily take over all the powers of our Hengzhou Prefecture, then this matter is settled. In wartime, everything should be kept simple. Now, please ask General Liu to assign the tasks."
After saying that, Zhou Changfeng stepped back a few steps, leaving a spacious space for Liu Chengming.
Liu Chengming was wearing heavy armor, and his walking made a unique clanging sound: "I am a general of the Liu family, and I follow the pragmatism of the army, listening to orders and obeying them.
Since everyone believes in me, I will definitely not let you down.
However, before assigning the tasks, I, Liu, have a few words to say. Since you voted for me, from now on until the new prefect takes office, all matters of our Hengzhou Prefecture will be decided by me, Liu.
If there is anything wrong or biased in what I said or did, you can raise it in person, but if you accept my order and still pretend to obey it, and then delay things, then don't blame me for being ruthless. "
"General Liu, no, I should call him City Lord Liu now. If anyone here dares to disobey the order and disregard the safety of the people of Hengzhou Prefecture, everyone here will not let him go. What do you think?
Anyway, my soldiers and militiamen are all under your command."
Zhou Changfeng spoke first.
Hearing this, Bai Lixin and the others all nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Liu Chengming nodded, took a booklet from his subordinate beside him, and began to assign tasks according to the markings on the booklet.
Looking at the booklet that had been prepared long ago, Qi Yegui and Shen Xiaoyin looked at each other with a bitter smile on their faces. It seemed that all this had been planned long ago.