Chapter 929 Knocking on the mountain and shaking the tiger
"I understand. You let me, an outsider, serve as the deputy leader of Xilu Wuzong in order to loosen up the soil for the four prefectures in Shangjing and pry open this iron plate."

"That's exactly what I meant." Facing Liu Xunyi who suddenly realized something, Xunzhen did not hide his intentions at all. "In fact, the thoughts of Shao Qin Wang are not important to you. What's important is that you can use the power of Xilu Wuzong to vindicate yourself."

"Could it be..." Liu Xunyi raised his eyebrows, half believing and half doubting, "Aren't you afraid that I will seize power?"

"The four prefectures of Shangjing were founded by Yuan Xiao and his four men, who worked diligently for more than 20 years. To be frank, every blade of grass and every tree here was planted by them, every brick and tile was laid by them, and even every disciple of the four prefectures of Shangjing was trained by them personally. But even so, they still cannot take away the ruling power of the Shao Qin King over the four prefectures of Shangjing, let alone you, a newcomer who has just arrived?"

Xunzhen's slightly sarcastic answer made Liu Xunyi laugh. He said self-deprecatingly, "Compared to me, the four family heads and the disciples of the four mansions in Shangjing certainly trust the young prince more. Right now, they are eager for me to show my 'fox tail' so that they can squeeze me out."

"Of course!" Xunzhen said cunningly, "Don't look at their strong reaction. In fact, what they care about most is not the 'Western Law Martial Sect', nor entering the Central Plains, but being inferior to others. After all, if you hadn't 'showed up halfway', the throne of deputy sect leader... would have belonged to Yuan Xiao. The other three family heads have been friends with Yuan Xiao for many years and are as close as brothers. Naturally, they care more about him than you."

"Hearing you say that, I feel even more guilty." Liu Xunyi said in a dilemma, "How can I convince others if I take their position away from them?"

"It's my job to help you get to the top. As for how to convince the public... that's your business." Xunzhen said nonchalantly, "Anyway, I've already found a position for you. As for whether you can keep it... that depends on your own ability."

"As the saying goes, 'a melon that is forced into a tree is not sweet.' If we force others to do what we want, I'm afraid it will just backfire."

"what are you worried about?"

"I'm worried that if I take over the reins, the four family heads will become jealous and resentful, or even... rebel."

"Don't worry! They are just middle-aged, with a bit more rebellious temperament and more cunning thoughts, but their loyalty to the Young King of Qin is beyond doubt." Xunzhen smiled confidently, "To be honest, although they are thousands of miles apart, the Young King of Qin knows the actions of the four family heads like a mirror. If they dared to have the slightest rebellious intention... they would not be alive today."

"hiss!"

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi's expression changed slightly, and he became more wary of Prince Shao Qin.

Yuan Xiao and the other three were the trusted confidants of Prince Shao Qin. He even had a backup plan for his own trusted confidants, let alone an "outsider" like Liu Xunyi?
Thinking of this and seeing Xunzhen's secretive smile, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but feel a chill on his back, and his mood became even more complicated.

In a trance, Liu Xunyi felt that he was grateful for Xunzhen's kindness and accepted the generosity of King Shao Qin. On the surface, everything seemed to be going as he wished, but in reality... it was like making an irreversible deal with the "devil".

Faintly, he had an indescribable, inexplicable yet very strong feeling, as if... everything that King Shao Qin gave him today, he would take back a hundredfold, a thousandfold, or even ten thousandfold in the future.

"Among the four family heads, Yuan Xiao is the most capable and shrewd. Many things are clearly his ideas, but he never mentions them himself, preferring to speak in a roundabout way through other people's mouths." Xunzhen's voice once again interrupted Liu Xunyi's contemplation, "Yan Shun has always been easy-going, and Hong Si is cautious. These two are both veterans of changing their attitude according to the situation, so there is no need to worry. Only Lei Zhen has a straightforward personality and a bad temper. He is most likely to believe everything he hears, and he is afraid that the world will not be in chaos. Today... he is the one who is making the most noise."

"What do you mean?" Liu Xunyi heard something strange in Xunzhen's voice, "Are you planning to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys?"

"They are meritorious officials of the Young Qin King. For many years, they have only served the Young Qin King as their master. They would not obey my orders. Now they are willing to listen to my orders calmly, not because they are afraid of me, but because they respect the Young Qin King. Therefore, killing a chicken to scare the monkey... I am afraid I can't do it, and I can't do it." Xunzhen pondered, "But whether they are willing or not, the Xilu Wuzong must enter the Central Plains, and there is no room for negotiation for you to serve as the deputy leader. The four family heads are arrogant and take advantage of their seniority. We must not be led by them by the nose. We must find a way to turn passivity into initiative."

"Since you can't hit or scold me, then...what else can you do?"

"Use both kindness and severity to scare the tiger." Xunzhen's beautiful eyes turned and a plan came to his mind.

"This……"

"Come with me!"

Before Liu Xunyi understood, Xunzhen had already made up his mind and dragged him out of the side hall without saying anything.

"How did you discuss it?"

Seeing Xunzhen and Liu Xunyi return to the hall, the noisy scene quickly quieted down.

For a moment, everyone looked at each other, winked at each other, but no one was willing to speak first.

"Miss!"

After a long silence, Yan Shun mustered up his courage and answered, "I think... what Brother Yuan said is very true. We should not rush into this matter, we should take a long-term view..."

"What do you want to discuss in detail?" Xunzhen was startled and pretended to be confused.

"Of course, it's about the integration of the 'Four Prefectures of Shangjing' into the 'Western Law Martial Sect', and the matter of entering the Central Plains." Lei Zhen couldn't wait to explain, "The most important thing is to entrust Liu Xunyi as the deputy sect leader..."

"Wait a minute!" Xunzhen frowned and waved his hands repeatedly, "I don't want you to discuss these things, but the specific arrangements for how to divide the work, how to prepare, how to settle, and when to enter the Central Plains for the 'Four Major Branches of the Central Plains'."

"what?"

As soon as Xunzhen said this, everyone present looked at each other in confusion.

"Miss, the previous matters have not been discussed yet, how about the latter matters..."

"What happened?" Xunzhen asked in surprise, "I have announced what I should announce and informed you of what I should inform you of. Don't you understand?"

"Miss, what you mean is..." Hong Si hesitated, "Has the matter of integrating the four prefectures of Shangjing into Xilu Wuzong been decided?" "It's decided!" Xunzhen nodded innocently, "What's wrong with that?"

"Then Brother Liu will be appointed as the deputy sect leader..."

"It's settled." Xunzhen smiled, "Why? Do you want me to repeat what I just said?"

"This..." Yan Shun was stunned and said in disbelief, "This matter is of great importance and has far-reaching implications. Isn't it a bit hasty for the young lady to make such a rash decision?"

"Is it too hasty?" Xunzhen said leisurely, not knowing whether he was deliberately ignoring everyone's objections. "Forget it! Since you can't come to a conclusion, I'll decide for you. The deadline is three months. By the beginning of next spring, the troops from the 'Four Major Branch Offices in the Central Plains' must enter the Central Plains."

"This..." Xunzhen's arbitrary behavior made everyone surprised and angry.

"Forgive me for being blunt, but such a ridiculous thing... will never work!" Lei Zhen's outspokenness made everyone present feel embarrassed but also secretly glad that someone finally spoke for them what they wanted to say but didn't dare to say.

Hearing this, Xunzhen's smile gradually disappeared, and he said unhappily, "Why doesn't it work?"

"Miss, you don't understand the situation in the four prefectures of Shangjing at all, nor do you know how many troops, money, grain, farmland, and business we have... You know even less about the complicated human connections in the Northeast. As the saying goes, 'a single move affects the entire body'. This kind of major event that concerns the foundation and lifeline cannot be discussed on paper, let alone act rashly..."

"Mr. Lei, you are too serious." Xunzhen interrupted Lei Zhen's defense absentmindedly, "The things you mentioned, the young king of Qin has already considered..."

"I don't believe that the Young King of Qin is so confused!" Lei Zhen was very dissatisfied with Xun Zhen's "arrogance" and said in a deep voice, "Even if it is the Young King of Qin's decision, I dare to speak frankly and explain the pros and cons. Please ask him to think twice."

Seeing that Lei Zhen showed no mercy to Xun Zhen, Hong Si could not help but feel worried and advised, "Brother Lei, please be patient and listen to what the young lady has to say..."

"It's not that I don't want to listen, but the young lady is determined and doesn't give us any room for negotiation. In this case, what else can we say? If the young lady is stubborn and acts absurdly, I can't control what others do, but Lei... I'm sorry I can't obey you!"

After saying this, the furious Lei Zhen suddenly stood up and walked out of the hall without looking back, followed by more than a dozen indignant Lei Mansion disciples.

"Stop!" Before Lei Zhen stepped out of the hall, Xunzhen's voice suddenly rang out, "Master Lei, if you have any complaints, you can tell us. What's your intention in leaving without saying goodbye?"

"Miss, Brother Lei..."

"I'm asking Lei Zhen, not you!" Xunzhen stared at Lei Zhen's back and interrupted Yan Shun's consolation with an unquestionable tone.

While they were talking, Xiao Yang, Su Hu and Xun Budao walked to the door silently, and the three of them formed a fan shape to block the way of Lei Zhen and his party.

"Master Lei, the eldest lady didn't let you leave, so you can't leave."

Lei Zhen couldn't help but frown at Xiao Yang's "kind reminder". But before he could speak, some of his disciples, who were still young and full of vigor, couldn't help but jump up and shout.

"Who do you think you are? Don't you see whose territory this is..."

"Snapped!"

Before the aggressive disciple could finish his words, Lei Zhen's eyes suddenly changed, and he quickly turned around and slapped him hard in the face. The young disciple was beaten so hard that his head was swollen, his eyes were full of stars, and blood could not stop oozing out of his mouth and nose.

"Who do you think you are? How dare you yell in front of the young lady?"

"Palace Master, I..."

"Someone! Drag this ignorant bastard out and beat him with eighty strokes of the cane... No! Beat him with a hundred strokes of the cane... No, no, no! Keep beating him. No one is allowed to stop without my order until he is beaten to death." Lei Zhenhu's eyes widened as he shouted, "Let's see who dares to talk nonsense again?"

"Yes."

At the command, three or five burly men immediately rushed forward, kicking and beating the young disciple who was begging for mercy in panic and dragged him out of the hall.

"Lei Zhen, look at the kind of people you have taught. They have no respect for the rules, speak nonsense, and are simply disgraceful!"

Just as the hall was completely silent and the atmosphere was becoming increasingly subtle, Yuan Xiao glanced at Xunzhen from the corner of his eye. Seeing her cold eyes and gloomy face, he quickly stood up and walked forward, dragging the trapped Lei Zhen back to the hall while angrily rebuking him: "The eldest lady hasn't even spoken yet, how dare you leave the table in anger? No wonder your subordinates are so disrespectful, it turns out that the top beam is not straight and the bottom beam is crooked!"

On the surface, Yuan Xiao taught Lei Zhen a lesson on behalf of Xunzhen, but in fact, he was indirectly reminding him and protecting him. In particular, he secretly changed Xunzhen's words "left without saying goodbye" to "left the table angrily", which is even more meaningful.

Little did they know that "leaving without saying goodbye" was Lei Zhen's tyranny and was his only fault, while "leaving the table in anger" was Xunzhen's first anger and Lei Zhen's later departure, so they were both half right and half wrong.

These four simple words contain two completely different meanings.

When the situation deteriorated to the point where it was almost impossible to resolve, he instantly saw through the changes in the situation, stepped forward and quickly got to the point, and resolved the deadlock with a few words. At this moment, even Liu Xunyi had to admire Yuan Xiao's shrewdness and sophistication.

……

(End of this chapter)