Chapter 936: Knowing People and Assigning Them to the Right Positions (I)

In the afternoon, outside the study of the Yuan Mansion, Yuan Ting paced back and forth in the yard with anxious eyes, sometimes looking at the closed door, and sometimes looking around outside the yard.

"Ting'er!"

Suddenly, a call came from outside the courtyard. Then, Yuan Xiao walked slowly into the courtyard accompanied by two disciples.

"Dad, you're finally here!"

As soon as he saw Yuan Xiao, Yuan Ting's face showed joy. He rushed forward, grabbed Yuan Xiao's arm without saying a word, and walked towards the study.

"Be steady. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"The deputy sect leader and the eldest lady have been waiting for you for a long time. How can I not be anxious?" Yuan Ting explained as he walked. "Before Dad, Uncle Yan and Uncle Lei had come here one after another. I heard them talking and laughing in the room. I guess they have resolved their grudges with the deputy sect leader and turned enemies into friends."

"Don't talk nonsense! What does 'turning enemies into friends' mean? Your Uncle Yan and Uncle Lei have never regarded the deputy sect leader as an enemy. There were just some misunderstandings before." Yuan Xiao corrected him seriously, and then changed his mind and asked, "Did you hear what they talked about?"

"It was nothing more than some greetings and reminders, like 'be careful' and 'don't rush'," Yuan Ting recalled. "Other than that, there was nothing special. Oh, by the way! Before Uncle Yan and Uncle Lei left, they both sent people to carry their boxes back home."

"Box?" Yuan Xiao frowned and stopped subconsciously. "What box?"

"They are the boxes placed in the hall this morning," Yuan Ting replied, "with account books, deeds, banknotes..."

"They were all taken away?" Yuan Xiao's eyes changed, and he said in disbelief, "Did the deputy sect leader and the eldest lady leave any box behind?"

"Not a single box left!" Yuan Ting said confidently, "I kept counting. Uncle Yan had thirteen boxes, and Uncle Lei had twelve boxes."

"This……"

"Dad, please go in first, don't keep the deputy sect leader and the eldest lady waiting for too long."

"Alright!"

"Bang, bang, bang!"

"Come in!"

"squeak!"

With a slight sound, the door opened. Yuan Xiao quickly straightened his clothes and walked into the study with his head held high.

Yuan Ting wanted to close the door from the outside, but unexpectedly Liu Xunyi's voice rang out again: "Yuan Ting, come in too!"

"Greetings to the deputy sect leader! Greetings to the young lady!"

"Captain Yuan, we have already said that there is no need to be polite when there are no outsiders."

Liu Xunyi came forward very enthusiastically, pulled Yuan Xiao, who was bowing, to sit at the table, and waved gently to Yuan Ting, who was looking around, indicating that he could do as he pleased.

"Bring it up!"

At Xunzhen's command, Abaolu, Xiaoyang, Suhu and Xun Budao quickly carried the fifteen boxes piled in the corner to the front one after another, and opened them one by one in front of Yuan Xiao and his son.

"Deputy Sect Leader, this is..."

"Captain Yuan, these are all the things in the Yuan Mansion. Please check them carefully to see if there are any mistakes or omissions."

"This...what does this mean?" Yuan Xiao pretended to be confused even though he knew the truth, and deliberately acted like he was at a loss and at a loss.

"Captain Yuan, please don't misunderstand me. I have no other intentions. I just want to return the jade intact to Zhao." Liu Xunyi smiled calmly, "If you have no objection, Captain Yuan can send someone to carry them back later."

"hiss!"

I thought it was a "throwing a meat bun at a dog and never coming back", but unexpectedly, Liu Xunyi was unmoved by the mountains of gold and silver.

Although Yuan Xiao already knew the result before entering the door, he was still secretly surprised when he personally experienced Liu Xunyi's "generosity".

"What is the deputy sect leader doing?"

At this moment, facing the gold, silver and treasures that he had been dreaming about for a long time, Yuan Xiao not only showed no joy, but even did not raise his eyelids. It seemed that what was placed in front of him was not boxes of gold, silver and jewelry, but boxes of scrap copper and iron.

"What's wrong with returning the items to their original owners?" "This..." Yuan Xiao stared at Liu Xunyi, who was serious about what he was doing, and then looked at Xunzhen, who had an expressionless face, and asked doubtfully, "Deputy Sect Master, do you know that if all these things were sold, their value... would be enough to buy half of Shenzhou City?"

"So what?" Liu Xunyi raised his eyebrows, as if he didn't understand the implication of Yuan Xiao's words.

"Are you really willing to... give it back to Yuan?"

"These things are originally yours, why should I be reluctant to give them up?" Facing the cautious Yuan Xiao, Liu Xunyi was a little amused, "Captain Yuan has worked so hard and saved so much money to save these things, how dare I covet them?"

"But……"

"That's wrong!" Before Yuan Xiao finished speaking, Xunzhen suddenly interrupted, "These are not his hard work, but the hard work of Prince Shaoqin. Now, the four prefectures of Shangjing have been assigned to Xilu Wuzong. Every brick, tile, grass and tree here belong to Xilu Wuzong."

Having said this, Xunzhen cast a meaningful look at Yuan Xiao who seemed to be thinking about something, and asked quietly, "May I ask Captain Yuan, does what I said make sense?"

"That makes sense! That makes sense!" Xunzhen's words had a hidden meaning, which made Yuan Xiao's heart tighten. He nodded in agreement, "These things don't belong to me at all. They have only belonged to the Young Prince of Qin from the beginning to the end. In the past, I was just keeping them for him. Now, the Yuan Clan has been merged into the Xilu Wu Sect. These things... naturally belong to the deputy sect leader. How dare I covet them? What's more, I made a big mistake in a moment of confusion. Fortunately, the deputy sect leader is tolerant..."

"Eh!" Liu Xunyi waved his hands impatiently, "There's no need to talk about the past! Since Xunzhen and Captain Yuan both think that these things should be in my hands, then... I will give them to the Yuan Clan as the capital for Captain Yuan to enter the Central Plains, how about that?"

"This……"

"If it is 'returned' to the Yuan family, it would be inappropriate. But if it is 'given' to the Yuan Sect, it would be reasonable." Xunzhen pondered, "As the deputy sect leader, you can't let the Yuan Sect starve in the Central Plains."

"That's right! That's right!" Liu Xunyi and Xunzhen echoed each other, "There are more than a thousand disciples of Yuan Sect. It will definitely cost a lot to travel in the Central Plains where they are unfamiliar with the place. Therefore, Captain Yuan urgently needs this 'travel money' to set off."

"Deputy Sect Leader, Miss!"

Seeing Liu Xunyi and Xunzhen helping him in various ways, Yuan Xiao couldn't help but feel touched. He stood up suddenly and bowed to them respectfully: "You have forgiven me and shown me such great kindness. The Yuan family has no way to repay you, so we will do our utmost to help you until our death!"

"Captain Yuan, you are too kind!" Liu Xunyi quickly put down his teacup, stepped forward to hold up Yuan Xiao, and changed the subject, "Actually, I have something else I want to discuss with you today."

"What's the matter?"

"Xunzhen has told me your plan. The four sects Yuan, Yan, Hong, and Lei have gone to Wudang, Qin Mansion, Teng Clan, and Xianwang Mansion respectively to wait for the situation to change and act at the right time. I have considered it again and again and think that this plan is feasible, but... it is an injustice for you to hide your identity temporarily and live under someone else's roof. Especially for Captain Yuan, it is not easy to go to Wudang to deceive Qingfeng's trust. Qingfeng is a man who looks honest on the outside but is treacherous on the inside. He can even kill his own son-in-law, let alone outsiders? Therefore, on the trip to Wudang... Captain Yuan, please be careful. If you encounter danger, it is better to retreat than to risk your life."

"Master Liu is indeed Master Liu, he is really kind-hearted!" Looking at the sincere Liu Xunyi, Yuan Xiao sighed, "Don't worry, Deputy Sect Leader, I know my limits and will not alert the enemy."

"The situation in the martial arts world is ever-changing, and the rivers and lakes are dangerous and people's hearts are unpredictable. Therefore, this time... the four captains must go into battle in person, and the others are far from enough." When mentioning this, Liu Xunyi's tone was very helpless, but before Yuan Xiao expressed his loyalty, he added for no reason, "But insufficient Taoism does not mean that it is useless. There are many young people in the four prefectures of Shangjing who are good at literature and martial arts and are resourceful and eager to try. I hope that I will have the opportunity to gain experience and become a hero like Captain Yuan in the future."

Hearing this, Yuan Xiao, who sensed something strange, had countless thoughts flashing through his mind. While he was secretly guessing the intentions of Liu Xunyi and Xunzhen, he pretended to be ignorant and continued: "What the deputy clan leader said is very true. There are indeed many young people with great potential in the four prefectures of Shangjing. Over the years, Yan Shun, Hong Si, Lei Zhen and I have been quietly observing and carefully cultivating them to avoid a situation where there is a lack of successors, and we must not let the young King of Qin fall behind because of the lack of successors."

Liu Xunyi replied with a half-smile, "The four helmsmen are far-sighted, and I admire them! But the overall situation in the Northeast has been decided, and the status of the four prefectures in Shangjing cannot be shaken. In addition, with the four of you in charge, I am afraid that the young disciples under your command... will not have many opportunities to hone their skills. After all, it is good to be under a big tree, and their lives are also going smoothly."

"This..." Yuan Xiao was stunned and said hesitantly, "The deputy sect leader means..."

"Lei Duozhu once said that once the four prefectures of Shangjing enter the pass, there will be no turning back. I understand his concerns, but I don't agree with his idea. I think that the Central Plains must be fought for, but the Northeast... cannot be abandoned." Liu Xunyi said righteously, "Therefore, it is very important to find a capable person to help you protect your family business. After the four of you enter the pass, the situation in the Northeast will inevitably be turbulent. The gangs that have been suppressed by you for these years will definitely jump out and cause trouble. Take the opportunity to recruit soldiers, grab territory, make friends with the powerful, and scramble for power, hoping that they can become the new generation of 'Four Prefectures of Shangjing' and preside over the overall situation in the Northeast."

"The Yangtze River's new generation replaces the old generation. Deputy Sect Leader... you are right!" Yuan Xiao seemed to have hit a soft spot with Liu Xunyi. He couldn't help but look melancholy and sighed, "My brothers and I have worked hard in the Northeast, and finally created the current situation. Now, we have to give up everything here and move our family south to start anew. To be honest... Yuan is really reluctant to let go."

"That's why I let you stay with 30% of your troops." Xunzhen said calmly, "Liu Xunyi and I have discussed it repeatedly and agreed that after you leave, the four prefectures in Shangjing can no longer act independently. We must advance and retreat together. Only in this way can we have a chance to preserve your family business in the Northeast."

"Miss, please understand!"

"Therefore, it is imperative to select a loyal and capable person to take charge of the situation and stay in the Northeast to manage the overall situation." Seeing Yuan Xiao's clear attitude, Liu Xunyi no longer hesitated and said the key, "I wonder if Captain Yuan has a suitable candidate?"

"This..." Yuan Xiao frowned, hesitating, "The deputy sect leader and the eldest lady mean..."

"Just tell me! I have a candidate, and I'd like to ask Captain Yuan to consider him."

"Oh?" Yuan Xiao said in his heart, "As expected." But on the surface, he remained calm and pretended to be surprised. "I wonder who this person is to be favored by the deputy sect leader and the eldest lady?"

"This person is far away in the sky, but he is right in front of us."

"What the young lady said is..."

"Your Highness, Yuan Ting!"

……

(End of this chapter)