Chapter 427: Saint's Mercy
On the third day, the morning light fell into the courtyard. Ah Da also came back with fifty riders, exhausted. He glanced at the heads of major families who had been waiting in front of the courtyard gate all night, and then walked freely into the courtyard amid the expressions of envy on the faces of all the heads who seemed to be hesitant to speak.

At this moment, the heads of various families in Shantong Mansion also memorized A'da's appearance in their hearts and knew how to handle the relationship with Zhou Tieyi's chief personal guard in the future. As the saying goes, if one person succeeds, the whole family will benefit.

Walking into the courtyard, although there was a lot of noise from machinery in the mine outside, it was extremely quiet here. The surrounding darkness was so quiet and deep that even the morning light shining in from outside the courtyard could not truly blend in with the courtyard. It was as if there were two different worlds on either side.

In the main hall of the courtyard, Zhou Tieyi and Miaoyu sat on the left and right seats. Zhou Tieyi gave Ah Da the feeling of being "black", but this black was the basis of all the surrounding materials, as if the tables, chairs and walls were all extensions of Zhou Tieyi's body, and these materials formed a complete space, which was consistent with the courtyard.

Miaoyu appears in "white", the source of all the energy in the courtyard, giving life to the black matter, so there is breeze flowing in the courtyard, and the grass and trees can breathe, while the black and white colors embrace the entire courtyard and form a complete world.

"Master."

Ah Da respectfully presented the Tai Chi Yin-Yang bracelet in his hand, and Zhou Tieyi opened his eyes from his closed-eye practice. At that moment, the deep and closed courtyard opened up, and the bright sunlight from outside was brought in, filling the empty room with light and allowing Yin and Yang to rotate.

Although he was not injured after the war, he still needed to spend time sorting out his huge gains, especially those from his own path.

Before the war, he replaced the method of refining Gang with the method of refining fragments of the Kingdom of God, and successfully entered the sixth level of martial arts. At the same time, he evolved the Tai Su Divine Wind and transformed his flesh and blood into pure fragments of the Kingdom of God.

However, these fragments of the Kingdom of God were absorbed from the outside, not self-sought, and therefore cannot evolve into new life from within.

During this battle, with the help of the great wisdom root realm, Zhou Tieyi understood the pure changes of life and death, allowing life and death to cycle. At the same time, based on the Buddhist emptiness, he evolved life and death, yin and yang from Wuji and witnessed the appearance of Tai Chi.

Therefore, the pieces of his own externally fused kingdom of God fragments also gave birth to "vitality" from within. This vitality was similar to the beginning of the creation of the universe, and thus he obtained the source of all ancestral qi, that is, the original ancestral qi.

Zhou Tieyi generated the original ancestral qi within himself, and naturally perfected the method of refining the qi without any external help.

For ordinary warriors, the fifth level of martial arts practice is to perfect their own golden muscles and jade bones, making them flawless inside and out, but Zhou Tieyi himself is already a primordial world, so his fifth level of martial arts practice is to make this world truly open up and evolve all tangible things with the primordial ancestral qi.

Zhou Tieyi stretched out his hand, and the Tai Chi Yin-Yang Bracelet fell into his hand. He sighed, "What a pity."

During this round of cultivation, he had two opportunities that were interrupted halfway. The first was when he merged with the Great Wisdom Root Realm, when the Primordial Ancestral Qi was first born. At that time, he had already entered the wonderful realm of unity of heaven and man, and his own Taoism and supernatural powers increased rapidly. Even the gathering of the Primordial Ancestral Qi could not be so little. However, due to the arrangement left by Monk Zhi, he was affected by the Five Degenerations of Heaven and Man, and his state of enlightenment of the unity of heaven and man was interrupted. If it were not for the support of the Eight Phases of Taiyin and the Great Sun and the Mohist Holy Way, the new original universe would probably have perished before it had time to grow.

The second chance was when the Tai Chi Yin Yang Bracelet transformed into a long bridge to save tens of millions of souls in Taihang and Yinshan Mountains, but it was interrupted by Tong Lao, causing the opportunity to be missed and the Tai Chi Yin Yang Bracelet did not evolve perfectly.

“Misfortunes often bring blessings.”

Miaoyu next to him was very calm and tried to comfort Zhou Tieyi.

Zhou Tieyi nodded slightly, "Indeed, I have been blessed by nature, so why should I be dissatisfied? The interruption of the path is in line with the principle of the great way to develop forward in twists and turns. Success is certainly gratifying, and failure is not a cause for worry. Being able to see the path is already far superior to billions of sentient beings."

After saying that, Zhou Tieyi turned to look at Ah Da, "How did things go?"

Ah Da quickly replied, "A total of 2,372 people within the five generations of the Qian family were detained. In addition, more than 600 people from the Chen, Qiu, and Tong families were killed, and the rest were also detained."

These four surnames are the biggest supporters of Dazhi Zen Temple in Shantong Prefecture, and are also the primary surnames that Zhou Tieyi is targeting this time.

Zhou Tieyi raised his eyes slightly and looked at Ah Da, "What's going on with those three families? Why were they killed?"

Ah Da bowed and said, "Although these three families are not as powerful as the Qian family, they have built forts in their respective territories and they think they have too close contacts with the Clouded Leopard and Dawn armies. I have already made the young master's intention clear to them, but they still defied the young master's orders and wanted to wait for the military strategists to mediate. They refused to open the door, so I killed more than 600 of the leaders."

Zhou Tieyi thought about it and nodded in agreement, "Well done. Killing people is not difficult. The difficult part is to understand what you are doing. Do you know what I want to do?"

Hearing Zhou Tieyi's question, Ah Da couldn't help swallowing his saliva. Although he had followed Zhou Tieyi since he was a child and was well aware that Zhou Tieyi was sentimental, he knew that even if he made a mistake, as long as it was not a big mistake of principle, Zhou Tieyi would probably let him go. But this naked warning still made him terrified, because the person he was following now was not the second-generation rich man who walked his birds and dogs in Tianjing, but the prosperous Marquis who held the holy way and influenced the situation in the world with his words and deeds!
So he looked up and showed an honest smile, "How would I know what the young master is thinking?"

Seeing Ah Da’s simple and honest smile, Zhou Tieyi also smiled, “You, you…”

He paused for a moment and continued, "The next step is to make room for the people in the Mountain Copper Mansion, so that the people below can see that there are vacancies above. Only then will the new technology and industry have their own decision-makers and foundations. Therefore, in this process, whether it is detaining people or killing people, it is useful. However, we are only making room, not snatching or destroying positions. Do you understand?"

Ah Da understood it instantly. As the captain of Zhou Tieyi's personal guard, he would have to do a lot of dirty and tiring work in the upcoming purge, even killing people and exterminating their entire clan.

But while doing these dirty and tiring jobs, it also means that the power of life and death is in your hands. For example, which family should be killed and which family can keep the bloodline? For some middle-class families, Zhou Tieyi will not ask about every one of them, but Ada, as the leader of the troops, has the greatest decision-making authority.

The heads of the noble families outside have seen Ada's power. After today, Ada can almost imagine how many people's treasures will be sent to him first. Many third-grade treasures may not be valued by Zhou Tieyi, but they can make him make wrong judgments.

Zhou Tieyi's suggestion just now mentioned two things. One is not to place your own people in Shantong Mansion. The position of Shantong Mansion should be given to people from Shantong Mansion. People from the Zhou family should not get involved, and Ada should not get involved either. Second, show mercy. You can kill people, but don't kill people in a panic. Don't kill people for the wealth accumulated by the family. You must kill with reason and evidence. Ada slapped his head, "So that's how it is. Master, I understand!"

Seeing that Ah Da was playing a joke on him, Zhou Tieyi didn't say anything more, but instead instructed Ah Da, "Let those people outside come in. It's time to let them calm down. Oh, and bring in Qian Bingrui, the head of the Construction Bureau as well."

Although the person in charge of the Shantongfu Industrial Bureau is a member of the Qian family, he also worked for Zhou Tieyi during this period and did a good job. Zhou Tieyi naturally had to give an explanation and set up a set of rules for this matter.

"Yes."

Ah Da clasped his fists and accepted the order, and then the heads of various families in Taihang Prefecture who had been standing outside for two days and two nights rushed into the courtyard like fish.

These people were all practitioners. Standing for two days and two nights was certainly not enough to cause their physical bodies to collapse, but the mental pressure caused half of them to have white hair in two nights, and they were trembling like frightened birds.

Only after entering the courtyard were they able to better appreciate Zhou Tieyi's current power and strength. This small courtyard was extremely ordinary, but the Yin and Yang Dao was flowing, and vitality was born from the void. Everyone could feel the power of the Dao that was repairing their tired minds bit by bit.

Under the transformation of this wonderful truth, some people who were fortunate enough to watch the Xuandu Mountain and the Sutra preaching at the Nanda Temple even vaguely compared them to it.

"Fortunately, Marquis Zhou turned the tide, repaired the gap in the land, killed the rebel gods, wiped out the evil spirits, and saved the people from danger. The Zhao family of Shantong Mansion and the heads of other families came to pay a visit to Marquis Zhou."

After everyone arrived, no one went directly into the main hall, but stood in the small courtyard, with the head of the Zhao family leading the other family heads to perform the ceremony of kowtow.

Zhou Tieyi is a marquis and has the right to enjoy the ceremony of kowtow. However, in the past, this ceremony of kowtow was only performed on major festivals such as New Year's Day when the Zhou family's direct subordinates came to visit. On weekdays, even if the marquis had this power, he would not ask his subordinates to perform such a ceremony, otherwise it would appear too arrogant.

Now, the power of life and death of the entire Taihang Mountain Copper Mansion and even the surrounding provinces is in Zhou Tieyi's hands. It is human nature to perform such a great ceremony. Zhou Tieyi did not stop it, but said calmly, "Everyone, stand up."

Everyone then stood up tremblingly, and saw two people sitting upright in the main hall which was only a few meters long. On the left was a Taoist nun wearing an apricot-yellow Taoist robe. She looked as beautiful as autumn flowers, with an indifferent expression, aloof from the world and independent. On the right was a man wearing a white python robe and silver rings on his hands. He glanced in all directions, and his every move was full of majesty.

"This divine disaster originated from the Taihang Mountain family's inability to distinguish between good and evil, and they were bewitched by it, resulting in the evil ghosts being wronged in the netherworld and the people suffering in the world of the living. Fortunately, the Mohist saint came to the world to avert this great disaster. You should cherish your blessings and know when to embarrass yourself!"

Everyone present understood what Zhou Tieyi said, which was that the beating had to be done, but it did not have to be done hard, nor did it mean that everyone had to be implicated. For many things, as long as the guilt was confessed, the blame could be put on the evil gods.

Everyone first bowed their heads, praising Zhou Tieyi for what he said, and then glanced at the head of the Zhao family next to them, indicating that the head of the Zhao family should ask the most concerned question on behalf of everyone.

"Your Majesty, this terrible disaster is indeed the fault of our poor upbringing. However, God is merciful. Please, Lord Zhou, save us out of the mercy of the saints."

It is okay to confess, but how can we ensure that this crime involving the evil of God will not turn into a heinous crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of the clan!

This is the guarantee that each family wants from Zhou Tieyi.

Zhou Tieyi raised his hands to the sky and said, "I was ordered by His Majesty to come to Shantong Mansion to investigate the case, but I am only investigating the case. The final verdict will still be decided by His Majesty..."

After hearing what Zhou Tieyi said, everyone felt a little unsure, because Zhou Tieyi implied that he would not sentence him to death, and even if everyone was sensible, they would give him a lighter sentence, but in the end it would be the Emperor of Tianjin who would make the final decision.

But what he said also makes sense. Unless Zhou Tieyi really wants to rely on the Mohist school and the Gongshu school in Taihang Mountain and become the King of Taihang, Zhou Tieyi will eventually have to return to the capital to report on his work, and all cases must be submitted to the emperor for a decision.

Zhou Tieyi explained the whole story in a logical and reasonable manner, and then called out his name, "Qian Bingrui."

Qian Bingrui, who had just stood up, immediately trotted to the front of the hall and knelt down quickly, "The criminal is here."

Zhou Tieyi glanced at Qian Bingrui, who was trembling all over and at a loss, and sighed, "I have always known what kind of person you are. During my time in Shantong Prefecture, you worked hard to build houses for the people, measure the land, and report the matters of the Workers' College. You are a good official, conscientious and responsible, and there is no chance of involving the gods and evil. I will strongly explain this matter to the emperor. Now my Great Xia is facing a fierce foreign enemy, and the emperor is cultivating morality. Killing the nine clans is indeed harmful to the harmony of heaven, which is not conducive to the emperor's cultivation of Taoism and the saint's compassion."

After Zhou Tieyi said this, Qian Bingrui's trembling body paused for a moment, then tears could not stop flowing, and he kowtowed to Zhou Tieyi repeatedly, because Zhou Tieyi's words were equivalent to guaranteeing his family in front of everyone, at least he and his wife and children could be saved. As for Old Master Qian, although he was Qian Bingrui's great-uncle, Qian Bingrui didn't dare to ask about other things at this time. At least Zhou Tieyi had done his best for him and helped Zhou Tieyi do things seriously. Even on the matter of executing nine generations of the clan, Zhou Tieyi dared to argue for him in front of the emperor!
"Thank you for your mercy, Saint. Thank you for your mercy, Saint."

Qian Bingrui kept mentioning the word "saint", but as to who this saint was referring to, that depends on one's own opinion.

Hearing that Zhou Tieyi was willing to guarantee the Qian family, everyone tasted something. Although Zhou Tieyi arrested the Qian family, he only dealt with the matter from Dazhi Zen Temple. It was heard that several other families relied on their involvement with the Daxia military family and refused to open the door, and hundreds of people were directly killed!
Zhou Tieyi turned his gaze back to the crowd and said, "Everyone, the saint is merciful, but the people are the standard by which the saint measures his mercy. In the past, you all used Moshi to embezzle and pervert the law. How many of you are implicated? Please sort out the accounts and make a rule on how to find supplies for His Majesty in Tianjing and the people of Taihang Mountain. Send them to my clerk Qin Yu. Once the accounts are settled with me, I will naturally send them to His Majesty. However, everyone should also understand that the saint has both mercy and drastic measures. No other accounts can be settled with me!"

"I can't wait!"

(End of this chapter)