20demayo Chapter 18 – Kill with a heart, the stick is also candy
Chapter 18 – Kill with a heart, the stick is also candy
Gu Feng kept his thoughts to himself, maintaining a calm exterior as he returned to his seat.
The three of them sat down slowly, each with mixed feelings.
This novel is available on ".
Gu Feng instructed the maid to bring them hot tea and asked, "Old General Lu, how much in spirit stones does the family still owe the Chen Long Army soldiers in wages?"
Hearing this, Lu Zhen forced a bitter smile. This matter was a secret of Heroic Spirit City and not something to be proud of. Normally, Gu Feng wouldn't have the right to inquire about it, but with the Order of Heroic Spirit in his hand, Lu Zhen had no choice but to answer truthfully.
"The Chen Long Army currently has three camps with a total of 95,023 people. Excluding the salaries of mid and lower-level officers, the ordinary soldiers' wages have been in arrears for over three months, amounting to about 28,000 superior-grade spirit stones."
Gu Feng quickly calculated in his mind. Twenty-eight thousand superior-grade spirit stones, when converted to medium-grade spirit stones, would be a staggering 2.8 million!
Lu Zhen had a hard time over the years, struggling to keep things afloat.
For centuries, the Eastern Region and the Southern Barbarians have been at war every year, consuming vast resources. Heroic Spirit City, being a subordinate city of the Eastern Region, naturally followed suit in its militaristic pursuits.
Faced with enormous expenses, the elders and clansmen of the family did not reduce their own allowances by a single cent. These old men only knew how to enjoy the wealth brought by power, without understanding how to create wealth.
Their method of solving financial problems was very primitive: increase taxes! Anyone who objected would be beaten up. After all, in the world of cultivation, the rule was that the one with the biggest fists made the rules!
When it came to exploiting the lower-level cultivators, these guys didn't even bother to disguise it!
In the end, it was the lower-level cultivators and soldiers who suffered.
This was a vicious cycle. Productivity couldn't keep up, and the production relations were extremely unhealthy. If it weren't for the fact that the world of cultivation couldn't be measured by normal personal strength in social relations, Heroic Spirit City might have changed hands long ago!
"They keep saying I'm a waste, but if this continues, Heroic Spirit City will become an empty shell. These elders and chosen ones who throw their weight around are the real wastes!"
Cursing inwardly, Gu Feng pretended to pace back and forth with a look of concern for the country and its people.
"How about this!"
Feigning a determined expression, Gu Feng smiled and said, "I'll first take out 30,000 superior-grade spirit stones to make up for the soldiers' back pay. How about that?"
Hearing this, Lu Zhen couldn't help but tremble slightly. He had heard rumors that this waste sequence had thrown out an entire mountain of spirit stones at a family meeting. He thought it was just a baseless rumor spread by the city's riffraff, but he didn't expect Gu Feng to be such a big spender!
Fang Feixue was also a bit surprised. She knew that her adoptive father had been losing sleep over the unpaid wages. If Gu Feng could really solve this problem, it would be a huge help!
With one hand on the table, Lu Zhen almost lost his composure. He turned his head and couldn't help but ask, "Is the sequence serious?"
Having witnessed Gu Feng's generosity, Nalan Yuan had long wanted to stick around. Following Gu Feng promised a life of luxury, far better than the hardships in the Chen Long Army.
Faced with Nalan Yuan's self-recommendation, Gu Feng merely shook his head in silence.
His gaze wandered until it landed on Fang Feixue.
"General Fang, could you take on this role?"
Slightly startled, Fang Feixue suppressed the urge to explode, turned her head, and coldly said, "Not interested!"
Being rejected outright, Gu Feng wasn't angry. He merely looked at Lu Zhen with a meaningful expression.
Meeting Gu Feng's meaningful gaze, Lu Zhen understood and quickly said, "Feixue, just accept it."
"Adoptive Father!"
"No need to say more." Lu Zhen raised his hand to interrupt Fang Feixue, then turned to Gu Feng and cupped his hands, "In five days, this humble general will have Feixue lead the thousand skilled individuals to Qiong Feng Pavilion to report to the sequence."
"Thank you, Old General." Gu Feng smiled slightly, satisfied.
With that, Lu Zhen left with a sullen Fang Feixue and a somewhat disappointed Nalan Yuan.
Watching the three figures gradually recede into the distance, a smile appeared on Gu Feng's lips.
"Why go through all this trouble? Wouldn't it be more effective to just use the Order of Heroic Spirit to suppress them?" Jiu Long said coldly from the side.
With a long sigh, Gu Feng slowly explained, "It's easy to kill, but hard to win hearts. I want them to willingly work for me, not just pay lip service while undermining me behind my back."
"To make them willingly submit, you need both the stick and the carrot. Constant oppression will only backfire and be counterproductive," Gu Feng said with a meaningful look.
Not expecting Jiu Long to understand his reasoning, Gu Feng knew that in Jiu Long's mind, the traditional notion of dealing with anyone who disobeys was deeply ingrained and wouldn't change overnight.
Jiu Long indeed scoffed at this, remaining silent for a while before suddenly saying, "Are you interested in that girl?"
"Uh?!"
Gu Feng stumbled a step, awkwardly asking, "Is it that obvious?"
Jiu Long nodded expressionlessly, saying seriously, "At your age, it's time to consider finding a Dao companion."
Gu Feng shot him an impatient sideways glance, speechless.