Chapter 25

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The most disappointed one was certainly Simin. Originally, she thought this trip to Pingchuan wouldn't be too boring, and meeting a small patrol officer like Du Qian was quite fun, even if he wasn't very tough.

The second miss's thoughts were simple: fun and being able to beat someone. These two things together were enough to make her feel a strong liking for Du Qian. She didn't care what others thought; before she made the demand for five hundred spirit horns, she had already considered Du Qian a friend in her heart.

At this moment, even that friendship was gone.

This feeling made the second miss feel empty inside, like getting a toy she liked and then suddenly having it snatched away, never to be recovered. Even if she no longer liked the toy, it still hurt a lot.

"Old Luo, take him down, give him five hundred spirit horns, and treat the injury on his head. Thank you again for saving my daughter." The last sentence was quite insincere, but who could ask for more? As one of the Nine Ministers, who held the highest position, expressing gratitude twice was enough to give face.

As the Minister of Energy and one of the Nine Ministers, Siming Yi's every word and action no longer represented just himself but a group of people, even the attitude of the empire.

"Yes." Luocheng Ying responded. This time, he didn't carry Du Qian but held his arm, lifting his feet off the ground, and led him out of the room. This was just for show; it was no different from carrying him.

Only after Luocheng Ying and Du Qian left did Siming Yi look down at Fei Xue: "Speak."

Still these three words, but they meant something different. His gaze swept over Yao Jing, making it clear to those below what he meant. What? You say just a glance, who could understand? If you can't even understand this, what can you do? How did you get to this position?

Everyone in the room understood, but their thoughts were clearly not on this. Zhu Zhenqing's gaze was wandering, Zhang Yu's gaze was wandering, and Ming Ren's gaze was wandering. Only Kuai Peng, sitting upright, showed no reaction.

It wasn't that he was less responsive than others; it was related to his status in Pingchuan City. In Pingchuan City, the leader was undoubtedly Zhu Zhenqing, followed by Zhang Yu, a young man with ambition and skill, who had gathered a group of capable people and was the strongest contender for the next city lord.

Ming Ren was even younger, but he was somewhat arrogant and not yet a threat. He clearly knew this and thus joined Zhang Yu. After all, Zhu Zhenqing was the leader and wouldn't give up his position. Ming Ren's ambitions, he couldn't fulfill, so joining Zhang Yu to oppose Zhu Zhenqing was a natural choice. As for any private dealings, they were unknown to outsiders.

Kuai Peng was the oldest and had the longest tenure in Pingchuan City, with deep roots and extensive connections. However, he had a fatal weakness: his combat power.

His combat power was 1,080,000, just over the minimum standard of 1,000,000 for a Combat Master. The problem was that he became a Combat Master twenty years ago when he was just sixty, and there was still some hope.

Twenty years later, he had only increased his combat power from 1,000,000 to 1,080,000. Anyone who wasn't blind could see that Kuai Peng's future, or rather, his lack of future, was clear. Struggling to become a Combat Master, he had made little progress, which was the private assessment of everyone.

With this hard injury to his combat power, Kuai Peng's ambition to advance further naturally waned. In a secondary city, to become a city lord, a Combat Master with a combat power of one million was just the basic requirement, a necessary condition. The higher the combat power, the greater the prestige in the civilian, commercial, city lord's office, city guard, and even the military.

Combat power was not everything, but without it, you were nothing.

As a local force in Pingchuan City, Kuai Peng couldn't step down, even if he wanted to. Behind him was a group of people who needed a spokesperson, a city lord who could speak for them, even if just a deputy city lord.

Unfortunately, the local forces were numerous but lacked talent. There were people with higher combat power, but they were fully devoted to martial cultivation, oblivious to the outside world. Such people, no matter how high their combat power, could only be honored as patrons and couldn't hold the position of deputy city lord.

Zhu Zhenqing represented the imperial lineage, Kuai Peng represented the local forces, and Zhang Yu and Ming Ren were the new generation.

The local forces wanted to protect their interests, the imperial lineage wanted complete control over Pingchuan City, and the new generation, full of ambition, disliked the imperial lineage's complacency and the local forces' narrow-mindedness.

A secondary city with a population of over three million, with people harboring various thoughts, naturally gathered together and chose their spokespersons.

Siming Yi, as one of the Nine Ministers, naturally didn't care about these people's reactions.

Ordinary people only knew that the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers were very important, with news about them circulating daily. However, how important they were, being so far away, the information was vague.

The Zhou Shan Empire, with the emperor at its core, followed by the Three Dukes, Nine Ministers, and Twelve Army Commanders. In other words, the entire empire revolved around these twenty-five people.

To explain it geographically, the Zhou Shan Empire has one capital, four secondary capitals, and nine major cities.

What does this mean? There is one capital, Shangjing. The four secondary capitals are in the east, south, west, and north. These five cities are called super cities or megacities, with a population of over 100 million.

Can you imagine a city with a population of over 100 million? What kind of city is that? Without super fertilizers, it would be impossible to build fields within the city, let alone solve the basic problem of food.

These five cities, collectively known as the Five Capitals, form the number five.

Next are the nine major cities, also known as first-tier cities, with a population of over ten million, forming the number nine.

Together, the capitals and cities form the number 95, symbolizing the supreme power, a cultural tradition of the Zhou Shan Empire, and a way to control this vast empire.

Below these are the secondary cities, with a population of over one million. There are nearly five hundred such cities in the Zhou Shan Empire.

In addition to the capitals and cities, there are 108 fortresses on the borders. These fortresses have no strict population requirements; most of the residents are soldiers. About one-third of the empire's twelve armies are stationed here. This is just during peacetime. When war comes, not only will 90% of the field armies be concentrated in the fortresses, but the city guards, reserves, and newly mobilized troops will also be deployed in these fortresses and nearby battle fortresses.

The emperor controls the army and can also oversee state affairs. The Three Dukes are the three sharp swords in the emperor's hand, so nominally, their status is above the Nine Ministers, but in reality, it's hard to say.

The Nine Ministers control the people's livelihood and are the invisible city lords of the nine major cities. Although they don't have the title of city lord, they have the power of a city lord, each controlling a first-tier city as their base, and can levy taxes in the city according to a certain ratio, a rule that is not written in the law.

Among the five capitals, the capital Shangjing is directly controlled by the emperor. The eastern capital is the recognized place for the crown prince to establish his office. The southern, western, and northern capitals are controlled by the Three Dukes, who also levy taxes to strengthen their own power.

From this information, it's not hard to see how much power, wealth, and status Siming Yi has.

Most of the time, he works in Shangjing, and a small part of the time, he manages his first-tier city, seeing through all kinds of intrigue. The small thoughts of a few city lords in a secondary city, to him, were like children playing, easily seen through. The population and area of Pingchuan City were even smaller than a district in the city he controlled.

When he said "Speak," others naturally didn't know that in Siming Yi's mind, countless thoughts had already passed, and in less than half a minute, he had understood most of their small thoughts.

Fei Xue stepped forward and said, "Sir, her name is Yao Jing. She graduated from the Pingchuan War Orphan School and joined the Flying Tiger Team three days ago. Today, she discovered the suicide bomber and successfully prevented the bomber from getting close, forcing the premature detonation of the fission bomb."

"Hmm, not bad." Siming Yi praised with a blank expression. This was a way to claim credit, and it was probably just the beginning. If it was just to claim credit, it wouldn't have reached him; even the city lord's office wouldn't have been enough; it would have been enough within the police department.

The praise was light, and he didn't take it too seriously, but at least it left an impression on Siming Yi. With a poor background and a short time in the team, to achieve this level, there must have been some support from a superior.

"Yao Jing, eighteen years old, combat power 225,800." Fei Xue finished speaking, bowed, and returned to his position. He had said what he wanted to say, and it was up to the girl's fate.

"Oh, not bad." Siming Yi's face was calm, showing no emotion.

This made Fei Xue feel somewhat disappointed. He had personally handled Yao Jing's admission to the team, personally tested her strength, and in just three days, her talent had amazed the Flying Tiger Team captain, who had seen many geniuses. The fact that Pingchuan City had produced such a prodigy was truly unimaginable.

"Only 220,000, that's just average." The second miss, Simin, was full of anger, hating Du Qian for not being strong enough, feeling that he had disgraced her.

This captain of the Flying Tiger Team clearly had a recommendation in mind, but with only 220,000 combat power, how could he have the nerve to recommend her? This miss, at sixteen, was already at 210,000 combat power, two years younger than her. Not to mention her sister, who at nineteen had reached 310,000 combat power. What was so impressive about 220,000?

Siming Yi turned to look at his youngest daughter, his eyes full of helplessness. In this room, even the four city lords would be on edge, not daring to speak unless he did. Only his two precious daughters ignored his authority.

Well, Siming Yi admitted that it was all his doing. He had many wives and concubines and even more women outside, but among all these women, he had only two daughters. Who else would he dote on?

Ps. Readers, do you still have free appreciation votes and Qidian coins? The 515 red envelope countdown is on, and I'm here to ask for votes and appreciation. Let's give it one last push!

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