Xu Zhengyang, twenty-six and a half years old;
In a mortal form, he held the position of a provincial god under the Eastern Azure Heaven Emperor;
He has parents, a younger sister, and a wife, totaling four people. In addition, his wife is pregnant.
...
Xu Zhengyang nodded in satisfaction, then asked, "Is Xu Zhengyang's wife carrying a boy or a girl...?"
The jade tablet shimmered with light, then its speed increased, and then it began to turn red...
"Alright, alright, stop answering this question, stop!" Xu Zhengyang quickly called out, thinking to himself, "Damn it, I hope it doesn't overwork itself and burn out." This kind of question was something that a divine artifact couldn't answer in the first place.
With a thought, Xu Zhengyang stored the jade tablet inside his body, and his consciousness flew away from Ronghua Building back to Jingniang Lake Resort.
Chapter 309 of Volume Six, "The County God," should be concise and not bloated.
Since becoming a deity, Xu Zhengyang has wielded the Judge's Pen and concocted various artifacts such as the Ghost Messenger Order, the Soul-Beating Whip, and the Soul-Beating Ruler.
The most awesome artifact they made was, of course, the Qiankun Ruler, but that thing is generally not used.
Of the others, only the Judge's Pen and the Soul-Beating Whip can barely be considered divine artifacts. After all, the Judge's Pen had once worked in conjunction with the Jade City Scroll, which at the time was still a case file. The Soul-Beating Whip was powerful; if a deity wished, it could instantly annihilate ghosts and even ghost messengers. As for the Ghost Messenger Token and the Soul-Beating Ruler, they were simply the lowest-level divine artifacts. The Ghost Messenger Token, apart from the soul-collecting function added by Xu Zhengyang later, was essentially an ID card, plus a dedicated mobile phone for internal communication. Oh, and it also served as a shackle used by deities to restrain ghost messengers. As for the Soul-Beating Ruler, its effectiveness was even lower; it could only be used by ghost messengers to discipline ghosts, and if the beating was too severe, it could scatter the ghosts.
However, there is one thing that all divine artifacts have in common: without the blessing of divine power, neither humans nor ghosts can use them. Humans can't even see them.
This jade tablet, now crafted with divine power and over twenty kilograms of pure mutton-fat jade worth over a hundred million, can be considered a replica of the Jade City Scroll. Both its materials and efficacy are vastly different from the original Jade City Scroll.
While this jade tablet and the city scroll share similarities, they lack the ability to classify deities or assess their divine power. To put it more bluntly, its so-called spirituality is merely like a computer program; whatever the user clicks, it provides to the deities through its internal records and automatically downloaded data.
But Cheng Juan is different. Apart from not looking like a human or a god, that guy definitely has a certain level of intelligence.
Moreover, he often likes to show off... He often ignores questions from Lord Xu Zhengyang, the provincial god.
Damn it.
Whenever Xu Zhengyang thought of this, he couldn't help but curse, thinking that one day he would smash this pretentious thing to pieces and make a new one that would obey his commands completely to replace it.
After breakfast, Xu Zhengyang sat in his study. The City Scroll and the newly crafted divine jade tablet were placed on his desk. An ordinary person would have assumed that the two pieces of jade were made of the same material and were both priceless treasures. However, in Xu Zhengyang's eyes, the two pieces of jade were not only vastly different in their internal structure, but also, with a glance from his divine eye, he could tell that the difference between them was enormous—one was like a thousand-year-old iceberg, and the other was like an eternal moon.
Holding the City Scroll, Xu Zhengyang asked, "You should change your name. After all, I am the God of the Prefecture! Your status should change too. You can give the name City Scroll to your son."
The city scroll replied: "Besides the city scroll, the divine artifacts that a state god should possess must include the God-Controlling Token and the God-Locking Chain, both of which are divine artifacts used to control the subordinate gods."
"We don't need them for now." Xu Zhengyang waved his hand. It was obvious that the higher the official rank, the more powerful the divine artifacts used, the harder it was to find the materials, and the greater the divine power required. There wasn't enough space to cook them all. He didn't even have a proper deity under his command yet, so these things were naturally useless to him.
On second thought, Xu Zhengyang realized that he was destined to be deified eventually. Regardless of the size of the deity, once he was deified, he would need a special artifact to control his subordinate gods. In case they ever wanted to rebel, even if he was of higher rank and greater power than them, it would be difficult to kill a god instantly without a powerful weapon.
But we could give them a good beating. Or send them to work in the underworld...
Therefore, there is no need to create powerful weapons of mass destruction for the time being, as it would consume divine power and time to find materials.
Xu Zhengyang said, "From now on, you won't be called Cheng Juan anymore. Change your name to Jiuzhou Lu. You'll be able to know everything, big or small, about the Nine Provinces."
The city scroll says: Currently, there is only one state.
"Can you brag? Can you flatter yourself?" Xu Zhengyang sneered. "That's settled then, your son's name is Cheng Juan."
The son of the New Kyushu Chronicles is, of course, that jade tablet.
Cheng Juan then fell silent and said nothing more.
Xu Zhengyang ignored it and began to consider the next step of bestowing the title of god.
The first choice was undoubtedly Li Haidong. Although his ideas often differed from those of the leader, and he sometimes completely disagreed with them, he was, after all, a truly capable person. He considered issues much more comprehensively than Xu Zhengyang, and his vision was more far-reaching and detailed. When it came to actually getting things done, he would be more appropriate.
Xu Zhengyang never acted arrogantly about this; he was self-aware.
Moreover, Xu Zhengyang is not a petty person. He has always been upright, open-minded, and generous. His character is so good that it is second only to the author of this book, Duanren. So why would he care about the occasional suggestions from the old man Li Haidong that contradict his own views?
It's about readily accepting good advice.
So……
What official position should Li Haidong be given, and how much power should he be granted? That is the question.
If the position is too low, Li Haidong will be constrained and inconvenient in doing certain things. If the authority granted exceeds the scope of the position, it would be unreasonable. Shouldn't we make arrangements in advance for future great undertakings? If the position is too high, firstly, the provincial governor doesn't have that much authority, and secondly… if it's not much different from Xu Zhengyang's rank, wouldn't that allow the old man to dream of rebellion at any time?
Xu Zhengyang compiled all the divine positions below the Zhouhuang (州隨) recorded in the Nine Provinces Record.
According to Xu Zhengyang's promotion from the Earth God to his current high position as the State God, the ranks would naturally be Earth God, Merit Officer, Wandering Judge of the City God's Office, Acting Chief Judge of the City God's Office, Chief Judge of the City God's Office, City God, Spirit Officer, and State God. In fact, between the City God and the Spirit Officer, there should have been three higher positions: Deputy Chief Steward of the Capital God, Capital God, and Steward and Judge of the State God's Office. Although the Heavenly Court Censor Spirit Officer is of the same rank as the Steward of the Capital God's Office, both being fourth-rank officials, he has much more power because he is a direct censor of the Heavenly Court.
Within the institutions of the State God's Palace, the State God should have two judges, three merit officers, and three supervising officials. The State God's Palace has eighteen subordinates of the same rank as the Earth God.
In the religious institutions, there is no distinction between civil and military officials, because each of them possesses divine power. As long as they have a lethal divine weapon, they can act as military generals and wreak havoc on all sides.
However, Xu Zhengyang didn't need to worry about these things.
If things were to proceed according to the previous arrangements of the Heavenly Court's various levels of institutions, he would be building an extremely large organization. Just how many divine officials would be needed in each level of government? The sheer number of such chaotic figures gave Xu Zhengyang a headache. To put it bluntly, Xu Zhengyang was simply not cut out for being an official.
Xu Zhengyang found a very suitable reason for himself: it wasn't that he lacked the ability to be an official, but rather that he liked to streamline government agencies. Reducing government spending would prevent the agencies from becoming too large and bloated, leading to bureaucratic buck-passing and significantly reducing efficiency. This so-called government spending was actually Xu Zhengyang's personal expenditure of his divine power.
Xu Zhengyang would naturally be extremely stingy if he used such institutional expenses for personal gain.
Is it easy to accumulate divine power? Resources are so scarce right now, and our family is constantly facing famine; we can't even afford to cook...
After carefully considering these corresponding official positions, Xu Zhengyang made up his mind: Li Haidong, the acting judge of the City God's Palace in Fuhe City and a ghost messenger, should be appointed as the chief judge of the City God's Palace, a position of the sixth rank, and also given the concurrent position of acting clerk of the State God's Palace, a position of the fifth rank.
Of course, his rank was only sixth grade, since he was only acting as the fifth-grade steward of the state god's office.
You might be wondering, what rank is Zhengyang at now?
Ha!
This guy is currently a second-rank official under the Eastern Heavenly Court Emperor. In the past, in the mortal world, he would be a typical regional warlord. He might even launch a military coup if he secretly accumulated power and harbored ill intentions.
The reason for assigning Li Haidong this position was to facilitate arrangements at all levels when the power of the State God's Office was to be expanded in the future. There was also the issue of the State God's authority.
The position of Chief Judge of the City God's Office can be conferred by the State God; however, the position of Chief Clerk of the State God's Office cannot be conferred by the State God. It must be discussed and deliberated by the high-ranking officials under the Heavenly Emperor and then submitted to the Emperor for review and imperial conferment. Since Xu Zhengyang needs Li Haidong to give him ideas from time to time, let's give him the acting authority of Chief Clerk of the State God's Office.
Anyway, even if Xu Zhengyang is neglecting his duties and becoming a hands-off manager, handing over the position of the Prefectural God to Li Haidong as acting Prefect, nobody will care!
Emerging from the study, Xu Zhengyang looked at Li Bingjie in the living room, learning to knit with her mother-in-law, and found it quite amusing. His mother, Yuan Suqin, was the same; she couldn't shake her countrywoman's nature. Even though the family's financial situation was now so good that even the wealthy envied them, she was always busy with ordinary farmer's chores, finding endless joy in it.
For example, my daughter-in-law is only a little over a month pregnant, and she's already thinking about knitting sweaters and making cotton-padded clothes for the baby who might become a grandson or granddaughter. Aren't the ones you buy better looking than what I make? And the quality is even worse. Given our current financial situation, of course I'll only buy the most expensive ones, and of course, the best ones.
No, no one can persuade her otherwise. It seems that Yuan Suqin would be letting her grandson or granddaughter down if she didn't do something herself.
There really are daughters-in-law like Li Bingjie. After all, she is a genuine heiress from a prestigious family, yet she doesn't seem to have any aversion to her mother-in-law's words, actions, or attitude, and instead studies them with great seriousness and interest.
Xu Zhengyang thought to himself, "Wife, how about we cultivate another two acres of land in the future and grow some cabbages, cucumbers, and eggplants?"
He stepped forward and greeted them, but didn't say much. As long as his family was happy, that was more important than anything else. Leisurely walking out of the villa, Xu Zhengyang strolled along the stone path up the mountain behind the resort. He went out for a walk not for any particular reason, but simply to have a smoke to relax and clear his mind.
In this respect, Xu Zhengyang is indeed a good man.
In the past, he rarely smoked in front of his wife at home, except in special circumstances such as when guests were present. Now that his wife is pregnant, he doesn't even smoke in the living room, let alone in front of her. What's the reason? Everything is for the sake of the child.
Of course, he wouldn't say this to his father, nor would he resent his father smoking at home.
However, the honest and simple Xu Neng noticed some clues after his son's wedding, so he rarely smoked when his daughter-in-law was around.
It was the perfect time of year for crisp autumn air. The mountains were covered in lush trees and grasses, all tinged with yellow amidst the green. A gentle autumn breeze brought a refreshing coolness.
Xu Zhengyang lit a cigarette, pondering that if he had sufficient divine power, he should appoint more deities. After all, the number of cities under his jurisdiction was increasing, and there were so many things to do that even one god like Li Haidong couldn't handle it all. Moreover, having more deities would ensure mutual supervision and checks and balances.
What was the purpose of the Investiture of the Gods?
On a grander scale, it's about bringing benefits to the people; on a smaller scale, isn't it just about making things easier for himself? Xu Zhengyang has no interest in checking and monitoring the Nine Provinces Record every day, or guarding against the gods below doing other things behind his back.
He's about to become a father, life is so wonderful and happy, how can he not enjoy it?
Judging from the current situation, it's inevitable that I will become the Emperor in the future. At that time, the entire Eastern Heavenly Court will be under my jurisdiction. How many things will there be? If I have to do everything myself, I might as well commit suicide. Therefore, it's inevitable that the Investiture of the Gods will involve more subordinates.
However, the prerequisite is that the tragic outcome that once befell the Heavenly Court must be prevented.
It wasn't that the gods of Heaven back then were stupid and hadn't considered these consequences; they did their best to suppress and avoid them. Unfortunately, selfishness ultimately led to the outbreak of war.
This actually benefited Xu Zhengyang, that country bumpkin.
"A bunch of pathetic wretches..." Xu Zhengyang curled his lip.
Just as this muttering was uttered, a deafening explosion suddenly erupted in the clear sky, and a bolt of lightning struck down from the heavens.
A beam of white light shot out from above Xu Zhengyang's head, blocking the lightning bolt. After a hissing sound, some of the lightning's remaining force still struck Xu Zhengyang's forehead as he looked up at the heavenly tribulation lightning. His slightly narrowed eyes blinked twice.
Without a trace of anger, Xu Zhengyang rubbed his burning and aching forehead, took another puff of his cigarette as if it were a habit, and walked up the small hill, gazing at the mirror-like Jingniang Lake in the distance, where the lake and mountains were beautiful, and the blue water stretched to the horizon.
A line of text flashed in my mind: The Twenty-Second Tribulation of Lightning.
"I know," Xu Zhengyang muttered. He remembered each and every tribulation of lightning clearly.
The Records of the Nine Provinces continues to display: As the God of the Province, a second-rank official of the Heavenly Court, one should abide by the Heavenly Rules and Laws, and must not do anything that violates the Heavenly Laws...
Xu Zhengyang glared and shouted angrily, "Aren't you fucking annoying? It's always the same thing, shut up!"
The Records of the Nine Provinces is indeed a divine artifact; it obeyed the summons and remained silent.
Xu Zhengyang looked up at the vast, clear sky, where wisps of white clouds stretched out lightly, like torn cotton wool.
"Now I am the only deity in the Three Realms, and also the second-rank God of the Eastern Azure Heaven Court, the State God." Xu Zhengyang seemed to be talking to himself, yet also to the ethereal, intangible, and omnipresent Heavenly Laws. "Let me be frank, I'm going to rebel against you in the future! Go ahead and strike me down!"
Volume Six, Chapter 310: Don't Play Games with Me, Don't Be Unreasonable
Xu Zhengyang was originally unwilling to go to Yueshan City again in person.
Although Chen Hanzhe had once been his bodyguard and had been seriously injured and nearly died while accompanying him in Vancouver, Chen Hanzhe's misfortune this time was ultimately not a big deal. If Xu Zhengyang personally went to Yueshan City to testify, the case would likely be quickly closed once some high-ranking officials in Yueshan City who knew his identity became aware of it, and Chen Hanzhe would bear absolutely no responsibility.
Here's the problem: it's not that Xu Zhengyang didn't want to use his name to expedite things, but once he went, after the matter was over, some people with ulterior motives would inevitably twist the truth and say things like, "Oh, you didn't know? Chen Hanzhe could have punched that old lady to death in broad daylight, let alone injured her, and he wouldn't have said anything... Why? Because Chen Hanzhe was someone's bodyguard back then, and the Li family's son-in-law personally pressured the relevant departments; the higher-ups even made a phone call..."
For a long time, people have lived under injustice and pressure, and their hearts have accumulated a lot of dissatisfaction.
Therefore, whenever something happens, it's always blown out of proportion, exaggerated, and even fabricated... This isn't the public's fault; whenever news of a social issue emerges, both the media and the public immediately feel sympathy and side with the weak. After all, there are too many injustices in society. People have long since developed a habitual pattern for understanding and analyzing problems.
Xu Zhengyang was originally a reasonable person, and after becoming a god, his views and mindset underwent a huge change. Therefore, when looking at any news, he habitually analyzes the details and considers the possibilities of right and wrong.
To put it simply: as a deity, his mindset is naturally quite detached, allowing him to analyze and think clearly like an outsider, rather than blindly following the crowd to comment and curse.
In this matter, people are still standing on Chen Hanzhe's side and speaking up for him.
But if Xu Zhengyang's identity is exposed, the tide will definitely turn...
It's like a rich young master being hit by a staged accident. Even if you're completely innocent, the public will still think you're heartless and greedy.
Whose fault is it?
Don't blame the public; blame the fact that there is just too much injustice in this society.
Therefore, Xu Zhengyang instructed Li Haidong to handle this matter, arranging for the ghost messengers to encourage those who felt guilty but dared not come forward to testify to the truth. The purpose was to let the public know that justice exists, and to awaken the conscience within them, urging them to bravely uphold morality and conscience!