Chapter 400: Chapter 282: Qi Yuyu Falls to Demonhood, Gu Zhan Seeks to Kill Danyang

In a word,

The Beidou Bang today judges only by merit, not by background,

In fact, Gu Zhan personally announced that as long as one’s merit is sufficient, he himself will teach them Divine Techniques.

This decision,

Caused an uproar throughout the entire Beidou Bang,

Voices from all sides arose; but, naturally, those who opposed it most fiercely were the entrenched beneficiaries of the old order, namely the great Noble Families. After all, their power in Beidou Bang was rooted in their control over Secret Manuals, which helped them win over much talent.

However, after Gu Zhan himself led people to hack a number of opponents, the voices of dissent were promptly suppressed.

And this policy,

Won strong support from those of lower-class and commoner backgrounds, and even some small and medium Noble Families supported it.

After this matter,

The Astronomical Bureau soon sent over a group of master craftsmen, numbering in the hundreds.

Regarding this group of craftsmen,

Gu Zhan paid them great attention, because these people could forge warships and battle armor.

Cultivating masters is not something that happens overnight; it is a process of long-term accumulation. But these craftsmen could, in a short period, raise the overall strength of Beidou Bang by several levels.

Gu Zhan had also personally inspected Beidou Bang’s warships and ordnance equipment.

He wasn’t very knowledgeable about warships, so he couldn’t judge their quality, but he was very familiar with ordnance; in the past, in Linjiang City, he had personally led the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

And although Linjiang City was just a minor place, completely insignificant compared to Canglan Dao, even so, its military equipment completely crushed that of Beidou Bang.

So, when this batch of craftsmen arrived,

Gu Zhan immediately assigned Tian Yu to handle their reception, and directly established a dedicated institution for ordnance research. If they needed people, he gave them people; if they needed money, he gave them money. Their only task was to constantly produce weaponry.

Yet, once this began,

It caused even greater turmoil within Beidou Bang,

Because this ordnance research institute burned money at a terrifying rate,

The Beidou Bang’s Internal Affairs Bureau simply couldn’t sustain it for long,

For a while, the threshold of the City Lord’s Mansion was nearly trampled flat; many high-level figures came one after another to see Gu Zhan in person.

However, because of the Secret Manual incident, Gu Zhan had already killed once; his fearsome reputation was firmly established within Beidou Bang, and coupled with his title as Yunzhou’s Seventh God of Slaughter, his prestige almost rivaled Mo Jingzhou’s in his youth.

So, no one dared oppose him directly anymore,

Instead, they all came to advise Gu Zhan to perhaps slow down a bit, easing the pace.

But Gu Zhan directly sent all of them back,

Still, not all were opposed; some families even sent their silver coins to show their support, with the Mo Family and Gu Family leading the way.

The ordnance research institute was in full operation.

This winter for Beidou Bang,

Was anything but peaceful.

...

However, while Beidou Bang’s winter was tumultuous,

The Yunxi Martial World, on the contrary, gradually settled down as winter set in. This was the complete opposite of the turmoil before winter’s arrival.

Especially as the end of the year approached,

The Yunxi Land grew ever calmer.

Within the City Lord’s Mansion of Canglan City, the coming New Year was being prepared for; everywhere one looked, there were glowing red lanterns and couplets in sight.

In the East Courtyard’s inner quarters,

Nangong Weiyang, dressed in plain clothes, sat face-to-face with Gu Zhan. A small brazier between them was gently boiling tea.

After several months of treatment,

Nangong Weiyang’s leg had already healed. Though not quite as good as new, it was more than adequate for basic activities. And after her leg was healed, Gu Zhan quietly assigned her to the Military Garrison Office.

The Military Garrison Office had been established in Luling County, the nearest to Canglan City, with Left Protector Xiao Chen responsible on the surface. But in truth, the office was now under Nangong Weiyang’s management. Yet, due to her background, she did not appear in public; nonetheless, all the high-level officers of the Garrison Office knew she was the real Marshal.

As for Sword One, he always followed Nangong Weiyang,

And could only stay by Nangong Weiyang’s side. Although Sword One remained clear-headed for longer times nowadays, he was still largely in his Fallen Demon state.

Today, Nangong Weiyang had returned to Canglan City specifically to report her work to Gu Zhan.

"In general, the Military Garrison Office has now been successfully set on the right track. Because, Lord, you have completely opened all Martial Arts Secret Manuals, which greatly inspires the young. After all, most of the people in the Military Garrison Office are from common or lower-class backgrounds. For them, this is a heavenly path opened before them."

Nangong Weiyang poured a cup of tea for Gu Zhan and said, "Moreover, the Garrison Office receives special privileges, with an even lower threshold to obtaining Martial Arts Secret Manuals. So they all cherish this opportunity very much, the ethos is outstanding, and training is much easier. As for the navy, I actually can’t interfere much—after all, Beidou Bang never lacks waterborne experts."

Gu Zhan nodded and said, "For now the navy is not a priority. Until we break out of Yunxi, there will be few occasions to use the navy. What you’re in charge of is the heart of the matter. If you need anything, just speak with Protector Xiao; he’s trustworthy."

Nangong Weiyang narrowed her eyes slightly,

Gu Zhan’s words about ’not breaking out of Yunxi’ had taken root in her heart.

After a long moment of contemplation, Nangong Weiyang smiled faintly and said, "Lord, I’d originally come today planning to talk to you about ordnance production, but it seems you already have it well in hand."

Gu Zhan chuckled lightly, "What’s your view about this matter?"

Nangong Weiyang spoke slowly, "The reason I insisted on coming to deliver my report in person is because at present, Beidou Bang faces some serious issues. The three decisions you’ve made since taking over have directly shaken Beidou Bang’s very foundation.