CH 11

While Lin Wen was drinking tea, in the center of the Zero Ring Line in the Imperial Capital of Shenzhen, there stood the Emperor Tower, which was 646 meters tall.

Beside the main conference room, which seemed like a giant's court, Zhao Anping sat respectfully on a soft chair in the small conference room. In front of him was a thin and withered man who casually flipped through some paper documents.

"Sheriff Zhao, you have done a good job. The levee broke because the previous sheriff cut corners, right?" The thin man's voice was calm.

Zhao Anping dared not be careless and lowered his head respectfully, "Yes, that's right, Elder Cheng. I invested 2.6 million to reinforce the levee, but the county did not have enough money, so most of it was shared and covered by me and my subordinates. Even so, except for the levee in Changpai Village, the other levees did not hold up."

Elder Cheng casually flipped through the papers in his hand and chuckled, "Alright then, it's not your fault. The problem lies with the Yunzhou Dispatch, who thought they could close the gate to protect the levee. In just a few hours, they couldn't hold it up and had to open the gate to release the water, causing a second flood. I can't believe those pigheads, they deserve to be killed!"

Zhao Anping trembled slightly and dared not speak.

"Of course, the previous sheriff is also at fault, but he's already dead, so let's leave it at that."

Zhao Anping deeply lowered his head, "Yes."

Elder Cheng glanced at him, "Changshan County is one of the poorest areas in the empire. In principle, personnel transfers like this are not allowed. But since you are so dedicated, I'll make an exception."

"Thank you, Elder Cheng. I will always look up to you," Zhao Anping said respectfully.

"No need, no need," Elder Cheng smiled. "Even if you are transferred, you will still be a sheriff. What's the use of being only under my command? Can you vote in the Highest Elder Council? Can you speak in front of the Emperor?"

Zhao Anping lowered his head deeply, "I'm sorry, I was impolite."

Elder Cheng put away his smile and said, "There is one more thing. As usual, since you are being transferred, you need to recommend a candidate for the next sheriff. Let me be clear, Changshan County is a special-level impoverished county and the most backward area in the empire. No one wants to go there even if it's promoted. Don't even think about transferring someone of the same level."

Zhao Anping, who had been nodding obediently all this time, suddenly gained some strength and raised his head, "I recommend Lin Wen, the mayor of Changle Town."

Elder Cheng thought for a moment, "Are you talking about the imperial hero who defended the unbreakable levee?"

"Yes!"

Elder Cheng frowned, "This is not a promotion, this is a jump in rank. Do you know how many levels he's jumping from mayor to sheriff?"

"Only three levels."

"Only three levels?" Elder Cheng looked at Zhao Anping, his eyes flashing with a dangerous aura. "Do you think you're playing a game of One Slash at level 999? Do you think the imperial official system is a joke?"

The dissatisfaction of those in high positions means substantial setbacks. This is the source of their power to intimidate without anger.

In the empire, the Highest Elder Council is the highest authority that rules everything. Even the Emperor himself has to hold the position of the First Elder to gain actual power in the Highest Elder Council.

The First Elder and the four Grand Elders are not responsible for specific affairs, except for military and state affairs and major personnel appointments and dismissals. They rarely appear in public.

Therefore, most of the time, the actual rulers of the empire are the eight elders.

Elder Cheng is one of the eight highest rulers.And a sheriff, compared to the elders of the empire, could not be mentioned in the same breath. The gap between them was almost infinite, like the difference between the light of fireflies and the might of the sun and moon. But Zhao Anping was not afraid at all and calmly said, "He jumped four levels before, from a clerk in the town to the mayor, and has been serving for three years, deeply loved by the townspeople."

"Oh? Is that so?" Elder Cheng's expression eased, "Let me see his resume."

"Here." Zhao Anping handed over the prepared file.

Elder Cheng flipped through it, "Oh, quite interesting. His parents were both heroes of the empire, this is the legacy of heroes, a family of heroes. With a precedent of jumping levels, achievements, political achievements, family bonus, reputation, and publicity, as well as being a local official in Changshan County, all these favorable factors added together, it seems possible."

"And the support of the court," Zhao Anping said calmly.

Elder Cheng thought for a moment and laughed, "Good boy, you're planting a bomb here. Do you know what you're doing? You made him jump seven levels in three years, something that hasn't happened in the empire in a hundred years. You broke the record!"

"Thank you for your praise."

Elder Cheng smiled, "I'm starting to like you, kid. It seems that the one you strongly recommended also has some special talents and abilities that ordinary people don't possess. Perhaps he can bring some changes to Changshan County, which has been rotting in the empire for 40 years. Based on his good resume, let's do it."

"Thank you, Elder!"

A few minutes later, Elder Cheng stood up, "You can go now. I have already sent the transfer order to the East Qin Prefecture Governor's Office and the Yunzhou Governor's Office."

"Yes, thank you, Elder!"

...

...

After drinking tea for more than three hours, Lin Wen was finally notified that he was allowed to enter.

The Governor's Office conference room was a clean and simple room with no extra decorations, only a crystal dragon lamp and a very large oval table underneath.

The table was full of people, and the obvious one sitting at the top was the highest official of East Qin Prefecture.

Governor Sheng Huaixuan.

Before Lin Wen came in, he had already activated the Seven Apertures Linglong Heart. In a state of mental acuity, he smiled and bowed his head.

Of course, the bowing step was not implemented. The Seven Apertures Linglong Heart only controlled his speech, facial expressions, and neck muscles, without going through his brain.

So Lin Wen didn't even know what he was doing, which led to his current awkward movements. He lowered his head, squeezed a smile, and nodded slightly, as if he was trying to please everyone present, but he stood up straight, walked with his head held high, and seemed to want to say that everyone present was garbage.

This appearance was extremely strange, but Lin Wen felt good about himself. I've already used magic, why aren't you all influenced by me?

Governor Sheng Huaixuan was a middle-aged man with a square face and a heavy weight. He saw everyone in the room turn their heads to look at Lin Wen and coughed.

As if pressing a switch, everyone turned their heads back, and Lin Wen went from being the center of attention to being ignored.

Sheng Huaixuan continued, "I've already covered the basic situation. Now, Secretary Cheng, read Lin Wen's resume."

During this time, Lin Wen was guided by a beautiful secretary to sit in a corner of the conference room. There were no waiters in the entire conference room, only staff from the Governor's Office.

The Seven Apertures Linglong Heart had not said a word so far.

After the resume was read, Sheng Huaixuan said, "Now, I propose that Lin Wen take over Zhao Anping's position and become the sheriff of Changshan County."

This proposal surprised everyone and caused a certain amount of commotion in the meeting room.Lin Wen was not too shocked or too pleased, he just thought to himself: "Sheriff Zhao was really dismissed and investigated? Why did he suddenly mention me to such a high position? Could it be that I am actually the illegitimate child of this governor?"

He was no longer completely ignorant, knowing that the position of a mayor was not just a big step up from a sheriff, but a rocket that had launched him into orbit.

He carefully looked at the governor, but didn't see any resemblance.

Sheng Huaixuan continued: "Everything has been said, let's vote."

He raised his hand first to represent agreement, then said: "Who is in favor, who is against?"

Everyone raised their hands.

Unanimously passed.

Lin Wen frowned even deeper, weren't they just forcibly pushing him onto the stage? Could it be that there really was a connection?

But no matter how he looked at it, he couldn't find any resemblance between himself and the governor.

He thought to himself: "Longle Town has less than ten thousand people, while Changshan County has 1.3 million people. Doesn't this mean that my power has suddenly increased by hundreds of times?"

"But, this may not necessarily be a good thing. I don't understand governance at all. Longle Town has a small population, closed and poor, and is basically in a primitive state of self-governance. I can still handle all the miscellaneous tasks every day. The power of a mayor is so great, if the policies are messed up, it will harm the country and the people, and I will be the one to bear the evil karma."

Evil karma was something that he couldn't touch. The chance to reduce evil karma was a hundred times greater than the chance to increase good karma, and it couldn't be exchanged even with multiple attributes.

"But, if I do it well, doesn't that mean I can efficiently increase my good karma? Maybe it's not as good as guarding the embankment, but at least it's better than doing miscellaneous tasks."

"Good fortune and misfortune depend on each other. Can I do it well? The harm of evil karma is much greater than the benefits of good karma. This is like walking a tightrope."

"What should I do?"

Lost in thought, he didn't realize that the inauguration ceremony was over and his speech was over.

Lin Wen's brilliant speech won warm applause, but he was annoyed that he had missed the opportunity to decline.

There was nothing he could do.

Lin Wen thought to himself.

After the meeting, Lin Wen was left alone.

Sheng Huaixuan glanced at him, seemingly dissatisfied, and said lightly: "I thought you would be surprised, puzzled, and ecstatic, but it seems I don't need to worry."

"This is all the power that the governor has given me..."

For the first time, Lin Wen experienced the situation where the Seven Apertures Linglong Heart did not work. He clearly said something that even he felt was very appropriate, but he saw the governor's boredom and dissatisfaction becoming increasingly apparent, even with a strong sense of disappointment hidden.

After a "friendly" exchange for a while, Sheng Huaixuan no longer looked at his face and said lightly: "As a new official, if you have any requests, just say it. Don't worry, I will try my best to satisfy you."

"Governor, you are so kind, I don't need anything..."

Lin Wen immediately closed the Seven Apertures Linglong Heart, thinking that this thing could only be used for chatting and couldn't cure all diseases.

"Sheriff Sheng, I am so poor that I am about to die. Changshan County is even so poor that we can't even change our pants. I want everything."

The style suddenly took a 180-degree turn, and Sheng Huaixuan looked at him with some surprise: "Sheriff Lin, just say what you want."

Lin Wen looked at his 100% Nascent Soul and immediately asked "Immortal, what does Changshan County need most right now?"

"This question requires 10% of your Nascent Soul power to be consumed."

Okay, give me the answer.

"Money."

Puff!

Lin Wen almost sprayed water all over the governor's face, quickly wiping the table with his sleeve and saying seriously: "I want money, as much as possible."Sheng Huaixuan glanced at him strangely, took a sip of tea, and leaned lightly on the governor's exclusive chair. "Sheriff Lin, it's not that I won't give it to you..."

Lin Wen didn't bother to listen to the rest of his words. Although he didn't know how to be a leader, he knew exactly how leaders were trying to evade him. "It's not that I won't give it to you" is the same as "I won't give it to you."

He asked 【Immortal's Guidance】again, "What else does Changshan County need besides money?"

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【This question requires 10% of your spiritual power to be consumed.】

"Okay, okay."

Lin Wen listed them one by one, "Resource tilt support, tax exemption merging with tax return, free trade rights, key areas of the imperial backbone plan, and new financial pilot projects."

"Sheriff Lin, you need to understand the difficulties of the empire..."

The empire will never understand your difficulties.

"Sheriff Lin, we need to consider this..."

No need to consider it.

"We need to study this..."

Even if you study it, I won't give it to you.

"This condition is not mature."

For you, the condition will never be mature.

He asked all around, but no one agreed.

Sheng Huaixuan's tone was kind, as if he was full of guilt for not being able to fulfill Sheriff Lin's request. Even the boredom, dissatisfaction, and disappointment in his expression disappeared completely.

Lin Wen was not happy. He wasted 20% of his spiritual power for nothing.

But he wasn't stupid. He quickly realized that he didn't ask the right questions.

"What requests should I make?"

【This question requires 20% of your spiritual power to be consumed.】

Damn it, if it still doesn't work this time, I'll find out who gave me the wrong advice and destroy their spiritual power.

【The right to control military power.】

"What is the right to control military power?" Lin Wen thought to himself, but he didn't stop talking and immediately said, "I want the right to control military power!"

Sheng Huaixuan's friendly expression disappeared, and Lin Wen knew that he had touched on something that could be fought for.

"Tell me more." The governor's face became dark and bottomless. His sharp gaze passed over his overlapping fingers and looked directly at Lin Wen. "What do you want the right to control military power for?"

Lin Wen was already impatient at this point. He didn't care about the possible standard answer or opening the Seven Aperture Linglong Heart. He answered directly.

"I want to change my fate against the heavens!"

...

...

PS: Due to special reasons, the political situation is not explained in detail.