Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 677 - 677 0434 County Masters Root and Footing_2

Chapter 677: Chapter 0434: County Master’s Root and Footing_2 Chapter 677: Chapter 0434: County Master’s Root and Footing_2 As this matter concerned his own interests, Han Botao, being the direct party involved, could not help but be anxious. How could he not rush at the fastest speed to Yanming Pass the moment he heard the news? He was one such person, and the Prefecture Magistrate’s situation was in fact similar. Putting it bluntly, they all came here to share or steal the credit.

He originally thought that as the Prefecture Magistrate of an entire prefecture and a high-ranking official of the court, it was only right for him to share in some of the merit from Qi Tian. However, after Gao Jinmei sent the Prefecture Magistrate flying with a slap and then blatantly crushed him with her momentum, Han Botao dared not harbor such thoughts again.

“Master, I have heard that with your own power, you have driven away the invading people of the Bei Rong Kingdom, and even forced the Emperor of Bei Rong to write a Self-Admonishment Edict. This is truly unprecedented, an extraordinary feat. I was not able to contribute to this matter; all I could do was to personally come here to congratulate and express my admiration to you,” Han Botao started to flatter.

Qi Tian laughed. He could obviously see how insincere Han Botao was and he could even guess why Han Botao had come here. But he didn’t expose Han Botao’s lies and just laughed, “I see, then I must thank you, sir, for making this trip specially.”

What else could Han Botao say? He got up and said, “It’s getting late, I won’t continue to disturb Master here.”

Qi Tian looked at Han Botao and asked, “Sir, I have a question for you. Do you support the Crown Prince, or do you support deposing the Crown Prince?”

Han Botao’s heart skipped a beat. The thing he least wanted to face was this question. He originally thought that as a Prefecture Magistrate, if he didn’t want to answer, could Qi Tian really force him to make a choice? But now it seemed that Qi Tian was indeed capable of forcing him to reveal his true thoughts. Knowing this, it would have been better to stay in the Prefecture Magistrate’s Mansion. But now, he had actively sought out Qi Tian, and this was the result.

“Master, can I be neutral?” Han Botao asked cautiously.

Qi Tian’s face cooled slightly as he asked, “Sir, are you a Gold Core cultivator, or do you have a Gold Core cultivator as a relative?”

Han Botao quickly shook his head and said, “Master, you are joking. If I were a Gold Core cultivator or if I had a Gold Core cultivator as a relative, I would not be just a Prefecture Magistrate.”

Qi Tian’s expression turned serious as he said, “You are not a Gold Core cultivator, and you do not have a relative who is a Gold Core cultivator. Then how do you think you can maintain neutrality? Do you think your face is big enough, or are you taking advantage of your age?”

Sweat suddenly broke out on Han Botao. He hadn’t expected that Qi Tian, who had been polite just a moment ago, could be so intimidating when angered. He felt his legs grow weak, as if he was being targeted by a ferocious beast. It was too terrifying.

“Master, please don’t blame me. I just wanted to lighten up the tense atmosphere with a joke,” Han Botao hurriedly found a lame excuse, then quickly added, “Of course, I support deposing the Crown Prince. If Prince Zhao can be established as the new Crown Prince and eventually inherit the throne, that would be perfect.”

“Is that the truth?” Qi Tian asked with a smile.

“As pure as gold,” Han Botao hurriedly said.

“Well then, sign this document,” Qi Tian took out a pre-prepared document and handed it to Han Botao. He always had a stack of these documents ready at hand, prepared for such occasions.

Han Botao smiled bitterly. He had originally thought that he could stay neutral and keep a vague attitude until the last moment so that he could seek the greatest benefits. Now, he realized how naive his plan was. Without sufficient strength, all his schemes evaporated into thin air when he encountered Qi Tian.

Han Botao obediently followed Qi Tian’s instructions, signing the document that declared support for deposing the Crown Prince and elevating the Ninth Prince to the new Crown Prince title. He also had to stamp his private seal and official stamp onto the document.

Qi Tian looked at the document satisfactorily, waved his hand, and said, “Sir, you may leave now. Safe journey.”

Han Botao was slightly unwilling. He didn’t achieve any of his objectives this time, and he even had to sign a document supporting the Ninth Prince. It could be said that he suffered a huge loss. He rolled his eyes and decided to try to gain something for himself.

“Master, there is one more thing I need to report.”

Qi Tian glanced at Han Botao and said, “What is it? Speak.”

Han Botao said, “It’s about the County Master of our prefecture, the one who was just slapped away by the female Gold Core senior.”

Qi Tian frowned, “What is there to say about him? As one in the late Foundation Establishment stage, what kind of trouble can he stir up?”

Han Botao hurriedly replied, “Master, as the old saying goes, one should not judge a book by its cover, nor estimate the sea by its cupful. How can Fan Tie, who is only in the late Foundation Establishment stage and not even at the Foundation Establishment peak, qualify to be the County Master of a prefecture, especially a border prefecture like Baoding, which is adjacent to Bei Rong Kingdom?”

Qi Tian said, “Could he have a deep background? Is the Mansion Master of the National Master Manor or the Mansion Master of the Guardian National Master Manor his master? Or a relative?”

Han Botao shook his head, “All these guesses are not correct. Without any intention to hide from you, Master, Fan Tie’s background is not simple. He is neither from the National Master Manor nor the Guardian National Master Manor, and he is not even a person of our Great Zhao Nation.”

“How can this be?” Qi Tian was somewhat incredulous. He knew about the National Master system of Great Zhao. At the national level, there were three National Master Mansions: the National Master Manor, the Guardian National Master Manor, and the Imperial Master Mansion. Then, there is a County Master Mansion in every prefecture. Below that, at the county level, more than half of the counties have a County Master.

In this system, whether it is the County Master Mansion or the Prefecture Master Mansion, the person in charge is always appointed from the three National Master Mansions, and as far as Qi Tian knew, there had never been an exception. How could there be a County Master who was not appointed by one of the three National Master Mansions? Even more crucially, Fan Tie was not even a citizen of Great Zhao Nation. This totally went against the principles of appointing County Masters in Great Zhao Nation.

“Master, I assure you that what I have said is true without the least bit of falsehood. If you don’t believe me, you can question Fan Tie himself, which will prove I’m not lying,” Han Botao quickly said.

Qi Tian gestured to Gao Jinmei to go outside and take a look. He continued to fix his gaze on Han Botao and asked, “Concerning Fan Tie, is there anything else you know? Feel free to speak up. If the information you provide is valuable enough, I might suggest to the Ninth Prince that we not pursue your responsibility for the loss of Yanming Pass and even give you a promotion in the future.”

Han Botao was overjoyed. He had been waiting for Qi Tian to say these words. Since he had already signed the declaration, he only had one way to go now. He had to do something that met the interests of Qi Tian or the Ninth Prince to maximize his own benefits. Only then he could earn the eligibility to follow Qi Tian and the Ninth Prince.

Han Botao quickly spilled all the information about Fan Tie, the County Master of Baoding Prefecture, to Qi Tian. To be frank, Han Botao once thought, just like Qi Tian, that all County Masters in Great Zhao Nation were appointed by the three National Master Mansions, and were disciples of the three National Master Mansions, until he met Fan Tie. Initially, he assumed that Fan Tie was just like the other County Masters. But later, when they got together for a drink, Han Botao brought out a jug of Spiritual Wine that he had obtained with great difficulty, and he and Fan Tie drank a bit too much.

Under the influence of alcohol, Fan Tie revealed his true identity, which was when Han Botao learned about some information about Fan Tie. He realized then that Fan Tie was not from their Great Zhao Nation, but was from somewhere else, and had come to their Great Zhao Nation for experience.