Infrastructure Throne

The officiant...has come back? !

In the meeting hall, the five chief officials with very different personalities all showed incredulous expressions at the same moment.

Especially Berg, with his hands on the edge of the table, almost knocked over the teacup on the table.

After a brief shock, Teng Changqing and Luo Xin were overjoyed, Xiao Meng and Fan Mizhou subconsciously searched for the figure of the city lord, only Berg looked uncertain.

"Master Officiant!" With a backer, Luo Xin's anxious heart was full of confidence, and he finally didn't have to rely on his blood to fight alone.

Luo Xin moved his fat and short body and ran towards Shen Qingze. It was hard to imagine that a 250-jin fat man could be so flexible.

He held Shen Qingze's hand almost full of snot and tears: "When you were away, something happened to the iron factory!"

Shen Qingze nodded slightly, indicating that he already knew.

Fan Mizhou bowed to him and asked with concern, "Did the Lord City Lord come back with you?"

Shen Qingze said lightly: "No, I went ahead and rushed back alone."

Fan Mizhou frowned:

"So, the accompanying guards didn't come back? You just came back, I'm afraid you don't know the seriousness of the situation. We received news that the workers in the mine suddenly absent from work collectively today, and a lot of people got entangled. Go to your iron factory to find Trouble, at this time, the two parties may have met face to face."

Xiao Meng took a step forward, put his right hand on the hilt of his sword, and said loudly: "Time is running out. Since the city lord is not here, please give an order from the priest, let me lead the guards to quell the riot of absenteeism!"

Seeing that Shen Qingze has returned, the previous strategy may not be effective, Berg thought for a while, stood up and said:

"Master Priest, as a salt and iron official, it was my fault that I failed to detect the dissatisfaction of the miners in advance. Let me go and talk to them, and maybe we can come up with a peaceful solution that both parties are satisfied with. Or Don't let Captain Xiao mobilize the guards, so as not to cause an irreversible riot."

Why did you go early?The corner of Luo Xin's mouth twitched, and he secretly rolled his eyes.

At this moment, the system prompt that only Shen Qingze could hear sounded again:

[System: Your factory is under attack, and the gate has been breached. 】

[You have triggered a side mission: the defense of the iron factory.It is necessary to resolve conflicts among workers and protect your ironworks from being completely breached.After the task is completed, in addition to the regular rewards, the player will get a small amount of amethyst. Since it is a side task, there is no penalty for failure. 】

Another side mission.

Shen Qingze frowned slightly, and then gradually relaxed.

Berg wanted to say a few more words, but as soon as he met the thin and cold eyes of the other party, he opened his mouth several times, but couldn't speak.

"Give me the order." Shen Qingze narrowed his eyes slightly, his eyes glanced at everyone's faces, and he spoke very fast, "Xiao Meng led people to patrol the main roads in the city, in case someone takes advantage of the troubled waters to make trouble."

Xiao Meng was taken aback for a moment, then bowed his head in agreement.

"Fan Mizhou continues to sit in the office of the city lord's mansion, keep abreast of the information everywhere, and send someone to notify immediately if there is something important. At the same time, write a notice and post it, saying that someone deliberately provokes conflicts between the miners and the iron factory. The gaffe has been brought under control, let the public stop spreading rumors, don’t worry. Those who spread rumors will be severely punished!”

Fan Mizhou pushed back his soft black hair, bowed respectfully and said yes.

"Luoxin and Teng Changqing lead a team of guards from the city lord's mansion and follow me to the suburban iron factory."

Teng Changqing asked seriously: "Is it too small to bring only one team? There are quite a few miners, and they all have weapons."

Shen Qingze's straight lips drew a sneering arc: "No need. I'm here alone, it's enough."

Berg lowered his head, and in a gesture of showing weakness, he asked actively: "Since my lord won't let me go to negotiate with them, then let me go back to appease those panic-stricken people. I'm afraid this matter has already spread widely outside. .”

"This is Fan Mizhou's business, what did you snatch it for?" Shen Qingze glanced at him, and said calmly, "You come with me."

Berg didn't dare to refuse, his Adam's apple slipped slightly, and he spoke again: "It's natural, but let me first..."

Shen Qingze was a little impatient, and interrupted him: "You don't need to do anything, just stay where you are."

Berg pursed his lips, looked up subconsciously, but read a kind of insight from the deep black eyes of the other party, Berg was secretly startled, and immediately lowered his head and didn't dare to look again.

Shen Qingze spoke again: "I came back in secret, and only the five of you know about it. Before I have a new order, no one is allowed to disclose my return. You just pretend not to know and do your own thing .”

Berg's heart skipped a beat, and he had a vague premonition, but under Shen Qingze's nose, he couldn't convey the news.

Fan Mizhou understood and asked, "Do you need a cloak to cover your whereabouts?"

Shen Qingze: "Just take the one that Yan Zui usually wears. Alright, if there are no other problems, let's go."

※※※

As Fan Mizhou said, rumors flooded this small town in just one day.

Regardless of the ages, gossip is always the fastest to spread. The conflict between the miners and the iron factory has evolved from "door-to-door" to "fighting between the two sides", and finally to "numerous casualties". There are people who say what kind of messy version Lifelike, as if he was an eyewitness.

Negative rumors about Shen Qingze's "eating the ore from the mine to fill his private pockets, the iron shop making money every day, harming the public and private interests, and the chief priest went to the Pearl City to enjoy the high-ranking officials and rich salary to make a fortune" and so on. There was a gust of wind.

Most of the people didn't believe these speculative rumors at first. After all, Shen Qingze's heroic image of destroying Yong Ye was still vivid in their minds. From the bottom of their hearts, they were unwilling to compare him with those greedy and extravagant nobles.

Earl Yan En and others who contributed to the flames were not fuel-efficient lamps.

They mobilized the guards in the house, the thieves shouted "Stop the thieves", they searched everywhere for those who spoke ill of Shen Qingze in public, and arrested people with great fanfare in front of the public.

At the same time, it was also rumored that the officiant boasted in front of many officials and nobles at the banquet on the day he took office.

Said that this winter, no one will starve to death in the city, and no one will freeze to death.

Shen Qingze's swear words attracted the ridicule of many nobles at that time.Now that winter is approaching, the promise of the officiant is still in vain.

Food prices are rising day by day, and the temperature is dropping day by day, the people don't blame Shen Qingze, but they are inevitably a little disappointed in their hearts.

The people living in the city can barely eat enough to eat, but the farmers in the small villages outside the city have changed their three meals a day to two meals, or even one meal.

All of a sudden, there was a lot of turmoil in the small town, and negative rumors became more and more prominent. Everyone's confidence in Shen Qingze had been unknowingly shaken.

On the long street, Shen Qingze led three people and a team of city lord's mansion guards galloping past. They dispatched at the same time as Xiao Meng's inspection team. Shen Qingze lowered his hood and deliberately walked behind the team. Wrapped in a cloak, a group of people walked very quickly, left the city gate, and headed straight for the iron factory.

※※※

Suburban ironworks.

One of the two iron fence gates had been knocked down, some iron bars were pried out of shape, and the sound of chaotic fighting in the courtyard could be heard far away.

Originally, the miners only wanted to take advantage of their large numbers to vent their anger at the ironworks and get back their own rewards. They fought and dismantled machines, but once the ferocity of human beings is aroused, it is easy to lose their minds and only see Get into a fight and beat the opponent to the ground.

Ironworkers cherish this hard-won day more than anyone else, and they swear to defend the factory building. They would rather get a stick for themselves than destroy the ironwork that they have worked so hard to build.

The two sides fought fiercely in the courtyard, advancing and retreating, and finally stalemate at the gate of the factory building. The ironworkers used their bodies to form a thick human wall to keep the aggressive miners out!

In the middle of the crowd, Father Li was surrounded by brothers Tong Er Yin San. His thin face was full of pain, and he kept shouting "Stop", but his old voice was drowned in the roaring and cursing, and there was no arousal at all. anyone's attention.

Chaos, disorder, crowding, chaos.

When Shen Qingze brought people to arrive, what he saw was exactly such a scene.

He stepped forward and reined in the reins tightly before rushing into the crowd. The steed's front hooves were raised high and its neck was neighing. Shen Qingze flipped over his cloak and shouted sharply: "Stop everything!"

Skills: Shocking, instant launch!

It was as if a torrential rain was pouring down on the heads, and the red-eyed workers were drenched, and the pause button was suddenly pressed on the stalemate. The madness and anger gradually faded from everyone's faces, leaving only a daze , fear and trepidation.

——The officiant is back!

The arrogance of the two sides was completely reversed in an instant, and the iron factory workers who were originally at a disadvantage immediately gained confidence, and fierce cheers erupted from the crowd, scrambling to get closer to him.

The miners on the opposite side were shrouded in silence, and they all bowed their heads guiltyly, not daring to look at them.

After returning to his senses, facing those in power, the natural fear immediately prevailed. No one dared to stand in front of the officiant. The miners made way for him, and silently put down the blood-stained shovels and sticks. No one dares to make a mistake.

Shen Qingze sat high on the horse's back, without saying a word, scanning the audience with cold eyes.

He didn't speak, and the atmosphere at the gate of the factory building was dignified. People waited silently for his release, not daring to take a breath.

There are many miners, all of which are mining tools in their hands. There are more wooden sticks and fewer workers in the iron factory, but almost everyone has iron knives and iron swords.

Although neither side made a fatal move, the sword had no eyes, and there were not a few injured people covered in paint. There were messy scratches, dark red blood, and scattered goods all over the ground.

All around, it was a mess.

With a sullen face, Teng Changqing urged his horse forward: "My lord, how should we deal with the rioters?"

Hearing Teng Changqing's question, every miner's nerves were tense. Once they were caught and thrown into prison, even if they didn't die, they would have to peel off their skin. Thinking of the old and young wives and children at home, they felt cold and desperate. .

They couldn't figure it out, how did things develop into this situation?

Shen Qingze said coldly: "Let your people guard the factory and not let anyone go without my order."

"Yes."

The overseer, who was sneaking around in the crowd and watching the unruly development, wanted to beat himself to death. If he hadn't been greedy for credit and wanted to see the factory smashed with his own eyes, he would have escaped a long time ago.

After issuing the order to seal off the factory, Shen Qingze looked around the crowd again: "Leader, come out and speak."

His tone was calm, with no emotion or anger, but the miners became more and more anxious.

Two coppers and three silvers helped old man Li out. The old man was trembling on crutches. When he saw Shen Qingze, he was about to bow down, but the latter supported him with one hand.

Shen Qingze frowned slightly: "You haven't been injured, have you?"

Father Li sighed: "I'm fine, but what happened this time... Alas, I didn't protect the factory well. I didn't protect the things you gave me. Many craftsmen were injured... These miners are also poor people , have been instigated, don't criticize them harshly."

Father Li grew up in the village. He couldn't bear the bullying of the poor and honest people the most. His voice became hoarse during the quarrel, and his gray hair was messy. Whether he was a miner who lived a difficult life or a worker who separated to defend the iron factory , he felt the same way.

He held Shen Qingze's hand, the loose skin on his face was covered with wrinkles, and he was in tears at the end.

Shen Qingze signaled Tong Er Yin San to help the old man away, and asked the steward of the construction team and the foreman of the miner to come out for questioning.

The foreman of the miner saw that Shen Qingze was kind to Father Li, and he no longer had any hope in his heart.

He simply broke his heart, dropped the shovel in his hand to the ground, and knelt down on his knees, but his back was straight and he refused to bend down, sticking his thick red neck:

"Master Officiant! This time I was the leader. If you want to kill and avenge the workers of the iron factory, you will come at me, Old Zhong! But please spare my family and these brothers, they are also You have nowhere to go, and you really can’t make it through, so you come with me!”

Seeing that the foreman took the responsibility on his shoulders, the group of miners also became excited, shouting loudly that there is something to do together!

"Stop talking nonsense!" Shen Qingze frowned, with a hint of impatience in his eyes.

Pressing his hands together, he waited for them to calm down before he said slowly: "You two, go back and count the casualties on both sides now. If there are serious injuries, send them to me immediately."

The foreman was already ready to close his eyes and die, but unexpectedly the guillotine didn't come, and instead came this sentence.

The manager of the construction team was taken aback for a moment, and immediately said without thinking: "Our people have two seriously injured people, they have been carried into the factory building, and emergency treatment has been carried out according to the first aid rules you left before. There are many minor injuries, almost everyone All were wounded, but none died."

The foreman of the miner came back to his senses and immediately asked someone to carry out the seriously injured. There were four of them, three of whom were chopped and injured in the chaos, and one who accidentally fell down and was almost trampled to death by the chaotic crowd. There were countless minor injuries, but luckily no one was killed.

If Shen Qingze came one step later, the lives of those who were seriously injured might be in danger.

The foreman knelt on the ground and saluted Shen Qingze respectfully: "Master Officiant, please save them!"

Shen Qingze also had two bottles of healing potions bought from the system store. Although they were ordinary types, they could keep the blood bar at a safe level. He handed the potions to the doctors and nurses of the iron factory, and fed them to the seriously injured. Do urgent treatment.

A series of orders went on, and the riots of the miners were barely temporarily appeased, but the workers in the iron factory suffered an unreasonable disaster, and everyone was deeply resentful. Seeing that Shen Qingze did not punish the troublesome miners, but treated them equally, someone immediately jumped out to complain:

"Master Officiant! You have to be the master for us! These miners suddenly came to the door indiscriminately, not only destroying many facilities in the factory building, but also injured so many of our craftsmen! You can't just let it go!"

"That's right! We must punish them well! Can our iron factory be bullied by others!"

Seeing the grievances of the workers in the iron factory erupting, the miners were not to be outdone. If Shen Qingze hadn't remained aggressive, there would have been another round of endless scolding.

"Enough!" Shen Qingze interrupted them in a deep voice, his eyes fell on the foreman, sharp as a knife, "Say, why did you go to the iron factory to beat and hurt people?"

The head of the miner felt a little grateful for Shen Qingze's behavior of saving the wounded first without saying a word, and at this time he didn't deliberately contradict him, bowed down to him again, and said in a rough voice:

"Master Officiant! Originally, we just wanted to ask the iron factory for an explanation. We didn't intentionally hit and hurt people. Now that's the case, we have accepted the punishment we deserve!"

"But my lord, since the opening of the iron factory, our mine workers have seen the continuous supply of iron ore and coal to the iron factory. The working hours are getting longer and longer every day, but the income is less and less every day. The slightest complaint will be supervised Punching and kicking, saying that you are the one who pushed out the amount of ore, you are the hero of Abyss City, we have enjoyed your favor, we cannot neglect it!"

"But this life is really unbearable! We are men, so we can go hungry, but the old and young wives and children in the family will die if they starve like this!"

"I heard that the wages of workers in the iron factory are ridiculously high. How can one be so selective in the same work! I admit that I am jealous, but we don't want too much. We just need to give a little more rice so that the family will not be cold or hungry. If we can survive, we will be satisfied!"

"We are born pariahs, we dare not compete with adults, and we only have this small wish!"

The miner burst into tears, his forehead hit the ground heavily, bleeding from the gravel, and finally fell on the ground and wept.

Shen Qingze's eyes were cold: "Where's the supervisor? Get out!"

The supervisor had been hiding in the crowd and shivering, trying to reduce his sense of existence. At this time, Shen Qingze called his name and had to bite the bullet and come out. He immediately cast a look of help at Berg behind Shen Qingze .

Berg motioned him to look at the head of the mine, and the supervisor immediately understood, and imitated the tearful appearance, knelt on the ground and sold Shen Qingze:

"Master Officiant! You are a high-ranking nobleman, how do you know the sufferings of us miners! The miners are certainly at fault, but everyone is forced by life, and you have to do it. Your iron factory is making money every day, but the miners can't eat. To feed our hunger, everyone thinks about it for a while, so they do what they shouldn't do!"

"For the sake of everyone's hard work day and night, please forgive everyone! What's more, there are so many miners involved. If you go your own way and arrest them all, you will be relieved, but there is no one in the mine. Paralyzed!"

Berg knew it was his turn now.

He got off his horse, knelt down in front of Shen Qingze, and lamented with regret on his face: "My lord, they are also my subordinates. I am also responsible for failing to take care of my subordinates so that it caused a catastrophe. If your lord wants to If you vent your anger on the ironworkers, please punish me first!"

The supervisor lost his voice: "Master Berg, what does this have to do with you?"

Berg pursed his lips, and said in a deep voice: "I don't have the ability of an adult to make the mine more profitable every day, and I can't let the miners enjoy the same preferential treatment as the ironworkers, and I can't stop them from venting their grievances." , let alone seek justice for them! Therefore, I am willing to bear the punishment of the priest on behalf of everyone!"

The miners present all showed surprised expressions. They didn't expect that the big figures with high positions and weights would be willing to speak for themselves one by one. Many people were faintly moved.

Shen Qingze walked slowly in front of Berg, looked down at him condescendingly, with no expression on his face, and indifference in his eyes: "Are you willing to be punished on your behalf?"

Aware of the chill in the words, Berg's spine trembled unconsciously, he could only grit his teeth, nod his head and say yes.

Shen Qingze was silent for a moment, and then smiled slightly, the corners of her lips curled up in a subtle way, which was a kind of calm disdain.

"Then I will fulfill you!"

He suddenly pulled out the long whip from the supervisor's waist, which he used to beat and scold the miners, and slapped Berg's face hard!

A fiery bloodstain ran directly from the brow bone, across the bridge of the nose, to the lips!

Berg was thrown to the ground, stunned, his eyes widened, and he looked at Shen Qingze in disbelief.

"You said they were your subordinates, where were you when they were insulted and scolded by the supervisor?!"

"Where were you when they worked day and night and endured hunger and cold?!"

"Where were you when they couldn't get their wages or rice?!"

"Where are you when they are full of resentment and resentment?!"

"Come out and pretend to be a good person now? I really think I dare not kill you!"