Chapter 726: Chapter 163: All the Heroes of the World Gather in This City
The situation in Feng Province is clear as day; if the elections are conducted as Ye Ze’an suggests, the Lu family is sure to win in the end.
Even though Li Fei’s Marquis Mansion has been built now, and he has the support of Datong Prefecture and Wu’an University, he still can’t compete with the Lu family in terms of votes.
In Feng Province, besides Datong Prefecture, there are two more prefectures, plus a provincial city, and now an additional university.
The Lu family conservatively estimates that they can secure at least 60% of the votes from the Dao Foundation Stage martial artists and Possession Stage Great Mages in these areas!
Li Fei looked up at Ye Ze’an and said this.
Ye Ze’an was not surprised at these words, and he continued to play calmly:
“Aside from the twenty-three council members of the Blue Patrol Pavilion, those who aren’t elected will become reserve council members, and there will be a re-election every year.
Additionally, the Blue Patrol Envoys from the Monitoring Pavilion will also join the Blue Patrol Pavilion, forming an inspection team to conduct periodic inspections of various places each year.”
At this point, Li Fei somewhat understood what Ye Ze’an was trying to convey to him.
If he or those he supports wish to run for a seat in the Blue Patrol Pavilion of Feng Province, it’s very unlikely they’ll succeed.
But just because there’s no chance this year doesn’t mean there won’t be any in the future.
This is the first point.
Secondly, as a Blue Patrol Envoy, Li Fei doesn’t need to participate in any elections and can directly enter the Blue Patrol Pavilion, gaining the authority to monitor everyone!
It appears that Ye Ze’an’s establishment of this Blue Patrol Pavilion is allowing local martial arts people to govern themselves, seemingly helping to form factions and concentrate power in various regions.
In reality, the entire ‘game rule’ of the Blue Patrol Pavilion is set by the court, and once you join, you have to play this ‘game’ according to the court’s rules.
This way, the court’s control over local areas will undoubtedly strengthen.
An example is the Entry World Conference in Gan Province, which is essentially a local Blue Patrol Pavilion. But once the Blue Patrol Pavilion is established, even if the council members hold positions in the Entry World Conference, all the rules will become public, imposing more restrictions.
The Entry World Conference, equivalent to transitioning from ‘private to public’, holds strong rhetoric but can no longer suppress a governor like Su Xuesong to the extent that he cannot raise his head.
Also, consider the forces under the Third Prince, secretly colluding with the Righteous Law Pavilion, scattered across seven or eight provinces.
If the Blue Patrol Pavilion is established, these forces will have to be scrutinized by the Blue Patrol Pavilions of their respective provinces.
As a result, the forces under the Third Prince have to endure seven or eight layers of inspection, making it much harder to secretly engage in any illegal activities.
There’s also this inspection team Ye Ze’an spoke of.
As a Blue Patrol Envoy, Li Fei only has the authority of an inspection officer and cannot govern the martial world.
However, once the Blue Patrol Pavilion is set up, Blue Patrol Envoys can oversee local officials and the martial world simultaneously!
“Can a Blue Patrol Envoy also serve as a council member of the Blue Patrol Pavilion?”
A thought crossed Li Fei’s mind, and he asked.
Ye Ze’an had asked him right upon meeting if he had thought about one day being able to make decisions on martial world matters with a single word, which surely wasn’t a random question.
“They can serve concurrently.”
Ye Ze’an glanced at Li Fei and said this.
The council members of the Blue Patrol Pavilion differ from the traditional martial arts alliance hierarchs, resembling more ‘disciplinary committee members’ rather than overlords of the martial world.
So, fundamentally, there’s no difference between Blue Patrol Envoys and Blue Patrol Pavilion council members; both are responsible for inspecting law violations within the martial world.
If a Blue Patrol Envoy is capable, they can indeed serve as a Blue Patrol Pavilion council member concurrently.
However, currently, the few Blue Patrol Envoys from the Monitoring Pavilion are of the highest Tao Foundation Stage cultivation level, with average combat power, failing to meet the requirements of a Blue Patrol Pavilion council member.
It seems as though Ye Ze’an’s regulation is tailored explicitly for Li Fei.
This thought led Li Fei to a myriad of reflections.
After that, Ye Ze’an didn’t ask any more questions, and they quietly finished their third chess game.
The first game extended over eighty moves.
The second one lasted more than fifty moves.
Surprisingly, the third game reached over two hundred moves!
Given Li Fei’s chess skills, he naturally couldn’t really ‘tangle’ with Ye Ze’an to this extent. This game was Ye Ze’an’s deliberate move, continuously guiding him on the board.
It was like a chess lesson full of patience.
Only when almost out of places to make a move did Li Fei concede defeat.
“Thank Marquis Jing’an for making this trip; I won’t see you off myself. I’ll have Tingzhong see you out.”
Ye Ze’an lifted a teacup beside him, signaling the guest’s departure.
Li Fei stood up, bowed to this Grand Secretary, and then turned around, leaving the study.
Ultimately, Hu Tingzhong personally escorted Li Fei out of Ye’s residence.
A moment later, Hu Tingzhong returned to the study, making Ye Ze’an another cup of tea:
“Teacher, how do you find Marquis Jing’an?”
This evening, Ye Ze’an specifically invited Li Fei over to have a proper look at this Marquis Jing’an.
“Clear-minded, self-disciplined, steadfast.”
Ye Ze’an took a sip of tea and slowly uttered three words.
Hu Tingzhong paused for a moment—these three words were indeed highly praiseworthy!
After being by Ye Ze’an’s side for so many years, there were very few who received such high praise from the teacher.
“In the first game, I saw his decisive mindset, which showed his clear-mindedness.”
“In the second game, I intentionally overpowered him, yet he remained calm from start to end, showcasing his self-discipline.”
“In the third game, I guided him move by move, and he stayed composed and not arrogant, which shows steadfastness.”
While reorganizing the chess pieces, Ye Ze’an signaled Hu Tingzhong to sit down as he spoke.
Although Hu Tingzhong didn’t witness the three games of chess between Ye Ze’an and Li Fei personally, from Ye Ze’an’s description, he could roughly imagine the situation at that time: