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Chapter 982: Lu Hai Kong's Transformation
Chapter 982: Lu Hai Kong's Transformation
September 25, 2017
Time flew by, and it was already September of the year 187.
It had been four months since the rebellion in the southern Bingzhou was settled, and over half a year since Lu Hai Kong emerged from the First Emperor's Tomb.
During this period, not only had there been significant changes on Lu Hai Kong's side, but the entire Han Empire had experienced a tumultuous and chaotic time.
After the grand drama of the Coalition Against Dong Zhuo ended last year, chaos spread from Chang'an, traveling across the land. In the past half-year, the war had almost engulfed the entire empire.
Throughout the empire, heroes rose, and warlords vied for dominance.
If one were to look at the entire map of the Han Empire, they would find that not a single day passed without war. The various heroes fought with great enthusiasm.
Amidst this prolonged chaos, many heroes rose to prominence in the midst of the turmoil, shining brightly in the troubled times. Some managed to sustain their brilliance, while others, like the fleeting bloom of a night-blooming cereus, faded quickly after their initial splendor.
This massive-scale chaos, involving numerous participating forces, became more intense as it spread southward, while the Central Plains in the north seemed slightly more stable.
This situation arose for two reasons. Firstly, the power structure in the northern Central Plains had been established early on, and secondly, it was also closely related to Lu Hai Kong, the formidable tiger in the region.
At this time, Lu Hai Kong was like a towering mountain in the northern Central Plains, not only dominating the region but also weighing heavily on the minds of the powerful figures there.
Even Yuan Hong, who had long desired to eliminate Yuan Shao, dared not make a move easily with Lu Hai Kong around.
Under these circumstances, while there had been minor skirmishes in the north over the past year, no major battles had occurred. Everyone was wary of Lu Hai Kong.
After the farcical rebellion in southern Bingzhou ended, Lu Hai Kong seized the opportunity in the midst of chaos to rapidly advance Bingzhou's economic development, propelling the province's growth. Lu Hai Kong's presence in the north became increasingly formidable, like a mountain weighing down on the region.
The powerful figures in the northern Central Plains found it increasingly difficult to breathe, and even Dong Zhuo seemed to show a subtle wariness towards Lu Hai Kong.
A tree standing out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind!
Lu Hai Kong's current state was not merely about standing out in the forest; his astonishing growth had already begun to overshadow the entire forest. In this situation, the various powers, suppressed for over half a year without any significant activity, started to stir with anticipation.
Everyone knew that things could not continue this way.
Allowing Lu Hai Kong, this formidable tiger, to quietly sharpen his teeth was akin to waiting for him to unleash his full power and sweep across the land with lightning speed.
Under such circumstances, who would dare let Lu Hai Kong develop and silently accumulate strength?
However, they dared not openly confront Lu Hai Kong, so they could only resort to covert actions, such as disrupting Lu Hai Kong's economic development, but their efforts yielded little success.
Amidst this, a middle-aged man departed from Bohai, leading a simple escort towards Chang'an.
...
In Bingzhou, at the Northern Defense Tower in Beifeng, Lu Hai Kong and Xi Zhi Cai sat facing each other.
These two prominent figures of Bingzhou, when meeting in private, often had a playful air about them.
Despite their serious expressions at this moment, the atmosphere could not be solemn with each of them holding a cute pet.
Xi Zhi Cai held Gu Gu Gu, while Lu Hai Kong held a small white monkey, named 'Fluffy' by Princess San, who had entrusted it to him during her secluded cultivation.
For some reason, Gu Gu Gu and Fluffy, these two adorable pets, seemed to have an innate rivalry. Every time they met, they wanted to fight, even though Fluffy was no match for Gu Gu Gu. But Fluffy was relentless, always ready for a fight.
To prevent the two pets from bickering, Lu Hai Kong and Xi Zhi Cai had no choice but to hold them separately.
This led to the current scene, where Lu Hai Kong and Xi Zhi Cai discussed matters with serious expressions, while the two pets, nestled in their arms, glared at each other with comical grimaces.
However, Lu Hai Kong and Xi Zhi Cai paid no heed to this, accustomed to such situations. They ignored their pets and continued their discussion.
Although Xi Zhi Cai oversaw the intelligence department, at this moment, their topic of discussion was not the intelligence on nearby powers but the issues within their own force.
It wasn't so much a discussion as Lu Hai Kong confiding in Xi Zhi Cai about his thoughts on some of Bingzhou's current problems.
As everyone knew, Lu Hai Kong was a former mountain bandit, and although he now dominated a region, his rise to prominence had been relatively recent. He had only arrived in this world five years ago.
Within five years, the extent of Lu Hai Kong's development was, at times, unbelievable even to himself.
Undoubtedly, his rise could be described as a miraculous myth.
Although his start wasn't ideal, his progress was exceptionally smooth. Despite encountering several crises during his journey, he overcame them all and seized opportunities to further his growth.
Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Lu Hai Kong had always been one step ahead of everyone else.
While others were still struggling to establish their influence, Lu Hai Kong had already become the Governor of Bingzhou. After the Coalition Against Dong Zhuo, while others sought to expand their territories and secure more resources, Lu Hai Kong had already begun developing his own domain.
A rebellion by the aristocratic families not only failed to cause trouble for Lu Hai Kong but instead presented him with an opportunity, propelling his development into high gear.
Due to the strong commercial atmosphere and stable business environment, Bingzhou has now become the economic hub of the Central Plains. Even if Yuan Hong and his associates secretly tried to hinder Lu Hai Kong's progress, they couldn't stop his development.
Everything seemed to be heading in a positive direction, but Lu Hai Kong himself felt a bit lost.
To be honest, when Lu Hai Kong first became a mountain bandit, he never had any ambitions of dominating the world. At that time, he only knew that to avoid being eliminated, he had to strive to become stronger.
In the beginning, it was the urgency of survival that drove Lu Hai Kong to take one step at a time towards his current position.
Lu Hai Kong's journey, from a mountain bandit to the County Magistrate of Qiangyin, then to the Inspector of Bingzhou, and eventually the Governor of Bingzhou, has been a remarkable one.
It seemed that every step he took was driven by a sense of crisis.
All along, in his pursuit of power, Lu Hai Kong had focused most of his energy on military development.
In the past few years, a significant portion of Lu Hai Kong's wealth had been invested in his military forces. He believed that only with a powerful army could his safety be guaranteed, and he could venture further.
This in itself wasn't an issue, given the chaotic times. However, as Lu Hai Kong reached his current height, he realized that this approach was no longer viable.
It wasn't that he now believed that focusing on military development was wrong. Instead, Lu Hai Kong felt that when he held sufficient military might, it was time to prioritize the establishment of systems within his territory or, to put it another way, focus on the spiritual development of the people.
The reason for this realization was the rebellion of the aristocratic families in southern Bingzhou, which had a profound impact on Lu Hai Kong. Although this rebellion caused him little loss, it presented an opportunity to eliminate the aristocratic families in southern Bingzhou and seize the chance for Bingzhou's economic rise.
From this perspective, Lu Hai Kong had gained significantly.
However, Lu Hai Kong's focus was not solely on this aspect. He paid more attention to the people's response to the rebellion.
There was no sign of resistance, and they even seemed indifferent.
Lu Hai Kong had always believed that his prestige in Bingzhou was as high as the sun at noon. Indeed, his reputation was well-deserved, but it didn't necessarily mean that the people were united under him.
Yes, Lu Hai Kong was indeed a renowned figure, but in the eyes of these people, he was like a character from a legend.
They might worship him, but their lives continued as usual. When the aristocratic families rebelled, they didn't think of sacrificing themselves for Lu Hai Kong. The people of southern Bingzhou remained indifferent.
In northern Bingzhou, the area that Lu Hai Kong had developed well, except for Qiangyin and a few other places, Lu Hai Kong didn't observe any significant public resentment.
It seemed that the rebellion in southern Bingzhou was a distant matter, having no connection to them.
This situation revealed a problem: the people's loyalty. While the early residents of Lu Hai Kong's territory, his military personnel, and those rescued during the Yellow Turban Rebellion had a sense of loyalty towards Lu Hai Kong and Bingzhou, many others lacked this loyalty.
This indicated that they didn't view Bingzhou as a unified whole, and many didn't consider Lu Hai Kong any different from previous rulers.
This realization deeply affected Lu Hai Kong. He began to reflect on the reasons for this situation and contemplated how to change it. However, after much thought, Lu Hai Kong couldn't reach a conclusion, so he sought out Xi Zhi Cai to share his thoughts.
As Lu Hai Kong shared his contemplations, Xi Zhi Cai stared at him in surprise. His eyes remained fixed on Lu Hai Kong for a long time, and eventually, a smile appeared on his face.
Lu Hai Kong's thoughts indicated that he was transforming from a mountain bandit, from a warlord, into a monarch.
(End of Chapter)
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