Chapter 455: Guo Jia's Test - Part 2
Guo Jia was puzzled, wondering whether Mao Miaomiao was a capable lord or was he simply a lucky fool.
For six months, Guo Jia had been patiently waiting to get an audience with Miaomiao.
At first, Guo Jia thought that Miaomiao might be a capable lord since he could gather so many talented influential experts by his side, such as Jia Shan, Sun Wentai, Zhao Bao, Mao Xueyan, and Dian Wei.
But after lurking in Siren City for a month, he learned the fame of Miaomiao - This city lord had been dwelling in his mansion, having sex all day and all night long!
He only spent less than 6 hours at work!
He only ate and slept for the rest of the day!
All signs showed that Miaomiao was a perverted lazy bum, which confused Guo Jia.
Would Miaomiao be really lazy if he could build the magnificent tower, which released Life Essence to the air?
How did the lazy lord become so strong that he could repel two 8th-stage cultivators when he was still a 5t-stage cultivator!? What kind of logic was this?
The rumor might be false! Something was wrong with Miaomiao's ill rumor!
Unable to find an answer, Guo Jia kept on waiting so that he could evaluate Miaomiao's worth with his own eyes.
And today, Guo Jia finally got to meet the city lord that he admired.
From the brief conversation, Guo Jia discovered that Miaomiao was not a lazy pervert like everyone thought he would be. His eloquence, demeanor, and body language showed that he was an educated man with experience in politics.
Secondly, by Miaomiao's side, the oni woman was rumored to be his main wife and the mastermind, who pulled the strings from behind Miaomiao's actions.
But upon seeing their interactions, Guo Jia confirmed that Wei Yuan listened to Miaomiao, and the latter still had the free will to make decisions.
Was he really the worthless guy as the rumor said?
No way!
Guo Jia's admiration for Miaomiao grew. He believed that the rumor was nothing but a fa?ade to trick his enemies.
This was the way a warlord should do – They should at least have a hidden cunning side, or they would have been too na?ve.
Yet, Miaomiao's generosity worried Guo Jia. He gave away a rare treasure too easily!
Guo Jia didn't like it. He wanted to teach Miaomiao a lesson not to waste so many expensive items on a stranger, but he planned to return all items later afterward.
Unfortunately, before Guo Jia could do anything, Wei Yuan smacked him with a paper fan.
Was that intentional?
Was it Wei Yuan's decision or Miaomiao's order?
Guo Jia pondered harder. As an overthinker, he listened to the couple's interaction.
As soon as Guo Jia heard that Wei Yuan had attempted to kill other guests as well, he was astonished yet again.
'What a dangerous wife he has! Well, I should expect this much since this woman is a demon. He tames her well!'
Then, Guo Jia glanced at the Fire Dragon Element Crystal in his hand.
'A generous and charismatic lord that pretends to be a pervert… Is that how he won the heart of others? Well, no matter what kind of person he is, he's still the better choice to serve. Liu Xuande and Yuan Shaoqing are fated to doom while Ling Cao and Huang Hansheng are not a warlord material…'
Guo Jia's smile widened as he made his decision.
'This place is a gold mine. Mao Miaomiao has everything he needs to conquer the continent. He is also capable enough to turn a wasteland into a holy land. Maybe, if I can get a high-ranking post under him, I can turn this god-forsaken land into the New Holy Land Continent! I'll prove it to those Great Clans that they made the wrong choice for exiling me here!'
As Guo Jia was fantasizing the future success in his career, Miaomiao got back to the point.
"What else do you need if I want you to work for me?"
Guo Jia brightly smiled. He proceeded with a little prank, extorting for more wealth to teach Miaomiao about the value of money, "10,000 essence cores a month-"
"Deal!"
"…Huh?"
Guo Jia was taken aback. He had expected a bit of haggling or a verbal battle.
"What? Got a problem?" Miaomiao sneered.
"You won't bargain or haggle a bit? 10,000 essence cores a month is a bit expensive…"
"Am I the employer or are you the lord here? I have enough money to pay. Why do you care?"
"…"
"Anyway, what else?"
Guo Jia continued to test Miaomiao's limits, "I want a heaven-grade weapon."
CLANK
Miaomiao tossed a heaven-grade dragon sword to the floor in front of Guo Jia. It was also one of the rewards of killing Xie Tian.
It was an ownerless weapon, and the raging spirit inside wouldn't submit to anyone without Dragon Fire Element Qi. Therefore, it was useless to Miaomiao, but it might be useful for Guo Jia.
Seeing how Miaomiao gave away a treasure without flinching, Guo Jia's frown deepened.
"What else?" Miaomiao was enjoying this.
"I want a spatial ring worth of elixir water that you have been selling to the merchants-"
PA
Miaomiao threw a dummy spatial ring, which contained the unified element spring water to the brim, to the face of Guo Jia.
"What else?"
Guo Jia's smiley face turned dark. Now, he was angry.
Miaomiao didn't even think twice before he shoved his wealth to his face, and this type of behavior was a demerit to any leader. At this rate, Miaomiao might soon unnecessarily spend everything in the treasury and become bankrupt.
"Don't you worry about the city's treasury and your resources? If you keep spending them on me like this, you will eventually run out of money! I could have exploited your idiotic stupidest airhead brain of yours by extorting everything from you!"
"Oh? This is not the first time that someone calls me stupid. Well, will you reconsider if I show you this?"
Miaomiao slip his hands into his sleeve pockets and brought out 500 spatial rings, which also contained elixir water inside them to the fullest.
He also put 100 more spatial rings that had stored various artifacts and treasures on a table next to him.
Then, he placed 20 elemental crystals, which he had received from killing random clones in the ITS. There were more in his system inventories, but he ran out of space to put them.
Without letting Guo Jia refute or speak, Miaomiao brought out a crate of pill bottles, which Ma Moxi had made. The latter picked up a bottle and tossed it to Guo Jia.
"What if I'm just so rich that I can spend a million essence cores on a whim to make you submit? Will you still work for me?"
"… Being rich or not, you're being unreasonable. You must never show your wealth to a stranger!"
"Thanks for the lessons. Because you're so honest, I can't help it."
"…"
Guo Jia looked at the items in his hands and closed his eyes.
A few seconds later, he sighed and threw all items he received back to Wei Yuan. Then, he knelt, "I've changed my mind. Forget about the previous conditions I said. I have only two conditions that I need you to fulfill if you want me to work for you."
Miaomiao laughed again, "Sure. I'll pretend that everything we discussed earlier never happened. Now, speak what's in your mind. Oh, no more tests since I'm short on time. I need to meet others after this."
"Good, then I'll make it short," Guo Jia's face turned solemn. "First, I want to be in charge of your military - that doesn't change. Secondly, I want to be your finance auditor. Your prodigal nature will bring you down if someone doesn't stop you!"
…
Wei Yuan raised her eyebrows. Her opinion of Guo Jia flipped 180 degrees.
He was likable to her now. This scholar was an honest man, and he didn't seem to have any ill will toward Miaomiao.
Still, his demand was dubious. The military authority belonged to Miaomiao and the Housewife Alliance, aka Miaomiao's wives. Giving it to Guo Jia was unacceptable.
Before Wei Yuan could voice her opinion, Miaomiao already made his decision.
"I can't hand you my armies since you never contributed to my sect or my city. It will damage my reputation, and it will ruin my authority. Who will follow me in the future if I give preferential treatment to a stranger who never did anything for the organization?"
"…"
Guo Jia nodded as it sounded plausible. Promoting a stranger to a high-ranking position might irk his future colleagues as there might be many people who had the qualification to be promoted to the same position.
Internal fighting and political struggle between colleagues were not ideal. Guo Jia also wanted to prevent it from happening.
"As for the financial auditor, I don't need one at the moment. The Life Essence Tower of this city is already making money for me. The dryads and fairies in the World Tree Forest also constantly sent me medicinal herbs, rare fruits, natural resources, and local products. I also have a secret source of treasure fruits and vegetables that can be made into elemental pills. We also have an alchemy division and talented alchemists. Even if we run out of essence cores, we have countless local specialty products to trade with the merchants and cultivators."
"But one of your people might start to embezzle your money soon. You know that stagnant water tends to rot! Your men will not stay honest forever!"
"I know. But right now, from the local people's perspective, you are a nobody. You can't possibly become an auditor without provoking top experts in this city. You need to earn that position through contribution and achievements."
Miaomiao collected all items and brought out a continent map. He spread it on the floor and let Guo Jia see it.
He threw a small knife at the center of the southern region, where a square icon was highlighted.
On the map, it was described as Xiangyang City.
"Before I can give you my armies or appoint you as a financial auditor, you need to prove your worth like what everybody else had done. Go to Xiangyang and find two of my wives, Dian Wei and Liu Guang. Assist them in their military campaign against Ling Cao and Huang Hansheng."
Guo Jia's eyes gleamed as he understood Miaomiao's intention.
The city lord was setting up a stage for him to earn his fame and achievements!
"Come back when you complete the following tasks; One, kill Liu Biao, Ling Cao, and Huang Hansheng. Two, conquer the southeastern region with Liu Guang and Dian Wei's armies. And third, come back in one piece! If one of my wives died during this campaign, you can forget your promotion!"
Miaomiao tossed a jade slip with his instructions to Guo Jia. He also gave back the Dragon Fire Element Crystal and the Fire Dragon Sword to the scholar.
"Use those items as proof of your identity. Now, show me what you can do, and I shall promote you according to your achievements!"
Guo Jia smiled and kowtowed to Miaomiao, "Thank you for providing me the opportunity! I shall prove to you that I deserve the promotion!"
"Yeah, earn it with your afford. Oh, one more thing."
Guo Jia raised his head, "Is there something wrong?"
Miaomiao closed his eyes and sent a telepathic voice to a certain child. Meanwhile, Wei Yuan took out her phone and called the front door guards to delay the next meetings.
A few minutes later, a young boy in a white robe with the [1] number insignia and the emblem of Yin Yang Department entered the hall.
He was Sima Yi, a disciple of the first division under Miaomiao.
"Sima Yi."
"Yes, senior?"
"Here is your next assignment. I want you to accompany this fellow Daoist over here to Xiangyang City. You shall be his aide and assist him in the military campaign against Ling Cao, Huang Hansheng, and Liu Biao! If you succeed, I shall reward you with an elemental crystal!"
"Uh… WHAT!?"
Sima Yi was shocked while Guo Jia scanned the boy from head to toes with interest.
None of them was aware that Miaomiao had pranked them.
What kind of warfare or tactic would these strategist counterparts show Miaomiao?
What would Oda Nobunaga in Sima Yi's body do in this situation?
What could Guo Jia and Sima Yi achieve if they were to work together?
Miaomiao cackled like a scheming villain, ignoring the reaction of everyone in the hall.
"Now, go. Show me what you can do!"
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺