Chapter 216: 206: Expand and Strengthen, Achieve Greater Glory_2
Jiang Cheng continued to explain, “Look, your prison is struggling because prisoners are not serving their full sentences, and the Devil Gate is suffering because their disciples are being captured. Each of you has needs, isn’t this a perfect match? The Devil Gate can provide resources, allowing their disciples to cultivate in prison, and in the end, as their cultivation levels increase and their lifespans extend, the sentences you require will be fully served, and their disciples will have cultivated. Wouldn’t that be killing two birds with one stone, achieving a win-win situation?”
Jiang Cheng was still adding, “Of course, the prison, in transferring cultivation resources for the disciples of the Demonic Tao, should ask for a transportation fee from the demon sects. This amount of money can’t be too much, as too much would be judged as soliciting a bribe by the sect rules. But you can use the prison’s finances to set up an insurance company, specifically insuring the improvement of the cultivation levels of the disciples of the Demonic Tao. This part of the income would be legal. Just as long as it’s operated correctly…”
Zhou Ziyu was so shocked by Jiang Cheng’s method that he was left speechless.
He felt that Jiang Cheng made a lot of sense, but there was something slightly off about it.
But he couldn’t put his finger on what exactly was strange.
Gao Miao, who had been through a lot, patted Zhou Ziyu on the shoulder.
He said earnestly, “Zhou, don’t think too much. Do you know of ‘Chen Jiang’?”
“I do.”
The name of Chen Jiang was well known to Zhou Ziyu.
It was said that this cultivator from the Dayan Sect had an ambiguous stance between good and evil, having low cultivation levels but covered the skies with one hand in the Liang Kingdom. His network spread throughout the court and politics, including both the Demon Sect and the Immortal Sect.
Just a single sentence from him could decide the direction of the relations among the three parties.
The reason the Tongtian Sect was able to eradicate the Demonic Tao of the Capital this time was precisely because the Hehuan Sect had offended Chen Jiang.
“That’s Chen Jiang,” Gao Miao said, pointing at Jiang Cheng.
“Shit!”
Zhou Ziyu cursed loudly.
He finally realized where Jiang Cheng’s proposal was faulty.
Damn, it’s about making the prison earn the Demon Sect’s money!
Compared with Jiang Cheng, the Demon Sect seemed so innocuous!
A single idea could bring about a win-win situation for the Immortal Sect prison and the Demon Sect. Is this the power of the Dayan Sect?
It was terrifying!
…
Inside the temporary materials room of the factory, all the intelligence related to the Devil Gate of the Capital seized this time was laid out.
“Everything is here, the originals can’t be taken out,” Zhou Ziyu instructed before leaving Jiang Cheng and Gao Miao to look through them.
As personnel outside of the Enforcement Hall, Jiang Cheng and Gao Miao actually did not have the right to peruse the evidence.
But, obtaining the intelligence on the Hehuan Sect was a prerequisite for Jiang Cheng to carry out the demon-eradicating mission, sanctioned by the upper echelons of the Tongtian Sect, allowing the two of them to enter the temporary materials room and check the fruits of this operation.
“Gao, please pass me that Beast Skin Booklet on your left hand side,” Jiang Cheng said while holding a Hehuan Sect disciple registry.
“Alright,” said Gao Miao, bending down to pick up the booklet, suddenly sensing something amiss.
Isn’t he the president of the Talisman Master Association?
Not only a fourth-tier Talisman Master but also a cultivator in the Core Formation Stage, and over two hundred years older than Jiang Cheng.
He could easily be Jiang Cheng’s grandfather, or even his ancestor.
So why could Jiang Cheng ask him to do things without any burden on his conscience?
Given his understanding of Jiang Cheng, Jiang Cheng wasn’t someone who lacked manners.
But why did Jiang Cheng command high-tier cultivators so casually!
Gao Miao decided to let it go.
Passing a booklet or two was no big deal.
Mainly because this demon-extermination was exceptionally successful, Jiang Cheng had given him a big favor!
He had no reason to quibble over these petty matters with Jiang Cheng.
Instead, it would have made him seem petty.
Gao Miao handed the Beast Skin Booklet to Jiang Cheng, who looked it over with great concentration.
Jiang Cheng was searching for evidence related to the “Prince Liang Chu Case.”
Most importantly, the registry of Hehuan Sect disciples.
The registry could prove the Lu family was not part of the Demon Sect, thereby prompting the imperial court to re-examine the “Minister Gao Case.” Without the supporting logic of the Minister Gao Case, the Prince Liang Chu Case would naturally lack evidence.
But that was not enough.
Closing a case is easy, overturning one is difficult.
There had to be more solid evidence, something that would leave all parties speechless, and preferably sway public opinion to form an overwhelming trend of glaring truth.
“More solid evidence…”
Jiang Cheng thought about it and said to Gao Miao, “Gao, have you seen the financial accounts of the Hehuan Sect?”
“No.”
“Could you help me look for it?”
“…”
In light of Jiang Cheng’s achievement, although Gao Miao was speechless, he still stooped to help Jiang Cheng search.
Mainly because the favor Jiang Cheng had done for him was genuinely significant, and his gesture of returning the favor wasn’t because Gao Miao lacked dignity or was easy to talk to.
Financial accounts are usually a sect’s secret.
This is because accounts often involve a sect’s entire supply chain and relationships with partners.
Some sects appear to be enemies on the surface but trade frequently behind the scenes.
So the bigger the sect, the less it can be simply defined as having “good” or “bad” relationships.
Through the Hehuan Sect’s accounts, Jiang Cheng could easily find out who was dealing with them.
Who was collaborating with the Hehuan Sect and who was secretly providing them with benefits?
There were numerous account books belonging to the Hehuan Sect, detailing various expenditures.
Jiang Cheng ignored the minor expenses and focused only on the significant disbursements of the Hehuan Sect.
Finally, in the “Disciple Donations” section, he discovered substantial support for the Hehuan Sect from the royal family of the Liang Kingdom.
This was almost irrefutable evidence of the royal family’s collusion with the Demonic Tao.
After studying the flow of funds carefully, Jiang Cheng found that the royal family’s support was not unified.
Half of it came from the imperial palace, that is, from the Emperor of Liang, with the rest coming from several Prince Mansions.