This person's first impression on himself was very good, Tianhao smiled and nodded and admitted: "May I ask what Your Excellency should be called?" ”

"My name is Yuan Wei, and I am the city lord of Shanyang City. I'm not like you, I'm from the Raging Bull Division. Yuan Wei got up from the chair, stared at Tianhao up and down for a long time, and sighed with emotion: "I didn't expect you to be so young...... Come, come, sit down, and tell me how you got it, you became the lord of the city at such a young age. If I hadn't been very familiar with Niu Weibang and knew him well, I would definitely think that you were his illegitimate child. ”

This made Tianhao cry and laugh, and it could be seen that the other party's enthusiasm was not faked at all. Anyway, it was nothing, he simply pulled a chair from next to him and sat down, and began to talk.

Basically, Tianhao was talking alone, and Yuan Wei only asked occasional questions. The content of the conversation included the development of Panshi Village, the two wars against the Deer Tribe, and the use of resources around Panshi Village...... Of course, Tianhao will not leak the confidential content, and he will not deliberately hide the things that cannot be hidden.

Yuan Wei listened very carefully, he had a wealth of experience in this age, cautious, meticulous and patient: "According to this, the population of Rock City now exceeds 30,000? ”

Tianhao didn't exaggerate the facts, he shook his head modestly: "Not that much, there are about twenty-seven thousand people, and a large part of them are from the Pig tribe. ”

"That's a great achievement!" Yuan Wei was very satisfied with Tianhao's attitude, preferring the honesty that the other party did not deliberately exaggerate, his eyes were full of admiration and appreciation: "Not bad...... A small village on the border of the Lei Niu Department can develop to this extent in just a few years, if all the village leaders work as hard as you, our Niu clan must be the number one clan in all tribes. ”

As he spoke, he grabbed Tianhao's hand: "Come, let them review the paperwork for you, and then brand, don't waste time." Little brother, go get to my place for a drink when you're done. ”

Tianhao took off his coat, revealing his thick arms, and his strong muscles were sharp and angular, reflecting a layer of light brown light.

The reddish iron melts the subcutaneous fat in an instant when it comes into contact with the skin, and the strong smell of burnt paste spreads in all directions, accompanied by a palpitating "snort" sound. After a moment, when the soldering iron was removed, Tianhao endured the pain and looked towards his left arm, and saw that there was a clear two-horned bull's head pattern there, with clear lines, and a special beauty of roughness and savagery.

Yuan Wei stood beside him, carefully observing the imprints on Tianhao's left arm that represented different identities.

The head of ten, the head of hundred, the head of thousands...... Until now, the newly added castle lord emblem.

Tianhao clenched his teeth, the severe pain caused his nerves to twitch, his arms on his waist trembled slightly, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead, but he didn't say a word, but his facial expression looked a little hideous.

"He deserves to be a good man of my cattle clan!" Yuan Wei applauded loudly, he patted Tianhao's shoulder with satisfaction, and there was admiration in his eyes: "When I was your age, the first time I was branded with the head of ten people, I almost didn't cry in pain, if it wasn't for my father's whipping a few times, I guess I would ......"

As soon as he said this, there was a sudden sound of chaotic footsteps from the direction of the gate. Yuan Wei, who didn't finish the second half of the sentence, hurriedly looked up in that direction, and saw more than a dozen people walking into the hall, the first two of whom he knew was the city lord of Mishui City of the Bison Department, Zong Gu, and his son Zong Guang.

"Hey! Lao Gu, why are you here too? Yuan Wei strode up and let out a rough laugh.

Zonggu doesn't look very old, he should be about the same as Yuan Wei, both of them are about forty. He was about the same size as Yuan Wei, but not as strong as the latter. He is thin, with high convex cheekbones that make his eye sockets look deeper, and his upper lip is always open due to his raised front teeth. Seeing Yuan Wei, he seemed a little hesitant, and the expression on his face was not very natural, his eyes immediately fell on Tianhao, nodded subconsciously, casually said "oh", raised his hand, and pointed at Tianhao: "This is ......"

Yuan Wei was obviously not so keen in terms of observing words and expressions, he still laughed, grabbed Zonggu's arm hard, and pulled him closer: "Let me introduce to you, this is Ah Hao, the new city lord of the Lei Niu Tribe, his territory has just been upgraded from a village to a city, and he is Niu Weibang's subordinate. ”

Turning his head, he faced Tianhao: "This is the sect tool, from the Bison Department, just like you, is also the city lord." That's his son Zongguang, you can just call him Ah Guang. ”

A slight smile appeared on Zong Gu's face, not so much politeness as embarrassment, he maintained the necessary etiquette and stretched out his right hand to Tianhao: "Hello." ”

Watching the two of them greet each other, Yuan Wei repeated the previous question: "Lao Gu, why do you have time to come here?" ”

Zong Gu opened his mouth, but he stopped talking.

Tianhao could see that he was very embarrassed, but he didn't understand why. Just as he was thinking, he saw Zong Guang standing behind Zong Gu.

The man was young, twenty years old, or even younger. He was a head shorter than Zonggu, very thin, and his wide leather robe was worn on his body, swaying and looking empty. He had delicate skin that was rare in the northern barbarians, and his face was pale, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness.

Zong Gu probably looked at Yuan Wei without the intention of leaving, and watched Tianhao take off his shirt and cover his left chest, the smell of burnt paste in the air had not yet dissipated, and the newly branded pattern on his arm was very clear. A hint of envy flashed in his eyes, he sighed, hesitated for a few seconds, and forced a smile: "I...... Ah Guang is now the lord of the city. Isn't this the king convening a meeting, so I'll bring him by the way, get an identity, and ...... Brand. ”

One thing is very simple, Zonggu said it was very difficult, he lowered his head as he spoke, and his expression was not very natural.

"City Lord?" Yuan Wei looked at him suspiciously, and then turned his head to look at Zong Guang who was standing behind Zong Gu: "Sizzle...... When I went to him last fall, there seemed to be only more than 3,000 people in the village, when did this exceed 10,000? ”

“…… This ......" Zong Gu felt that it was difficult to speak, but Yuan Wei asked very directly, and they were very familiar with each other, and some things were better to say later than earlier. After thinking about it, his voice became even lower: "...... I sent some people from Mishui City......"

Yuan Wei's face was stunned.

Tianhao understood the meaning of Zonggu's words.

The conditions for promotion from the head of a thousand people to the lord of the city were very harsh, and the population of the village under his rule must exceed 10,000. Zongguang is the son of Zonggu, and his father sent thousands of people from his own city to make Huaiji Village upgrade to a city.

Tianhao didn't know if it was against the law to do this, but looking at Yuan Wei's expression, it was estimated that it should not be the first time someone in the clan had done this. And he is very new to this world, he can't interject, and it's not easy to express his opinion.

"I'm old, Ah Guang will always take over my position." Zongyu was a little ashamed, as if he was justifying his actions: "He is only the head of a thousand people, and he has no experience in managing big cities. I thought about carrying him up first, and using Huaiji City to practice my hands, and after I had more experience, I would be relieved to hand over Mishui City to him again. ”

Zongguang should belong to a very introverted character, he kept his head down, a little shy, and did not speak.

In this regard, Yuan Wei is not easy to express his opinion. He sighed and asked, "Is there any problem with the king?" ”

Zong Gu knew what this meant, and hurriedly nodded: "The king has agreed, and Ah Guang's identity documents have also been sent. ”

Yuan Wei made a straight face, nodded, and took a step sideways: "Since that's the case, then let Ah Guang come over and accept the brand!" ”

No matter how strict the rules are, there are people who take advantage of loopholes. Although Zonggu and Zongguang are father and son, it must be favoritism to do so. In the words of the civilized era, it is "legal and unreasonable", which is despicable, but it is impossible to find fault.

Zong Gu also knew that this was not appropriate, he smiled wryly, shook Zong Guang's hand hard, pulled his son over, and stood in front of the charcoal brazier.

The waiter checked the identity documents presented by the sect and carefully checked that they were correct. He picked up the cooled soldering iron, stuffed it into the depths of the burning charcoal fire, and looked at Zong Guang with the slightest emotion: "Take off your clothes." ”

Zong Guang trembled visibly, he stared at the soldering iron that was burning red in the charcoal fire, his eyes showing fear and struggle.

He took a trembling step back, his whole body shrunk, and pleaded with his father in a crying voice: "Daddy...... I...... I'm afraid ......"

Zong Gu was anxious and wanted to attack, but because of the presence of Yuan Wei and Tianhao, he could only lower his voice, with indescribable shame, and asked angrily, "What are you afraid of?" ”

“…… "Hurt ...... "Zongguang is a cowardly character. He grabbed the hand of the sect tool tightly: "Soldering iron...... It hurts to death...... Last time, I had a lot of pain for more than a month. ”

Yuan Wei watched from the side, turned around, covered his mouth with his hands, looked at his slightly trembling back, obviously embarrassed to laugh in front of his old friend.

Zong Gu felt that his face had been lost, he was so angry that he shook off his son's hand and scolded with hatred: "You...... You...... This is the rule set by the ancestors, you look at the family A Hao, not much older than you, everyone is the same as the city lord. ”

Zong Guang was tormented by strong fear, his face became more and more pale, he grabbed his father's hand again, and pleaded repeatedly: "I'm afraid...... I'm scared......"

At this moment, a serious voice suddenly came from the direction of the gate.

"If you're afraid, there's no need to burn. I can't even stand this little pain, what kind of city lord should I be? ”

Wu Peng, the national teacher, walked into the hall surrounded by several guards.

Seeing this, Yuan Wei hurriedly turned around and saluted: "Great Master, you are here." ”

Although Wu Peng is old, his pace is very steady. He walked straight up to Tianhao, glanced at the newly branded bull's head pattern on his arm, and nodded approvingly: "I knew you wouldn't let me down, and it didn't take long for the Rock Village to become Rock City...... Good! Good! Very good! ”

He said three "good" words in a row, and the people around him were amazed. The national teacher has a steady temperament, and the city government is very deep, and it is rare to praise someone in public, and it is even rarer to praise someone like today.

Yuan Wei moved his gaze to Tianhao and had a new understanding of this young man.

Zong Gu was also looking at Tianhao, his eyes were full of emotion, and more envy. Think about his timid and scared son, and then look at Tianhao, the complex emotions of being dominated by "other people's children" make him not know what to say.

The national teacher turned around and stared at Zong Guang with serious eyes, his gaze was so sharp that he was so frightened that the young man's soul was not possessed and he kept trembling. Zongguang wanted to hide behind his father, but reason told him that he must not do so: this is a great teacher, and he is the one who decides his future fate.

"I'm afraid of pain and itching, what kind of system will I become?" Wu Peng picked up his cane, paused heavily on the ground, and said in a majestic and cold voice: "Your father finally asked for a city lord position for you in front of His Majesty, but you don't cherish it at all. The imprint is the trace of the courage and ability of the man of my Niu clan, from His Majesty the Ox King to the most ordinary village steward, which arm does not have a brand? Tiger, Lion, Eagle, Deer...... All tribes are like this, this is the rule set by the beast god, you are born as a barbarian, you must worship the beast god and accept all this. ”

This reprimand made Zongguang's cheeks red. He lowered his head, bit his lower lip hard, and kept his hands clenched into fists with a slight upward range, trembling in excitement and humiliation.

He wanted to take off his shirt with a yell, rush to the charcoals, pick up the soldering iron, and prove by his deeds that he was not a coward.

However, the experience of the previous brand really couldn't make him forget the severe pain, unbearable, and even painful enough to make people faint.

Overhead, the national teacher's angry majesty questioned again: "Since you are so afraid of imprints, then let me ask you, how did you pass the qualifications of ten-person heads, hundred-person heads, and thousand-person heads before?" You can't get an identity without a brand, you have been the leader of Huaiji Village for so long, your father doesn't dare to show favoritism even if he is bold, but you tell me, what is going on? ”

Zong Guang couldn't help it, he ripped off his shirt, revealing his left arm, and the smooth surface of his skin was lined with three scars in order from bottom to top.

Wu Peng's old eyes released a cold gaze that saw through everything, and there was a hint of contempt in his voice: "Don't tell me that you took anesthetic medicine when you were branding before, it is no different from cheating." ”

Zong Guang raised his head suddenly, his muscles tightened due to his anger, and the thick blood vessels burst up at the temples on both sides: "I didn't!" ”

"That's weird." The national teacher sneered and shook his head: "I used to be able to accept the brand, but now I am scared to death...... In my opinion, there is no need for Huaiji Village to be upgraded to a city, you should stay there honestly and be the leader! ”

Zong Gu was suddenly anxious next to him, and hurriedly rushed to Wu Peng, pleading repeatedly: "Great master, you can't do this!" Ah Guang was young, and he asked the great master to give him a chance. ”

"Opportunity? ...... hum "Wu Peng obviously didn't intend to give Zong Gu this face: "The opportunity has to be fought for by yourself, not falling from the sky." Your Majesty is benevolent, and you will not be held accountable for your move from Mishui City to Huaiji Village, Zongguang is your only son, and it is understandable to do so, but looking at his current performance, I am afraid that he will disappoint you. ”