The large sects, big families, as well as forces driven by interests elevated their control over the area to another level at that time.
The court's control over these places experienced an extremely obvious decline.
As Yu Ziqing passed through a city, he encountered people inside the city facing disputes, but instead of going to the government office, they went to the ancestral hall of a family.
Even the government officials coming in and out of the government office were almost all local family members. After inquiring, he found out that the newly appointed County Magistrate was killed by the Evil Dao before he could even reach the place.
There was absolutely no sign of Jinyi Wei in the city. Upon casual inquiry, he found out it was well-known that the local Jinyi Wei hadn't received their salary for a year and had followed the local Shangguan in leading money-making endeavors.
