Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 876 - 726: The Emperor’s Path Begins with Cattle and Sheep Entering the Water_2

Chapter 876: Chapter 726: The Emperor’s Path Begins with Cattle and Sheep Entering the Water_2

Wang Sangu now, like his brothers in the same room, knelt down and kowtowed in the direction of Beijing every night.

Previously he had been a follower of Luoism, with the people from his place either believing in White Lotus, Maitreya, or Luoism.

However, since arriving in the northeast, Wang Sangu had only prayed for County Prince Fenyang to live a thousand years and to look after them, the common folk.

He believed such a person must be a star in the heavens, or perhaps an Emperor descended to the mortal realm to deliver people from suffering.

The adherents of Maitreya Teaching didn’t know when Maitreya would descend to save the world, but the inhabitants of Qilitun relied entirely on County Prince Fenyang for their livelihood.

If it weren’t for their lack of private housing, they would have long since set up a longevity tablet for County Prince Fenyang in their homes.

After stepping into the wooden house, Wang Sangu followed his daily routine, taking his wooden bowl to the big pot at the doorway.

The meals in Qilitun weren’t so great, usually just a bowl of millet porridge and four large steamed buns weighing about two taels each. Although the taste was monotonous, there was enough to fill one’s stomach.

But at that moment, Wang Sangu suddenly noticed something with a twitch of his nose, a look of surprise crossing his face.

"Is that meat?"

He looked at the iron pot beside him with astonishment. Inside, a red broth bubbled, wafting a rich meaty aroma.

Behind this iron pot stood a taoist in a green robe with a yellow face, and a Taoist girl about sixteen or seventeen years old.

The Taoist girl, with her hair in a childish bun, had a pointy face. She wasn’t particularly beautiful but her fair skin and amiable temperament made her quite endearing.

However, Wang Sangu was more concerned with the meat soup. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and then inquired of the chef doling out the millet porridge.

"That’s not meat, it’s offal bought from the Jurchen in the north," the chef said, glancing sidelong in that direction: "It’s quite tasty. I tried a bowl of their offal soup earlier, and it wasn’t even gamey. You could give it a try.

However, those two over there are a Mage and a Taoist boy from the nearby Xuanhuang Great Emperor Temple. If you want their charitable food, you’ll need to agree to worship their Xuanhuang Great Emperor. Tsk, what a pity there’s only one bowl, and they won’t allow more. It’s said they will come to give charity again, but who knows if that’s true."

’Offal’ refers to various animal innards, which the Jin people generally do not eat.

The reason is that the innards of cattle, horses, pigs, and sheep are foul-smelling and nauseating, making it impossible to eat.

Curiously though, the offal brought by these two not only lacked the foul smell but actually emitted an enticing fragrance that made people salivate.

Wang Sangu had already noticed several people in the dining hall devouring those offal soups as if they contained the most exquisite delicacies.

Without any hesitation, he took another wooden bowl and walked over, "Respected Taoist sirs, please also fill a bowl for me. You’re from the Xuanhuang Great Emperor Temple, right? This humble one, Wang Sangu, shall from this day forward devoutly worship the revered Emperor."

After hearing this, the yellow-faced Taoist chuckled wryly and corrected, "It’s ’Great Emperor of the Highest Heaven Miluo.’ The Emperor we revere is the current Heaven Emperor, the legitimate god of the three realms.

Brother Wang, you just need to make this hand gesture and recite ’Great Emperor of the Highest Heaven Miluo bestow mercy and protection’ three times, and remember to be sincere. It’s best to also chant his holy name every morning. Additionally, Brother Wang, if you have leisure in ten days’ time, you may visit our temple, where our temple priest will preach and expound on our Great Emperor Xuanhuang’s ’Classic of the Interaction of Xuanhuang.’"

Wang Sangu felt skeptical inside but outwardly chanted ’Great Emperor Xuanhuang bestow mercy and protection’ three times with an earnest face.

He thought to himself, let me just take advantage of this benefit first and enjoy the offal soup.

Who the hell is this Xuanhuang Great Emperor? I, Wang Sangu, only believe in County Prince Fenyang!

But then, as the yellow-faced Taoist was ladling soup into his bowl, the Taoist girl beside him smiled and said, "Little Brother Wang, you must come! Listening to our temple priest’s preaching can drive away evil. And after our preaching, there will be another round of charity, where we’ll prepare many foods like those of today."

Her voice was melodious and seemed to strike a chord deep within one’s heart.

This caused Wang Sangu’s face to flush involuntarily, and his heart fluttered uncomfortably.

However, he knew that these nuns from the temple, most of whom had cultivation, were beyond the desires of a poor lad like himself.

What Wang Sangu cared about more were the ’charity’ and ’food.’

At this time, the Taoist girl passed a folded piece of yellow talisman paper to Wang Sangu, "This talisman has been blessed by the Emperor’s power to ward off evil. You can carry it with you. As long as you, Brother Wang, can sincerely believe in our Emperor, should you encounter evil spirits or monsters in the wild, this talisman will certainly keep you safe. Brother Wang, I speak with no falsehoods."

Wang Sangu felt a stir in his heart and looked solemnly at the yellow talisman.

After he arrived in Liaodong, what worried him the most were demons and ghosts. Six migrants from Qilitun had already encountered man-eating monsters in the wild, and only two of them had survived.

Wang Sangu wondered, could this talisman really possess such great power?

If that were the case, it might be worth it to believe.

※※※※

While Wang Sangu was undecided about whether to believe in the "Great Emperor of the Mysterious Yellow," at the Court of the Jin Dynasty, Li Xuan had shaken the Court with a memorial.

"To distribute the army of Weisuo colony farms among the local military households for cultivation, to be regarded as their permanent tenure?"

Inside the Jinluan Palace at Taihe Gate, Grand Secretary Wang Wenzheng glared at Li Xuan with indignation, "Doesn’t this equate to parceling out tens of thousands of acres of Court land to private ownership? I firmly disagree!"

Yet, the expressions of several regent ministers present were thoughtful and contemplative.

Had there been any censors present, most likely, they would have impeached Li Xuan for using the Court’s land and goods to buy the affection of the army of Weisuo.

But today was just an informal discussion, with only a few regent ministers present.

Since Li Xuan took office, he had cooperated with Chen Xun to regulate Yin and Yang, united with the court officials in harmony, and put a stop to criticisms and attacks.

Therefore, the first consideration of the regent ministers present was from the aspect of governance.

Distributing the colony farms to the local military households to be seen as their permanent tenure meant effectively handing over the land to these military households forever.

What would be the benefits?

The military households would undoubtedly be more motivated to farm and would take care of their crops with greater diligence.

This would certainly increase grain production and the Court’s annual revenue.

In the past, these military households of Weisuo received a fixed amount of money and grain from the Court and were dispatched like dogs. How much effort could they possibly put into the land?

As a result, the cultivated lands of the army of Weisuo had the lowest yields.

Especially this year, with the Court’s harvests falling short, many of the Weisuo farms had a millet yield of less than two shi, burdening the Jin Dynasty’s three million Weisuo soldiers on the Court.

Beyond that, this could effectively prevent the encroachment of Weisuo military officers and local elite gentry on the Weisuo lands, one might say that it eliminated all the drawbacks of the Weisuo army system.

All these benefits, they could imagine.

Yet, the regent ministers also sensed immense resistance to this proposal.

Once Li Xuan’s memorial spread throughout the Court, it would assuredly cause a huge uproar.

Parceling out tens of thousands of acres of fertile Court land to private individuals, how could the censors just sit by and watch? Especially since the one proposing this was the Dadudu of the five armies, the foremost military figure of the dynasty.

Shaofu Chen Xun, moved by the idea, nevertheless showed a hint of difficulty on his face, "County Prince Fenyang’s method does have some merits, but it goes against the enlightened instructions of our royal ancestors."

"How does it contradict the ancestral teachings?" Li Xuan explained with a smile, "The land is still owned by the Court, it’s just contracted to the military households for cultivation. The Court and the military households will share the profits equally, much like tenant farmers among the commoners. And as I stated in my memorial, if for three consecutive years the yield does not meet the average local grain production, the Court has the right to reclaim the lands and impose punishment according to the law. I have named this proposal ’Contract Responsibility Law’."

Afterward, with his hands clasped behind his back, he looked at all the regent ministers in the Court, "Gentlemen, the advantages and disadvantages of the Weisuo army are something you ought to understand better than I. Although the Weisuo army has been reformed with the help of the Shaofu, it’s only a temporary solution and will eventually fail. Moreover, with a cold snap arising throughout the land, it is certain that for the next decade or so, natural disasters will be frequent. Given the Weisuo army’s grain production, they can scarcely be self-sufficient. Just this year alone, there will be a shortfall of two million teal. Therefore, I must implement this ’Contract Responsibility Law’ throughout the land! If there are any issues, I will shoulder them all!"