Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 938 - 776 Clear Waters of the Yellow River (Seeking a Guaranteed Monthly Pass)

Chapter 938: Chapter 776 Clear Waters of the Yellow River (Seeking a Guaranteed Monthly Pass)

After slaying the avatar of Randeng Buddha, Lv Qiluo immediately grabbed Yue Qianqian’s hand.

Then, she shook her head slightly, "She’s okay, she just needs a few days of rest."

Li Xuan’s "Tao-protecting Eyes" did not detect any hidden injuries on Yue Qianqian, it was just that her Yuan Qi and Divine Sense had been excessively depleted, and she would recover after proper replenishment.

Li Xuan then shifted his attention back to the world beyond the heavens, after Randeng Buddha’s True Spirit Law Body had shattered. Out there, there were still many gazes filled with hostility or curiosity, observing this realm.

Initially, he was very tense, but as time passed, Li Xuan’s heart settled back down inside him.

Li Xuan realized that those beings observing this place, they could not enter—

It seemed that the First Emperor’s Seal was reliable after all, sufficient to withstand the divine beings from the heavens.

Randeng must have been an exception; this past Buddha had invested his power into the mortal realm at some unknown cost.

As time passed, the owners of those gazes also dispersed one after another.

However, at this moment, the expressions of everyone on the Earth Altar were not very good.

Shaofu Yu Jie’s face was somewhat pale, thinking that if the ’Past Buddha’ had wanted to do something to the Jin Dynasty, he would have been too late to stop it.

Zhu Mingyue scoffed at himself, "Since I achieved the Rule of Extreme Heaven, Zhu has been invincible in this realm, unstoppable. Zhu has always taken pride in this, until today, I realized that I was just a frog in a well."

The divine beings that appeared today made him feel very uncomfortable.

Zhu Mingyue felt like he was a cricket in a jar, being measured and observed at will by others.

The rest of the people, upon hearing his words, were rendered speechless.

Those invited by Li Xuan to this place today were all dominant figures wielding vast power within their realms, and most of them shared mentalities similar to Yu Jie and Zhu Mingyue.

This also made the Earth Altar exceptionally silent during the process of Luo Yan refining the True Spirit of the ’Moon Lotus’.

Only Yu Hongchang and Yuan Taiwei appeared calm and composed.

Yu Hongchang had clearly sensed changes within her own Dragon Qi just a moment ago.

If Randeng Buddha truly dared to threaten the mortal realm, she could act in lieu of the ’human emperor’, summoning more powerful and fearsome forces from heaven and earth to eradicate Randeng!

These were the collective will and thoughts of tens of thousands of years, the accumulation of the wills of dozens of generations of human emperors before the Pre-Qin Dynasty, powerful enough to confront any mighty force in this world.

Shaosiming Yuan Taiwei, on the other hand, was full of confidence; she knew that as long as the First Emperor’s Seal remained intact, the power of these divine beings could not be fully imparted into the mortal realm.

Li Xuan was not very concerned, for he was confident that within ten years, he would master the power to counteract Randeng.

For people like them, what they feared most was not being able to see hope, not having a clear path.

As long as there is hope and a path to follow, they would never fear.

He was becoming stronger every day and was enjoying the process.

Li Xuan even had the leisure to discuss state affairs with Yu Hongchang on the Earth Altar.

When it came to political affairs, Yu Hongchang’s eyes showed a hint of worry.

Yu Hongchang was concerned about the grain—

By now, close to the Mid-Autumn Festival, the people north and south of the Yangtze River had not only completely harvested a season’s worth of potatoes and sweet potatoes, but the corn, promoted on a large scale by The Court at the beginning of the year, as well as the hybrid wheat trialed on the imperial manor, were also about to be harvested one after another.

Thus, despite frequent natural disasters in various parts of the Jin Dynasty, the overall grain production had increased rather than decreased.

After listening for a while, Li Xuan realized what Yu Hongchang was worried about, and he couldn’t help but chuckle silently, "Hongshang, are you worried about cheap grain hurting the farmers?"

Grain is such that if there is a poor harvest, the commoners cannot survive, but if the production is too high, the commoners suffer just as much.

If the grain can’t sell at a good price, the commoners can’t afford to buy essentials like cooking oil and condiments.

"There is indeed such a concern!"

Yu Hongchang nodded, "You should know that just potatoes and sweet potatoes alone can make the commoners full and have plenty to spare. Now with corn, which can be cultivated on many of the barren dry lands, the Ministry of Revenue predicts that after ’corn’ is widely promoted, it could lead to a 30% increase in arable land north and south of the Yangtze River. Fortunately, the people like to store grain, so there should be no worries for the time being, but a future plunge in grain prices is foreseeable."

Li Xuan, however, was confident, "I have also considered this matter and was planning to prepare a separate memorial to report it. Since you, Shang, have brought it up, then it’s a good opportunity to discuss it. I hope The Court will issue several decrees: first, to abolish the ban on brewing alcohol; second, to encourage the commoners to raise livestock such as pigs, cattle, chickens, ducks, and the like, which can be used for food to improve the people’s physique in the future; third, to promote the cultivation of soybeans and rapeseed, hasn’t the Shen Nong Institute researched and found a simpler and more labor-saving method for oil extraction? This could be promoted to the public; fourth, to encourage the use of iron agricultural tools, which could be purchased by The Court and lent to the commoners; fifth, to encourage childbearing and prohibit infanticide, if the commoners feel they can’t afford to raise them, they can give them to The Court’s established orphanages for care; sixth, to build more Changping warehouses, with The Court buying grain from the people, ensuring that the commoners have enough for three years."

To prevent a shortage of grain, the Jin Dynasty had banned the brewing of any alcohol other than fruit wine among the common people.

Due to the lack of steel, many people in the rural areas had wooden farming tools, and many families shared a single iron shovel, hoe, or sickle, and many places did not even have an iron plow. One could imagine the efficiency of their farming.

Work that could be done with the effort of one iron tool would require two or three times the effort from the commoners.

As for infanticide, many commoners who could not afford to raise their children would drown their infants, especially female babies.

"Abolishing the ban on brewing alcohol, oil extraction, and raising livestock would indeed consume quite a bit of grain, but these measures only address the symptoms, not the root cause. Even if we add Changping warehouses, at most we can maintain it for a few more years."

Shaofu Yu Jie looked over with sceptical eyes, "Promoting the spread of iron farming tools is beneficial to the people, but won’t this just lead to a further increase in grain yields, piling on top of the existing issue?"

Li Xuan then laughed, "Shaobao’s words are not quite correct. If it truly comes to a time when grain abundance hurts farmers, the common folk will naturally adjust and plant less. Besides, if people can finish their field work in less time, then they’ll have more leisure to engage in other tasks.

Such as weaving cloth, smelting iron, or even restoring roads and repairing water conservancy, all of which require manpower. I have a grand wish for all the common folk under the heavens to live in spacious houses, without worries of food or clothing, and to receive medical care when sick."

Upon hearing this, Yu Jie couldn’t help but ponder.

He thought of the people of the Jin Dynasty, where the vast majority were still without proper clothing, some without even a single hemp garment, wearing straw sandals, living in straw huts.

Just satisfying people’s basic needs like food, clothing, and shelter requires a great deal of manpower.

Yu Jie thought he might be over-worrying—

In the distance, Minister of Rites Hu Ying’s face showed a hint of pleasure.

He thought, since the Three Dynasties, which era had worried about people not being able to finish eating their grain?

If what Li Xuan proposed could be achieved, it would be an unprecedented golden age since the Three Dynasties.

Minister of Rites Hu Ying then suddenly recalled something, "Right, there was a recent report from somewhere around Shandong and Henan, mentioning that the waters of the Yellow River are exceptionally clear this year."

Upon these words, everyone present was visibly moved.

Led by Yu Hongchang, their gazes uniformly turned towards Li Xuan.

They all thought of an old saying—when the Yellow River’s waters are clear, a Saint emerges!

And in the current world, ever since this County Prince of Fenyang started governing, The Court has pacified internal strife with princes and subdued foreign threats from Datan and Shiwei; domestically, the people lived in peace, and a prosperous era was within sight.

This combination of civil and military achievements was rare throughout history.

If Li Xuan does not take the path of usurping the throne, then with his current accomplishments, he could be known as a ’Sub-Sage’ within Confucianism, or even comparable to Saints like the Duke of Zhou in their achievements.

Therefore, even Shaofu Yu Jie suspected this was no mere coincidence.

Li Xuan, on the other hand, furrowed his brows. According to modern scientific investigations, the clarity of the Yellow River’s water is often related to large-scale droughts upstream.

This is because the lack of rain upstream prevents soil from being flushed into the river channel, so this is certainly not an auspicious sign.

However, Li Xuan soon shook his head—he had grain in hand, and no panic in his heart; no matter the disaster, he could cope with it.

Moreover, with the war dragging on in Shaanxi, not many people there could plant crops in peace.

A famine was just right; it was an opportunity to relocate people from Shaanxi, allowing the land there to recover and rejuvenate.

Yu Hongchang happed to speak of this matter, "Then there’s the battle of Xi’an. The Zongbing of Henan, Fang Ying, has recently laid siege to Xi’an City, but due to those so-called scourges of Buddhism, The Court’s army has suffered setbacks on all fronts.

Even two sections of Prince Yi’s forces almost broke through our encirclement, costing us significant effort."

Li Xuan maintained his calm composure, "I’ve read the battle reports, and it’s due to the armies being too eager for quick success. Your Highness can order the generals to not be hasty. The Court has only one demand, to build strong encampments and wage a steady war, simply keeping Prince Yi’s army blocked in Xi’an."

He knew that in the late Qing era, Zeng Guofan used this strategy to wear down The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

With the full might of The Court, Xi’an could of course be quickly swept clean.

But Li Xuan was not sure how much Dasiming and Buddhism would invest in Prince Yi.

What if Dasiming acted rashly and unlocked the First Emperor’s Seal? What if Buddhism brought another Randeng Buddha into the world?

Contemplating, Li Xuan mused, "Prince Yi’s forces, backed by Buddhism, cannot be taken in haste. But with the hearts of the people on our side, let’s just drag it out for now. However, it’s necessary to rotate the troops, consider the homesickness of the soldiers; we can have forces from all over the Weisuo Institute rotate into Shaanxi, treating it as a training exercise."

Yu Hongchang readily nodded, agreeing that this strategy seemed more appropriate.

Continuing the stalemate, Prince Yi’s support among the people and his Dragon Qi would only further wither.

She knew that current scholar-officials already deemed Prince Yi and the Zhengtong Emperor as immoral, disturbing the world for their own selfish desires.

"As for Meng Wu, there is much debate within and outside The Court about your and my actions of setting up provinces in the grasslands. Complaints have been ceaseless; my inclination is to now intensify the promotion of silage, to shut them up—"

Yu Hongchang’s eyes held a trace of impatience, feeling somewhat vexed by the ongoing criticisms from the Qingliu.

Silage was already being promoted on the grasslands, but not yet to Yu Hongchang’s satisfaction.

Her intent was to demonstrate the miraculous effects of silage by this year’s winter, proving to scholars across the land that The Court’s efforts to register households and allocate citizens on the grasslands was not a misguided effort, but rather a meaningful endeavor.

Li Xuan then chuckled without saying a word, but suddenly his expression shifted slightly, glancing towards Luo Yan.

At that moment, the True Spirit of the Moon Lotus had been completely refined by Luo Yan.

Luo Yan remained with eyes closed in deep meditation; she needed to adapt to and stabilize her significantly enhanced cultivation and Primordial Spirit.

Li Xuan then focused his attention on the ’Divine Conch.’

With the true death of the Moon Lotus, this artifact no longer had a master, just right for—

Li Xuan’s gaze stalled, as he saw the ’Divine Conch’ roll around and come to a stop in front of Jiang Hanyun.