Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 669 - Four Hundred and Twenty-Four: The Method_2

Chapter 669: Chapter Four Hundred and Twenty-Four: The Method_2

Lou Ji snapped back to her senses and glared at the other party, inwardly contemplating that this youngster still had a long way to go, and said irritably, "It’s nothing, relocating hundreds of thousands of people to Huizhou County is probably not a difficult task."

"You will help, won’t you?" Xu Yuan blinked at Lou Ji.

Lou Ji lifted her delicate hand somewhat helplessly and rubbed her brow, "Do you have any idea what relocating hundreds of thousands of people entails?"

"Not going to help?"

"Figure it out yourself."

"Why?"

"No reason."

"Weren’t you saying earlier that you’d listen to everything I said?"

"I’ve changed my mind now, sister. Do you have a problem with that?"

Lou Ji huffed and turned her face away.

The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

She had thought that Changtian’s actions were because he was ready to solve the decay of the grassroots government, but in the end, he had set his sights on such petty things...

Seeing this, Xu Yuan still wore a cheerful smile:

"Sis, are you angry?"

"Not angry, just a bit disappointed."

"Why disappointed?"

"#!"

Lou Ji’s lips pursed slightly, and even with her cultivation, she felt an urge to hit someone in that instant.

"...."

Watching Lou Ji’s expression grow somewhat unfriendly, Xu Yuan’s face immediately turned serious.

This older sister was really capable of hitting him.

"Do you think I’m being too superficial?"

"What do you think?"

"What if I told you that most of these hundreds of thousands of people brought in by Bai Muxi possess cultivation talents, and after religious indoctrination, they are unwaveringly loyal?"

"....."

At those words, silence fell in the corridor so profound you could hear a pin drop.

Lou Ji instinctively stopped in her tracks and turned back to look at Xu Yuan blankly, her heart swayed by his smiling expression.

After a few moments of eye contact, Lou Ji’s voice took on a serious tone:

"Changtian, are you speaking the truth?"

As a top member of the Prime Minister’s Mansion and the commander of the Black Scale Guards, Lou Ji was very clear about the implications of his words.

Tian’an Martial Hall, as the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s "recruitment agency," was widespread, but recruiting a soldier of the Black Scale Army was extremely difficult.

The majority of this world’s population was incapable of cultivation, and those who could pass through the layers of selection at Tian’an Martial Hall were few and far between. Moreover, graduating from the Martial Hall did not guarantee that one would choose to join the Black Scale Army.

To say one in a hundred would already seem generous.

Decades of accumulation and planning had not brought the numbers to one million.

And now, suddenly, there were hundreds of thousands of people with cultivation talents, unwaveringly loyal...

Moreover,

these people were now unknown agents hidden in the shadows.

The autumn wind brushed through her smooth black hair as Lou Ji’s breathing quickened, her soft chest rising and falling erratically, her emerald eyes full of expectation as she stared at the annoying youngster before her.

Seeing his older sister in such a state for the first time, Xu Yuan’s eyes flickered, and he cleared his throat slightly:

"Before coming to Huizhou County, I had reviewed the map. Although Huizhou County is not a strategic location, its transportation is extremely convenient, situated at the border of Guanghuai and Jingbei, with Jingbei’s official road a hundred miles to the west. To the north, you can control the key traffic route of Qinlong Pass, and to the south, you can directly enter Jingji."

"More importantly, with the turmoil at the Northern Frontier, the transient population here is enormous, and without cultivation resources or scarce mine veins, the influx of large numbers of refugees from the Northern Frontier will not attract the attention of other forces. It’s an excellent cover for concealing troops."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan continued walking down the corridor towards the secret chamber where the Formation’s hub was located:

"Moreover, Bai Muxi is following me because I can save her people. Over time, she would no doubt hold some resentment, so this can also serve as a settlement of sorts for her."

Lou Ji followed at a leisurely pace, her dress fluttering, leaving a trail of allure:

"So, Changtian, you didn’t kill those officials on a whim?"

"No, that was indeed a momentary impulse," Xu Yuan shook his head, his voice calm. "Looking at that stack of their crimes, not killing them would leave me unsettled."

The charges written on those papers were brief, but what lay behind those cold numbers?

Countless innocents had died at the hands of these greedy power-holders.

Upon hearing this, Lou Ji sighed deeply, her gaze slightly complex:

"I understand..."

"But Changtian, try to do less of that in the future. Although your identity allows you to casually kill these low-ranking power-holders, the ruling foundation of Dayan now rests on these parasites."

Xu Yuan chuckled softly, speaking in a low voice:

"I know. Now is far from the time to deal with them."

"Draw blades?" Lou Ji slightly furrowed her brows.

Hearing this voice tinged with surprise, Xu Yuan also looked back in astonishment,

"Has Father never thought of striking at these people with the sword?"

In Lou Ji’s charming eyes, there was a hint of humor and some helplessness; she chuckled and counter-asked,

"How to strike? There will always be nobles in this world; even if you kill one batch, new ones will emerge to replace the old.

"A single county can still be suppressed by the authority of The Imperial Court. If expanded to a prefecture, a province, or even an entire region, that would be the beginning of unrest."

Xu Yuan suddenly realized his father’s thinking was also constrained by the times and fell silent for a few breaths:

"At the very least, one must ensure that the powerful can no longer treat human lives as disposable as they do now."

With a smile in her eyes, Lou Ji gazed at the calm-eyed man before her, as if seeing the shadow of that once outstanding and exceptional young man:

"Your father said the same thing back in the day, but after so many years, he has given up. In some sense, he himself has become one of those powerful who regard human lives as worthless."

Ideals and reality always have an insurmountable chasm between them.

Noble ideals die at the hands of vulgar desires.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan chuckled and shook his head:

"There will always be a way, even if Father can’t do it, if I can’t do it, then future generations will be able to find a way."

Lou Ji curved the corner of her lips and teased:

"Believe in the wisdom of future generations?"

As the two conversed, they had already passed through the narrow corridor and arrived at an area surrounded by stone-tiled walls, the very center of the Huizhou County Formation.

Under the influence of Lou Ji’s constant Dao Domain, the martial disciples guarding the place had not noticed their arrival.

Xu Yuan grew silent for a short while, then, as he stepped into the stone courtyard, he said softly,

"Not entirely, we can at least make a start."

Lou Ji’s eyes flickered, as she hooked her arm around his, and asked with a laugh,

"How to start?"

Xu Yuan shook his head, sighing wistfully,

"It’s too far away. To think about such things before we’ve even solved the Sects’ problems feels like celebrating at halftime."

Lou Ji hugged him a bit tighter, her voice soft and low,

"Tell your sister about it. Changtian, it seems like you have some ideas?"

"Too many, impossible to explain them all at once."

"Then just tell your sister about one of them~"

Xu Yuan glanced at his elder sister, almost hanging on him, let out a sigh, and slowly uttered three words:

"Enlighten the people."

Lou Ji’s expression turned a bit strange upon hearing these words:

"Enlighten the people?"

"It is commonly said that it’s difficult for those from humble households to become nobility, but even those are usually down-and-out intellectuals; this ultimately comes down to the intellectuals monopolizing knowledge, with ordinary people having difficulty accessing books, thus the civil examinations are naturally unrelated to the grassroots commoners."

Pointing at the county yamen, Xu Yuan went on to say, "Since the common folk can’t afford to read books, why not let the government spread teachings throughout the land, recruit talents from all over, and open up avenues for the rise of the common people? Couple this with some system of oversight, and it could essentially eliminate the special status of these intellectuals."

Listening to Xu Yuan’s rough description, Lou Ji quickly understood, her voice taking on a serious tone,

"This idea isn’t bad. With Dayan’s national strength, supporting such a measure wouldn’t be difficult..."

She said this and then her voice halted.

She suddenly realized the downside of this plan.

Her beautiful eyes narrowed, her tone turned a bit cold,

"Changtian, although this indeed could weaken the scholars, once the enlightenment begins and time passes, it would be more than just a threat to the Imperial rule!"

Xu Yuan shrugged, flashing a smile as he countered,

"If they can eat well and live on, who would unnecessarily rebel? Moreover, how is this different from Father and the Emperor starting the Tian’an Martial Hall to teach and uplift the commoners?"

"The difference is huge!"

Lou Ji said earnestly, "Changtian, you should be clear about the fundamental difference between enlightening the people and imparting martial skills, and your proposed scale is also vastly different."

Seeing he couldn’t bluff his way through, Xu Yuan then shrugged again,

"Nothing in the world is perfect; everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Besides, I’ve said it before, we are just the beginning. We need to trust in the wisdom of future generations~"

With that,

Xu Yuan glossed over the subject and pointed to the secret chamber with the Formation’s core engraved on it, saying cheerily,

"Sister, let’s go in and take care of business."

Confronted with this familiar shamelessness, Lou Ji snorted,

"I will discuss what you said with your father. After dealing with this assassination, when you return to the capital, wait for him to have a talk with you."

Xu Yuan, unfazed as if a dead pig not fearing boiling water, waved a hand and asked with a smile,

"I know, I know. Sister, how long till Uncle and Xu Changge get here?"