Longzang

Chapter 746 The Problem of Inequality

The old Taoist priest who hoes the fields isn't just talking; he's actually showing a series of videos. Some of these videos were recorded by his adoptive fathers, but most were recorded by his adoptive brothers and sisters.

The old Taoist still only has three adoptive fathers, but he has many more brothers and sisters, so the recorded images are exceptionally rich. Ordinary people would never imagine that a bird or a cat in the field or on a branch is actually a person on the path of immortality.

After watching these images, Wei Yuan, even though he was using an avatar, still turned ashen-faced.

In the fields, many people stood in the ground, listlessly digging at the soil, looking utterly exhausted. Some people, going in and out of the fields, didn't pay attention to their footing at all, trampling down many seedlings along the way.

Many people not only don't do much work themselves, but they also ridicule those who work hard, saying that no matter how much they do, they won't get an extra pound of food, and they might as well just rest.

Anyway, the fields and grain all belong to the Realm Lord. These people won't get an extra bite to eat even if they work themselves to death, so why bother risking their lives for the Realm Lord? Even if they stop working now, they'll still get their share of food. Only when the supervisor comes to inspect will these people restrain themselves and put on a show of working hard. But the hoes they swing all day are only used for the short time between the supervisor's arrival and departure.

In some places, those who work diligently are threatened or even beaten. In these places, those in charge are either lazy themselves, with inspections being merely a formality, or they are related to the troublemakers.

In such places, the crops in the fields are sparse, and the spiritual energy dissipates into the heavens and earth. As long as the supervisors turn a blind eye, no one will come to supervise them, and even if the crops in the fields are almost all dead, no one will say a word.

Above these managers is actually the old Taoist Chuhe. Chuhe devotes eight-tenths of his attention to the spirit beasts, and the remaining two-tenths to the herb garden and spirit fields. He's too lazy to care about mortal fields, only paying special attention to the matter of cultivating the land. The eight million acres of land in Qingming are indeed too many, and Chuhe alone simply cannot manage them all.

Moreover, this trend is spreading rapidly, affecting not only ordinary fields but also spiritual fields, where cultivation is not as good as before. The yield of spiritual rice is already 10% lower than expected, with only the medicinal herb garden remaining at a normal level.

At this time, a new profession, the rogue, began to emerge in various parts of Qingming.

When Wei Yuan saw several idle hooligans drag two hardworking men into a grove of trees, beat them until they were covered in bruises, and threaten them to give up their spots in their families' cultivation foundation programs, a murderous glint finally appeared in his eyes.

As the Lord of the Realm, he was able to monitor the world and had many avatars. In the blink of an eye, Wei Yuan found out what had happened.

These hooligans weren't just ordinary scoundrels; they were actually thugs kept by the local inspector, who did shady things for him. They were here specifically for a spot to cultivate their Dao foundation.

The steward's family already had a spot for cultivating the Dao Foundation, but unfortunately his son was unworthy and arrogant. During the last Dao Foundation Ceremony, he refused to listen to advice and insisted on choosing his own Dao Foundation, and unsurprisingly, he failed.

The steward wanted to give his son another chance, but he didn't have enough merit, so he set his sights on the two honest and hardworking men, trying to force them to give up their spots.

The quota for cultivating the Dao Foundation is non-transferable, but these people have their own ways of doing things. The manager plans to have his son impersonate someone else; after all, the Dao Foundation Ceremony has a large number of participants, and the checks are quite lenient, so there's a good chance of getting away with it. This manager is clearly planning to use a substitute.

Seeing this, Wei Yuan understood why his luck inflows had decreased so drastically recently. Refugees were arriving in droves, but both the green energy from the newcomers and the continued contributions from the existing Qingming residents were noticeably diminishing. Now Wei Yuan finally understood the reason.

In any village, as long as there is one such inspector, Wei Yuan will never be able to obtain even a single strand of luck!
Wei Yuan immediately deployed his avatars to thoroughly investigate the entire Qingming region to see how many similar incidents had occurred. He himself set off immediately, rushing back to Qingming from the northern mountain gate at full speed.

In a single day, Wei Yuan flew back to Qingming. When he returned to his residence, he saw Zhang Sheng sitting in his room, calmly and quietly reading a book.

Wei Yuan was taken aback and asked, "Why have you come out of seclusion again?"

Zhang Sheng tilted his head slightly, his eyelashes shimmering in the light, and the lines of his jaw were exceptionally smooth and clear in the afterglow of the setting sun. He said, "I have been restless lately and sensed that you were plotting to kill me, so I came out of seclusion to see what had happened."

Wei Yuan asked in surprise, "You can sense that too?"

A small, five-colored sword appeared before Zhang Sheng. Wei Yuan felt a sense of familiarity, as if he saw himself reflected in the sword.

The small sword then disappeared. Zhang Sheng tapped his chest and said softly, "There is an empty space in the heart of my Tongming Sword. If you put a person in it, you can roughly sense their joys, sorrows, fortunes, and safety."

Wei Yuan exclaimed "Ah!" and then asked, "How many of these empty seats are there?" Zhang Sheng rolled his eyes at him and said, "Even one is a huge hindrance to my cultivation!"

Moved, Wei Yuan sat down next to Zhang Sheng. Zhang Sheng's lips curled into a slight smile, and his eyes shone with a light that focused on only one person.

The warmth lasted less than three seconds before Wei Yuan's hand climbed onto Zhang Sheng's body. Zhang Sheng flicked out a sword aura, striking Wei Yuan in the lower back, instantly numbing his entire body and rendering him unable to move. Then he said, "Let's get down to business! Why did you suddenly return with murderous intent?"

Wei Yuan sighed and recounted the recent events, then showed the images to Zhang Sheng.

Zhang Sheng could watch nearly a thousand videos at once, making him roughly three times more efficient than Wei Yuan.

After reading it, Zhang Sheng closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before asking Wei Yuan, "What do you plan to do?"

Wei Yuan's face flashed with murderous intent as he said in a deep voice, "Dao Foundation training is of paramount importance and is the foundation upon which we bind ourselves to various aristocratic families. On average, it takes a thousand taels of immortal silver for a scion of an aristocratic family to complete a Dao Foundation training."

These managers' attempt to seize training slots is tantamount to embezzling a thousand taels of silver—a crime punishable by death! According to the laws of Jin and Tang, a hundred taels of silver would result in the exile of the entire family, and a thousand taels would be enough to wipe out the entire clan! These people must be killed!

Wei Yuan discovered upon investigation that there were more than a dozen managers vying for Dao Foundation Establishment slots. These managers were also in cahoots, and many were planning to unite and monopolize the Dao Foundation Establishment slots in their respective regions.

Of these people, only two or three had a genuine need for the spots; the rest were there for profit. They planned to resell these spots to independent cultivators from outside the region or scions of other powerful families. The selling price would only be half of Qingming's official offer.

This matter originated only a few months ago, but in a short time it has spread to more than a dozen managers, and there are more than sixty people secretly discussing it. There are less than two hundred managers in all of Qingming's regions combined, and in the blink of an eye, half of them are about to fall.

Therefore, after Wei Yuan realized this, he immediately decided to kill him and returned to deal with the situation.

After listening, Zhang Sheng said slowly, "A swift and decisive approach is the right thing to do. Once the sword falls and a few corrupt officials are killed, most of the lost popular support can be won back on the spot."

But these incidents aren't isolated cases; they're happening in dozens or even hundreds, spread across various places. At this point, simply killing people is merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause. We must find the root cause and address it accordingly to achieve a permanent solution. Otherwise, killing one batch today will only lead to another batch tomorrow, and yet another batch a few days later—it will be an endless cycle. No matter how many people are killed, the lost hearts and minds of the people will never be regained.

Wei Yuan sighed, "This is also what worries me. I don't know what these people are thinking. They haven't even had a few days of being able to eat their fill, so how did they become like this? When they were refugees, they would be grateful if they could eat a full meal once every few months or half a year."

"Greedy officials are everywhere; they can be killed. But I never expected so many scoundrels and ruffians to appear as well. I haven't figured out how to deal with this yet."

Zhang Sheng said, "I just thought of a way that can solve this urgent problem."

Wei Yuan was overjoyed: "What method?"

Zhang Sheng pouted slightly and said, "Benefits."

Wei Yuan was both surprised and delighted. He quickly leaned over and carefully touched her cherry-like lips, which were as fresh as if they had just been dipped in well water, and then he was reluctant to part from her.

Zhang Sheng unleashed a sword strike, freezing Wei Yuan in place. He then slipped out of Wei Yuan's arms, sat up straight, and said calmly, "Let's get down to business."

Wei Yuan's heart was in turmoil, yet he felt helpless towards her.

Zhang Sheng said, "I think the solution lies in one sentence: 'It's not scarcity that's worrisome, but inequality.'"

Wei Yuan instantly understood, jumped to his feet, and said, "That's it! It's all about unfairness!"

(End of this chapter)