Longzang

Chapter 917 Why Enlightenment

Chaos reigned at the headquarters of Qingming Money Exchange. The employees were bewildered by the sudden appearance of a large number of government troops. Some wanted to confront them, but the more astute among them noticed that the soldiers were all very young and handsome, yet expressionless, like beautiful walking sculptures.

In the entire Qingming region, there was only one army composed entirely of beautiful young men and women: the garrison of Xincheng and the young men of the Xu family.

Everyone knows that the young Xu family from Xincheng has always been the absolute confidant of the Realm Lord. Regardless of their individual strength, the whole family is recognized as the strongest army in Qingming, even the Longxiang and Longwei armies have to admit defeat.

Now that the garrison in the new city has suddenly surrounded Qingming Money Shop, the smarter employees have sensed something is wrong. They immediately raise their hands, stand against the wall, and remain obedient and motionless.

Some employees, recalling unspoken rumors, paled and hesitated. Others, deathly pale, looked around frantically, searching for a way out.

A large number of fully armed soldiers quickly poured into the bank, while several Daoist cultivators monitored the situation from the air.

Suddenly, an employee shouted, "They want to overthrow the World Lord's dying wish; they are traitors! Let's fight them!"

The employee unleashed his mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, but a series of powerful Dao techniques struck the warriors clad in heavy Nether Crystal armor, only managing to knock them off balance. Several Body Forging Masters warriors quickly surrounded him with their shields, their longswords thrusting out from the gaps, instantly riddling the Foundation Establishment employee with holes.

The employee was making hoarse noises, his eyes wide with rage, but he couldn't utter a word. He never imagined that he would die at the hands of a few Body Forgers, and so swiftly at that.

The Foundation Establishment members all died just as swiftly, surrounded by the Xu family youth wielding shields, followed by a flurry of blows, and were instantly killed. The Xu family youth didn't even have to lift a finger against a single Foundation Establishment member.

The other staff members, seeing how ruthlessly these soldiers killed people, knew that the other party had been ordered to kill without mercy if there was any resistance, and dared not resist anymore.

Suddenly, a loud voice rang out: "How dare you disobey the last command of the Realm Lord?!"

With several loud bangs, several Xu family warriors were blasted into the air, and a figure soared into the sky. It was a man with a cold face, a huge body, and bulging muscles. A fierce ghost general was above his head, which was clearly a Dharma image.

He declared loudly, "You just wait! We have the dying wish of the Realm Lord in our hands, and we will wipe out you rebels sooner or later!"

After saying that, he turned to leave, but then he saw a bright sun rising before him!
Xiao Yu frowned and looked coldly at Xiao Yu. With a horizontal swing of her sword, the ghost general was instantly split in two, both halves ignited with raging true solar fire and burned to ashes in the blink of an eye. The burly man's head flew up and landed in Xiao Yu's hand, while the headless corpse, still burning fiercely, fell into the bank.

The hidden managers were all ashen-faced and utterly despondent. This burly man's cultivation and fighting skills far surpassed any of theirs; he was the iron pillar they had hired at great expense to protect their bank. They never imagined he couldn't even withstand a single sword strike from his opponent!
Seeing the magnificent sight of the sun shining brightly in the sky, everyone knew that Xiao Yu, the Lord of Yong'an City, had arrived. But this was what truly filled the officials with despair. Everyone knew that in the competition between the two academies, Xiao Yu was only ranked eighth, with seven fierce and intimidating figures ahead of him. And then there was Zhang Sheng, who had been squeezed out by the combined efforts of the Dharma Masters.

From the moment the army surrounded Zhang Sheng to the moment the six officers were brought before him, less than half an hour had passed.

The six officials were all ashen-faced, but the chief official remained relatively calm and said, "What wrong have we done? When the Realm Lord was alive, he treated us with great courtesy. Why should we be treated like this now that the Realm Lord has left?"

Zhang Sheng said slowly, "I won't waste my breath on you. I only have one thing to say: give me the list of all the people, insiders and outsiders, who have colluded with you. Your family members will not be implicated. The two officials who did not sign the petition will be spared death, but will be enslaved and forced to work for thirty years. After that, they will be transferred to the status of criminals and start over."

Knowing he was doomed, the chief steward sternly said, "We were merely issuing a Qingyuan, acting in accordance with the Realm Lord's dying wish. Why is this a capital offense?"

"...Last will?" Zhang Sheng finally raised his eyes and glanced at the chief steward.

The chief steward felt a sudden brightness before his eyes, a slight pain between his brows, and then his mind went blank. After a moment of confusion, he couldn't remember what had just happened.

Zhang Sheng tapped the table lightly with a finger as thin as a spring onion and said, "Originally, I was thinking of not letting your family suffer, but since you have no remorse, then your entire clan will be enslaved and forced into hard labor for thirty years, after which they will be converted into criminals."

The head steward was both shocked and furious, saying, "Without us, can Qingming Bank still operate? Everyone in the bank is one of our people. Can you fire them all?! You can kill me if you want, but I'll see how you get out of this mess from the underworld!"

Zhang Sheng said calmly, "Now all the leadership positions are vacant. Do you think the core members of the bank will follow you, or stay and work hard to become the new leaders?"

The head steward was taken aback, then suddenly became agitated and started yelling and cursing at Zhang Sheng.

Zhang Sheng remained unperturbed, and said to the cultivators around him, "These people who have been making money in the money shops for a long time have seen too much of the world's glitz and glamour. They must be cunning but lack courage. Now that we have witnessed your ruthless methods, I reckon that no more than ten of them will be able to hold out to the end."

The chief steward's face turned ashen. After thinking it over carefully, he was shocked to realize that what Zhang Sheng said might actually be true, but he had never thought of it before!

Zhang Sheng raised his finger, then gently tapped it on the table with a soft click, saying, "I've already wasted too much time on you all. Guards, take him away and carry out the law accordingly."

As the six managers were dragged away, they kept shouting, "Without us, the bank will be in chaos!"

"My lord, spare us! We were confused for a moment!"

"We are willing to serve you, sir, without accepting a single penny! We only ask for a chance to repent and start anew!"

……

Zhang Sheng ignored him and turned to Feng Chutang, saying, "Senior Brother Feng, would you be willing to take over Qingming Money House?" Feng Chutang frowned and said, "Although I know a little about it, it would probably take... a month to fully grasp it."

Xiao Yu was taken aback. He had thought the money shop would be handed over to him and was secretly worrying about where to start. He never expected it to be given to Feng Chutang. Xiao Yu was relieved at first, but when he heard Feng Chutang say that it would only take a month to take control, he suddenly felt uneasy and his whole body felt off.

After listening to Feng Chutang's words, Zhang Sheng thought for a moment and said, "What if I hand over all the remaining personnel of the bank, including those directly involved, to you for disposal?"

Feng Chutang's eyes lit up, and he said, "Then there's no problem. I told you that everyone will stay in their original positions and a new person in charge will be promoted in a month. The candidate is not yet determined. I expect these people will be trying their best to perform well. As long as I don't touch them for the first few days, but instead treat them with extra courtesy, they will lower their guard and use all their means to compete for the position of person in charge."

Zhang Sheng glanced at Xiao Yu seemingly intentionally, then asked, "What about after a month?"

Feng Chutang was somewhat displeased and said, "You want to test me? Although I am far inferior to you, it is a bit of an underestimation to use such a trivial matter to test me."

Xiao Yu's breathing quickened slightly, but thankfully no one noticed. His expression remained unchanged as he pondered deeply, wondering what to do a month from now. What if those direct descendants of those in charge performed the best? Should he really give them the positions of those in charge? Wouldn't it be breaking his promise if he didn't?
Feng Chutang was initially somewhat dissatisfied, feeling that Zhang Sheng was looking down on him too much. But after glancing at Zhang Sheng again, he suddenly understood something. Looking at the other cultivators around him, he said, "This matter is actually simple. In a month, I should have grasped the entire operation of the bank and know who I can rely on. At that time, we can use the pretext of investigating the remaining members of the group in charge to wipe out all the guilty people in one fell swoop."

Xiaoyu subconsciously asked, "What if we haven't fully grasped the operation of the money exchange yet?"

As soon as the question left her lips, Xiaoyu blushed and wished she could seal her mouth shut.

Feng Chutang laughed and said, "This is easy to handle. Just take fewer of the remaining traitors. Leave some who are still useful for now and take them next month. If one is really useful, save him. He will definitely be loyal to us from now on. Anyway, this is a major treason case. The remaining accomplices can still be taken down decades later."

Xiao Yu was speechless; this was truly beyond his comprehension. However, Xiao Yu suddenly remembered that Shao Yang Xingjun hadn't spoken for quite some time.
With this, the case of the money shop came to an end. All affairs of the Qingming Money Shop were temporarily handed over to Feng Chutang, and it was agreed that the money shop matters would be discussed again at the routine meeting of the various revisionists ten days later.

Ten days later.

When all the cultivators arrived, Feng Chutang looked worried.

At the start of the meeting, Feng Chutang stated that Qingming had already bought up all the goods it needed from external sources; there was nothing left to buy. Meanwhile, more and more merchant caravans were coming to Qingming to purchase goods, and the brocade and cloth industries had completely disappeared in the surrounding ten-odd counties. Most of the iron forging and steelmaking businesses had also disappeared, with everyone switching to steelware produced in Qingming. A fine steel pot from Qingming was now more than half the price of an iron pot made by a blacksmith.

If this trend continues, Qingming's goods will only increase in sales, while new purchases will stagnate.

However, Qingyuan is becoming increasingly powerful, and its exchange rate for immortal silver is rising steadily. No one would be foolish enough to use Qingyuan to exchange for a mere one or two taels of immortal silver in Qingming.

The problem is that these two things are difficult to coexist in the long run.

As the cultivators pondered, Ji Liuli spoke first: "Ultimately, it's because the surrounding regions are simply too poor, and the people have nothing of value. The entire region's production combined is insignificant compared to Qingming. Naturally, we'll feel that the more goods we sell, the more there is to buy. In the most extreme case, all the immortal silver from the surrounding countries will be in our hands, and all resources will be in our hands. That would be a dead end, and even immortal silver would become useless because there would be nothing to buy for the vast poverty."

Feng Chutang sighed, "I have been studying the principles of currency these days and have discovered this problem, but I really can't think of a solution."

The cultivators either frowned or racked their brains, but for a moment they could not come up with a solution.

Shaoyang Xingjun continued to feign death.

Seeing that Zhu Xiu couldn't come up with a solution for a long time, Zhang Sheng said, "Why is the surrounding area of ​​ten thousand miles so poor? Will they always be poor? What if we intervene and make them no longer poor, so that they can afford our products?"

It was as if lightning had struck Zhu Xiu's mind, and his eyes lit up instantly!

Around Qingming, there are still vast tracts of fertile land that have not been cultivated or transformed, and many places are uninhabited. Or, these rich lands are in the hands of incompetent and greedy villains, and the people live in misery.

Qingming has been promoting academies for some time, and compulsory education has been widely implemented. Most people have undergone at least three months of academy training and are now able to read and write. Nearly one million people have completed a year of instruction and received their first education, so it can be said that the people's intelligence has been awakened.

At this time, Qingming had already achieved a state of plenty, and cultivation was progressing towards universal body forging, with nearly five million people already engaged in body forging, and the number was rapidly increasing. Although the vast majority were still only at the first-order muscle realm, the overall strength of the populace had already made a tremendous leap.

The True Man of the Hoeing Fields was the first to understand this point. He stroked his beard and said loudly, "Well said! If we cannot bring the vast and wild lands beyond our borders under our rule, and if we cannot ensure that the many poor people in the world are well-fed, clothed, and able to embark on the path of cultivation, then what is the point of all our arduous efforts to enlighten the people and cultivate their bodies? Wouldn't that be a waste of time? And wouldn't that render our bodies useless? This is unacceptable!"
In my opinion, our mission is to rise up as an army of justice, expand our territory, and strive for the well-being of all people!

All the cultivators were stunned. They never expected that the usually cheerful Master Chuhe could talk about expansion so naturally and confidently.

This time, Xu Henshui couldn't help but say, "Brother Chuhe, don't you like farming? Aren't farmers the most uncontested people?"

Chu He stroked his long beard and said seriously, "The first half of what you said is correct, but the second half is wrong! This old Taoist is indeed indifferent to worldly affairs, but only wants to cultivate the land under heaven."

The old Taoist's wish is that one day, all the fertile land in the world will be planted with the seedlings of the Azure Dragon, only then will our painstaking efforts to enlighten the people and cultivate their minds have not been in vain!

All the cultivators were astonished. According to the classification of the outer world, they had thought that Old Daoist Chuhe was a conservative. Only today did they realize that Chuhe's so-called conservative faction simply meant that they, the radicals, were too conservative.

(End of this chapter)