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Chapter 364 The Runaway Demon Princess

"Young master, all the farm laborers from other states who have signed contracts are heading towards Fengzhou Prefecture."

At dawn, Ji You had just gotten up when he heard Old Qiu come to deliver a message.

After examining Master Chen's old belongings, the matter of the Night Watchman remained shrouded in mystery. He pondered all night, making many speculations, but with each speculation came even more questions.

In this situation, he can only focus on the present moment.

Ji You finished dressing and reached for the reply to the arrogant ghost on the table.

The girl specially sent him a letter to let him know she was safe, so he wrote back before going to bed yesterday, in which he drew a chubby baby wearing tiger-head shoes.

This chubby baby is a copy of a New Year picture that Lao Qiu bought during the Yuan Dynasty, and it looks very lifelike.

He pushed open the door and handed the letter to Old Qiu, then said, "Go and call Kuang Cheng."

"Yes."

Old Qiu bowed, then went to the west wing and summoned Scholar Kuang.

The three arrived outside the village gate, crossed the long street of the prefectural city, and saw a large, slow-moving crowd slowly surging towards Fengzhou in the distance, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Upon seeing this, Ji You and Kuang Cheng couldn't help but frown slightly.

For Fengzhou, cheap labor does indeed help the region's development, but the problem is that there are just too many people.

If the land lease is successful, these people will have no trouble being resettled. However, if the reform is not successful, this unequal labor force will also be a problem, since each of them is burdened with heavy taxes.

Fengzhou truly lacked the capacity to support the entire nation.

"First, notify the officials of each state to send people to register and classify them according to their familiarity with the work. Also, classify those who have always been engaged in farming into categories such as young and strong, weak, old, orphaned and disabled."

Looking at the throngs of people pouring into the border of Fengzhou, Ji You pondered for a long time before giving his orders.

Upon hearing this, Kuang Cheng couldn't help but turn around and look back: "Are you going to clearly divide people into different classes?"

"Fengzhou can't accommodate too many people, so we'll definitely have to send a batch back. We have no other choice but to do this, otherwise even the current environment in Fengzhou will be in chaos."

"That's true..."

Kuang Cheng muttered to himself.

The reason why cultivators can exploit ordinary people so ruthlessly is not only because of the tax promise made by the Great Xia Dynasty, but also because they distinguish between immortals and mortals.

This is actually a very dangerous thing, because once the public accepts this registration system, it often creates top-down oppression from within.

But now that things have come to this, they have no choice but to do it.

Kuang Shusheng looked into the distance, his eyes narrowing slightly.

At such a distance, he couldn't see clearly with his mortal body, but from their slow and unsteady movements, he seemed to see numbness and exhaustion on their faces.

Seeing too many of these scenes can really cause people to lose their mental balance.

Old Qiu had already arranged for several young men around him to go to Fengzhou Prefecture to deliver the message.

Upon receiving the order, the prefect of Fengzhou Prefecture immediately notified his subordinate county magistrates, and local government offices began to dispatch a large number of officials and militiamen to the refugees who had poured in from the six prefectures.

Temporary checkpoints and registration points were set up, and the group was organized step by step to register by village, town and county.

After observing for a while, Ji You returned to Ji Village and then filled the courtyard with spirit stones.

His physical combat strength is still at the middle stage of the Boundless Realm. Compared to when he went out to cultivate the Dao, his progress is not too fast, but the spiritual energy required has increased to a higher level.

Nowadays, the amount of spiritual energy in natural spiritual energy gathering places is no longer enough for a complete body tempering, so the assistance of spirit stones has become necessary.

Sixteen times...

Ji You couldn't help but mutter it to herself.

He began his attempt to break through to the sixth level after waking up at the Heavenly Academy, passing through his body sixteen times with spiritual fire.

Based on this calculation, the seventh time will definitely be more than once, and there will be even more in the future. The required amount of refined spiritual energy will be even more abundant, which means that he will need more spirit stones.

Spirit stones are expensive, but we have no choice but to buy them.

Ji You quietly entered a meditative state and began to absorb and exhale spiritual energy.

As his Qi channels opened, the spirit stones surrounding him shattered, and countless essences of spiritual energy and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth converged and frantically entered his body.

As the stars and moon revolved, several days passed in a flash.

The spiritual fire raged for the fifth time, and scorching flames gradually began to emanate from his body. The intense pain that accompanied this caused his teeth to grind together.

This is the second stage. As the spiritual fire burns through the body, the scorching flames will penetrate the body and spread throughout the entire body with each repetition.

This process is like practicing Qi cultivation, burning the physical body into a single, unified whole.

However, the pain caused by this method of cultivation, which involves breaking down the old before building up the new, is very intense. But as the process progresses, Ji You always feels a sense of freedom, with clear hearing and vision.

He had heard before that Taoist cultivation seeks the great freedom of the soul.

As his body refinement realm deepened, he did not feel the freedom of his soul, but he did have a strong sense of the gradual freedom of his physical body.

Humans actually have far less than 30% control over their own bodies; skin, bones, internal organs, and blood are not under the control of will.

In this respect, the demon race, capable of demonization, and the barbarian race, capable of barbarianization, are far superior to the human race.

Ji You is now far more advanced than she was at the beginning.

He clenched his fist slightly, and a surge of boiling blood began to rise within his body, like the roar of a tiger and the cry of a dragon. The intense booming sound made his heart beat like a drum.

This made him think of Cui Lang, and how powerful that last Night's Watchman must be.

During his body-refining process, he also received a letter from the arrogant ghost.

The letter contained a picture of a stick figure with long, flowing hair slicing a stick in half with a sword, which sent a chill down Ji You's spine.

The good news is that, judging from the size and dimensions of the stick she drew, he was quite satisfied with the arrogant ghost; otherwise, she wouldn't have drawn it so exaggeratedly, even scarier than Yuan Caiwei's drawing.

As usual, Ji You replied to her letter, but this time he was more serious, talking about his current life and future plans.

The arrogant ghost must be lonely staying on the mountain, otherwise she wouldn't run to her own house whenever she has free time, giving herself an opportunity to be taken advantage of. A perfectly good future empress is now calling her husband.

So this letter was less about conveying information and more about relieving her boredom.

In fact, Ji You had sent letters to Danshan several times, but since the mountain was still under lockdown, there had been no reply to those letters until now.

With a few quick strokes, a long and flowing piece of writing was completed.

Ji You pondered for a while, then recounted the search for Master Chen's old belongings, adding the phrase "Heaven may bring misfortune, but man is rarely perfect," hoping that she could find something.

After the letter was sent, it was quickly delivered out of Fengzhou and traveled thousands of miles under the escort of fast horses.

"..."

"Stand still, don't crowd, and register in order as instructed!"

"Please fill in all the information completely, without any errors or omissions. This is for your own good."

Outside Fengzhou Prefecture, under a light drizzle, people from six prefectures were undergoing a large-scale registration.

Under the guidance of officials from various counties and districts, countless people were registered in the work register according to the previously established plan.

The register was then sent to the rear shed, where the officials in charge of the review called out names one by one according to the registered register, conducted a second inquiry, and then wrote down words such as young and strong, weak, old, orphaned and disabled in vermilion ink.

The people of the six states were not stupid; they naturally understood why they were doing this.

No matter how vast and resource-rich Fengzhou is, or how fast it is cultivated, how much fertile land can it possibly have?

But there are too many common people in the world, and they are all burdened with extremely heavy taxes. It is not possible for Fengzhou to simply allow them to stay.

Taking them all in would mean that Fengzhou would have to support the entire human race on his own, which is simply a pipe dream.

Under the awning, some gray-haired farmers sighed softly, but said nothing.

They were already grateful to the immortal for being able to survive the winter despite the food shortage.

There are so many elderly, weak, sick and disabled people.

Under the awning, Wei Rui couldn't help but speak softly.

Seeing this, Kuang Cheng nodded: "These days, the world is ruining people's health."

The two of them couldn't stay idle in Ji Village, and since they didn't need to cultivate like Ji You, they came to help out. Looking at those dark and silent faces, they couldn't help but feel a lot of emotions.

Are these people going to be sent back?

"Yes, but Fengzhou should send people over to provide guidance. Moreover, the Fengzhou Agricultural Bureau has been cultivating improved varieties over the years, so we can also bring them high-yield seeds."

"If the land lease had been successful back then, wouldn't there have been so many difficult choices?" Wei Rui's eyelashes trembled slightly.

Upon hearing this, Kuang Cheng looked in Ji Zhai's direction: "With the land lease completed, Brother Ji will have an even heavier burden on his shoulders, and may even face a fatal disaster. In fact, I have always had some selfish motives, and I am glad that the matter was not accomplished."

"Actually, Instructor Cao and Fairy Wen think so too."

"Is it?"

Wei Rui nodded: "I heard them mention it when I had tea with them before the New Year."

A light rain was falling, and the air was bitterly cold. After seven days of registration, all the work registers were completed and loaded onto a large horse-drawn cart.

Kuang Cheng, accompanied by Wei Rui, transported the work manual into Ji Village by carriage, where they met Ji You in the tea pavilion in the backyard.

His sixth body tempering session had ended, and he had just taken a bath. He was resting in the pavilion when he saw Kuang Cheng, Wei Rui, and the carriage. He looked up slightly.

"Registration complete?"

"Yes, all registrations are complete."

Ji You got up and walked out of the pavilion, asked someone to open the box, and then picked up the master book.

This register records the number of farm workers in each state, as well as the registration of the elderly, the infirm, and the young and strong, followed by numbers with many digits.

These cold, hard numbers have been sustaining those cultivators who have nothing outside their minds and seek the Dao and immortality.

At this moment, Kuang Cheng waited quietly for Ji You's decision. Seeing that he had not spoken, he felt that Ji You did not want to make such a cruel choice. So he wanted to speak up and ask Ji You to agree to let him repatriate the old, weak, orphaned and disabled.

But before he could speak, Ji You opened his mouth.

“Leave the elderly, weak, and orphans behind, and send the remaining young and strong back to their places of origin. Remember to bring them the improved breeds that Fengzhou has cultivated over the years.”

"?"

Kuang Cheng and Wei Rui were taken aback: "Are you going to leave the young and strong behind, and only the old, weak, orphaned, and disabled?"

Ji You looked up at them and said, "Fengzhou already has a large population of its own, plus many migrant workers. The labor is not so heavy, and it doesn't require people to be too strong. Letting the young and middle-aged people go back will increase their chances of survival. In particular, there are young children among these people who need to be taken care of, so it is not suitable for them to stay in Fengzhou for a long time."

"I thought... Brother Ji would choose to keep the young and strong."

"If the breadwinner of the family dies, it will leave behind many orphans. Orphans are the most pitiful. What we are discussing now is not the best way to distribute the wealth, but how to ensure that more people can survive."

Ji You turned to the next page: "The elderly, the orphaned and the disabled will be given priority in being assigned to livestock farming, brewing, restaurant work, post station or workshop labor, and the rest who are not suitable will participate in this year's spring plowing."

The taxes and tributes under Qingyun Tianxia are for grain products, and production involving secondary processing is not counted twice in the tax and tribute collection quota.

The reason is that the operating rights at the end of these industrial chains have always been held by small families or branches of prestigious clans.

The grain collected from taxes was used to raise livestock, make spirit wine, feed miners, cultivate spirit seedlings, and build restaurants.

The profits earned by minor families will be used to provide resources to the families they rely on, while branch families will contribute to the main family in exchange for better treatment.

Under the strict hierarchy, commoners were simply not qualified to do these things.

Even if they are recruited as laborers, they will be exploited from within, no different from farmers.

But just recently, Ji You acquired many restaurants and post stations through grain sales and proposed to establish a winery.

This was his backup plan after the land lease failed. He wanted to take these lucrative industries for himself, so that the people would no longer be helplessly robbed, but would participate in the economic operations of the cultivators.

"Speaking of the winery, I remember the first batch of wine came out in winter. How was it?"

"It seems a jar was delivered yesterday, and Uncle Qiu put it in the kitchen," Kuang Cheng replied.

"Go and have a look."

Ji You waved and led the two towards the kitchen.

There were indeed many jars of wine in the corner of the kitchen, including the Meirenxiang wine they used to drink often, as well as the more famous Qingzhou wine.

In the very corner, there was a wine jar labeled "Most Fengzhou Brewed Wine".

Ji You stepped over, reached out and unsealed the wine, then used a bamboo tube to scoop a ladleful from the wine jar and drank a mouthful.

"How about it?"

Ji You remained silent, behaving extremely quietly.

Seeing this, Kuang Cheng took the bamboo tube from his hand, poured out a small ladleful of wine, and then fell silent as well.

Hmm, the taste is bland but potent, and it stings the throat a bit.

Goodness, it tastes like disinfectant.

Just as the two were getting increasingly stiff with each bite, Old Qiu happened to walk into the kitchen.

The people of Jizhai have been busy working with Fengzhou Prefecture all this time and haven't been able to eat properly, so they need to cook for themselves again.

However, Old Qiu did not expect that his two sons would be squatting in the corner like oil rats, remaining silent for a while.

"Young Master, what are you doing here?"

"Is this wine made by our winery?"

Qiu Zhong then noticed that they were drinking: "This is the first batch we brewed. After I tasted it, I didn't plan to give it to you. I told them to go back and throw it away and start over. But I can't blame them. After all, this is our first time making wine, and we can't compare with those century-old wineries in a short time."

Ji You turned around after hearing this: "What? Throw it away? That's such a waste!"

"But we can't sell them."

"Now all the restaurants in the world are in our hands. Whatever we give them to drink, they have to drink."

Upon hearing this, Kuang Cheng stood up and said, "If the drinks aren't good, we'll lose customers. Maybe a new restaurant will take advantage of this opportunity to open one."

Ji You placed the wine seal back on the wine jar: "Then lower the price. I believe no one can outlast me at this stage."

The spring rain patters down, bringing with it the gradual awakening of the earth.

Fengzhou took in some of the laborers and then sent another group back. After that, they began preparing for spring plowing.

During this time, Cao Jingsong, Ban Yangshu, Wen Zhengxin, and the Lu sisters all wrote to him one after another.

According to the letter, Shengjing has been relatively peaceful during this period, and many people have chosen to go into seclusion to cultivate, including the disciples of the major sects, all in an effort to accelerate their mastery of the sacred artifacts.

This is still a consequence of the calamity that befell humanity. Countless people fear that their own immortal sects will end up like the Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion, with no one able to inherit the throne after the sect leader's death.

In addition, there were some people who showed remarkable prowess in cultivation, which became the talk of the town in Shengjing.

Such as Zhong Hui, Huo Zhuoqun and others.

Ji You was not unfamiliar with these names, because these were the people who had consumed the Dao Fruit from the Ruins. It seemed that even though the ruins were empty, the immortal affinity they had received was still working wonders on them, allowing them to travel thousands of miles a day.

In addition, Ban Yangshu also said that after the new disciples arrived at the academy, there were many banquets, but for some reason the wine became unusually bad, and no other kinds could be bought.

At the same time, the barbarian and demon races began migrating towards the Youyun and Youyun states.

At that moment, the Demon Emperor Ziye Han stood atop the collapsed northern city wall, gazing northward into the distance.

On the vast, white land where the snow had not yet melted, countless tribesmen were surging forward, and a sense of pride for their tribe arose spontaneously.

Conquering Yunzhou is not a true return, nor is completely occupying Yunzhou a true return; only the arrival of our clansmen at this moment can be considered a true return.

As he watched, Ye Han suddenly spotted a chariot being pulled by a three-headed beast, and immediately flew away.

"Sister."

Amidst shouts, Ye Han landed on the chariot amidst a whistling burst of energy.

This migration was divided into two parts. The first part was led by his younger sister, Feng Yang, while the second part was led by his father, the emperor, and the rest of the clan.

He came here specifically to wait for his younger sister, because he knew that she had always opposed war, so he wanted her to see this fertile land and understand why their demon race was determined to return to the Nine Provinces.

But after he finished speaking, there was no response from inside the carriage, which was draped with curtains.

Slightly startled, Ye Han swept the curtain aside with a flick of his sleeve, only to find it empty.

"Where's the princess?"

Ye Han turned his head and looked at Xiao Rou, Princess Feng Yang's personal maid.

Xiao Rou pursed her lips and said, "Your Highness, the princess said she wanted to go for a walk, but she did not actually come with the imperial carriage."

"?"

Ye Han was slightly taken aback, and a look of doubt appeared in his eyes.

Meanwhile, in Danshui County, Fengzhou, there is a place called Xiangzi Lake.

Princess Feng Yang of the demon race was walking along the lake, gazing at the huge green lake for a long time before turning her gaze westward to the giant locust tree by the lake.

This is a place she read about in a storybook she picked up from her subordinates. According to legend, lovers who circle the lake will meet right under this locust tree and be together for all eternity.

After gazing for a long time, Feng Yang put on the bamboo hat that concealed his face and stepped into the depths, looking at the scenes he had seen countless times in the picture book.

Cloud Water Stream, Red Maple Valley...

As she walked, she came to the vicinity of a large area of ​​farmland.

Spring is approaching, and the fields are filled with people pulling plows and harrows to turn the soil.

But what attracted her was not the farmers, but a stone statue standing in the field holding a long sword.

The common people are very simple and honest. Whoever lets them live, they will think that person is a god. This is also true for the demon race.

Feng Yang stared at the stone statue for a long time, and the fluffy patch on the back of her skirt couldn't help but start to sway gently.

(Ask for monthly ticket)

(End of this chapter)