What a lucky world!

Chapter 175: Storm in Zhongjing

After waiting for another half an hour, the green-scaled demon python finally stopped moving.

Lu Xuanxiu tried a few more times and found that the demon python was indeed dead, so he took Zhang Mu to the snake's belly, which had grown larger.

The big knife was inserted into the python monster's skin, and then a long stroke was made. Suddenly, the snake's blood gushed out and a fishy smell hit the face.

Immediately afterwards, something rolled out from the demon python's belly.

At first glance, I couldn't see clearly what it was, but it was quite large, like some large animal.

After taking a closer look, Zhang Mu finally saw that the bloody giant was actually—

A horse!

A grown horse!

"It should have been swallowed by the demon python not long ago..." Lu Xuanxiu checked it, "What a pity..."

Lu Xuanxiu was about to say, "What a pity it died," but before he could utter the last two words, he heard a faint sound from the bloody horse!

"Ok?"

Lu Xuanxiu didn't care about being filthy. He took out a small porcelain bottle from his arms, poured out a handful of pills from it, walked forward to open the horse's mouth, and threw all the pills into the horse's mouth. He looked at Zhang Mu and said, "Do you have any pills? No matter what it is, it will cure it!"

Zhang Mu reacted immediately and took out several porcelain bottles from his body, poured out a lot of pills and handed them over, and fed them into the horse's mouth.

After doing all this, Lu Xuanxiu grabbed a handful of hay and wiped the blood off his hands.

"Uncle Lu, can this horse be saved?" Zhang Mu asked.

Lu Xuanxiu shook his head: "I don't know, it depends on fate."

"If you can survive, it will be your blessing!"

Zhang Mu was stunned and asked doubtfully, "What does this have to do with me?"

Lu Xuanxiu rolled his eyes at Zhang Mu and said, "Aren't you planning to form a cavalry?"

Zhang Mu burst out laughing.

He really wanted to train the White Horse Volunteers, but not to mention that the horse's life or death was uncertain, even if it was as strong as a dragon or a tiger, what good would one horse do?
To put it another way, if this horse can survive, even if it is used as a stud, how many babies can it give birth to in a year?

Including breeding and raising horses, it will take at least three to five years until the horse is ready to be ridden.

If he had this much time, he might as well buy a horse from outside the mountain!
So he didn't think about it at first.

However, Lu Xuanxiu shook his head when he saw Zhang Mu's expression.

"You may be very talented, but you still lack experience in some things."

"It's rare to go into a mountain of treasures and come back empty-handed."

Lu Xuanxiu pointed at the "blood horse" on the ground and said, "Counting the time we spent fighting the demon python and waiting for it to die, this horse has been devoured for at least an hour."

"The demon python's ability to absorb and digest food is so powerful. This horse has managed to survive in the demon python's belly until now, which shows how extraordinary it is!"

"Even if it's not a demon, at least it has demon blood!"

"Horses are not hard to come by, but horses with demon bloodlines are true war horses. Dayun's control is very strict, and you may not be able to buy one even for a thousand taels."

Zhang Mu smiled bitterly and said, "But, there's only one..."

"Horses live in groups," Lu Xuanxiu said. "If there's one like this, then we can say there's a herd of horses in Qianyuan Mountain!"

"If this horse can survive, it will naturally lead us to the herd!"

"This demonic python corpse is indeed very valuable, but compared to the herd of horses with demonic blood, it is nothing."

"If this isn't a blessing, what is?"

Zhang Mu reacted immediately and looked at the "blood horse" lying on the ground. He no longer despised it and walked to the blood horse affectionately. He took out an exquisite small porcelain bottle like a magic trick and poured out a few pills.

These are all pills that Xuan Ji carefully made for herself, different from those that she had asked the mouse workers to make before.

Well, that’s the difference between the domestic Master version and the Indian Ganges version.

Who doesn’t carry two packs of cigarettes when going out, one pack of Zhonghua and one pack of Liqun!
Lu Xuanxiu: I have used up all the elixirs I have on me for your herd of horses, and you still have this trick up your sleeve!

Zhang Mu ignored Lu Xuanxiu's contemptuous look and directly put all the pills into the horse's mouth. After thinking for a while, he recited the special blessing again -

"Mengmeng, stand up!"...

Just as Zhang Mu was gradually increasing his power in Qianyuan Mountain, a storm was brewing in Zhongjing City, thousands of miles away.

Zhongjing, Qingchunfang.

This is one of the four districts in the imperial city, and has always been the residence granted to important officials of the imperial court.

On the one hand, it is convenient for important officials to attend court and discuss matters, and on the other hand, it is a sign of favor.

Of course, there are also conspiracy theories circulating among the people, saying that these important officials were allowed to live under the emperor's nose to facilitate surveillance.

No matter what the truth is, it is undeniable that those who are given a house in Qingchunfang are people who can shock the world with just a stomp of their feet.

Nowadays, the most prominent person in Qingchunfang is the Duke of Yingguo’s Mansion, which was built by imperial decree.

Duke of Ying is the title of the current Prime Minister Zhang Taiyue.

At this time, in the study of the Duke of England's mansion, the silver charcoal in the brazier was burning quietly, and the whole study was as warm as spring.

Zhang Taiyue sat behind a large desk, leaning back in his chair, eyes closed, resting. Beside him, a man in a fourth-rank official uniform read the memorial in his hand, sentence by sentence.

Zhang Taiyue was born into a family that passed down farming and studying. His great-grandfather had served as the Minister of Revenue, and his father and grandfather did not take up official positions.

When he was young, he was famous as a child prodigy. At the age of twelve, he won the first place in the scholar examination. At the age of fifteen, he passed the juren examination and became a member. At the age of eighteen, he passed the jinshi examination and became the first place. Later, he was selected as the number one in the palace examination.

There have been no more than seven people who have won three top honors in a row since the founding of the country. But no one of his age has ever been seen in the past three dynasties, let alone the Great Yun.

The imperial court regarded it as an auspicious sign.

After two years of editing in the Hanlin Academy, he was promoted to the cabinet and took the cabinet ministers as his teachers.

At the age of 25, he was appointed as the Vice Minister of Works and took charge of the river dredging project; at the age of 28, he was appointed as the Vice Minister of Justice and participated in the revision of national laws; at the age of 32, he was appointed as the Vice Minister of Revenue and resumed maritime trade.

Until he was 35 years old, he became the youngest minister of the six ministries since the founding of Dayun, and served concurrently as an assistant minister of the cabinet, and was conferred the title of Prince Taibao.

At that time, the powerful ministers in the cabinet were fighting endlessly. He stayed away from the disputes and focused on state affairs.

After lying dormant for ten years, at the age of forty-six, he struck a fatal blow and overthrew the then powerful Prime Minister, stepped into the core of power of Dayun, and became the new Prime Minister of the dynasty.

When he was 48 years old, the previous emperor passed away. As a regent, he was ordered to draft the edict of succession in front of the coffin.

Now he was fifty-six years old, with thirty-eight years in the officialdom, and with white hair already creeping up on his temples. He knew that although Dayun looked bright on the outside, it was riddled with holes on the inside.

If we want to wipe out hundreds of years of accumulated problems, we must take strong measures and use drastic measures!

He waved his hand to stop the official who was reading the memorial.

"Don't read out the names one by one, just tell me the result."

The official was stunned for a moment, then turned to the last page and said, "Sir, we have now determined that a group headed by Vice Minister of Revenue Guo Tanzhi, in collusion with officials from various counties, has embezzled 48 million dan of tax grain, equivalent to 40 million taels of silver, over the past few years."

"The participants included eight Vice Ministers from the six ministries, 132 officials of the fifth rank and above, and over 600 officials of the seventh rank and below the fifth rank..."

Zhang Taiyue snorted when he heard this: "So many people, only 40 million taels?"

The reporting official lowered his head and said, "I'm incompetent. This is all I found out..."

"Are the six ministers all clean?" Zhang Taiyue asked again.

The official immediately knelt down: "En Xiang, that's enough..."

Zhang Taiyue stood up and looked at the burning charcoal: "Not enough!"

“It is because of them that the new law has become a bad law.”

"If we don't completely eradicate it, it will only bring more disaster to the world."

"The emperor will take power in one year."

"I will give him a clean court!"

"But behind these officials are all wealthy and powerful families..." The official shed tears, "You are making enemies all over the world!"

Zhang Taiyue smiled faintly: "Ever since I started to reform the law, it has been like this..."

(End of this chapter)