What a lucky world!

Chapter 263 New Opportunity Clues
Wanzhou, Taiping County, Qianyuan Mountain.

After obtaining the Yinhu Sword, Zhang Mu rode his horse all the way north and it took him five days to return to Qianyuan Wuzhai, exhausted.

As soon as he arrived at Wuzhai, Zhang Mu heard good news.

Ye Hanzhou began to retreat and strive to reach the Judan realm.

In addition, the cultivation of others has been significantly improved, and there are even four more people in the Nascent Soul Realm.

Sure enough, when the Wuzhai’s fortune is strong, the benefits it brings to the people in the village will become more obvious.

"Chief, there are currently nearly 30,000 civilians taking in the mountains, among whom more than 3,000 have been selected as combat soldiers. I think it is inappropriate to use the previous combat troop organization." Wei Wuyou reported to Zhang Mu who was sitting in the chief's seat.

Zhang Mu was surprised: "Thirty thousand people?"

He remembered that when he left the mountain, there were only two small villages with a total of five or six thousand people. How come the number suddenly reached thirty thousand?
Zhang Mu subconsciously glanced at the perpetual calendar hanging in the Juyi Hall, checked it once, and thought to himself that it was correct. He had only been away from the mountain for a month.

As if sensing Zhang Mu's confusion, Wei Wuyou said, "The Dragon Breaking Formation in the capital collapsed, and Zhang Taiyue resigned from his position and title and traveled far to the East China Sea."

Zhang Mu nodded. He had heard a little about this incident before he went down the mountain to get the sword.

But what does this have to do with the population explosion in Wuzhai?
Wei Wuyou sighed softly and explained, "After Zhang Taiyue left, for the sake of stability, the political structure of the government has not changed much for the time being, but there have been more actions below."

"Although Zhang Taiyue's new law has been implemented erratically at the local level, it still provides some supervisory and deterrent measures."

"But with Zhang Taiyue's departure, the local New Law faction was immediately isolated and marginalized by the old party and local families."

"The miscellaneous taxes that were previously abolished have been reinstated; the methods that were previously abolished have been used again."

“It’s getting worse and more shocking!”

"In one day, five waves of tax collectors came to one family, and each one was under a different command."

"A well-off family will soon become impoverished."

“So there are more people fleeing…”

Zhang Mu nodded after hearing this, and finally understood what was going on.

In the past, Zhang Taiyue built a cage and put the monster in it. Although a few people had to be sent into the cage from time to time to be eaten by the monster, the monster was generally controllable.

Now the cage was opened, and the monster came out, eating everyone it saw.

This is not the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing is that after a period of time, this monster will be able to reproduce, and then the world will truly become a world of cannibalism.

At this moment, no matter how slow Zhang Mu was, he could feel that the sky was about to change.

"Settle the people who have gone up the mountain and make good distinctions among them."

"For those who are farmers, we will allocate land to them and let them cultivate the land. For those who are artisans, we will help them set up workshops and produce products. If there are scholars, we will also select some who can be used to assist with the writing and mechanical work."

"Increase the number of patrolling troops. I don't want any serious accidents to happen among the people."

"As for the organization of the combat troops, I will draw up a military system later."

Wei Wuyou nodded and said, "There's one more thing."

"More and more people are fleeing. Should we continue to accept them?"

Zhang Mu thought for a moment and nodded, "Collect!"

"The people are our foundation. Besides, if we don't accept them, they may not be able to survive."

"Qianyuan Mountain is a long mountain range with a lot of space for shelter, so there's no need to worry about running out of space."

Zhang Mu remembered that the base that had been ignited by a spark in his previous life was also mountainous and had once supported a population of nearly 500,000. Qianyuan Mountain was similar in size to that base, and if both were developed, it should be easy to support 200,000 or 300,000 people, not to mention 500,000.

Wei Wuyou smiled bitterly and said, "That's true. Qianyuan Mountain is more than enough to accommodate a hundred thousand people. It's just... not enough food."

"In addition, we need to transform 6,000 people into combat soldiers, and we are in dire need of training resources."

Zhang Mu frowned. "How long can the remaining food in Wuzhai last?"

"About three months." Wei Wuyou said, "But if we continue to recruit people to the mountain, it may be shorter."

"As for the training resources, they were originally prepared for 2,000 people."

Zhang Mu stood up, paced a few steps, and said, "Don't worry about cultivation resources for now. Without resources, cultivation progress will simply be slower. Now that Wuzhai's luck has improved, it can slightly make up for the progress gap." "The key is food."

"Send people to buy grain from the big landowner families in the county."

"Those without any bad deeds can be purchased at a fair price."

"If they are rich but unkind, their property will be confiscated directly."

"Also, send a letter to the Bai family, asking for the assistance of the four major families in Sucheng and to make every effort to purchase grain. We will guarantee it with the future income of the salt field!"

"Inside the Wuzhai, a food rationing system will be implemented. As for how to distribute it, you write a plan and I will approve it."

After a brief pause, Zhang Mu said, "Send a letter to the other martial villages, announcing that the fortune of our Qianyuan Martial Village has been promoted. If anyone wants to make further progress, they can join our Qianyuan Martial Village!"

"Chief?" Wei Wuyou was startled. "Are you planning to annex other martial arts villages?"

"No." Zhang Mu shook his head. "It's entirely up to you whether you come or not. I don't want a penny of the benefits that their Wuzhai deserves."

"If you are willing to come, I will accept you as my guest and share the fortune of Qianyuan Wuzhai."

"Of course, the luck we can share is limited."

"But if you want to take a step forward and join my Wuzhai directly after staying in my Wuzhai for a while, I will naturally not hesitate to lend you my luck!"

Wei Wuyou twirled his beard, looked at Zhang Mu, and gave him a thumbs-up: "Excellent!"

"This is an open conspiracy!"

Zhang Mu smiled wryly and shook his head: "There will definitely be people who are dissatisfied, but this is the only solution."

"With so many people and soldiers suddenly appearing, someone has to take care of them!"

"Fortunately, I have advanced to the Judan realm and now wield the Yinhu Sword. Han Zhou is also about to break through, so I am strong enough to suppress him."

Wei Wuyou nodded, then looked at Zhang Mu with a burning gaze: "Captain, do you have a premonition of something?"

Zhang Mu raised his eyebrows, his eyes unconsciously seeing the Tai Chi subtitles that appeared in front of him when Wei Wuyou was reporting to him just now——

"A celestial catastrophe is coming, the sun will fall and the moon will sink."

"When luck has lost its deer, all the heroes chase it together."

"The Lord of Destiny needs to quickly increase his power and improve his ability to protect himself in troubled times."

"The divine predictions revealed a clue to a weapons depot."

"To exchange for a complete opportunity, you need 30,000 Qiyun coins."

"In exchange for clues to the opportunity, you need 3,000 Luck One Coins!"

Putting aside the arsenal for now, the message revealed by this scroll of heaven's secrets is very clear: troubled times are coming!

"Just do as I say." Zhang Mu didn't answer Wei Wuyou directly, but said, "Zhang Taiyue's departure is just a trigger. I think there will be a chain reaction afterwards."

"The world may collapse!"

Wei Wuyou nodded with a heavy expression, turned around and left the gathering hall.

……

At the same time, in Zhongjing City.

As expected, the memorial about He Qiong's death caused an uproar in the court. Many officials reported that He Qiong had evil intentions, but all of them were kept in the hands of Emperor Chiyang.

Some people have noticed that the situation is getting out of control and have started to collude privately.

On the third night after He Qiong's memorial arrived at the court, the palace gates were opened and the imperial guards came out in all directions.

Hundreds of embroidered messengers, holding golden medals of imperial decree, rushed into the homes of several high-ranking officials and sent them to prison.

The charges were: forming a party to resist the new law, deceiving the emperor and destroying the dragon formation!

(End of this chapter)