The Great Seminary

Chapter 266 Dried-up Human
Zhao Sanshi, a former slave of the 'Ciren Society,' stood behind his emperor, wearing a thousand-fold whale skin armor and holding a large black whale bone umbrella.

Transforming into an eighteen-foot-tall iron giant, he turned and grabbed the reins of the Flower Dragon Beast from his subordinate, pulling the docile mount to Zhang Gui's side.

Zhang Gui mounted his horse, shook his head, and said, "Let's go."

He shook the reins, preventing the flower-riding beast from galloping recklessly, and instead slowly made his way towards Shanhai County.

"It's true that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Of course, I haven't read that many books myself."

In short, although the Zhongji-Lu Province of the Ming-Song Kingdom was considered Dongshengzhou, it was a fertile land with a long history.

However, Yanxi County was one of the few poor and remote mountainous areas in Jilu Province, and Shanhai County was a desolate and wild area within Yanxi County.

I don't know how many years he served as a county magistrate.

So I thought that if the villages and towns outside the county seat could gather a population of 10,000, that would be quite remarkable.

Who would have thought there would be over 300,000 able-bodied young men?

He strolled leisurely forward in the rain, muttering to himself.

Images of dried human flesh cured with coarse salt in remote mountain villages and towns flashed through his mind, and he involuntarily clenched his teeth.
Although slaves were not allowed to be included in the "Civil Register" in the Ming and Song Dynasty's "Great Edict", killing them was still a death sentence.

Even if the bloodline of the Zhang family of Pingyang, which I grew up in, is descended from the ancient god Kuafu.

Within the last five hundred years, one of our ancestors was a powerful and influential family who "regulated the yin and yang of the world."

Unless things get really out of hand, it's unlikely that the authorities will be called in to punish a servant, even once every few years, and the servant will be beaten to death.

Unexpectedly, in such a remote and impoverished place, the slaughter of elderly slaves during famine years, and the removal of their bones and consumption of their flesh, was a practice that had been in place since ancient times.

This is truly a wonder of the world.

The dead can be used as materials, but the living cannot be used as food; they don't even understand this principle.

They deserved to be burned alive!

Zhao Sanshi, who had been transformed into a giant and stood behind his emperor, holding a canopy-like umbrella, responded in a low voice:

"What Your Majesty says is the clear truth of Heaven, and it is always right."

“I’m not always right either.”

"Everyone in the world must become like a dragon for humanity to have any hope. We need to be like those young men we just rescued—and that includes you."

"Yes, Your Majesty's words are as clear as day. You said that all people in the world must be like dragons, and in the future, all people of the human race will surely be like dragons."

Zhang Gui almost got killed by heaven and earth for saying the words "everyone is like a dragon".

But now he can speak freely and without incident, which shows that his decision to temporarily change course and fleece the population of the Ming and Song dynasties in the north was absolutely correct.

However, the children taken in through this exploitation are mostly naive and suffering teenagers from humble backgrounds.

It is easy for them to develop a deep-rooted 'idol' worship complex towards the rescuer.

This contradicts the 'human rights and equality' principle that Zhang Gui established as the foundation of a civilized path.

He used to be very proud of this, but now he's quite depressed.

But people can't control their own thoughts and ideas, let alone those of others.

So Zhang Gui was at a loss, and inexplicably became angry, changing the subject abruptly:

"My current identity is that of the Crown Prince of the Ming Song Kingdom, and the General of the Dragon and Tiger Banner."

You are my allies from overseas, and if I am too respectful, I fear it might give me away.

"The stone corpses—no, they should be called the stone soldiers—should dissipate, and the whalebone umbrella should be put away."

"Yes." Zhao Sanshi put away the whalebone umbrella and returned to his normal height.

At this point, Zhang Gui and his group were less than 500 steps away from Shanhai County.

Zhao Tou and Ding Qiya, who were guarding the gate, had just dealt with the fake earth ghost hastily.

Before I could even catch my breath, I saw another group of people strolling leisurely through the rain.

At the head of the group was a nobleman riding a strange beast;
Behind him followed a giant warrior clad in armor and holding an umbrella;

Surrounded by about a hundred armored soldiers, he couldn't help but swallow hard. "Chief Zhao, what kind of outfit is this? Wearing a straw raincoat and riding a strange beast!"

"Don't talk nonsense later. That person is riding a flower dragon beast, and it is quite handsome."

Even the 'Small Star' or 'Even Star' riding beasts in the general Flower Dragon Rider series might not be able to compare.

This shows how extraordinary his status was.

The armored soldiers surrounding them are probably from a special, powerful army whose names we don't know.

Even if they came naked, let alone wearing a straw raincoat, we would still give them a warm welcome.

Otherwise, in this day and age, it's just courting death.

After Zhao Tou finished instructing his ignorant subordinates, he saw the giant warrior supporting the nobleman riding the dragon mount suddenly step back and dissipate his supernatural powers.

He quickly wiped his face, tidied his wet hair, and quickly adopted a respectful expression.

He trotted out of the gate and met Zhang Guima.

He cupped his hands in greeting and bowed deeply, saying, "Zhao Gancheng, the gate guard of Shanhai County, Yanxi Prefecture, greets your esteemed presence."

Zhang Gui smiled faintly, pulled aside the straw raincoat at his waist, revealing the crimson and purple fabric of his official robes underneath.

It was clear that Zhao Tou had his head down and his eyes didn't even glance at Zhang Gui.

In an instant, his bowing turned into kowtowing, "This humble official greets Your Excellency."

What Zhang Gui hated most was being treated like a 'clay statue' and having people kowtow to him.

However, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.

Having received this beating, I wonder how much I'll save in the long run.

Is your county magistrate still in the yamen?

"Your Excellency, the magistrate and the county constable are still here, but the county assistant has already left."

"These days, it's already quite rare for a county to have only two of the three officials: magistrate, assistant magistrate, and lieutenant."

It seems that things are much more peaceful in your county town than outside the city.

Get up.

"Take me to the county government office; I want to see your magistrate."

Sensing that Zhang Gui's tone was off, Zhao Tou quickly got up from the ground and led the way.
While carefully explaining:
"My lord, please forgive me. At the beginning of the Ming and Song dynasties, our Shanhe County was the territory of the 'Great Warriors of the Mountain Qiang,' a barbarian state."

Later, when the King of Yan swept through the north, he changed this place into a tributary state, governed jointly by local officials and appointed officials.

Later, when Grand Chancellor Zhang Siwei implemented the "reform of native chieftainships and direct administration," this place became a county.

However, things were somewhat better in the county town; the area outside the town was still the territory of the barbarian chieftains, which were extremely difficult to control.

This has been the case in every dynasty; it's really no wonder we have Magistrate Fan."

"Is that so? It seems that this Magistrate Fan is quite popular with you officials."

"But he is a rare good official," Zhao Tou said, forcing a smile.

The two talked as they entered the main street of Shanhai County.

However, the road beneath their feet was still not wide enough; two four-horse carriages traveling side by side would probably be completely blocked.

Of course, in such a remote county, it's unlikely that anyone would use a four-shafted cart.

The streets are lined with stone houses built by grinding flat mountain rocks, or large wooden houses with stilts.

About half of them are two-story buildings, and the rest are either one-story or three-story buildings.

It looks messy and disorganized, with no planning.

But 90% of the houses are still occupied, and some are even used for business.

It's clear that Magistrate Fan really had some skills in maintaining peace and stability in the region.

(End of this chapter)