The Demon-Slaying Grandmaster

Chapter 282 Yearning for You, Yearning for Spring
Li Jingxiao hurriedly turned around and saw that Qin Keqing's feet were soaked.

No one knew yet; it was because her water had broken.

He quickly summoned two golden-armored warriors: "Go and fetch Granny Toad!"

After releasing the Heavenly Lake Dragon, it turned out that the person who assassinated the old turtle was none other than the Flood Dragon Princess.

Li Jingxiao directly bestowed upon Princess Jiaolong the title of "Upper Island" daimyo of Kyushu Island.

This island is not large.

But the stone rank was 8200 shi, enough to support many subordinates.

Moreover, it is an island, and it is very close to Kyushu Island, with the narrowest strait being only a few hundred meters wide.

It was indeed an ideal habitat for the Jiaolong Princess and the Tianchi Old Dragon, grandmother and granddaughter.

He was naturally extremely grateful to Li Jingxiao.

Shuten-dōji, taking advantage of the chaos in Osaka and Kyoto, returned to his mountain castle in Ōeyama.

Although rebuilding will require a lot of money, the world is in chaos again, and it will be easy to find more wandering samurai and civilians.

While Kyoto was in chaos, Tianchi Laolong and Su Mei set fires and looted in the city's wealthy districts.

Of the looted money, Li Jingxiao took most of it, and the old dragon gave half of the rest to Shuten-dōji.

As for the money in Su Mei's hands, Li Jingxiao instructed her to build more shrines on Kyushu Island and Honshu Island.

Japan actually has many fox shrines, but most of them are Inari shrines.

It would be far too easy for Su Mei to take advantage of the chaos and build her own shrine under the guise of the Inari Shrine.

However, this woman is very clever.

They are unwilling to follow the path of incense offerings.

However, he did not refuse to build a shrine, as it would not only allow him to amass wealth but also to hide soldiers.

Li Jingxiao was thinking about his two wives, who would be giving birth in a few months.

He simply recruited Granny Toad, who served Princess Jiaolong, to serve under his command.

This old woman used to be a subordinate of the One-Horned Demon King.

The Ghost King was captured by Li Jingxiao and had nowhere to go, so he followed the Flood Dragon Princess.

Upon hearing that Li Jingxiao wanted to recruit him as a subordinate, he not only had no objections, but also happily followed Li Jingxiao back to the capital.

In order to gain Li Jingxiao's trust, he was even willing to offer Li Jingxiao his golden toad elixir, which could cure all poisons, for safekeeping.

Li Jingxiao naturally wouldn't feign politeness and accepted the inner elixir.

She also had Hu Xian'er and Liu Cuitong keep an eye on her.

In the shadows, there were also golden-armored warriors watching.

Moreover, this toad demon became incredibly well-behaved after entering the Zhenwu Temple.

He worships Zhenwu the Great every morning, noon and night, and is even more devout than the abbot Li Jingxiao.

However, Li Jingxiao also agreed to the toad demon's request, as long as the children in his two wives' wombs were born safely.

From now on, this toad demon can find a place it likes to stay outside the capital city.
-
When Li Jingxiao carried Qin Keqing carefully into the already prepared delivery room.

The toad demon was already waiting inside.

Fortunately, Qin Keqing was in good health and possessed internal martial arts skills.

In addition, the toad demon was indeed a skilled healer.

She gave birth to a son smoothly in just half an hour after entering the delivery room.

This was the eldest son of the Li family, which immediately caused everyone in the family to cheer.

Having offspring can reduce a lot of trouble and problems in the future.

Li Jingxiao had already decided on a name: Li Nianqing.

This excited Qin Keqing for several days, and she would occasionally giggle like an idiot.

When she was holding her precious son, she would often whisper "I miss you, I miss you".

Li Jingxiao directly rewarded the toad demon with 10 jars of monkey spirit wine, 20 spirit dates, and 1 taels of silver.

Let her live in Zhenwu Temple with peace of mind.

Once Yuan Chun successfully gave birth, as long as it was within the capital city limits, whether inside or outside the city, it was possible.

You can stay wherever you want.

The toad demon actually quite liked spending time with Hu Xian'er, Liu Cuitong, and the osmanthus tree doll.

He stated directly that he only wanted to stay at Zhenwu Temple.

Li Jingxiao didn't care about this; as long as people behaved themselves and didn't cause trouble, he wouldn't interfere.
-
The news that the Duke of Xingguo's family had given birth to their eldest son quickly spread throughout the capital.

People came to offer their congratulations in droves.

This time, Li Jingxiao changed his past habit of being unwilling to interact with people.

They not only warmly welcomed the guests who came to their door, but also promised to help several people who came to ask for medicine.

Four Three-Flower Jade Dew Pills and one Nine-Flower Jade Dew Pill were given away.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Li Jingxiao was trying to accumulate good fortune for his son.
-
Another month has passed without us even realizing it.

Yuan Chun's childbirth was not as smooth as Qin Keqing's.

She went to the delivery room early, but after a whole day of struggling, the baby in her belly just wouldn't come out.

Li Jingxiao, Jia Zheng, Lady Wang, and Grandmother Jia, who were waiting outside the delivery room, were extremely anxious.

Fortunately, there are blue potions in the game, which can not only replenish mana and true energy, but also restore stamina.

Needless to say, red medicine can heal wounds in a matter of moments.

Therefore, Li Jingxiao was not worried about Yuan Chun being in danger.

Instead, they worried that if the baby in her womb didn't come out, it might damage the baby's brain.

Fortunately, the toad demon was there, and as darkness fell, a loud cry finally came from the delivery room.

Then Baoqin exclaimed in surprise, "Madam, Madam, it's a young marquis! It's a young marquis!"

Upon hearing this, the people outside immediately beamed with joy.

Jia Zheng, the maternal grandfather, was even more excited than when his eldest and second sons were born.

Needless to say, Madam Wang couldn't help but shed tears.

Although Li Jingxiao did not receive Emperor Longde's decree, he led his troops to invade Japan.

However, he did not receive the imperial decree, so he did not disobey it.

Of course, if it were anyone else, the court, the emperor, or the retired emperor wouldn't care about these things.

They will definitely hold them accountable afterward.

But since this person is Li Jingxiao, the responsibility lies with the messenger who was too slow.

Then came Jia Zheng, Du Yi'an, the Vice Minister of Rites, and Zhou Yanfu, the Chief Inspector of the Inner Court.

As part of the second wave of messengers, he rode swiftly to Liaodong and then south to Goryeo.

The matter of crossing eastward to Japan again.

Several years ago, Jia Zheng went to Liaodong to deliver imperial edicts to Li Jingxiao.

This time, they went to great lengths, traveling thousands of miles and crossing oceans.

Upon returning to the capital, he was appointed by the emperor as the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, a fifth-rank official.

The rank of the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices varied across dynasties. In the Ming Dynasty, it was a fifth-rank official, while in the Great Zhou Dynasty, it was raised by one rank.

Incidentally, Jia Zheng was also granted the title of Zhongshun Dafu, a fourth-rank official.

If judged by rank and authority, it was merely a promotion from "fifth rank" to "fifth rank," still within the quiet and unpopular Guanglu Temple.

Moreover, he was only a junior official, so naturally no one cared.

If calculated by rank, that would be a genuine promotion of three ranks.

But no matter how high the official rank of a minor official is, it only means that their salary increases.

But for the Jia family, this already signifies that they have once again entered the ranks of high-ranking officials.

As for power, with Li Jingxiao as their son-in-law, no one will dare to mess with the Jia family now.

Moreover, after Jia Zheng returned to the capital from Japan, his old relatives and family friends visited the Jia family much more frequently.

In the past, Grandmother Jia disliked visiting relatives in other noble families; that was because she was self-aware.

But now, the old lady goes out frequently.

When we went to the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion and the Qiguo Duke's Mansion, not only did the old ladies of the two dukes personally greet us at the door.

Niu Qing and Chen Ruiwen, the two heads of the family, greeted each other with great courtesy.

This gave Grandmother Jia plenty of face.

But everyone knew that the more courteous the two ducal mansions treated Grandmother Jia, the more it was all for show, to impress Li Jingxiao. The real reason for this was that the fathers were being promoted and granted titles because of their sons.

Niu Zhanpeng and Chen Hongsheng were discussing their military merits. It would be difficult for Niu Zhanpeng to be promoted three ranks, but it would be no problem for him to be promoted two ranks.

More importantly, Niu Zhanpeng will inherit the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion as an earl, and the title will be passed down for three generations.

Chen Ruiwen, a third-rank general, was now promoted to viscount.

It was also a hereditary system spanning three generations.

In addition, there were more than a dozen noble sons who followed Li Jingxiao on the expedition, each of whom had made considerable contributions in battle.

These people benefited because of Li Jingxiao, who had always clearly stood by Emperor Longde's side.

Naturally, they became Emperor Longde's people.

The retired emperor was helpless and could only accept it.

In a short time, Emperor Longde's control over the court increased significantly.

In a very good mood, he generously rewarded these noble families and the sons of nobles who went to war.

Promotion goes without saying.

Li Jingxiao disliked visiting relatives and was even less willing to go to other people's houses to drink and fool around.

Qin Ye also doesn't get involved in anything.

The Wang family lives far away in Jinling.

These families naturally set their sights on the Jia family.

Jia Lian, Jia Rong, and Jia Baoyu, who were all unmarried, suddenly became highly sought-after.

In particular, Jia Baoyu, this phoenix egg, immediately became the most popular candidate for son-in-law.

No, Jia Rong is the most sought-after eligible bachelor in the elite circles of Beijing.

Although this kid has been in charge of logistics, he hasn't made many mistakes, which means he's really been trained.

He was appointed as the Commander of the Left Garrison Command, the Pacification Commissioner of the Palace Guard, the Third-Rank General Who Pacifies Distant Lands, and was granted the Flying Fish Robe.

He was promoted to First-Class General in one fell swoop, with the title being hereditary for three generations.

To prevent a potential conflict between brothers vying for the title if Jia Zhen were to have another son in the future.

Now the Ningguo family can enjoy prosperity for another five generations.
-
The place that Grandmother Jia visited most often was the Duke of Xingguo's mansion, where she would chat with Yuan Chun to relieve her boredom.

Before Yuan Chun gave birth, Lady Wang would frequently visit Zhenwu Temple.

I pray to Lord Zhenwu for blessings, that Yuan Chun may give birth to a grandson of a marquis.

Indeed, Li Jingxiao's reward came down less than three days after he returned to the capital.

He was awarded the titles of Grand Master of the Palace, Right Pillar of State, Junior Tutor, and General of the Cavalry.

He was the Left Commander-in-Chief of the Five Military Commissions and concurrently held the title of Commander-in-Chief, in charge of affairs related to Japan and Korea.

He bestowed the title of "Marquis Huai'en" upon one of his sons, which was to be passed down for three generations.

There were a whole host of other rewards; basically, everything that could be given to Li Jingxiao was given to him.

Lee Kyung-hyo then ordered Kwon Ji-ri to lead troops to occupy Iwami Mountain, which is not far from Tachibana Castle.

They not only built a city there, but also mined silver.

But Li Jingxiao didn't keep the money, because he knew he didn't have many more years left in this world.

Keeping it in your own hands is inviting trouble for your descendants.

It would be better to let Kwon Ji-ri represent Goryeo and the Great Zhou court to discuss how to divide the money.

Moreover, due to issues with mining technology, the mines mined by Iwami Ginzan contain enormous amounts of silver and copper.

But each year, it only yields about 100,000 to 200,000 taels of silver and copper coins.

This is still the refining technology of the Great Zhou Dynasty, which is far superior to that of Japan.

In the past, Japan could only extract about 50,000 to 60,000 taels of silver annually from the Iwami Silver Mine.

It wasn't until the 18th century, with improvements in smelting technology, that production surged.

Of course, the Iwami Ginzan did not discover this place, which has a super huge silver mine vein, at the beginning.

Instead, as more silver mines are discovered, the amount of mining will also increase.

The amount of silver and copper extracted will also increase.

In the next few years, it is not impossible for the price to rise to 200,000 to 300,000 taels of silver a year, or even 400,000 to 500,000 taels.

This requires someone who can keep Goryeo and Japan in check.

This led to Li Jingxiao being given command of affairs in Goryeo and Japan, and was also given the title of "Commander-in-Chief".

But Li Jingxiao is truly not short of money.

He earned over 4 million taels of silver from the spoils of war from the three Japanese pirate armies that invaded Goryeo.

Although he said that 6% of the spoils went to the soldiers and 3% to the generals.

The last 1% is yours.

Wealth is indeed distributed strictly according to this ratio.

In reality, the value of spoils of war assessed on the battlefield is often 60-70% less.

Even 70% or 80%.

Li Jingxiao took out his own silver and distributed it on the battlefield.

Buy silk, jewelry, precious medicinal herbs, furs, and other items, and add them to your inventory.

After returning to the capital, it was sold in batches in the capital, Nanjing, Yangzhou, Suzhou and other places.

The value more than doubled.

After leading his army into Japan, they acquired even more spoils of war.

In addition, there was gold and silver looted from Japanese temples.

Li Jingxiao earned at least 13 million taels of silver from this trip.

Fortunately, he wasn't stupid; he knew that a large number of goods would appear on the market in a short period of time.

It will impact the price of goods.

Most of the jewelry remained.

Only those items that could not be preserved were sold off in batches in major cities throughout the north and south of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The silk seized in Goryeo was sold directly in Japan, where it fetched even higher prices.

When furs and medicinal herbs are transported to the south of the Great Zhou, their prices increase by at least 30% to 50%.

In a few years, the price of good medicinal herbs and rare furs can even double or triple.

As for the massive amount of food supplies, they were simply left untouched in the game's inventory.

No matter how much gold and silver you have, it's not as useful as grain.
-
It would be highly unlikely that one could accumulate tens of millions of taels of silver with the Iwami Silver Mine in less than twenty or thirty years.

It's better not to.

This action instantly reduced the suspicion and wariness of the court towards him by more than half.
-
When Li Jingxiao took his second son from Baoqin's hands.

He even jokingly scolded, "You little rascal, causing your mother all this trouble."

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang couldn't help but roll their eyes at him.

But in his heart, he was extremely satisfied with Li Jingxiao.

Moreover, Li Jingxiao only held his son for a short while before handing him over to Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang.

She then went into the delivery room to comfort and praise Yuan Chun.

This made Jia Zheng and others very satisfied with him.

Then they all surrounded the little guy, saying "Nianchun, Nianchun".

The eldest son was named Li Nianqing, and the second son was naturally named Li Nianchun.

Li Jingxiao entered the delivery room, and Yuan Chun had already cleaned herself up.

Moreover, there is the Nine-Flower Rain and Dew Pill.

After giving birth, Yuan Chun regained most of her strength after eating one pill.

Then drink the ginseng soup made with century-old ginseng slices that were prepared in advance.

At this time, not only was her complexion rosy, but she was also able to get up and walk around, just like Qin Keqing a month ago.

However, even if Li Jingxiao wanted to go out to see his son, Yuan Chun herself wouldn't dare to act so recklessly.

All we can do is urge Li Jingxiao to bring the child back quickly.

Li Jingxiao wrapped Yuan Chun in a thin blanket, picked her up, and carried her to Yuan Chun's courtyard.

(End of this chapter)