Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 104 Blockade of Two Townships
"Unless grain from Zhangning Prefecture comes in."

After saying that, Li Qianxiong shook his head.

As the sect leader, Hengyue Sect is unlikely to compromise.

If Bailumen wants to transport this batch of grain back, the only way is to open up Puxian County as a price.

However, the current Bailu Sect is clearly influenced by Xuanling Zhenren.

Master Xuanling achieved fame at a young age, displaying extraordinary talent. The word "compromise" simply did not exist in his dictionary.

Moreover, even before the Battle of Nanbin, Xuanling Zhenren already possessed the cultivation level of the mid-stage Golden Core realm.

Now, after decades of seclusion, he has returned to oversee the White Dew Sect and has likely broken through to the late Golden Core stage.

At the height of his career, would Master Xuanling sacrifice his interests in Puxian for the sake of mortals?
"In short, no matter how it ends, our Li family must be prepared."

Li Qianxiong said softly, although he did not agree to accept these 50,000 ordinary people.

But with Xuanling Zhenren at the height of his power, he dared not definitively refuse.

If Bailumen really does forcibly relocate people here in the end, can the Li family send them back?
"Fifty thousand households is too many; the two townships cannot possibly accommodate so many people."

Li Xiangming bluntly asked, "Where do these people live? What do they eat?"
Even if they are converted into labor, they will have nothing—no houses, no farmland.

The Li family will have to support them for at least one to two years. If there were no locust plague, it would be fine, but now that the harvest is poor, the Li family is struggling to support the clansmen in two villages. Where would they find the extra strength?
"The Luo family and the Chen family are each willing to share 5,000 households. I have already discussed this with them."

"Even if there are 40,000 households left, it is still too much for the two townships to handle now."

Li Xiangming shook his head.

The area surrounding Danggui Mountain is all unclaimed land; it could accommodate not just 40,000 households, but 400,000.

But land alone cannot sustain people; only arable land can.

To cultivate arable land, you need sufficient farm tools, oxen, seeds, and so on. This is where the problem lies.

The people who moved from Bailumen could not have brought these things with them.

However, neither township could simultaneously provide enough means of production for 400,000 to 500,000 people.

"Then treat them as refugees. You in the accounting department can handle it. Don't worry about people starving to death. Even Bailumen doesn't want them, so why should we clean up their mess?"

Li Qianxiong flicked his sleeves and said fiercely.

It's just a dead person, isn't it?

Who hasn't seen it?
Even the powerful Bailu family couldn't save these people, so why should the Li family?

We can share the blame if necessary.

"I see."

Li Xiangming sighed deeply; there was nothing he could do about it.

If it were only ten or twenty thousand households, he could let the people of the two townships suffer a little.

With 40,000 households and over 200,000 people, plus the original nearly 200,000, it far exceeds the capacity of the two townships.

He can't possibly squeeze the living space of the Li clan for the sake of outsiders, can he?
-
Back in Xixiang City, Li Xiangming felt a sharp pain in his head and cursed the ancestors of Bailu Sect for eighteen generations.

"Xiang Qi, notify everyone in the accounting department to come over."

Before long, everyone except Li Xiangqian, who was far away in Xulong Township, arrived.

"Forty thousand households?"

Everyone in the accounting office was shocked when they heard the news announced by Li Xiangming.

"Sir, you mustn't!"

Li Qianbai was the first to offer advice, his face filled with urgency.

Li Xiangming glanced at him, finally understanding how Li Qianxiong felt when he had persuaded him earlier.

"Bai Lu Sect is clearly bullying us small families. What can we do if we don't agree? We can't fight city hall."

"The Bailu Clan, which prides itself on being a prestigious family, is utterly shameless."

Li Qianbai was furious.

Is this also one of his own lines?

Li Xiangming waved his hand helplessly: "Let's not talk about this for now. The patriarch told us to do our best and think of a solution."

"Land requisition? Make each household in both townships give up half of their farmland!" "Absolutely not!"

Li Xiangming interrupted, saying, "Most people in these two villages have the surname Li. These people are our foundation, and we must not harm them excessively."

"The Imperial Household Department still has a lot of gold and silver. If we can exchange it for some grain, it might ease some of the burden."

Li Qianfu spoke slowly.

“This is one way, but the effect won’t be ideal. Anyone with eyes can see that Puxian is short of grain. At this time, grain prices have skyrocketed. Sects like Bailumen and Fuhuguan have been frantically buying up grain. Even if we buy at high prices, we won’t be able to buy much.”

What about outside of Pu County?

Li Qianfu was unwilling: "Bailu Sect dares not buy grain from Qingshui County because their demand is too large and will impact the grain price in Qingshui County. In that case, they will naturally have to contact Qixuan Sect and even Suxin Sword Sect, but we do not have this concern."

“We can indeed buy it, but you haven’t considered one thing: grain from both Qingshui County and Zhangning Prefecture has to pass through Dahuang Town. Currently, Dahuang Town is in the hands of Bailumen, and Bailumen has gone mad. All grain entering Pu County has been seized by them.”

Li Xiangming had notified the municipal government's grain bureau long ago, hoping to purchase a batch of grain for the two townships.

However, the Shijinfang reported that the grain price in Puxian County was too high, and they needed to go to Zhangning Prefecture to take a look.

As a result, everyone and their food were trapped in Dahuang Town.

He learned this news from Li Qianhe a few days ago.

At first, he didn't take it seriously, thinking that Bailu Sect was investigating Mang Sect disciples.

After all, Bailumen had done something similar before.

Those people and goods that were detained will be released in a few days if there are no problems.

But now Li Xiangming has realized what's happening.

The reason why Bailumen forcibly distributed the population of the Pushui River basin to various families and factions was ultimately due to a lack of food.

As the most important transportation hub and commercial town in northern Puxian County, how could they let Dahuang Town go?

The Li family's grain passing through here is like throwing meat buns to a dog—it's gone forever.

However, if they didn't go through Dahuang Town, the Li family would have to risk crossing Yeshan Mountain.

However, the mountain roads were rugged and the journey took a long time. A grain transport team, consisting of anywhere from a dozen to over a hundred people, might have eaten half of the grain by the time they reached Danggui Mountain.

Moreover, Ye Mountain is teeming with monsters, making it impossible for ordinary people to traverse.

Some might ask, why not send cultivators to escort them?

The answer is yes, but it's not realistic.

The monks endured loneliness, practicing breathing exercises daily, seeking longevity.

How many people truly care about the life and death of ordinary people?

If you have a mission to perform, it's fine to look after someone occasionally, but if it goes on for a long time, it will interfere with your cultivation, and no one would be willing to do it.

After all, it's not like we're transporting spirit stones or cultivation resources.

"This won't work, that won't work, what should we do now?"

Li Xiangqi said anxiously.

Everyone remained silent.

"Don't worry, the manager will definitely have a solution."

Lee Sang-seok remained calm, and everyone's attention was focused on Lee Sang-myung.

"I intend to blockade the two villages and provide porridge and relief."

Li Xiangming pondered for a long time before slowly speaking.

"As a result, there will be many casualties."

Li Qianbai's expression was serious. Not allowing these people to enter the two villages meant that they had nowhere to stay.

Providing porridge relief means that these people are not getting enough to eat every day.

“To save these people, the two villages need to maintain stable productivity. If these outsiders come in, the two villages will inevitably fall into chaos. It may seem like we are saving them, but in reality, it will lead to more people suffering.”

Li Xiangming explained.

(End of this chapter)