How can one cultivate immortality without learning modern knowledge?

What is its purpose?

Its only use at this stage is to find the Mountain and River Cauldron.

The Mountain and River Cauldron and this guiding altar are connected by Qi, and the location of the Mountain and River Cauldron can be found in the altar.

This is why Su Xin lives on Gushan Mountain, while the Donghe Fisherman has been fishing in the Donghe River for twenty years.

The East River is located at the boundary between the Heavenly Dao and the Daoless. Only in such waters can a Half-Day Fish be born, and only a Half-Day Fish can successfully activate the Guiding Altar.

Today, with Zhou Wenju's help, the Qi of Daohai has changed the Heavenly Dao of this place, and the fish on the halfway point has been successfully hooked.

The guidance forum was also successfully launched.

However, they were still unsure whether they could actually find the ancient artifact, the Mountain and River Cauldron.

The altar was shrouded in mist. Suddenly, the mist parted, revealing a patch of pitch-black water. It looked like an endless sea, but it was unlike any other sea. Every drop of water was as black as ink.

There are no reference points in the sky.

The sea stretches to the horizon with no reference points.

There's only this one vast sea...

"Where...where is this? The Sea of ​​Demons?" Su Xin asked.

"Very likely!" said the fisherman from the East River. "In the human world, there are emerald green rivers, golden lakes, and milky salt lakes, but pitch-black lakes are rare. Unfortunately, without any reference points, we still cannot pinpoint the exact location of this place."

"Yes, the Five Regions and Four Ruins are countless miles away. This lake of black water seems unusual, but it is completely incomprehensible in the Five Regions and Four Ruins. Perhaps the best course of action now is for you and me to split up and act separately," Su Xin said.

"Your Highness, please speak!"

"You immediately search the world, investigating every Black Lake in the land. And I, I stand guard by this 'Guiding Altar,' waiting to see if any special opportunity will arise."

The old fisherman of Donghe nodded slowly and sighed softly, "This is the only way! No matter how many years of planning there is, success can only be left to fate..."

His voice was infinitely somber.

Twenty years to catch a fish.

Today, I finally caught a fish that had already made its way to the bottom of the lake and activated the navigation system, only to find that all they could locate was a black lake.

A black lake, placed in the vastness of the world, has no value in defining its position.

Because the world is so wonderful, black water is not common, but it is by no means unique. You can't tell which way is east, west, south, or north just by looking at a black lake.

He will leave Lingnan and travel the world.

But it's just a matter of doing one's best and leaving the rest to fate.

The princess kept a close eye on the guiding altar, waiting for a chance encounter. What kind of opportunity? For example, someone suddenly appearing in the black lake. That person would be a signpost, leading to more accurate information…

Inside the county government office, Magistrate Zhou Liangsheng looked up and saw the golden boat soaring through the air. At that moment, he could no longer suppress his heartbeat.

He also immediately grasped the secret.

From the imperial court down to the county level, there are only two types of boats.

One type is called the Imperial Edict Golden Boat, which comes to deliver imperial edicts.

Another name for it is the Dharma Punishment Boat, which comes to carry out punishments.

What happened yesterday, what happened the day before yesterday...

He kept wondering whether he would receive an imperial edict or a punishment vessel.

If it's the former, it means the son's gamble paid off.

If it's the latter, it means the gamble has been lost, and if the gamble is lost, the entire Zhou family will be wiped out.

What's coming now is the former!

Zhou Liangsheng strode out and rushed into the county government office...

As soon as they entered, the imperial road at the entrance of the county government office gleamed with golden light, and seven figures came side by side, all of them eunuchs who had disembarked from the golden boat to deliver imperial edicts.

"Zhou Liangsheng, the magistrate of Qishan County, receives the imperial decree!" The person in the middle of the seven spoke.

"Your subject Zhou Liangsheng receives the imperial decree!" Zhou Liangsheng flicked his official robes and knelt down.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: A popular uprising has occurred in Qishan County, shocking the world. Magistrate Zhou Liangsheng is hereby ordered to quell the uprising within half a month. This is the imperial decree!"

Zhou Liangsheng was stunned...

Is this all there is to it?

What's next?

"Magistrate Zhou!" the eunuch delivering the imperial decree shouted, "Why haven't you received the decree and expressed your gratitude?"

"Your subject Zhou Liangsheng receives the imperial decree! Thank you for your great favor!" Zhou Liangsheng's voice trembled.

"Lord Zhou, His Majesty values ​​you highly and believes that you can quell such a serious civil unrest on your own. I hope you will not let His Majesty down!" The eunuch handed the imperial edict to Zhou Liang Sheng.

Zhou Liangsheng knelt down again: "Your subject... will certainly live up to Your Majesty's trust and Your Excellency's expectations!"

"Then we'll take our leave!" With a wave of his hand, the eunuch who delivered the decree led the seven men out of the county office, onto the golden boat, and with a flash of golden light, they soared into the sky.

Zhou Liangsheng held the imperial edict, which was disheveled in the wind.

"Master! Just as expected... just as the young master predicted! His Majesty will not send troops, nor will he punish the young master; he will only bestow favors!" Old Qi's voice came from behind, full of surprise.

Zhou Liangsheng suddenly turned around, his eyes gleaming.

"Father!" A voice came from the front door. "You've accepted His Majesty's decree, so how to quell the popular uprising is the problem I need to consider now. Have you thought about how to appease them?"

Zhou Liangsheng turned his gaze toward the entrance of the county government office.

The person who came was his son, Zhou Wenju.

For nearly a day, during which he was conflicted, his mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts and ideas, and this wretched boy went to Lonely Mountain to flirt with the nuns and didn't show up in front of him.

The imperial edict has now been issued.

The kid didn't need anyone to call him; he just went straight down the mountain.

In the past, Old Zhou would have disregarded everything and vented his anger on him first.

But today, everything has changed.

Two pieces of extremely good news arrived almost one after the other.

Good news 1: My son has become a master of literature and Taoism.

Good news two: My son's plan last night has yielded amazing results today.

His Majesty's imperial edict ended all his inner turmoil. His Majesty did not dismiss him from his post, nor did His Majesty utter a single word of reprisal. Instead, His Majesty focused on "pacifying the peasant uprising" and even personally handed over the heavy responsibility of pacifying the peasant uprising to him.

All of this confirms one thing.

His Majesty is showing mercy!

His Majesty's every step has been exactly as his son predicted...

"To appease the rioters..." Zhou Liangsheng took a deep breath: "Do the villagers of Hexi really need appeasement?"

Old Qi actually shared the same thought.

The villagers of Hexi attacked, killing this group of people and robbing them of all their wealth. They got away with it all. It would be an act of appeasement if the Hexi Valley hadn't been leveled. Why would we need to appease them?

Shouldn't the focus be on comforting the victims, the He and Li families?

"How can the villagers of Hexi not need appeasement? They were originally residents of Qishan County, and they had their own fields and land. For decades, this land has been seized without any explanation. It's unreasonable to expect them to remain uncompensated, isn't it?" Zhou Wenju said. "Secondly, what about the hundreds of thousands of ordinary people outside Hexi Valley? They haven't gained anything. Aren't you afraid that they'll see the Hexi Valley villagers making a fortune and, in their greed, start a rebellion?"

Zhou Liangsheng's eyes bulged: "If you dare to mobilize the other villagers again, I, the official..."

"What are you thinking, Father? How could I possibly mobilize the villagers again? Even if I did, who would they vent their anger on?" Zhou Wenju shook his head repeatedly: "I'm just saying that it's time to redistribute all the land, houses, and shops in the county."

Old Qi's eyes suddenly widened...

Old Zhou's eyes widened: "Land? Houses? Shops? Redistribution..."

"That's right! That's how it is for ordinary people. If they own land, have a house, and some extra money, they're living like gods. Living like gods, who would have any thoughts of 'change'? Wouldn't they all be grateful for Father's benevolence and His Majesty's boundless imperial grace?"

"You speak so lightly!" Zhou Liangsheng said in a deep voice, "Land disputes are no ordinary matter. Even half an acre of land can lead to a lawsuit all the way to the prefectural level, let alone the entire county's land!"

"Father, as far as I know, 80% of the land in the county is concentrated in the hands of the He and Li families. Now that they are gone, what connection could there be?"

"You're young and ignorant!" Zhou Liangsheng rebuked. "Although many of them died, the land deeds are still valid. Legally speaking..."

"The land deeds are gone! The fires mainly burned this!" Zhou Wenju said.

OMG……

Zhou Liangsheng nearly erupted into a raging fire again, but he forcibly restrained himself: "So what if the land deeds are burned? The county government has copies! They can all be replaced!"

"That requires Father to pull some strings!" Zhou Wenju said. "The county government is under Father's control; changing a receipt should be a piece of cake, right?"

Old Qi was dumbfounded...

Burn the land deed, and get a copy!

Such things have happened before, but they were all done by powerful and wealthy people colluding with the government, targeting ordinary people. For example, in Qishan County, the former magistrate Chen Zhang did quite a few things.

The He and Li families first sent people to burn the land deeds of other people.

When that family went to the county government to check the record and intend to replace the land deed, the record inexplicably changed to the He family's name.

This is how a wrongful conviction was formed, where there was absolutely no way to argue one's case.

After he and his master arrived in Qishan County, they became furious when they encountered such a thing.

If reasoning fails and evidence is nowhere to be found, even if one is convinced that the common people have suffered in silence, they can only grit their teeth and accept their fate.

Now, the same trick is being used on the second young master...

"Lawless! Insolent! How could I possibly do such a thing?" Zhou Liangsheng glared angrily, seemingly stirring up his past hatred for such acts.

"Father!" Zhou Wenju sighed deeply, "You've been in officialdom for far too long; your understanding of officialdom is too rigid!"

"You..." Zhou Liangsheng suddenly raised his finger, pointing it directly at his nose: "You weren't even born when your father entered officialdom! You're teaching your father how to do things?"

"What does it mean that you've been in officialdom for a long time? It only means that all these years you've only gotten older... cough..." Zhou Wenju quickly stopped talking, swallowing the most provocative words.

But Old Zhou was still provoked, and roared, "I won't bother mentioning your past transgressions today, but you think I'll do as you wish—knowingly break the law, tamper with records, act recklessly, or steal from those in charge? Absolutely not! If you dare say another word, no matter how accomplished you are in literature, I'll still beat you half to death with the family law!"

Old Qi stepped forward, separating the two men, father and son, who were fighting like bulls: "Master, please...please calm down! Second Young Master, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but you really have gone too far. Tampering with the records and fabricating facts is...it's truly the biggest taboo for an official. Not to mention that Master would never do such a thing, any official with even a modicum of moral integrity would not do it!"

Zhou Wenju sighed deeply: "It's really too much to have met the two of you! This is clearly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, something that His Majesty is looking forward to and the people are eagerly anticipating, yet you two just can't seem to see the bigger picture."

Old Qi suddenly turned around: "Your Majesty...Your Majesty is looking forward to it?"

"What do you think?" Zhou Wenju said, "His Majesty instructed Father to appease the people, without giving any orders or providing any relief supplies. What can Father use to appease them? A book, a few words of imperial pronouncements? When receiving an imperial edict, one must learn to understand its subtext! What His Majesty told Father is to use whatever is available, any method will do! Think about it, wouldn't distributing the wealth that the He and Li families have seized over the years to the people be the most effective way to appease them?"

"Of course, but..." Old Qi took a deep breath, "But would the He and Li families agree?"

"Then here's the question!" Zhou Wenju said, "Would they dare refuse?"

dare?

Old Qi's brows were furrowed deeply...

What's there to be afraid of or not dare to do!

You, a mere county magistrate, dare to alter the records, blatantly violating the law and disrupting the order.

As victims, they will use their official power to suppress you when you do something unreasonable, but they dare not argue with you when you are in the right.

Zhou Wenju smiled slightly: "What truly stirred up the atmosphere at today's court assembly was probably the figures in Father's memorial. The two vice ministers, whose annual salaries were only eight hundred taels, claimed to live a life of poverty. However, a popular uprising tore away their veil of poverty. Seven manors, seven hundred rooms, two hundred thousand taels of silver, and more than three hundred shops—do they dare to admit it?"

Old Qi's eyes suddenly lit up.

Zhou Liangsheng's heart also jolted.

Yesterday, when he wrote the memorial, Heaven is my witness, he had no intention of impeaching anyone. He is a Confucian scholar who believes in being straightforward and honest. If he wanted to impeach someone, he would just criticize them directly. He is not capable of playing those cunning tricks.

The requirement for the memorial was to be detailed, and the son also said to write it according to the facts. For the first time in their lives, the father and son reached a consensus.

He wrote it based on the facts.

But now, he suddenly understands.

The "facts" the son spoke of actually contained a hidden numerical secret.

For officials, corruption is a major taboo.

Especially since this case has been presented to His Majesty, the impact of corruption has been amplified to the greatest extent.

Do they dare to admit the exact amount of property they lost due to a civil uprising?

Absolutely not!

Otherwise, they will be shooting themselves in the foot!

Similarly, would they dare to stand up and assert their rights regarding the number of fields not mentioned in the memorials?

I wouldn't dare either!

If the He and Li families dare to step forward, go to the county town to search through the records, and find evidence of their 300,000 mu of farmland, then what they are asserting is not power, but ironclad evidence of their corruption.

"What do you suggest we do?" Zhou Liangsheng asked.

"My opinion is this: all county officials should immediately mobilize to conduct a thorough inventory and verification of assets. This should be done in three categories. First, land and houses normally owned by ordinary people will remain unaffected. Second, land, shops, and other assets originally belonging to the He and Li families that can be traced back to their original owners and verified to belong to them should be returned to them. Third, any surplus land and assets should be distributed equally among all the people of the county." Zhou Wenju continued, "Once the distribution is complete, you should create a fake record..."