Mythic version of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 7304 has a bug!

Chapter 7304 has a bug!

Upon hearing this, Gao Yi glanced back at Jiang Guang. He had lost his motivation for revenge, so naturally he would decline. Back then, he was able to charge ahead recklessly, achieving the sixth level in just over ten years, with one foot on the threshold of the seventh level, and steadily unleashing the power of breaking limits of will. All of this was due to that one breath.

But that breath was shattered by Zhao Zhen, directly smashed by Zhao Zhen's iron fist. What's worse, after that breath was shattered, Gao Yi was no longer as immersed in revenge as before. He could truly look at his offspring, his family, and his life from the perspective of an ordinary person.

Although Gao Yi would still think about revenge afterward, it was no longer the most important thing in his life.

"Your aptitude is very strong; you belong to the very few who can reach the seventh level." Jiang Guang looked at Gao Yi's somewhat bewildered eyes and raised his voice.

“That was then, now there’s no hope,” Gao Yi said, shaking his head.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Guang carefully examined Gao Yi's somewhat dazed eyes, but ultimately said nothing more. He offered a few words of advice only because of Gao Yi's past talent, but even the greatest talent is meaningless without personal effort.

"Alright." Jiang Guang didn't say much, then his gaze swept over Bai Shou, Fu Ji, Lu Zhao and the others. "In short, don't go back to Xuzhou. Wait until things settle down. Going back now will not only fail to solve the problem, but will also put you in a difficult situation."

Jiang Guang's advice was effective. After all, seniority is something that cannot be seen or touched, but it does exist in reality. Combined with Jiang Guang's personality and abilities, it was enough to convince people.

In addition, Jiang Guang's individual psychological counseling did indeed put the Xuzhou veterans at ease, allowing them to stay in Yunmeng. At most, they paid more attention to what was happening in Xuzhou than veterans from other places.

In any case, these veterans from Xuzhou really didn't participate in this matter. In fact, if they hadn't been in Jingchu, in a semi-outsider state, and hadn't had a group of older brothers to remind them, half of these people would still not realize that the Xuzhou bureaucratic system as a whole tends to harm the local area in this matter.

"Damn, does that mean all 2,100 mu of crops I planted this year are ruined?" Yin Luo's face turned green as he belatedly realized. He had planned to use these crops to lay the foundation for his nephews and nieces. Although he didn't know how much benefit they would have, he thought that if they ate better, they would definitely grow stronger, and being strong would be a good thing!

After going around in circles, Yin Luo finally realized what had happened in Xuzhou: a complete crop failure? Holy crap, how could a local tyrant like me, Yin Luo, have such a complete crop failure!

"No, why do you have more than two thousand acres? If I remember correctly, you only have the rank of Fifth-Rank Official. Besides, if I remember correctly, isn't your hometown Mount Tai?" Chen Hong asked Yin Luo with some curiosity. This doesn't make sense.

“I traded with someone,” Yin Luo said with a dark face. “I have a few sworn brothers in Xuzhou who don’t want to farm, but they can’t leave their land barren. They feel stifled if they rent it to others, so they rent it to me. I pay them 200 mu of output every year, and the rest of the output is mine.”

"This feels a bit strange..." Chen Hong looked at Yin Luo with some confusion, feeling that there was something unclear about this operation, but he didn't know how to ask.

The knowledgeable Xue Zhou grabbed Chen Hong and told him not to ask questions, because this was a kind of shady business, but it largely solved the problem of a husband dying on the battlefield and leaving behind a large amount of property that was being squandered by his own family.

To reiterate, a level 6 superhuman is far stronger than a bull. They don't get tired at all; their physical strength and endurance completely surpass those of normal creatures. They are the true representatives of productivity. It seems absurd for a normal person to manage thousands of acres of land by themselves, but for a level 6 smelting expert, it's not exactly easy. As long as they work hard, it's not a problem for one person to finish it.

This is why most of the six-fold smelting is done by one person tending to their own hundreds or thousands of acres of farmland. Hiring helpers would cost money, but doing it alone would only be a little hard work, and all the profits would go to their own hands, which is quite satisfying.

Conversely, the elites who have reached the fifth level of refinement and above and have returned to their hometowns are also the biggest obstacle to promoting industry in rural areas. This is because they are landlords who do not need to help others or exploit others. They rely solely on productivity and follow the agricultural route, which is enough to crush most of their opponents. Each veteran who has reached the fifth level of refinement and above is basically equivalent to a large agricultural machine, and it is nuclear-powered!

With such resources and ample land, it would be a miracle if such a remarkable person were to work in a factory. Wouldn't it be better to stay in their comfort zone? Moreover, given the way these people farm, their annual income is already quite substantial. There's a saying that, without loans, there's no significant difference in the things one can enjoy between a monthly income of 50,000 and 500,000.

Therefore, going to the factory has no practical productive significance for these superhumans. These people are basically local leaders and role models. If they don't go to the factory, how can others voluntarily go? Even if they do, they will feel that this industry is not as good as going home to farm.

Once humans develop a fixed mindset, such as believing that few local role models are workers or farmers, but rather come from other professions, no matter how much they study, they cannot lead others to success.

This is the current situation facing the Han Dynasty. Most of the veteran soldiers feel that once they are truly retired, they will either go to their fiefdoms or take up local official positions to return to their hometowns and farm. Very few will go to factories. It goes without saying how the local people view this issue.

It can be said that apart from Yanzhou and most of the core areas of factories and mines, most places have not yet completed the ideological transformation. The question is, given the current situation of the Han Dynasty, what percentage of these places can be considered? About ten percent!

This is quite frustrating. Of course, Chen Xi can't say anything about it. Giving people the right to choose their own destiny is something Chen Xi has been pushing for. Now that the people have chosen their own destiny, you can say that this choice is not the best, but if the people themselves feel it is appropriate, then they should shut up.

If he continues to interfere, what difference is there between Chen Xi and the previous rulers? Didn't they all use the guise of being good to the people to profit themselves? At that point, what's the use of saying that he's truly doing what's best for the people? It's just empty talk!

"What, is there a problem?" Yin Luo looked at Chen Hong with some confusion.

"It's nothing, you can continue." Chen Hong and Xue Zhou were brothers who had crawled out of a pile of corpses together. The other party only pulled him, and Chen Hong understood what he meant, so he shut up and didn't ask any more questions.

"How dare they cause such a complete crop failure?" Yin Luo asked, his killing intent barely concealed.

Meanwhile, Qu Qi, who came from Chang'an, examined Wan Zhen and confirmed that he was not being controlled by the Lord of All Spirits. After confiscating Wan Zhen's mycelium, she brought him to Chen Xi's side. Upon arrival, she heard Liu Tong slam his fist on the table and ask the same question as Yin Luo.

Previously, Liu Tong only knew that something had happened in Xuzhou, but he didn't know exactly what the situation was. However, even though Chen Xi deliberately kept it a secret for a while, Liu Tong now has a pretty good idea of ​​what happened in Xuzhou.

Liu Tong directly raised her questions to Chen Xi. After all, Liu Tong was at least in the top ten in terms of the degree to which she was influenced by Chen Xi, so she could fully understand the impact of this behavior on Chen Xi. This was an act that truly forced Chen Xi to take the plunge.

Compared to what happened in Xuzhou, the previous things were at least understandable to Chen Xi, since they were still considered "normal" ways to make money and could be considered capitalism. But what happened in Xuzhou made Chen Xi realize what the era of slavery and feudalism were like. They were truly inhumane and had no bottom line!

"Based on my past experience, this kind of thing is quite common." Huangfu Song's tone was flat and completely indifferent, conveying a sense of commonplace familiarity.

"You call this commonplace?" Liu Tong's tone carried an undisguised murderous intent.

"To be honest, it's quite ordinary. How did the Chen family acquire those 700,000 mu of land? Wasn't it all accumulated this way?" Huangfu Song glanced at Chen Xi, who was sitting silently to the side, and said with a hint of indifference. To be honest, Huangfu Song wasn't making things up; it really was like that.

Surely no one really thinks that the tens or hundreds of thousands of acres of land owned by the Han dynasty fell from the sky, right? What a joke! The initial accumulation of capital is always bloody; it's just that things look respectable later on.

In essence, it's not all about drastically reducing grain prices in years of plenty, hoarding grain, and then using the increased grain prices to exploit the people and turn ordinary folks into their tenants during years of famine.

The only difference is that some families act ruthlessly, taking advantage of others' misfortunes, while others are more respectable. While others might sell a bushel of grain for tens of thousands of coins, they are more benevolent, selling it for eight thousand coins. But even if they are benevolent, you still can't afford it and still have to sell your house, land, or even your children. But who can blame them for being benevolent? Out of consideration for the fellow villagers, they will lend you some money and grain to help you get through the famine.

Later, due to interest rates and the availability of good harvests, you will most likely be unable to repay the loan. However, the family is kind and doesn't care whether you can repay it or not. They will repay a little bit each year, and even if there are disasters in the future, they will still be willing to lend you money and food. Your father did this, you did this, and your son will do the same.

As the generations went by, although you were still a farmer who owned land in terms of household registration, you were actually completely dependent on the family that was willing to lend you money, food and supplies in years of disaster. In fact, the orders of the emperor or even the government were not as effective for you as those of this family.

The boxes of IOUs, land deeds, and other documents that Yuan Shu burned back then came from this. The people of Runan were, in theory, still subjects of the Han Dynasty, but the vicissitudes of Runan over the past century made them realize whose sky they were under.

For those wealthy and powerful families who had already accumulated wealth, that little bit of money and grain was not important; what mattered was the timing of giving it to the people around them.

A peck of rice can be exchanged for a person's life-or-death loyalty when necessary, so when the time is right, it can naturally be exchanged for an ordinary family's lifelong service.

After all, value has different definitions in different people's hands.

The existence of a margin of error allows these established families, who have already completed their transformation, to wait for the right opportunity to reap the most valuable assets—human beings themselves—in the cheapest way possible!

Chen Xi glanced at Huangfu Song's words but didn't reply. How could he not know?

"That's not what I want to know right now. What I want to know is how to solve it and how to handle it." Liu Tong glanced at Chen Xi's face out of the corner of his eye to make sure that the other party was not angry, and directly brought up the topic. Now Jiangling has almost assembled a complete team of civil and military officials.

“In my memory, this is a very common occurrence and not worth paying attention to. Many people have done this before.” Huangfu Song expressed his opinion. He knew that Chen Xi was very dissatisfied with this behavior, but Huangfu Song still had to say what he needed to say. He was indeed a fence-sitter, but when it came to matters involving Chen Xi, he knew who to protect.

Because he knew who to protect, Huangfu Song had to make his opinion clear.

"All those involved, deal with them. No need to count the number of people, just execute them." Before Liu Tong could speak, Chen Xi spoke up, giving a very clear and unambiguous answer.

“Then more than a few hundred people will die!” Huangfu Song said in a deep voice.

"Whether it's a few thousand or tens of thousands, all those involved should be executed," Chen Xi said calmly. "Don't talk about differences in understanding, what's commonplace, or what's always been the case. No matter how much evidence we draw this time, it's meaningless. Those who deserve to be executed must be executed."

As I said before, Chen Xi could understand all those things that happened before. Whether it was Zhao Yu's greed, the power-hungry officials of Jizhou, the ambition shown by supporting the emperor, or Lu Su's desperate act of flipping the table, Chen Xi felt uncomfortable, but he could understand to some extent. After all, these were all normal human desires.

But this time is different. This time it's not a problem of human desires, but rather that the general public has not been treated as human beings.

Viewing people as human beings is the foundation of all of Chen Xi's concepts and logic. If he did not agree with this, then Chen Xi would not need to view those guys as human beings.

"This is already a matter of personal judgment," Huangfu Song said in a deep voice. He still hoped that Chen Xi would not take that step, because if she did, many things would change.

"That's not it. I only have one requirement: treat people as human beings. As for the rest, I don't really care." Chen Xi looked at Huangfu Song and said very seriously, "The rest are meaningless at my level. My requirement for others is just one thing: regardless of gender, age, or social status, a person is a person, not anything else!"

"As long as you don't cross this line, the law will handle the rest. But if you do cross this line, don't blame me for getting involved personally," Chen Xi said coldly.

Chen Xi's goal is to build a Han cultural sphere, and the foundation of a Han cultural sphere is to treat people as human beings. To be honest, if people were not treated as human beings, the problems hindering Chen Xi would no longer be problems. However, Chen Xi would rather push forward slowly and find other ways to take a roundabout route than to view people from the perspective of resources. This shows what kind of attitude Chen Xi is holding on this issue.

"Sigh." Huangfu Song sighed. With his discerning eye, he could naturally see that Chen Xi had made up his mind. Since that was the case, there was nothing more to say.

Liu Tong sensed Chen Xi's determination and didn't say much. He didn't care about the old rules or the usual procedures. If you offended Chen Xi, you deserved to die. There was nothing more to say.

"I just heard you talking about why the officials in Xuzhou dared to do this?" Qu Qi led Wan Zhen in, not mentioning what Chen Xi had said, but instead bringing up the question Liu Tong had raised earlier.

"Because to those 'big shots' in Xuzhou, the common people are not people at all, but resources that have been raised and are ready to be harvested," Chen Xi said coldly. Now, Chen Xi had a pretty good idea of ​​which family in Xuzhou had violated the law.

Just as Gao Yi had estimated, at this point, whoever didn't react was the ringleader. As a local resident, he must have connections in the area. If he hadn't taken any precautions, he wouldn't have survived to this day. He would have been wiped out by the locals who had reached their limit and chose to use wood as weapons during the last round of exploitation.

Don't be fooled by how easily it's described above. If a large family doesn't have any foresight, the ability to nip problems in the bud, and the power to suppress local forces, it's perfectly normal for those who can't repay their debts to secretly gather together, wipe out the creditors, and settle the accounts.

Under this logic, you may not know who is setting up the scheme or whether there are any problems with the scheme, but you must know what you should do if the operation succeeds and what you should do if it fails!

Therefore, the Wang clans of Langya and Donghai were allocating grain, as were the Bu clan of Huaiyin, the Xiao clan of Lanling, and the Zhang clan of Pengcheng. All these families were all allocating grain. Regardless of what these people were thinking, at least they knew what to do in this situation.

Only the Chen and Zhao families have been incredibly slow to react, and there has been no significant movement so far. As the largest and most powerful families in the area, how corrupt must they be to act like this!

“That’s not the only reason,” Qu Qi sighed. “Liu Changshi specially mailed me a bag of unplanted grain from Xuzhou. I did a special analysis and finally confirmed that the grain did indeed come from high-yield crops made from the essence of heaven and earth, and it wasn’t the fake stuff you think it is.”

"What!" Chen Xi was taken aback. He had considered all the possibilities, but no matter which one it was, it all came down to the fact that there was a problem with the grain production!

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