Hearing this, Zhang Xiaozu and the other four people couldn't help but respectfully express their gratitude.
Zhang Tufu stroked his beard and said with a smile: "It is this kind of courage and responsibility that dares to take the people of the world as his own responsibility, which gives him a personality charm that people cannot refuse and are willing to work for him. I have never served anyone in my life, except Subdue him to Su Hanlin."
Snapped!
Black Ape suddenly slammed the table and shouted angrily at Butcher Zhang: "Didn't you say that you also obey this king?"
Butcher Zhang laughed loudly when he heard this, and quickly raised his hands to Hei Yuan and said: "Yes, I also greatly admire fellow Taoist's unique insights into the laws of the Tao. From now on, there is one more person I admire most."
"Hmph, that's about it." Black Ape raised his head proudly.
"But what does this have to do with the saint? The saint did not make it difficult for the common people to live. Why would Your Majesty start a war with the saint? When the war begins, no matter who wins or loses, isn't it still the common people who will suffer?" Zhou Jianlai asked in confusion.
Butcher Zhang waved his hand and said: "Don't worry, I will ask you another question later. How do you think people can live a good life?"
"Have a house and land, enough food and clothing, at least two meals a month, no, at least five meals of meat, and some spare money to buy new clothes and some delicious food for my mother-in-law and children. If I can go there again If you drink two ounces of wine in the tavern, it won’t be more beautiful.” Niu Dawa answered first.
"It would be nice if I could see a doctor even if I don't have money." Yuan Taiping added.
The reason why he thought this was because when he was first cursed by the demon sword, he became ugly and looked like a ghost. He thought he had a strange disease, so he ran to the hospital to seek treatment, but because he was penniless, , He couldn't even get through the door of the medical clinic, so he often imagined that it would be nice if he didn't have to spend money to see a doctor.
"It would be great if there were more colleges like Taiping College so that children from poor families could go to college to study or practice martial arts, so that poor people could have the opportunity to change their own destiny." Zhang Xiaozu said.
"It's hard to find help when you're old and have someone to support you when you're poor," Zhou Jianlai said.
Butcher Zhang nodded, and then asked: "Is it difficult?"
"Difficult." The four of them nodded in unison.
"It's more than just difficult." Butcher Zhang sighed and said, "In my opinion, this is simply impossible, but His Majesty has put in decades of persistence and hard work for this. He said that everything depends on manpower."
He shook his head with a smile, and continued: "The saint was not wrong, he did not make it difficult for the people to live, and the saint even protected one of the people.
For example, in Excalibur City, the East China Sea flooded and Japanese pirates invaded the territory. The people in other cities were displaced and miserable. Only Excalibur City, under the protection of Sword Saint Ye Cang'an, the floods could not rush in, and the Japanese pirates did not dare to go. Offended, the people live and work in peace and contentment, as if they were living in a paradise. "
"Isn't this bad?" Zhou Jianlai asked confused.
“It’s certainly good for the people of Excalibur City, but it may not be good for the empire.
Relying on the existence of Ye Cang'an, the Ye family not only regarded the imperial power and decrees as nothing, but also levied grain and silver from the cities in the East China Sea, as if they regarded themselves as a country within a country.
When imperial decrees are carried out in the East China Sea, it depends on the Ye family's face. If the Ye family says it will work, it will work. If the Ye family says it won't work, it will not work.
What's funny is that the Ye family received money and food from the cities in the East China Sea, but when natural disasters struck and war broke out, they closed the door to the displaced victims.
He said: A saint cannot interfere too much in worldly affairs, otherwise he will violate the law of heaven and will be punished by heaven.
What about the displaced people? What to do if a city is occupied by Japanese pirates? Can you just ignore it?
Of course not.
The empire can only provide money, food, and troops to help the people and drive out the bandits.
The situation is similar in the Western Regions.
If the East China Sea and the Western Regions hadn't been holding them back, it wouldn't have been so difficult to deal with natural disasters and wars in all directions this time.
Let me give you a simple comparison. The annual tax revenue of the East China Sea and the Western Region combined is half of the annual tax revenue of the Southern Territory.
To be disrespectful, if you were the emperor, would you be willing to offer sacrifices to these two saints? "
"The weak will eat the strong, and the strong will be respected. You have to be willing if you don't want to." Black Ape said.
"These are not saints, they are clearly two vampires." Niu Dawa said unhappily.
"No wonder His Majesty gave the two Sword Saints two choices. Either write a letter of surrender and accept the orders of the empire from then on, or leave the Su Empire. Obviously he can't stand the exploitation of these two saints." Zhang Xiaozu said with a bitter smile.
"I'm afraid neither of the two Sword Saints will choose one." Zhou Jianlai shook his head.
Butcher Zhang's eyes showed a fierce light, and he said solemnly: "Not choosing is tantamount to resisting the decree, then we will forcefully expel them, or fight a bloody battle."
"Can you beat me?" Niu Dawa asked curiously.
"Who knows? Just give it a try and see." Butcher Zhang said with a smile.
The four of them were amused by Butcher Zhang's childish words, but their hearts felt dull, with a sense of oppression that they were unable to resist in the face of the saint.
"Is Wentianzong in a similar situation?" Zhou Jianlai asked.
Zhang Tufu glanced at the faces of the four people and couldn't help but smile: "Looking at the expressions of the four of you, it seems that you know nothing about Wentian Sect."
"Isn't it a very powerful sect with a saint as its leader?" Niu Dawa said.
Zhang Tufu said with a smile: "That's a good summary. Then do you know how many saints are in charge of Wentian Sect?"
"How many?!" Niu Dawa looked shocked, because he heard the tone of Butcher Zhang's words as if there were more than one or two.
"Nine, Wentian Sect has nine saints sitting in charge." Butcher Zhang gave a number.
The four of them all opened their mouths in shock.
"Can this - this - be provoked?" Niu Dawa couldn't help but smile desperately after waking up from the shock.
He felt desperate for Su Hanlin.
"I don't think you can offend him." Butcher Zhang slowly shook his head.
"Then your Majesty still provokes them?" Niu Dawa asked in confusion.
"Perhaps Your Majesty thinks it's worth it." Butcher Zhang guessed.
He didn't know where Su Hanlin's confidence came from, but he chose to believe in Su Hanlin.
"It feels like you are playing with fire." Niu Dawa said.
Butcher Zhang sighed and said: "The training resources our country provides to the Wentian Sect every year, if converted into money and food, would be enough to pay for all the armies in the country for two years, and enough for the people of the entire southern border to eat and drink for a year."
"Do you still want to pay tribute?"
"Of course, if you don't pay tribute, I'll beat you. I'll take off your dragon robe and put it on someone who is willing to surrender and pay tribute." Butcher Zhang said.
"Why do I feel that Your Majesty, the emperor, is so aggrieved?" Niu Dawa said sadly for Su Hanlin.
Butcher Zhang said: "Whether you want to hold back or not depends on your attitude. If you want to make ends meet, let the people be hungry and well fed. As long as they are hungry and do not rebel, it will be fine. As long as the ruler is not stupid and incompetent, there will not be much pressure."
But it would be difficult to make the people's lives better day by day, and to provide them with meat to eat, wine to drink, books to read, and medical treatment. "
After he finished speaking, he looked at Zhou Jianlai and said: "The marriage between you and Du Keyi is the beginning of His Majesty saying no to the Wentian Sect. The reason why he chose you is because your master Wei Guogong is also a saint and can make the Wentian Sect afraid. We will not let the conflict intensify too quickly beyond His Majesty’s control.”
"Does the master know?" Zhou Jianlai asked with a frown.
"I know. He also helped you go to Wentianzong to look at the girl and said that she looks good and is worthy of his apprentice." Butcher Zhang said with a smile.
"Has the master come to the imperial capital?" Zhou Jianlai asked in surprise.
"I came here before you came to the imperial capital, but left soon. I also listened to your majesty's words." Butcher Zhang said.
"Will the master also participate in this war?" Zhou Jianlai asked again.
"Yes." Butcher Zhang nodded.
Zhou Jianlai's eyes suddenly brightened when he heard this, he clenched his fists and said: "It was a pity that I couldn't fight side by side with him outside the south gate of Yancheng last time. I must make up for this regret this time. I just hope that the war will come slower, Give me some time to improve my cultivation."
"Old man, you will definitely participate in this war, right?" Zhang Xiaozu asked Zhang Butcher.
"Of course. Fighting for the people of the empire, no matter whether I win or lose, it is my duty to fight." Butcher Zhang said.
Zhang Xiaozu smiled and said: "You dare me, I am willing to fight side by side with you again."
"Then - count me in." Niu Dawa said.
"I am also willing to fight for the people." Yuan Taiping said, clenching his fists.
"Haha, you are all good men." Zhang Tufu stroked his beard and laughed, and said: "Then work hard to improve your cultivation. I look forward to seeing your heroic demeanor in charging into battle!"
"Ah -" Black Ape yawned and asked: "Can you change the topic to an interesting topic? I almost fell asleep listening to this. Just the four of you scum, together you are not even a saint." of."
"——" The four people who were feeling excited only felt as if they had been poured cold water on their heads by the black ape.
Butcher Zhang said to Black Ape: "My fellow Taoist has incredible skills and boundless power. If you have nothing to do, you might as well give these four arrogant kids some tips on how to save their lives, so as not to accidentally kill them."
Black Ape was very proud of Zhang Tufu's words, but he frowned and said: "It's not that I don't want to teach them, but their body bones are too weak and they can't display the power of my moves."
"I heard that the Taoist Taoist taught them a few body-refining recipes. I wonder if after refining the body according to this recipe, the body bones will be able to withstand the power of the Taoist friends' moves?" Zhang Tufu asked.
"If you can temper your body once, you can barely bear it." Black Ape pinched his little finger and said.
"Xiaozu, I have collected all the elixirs you asked me to collect last time. Is there anything else you need?" Butcher Zhang looked at Zhang Xiaozu and asked.
"Not bad." Zhang Xiaozu said in surprise.
"Then let the Ape King help you temper your bodies." Butcher Zhang winked at Zhang Xiaopou, and at the same time began to take the elixir out of the void space.
Zhang Xiaozu knew the temperament of the black ape well, so he took out an ambergris fruit directly from the mustard seeds, put on a smiling face and put it in front of the black ape, and said in a sincere tone: "Please help me!"
Black Ape glanced at the ambergris fruit, but did not reach out to pick it up. Instead, he stretched out two fingers and said: "Two of them, otherwise there is no need to talk."
Seeing Zhang Xiaopeng was a little reluctant.
It snorted coldly: "Boy, it's not enough to have the elixir alone. You also need to use this great king's body-tempering pill furnace."
Zhang Xiaozhu couldn't help but feel something dark when he heard this. Apparently, Black Ape was already ready to wait for him here when he informed him of his side.
Only now did he realize that this monkey was a very fucking thief.
