Taking advantage of the darkness, Qi Yun rushed back to Qingyun Temple. Naturally, Qi Yun was overjoyed to see his disciple return.
The two masters and apprentices talked for a long time until late at night before they each returned to their rooms.
The next morning, after leading his apprentice to finish morning lessons, Kong Zhuo told his master about his experiences in recent years, and also mentioned the turmoil in various parts of the Chu Kingdom in the past few months. Qi Yun couldn't help but sigh.
"When we met Daoist fellow Lu in the past, for the first time, your father and I were greatly surprised. We thought he was the root of the immortal family and the seed of an immortal.
that's the truth.
I have studied various Taoist scriptures on the road, and all of them have made rapid progress. In just a few years, I have caught up with my Taoist friend Kong.
At that time, I thought that there would be one more true immortal in my Taoist sect and one more Taoist lineage.
Unfortunately, in order to support his friend to take office, Fellow Daoist Lu had to give up his days of leisurely living in the wild, and instead joined the army and entered the battlefield.
Immediately after arriving, when he was going to destroy the Seven-Star Thief Rebellion, he would return to Qingyun Temple and meet me. Only then did we know that it had become a pillar in the Dongting.
Later, Lu Daoyou was promoted step by step, becoming the king of Changsha step by step, and now the king of Chu, becoming the lord of three counties and one country.
The war in Dongting was quelled step by step.
In the past few years, with the governance of Lu Daoyou, all industries in Chu State have prospered, and the local household registration has become more and more abundant. I originally thought that we would usher in a peaceful and prosperous age, allowing the people to be happy.
In this way, even though our Taoist sect loses an immortal talent, the world will gain one more virtuous king, and the merits will be immeasurable.
I don't want the war to break out again, the place to be in chaos again, and this chaotic world, I don't know when it will stop. "
After Qi Yun sighed with emotion, he couldn't help but sigh: "Although we know that in this era of great strife, all countries are reforming to become stronger and go to war to strengthen their national strength. It is common sense for the Chu State to do this, and it is to survive.
But seeing the reoccurrence of chaos in Dongting County, even though Pindao was an outsider, he still couldn't help but feel worried.
If people really mess up the place, thousands of lives will be lost. "
Although as a Taoist priest, it was also due to his temperament that Qi Yun didn't pay much attention to things at the foot of the mountain.
Even in the past few months, no one knew that there was chaos at the foot of the mountain.
But even if you are a hermit, you still need to go down the mountain occasionally to buy daily necessities.
Therefore, Qi Yun can see that Dongting County has been getting better little by little in the past few years.
He saw with his own eyes that the villages and towns at the foot of the mountain had gone from being withered and suffering people after the war to the current prosperous scene with prosperous households, happy people, and dense population.
It is precisely these changes that I have seen and the peace I have felt. That's why he didn't want all of this to go back to what it was like ten years ago.
The world is fighting, why should the living people deserve it?
Even though he has a kind heart and can't bear it, Qi Yun is just an outsider after all. No matter how many thoughts he has, he can't change anything. In the end, he can only sigh here.
Seeing his master sighing like this, Kong Zhuo next to him did comfort him: "Master, there is no need to worry. When the disciple came back, he heard the news that Zhou Qing, the great general of the Chu State, had now broken through his innate talent and became a great master.
The addition of such a master to the Chu State is enough to consolidate the country and ensure the stability of the country.
Those Xiaoxiao who intend to cause chaos cannot make any trouble. "
"Xiao Qing?"
When Qi Yun heard this, he was slightly startled, but in his mind he thought of the young man who often followed fellow Taoist Lu to the Taoist temple to study scriptures more than ten years ago. He couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "The young man who followed fellow Taoist Lu back then, Now he has become a master figure."
As he said this, he felt more and more that he was getting old.
As he gets older step by step, Qi Yun is now in his twilight years, over sixty years old.
The hair on the head has grown, and although the bones of the body have internal strength, they often feel tired. Even memory has declined.
Faced with this fate and the current situation of life's decay, he who originally aspired to seek immortality has become increasingly unable to do so.
Therefore, in the past few years, the main focus has been shifted from cultivating immortals and seeking the Tao to inheriting the Taoism and cultivating himself as a disciple.
But now I have no idea. I have been begging for immortality and immortality all my life, but I have not gained anything at all. But his former Taoist friend and his disciples have now gained immortality.
A congenital lifespan of one hundred and fifty years, although still not long, is far better than that of a mortal.
Qi Yun thought like this, feeling slightly lonely and even more bitter.
Kong Zhuo noticed the change in his master's mood. Having been with the master for more than ten years, he suddenly realized what was going on. He felt sad at the same time and hurriedly changed the subject: "By the way, master. This is the disciple who has come back to prepare." Participate in next year's Tianluo Dharma Assembly.
This is my first time to participate in such a grand Taoist event. I don’t know what to prepare for this Dharma gathering. Master must teach me well. "
Kong Zhuo has been longing for the Tianluo Dharma Assembly for a long time.
Since he was a child, he has listened to the wonders of his master's sermons, describing the wonderful magic methods of the immortal family demonstrated by the true immortal cultivators, and the grand occasion of all the major branches of the world gathering to discuss the Dharma. He has long wanted to see it with his own eyes. .
No matter what.
Participating in this Dharma conference, if one’s mind is not strong enough, it will be easy to shake one’s mind and destroy the Taoist foundation.
Therefore, Kong Zhuo was not able to participate because of his insufficient cultivation. He was unable to attend that grand event with his master and Lu Yuan ten years ago.
But now that he has been practicing for ten years, he has entered the second-rate realm, and his mental state has been somewhat improved.
This state of mind is enough to attend the Dharma conference.
In addition, Qi Yun also felt that he was old and might not be able to survive for a few more years, so he wanted to take his disciples to attend the Dharma conference while he could still move and communicate more with his colleagues.
It can be regarded as announcing to all the great lineages that he is the successor of Qingyun lineage.
Therefore, Qi Yun attaches great importance to this Dharma conference, because it is related to the inheritance of Qingyun Temple.
So when I listened to the disciple's talk, some of my original sad sighs were immediately forgotten. I immediately cheered up and told my disciple some details: "This Tianluo Dharma Conference..."
In the small mountain temple, the old Taoist priest who had been living alone now regained the warmth of the past after the young Taoist priest came back, and began to seriously become a master.
Happy times are like the past, simple and clear, making people feel peaceful.
Perhaps seeking immortality and seeking the Tao does not necessarily require immortality. Just seeking peace of mind is enough.
…
Just as riots were emerging in various parts of Chu State, thousands of miles away, an army that had just put down the rebellion was on its way back north.
The long army walked north along the road. The villages on both sides were dilapidated and deserted. Unmanned weeds grew into the flat official road, and were eventually trampled into dust by cold iron boots.
Su Xuange was riding a horse. Although the horse was moving, his body was extremely straight when he was sitting on it. His mighty armor shone in the sunlight, making him look particularly dazzling.
His eyes swept around, occasionally seeing one or two dark shadows as they passed through the bushes.
The cold wind blows from the north, mixed with the earthy smell and a slightly different putrid smell.
People who are familiar with death will immediately understand when they see the black shadow and smell the smell. It is the smell produced by the dead body lying on the ground that has begun to rot.
The war has been going on for almost a year.
Su Xuange fought in the south and north, and after hundreds of battles, he finally quelled the Qidao Hui, Guangchang Dao, and the Duchang Rebellion.
But the damage caused by this war is also huge.
After a war, the household registrations of Ningyue, Shi'an, Cangwu, Xiping and Gaoliang in the main areas of the rebellion were reduced by half, and hundreds of thousands of people died.
The remaining five mansions were also affected to a greater or lesser extent, and also suffered heavy losses.
After a rebellion, almost the entire Soviet Union was beaten to pieces and crippled.
Although the losses have not yet been counted, and the local government offices in the counter-insurgency areas have not yet begun to be rebuilt, according to the statistical estimates of Su Xuange's courtiers.
During this rebellion, the Soviet Union should have lost about 500,000 to 800,000 people. The entire four-year production of Guangwu was wasted. Not only were taxes confiscated, but the family wealth in previous years was also used to cover military expenses.
What's even more frightening is that although the rebellion was suppressed this year, the domestic fiscal revenue will still be extremely bad in the next two years, and it should not be able to provide much tax revenue.
The five prefectures that participated in the rebellion are now destroyed. The place needs to be rebuilt, the refugees need to be recruited, and production needs to be restored. All of this requires money.
Even if I don't ask you for money, just don't expect any output here.
Although the other five prefectures are better, the combined population of these five prefectures is only 700,000 to 800,000. Even if the heavy tax, which has been increased to two out of five taxes, is still maintained, the annual income will be only four million taels.
But this kind of heavy tax is to suppress rebellion, to squeeze the people at the bottom and not give them a way to survive.
If it lasts for a year or two, the people below can still support themselves by relying on their savings from previous years, selling their sons and daughters, and their land and bodies. If this continues for a long time, it will inevitably lead to a new rebellion.
This does not mean that people dare not cause chaos just because they are afraid of Su Xuange's force.
I can't even survive, so why are you still afraid of your king's method?
Paying taxes is death, not paying taxes is death.
It's all about death. It's better to rebel before death and indulge yourself a little, and your life in this world will not be in vain.
Therefore, next year, it is inevitable to change the five taxes and two taxes to three taxes and one, or even change it to four taxes and one.
But as a result, the court's income will be greatly reduced. It would be good to have three million in two years.
But the problem is that after a year of fighting, continuous recruitment of surrenders and rebels, and recruitment of local braves, now that Su Xuan Singer has disbanded troops, not only has it not decreased much, but it has further expanded.
So far, in addition to the original 40,000-strong Forbidden Army, he has not only restored the 50,000 local prefecture and county soldiers, but also established an additional new army of about 50,000 people.
All of the above are regular troops, the kind that require military pay every month.
For this huge army, even though the monthly salary of each soldier in the Soviet Union was generally lower than that of other countries, it was only a mere three taels of silver, and the prefecture and county soldiers only had two taels of silver.
The annual expenses of 150,000 people, including wages alone, would cost four million taels of silver.
If other expenses are included, the annual military expenditure of five million taels is already a guaranteed minimum.
In addition to military expenses, other various expenses also require a minimum guarantee of one million silver.
The total is six million taels of silver.
Therefore, starting from next year, the Soviet Union will face a deficit of three million taels of silver.
When the money is not available, they will have to default on the soldiers' pay and the officials' salaries. This will lead to low morale in the army, renewed local unrest, and further reduction in the administrative efficiency of the imperial government.
And if you don’t give them money, they will naturally find ways to get it, and people have to survive.
At that time, the burden on local people will be further increased.
The entire Soviet Union's finances were trapped in this vicious cycle.
But if Su Xuange was asked to disarm, he would not dare.
After finally putting down the rebellion, the elite of the rebels were recruited into the army and strictly controlled. At this time, you disarm them and return them to their local areas. These people have no livelihood and income. What do you think they will do?
It would be a good thing if you fall into the trap of becoming a bandit.
Be brave, believe it or not, they are killing officials and subjugating the people again, and are rebelling in the city?
At that time, the Soviet Union will have to experience another rebellion.
It was precisely because of this that even though he knew that he could no longer afford it financially, Su Xuange had no choice but to grit his teeth and take in the rebels with tears in his eyes.
When people accept it, their income problem must be solved.
Otherwise, the army will rebel on a large scale, which will be more terrifying than local rebellion.
'It's difficult. '
Su Xuange sighed inwardly, then turned around and asked, "Where are the former troops?"
The bodyguard beside him immediately replied: "Back to your Majesty, the former army has arrived in Longcheng County."
"Longcheng County..." Su Xuange recalled the location of this county and nodded slightly: "Send an order to the army to speed up the march and arrive at Longcheng as soon as possible to join the entire army. The lonely king will conquer the southwestern barbarians before the end of the year. "
"yes!"
After hearing the order, a personal guard immediately rode to the front and rear of the queue to convey the order.
Soon, the army became a little faster.
Seeing this scene, Su Xuange couldn't help but nodded with satisfaction.
Sending troops to conquer the southwestern barbarians was his way to solve his financial difficulties.
Lead an army to fight against the barbarians. If you win, you can plunder the barbarians, occupy the land, and alleviate your own financial difficulties. If you lose the battle, you can also reduce the number of troops under your command, achieving the purpose of disguised disarmament.
No matter whether he wins or loses, it will not be a loss for him or the country of Su.
Therefore, Su Xuange, who felt that the financial pressure was too great, eagerly led his army northward to prepare for the conquest of the southwestern barbarians when he had just put down the domestic rebellion.
It's not that he doesn't want to recuperate, it's just that he has no choice but to do so.
"How did all this become like this?"
Su Xuange looked up at the sky, his eyes full of confusion and unwillingness.
In the north, Lu Yuan, who was called the Alliance and was actually the enemy in the future, kept expanding his army and the Chu State had no problems. How could it be that the same thing happened to the Soviet Union and its own army expansion, and it ended up in such a mess?
Su Xuange, who was born in the martial arts world and has been dealing with martial arts and martial arts all his life, really couldn't figure out this problem.
When I was confused, I went to see a fast horse from the north, running towards this side quickly.
"Report——"
After passing the inspection by the personal guards, the messenger was released. When he arrived, he dismounted and knelt down, and presented a secret scroll: "Your Majesty, there is an urgent message from Chu State in the north."
"Chu State?" Su Xuange frowned when he heard the name. He opened the letter he had received and read it.
His eyes swept over the secret letter. After reading the content, his hand suddenly stopped and he crinkled the letter paper, but he didn't seem to notice it. He just stared at the line of words on it.
The great general of Chu, Zhou Qing, broke through Xiantian, and the whole country was congratulating him at this time.
The message contained in just one line of text can shake people's hearts.
"Zhou Qing...Xiantian..."
Su Xuange thought of the heroic general who followed Lu Yuan during the Northern Expedition a few years ago.
That man was so young, so energetic, and so full of energy.
He was supposed to be a junior, but now he has also achieved a breakthrough in innateness?
However, the Chu State had more than one of them. If calculated carefully, there were actually three masters at this time.
"This heaven is so kind to Chu. It is so kind to our country of Su."
Su Xuange swayed, gritted his teeth, and exhaled.
He looked to the north, where the golden sunshine was shining in the sky, and he felt that the Chu country he was looking at was so dazzling and disgusting.
"Send the order and speed up the march!" Su Xuange said.
"Your Majesty, the order has just been given to speed up the march." A guard next to him reminded.
"Then pass the order again and let them speed up again." Su Xuange suddenly turned around and looked at the guard who made the sound, his eyes cold.
"Yes, yes!" The guard was frightened by being stared at and replied tremblingly, then ran off to deliver the order as if he was running away.
Su Xuange looked at this scene, his eyes getting colder and colder.
The Chu State has another innate. For him and the Su State, this is not just a matter of their neighboring countries becoming stronger.
It also means that whatever the Su State wants to do in the future, they will be subject to the pressure and interference of the Chu State.
With such a powerful country in the north, whatever he wants to do will always be threatened.
Moreover, the strength of Chu State has become stronger. Who can guarantee that after defeating the southwestern barbarians this time, the ambitious Lu Yuan will not set his sights on Lingnan.
A huge sense of oppression and crisis enveloped Su Xuange, making him eager to make some changes to deal with the changes in the situation.
'Chu's expansion was too fast. Now they occupy the land of three counties. This year they attacked the southwestern Yi. I heard that they won consecutive battles and captured a large area of land.
If the Su State does not hurry up and become stronger and catch up with the Chu State, I am afraid that when the disparity in national power between the two countries becomes even greater in the future, it will face the danger of national subjugation.
The lonely king will never allow this to happen.
Conquer the southwestern barbarians. We must conquer the southwestern barbarians before the end of this year. The Su Kingdom has no time. '
Su Xuange gritted his teeth, with fear and anxiety, and looked around at the army that was forced to run faster by two consecutive military orders, and then turned his eyes to the south.
"And Wei'er, he has also broken through to the first level. We should urge him quickly and let him seize the time to practice the Jiuchuan Sword Art. Lu Yuan's eldest disciple can break through the innate, and my son, Su Xuange, must not lag behind others. .”
Stimulated by Zhou Qing's breakthrough, Su Xuange, who originally planned to slowly train his son, now plans to speed up the pace.
The Su Kingdom only has one innate, and its strength is still too weak.
There must be at least two people.
Only in this way can one person sit in charge of the country and stabilize the place. When one person is out fighting, he can fight with peace of mind.
It was actually a bit risky for him to lead his army on an expedition at this time.
"Why is this world so difficult?"
Su Xuange couldn't help but let out this bitter sigh again.
