Chapter 494: Embers Difficult to Extinguish
On September 9th, more than ten thousand people gathered on Ganquan Mountain.

Entertaining so many people at once is a test of organizational skills.

Therefore, banquets were set up in different areas on the mountain, and the kitchen was nearby to ensure that there were fresh dishes and hot soup everywhere.

From time to time, Qinghua guards would travel in groups, driving horse-drawn carriages carrying water tanks, food ingredients, and wine jars to deliver supplies to various areas.

The Qinghua guards were busy until noon, when they returned to the camp to enjoy their sumptuous meal and drinks.

Not only here, people are drinking everywhere in Guanzhong.

This is a time when it is legal to brew wine and gather for drinking. This year is also a good harvest, and all officials and people are celebrating.

On Ganquan Mountain, Wang Can was holding a large wine bowl with a happy expression and shining eyes. The royal chrysanthemum petals soaked in the wine bowl bloomed, like a burning sun floating in the wine.

He was reluctant to swallow or eat the chrysanthemum in the bowl, so he only drank half a bowl of wine each time and then added new wine.

It is obvious that the wine added later was the new wine from Guanzhong, which is far inferior to the original Huangju wine.

In the end, the wine was still bland, and Wang Can reluctantly took out the royal chrysanthemum, chewing and swallowing it in small bites.

The surroundings were already in a frenzy, with people dancing hand in hand and wrestling under the influence of alcohol.

Zhang Lu led the Taoist priests, officials and scholars from Hanzhong to a banquet in a separate area.

The habit of eating chrysanthemums from other places spread quickly. Zhang Lu picked up a petal of chrysanthemum and put it in his mouth to chew it. It tasted like ordinary chrysanthemum. After being soaked in wine, the bitterness, sweetness and unique fragrance of the chrysanthemum had faded a lot.

Then he followed the others and picked up the whole chrysanthemum and put it in his mouth. He closed his lips and bit it with his teeth. He couldn't stop chewing and instinctively accelerated.

The whole person's spirit was lifted and his face quickly flushed.

His eyes lit up, and he chewed it even more carefully. He reached out from his bosom, took out a jade bottle, and poured some powder into his palm.

When the chrysanthemum residue in his mouth had no taste at all, Zhang Lu pressed his mouth against the palm of his hand, suddenly raised his head and swallowed it, mixing it with the mixture.

Then he grabbed the wine bowl and drank all the remaining wine, then he breathed a sigh of relief.

Starting from the backbone members, most of the officials and scholars in Hanzhong, Tianshi Daoyuan also began to swallow the elixir in an orderly manner.

Yan Pu mingled among them, but only took small doses.

Ganquan is good in every way except that there are no brothels. Their wives, concubines, personal maids and servants are not qualified to come to Ganquan.

Although taking a large amount of elixirs will make your body feel warm and your blood flow, which is very comfortable, without a female cultivator to balance the hot yang energy in your body, you will be the one who suffers in the end.

Zhang Lu felt that the dosage might not be enough, so he poured some more into his palm and swallowed it again with wine.

Zhang Lu had no mind to eat or drink. He lay comfortably on his side, stroked his full belly with his hand, and admired the scenery of the mountains in the distance and near.

He just felt a little regretful that Da Sima left so quickly that he didn't have time to offer the secret elixir of the Tianshi Dao.

After leaving some soldiers to maintain order, Black Bear returned to White Goose Valley early.

He and Zhen Mi cooked a small meal together and drank some ordinary fruit wine.

After dinner, he lay down on the kang and exhaled the alcohol. He said to Zhen Mi, who was sewing clothes beside him, "Next year, for the Double Ninth Festival, I plan to recruit meritorious soldiers, skilled craftsmen, and farmers with the best farming skills in each county."

Zhen Mi didn't even look up and asked, "Did anyone upset my husband today?"

"Not really. It's just that I'm not very comfortable with them. They're not comfortable when I'm there."

Black Bear said in a leisurely tone: "Madam, what do you think the world is? Everyone says that they work for the world, but what does the world look like?"

"Why would you ask such a question, my lord?" Zhen Mi was a little surprised, and said, "The people have enough food and clothing, all industries are thriving, there is no invasion from foreign invaders, and the officials are honest and upright. This is a beautiful world and a blessing for the country and the people."

Black Bear raised his eyebrows after hearing this. "This is a world where everyone has their own duties and everyone has enough food and clothing. However, those people not only seek to gain something for nothing, but also want fame and fortune, and want to pass it down from generation to generation. A few days ago, someone advised me that there is no need to ask Wang Can to compile the Han Shu. Today, we can suppress them with force and break their backbone. I am in my prime and have a long youth. Once the world is settled, I can calmly cut off their blood and flesh."

Zhen Mi remained silent, raised her hand and stroked her bulging belly, thought for a long time and said: "Although my husband is a celestial being who has mastered extraordinary skills, he should avoid killing people. Take advantage of the situation and the people will be in harmony. If you can strengthen the power of Xing, the tyrants will be wiped out, but the officials and people will be terrified. In my humble opinion, even if my husband wants to destroy it by force, it will take at least fifteen years."

Seeing that Black Bear remained silent, Zhen Mi stopped and felt uneasy.

Black Bear waved his hand and said, "Madam, please continue."

"Yes, in my opinion, the Qinghua Guards are loyal, brave and elite, and more loyal than the old Guanzhong Army. However, they have experienced many setbacks in the chaotic times, and are often cunning, treacherous, or fierce and sinister. Compared with the old Guanzhong Army, they can be of great use, but they cannot be used as a long-term support."

"Besides, your clan is small and will take time to grow stronger."

Zhen Mi whispered her point of view that the old army in Guanzhong was more loyal than the servants of the Hu people, and the Qinghua guards were more loyal than the old army in Guanzhong.

These loyalties are relative, the level of support is deeper and the cost of being bought is higher.

Of course, loyalty comes with a reward.

You can't just keep demanding loyalty from your subordinates. If you do, in the end, all that's left is disloyalty.

"Wait, then wait."

Black Bear threw Fa Zheng's suggestion to take Jingzhou first out of his mind, stepped forward and gently hugged Zhen Mi around the waist: "Just listen to Madam, and don't worry about the world."

No matter how drastically the world changes, can you still keep up with the thousands of puppet Taoist soldiers that you have?
When it comes to killing people and massacring cities, I am the only one who can control myself. Cao Cao is no match for me.

If we really give up our bottom line, the area outside Guanzhong can be designated as a wildlife protection area!

On the other side, Fa Zheng also went on an outing with his family. Ganquan Mountain entertained Han officials, guests and scholars. The officials of the shogunate had already distributed royal chrysanthemum and fine wine, and took their families to play in the mountains in the suburbs.

In the leeward side of the valley, Fa Zheng's family began to pack up the tables and chairs in preparation for the return journey. He was holding the remaining lotus leaf glutinous rice cake in his hand, and the soft glutinous rice cake was decorated with red dates.

As he ate bite by bite, his mind was obviously not here.

When his son Fa Miao saw the tables and chairs being loaded onto the truck, he brought a can of water and sprinkled it on the ashes.

Fa Zheng turned his head and looked back at the hissing sound coming from the ashes. He felt that the Han Dynasty was just like this pile of ashes.

It seemed to be out, but when a strong wind blew, the sparks were scattered all over the grass, and in an instant it became a raging flame.

If you want to extinguish it, you must water it thoroughly.

The Western Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system, and eliminating the powerful was a consistent national policy.

The fall of the Former Han Dynasty was due to the usurpation of the powerful Wang Mang; the Later Han Dynasty was already firmly tied to the powerful, but even so, the Yuan family still wanted to become emperor.

It can be seen that if the court keeps giving in and appeasing the powerful, the powerful will never be satisfied or content.

Even if a powerful person has been a noble family for generations, or has been a duke for many years, and claims to be from a noble and prestigious family, he is still a powerful person in his essence.

Fa Zheng thought about it and felt that the expedition to Donghu should be postponed indefinitely.

Wait until those brave generals and elite troops grow old and lose their fighting spirit during the turbulent times, and when the younger generations lack experience, then eliminate them in one fell swoop.

Only in this way can the embers of the resurgence of the powerful be extinguished.

(End of this chapter)