Chapter 496: A great scholar will debate the classics for me
The Yellow River is turbid and silt is piled up on both sides. The water of this great river was originally clear, but around the Qingming Festival, it rains continuously and the river embankments are often flooded. The terrain here is quite high, and downstream is a vast plain. Whenever there is a flood, a large area of ​​land is submerged, and the downstream becomes a swamp.

The lower reaches of the river are all fields reclaimed by the people. The soil is not top-quality black soil, but it can produce two harvests a year, and the people on both sides of the river live on the rations they harvest.

This land was considered wasteland and was not among the three best fields of the dynasty. It was difficult to cultivate it, but it was also a helpless move because the court was levying heavy taxes and levies. The people either became tenants, working for wealthy families in exchange for food, or could only find some marginal wasteland to cultivate on their own.

There were also some pretentious literati who wrote poems to express their pity for the peasants, and high-ranking officials in the government made grand speeches, saying that the wealth of the world could support all the people, and that if the people lived a stable life, worked hard, and rested at sunset, they would be able to have enough food and clothing.

However, they did not know that all the fertile land in the world was in the hands of high-ranking officials and nobles. Land annexation was serious. 70% of the top land belonged to the noble families, and 20% was in the hands of wealthy households. If the people had no land to farm, they would have no chance to survive. The uprising was just the fuse that led to the outbreak of various problems. Once the lid was lifted, it was the end of the dynasty.

The Dadu River was ravaged by floods every year, and the people had a rumor that the Nujiang Dragon King lived in the river. They invited Taoist priests and monks to offer sacrifices to the Dragon King, and even offerings of three kinds of animals did not bring down the river, so they could only allow the river to overflow.

Not long ago, an unusual thing happened. The originally clear water turned into muddy water, carrying a lot of silt from the upper reaches and forming the Yellow River. Even the soil along the river became more fertile. What's more rare is that the originally turbulent river water has now calmed down a lot. People are saying that the Nujiang Dragon King is going to turn into a real dragon and flow along the Dadu River into the sea. As for the original name of the river, it was naturally abandoned, and people on both sides of the strait call it the Yellow River.

"My Uncle Yunxiao did a good thing," Zhang Wuji twisted the slightly wet soil in his hand, "A nine-bend Yellow River formation has affected the flow of water veins throughout the Middle Earth, and also spawned a surging Yellow River. This river can breed fish and shrimp. After the impact of the downstream, the soil will pile up into a plain. In the long run, it will become a thousand miles of fertile land."

Bai Yue was studying a fish. Hearing this, he said, "The Sensing Fairy has a formation with True Water Divine Sand inside. The Yellow River that has evolved from it is quite magical. Even this carp contains a trace of spiritual energy. Eating it all year round will help you have clear ears and eyesight, and stay healthy and live longer. This method is no worse than the gene modulation technology I have."

Zhang Wuji clapped his hands and shook off the sand in his palms. Half a year had passed since he swore to lead his army to the Northern Expedition. Half a year could be considered long, but it could also be considered short. It was so short that a few months passed in the blink of an eye, so short that the swollen army under his command had not yet been integrated. It was so long that the Yuan Dynasty suddenly rose, and the resurrected Mongols had been brought to a miserable end by him and Wang Yansheng.

The aggressive Mongols suffered a series of crushing defeats under the fierce and wolf-like attacks of the two men. Not to mention being driven back to the grassland, 98% of them had already turned into a pile of dry bones, some died, some surrendered, and some escaped.

As for the practitioners and shamans on the grassland, they were completely cut off by the siege of the Xuanmen and Chiyan Army. Even the important weapons and basic methods that had been passed down for thousands of years became spoils of war and were divided up by the two forces.

A lot of things happened in the past six months. Wang Yansheng and Zhang Wuji both knew how much damage the years of war had brought to the people. Destruction was easy, but the subsequent post-disaster reconstruction involving millions of people was enough to exhaust the so-called immortals and keep them scratching their heads.

So the two of them reached an agreement silently, using blitzkrieg and extreme speed to forcefully break through the Mengwu defense. The practitioners with deep magical powers made the war move towards special team operations, and also made the decapitation tactics possible. In this era, without the marshal sitting in charge and the fierce generals leading the army, it would be common for the camp to mutine after a while. After all, 30% of the casualties would be enough to cause the victory or failure of the entire army. The rest would just be catching surrendered soldiers all over the mountains like catching rabbits. 'The teacher once said that there is an army that can not be afraid of fighting or fleeing even if it suffers 70% of the casualties. What kind of iron-willed army it must be. I don't know when I can form such an elite among elites, a strong army among strong armies'

Zhang Wuji thought to himself and couldn't help but recall the names that the people had given to the two of them. Wang Yansheng did many good deeds, cared for the people under his rule, was not arrogant, nor was he greedy for pleasure, not greedy for money or lustful, and worked diligently and conscientiously.

He was known for his benevolence among the common people, and the scholars who read the books of sages were even more shameless, advocating that the world should be ruled by a benevolent king, and that a sage would appear every 500 years, and the seas would be peaceful and the rivers would be clear. Fortunately, Wang Yansheng did get things done, such as developing water conservancy and distributing land. Generally speaking, the people under his rule lived much better than in previous years, and at least they had hope in life. Therefore, the people were grateful and called him the "Holy King."

The Southern Dynasty Emperor Zhu Yu also issued a letter to the world, stating his ten major crimes. The letter was widely circulated throughout the country. He felt that he was not worthy of the position, so he abdicated and gave way to wise men. He declined three times before Wang Yansheng ascended the throne. The old dynasty came to an end and everything was renewed. As for how much effort the Xuanmen contributed and how many things they did, it is unknown, but the rotation of the five virtues and the change of dynasties were a smooth transition.

There is another thing. When discussing the name of the country, many immortals from the Taoist sect gathered. Some said that the name of the country should be determined by heaven, while the cultivators valued purity and proposed to name the country the Great Qing. It is said that the newly-elected king Wang Yansheng had a strange look on his face. Before the agenda was decided, seventeen purple thunders fell from the sky, hitting the immortal who made the proposal, making him look very embarrassed.

After this incident, all the immortals lost interest and after reconsidering, they took the word "Jing" as their name, named the country Dajing, and changed the reign title to Kaiyuan.

As for Zhang Wuji, he did not have such a nice name. He imposed severe punishments on the people under his rule, and everything he did was only for the purpose of strengthening the country. He regarded every person as a screw in the state machine, and would not tolerate any cheating or slacking. He also implemented a planned economy, first conducting a population census, registering the names of the people, and making allocations according to the individuals, in order to keep the accounts clear and avoid collusion between superiors and subordinates, as well as corruption and bribery.

Among them, 30% of the officials in the entire court were beaten to death or skinned and stuffed with straw. He killed people until they dared not to lift a finger.

However, he was strict on the outside but lenient on the inside when it came to people's livelihood. At least after the census, he used high-quality seeds bred with nerve worms to cultivate crops, ensuring that no one would starve to death. Ironically, all the people who spoke out were the literati of Dajing, while the people and scholars under Zhang Wuji's rule rarely criticized him.

"I am condemned by thousands of people, but I have nothing to lose? Oh, I made a mistake and was accused of everything. Even if I did a hundred good things, I could not escape the criticism. Why should I need others to agree with my actions?"

Zhang Wuji grinned: "After all, my butt is not on the same side. The butt determines the head. There are great scholars who will debate the classics for me!"

(End of this chapter)