The Great Ming in the Box-Chapter 236: The Method to Intervene in the County
Li Daoxuan saw the county town, but with the same thought, he could not rush to act.
First, he placed himself in the position of an observer.
His gaze swept over the county town from above.
He saw that on the narrow streets of the county town, refugees from various villages were everywhere, wearing tattered clothes, faces sallow.
The number was very large; a casual glance revealed tens of thousands.
During the Ming Dynasty, a prosperous county town in Jiangnan could easily hold hundreds of thousands of people, while a small county town like Chengcheng County in the northwest could also have seventy or eighty thousand people.
These people were usually scattered among the villages in the county and would not gather together.
However, a severe drought forced these county residents, who were originally scattered around, to come to the county town.
This made the already not wide streets of the county town even more crowded.
At that moment, it was exactly mealtime, and suddenly a bell rang in the center of the county town. Hearing this sound, the refugees lying haphazardly on the street suddenly felt energized and stood up.
“The meal is starting!”
“It’s time for distributing congee again.”
“We can eat now.”
On all the streets, huge crowds rushed towards one direction.
Li Daoxuan’s gaze naturally followed the movement of the crowd, and soon arrived at the front of the county office, where a stage had already been set up. Liang Shixian was personally overseeing it, supervising a large group of constables and helpers bringing out the cooked noodle paste.
Under the shouts of the constables, the refugees formed a long line, each holding a cracked bowl. They received one bowl of noodle paste each, retreated to the eaves of the shops on the street, and drank the noodle paste with hardship.
Liang Shixian frowned tightly; he knew this one bowl of noodle paste could not fill anyone up, but he could only distribute this much to each person, because he did not have much grain in his hands.
This grain was all obtained by him with a thick face, begged from the reclusive great family, the Li Family, in Gaojia Village.
Each time he fetched thirty carts of it, it would be consumed in a few days, and he had to shamelessly go again for another thirty carts…
And so repeatedly, he had been begging for grain from the Li Family impudently for a year.
He had already started to feel something strange…
Although it had rained around the Li Family and they had wheat fields, how could the grain from those few wheat fields be enough for his own reckless use?
The Li Family must have some way to get grain from a peculiar place.
This method was very secretive, so that no one could discover merchant teams transporting grain back from other provinces for the Li Family; not a single grain convoy had ever been found.
He had ten thousand questions in his mind that he wanted to ask, but he swallowed them back at the last moment.
Once he voiced this doubt, the Li Family wouldn’t give him grain anymore, would they?
Without grain, what could these common people do?
The imperial court would not give him grain; not only would it not give, but it might demand he collect overdue tax silver from Chengcheng County—wouldn’t that be like killing these common people?
Even for the sake of these common people, he, Liang Shixian, could only pretend not to know, feign ignorance, act as if he had not doubted the Li Family at all, pretend he knew nothing, and be a shameless foolish official.
Li Daoxuan used the “attention” function to look at Liang Shixian. From his expression, Li sensed his sympathy for these people, but also felt his helpless feeling of powerlessness.
He truly wished to help him!
But now was not the opportune moment to intervene on his behalf.
As the saying went, rashly extending a hand wouldn’t help others; it would frighten them.
He continued to survey north, south, east, and west, intent on glimpsing the entire panorama of the county seat.
Suddenly, on the western street of the county seat, an ornate building captured Li Daoxuan’s attention.
The City God Temple!
The City God Temple of Chengcheng County, an ancient and imposing historical relic.
The incense offerings at the temple appeared rather sparse…
The common folk were destitute, unable even to afford incense sticks or candles.
All they could do was kneel before the City God and knock their heads a few times.
Li Daoxuan observed that while the main hall of the City God was nearly empty, a side chamber held seven or eight devout followers kneeling properly on prayer mats, chanting and bowing in worship to something.
He focused his attention on the side chamber, and its interior became instantly clear.
Seated there with solemn dignity was the Third Lady, whom he hadn’t seen for some time. Beside her was an array of jars and bottles. A group of worshippers was praying fervently: “May the Deity bless us!”
“Please, Deity, let my daughter’s diarrhea heal soon.”
“Deity protect us, may my son’s sores vanish quickly.”
After listening to one individual’s “description of symptoms,” the Third Lady opened a jar, carefully scooped a tiny amount of medicine, and placed it into an elderly woman’s hands. “This is divine medicine bestowed by the Deity. The method of use is as follows… Use it cautiously upon returning home. Should your son be fated to live, he will naturally recover. But if this is a trial he is ordained to face, even the Deity cannot save him.”
The elderly woman showered her with profuse thanks, kowtowed, and withdrew.
Watching this, Li Daoxuan’s eyes lit up.
A solution presented itself…
A way to intervene in the county seat without frightening the populace.
Hehe!
Hadn’t the game Civilization long ago shown the way?
To reach into another’s city without resorting to war, the best method is “culture.” Once “cultural” invasion has taken root, an enemy city can switch allegiance in a heartbeat.
To wrest Chengcheng County over and transform it into “our county,” the cultural approach was the most reliable and caused the least harm to the people.
Li Daoxuan reached out and tapped the words “Gaojia Village” on the side of his box. Whoosh! His perspective snapped back to a point above Gaojia Fortress.
Having just surveyed the suffering county seat, the instant his vision returned to Gaojia Village, he immediately sensed a completely different atmosphere.
Xing Honglang and Gao Chuwu were actually engaged in a duel!
Li Daoxuan had no idea how many times these two had clashed. Certainly, Xing Honglang would always pick a fight with Gao Chuwu upon returning from a trading trip.
A large crowd held their dinner bowls, eating their evening meal while enjoying the spectacle.
Xing Honglang attacked first, her Jin Hong Fist slicing through the air with audible force. Gao Chuwu immediately countered using the Guanzhong Hong Fist. Back and forth they traded blows, over a dozen moves passing in the blink of an eye. Then, Xing Honglang intentionally exposed an opening; Gao Chuwu lunged, only to punch empty air.
Xing Honglang swiftly closed the distance, Bang! Bang! Bang! A rapid flurry of strikes rained down.
Gao Chuwu’s towering frame toppled once more, collapsing with a thud that kicked up a cloud of dust.
The onlookers burst into laughter again: “Hahaha! Gao Chuwu will never beat Xing Honglang! This is getting more dull by the day! Dull, I say! Hahahaha!”
Even Gao Yiye and Thirty-Two, standing in the crowd, clapped their hands and laughed loudly.
Li Daoxuan spoke: “Yiye, ask Thirty-Two, how many copies of the Dao Xuan Deity’s Demon Elimination Tale remain unsold?”
The words had barely left him when Gao Yiye abruptly froze, as if paralyzed.
Several seconds later, she turned mechanically, her neck seemingly stiff, tilting her face upwards towards the sky: “Ah… uh… cough… That… that book… Deity… you know about it?”
Li Daoxuan purposely pretended to scowl: “How could I not know? Could such a matter be concealed from me?”
Chapter 236: The Method to Intervene in the County
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