Yinshan Record

Chapter 358 The Source of Soldiers' Supplies: Xuan Du's Original Intention
With a sharp glint in his eyes, Lu Bai slowly sheathed the knife in his hand.

The ghost in front of him had been struck by his own blade in the previous attack. The surge of hot blood containing masculine energy had turned the ghost into wisps of smoke.

It's a bit of a pity.

Lu Bai thought that the female ghost was quite beautiful. Under normal circumstances, he might have been tempted to tease her, but today's situation was a bit special.

He gently shook his neck; it had been a long time since he had done this, and today he felt his muscles and bones were loosened up.

"Old Lu, is your place clean now?"

Zhu Yi slowly walked up from below. The two of them had just each chosen a direction and joined forces to wipe out the enemy. Now that they had finished their rounds, it was as if they had regrouped.

“A few have left.” Lu Bai said, looking up at the room where Su Che was.

These monsters appeared out of nowhere, and they were all incredibly slippery. As soon as we made our move, they fled. Even with our best efforts, several of them escaped.

However, since the young master did not take action, it means that even if a few were released, it would not be a big problem.

The two exchanged a smile, and following Young Master Su was far more enjoyable than usual.

Inside the room, Su Che listened quietly to Xuan Gui's speech.

“Although Cizhou suffered a disaster, the taxes and grains of the southern counties were not exempted. The newly collected taxes and grains of the counties should still be in the treasury. These were all collected by them on behalf of Master Liu.” Xuan Gui carefully looked at Su Che’s face, trying to read more information from Master Liu’s face: “As long as we find out when they were transporting the grain to Cizhou City, we can take action halfway there. The grain and the carts will all belong to Master Liu.”

“The county yamen runners are all just for show, and the patrolmen are only good at bullying the villagers,” Xuan Gui added. “As for manpower, they are readily available.”

"Ok?"

"Master Liu should know that Cizhou is said to have been formed by ancient immortals rising from the seabed, and it has abundant mineral resources. There are many state-run iron mines nearby."

Upon hearing this, Su Che glanced at Xuan Gui again.

This person is indeed somewhat quick-witted.

The Liang Dynasty monopolized the benefits of mountains and lakes, meaning that everything in the mountains and waters essentially belonged to the court.

Mineral resources were no exception. All iron and copper mines were state-run, and the miners in charge of mining were often convicts sent to work in the mines for life. Even a general amnesty from the imperial court would not pardon them.

Nowadays, working in a mine is basically a death sentence. You have to work hard day and night, eat worse than pigs, and there are always mine accidents and monsters sleeping underground.

Being sent to the mines and surviving for five years is a real feat.

These prisoners in the mines were called "official laborers" because of the harsh environment. They were always a source of instability in the area, and there were frequent reports of them ganging up to attack and kill officials and rebel.

Daliang also kept a close eye on these officials and their captives.

Sikong Tu wants to lead the good people in rebellion, he wants to use plague to bewitch people, and he also wants to use talisman water to cure diseases. If he can mobilize two or three tenths of the people, that would be good.

The officials and their men don't need any mobilization; they'll take action on their own as long as there's hope.

Xuan Gui's proposed methods were not exactly brilliant solutions to turn the tide, but Su Che considered them all to be good ideas.

It's simple and easy to use, with a high success rate.

This is enough.

Su Che looked down at Xuan Gui. This kid looked like a scholar, but his hobbies were similar to his own. He was always thinking about rebellion.

“Good. Go back and rest first, pack your things tomorrow, and we’ll set off together.”

"Thank you, Master Liu. I will serve you with my life from now on."

"Just call me Big Brother. I won't make you risk your life. You'll get plenty of benefits in the future."

Su Che offered the scholar a few words of comfort and then sent Xuan Gui away.

A red candle, as thick as a child's arm, burned, and from inside the room came the soft murmurs of a woman.

The Yin-Yang Dharma King looked at Su Che and said, "Su boy, are you really planning to rebel?"

"What are you saying, senior?" Su Che shook his head. "Rebellion or not, at most I'm just purging the court of corrupt officials and quelling the national crisis. Besides, don't you find it amusing, senior?" "Hmm?"

The Yin-Yang Dharma King looked at Su Che, wondering what this kid was up to.

This senior figure now has only two things on his mind: one is to cooperate with the Zhongyuan Festival to re-establish the Heavenly Court, which in modern terms means to start building the Underworld.

Another matter is to pass on the lineage of the Black Emperor, so that if something happens to him, the Black Emperor's mantle will be broken.

Since the fall of the ancient Heavenly Court, the Yin-Yang Dharma King has been in seclusion in the Yin-Yang Realm. In terms of cultivation, knowledge, and worldly wisdom, he is a first-rate figure. However, he is not only not very familiar with the current state of affairs in the Central Plains, but also has little interest in them.

So whether Su Xiaozi wants to rebel and become emperor, or quell the rebellion and become a famous minister, it doesn't matter to the Yin-Yang Dharma King.

"According to what the senior said, there is a Xuandu Palace in the Central Plains."

As Su Che spoke, he pointed vaguely upwards.

Xuandu Palace is the first-class Xuanmen sect in this world, and also a major force that suppresses the Central Plains.

Even when the Five Emperors of the Five Directions established the Heavenly Court in ancient times, they still had to consider the whims of the Xuandu Palace, let alone now.

The Buddhist sect has intervened in the Central Plains, and the White Deer Cave's many plans are about to be launched one by one.

Su Che was very curious about what those high-ranking Earth Immortals were plotting.
Is the phrase "do nothing, yet nothing is left undone" truly a panacea?

"what do you mean?"

With a light tap of his finger, the Yin-Yang Dharma King immediately isolated himself from heaven and earth using his cultivation.

Some things should be said discreetly, otherwise why would that Zhongyuan hold that ridiculous Zhongshan Meeting in the Arctic?

"This junior is very curious about where exactly Xuandu Palace's bottom line lies."

There were no outsiders here, and the Yin-Yang Dharma King had completely isolated the world, so Su Che spoke more directly.

"You want to try your luck with Bailudong?"

The Yin-Yang Dharma King looked at Su Che.

“Exactly.” Su Che looked at the Yin Yang Dharma King and said, “Senior, don’t you find it strange? The rules of Xuandu Palace are that the power of immortals above the level of Changsheng Zhenren is not allowed to appear in the Central Plains. But is the hungry ghost path of Buddhism fake? If you are afraid that the immortals of Changsheng will let go and cause the country to be broken and the people to suffer, then if Bailudong wants to change the dynasty, the human world will definitely suffer another great disaster.”

"They set the rules, but those rules are now practically worthless."

Su Che shook his head: "What do you think they're really thinking?"

"There's no point in telling you the origins of some of the rules of Xuandu Palace now. If you pay attention, you might be able to see some clues. Once you reach the fourth-grade Void Step realm, you'll be able to directly receive their influence."

A rare hint of embarrassment flashed across the face of the Yin-Yang Dharma King.

"However, what you said about testing Xuandu Palace is very important, since many of our people are not just immortals."

Su Che looked at the Yin-Yang Dharma King.

"For example, the Ghost Ancestor, or that Kongkong'er."

Gui Zu and Kong Kong'er should be henchmen under Zhong Yuan. Su Che had already deduced this, but he still wanted to know how much power this Lord Zhong Yuan, who was determined to restore the ancient Heavenly Court, actually had.

"There are other examples as well."

The Yin-Yang Dharma King looked back at Su Che. This Su kid was still thinking of probing that person's background.

"The Central Plains, the Eastern Sea, the Western Kingdom, the Northern Wilderness, and the Southern Barbarians—if we're going to make a move, we must all move together. But what exactly do you mean by testing the Xuandu Palace's bottom line?"

"For example, what exactly do they want, hanging like this in the sky?"

"I can answer that question for you right now."

(End of this chapter)