Confined to one's home at the start, studied for ten years, and became a saint and ancestor.

The anti-military forces in Yongjiang are growing stronger.

The difficulty of suppressing bandits is also increasing.

Because there are basically none left.

The surrounding bandit strongholds were either wiped out or fled.

It's too difficult to make a living here.

This rebel king doesn't do any real work; he's too fond of suppressing bandits.

Most importantly, previously, those rebel forces were actually quite slow-moving. Although they were suppressed, they didn't exert much effort, and they still had room to survive.

But as time went on, recently their efforts suddenly intensified, as if they had been injected with adrenaline.

I don't know what triggered them.

Why do we have such a grudge against these bandits?

Moreover, they are all led by extremely powerful individuals.

Even a small gang of robbers consisting of just a few people can be targeted.

The bandits realized they had no way out.

We need to run away, and we need to run far away.

Even in areas controlled by the Great Xia Dynasty, those lunatics would still try to wipe out the people around Yongjiang.

What's even more outrageous is that the soldiers left behind by the Great Xia Dynasty acted as if they didn't see anything, eating and drinking as usual, and some even joined in the suppression out of boredom.

The Yongjiang rebels were also very particular; they only suppressed bandits.

This was the most difficult year for the bandits within the Great Xia territory.

Because it started with the Yongjiang rebels.

When rebels in other places were on the verge of collapse due to the suppression by the dynasty, they would go to Yongjiang to suppress the bandits.

This seemed to have become a necessary pledge of allegiance to the Yongjiang rebels.

Moreover, it seems that the more they are eliminated, the better their treatment will be upon entering Yongjiang.

This prompted even those rebel forces that weren't yet at their wits' end to start preparing in advance.

Now, what the bandits fear most is not the imperial army, but the rebel army.

It's like a small knife pulling a butt; it's opened the eyes of those bandit leaders.

Their living conditions are becoming increasingly difficult.

Many bandits couldn't stand it, feeling too fearful, so they simply took their money and went down the mountain to hide their identities and start legitimate businesses.

You see, the chaotic times were the perfect opportunity for these bandits and tyrants to show their skills, but now it has become their most difficult time.

This kind of outrageous thing has never happened before, either in history or in the present.

This generation of bandits is having a really tough time!

Whether there's trouble or not, we're always being attacked.

"Your prime minister is quite capable!"

"It's actually quite useful; it can really get soldiers to risk their lives and follow your nonsense!"

Inside the Yongjiang Imperial Palace.

Kinoshita Ya praised Mu Tianyi, who had already died, for bringing him back so that he wouldn't actually fight his own army.

She meant it sincerely.

It's important to know that bandit suppression also involves helping ordinary people with their tasks.

For a martial artist, it's no different from wasting their life.

Just as she saw when she first arrived, those people were actually being somewhat perfunctory.

But now they're all working as hard as if they've been injected with adrenaline.

So much so that they didn't even have enough bandits to go around to the areas still under the control of the Great Xia Dynasty to suppress them.

This is utterly outrageous.

"Of course, how could someone I've set my sights on be anything less than excellent?"

Mu Tianyi was quite pleased with himself.

However in reality.

"Prime Minister Guo, I have wiped out three more bandit strongholds, built two hundred houses for civilians, and cultivated three thousand acres of land. The merits for exchanging for that Earth-rank treasure are more than enough, as you see!"

The burly man who used to always follow Guo Tu is now actively leading people to do business outside.

At this moment, he rubbed his hands together, a simple smile on his face mixed with anticipation.

Upon hearing this, Guo Tu picked up the pile of merit badges in the other party's hand, examined them one by one, then put them into his storage ring. Finally, with a heavy heart, he took out a pair of Earth-grade copper hammers.

The burly man took it, his face beaming with excitement, and then happily went back to his work.

"Sigh, this is a huge gamble for me!"

Guo Tu touched the ring on his hand.

The reason why his subordinates are so enthusiastic and eager to fight bandits, and why he actively urges them to work, is not because he has suddenly realized something or has been won over by Xiao Tianyi's domineering nature.

It was all thanks to the generous rewards Guo Tu gave them; otherwise, just hyping them up wouldn't have made them put in such a tremendous amount of effort.

After all, whether working for ordinary people or fighting bandits, there are no benefits to be gained.

Let them do it, but how they do it is something you can't force them to do.

But the advantages are different; they are more proactive than anyone else, and they are even willing to fight over the bandits.

Guo Tu even tried various methods to supervise them to prevent them from killing innocent people and claiming credit for their crimes.

These treasures all belonged to Guo Tu, or rather, were rewards he received from Lu Feifan.

Those treasures, after initially making him feel dizzy and shaken.

His vision and ambition were also broadened.

He gets so many good things as gifts so easily, or even just thrown at him like trash.

Just so her son could have fun!

What does this mean? It means that these things are just trifles to the big shots.

And this little gadget is just that awesome!

Where's the big thing?!

can not imagine.

He wanted more room for improvement, and now that such an opportunity was before him, it would be a waste to only focus on comparing himself with the strong in the mere Great Xia.

Such an opportunity is so rare that it's not an exaggeration to say it might only come once in a few lifetimes, let alone hundreds of millions of lifetimes.

Therefore, he wanted to go big.

He set aside a small portion for his own cultivation, and used the rest, in His Majesty's name, to reward those people.

He wanted his men to put in more effort.

He knew this; if there were no benefits involved, they would agree verbally but would definitely drag their feet on doing such a thing.

This cannot be explained clearly by simply talking.

Only profit-driven motives are truly practical.

This is why the bandits, which were not wiped out in more than a month, have spread to other areas in less than half a month.

Guo Tu also kept raising the requirements for exchanging treasures.

Although many people are dissatisfied, the final interpretation rests with him. Some people are willing to fight bandits, while others are willing to fight them.

Then Guo Tu noticed that they became even more proactive.

This opened the door to a new world for Guo Tu.

He seemed to have figured out how to motivate these people with minimal effort.

The key is to let them compete and get them involved.

Guo Tu has been thinking about this matter recently.

After success, he can accomplish His Majesty's task at the lowest possible cost, and if he's ruthless enough, he might even be able to profit from it.

However, he has lofty ideals and ambitions, so he definitely can't do this kind of thing!

"What is Divine Martial Arts! I will be stronger than Divine Martial Arts!"

I recall that important figure, from who knows how far away, fished away the ethereal Divine Martial God like a fish.

He recalled the long spear he gave his son, which he treated like a toy, yet it was something that even a skilled warrior couldn't defeat in a one-on-one fight.

This shows that Shenwu is nothing special.

Therefore, the direction he wanted to improve was not just the mere Divine Martial Arts.

This will test the level of skill with which he flatters His Majesty.

Of course, Guo Tu had another consideration behind his generosity.

Which powerful being, upon hearing that their own emperor had become emperor, bestowed upon them so many and such miscellaneous treasures?

It's clearly not a systematic approach and isn't designed for one person.

Perhaps they are using him to cultivate a team for His Majesty.

Otherwise, even if rewards are given, there's absolutely no need to treat it like dealing with miscellaneous items.