Class Begins

Hu Tieniu stood at the bottom of the steps, staring wide-eyed at everything in the yard.

He rubbed his hands together excitedly and spun around twice on the spot.

"Young master, this is far too much!"

Shen Jingchuan waved his hand.

"This is only part of it; I'll send you some more in a couple of days."

Hu Tieniu waved his hands repeatedly.

"That's enough, that's enough, young master."

"If we're still short of it, I'll find a way myself."

Shen Jingchuan nodded.

"Okay, you arrange for someone to pack all these things into storage. You can handle the rest yourself."

"Also, I'll get you another batch of grain, and I'll send it to you together in a few days."

Upon hearing this, Hu Tieniu jumped up with joy.

"Oh dear, young master!"

"That's enough! Even if the Government Army send 100,000 or 200,000, I won't be afraid!"

Shen Jingchuan smiled, put his hands behind his back, and entered the lobby first.

The hall was brightly lit by candlelight, and two young women stood awkwardly to one side, at a loss for what to do.

Hu Tieniu followed them in, and upon seeing this, glared at the two of them.

"Chuntao, Xiulian, what are you two standing there for!"

"Didn't you see the young master has arrived? Hurry up and make some tea!"

The two girls hurriedly responded, curtsied, and went off to get busy.

Shen Jingchuan sat down in the chair, looked up at Hu Tieniu, and gave him a half-smile.

"Chief Hu, you're something else!"

"It's only been a few days, and you already have a wife?"

Hu Tieniu scratched the back of his head, his dark face flushed red, and he chuckled.

"Young master, please stop teasing me."

"Didn't you tell me last time to get married soon and continue the family line?"

"These two are the ones I just decided on today. I'll take them as my wives and concubines."

"As for a legal wife, I'm thinking I should find a suitable one, but there's no one in sight yet."

Shen Jingchuan nodded.

"Alright, I won't pry into your business."

"You take care of things outside first. I'll have some tea and wait for you here."

Hu Tieniu responded and strode out.

In the courtyard, he shouted orders, directing people to move and count the items.

A moment later, Chuntao and Xiulian entered quietly, carrying tea.

After pouring the tea, the two women stepped aside, standing with their hands at their sides, heads bowed low, barely daring to breathe.

Shen Jingchuan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and waved to the two of them.

"Alright, you don't need to serve me here. You can all leave."

"You all seem awkward and uncomfortable around me, go and rest."

Upon hearing this, the two girls felt as if they had been granted a pardon and immediately curtsied.

"Yes, young master."

They lowered their heads and quickly retreated, one after the other.

Shen Jingchuan sat alone, slowly sipping his tea. About fifteen minutes later, Hu Tieniu strode in.

"Young master, you have truly solved a tremendous problem for me this time."

"Give me another half month."

"I guarantee I'll train those brothers from head to toe!"

Shen Jingchuan, holding his teacup, glanced at him and smiled.

"What, are you planning to become a mountain king in this little corner of Yuxi Prefecture?"

Hu Tieniu pulled over a stool, sat down opposite him, and stopped laughing.

"Young master, to be honest, I've already planned this out."

"With these weapons, please also provide me with more food."

"These surrounding prefectures and counties are all suffering from disasters right now; people are starving to death everywhere."

"As long as we have enough food and weapons, I'm prepared to expand this project significantly."

"I want to overthrow this court completely and create a way for the poor to survive."

Shen Jingchuan raised an eyebrow; as expected, this kid had great ambitions.

"Oh? So what do you plan to do?"

Hu Tieniu slapped his thigh.

"That's easy."

"As long as we have weapons and food, we can mobilize hundreds of thousands, even millions, in the blink of an eye with just a call to arms."

"As we fight our way towards the Capital, the number of people who can no longer survive along the way will only increase."

"Besides, those magical weapons you gave me—machine guns, cannons..."

"Is there any city in this world that it cannot conquer?"

Shen Jingchuan didn't reply, and slowly put down his teacup.

"I believe you can take over this court."

"But let me ask you, what happens after we take it down?"

"How can you govern such a large country?"

Hu Tieniu was stunned, opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

He scratched his head for a while, then suddenly his eyes lit up.

"That's easy."

"Young master, when the time comes, you can be the emperor and rule from your own position, wouldn't that solve the problem?"

Shen Jingchuan shook his head and chuckled.

"I can't be emperor."

"The emperors of this mortal realm have always been mortals. We cultivators are not allowed to sit on this throne."

Hu Tieniu was stumped again, frowning as he pondered.

"Then... then I'll find more civil officials."

"Once the country is conquered, there will naturally be literate people who will come out to help govern."

Shen Jingchuan looked at him, his tone calm.

"What's the difference between then and before?"

"The imperial court is new, but those corrupt officials are still here."

"In years of famine, ordinary people still have no way to survive."

"Maybe things will be better in the first few years, but after a few more years, won't it be the same old story again?"

Hu Tieniu stuck out his neck.

"No! I'm keeping an eye on them."

"I've heard those stories told by the storyteller too."

"Anyone who dares to steal will be severely punished, and their head will be chopped off!"

Shen Jingchuan sighed softly.

"You're oversimplifying things."

He leaned back in his chair and began to speak slowly.

"Let me tell you why in this world, the poor get poorer and the rich get richer."

"The main reason is land. If the weather is good, people live well and the population gradually increases. But in years of disaster, the poor can't survive and have to sell their houses, land, wives, and children. As a result, a large amount of land ends up in the hands of a few people."

"Those powerful Aristocratic Clan and landlords acquired more and more land."

"Ordinary people have less and less land, and if they encounter a year of disaster, they will be even less able to survive, and more people will lose their land."

"Then they'll be even less able to survive. What will they do? They'll have no choice but to rebel."

"The rebellion succeeds, a new dynasty is established, the land is redistributed, and the same old story repeats itself."

"The rebellion failed, and the corpses piled up like mountains; it was the common people who died."

"Once it's over, many people will have died, and the land will be empty again."

"The imperial court continues to rule, continues to annex territory, continues to impoverish, and then it has to rebel."

"It goes around and around, it's all the same, and it's been going on for so many years without ever being solved."

Hu Tieniu was stunned, his mouth agape, unable to close it for a long time.

"So... so according to you, there's no way out?"

Shen Jingchuan's eyes flickered slightly.

"There is a way."

"That means uprooting the Aristocratic Clans and transferring all their land to the imperial court."

"Ordinary people can only rent land; they have no land to cultivate and are never allowed to buy or sell it. The imperial court sets a fixed number and a certain percentage for the harvest, which can be adjusted appropriately nationwide based on different circumstances."

"In this way, there will be no landlords or powerful clans."

"With no one able to seize the land, the people's lives will naturally improve."

Hu Tieniu nodded repeatedly, but then doubts arose.

"So, as you said, life gets better and the population keeps growing, then there won't be enough land to cultivate. What will we do then?"