The Great Undertaking of Taiping

If we only look at the Li Country's court, we can simply apply the cycle of rise and fall of feudal dynasties and use the economic model of an agricultural society. However, if we also include concepts such as Xuanmen (mystical sects), cultivators, and Cultivation Family in this category, it becomes much more complicated than can be explained in a few words.

Li Fan didn't want to go on and on, but only by understanding the significance and impact of 'Ink Bamboo Mountain joining the Xuanmen' on all levels of Li Country could he comprehend the intense social upheaval that was taking place in Changsi City and even the entire Li Country.

First of all,

The true masters of this world, those who wield the strongest violence, are not kings, warlords, or powerful clans.

It used to be Immortal Palace, but it is no longer.

This is the realm of the Xuanmen (Daoist sect).

Or to be more specific, it is the 'cultivator group led by the Nine Great Xuan Sects' that rules the world.

It is not the Twelve Countries of the Immortal Palace, but rather the existence of the 'Nine Great Xuan Sects' that has led to the 'Three Enclosures Twelve Countries' of today.

The Xuanmen (mystical sect) is the true architect of the entire system, the rule-maker, and the maintainer of order.

In fact, the Three Great Sects have always been exploring how to manage the 'cultivators', a group that transcends 'mortals'.

The Immortal Palace lost the world because it failed to manage its relationship with this group properly.

After all, cultivators care about rare and Heavenly Treasure, divine skill manuals, and breakthroughs in cultivation. They pursue pure and absolute power and longevity, so of course they look down on the empty titles, fiefs, rewards, and attempts to win them over by your king.

Therefore, the Immortal Palace's attempt to monopolize cultivation methods and stabilize its rule over the world essentially puts it on the opposite side from all cultivators in the world.

Although the Immortal Emperor lineage possessed the legitimate authority over the world and enjoyed the loyalty and support of civil and military officials, it was once able to suppress and eliminate cultivators throughout the land, much like catching thieves and bandits.

However, a cultivator's power can only be obtained through repeated tempering and cultivating their Dao heart. It cannot be obtained through bloodline inheritance or resource monopoly.

As the Ancient Immortal Palace gradually became corrupt and weak, and the Taiji Xian Dao Path was constantly being innovated, the bloodline rule based on the Cultivation Family model was destined to be unsustainable.

So the local situation gradually changed. It was one thing for corrupt officials to bully and exploit unarmed mortals by relying on their weapons, but if they went to cultivators with swords and collected taxes on mountains, rivers, forests, lakes, vehicles, businesses, and environmental protection, weren't they just courting death?

If we continue to use the same old methods for dealing with mortals to manage cultivators, sooner or later we'll see some truly bizarre and unbelievable things happen.

'I know the Immortal Palace requires taxes, but all my Heavenly Treasure were stolen with my own sword and spear. Why should I pay taxes to you? I'm not paying! What can you do about it?'

What else can we do but violently resist taxes? We'll just draw our swords and fight.

So in the end, the last Celestial Emperor who wanted to impose taxes by force was beheaded, and the Immortal Palace's rule naturally collapsed.

Previously, Li Fan couldn't understand why the Xuanmen, having defeated the Immortal Palace, didn't seize the throne. But after completing his daily routine, he happened to wander into the Lou Guan Tower and saw the abbot's daily routine of immersing himself in a sea of documents, and he understood.

Because it's no longer necessary. For the old Xuanmen sect, things are fine as they are now; the cultivator group has already achieved its goal.

To put it in a more refined and elegant way, this goal is 'to seek the Dao in a carefree manner'.

To put it bluntly, it's like this. "I don't pay taxes or grain rations, as long as I can ascend to heaven, what do I care about the lives of ordinary people?"

To be the ruler of the world yet not bear the obligation to protect it—that is the detached immortal.

Because supporting a huge bureaucratic system and military group to maintain order in the world is an absolutely thankless and financially unprofitable endeavor.

Cultivators need to focus on their cultivation. Who the hell has the time to bother with such trivial matters? They'd be so busy they'd go bald and still wouldn't be able to handle it all!

So do whatever you want in your Immortal Palace, just don't bother me while I'm cultivating immortality. Get as far away from me as possible.

But the Immortal Palace also has something to say. If all the resources in the world are taken by the Xuanmen for cultivation, how will the rest of us survive? Are we supposed to let the powerful and wealthy families cut off their own flesh? That's impossible, everyone might as well just draw their swords and fight!

Therefore, the old Xuanmen sect did not go all the way back then. They did not completely eradicate the Immortal Palace, but instead made many compromises, experiments, and reconciliations with the Three Enclosures, finally advancing to the point where they have introduced the perfect system of Yuntai Peak.

The essence of this system is that, regardless of Daoist Tradition sects, nationalities, or bloodlines, only those who join Yuntai Peak are considered 'Xuanmen' (mysterious sect).

Only those in the 'Daoist sect' are exempt from paying taxes.

As for other independent sects, they can be suppressed to death as long as they are labeled as 'demonic sects'.

The political functions of the Three Enclosures were gradually replaced by Yuntai Peak, which became a simple administrative body responsible for maintaining the basic stability of the mortal world, suppressing local rogue sects, and even receiving support from various Xuanmen sects to jointly combat emerging rogue Daoist Tradition.

For example, Ink Bamboo Mountain.

Yes, from the perspective of the Li Country's court, the Xuanmen are the true masters behind the scenes, the powerful clans and nobles are the flesh and blood of the country, the common people are the nourishment for this behemoth, and the local rogue sects like Ink Bamboo Mountain are the biggest threat that could lead to the collapse of this system.

Although the abbot is the national teacher and has been appointed by the Immortal Palace, Ink Bamboo Mountain has been recruiting people from the common people, expanding its missionary work, and squeezing out the space of traditional aristocratic families.

If the common people flock to Ink Bamboo Mountain, becoming its disciples, or even donating their land to Ink Bamboo Mountain cultivators, from whom will the imperial court collect taxes? And from whom will the powerful and wealthy seize land?

Thus, Ink Bamboo Mountain, a rogue sect under the management of immortals and a major taxpayer in the Li Country, fundamentally had an irreconcilable conflict with the Censorate, which represented the Li Country's court.

Therefore, as long as Ink Bamboo Mountain remains a place of independent cultivators, its disciples and their families will still not be eligible for the 'tax-free' status. Moreover, they are productive forces with resources, but they also possess the power to rebel, making them a source of chaos and unrest in the world.

But now the situation is different. Ink Bamboo Mountain has joined the Xuanmen, and the Xuanmen of Yuntai Peak has become the master!

To put it bluntly, the disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain can now legitimately avoid paying taxes to the Li Country!

The powerful clansmen who Li Country were the most sensitive to this. They no longer simply bought a spot and maintained relationships by betting on both sides; instead, they flocked to come and serve the country.

In this state, Ink Bamboo Mountain was no longer an object of taxation and suppression, but had become its master. How could the Censorate possibly cause trouble as before?

Of course, we should unite around the leadership team of Ink Bamboo Mountain with the Abbot at its core, hoping to send our clansmen to Ink Bamboo Mountain for cultivation!

As for where the imperial court's money comes from, there are still many common people; if we squeeze it out, there will always be some.

But ordinary people aren't stupid, okay?

Rather, it's more accurate to say that the people who survive in this world are all more cunning than the last, especially the businessmen in Changsi City who have been mingling in the streets and seen Three Religions and Nine Schools. They quickly discovered the policy loopholes in the changes at the Shengxuan Sect of Ink Bamboo Mountain.

Unlike Li Country keep pace with the times and repeatedly carry out economic reforms.

Ink Bamboo Mountain still uses the ancient system passed down from the time of the Ancient Immortal Palace.

For example, Li Fan himself complained about the salary system. Inner Sect disciples only received 'two thousand gold coins' a month. Although the Nascent Soul Realm Guardian True Persons collected offerings from the residents of their territory, they did not ask for money, food, or cloth. They were only supported by the families of the disciples within their territory, and were given tasks such as planting spiritual herbs, raising Divine Beast, and making mechanisms. However, it was better than nothing.

Honestly, disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain basically don't receive any sect benefits or subsidies.

Conversely, the tax laws of Ink Bamboo Mountain have not been updated for at least five hundred years.

Previously, Ink Bamboo Mountain was a rogue sect and had to pay an extra fee to the Li Country's court. This tax was settled by the Li Country's censors based on the actual situation and increased year after year, which was one of the main points of contention. But now that Ink Bamboo Mountain is a Xuanmen sect, this fee was immediately abolished.

Thus, the disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain only need to pay the basic 'pollution tax' each year, which is a head tax for the elderly, weak, women and children, at 20 coins a year; 'calculation tax', which is an income tax for adults, at 120 coins a year; and 'household tax', which is a household tax for those who have established a family and been allocated land, at 200 coins a year per household. The land rent was also set by the Immortal Venerable that year, at one-thirtieth of the tax.

As for commercial taxes such as capital gains tax, market tax, rent, and customs duties, there are none of them. After all, we are cultivators in the mountains, bartering goods. Why bother with all that nonsense? Isn't that troublesome enough? As for corvée labor, there are none! The disciples' salaries are already very low. How would we recruit new members if we imposed corvée labor? Nowadays, people are hired to work for the sect based on their contributions and KPIs!

From the perspective of cultivation sects, the system of Ink Bamboo Mountain is not very attractive. This has led to Ink Bamboo Mountain disciples being keen on their own production and business, with family units forming groups to trade in Changsi City and earn some money to supplement their household income.

Now, Ink Bamboo Mountain is attracting refugees to cultivate the Ten-thousand-mountains. These refugees who risk their lives to cultivate the land are all managed using the same methods as the disciples of Ink Bamboo Mountain.

This was mainly to facilitate the unified management of refugees, the organization of land reclamation, and the recruitment of disciples by various peaks and academies. Moreover, considering the difficulties of land reclamation, subsidies were provided for investments such as Cultivation Method, money, food, and equipment.

Of course, the current situation is difficult. In line with the national policy of combining agriculture and warfare, all the grain produced by the displaced people who have cleared the land is purchased by Ink Bamboo Mountain. Moreover, the use of grain, herbs, and spiritual fruits is also arranged by the sect. In view of the abundance of Divine Astral Coin, Ink Bamboo Mountain has now introduced 'Immortal Tickets', which can be used to exchange for resources with the sect.

In summary, this is the current situation for those Li Country.

Is this some kind of joke?

The people who Li Country are exploited to death by exorbitant taxes and levies, but the taxes at Ink Bamboo Mountain are practically nonexistent! Moreover, 'refugees' receive welfare benefits and policy subsidies for land reclamation and cultivation! Are any fools going to stay in Changsi City and wait to die??

As a result, in just a few short years, the number of people who moved out of the Jingji region alone reached as many as one million! Most of the wards in the city were practically emptied out!

Ink Bamboo Mountain is currently short of people for land reclamation and farming, so naturally, all these people are being recruited. Moreover, most of these people are experienced artisans from Changsi City, so the vast majority have been hired by Heavenly Craft Peak to work in their factories. Otherwise, do you think all those armored soldiers and archers in Ink Bamboo Mountain just fell from the sky?

The officials of Li Country didn't stop them. After all, those truly devoted to the country and who knew what the fundamental virtues of the nation were would have long been banished from the court to the frontier. The ruler of Li Country himself didn't care about this; as long as the grand house was built, he could keep his position. What did the future of Li Country have to do with the officials below him?

And isn't it perfect that we've driven away all those stinking beggars from Changsi City? Now we can finally reorganize and develop the slums of Changsi City, plunder, cough cough, and rebuild new mansions and apartment complexes!

After all, everyone understands! Officials also need to manage their finances! They embezzle, exploit, and extort, hoarding so much of the people's hard-earned money and grain. Now that the Divine Astral Coin has depreciated significantly, the losses of the powerful and wealthy are much greater than those of the poor!

But now that trade routes are cut off, national finances are under the unified management of the Treasury, silk and cloth have been driven to exorbitant prices, and surrounding farmland and estates have long been divided up, what better investment options are there? What timeless financial products remain?

Yes, there are! Houses! Mansions! How could the prices of houses in Changsi City drop? It's a sure thing, you can't lose money!

As long as the residential areas in the southwest are cleared out and leveled, and a new development zone is built, everyone will make a profit!

In this way, the common people had a way to make a living, Ink Bamboo Mountain had manpower, and the powerful and wealthy also had houses!

We won! We all won! Everyone has a bright future ahead of them!

So in the end, Changsi City became the mess it is today. The residents of Changsi City who could run away all ran away. Anyone with connections sold off their property, or even simply changed their registration to become vagrants and went to Ink Bamboo Mountain to reclaim wasteland.

Only those born into lowly status, living in criminal households, the elderly, the weak, the sick, or the disabled who were unable to leave, or those who still had some job or family property and were unwilling to leave their homes, remained in the city to be exploited.

In the end, not only was Li Fan speechless, but even the spies who had been sent to monitor him were depressed. They gathered around, drank bitter wine, and complained bitterly.

They complained about soaring prices, the devaluation of copper coins, and the court's continued withholding of lower-ranking officials' salaries. The previous subsidies were gone, and with merchants gone, there were no more tributes. They could only earn a basic salary of a dozen strings of cash a month, not even enough to listen to a little tune.

Meanwhile, those powerful and wealthy families amassed fortunes, and their favorite actors and entertainers could easily receive millions of dollars in tips for a single song! And they were still not satisfied! The eunuchs emptied the imperial family's private savings and then speculated on land, driving up housing prices to the sky!

Even these government officials with secure jobs, working tirelessly every day, can't even afford a dowry to get married. Alas, how did this country become like this?!

Then a group of tough guys started sobbing and crying, completely bewildered by Li Fan...

You lot, what were you doing here crying and wailing when the people were being driven away? Are you lamenting the rise and fall of the nation, or grieving over not investing in real estate in time?

Well, it's not like I haven't had opportunities Li Country. I had all the necessary talent—wise ministers, capable generals, opportune moments—but ultimately, it's still a purely feudal dynasty, with a corrupt feudal landlord class from top to bottom. Reforms are just superficial changes; they'll only ever amount to the same thing. Even if I were to win one or two wise rulers and ministers like in a lottery, what good would it do?

Thankfully, Ink Bamboo Mountain provides a safety net, giving these million people a chance to survive. Without it, wouldn't everyone be dead?

Seeing that it was getting late, Li Fan didn't overthink it. Taking advantage of the fact that the spies were talking about sad things and crying together without anyone noticing, he decisively left and went to Taiping Temple in East Market, East Market.

As expected, Taiping Temple remains peaceful.

The wealthy Dongcheng district is just as prosperous and bustling as it was back then, and even more so. The powerful and wealthy have squeezed the savings of millions of households, making them incredibly rich.

As the saying goes, "When the superiors have a certain preference, the inferiors will follow suit to an extreme." The Liqiu Palace is building new houses, the eunuchs are speculating on land, and the nobles in the eastern city are also renovating their villas, building gardens and pavilions, digging lakes and ponds, and constructing parks and gardens.

After all, commercial activities Li Country are now completely monopolized by the Ministry of Finance, or rather, by powerful families. As private trade routes are cut off, the government can use the flying boats that escort military rations to transport silk, tea, copper and ironware to the South Seas and the Kunlun Mountains, in exchange for precious items such as pearls, agate, amber, rhinoceros horns, and ivory. The government then decorates the buildings in the garden with gold and jade, making them look like palaces.

The only difference is that some people earn a lot, and some people earn a lot.

Taiping Temple, being a member of the nobility, the imperial family, and a sage, was already one of the wealthiest families in the Li Country, so he naturally made a fortune this time, a huge windfall.

Today, the entire Dayefang area, along with three or four surrounding neighborhoods, has been bought by Taiping Temple. The temple walls have been demolished and connected, forming a single complex called Taiping Temple. In addition to the original Taiping Temple, three pavilions—Linchun, Jieqi, and Wangxian—have been built to the north, south, and east, each several tens of feet high and containing dozens of rooms. Their windows, walls, lintels, and railings are all made of sandalwood and adorned with gold, jade, pearls, and emeralds, with beaded curtains on the outside. Inside, there are precious beds and canopies, and the clothing and playthings are more exquisite than ever before. Whenever a gentle breeze blows, the fragrance can be smelled for miles, and when the morning sun shines, its light illuminates the rear courtyard. Below, stones are piled up to form a mountain, water is channeled to form a pond, and exotic trees and flowers and herbs are planted. Within a radius of several tens of miles, there are also new residences of high-ranking officials and nobles, with pavilions and towers of varying heights, and the Jin Gu River meanders through them, where birds sing in secluded villages and fish leap in lotus ponds.

Eunuchs and fairy maidens came in an endless stream, while nobles and dignitaries moved about among them, singing and laughing, playing music and indulging in unrestrained pleasure. The decadent and luxurious scene would surely make even the most powerful immortal clans of the Three Realms gasp in astonishment.

Damn it, how can you possibly govern a country well with this bunch of bastards around?

Li Fan, also seething with anger and resentment, kicked a courtyard door and roared, his voice echoing through half the city.

"Demon Path! You wreak havoc on the court! You assassinated the king! Your crimes are heinous! You Black Lotus Demon Cult, get out here! Take a punch from your grandpa!"

The gatekeepers of Daye Ward and the Taiping Temple priests of Taiping Temple glanced at Li Fan and were immediately terrified, collapsing in panic and fleeing in disarray, screaming and shouting.

"Oh my god! The Nangong Family has attacked and wiped them all out!"