"Xiao Wei, remember to ask around at a few more merchants who are planning to travel by sea this time you go to town."
Inside the Great Azure Mountain, several burly men instructed Wei Gongzhan, who was about to enter the city. "Especially that newly opened merchant guild in the north of the city. I heard they're quite powerful. A dozen or so leaders independently bought the Sea God, they're definitely planning to buy up a lot of wine. Your red ginseng fruit is top-notch in Great Azure Mountain, it'll definitely fetch a good price if you sell it. While you're at it, also promote our red fruit as well, I'm waiting for this money to send my child to the academy at the end of the year!"
"Okay!" Wei Gongzhan agreed with a smile. He had asked about thirty of his neighbors for favors, and they all had good relationships with him. He usually agreed to do things that were convenient for him without hesitation.
But because of this, he is now very popular in Great Azure Mountain.
" Old Li, are you sure your child wants to go to school?" Wei Gongzhan curiously. "I thought you were going to keep him to inherit your red fruit field."
"Of course, you should study if you can," Old Li glared at the other person. "Look how capable those kids from the academy are these days! Especially those... what kind of academy kids did Master Xu bring from Great Azure Mountain?"
" Agricultural Academy."
"Oh, right, right!" Old Li chuckled. "It's truly remarkable! Several of the best-selling agricultural products from our Great Azure Mountain today were developed by him. Isn't that amazing? Things are so different now than before. Shaoyang Mountain in Nanyang, Mica Peak in Xiangzhou, and Nan'e South E Mountain in Yunzhou are incredible these days. Their products get more and more fancy every year, and our goods aren't selling as well as they used to!"
"It's because we were too complacent before!" An old man glared at a group of idle fishermen. "Our Great Azure Mountain was the first to produce grain, and fruit wine and such also originated here. Liuzhou is also close to us, so logically, it should have been the easiest place to win over the students of the academy. But now, all of them have been snatched away by other prefectures!"
"It's all because you're lazy. I told you months ago that all the students in the Yellow Academy are golden goose eggs, and you didn't believe me. Now you do?"
"Hehe." A group of burly men scratched their heads sheepishly.
"Children need to study!" Old Tou took a puff of welding smoke and looked at Wei Gongzhan, saying, "Young Wei, you know people at the academy. Inquire about the academy's admissions situation next year. Many children in our Great Azure Mountain have gone to school. See if a few can get in, especially the Yellow Academy. Even if they aren't as capable as Mr. Little Yang and can research so many things, at least they can learn some skills to support themselves."
"That's right," said a burly man beside him. "Last time there was an epidemic in our Great Azure Mountain, Mr. Little Li from the Renxuan Mystic Academy came up and resolved the matter in just a few days. If this had happened in the village before, probably half the village would have died!"
All the villagers nodded in agreement. Epidemics are the most frightening thing. In the past, in the countryside, there was no one to supervise, and once infected, dozens of villages would be affected, and in more serious cases, many people would die.
The last epidemic in Great Azure Mountain came suddenly. Many people started coughing up blood in just a few days. Most people were so frightened that they started blaming the Mountain God!
Fortunately, Mr. Little Li from the Mystic Academy is quite capable. How old is he? I think... only fourteen?
Such a young child actually solved the problem; he's truly a miracle doctor! Master Lord Chen's academy is amazing!
"Okay, old village chief!" Wei Gongzhan chuckled. The old man in front of him was said to have been the village chief of a large village and held a high position. He liked to take charge here, but because of his good character and fair dealings, everyone supported him. Although there was no such thing as a village chief now, everyone still liked to call him that.
"Hmph." The old man snorted, "It's good that you all understand this principle. Gather all your clever and quick-witted children, and when the academy admits students, try your luck. Maybe you'll make a profit if you get two in!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" The group nodded repeatedly.
Wei Gongzhan smiled wryly, but he didn't want to discourage the villagers. Shen Yuan had talked to him a lot about the academy. The children selected there were all of excellent aptitude. Not to mention these country kids, even those top scholars who only knew how to study by rote couldn't get in.
I'm talking about Gu Beiquan and his gang.
However, he did hope that more children from Great Azure Mountain could enter the academy. Nowadays, the children from the academy are highly sought after. With more children like these, Great Azure Mountain could have a better life. Old Li was right; the competition outside is too fierce now, unlike before.
That was fast!
Wei Gongzhan was somewhat emotional. He remembered that when he first came to the mountain, the entire Great Azure Mountain was still somewhat desolate, and he often walked hundreds of meters without seeing a single person. Now, the entire mountain is full of busy farmers and is teeming with life.
There are already hundreds of places, large and small, where Mountain God, like Great Azure Mountain, provide cities with food, wine, and tea!
Among them are those larger than Great Azure Mountain, such as Shaoyang Mountain in Nanyang City. It has more land and produces more grain. Especially in the last six months, after Nanyang City recruited several Agricultural Academy children there, various new products have emerged and are being sold in Liuzhou to compete for the market.
They really slapped the faces of the Great Azure Mountain!
This finally drew attention to the matter.
This competition is truly vibrant and exciting, but... it's only been a year!
Wei Gongzhan with emotion. In just one year, the entire Southern Capital had undergone tremendous changes. He wondered what the imperial court's expression would be if they saw Jiangnan as it was now.
"By the way, Xiao Wei, is your general friend in Yunzhou planning to come back?" a burly man suddenly asked.
"Yes, I received a letter from my friend saying he should arrive in Liuzhou today!" Wei Gongzhan with an excited smile.
He had heard of his young master's reputation in Yunzhou. As expected of his young master, he had fought his way up to become a general. He knew that his young master could definitely do it!
"This is terrible!" exclaimed the burly man beside him. "The men who went to Yunzhou suffered the greatest losses. So many brave men perished there. So many people died trying to recapture Yunzhou City. Your friend was truly a hero!"
"Yes," Wei Gongzhan nodded. He had been worried for a long time after the news of the recapture of Yunzhou came.
May God protect you, young master, and keep you safe.
"My brother died over there," the burly man said with emotion.
" Old Zhao " Wei Gongzhan looked at the other person and comforted him, "It's alright, the Battle God Army has great benefits after entering the Underworld, your brother will definitely be doing well."
"That's true," the burly man said with a wry smile, "Who would want to go to the Underworld if they were alive and well? Besides, he died in Yunzhou, and he hasn't been extradited yet. His family is worried sick."
"Um," Wei Gongzhan had also heard about this matter, and he was also somewhat speechless.
This matter must begin with the establishment of City God in the other major prefectures!
These City God gods seem to be very keen on kidnapping people. Even though they were soldiers sent from Liuzhou who died in battle there, the City God insisted that they were under their jurisdiction and forcibly detained them there.
Many young men from Liuzhou married here, and their wives, children, and even elderly relatives live here.
After the fighters died in battle, all the benefits should have been settled in Liuzhou, but they wouldn't release the people there, and it was also difficult to settle the benefits here.
The only option is to keep negotiating with the City God.
However, some people, especially those with high merit such as the Fighter Army, are not allowed to leave, forcing their relatives here to move over in order to enjoy the benefits of the families of the fallen.
The people of Liuzhou have cursed and swore a lot about this.
It is said that many families moved to Great Azure Mountain because their relatives died in battle. Liuzhou's population was already smaller than that of the other prefectures, and this back and forth has reportedly angered the City God.
They made a big fuss, but the matter hasn't been properly resolved yet.
The thought of several Underworld City God gods snatching people away made Wei Gongzhan chuckle. It turned out that when it came to political achievements, those so-called gods were no different from ordinary people.
"So Old Zhao, are you moving to Yunzhou?" someone nearby asked curiously.
"I'm considering it." Old Li also looked resentful. "If we don't move, we're worried about our brother's widow and her children going to Yunzhou. But if we do move, I still have so many hawthorn berries here. I really can't bear to part with them. I've put so much effort into these hawthorn berry fields."
The others nodded in agreement. These high-quality seeds needed to be nurtured with spiritual energy. Many farmers had developed an emotional attachment to the land they cultivated. The quality of land that had been nurtured for a year was different from that of land that hadn't. Of course, Old Li was reluctant to part with the land. Even if he sold all the red fruit, he would have to start nurturing the new land from scratch over there.
That would be a huge loss for them.
Wei Gongzhan was also at a loss for words. Very few family members of the Fighter Army remarried, because according to the rules, women who remarried could not enjoy the blessings of the Fighter Army afterlife. Therefore, once a husband died in battle, the wives and children left behind at home would basically compromise with the policy and move there, otherwise, wouldn't the husband's death have been in vain?
Wei Gongzhan felt that there were some problems with the system, but how to solve them was a matter for those above him, and he couldn't interfere.
After chatting with everyone for a while, Wei Gongzhan entered the city with his large and small bags.
He brought quite a lot of things, mainly because the young master had returned and become a general. This time, he had to celebrate properly. He even used his newly grown red ginseng fruit to make several pots of wine, just to bring them to welcome the young master back.
And it's been a long time since I've gotten together with Shen Yuan, so I'm definitely going to have a good drink this time.
Wei Gongzhan, in high spirits, jogged all the way to Liuzhou City, but he never expected that his good mood would be completely ruined by someone as soon as he arrived!
" Gongzhan, come here, I have some amazing news to tell you!"
If there's one person Wei Gongzhan least wanted to see upon entering the city, it's this person right in front of him.
The key point is that the other side seemed to have anticipated his arrival, as they had been waiting for him at the city gate for a long time.
"Why aren't you on duty in broad daylight? What are you up to?" Wei Gongzhan frowned at the guy in front of him.
After being eliminated, Wei Gongyan was never well-liked in the Fighter Army. Eventually, he left the Fighter Army in anger and went to the Door God Guard. It is said that he was also not well-liked in the Door God Guard, but at least he behaved himself for a while.
But it seems this guy can't stay put any longer.
"Come, come, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Liu, a cousin of the current Vice Minister of Ministry of Rites!"
Wei Gongzhan: "."
He knew this guy was up to no good.
However, this time, the news brought by the other party was not the kind of utterly boring news, but rather bad news that could plunge him into despair.
The imperial court has decided to send troops to the Jiangnan.
Moreover, it is said that the one leading the troops is Duke Yuchi Peng of the Yuchi Household!