There Was Definitely No Poison in the Porridge
The Ningdu Sect originally located in Gan Province. Even for martial arts masters, traveling from there to Suzhou and Hangzhou and Hangzhou and back was quite a tiring journey.
However, after the Ningdu Uprising was suppressed, the old Ningdu Sect's mountain gate had already been destroyed in the war.
Yang Chengwu wasn't one to endure hardship. Rather than staying in a war-torn land, he preferred to find a prosperous place to rebuild his sect.
Therefore, the new Ningdu Sect was established in the mountains surrounding West Lake.
Over the years, the Ningdu Sect has been able to cooperate seamlessly with the Zhao family, exchanging a great deal of money, precisely because they are not far apart and can support each other.
After understanding the current situation, Chu Tianshu did not intend to simply leave and let the Zhao family's money and grain benefit the local government.
Therefore, he simply went from the side courtyard to the main hall and sat down. Along the way, all those who were die-hard protectors of their master and those who tried to rush towards him in a daze were stunned by his power.
Those who were clever enough to beg for mercy were simply told to "follow him" and gathered behind him.
Soon, apart from the person who had fainted, only those who followed him in fear remained in the Zhao residence.
Once he entered the main hall, there was a huge crowd outside.
"Sect Leader Yang, write a letter to your trusted confidant and ask him to send the Marrow Jade over."
Chu Tianshu sat in his armchair and casually pointed to a short man in the crowd.
"You work at the pigeon loft, so you should know which carrier pigeons are specifically used to contact the Ningdu Sect. Go and fetch the pigeons immediately so we can deliver the message later."
The short servant, who had just witnessed those who had disrespected him fall to the ground for no apparent reason, now heard the man reveal his identity and felt as if he had encountered a deity. How could he dare disobey?
Chu Tianshu then randomly selected a few more people.
It was the group of people who managed the granaries, clothing stores, accounting offices, and kitchens who were instructed to quickly set up ten soup kitchens around the Zhao residence to provide porridge and winter clothing to the refugees.
Even Qin and Yang could hear the entire mansion's commotion.
With Chu Tianshu's cultivation level, he naturally knew exactly where everyone in the Zhao family mansion was, and what was happening in each room.
Those who were calculating, guarding the clothing store, watching the granary, and so on, seeing Chu Tianshu, this stranger, directing and assigning tasks with such skill, all couldn't help but be suspicious and revered him like a god.
Although martial arts are flourishing in this world, superstition is also deeply ingrained.
It was also because the court was tyrannical, the people suffered greatly, bandits roamed freely, and there were illegal acts everywhere, with many cruel and bizarre behaviors that made people almost suspect that they were the work of ghosts and monsters.
Where there are ghosts and monsters, there are naturally gods and Buddhas, which has led to the emergence of various folk religions, numbering in the dozens or even hundreds.
The imperial court couldn't distinguish which sects were involved, so they all referred to them as the White Lotus Demons.
This lazy approach to governance only made the White Lotus Sect sect more powerful, and many other sects seized the opportunity to change their White Lotus, attracting even more followers.
Those whom Chu Tianshu kept by his side were mostly people with weak minds and were quite superstitious.
Now that they suspect Chu Tianshu is a deity incarnate, they dare not outwardly comply with his orders but inwardly defy them.
It can be said that they are now even more dedicated to their work than when they were loyal to Master Zhao.
Yang Chengwu had once followed the rebel army, and seeing Chu Tianshu's demeanor, he realized that Chu was no ordinary martial artist, and his heart skipped a beat.
Even those so-called reputable and righteous sects, who genuinely act as chivalrous heroes and eliminate local tyrants and evil gentry, often only strike once and leave, at most carrying gold and silver to distribute to the poor under the cover of night.
Chu Tianshu's brazen act of eliminating the Zhao family's high-ranking officials and setting up soup kitchens to mobilize all of the Zhao family's reserves was quite audacious.
This not only reflects a broader perspective and higher level of understanding, but also a wealth of experience.
"Who exactly is this person? Although there are many self-proclaimed rebel kings in the world, those who truly possess such martial arts skills and cunning are few and far between. How come I have never seen one before?"
Yang Chengwu stood by the table writing a letter, intending to tamper with it.
But whenever he had any impure thoughts, Chu Tianshu would just happen to glance at him, sending a chill down his spine and making him dare not do anything sneaky.
In fact, he still has the Grand Void Inner Force infused into his body by Chu Tianshu.
The Grand Void Radiation is extremely sensitive to fluctuations in the soul.
If this person has extremely high self-control and can outwardly comply while remaining completely calm and composed, then that's fine.
However, he was so intimidated by Chu Tianshu that he became uneasy. The thought of secretly plotting against him made his soul even more tense, and he could not hide it from Chu Tianshu.
Seeing that his spirit was weak and listless, and that he had already resigned himself to his fate, Chu Tianshu withdrew his gaze.
"The techniques for Mountain Collapse and Water Extinction waveforms, combined with the Grand Void Radiation, and the sensitivity to fluctuations in the soul, are truly invaluable."
Chu Tianshu stretched out his arms, his palms resting on the edge of the table, his heart filled with ambition.
"The situation regarding rebellion in the Yuan Dynasty is much better than in the Great Ming."
Back when he was in the Great Ming, firstly, his martial arts skills were not yet fully developed, and even if he were a top-notch master, he would still be unable to stir up the world's situation on his own.
Secondly, at that time, the Great Ming Fortune not yet finished, and there were still many people who were unwilling to suffer the calamity of war.
Therefore, Chu Tianshu's primary task was to annihilate the Japanese pirates. As for overthrowing the imperial court, he adopted a strategy of building high walls and stockpiling grain, taking things slowly.
He did not actually stage a formal rebellion until he left the Great Ming.
The Great Yuan was different; how could they not give the rebels a boost when they arrived in such a place?
Moreover, to find another Youdu Edict in the vast world, one still needs sufficient influence.
Providing porridge and clothing was just the beginning.
People outside were not yet aware that the Zhao family had changed owners, but the news had spread simply from the sight of people setting up porridge stalls outside.
Immediately, the news spread like wildfire among the refugees and beggars, and large crowds flocked to the area, waiting to receive the porridge.
The Yellow River flooded a few years ago, and this year Qilu is experiencing a severe drought, resulting in a large number of displaced people across the country.
Those wealthy cities actually did not allow refugees to enter; at most, they could only wander between towns and villages, either becoming bandits or starving to death.
The Suzhou and Hangzhou region was renowned for its wealth, attracting a large number of displaced people who had originally been ordered by the government to be driven away.
However, a few months ago, when the government sent troops and constables to drive away the refugees, they were startled and hundreds of troops were driven back by a passing martial arts practitioner who smashed the city gate with a single palm strike.
A large hole had collapsed in the middle of the city wall, and the broken stones, bricks, and mud bricks were all pushed into the moat by martial arts heroes, allowing refugees to not only cross the bridge but also wade across the river.
From that day on, the situation spiraled out of control.
Although the imperial court issued an arrest warrant and dispatched experts to pursue the "villainous tyrant" who smashed the city gate, the local government was hesitant to get involved in such matters.
Therefore, the number of homeless people and beggars in the city has recently increased dramatically.
The Zhao family mansion, with its high walls and thick gates, was a place that displaced people had always avoided.
Upon hearing that porridge was being distributed here, people came with great eagerness.
The people in the Zhao household were quick and efficient. They set up a simple stove, brought firewood and clean water directly from inside the mansion, and began to cook rice porridge.
The refugees stared wide-eyed at the sight of polished white rice in the soup kitchen, which contained not only millet and brown rice but also some finely milled rice.
Someone couldn't help but pinch themselves. "Am I dreaming? Such delicious porridge! This... this... could it be poisoned?"
Zhao Jintang, who was in charge of the wine tax in Suzhou and Hangzhou, was not a great philanthropist.
His willingness to distribute porridge might have been due to the government's request, in an effort to calm the public's mindset, but distributing such porridge inevitably caused widespread anxiety.
Do they want to lure more refugees to their deaths so they can be thrown into mass graves and make the city a little quieter?
"There's absolutely no poison in the porridge!"
A thin, balding old man wisely remarked, "Poison costs money too."
This one sentence immediately convinced many displaced people.
Yes, even poison costs money.
The Great Yuan government was known for its honesty and integrity.
When truly driven to desperation, the murder weapon is always gleaming; there's no need for precious rice or poison.
The streets were filled with displaced people, many of whom were too weak to stand for long and sat in small groups.
In the shadowy alley, there stood a burly old beggar with a tattered gray hat and a short white beard, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
"Although poison costs money, some powerful sects in the martial arts world who practice evil arts have profound meanings in their skills, and sometimes they are not stingy in feeding people poison."
The old beggar's eyes gleamed.
"Suzhou and Hangzhou are getting more and more lively; anything can happen."
"That brat who shattered the city wall earlier clearly used my Beggars' Sect's palm technique."
"The Meteor Gods and Devils want to Chuangong here, and the imperial court has sent Prince Gusi, accompanied by sixteen witches. Do they really think that old lecher is so easily lured in?"
"The orphan of the Liaodong Old Ginseng Immortal, carrying the Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng Emperor, is said to have already entered Suzhou and Hangzhou and Hangzhou, followed by a large group of experts hunting him down."
"And then there's Heavenly Maiden Han from Central Shu, the daughter of a rebel king. She's just a junior, yet she's been touted as some kind of supernatural being. I wonder how much real skill she actually possesses, and whether she'll even come this time."
(End of this chapter)