Opening the City Gates

Any system needs to adapt to the social structure, even the more advanced social concepts that Zhang Xuezhou believes in.

In order to create an impression of being out of step with the times and thus resign from his post, Zhang Xuezhou not only acted carelessly in his position as Grand Master of the Palace, but also did very little of substance.

Some of Zhang Xuezhou's actions would not seem out of place in modern society, but they were undoubtedly inappropriate and even seemed madness in the context of the Great Han Dynasty.

Ultimately, the idea of a powerful agricultural and military nation becoming strong in modern society simply means producing some experts and professors in agriculture, which isn't too far-fetched. However, in the Great Han Dynasty, this was a major event, even unprecedented.

The city gate was bustling with noise, and many people were discussing the matter.

For ordinary people, those living in Chang'an City undoubtedly felt a sense of superiority over those living Chang'an City, but they never imagined that even farmers outside the city could become officials.

"This assessment period will last at least a year, and possibly three to five years. Is it too late for us to buy land and start farming now?"

If you're not in a high enough social class, that's how ordinary people understand it.

If someone buys a piece of land, cultivates a single crop, and has a good harvest, the general public believes that this could lead to an official position.

Even if you don't buy fertile land directly, renting a piece of farmland isn't particularly difficult. At worst, you can hire someone to help reclaim a piece of wasteland.

These things are not difficult to do. Soon, people who knew the contents of the notice were making a lot of noise, and many people were talking about which plots of land were better and where they could get a good harvest.

Zhang Xuezhou even overheard people talking about the good seeds being sold by the "Ge San Hao" company.

"People outside the city are poor and don't want to spend money on seeds; they mostly use their spare seeds to plant. City dwellers know that good seeds lead to good harvests, but they have money and don't farm. Lie Si's seed business has always been in an awkward position, but he never expected to be able to take advantage of this policy boom!"

Xu Ji, who was older, lived in Chang'an City and spent his free time doing some business at the market. Xu Yuan, on the other hand, led a few young men from Zhang Household Village to farm.

Zhang Xuezhou murmured to himself, feeling that the seed company he had established several years ago could still play some role.

"It's a pity the scale was too small back then. If there had been ten or twenty seed companies, we could have made a fortune from this wave!"

Rong Tianding's thinking was similar to Zhang Xuezhou's. He sighed, feeling that the direction of the business was right, but the scale was too small.

"Making a little money wouldn't be bad," Zhang Xuezhou said. "Xu Yuan isn't young anymore; he can take this opportunity to earn money to support his family, get married, and have children!"

"Absolutely!"

Rong Tianding nodded.

"Ge San Hao" was a joint venture between Zhang Xuezhou, Rong Tianding, and Xu Yuan, but Xu Yuan ultimately took over the business.

Xu Yuan wasn't as resourceful as Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding; he had always focused on storing seeds, which led to Liesi's business declining.

Now that a favorable policy has finally arrived, the two of them are not going to take advantage of Xu Yuan's years of storing seeds.

This amount of money was insufficient for Zhang Xuezhou to save enough to buy an official residence, nor was it enough for Rong Tianding to buy a good wife.

"Cousin, Xu Ji keeps talking about appointing agricultural officials, but there are no farmers in the court. Did you arrange this?" Rong Tianding asked in a low voice.

"I was just saying it casually, who knew His Majesty would actually do it?" Zhang Xuezhou said.

"What are the drawbacks of this?" Rong Tianding asked.

"His Majesty said that no matter what is done, in the end, it will be the local gentry who become officials, and everyone else will just be there to make up the numbers," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"The wealthy and powerful don't farm the land themselves... You mean the credit for those who actually produce high-yield fields will be attributed to the wealthy and powerful?" Rong Tianding asked belatedly, realizing what was happening.

"That's for sure," Zhang Xuezhou nodded. "They're the ones who register the horizontal and vertical strokes; His Majesty can't possibly check every single place."

"So this imperial edict seems to have no meaning for Xu Ji?" Rong Tianding said.

Who knows!

Zhang Xuezhou replied.

He didn't make a hasty judgment at this moment, after all, the new emperor was also a person with good fortune. He might lack consideration in his actions, but he wouldn't cause any bad consequences.

Moreover, the new emperor was also very frank with Zhang Xuezhou about the potential consequences of such measures.

"Perhaps he just wants to cause some trouble so that I can easily lose my job?"

He pondered for a moment, when he heard someone shout, "The city gates are open!" Zhang Xuezhou quickly raised his head.

Regardless of policies or officials, the ordinary people's busy lives of eating will not change.

People rush to enter and leave the city early in the morning not to read the notices, but because they are concerned about whether they can eat their fill every day and whether they can save some money to get married, have children, and support their families.

Zhang Xuezhou also slowly left the city with the flow of people.

Entering the city requires checking the "section" (or "certificate"). Leaving the city is smooth and requires no paperwork.

After walking a hundred steps with the crowd, Zhang Xuezhou felt the people around him scatter, making walking much easier.

"Old Zheng is over there!"

Rong Tianding pointed to a roofless carriage in the distance.

Following Jin Chang on his journey to Mount Tai, Rong Tianding also used some methods to 'borrow' carriages and horses from local powerful families.

The Corpse-Slaying School's techniques kept Ma Laodually pulling the cart all the way, and he didn't run wild just because Rong Tianding entered the city ahead of time.

Hello everyone!

Zhang Xuezhou approached the carriage and saw Zheng Wukong and Chunyu Tiying lying on it in a disheveled state, looking like they were dragging two corpses.

After Zhang Xuezhou greeted him, Zheng Wukong weakly opened his eyes, while Chunyu Tiying's face showed a hint of excitement.

"Hey, Mr. Dong, what did you feed us when you treated us? How did our limbs become numb later?" Chunyu Tiying asked.

"I didn't even bring up your brain surgery, why are you making such a fuss about it with me?" Zhang Xuezhou replied casually, "Why don't you give me the medicine, I'll perform the brain surgery on you, and then we're even!"

"It can't be cured, it's simply incurable!"

Zheng Wukong muttered dejectedly.

A doctor cannot heal himself. Over the years, Zheng Wukong and Chunyu Tiying have sought out fellow healers within the Great Han territory and tried many unorthodox methods, but none of them have been truly effective.

The two eventually turned their attention to some legendary heavenly materials and earthly treasures, seeking a powerful remedy to alleviate their physical ailments.

However, their gradually numbing bodies caused them a lot of inconvenience, and occasional attacks could even cause them to lose consciousness.

Zheng Wukong and Chunyu Tiying usually took care of each other, until they both fell ill and almost starved to death in Mount Tai.

If they hadn't run into Rong Tianding, who was out for a stroll, the two would probably be lying dead in the wilderness by now.

"Let's go home first," Rong Tianding said, trying to smooth things over.

"Be careful," Zhang Xuezhou whispered, "Those two at Anle Palace have been talking about you a lot these past few years. One of them is currently in trouble, and if they find out you've returned, they might just chop your head off once they bring you into the palace!"

Are you trying to scare me?

Chunyu Tiying's heart skipped a beat.

Her return to Chang'an City was partly motivated by a desire to leverage the power of the Imperial Medical Academy, and partly by a wish to gain merit and obtain some high-end medicines.

But before she could even take any action, Zhang Xuezhou's words undoubtedly shattered her little scheme.

Chunyu Tiying didn't even need to think about the possibility of her being stabbed; she knew perfectly well that the one in Anle Palace was beyond saving and most likely finished.

This made her momentarily like a frightened quail. Without bothering to tidy her messy hair, she lowered her head and let Zhang Xuezhou and the others go to the city gate to negotiate entry.