pdf-ebookys Chapter 495: Deal, promise me a peaceful and prosperous era.
Chapter 495: Deal, promise me a peaceful and prosperous era.
Shanhe City was in chaos, with a shortage of rice and food, and people were eating each other. Even in the lobby of the inn, there were all kinds of people, some drinking, some eating.
After asking around, he found out that the inn had already bought out all the food for today. It didn't matter if Li Changxiao didn't eat or drink, but he had to think about the people around him. They were just mortals and needed three meals a day.
So I went to the street to see if there were any places selling food. However, there were many people selling knives and ironware, but no food shops. If I were somewhere else, there would be many kinds of pancakes and sugar cakes on the street, and the aroma would have already filled my nose. However, in Shanhe City, the main color was the smell of ironware being calcined and the stench of blood.
In desperation, Li Changxiao found a seemingly kind person and asked him about the situation in the city.
Even though there was chaos, there would not be no food at all. The kind-looking man ignored them all, but his eyes quickly glanced and instantly fixed on Wang Ruyi. He looked him up and down, greed growing in his eyes.
Although he couldn't see her figure, her facial features and skin seemed to be perfect. However, when he looked at her carefully, his expression changed again and he turned to look at Li Changxiao.
"Official?" He obviously recognized that the clothes on Wang Ruyi were a body-covering robe.
It is rumored that the person wearing the body-covering robe must be a serious criminal of the court, and the person beside the serious criminal must be the officer responsible for escorting him. This idea is flawless.
Li Changxiao smiled and nodded. Seeing this, the man cursed inwardly that it was bad luck. It was a pity that such a beauty was hidden under that body-covering robe and he couldn't enjoy her.
The man looked kind, but Shanhe City was in such a state of chaos that people were killed in the streets and no one could control them. How could there be any kind people? Li Changxiao didn't know that this man was very famous in Shanhe City and was nicknamed "Smiling Tiger". If you chatted with him, you might be stabbed at any time.
The man looked around and told Li Changxiao the situation in the city.
It turned out that Shanhe City was short of food but not money. The reason was that the farmland outside the city could not grow even a grain of grain or vegetable. The only source of food was to travel more than ten miles to hunt in the mountains.
After hearing the reason, Li Changxiao finally understood. He thanked the Smiling Tiger and left with Wang Ruyi.
Smiling Tiger suddenly sneered, and when the two turned around, he drew out his knife and stabbed at Li Changxiao. Li Changxiao lightly tapped, and the knife broke in response.
The famous smiling tiger flew backwards and hit the road, dead instantly. Passers-by on both sides of the street were all stunned. They had never thought that the swordsman in white was such a master.
When I came to my senses, the two men had already disappeared from the street. I don't know who was the first to rush to snatch the corpse of the smiling tiger. A stone stirs up a thousand waves, each wave higher than the last. The living person was turned into pieces and scattered everywhere.
Shanhe City is not like a town, but more like a bandit's den. I wanted to stay for half a day, but in this situation, it is better to travel that night. Li Changxiao and Wang Ruyi returned to the inn. On the way, Li Changxiao saw that she was thinking about something, and he knew what she was thinking about, so he asked: "If you regain the throne, how do you plan to govern this city?"
Wang Ruyi pondered for a moment and replied: "If I restore the throne, I will first deploy troops to suppress bandits, set up government offices, and open up new roads..."
This answer was really well-reasoned, taking into account many details and human hearts. Li Changxiao was quite pleased and felt that it was worth it for him to follow the girl all the way and save her.
After hearing this, he was certain that the praises along the way were not unfounded. Wang Ruyi was indeed a wise ruler. It was a blessing for the people of Dayu to have her around.
When they returned to the inn, the room fee was not refunded. Li Changxiao packed his clothes and went to the stable to get the horse. He then carried Wang Ruyi onto the horse, stepped on the footrest, and rode away.
When they left the city, it was already getting dark. That night there were many jackals, fierce tigers and leopards, and people's hearts were evil. Those who just left the city at this time were all brave people.
After leaving the city, Li Changxiao looked back, frowned slightly, then relaxed his brows, and squeezed the horse's belly to increase the speed.
Shanhe City is a place without temples. Look at it, it is surrounded by mountains, and you can see that the city is named after mountains and rivers.
Today, Dayu seems to be in the same situation. It is not that the imperial court controls the mountains and rivers, but that the mountains and rivers have already surrounded the imperial court and the people.
After all, aren’t the gods in the temple and the immortals in the mountains also human beings?
Incense is a turbulent time. In the Dayu Dynasty, the situation was even more serious. Li Changxiao had been to many places and had seen hundreds of incense gods.
By looking at the various gods, I know their rhythm. The incense gods of Dayu Kingdom are different from those of other places.
"Ruyi, what do you think of these four gods and twelve mountain gods?" Li Changxiao held the reins in one hand and reached to his left waist with the other hand. He took out the wine gourd, pushed open the lid with his thumb, and suddenly asked.
"Humph."
Wang Ruyi snorted coldly, obviously feeling resentful towards those temples.
She said: "The four gods of the four directions and the twelve mountain gods are very popular and they protect the peace of the area. They seem to be very useful."
"However, I have observed that the many festivals that have been extended from the worship of incense and burning, such as the Day of Inviting the Gods, the Day of Burning Incense, etc., have greatly consumed the financial resources of the country."
As a monarch, she naturally did not want her subjects to be overly obsessed with worshipping mountain and water gods. However, in the current situation, the mountain and water gods of Dayu are almost not subject to the control of the Dayu court.
On the surface, humans and gods rule together, but the existence of the gods of mountains and rivers makes Wang Ruyi feel a lot of blind spots when he is in power.
This is only the surface.
If one digs deeper, the dealings between the gods of mountains and rivers are even more terrifying. Just being disrespectful will cause them to become furious and bring down punishment.
They are competing for incense and using all kinds of means.
Even Wang Ruyi had never figured out the surging undercurrents and the complicated relationships, but she had tried to change the situation by setting up three temple laws and fifteen temple rules.
But it's all useless.
Finally, Wang Ruyi murmured, "Perhaps other places need incense and gods, but Dayu Kingdom does not."
"So you are optimistic about Tianji Dao?" Li Changxiao asked.
"Huh?" Wang Ruyi was stunned. She never thought that Li Changxiao knew all this.
She nodded and said, "Of course. There was a messenger from the Heavenly Secret Dao who came to the Imperial Court to lobby for it, and it was very much to my liking, so I gave him my full support."
"This action seems to have angered the mountain and water gods. According to Dayu etiquette, on August 8th every year, I must hold a banquet and invite the four gods, the twelve mountain gods, and the remaining various minor gods to come into the city to report on their duties."
"However, since I supported Tianji Dao, only a few people came to the banquet to invite gods that year, and they were just a few minor gods who were ordained."
"I lost face that day. Since then, no matter how the ministers in the court advised me, I have never held a banquet to invite the gods."
When Wang Ruyi said this, his brows slightly frowned, and when he thought about it now, he still felt some anger in his heart.
"You are quite impressive." Li Chang smiled and joked.
Wang Ruyi's anger dissipated, and her expression became more innocent and proud like a girl, "Of course, as the ruler of a country, how can I not be majestic?"
That liveliness seemed to only have a chance to be released in front of the man in white.
"Then...how about we make a deal?" Li Changxiao curved his eyebrows slightly, smiling, gently covered the wine gourd and tied it around his waist.
"What deal?" Wang Ruyi was curious.
Li Changxiao said slowly: "One day, I will help you kill all the immortals in the temple and the gods in the mountains."
"How about you give me a peaceful and prosperous world?"
Wang Ruyi's whole body trembled, her eyes wavered, as soft as water, she nodded gently, "Okay!"
(ps: First of all, I admit that it is indeed a bit short. Secondly, let me quibble. The Chinese New Year is coming soon, and there are too many things to do, such as attending weddings, cleaning, buying New Year's goods, and typing in the middle of the night. And there is not much in stock. So... please forgive me???? Covering my face...)
(Also, I have something to say about this plot. It is indeed a bit slow because the situation in Dayu is a bit complicated. I overturned my original idea and it is a bit tangled. In addition, as I said before, it is almost the New Year and there are many things to do. I may even be dragged to a blind date. I am a bit short of energy. Please forgive me.)
(Also, I will still update during the Chinese New Year. If nothing unexpected happens, I will update twice a day, all year round... I would like to ask for a small gift. I wonder if I can give it to you (??//e//??))