Chapter 1526 - 478: A Decade of Reform, Xue Zijing from the State, the Divide of Dragon and Python
Chapter 1526: Chapter 478: A Decade of Reform, Xue Zijing from the State, the Divide of Dragon and Python
As the most famous opulent brothel in Yanling City, the top tier of the Worldly Noble Tavern is not only reflected in the high background of singers, dancers, waiters, and servants, the high specifications of various top-grade wines and delicacies, or the extravagant expenses, among other aspects.
Its privacy is also exceptional!
The main structure of the entire building is made of Ten Thousand Forged Iron Materials, with a layer of Yellow Pear Wood applied inside and out, not only making it pleasing to the eye but also providing soundproofing. Even if the doors and windows are tightly closed, even if a person is pressed against the wall, they won’t hear any sound from within.
The private rooms on the third floor of the tavern have even higher specifications.
The walls and floor of the rooms are all plastered with Blood Jade Pine from North Zhuhe Ridge in Longxing City, which is said to be equivalent to silver in value.
The internal structure of this Blood Jade Pine is strikingly similar to human flesh and blood, and even after being chopped and cut, it still constantly produces Qi, usually sensed or peered into by the powerful through Qi Muscle movements. The unique structure of this Blood Jade Pine has inherently eliminated this possibility.
This ultra-high privacy is the core reason it can be valued as equivalent to silver.
At the same time as Xia Hong and Ji Hong’s conversation.
In another private room on the top floor, a middle-aged scholar with an elegant appearance, dressed in a Blue Jade Silk Robe and wearing a Black Hat, sat by the window, holding a wine glass and carefully observing the furnishings within the room.
"With Ten Thousand Forged Iron Materials as foundation, Yellow Pear Wood as decoration, and the value-equivalent-to-silver Blood Jade Pine, along with all the furnishings and decorations inside the building, just constructing this tavern would take at least a billion taels of silver. These Worldly Family scions spend money on singers, enough for a slave to save for decades. No wonder they say in the Four Vassal States Territory, everyone beneath the Worldly Noble are mere ants. This statement is not untrue!"
He is not alone in the room; there are five others present, among them three middle-aged individuals of similar age, all in black robes with weapons on their waists. The other two, a young man and woman, are dressed in green silk robes, with longswords at their waists.
Upon hearing his uncle’s words, Xue Wuhen could not help but say, "Uncle has the people in mind, traveling long distances to offer advice for Chen Cang, yet they are so ungrateful. In that case, why stay here? The Ice Abyss is vast, couldn’t we find a powerful vassal willing to implement your ideas?"
"It’s not that they are ungrateful..."
Bai Qingqing, the young woman next to Xue Wuhen, immediately countered, then paused and continued, "Landgrave Chu has the heart for reform, but is constrained from above and below, completely powerless to push forward. Among Commander Chen Cang, the Six Departments, the Five County Governors, the Two City Lords, only the Yanling County Governor Chu Tianxu agrees with reform, not even the Landgrave’s own family supports it. The Longxing Chen Family doesn’t need to obstruct anything; they can just wait to see the joke."
"See a joke?"
Upon hearing Bai Qingqing’s words, Xue Zijing could not help but chuckle, turning to her and asking, "Qingqing, do you think the reform in Yanling will fail?"
Bai Qingqing didn’t answer immediately; instead, she bowed her head in contemplation.
Uncle Xue Zijing came to Moao River ten years ago, after four years of traveling, finally choosing to come to Chen Cang. A grand discourse on reform earned him Landgrave Chu’s appreciation, offering him a high position as Grand Master, allowing him to lead the government and gradually push for reform.
But reform, how can it be so easy?
The Landgrave’s Lineage of the Four Vassal States Territory at Moao River, along with those aristocrats and powerful families surrounding them, have inheritances ranging from one hundred to three or four hundred years. The supplementary Six-class System has been implemented for almost a hundred years. To talk suddenly of reform, the resistance is imaginable.
Three years ago, with Landgrave Chu’s support, Uncle barely managed to win the right to gather for slaves amidst all the criticism from Chen Cang’s upper echelons.
The successive growth in income from the Finance Department over the following three years fully validated Uncle’s grand discourse on reform. Yet, it also made the conservative backlash in Chen Cang even fiercer.
Using the event at the Lu River Valley Camp five days ago, the conservative faction devalued Uncle, saying the three-year consecutive growth of Finance Department income couldn’t compensate for the loss at Su Field in the Lu River Valley. Consequently, they attacked many of Uncle’s reform measures as worthless, even petitioning with Landgrave Chu to strip him of his Grand Master status.
"The rebellion at Lu River Valley further proves the urgency of reform. The Frost Ash Association knew that the uprising could not succeed, so why did they cause such a big stir? Because they’re afraid, afraid that as reform progresses further, the ground they survive on becomes less and less..."
Fortunately, Landgrave Chu is a discerning master; under Uncle’s arguments, he withheld the pressure from Chen Cang’s leadership and even took Uncle’s advice, strongly arguing against the majority. He let Uncle use Yanling as a pilot, with a ten-year period to implement comprehensive reform. Once reform is proven feasible and can strengthen Chen Cang, it will be fully promoted in Feudal Towns.
"Qingqing, do you think the reform in Yanling will fail?"
Her uncle always requires thorough inquiry and draws inferences. Simply answering that it will fail is inadequate, so she must think through the reasons.
Xue Zijing, knowing his niece was thinking, did not disturb her; he just waited quietly with a gentle smile, waiting for thirty or forty breaths before Bai Qingqing finally spoke.
"Of course, it will not succeed. There are three reasons:
First, the dual-family structure in Chen Cang makes the internal situation complex. Even Landgrave Chu himself is constrained from above and below, struggling at every step, let alone you, Uncle, an outsider Grand Master?
Secondly, the resistance to reform is too great. The decentralization of gathering rights, the successive growth in income of the Finance Department over three years, mostly due to the increased output of inferior Spirit Plant herbs, consequently lowered the price of inferior Spirit Pills. For major aristocratic families, who never lacked such things, the lower prices are useless to them and, moreover, will reduce the income for families that engage in this trade. Ultimately, the income benefits only the Landgrave, with the common people benefiting."