Chapter 357: The Aristocratic Family Comes to Return Grain?!
"He's not selling grain; he wants to redistribute the products within his control..."
"How dare he?"
On the misty cliff of Tianshu Academy, the five hall masters who received the message could not help but look at the bustling Wuyou Trading Company in the city.
In fact, it was only after they received the message from Shanhai Pavilion that they understood what Ji You was going to do.
As one of the immortals who also accepts offerings from the people, except for Zuo Qiuyang who remained calm and You Yingqiu who had gone into seclusion, the expressions of the other three hall masters were solemn and ambiguous.
As for the elders in the Elders' Pavilion, they couldn't help but look sharp.
"Regarding this matter, he has gone too far. As a disciple of our Tianshu Academy, it is our Tianshu Academy's responsibility to stop him."
Lu Fengchuan, the master of Wuyu Palace, looked at Zuo Qiuyang, the acting master, from the top of the cliff and spoke earnestly.
Hearing this, Zuo Qiuyang spoke softly, "Changes are sometimes not all bad, but only good. Ji You suppressed all the immortal villages in Fengzhou back then, but those people didn't starve to death, right?"
"Brother, do you think what Ji You did is right?"
"I'm not on his side. I'm just taking over the position of Junior Sister. The decision I made represents her opinion, so I naturally need to take a closer look."
The top leaders of Lingjian Mountain also had frowns on their faces.
At that time, the master of Xuanjian Peak, Yan Jingxiang, and his younger brother Yan Jingrui were standing in front of the master's hall, and they couldn't help but stare at the towering cloud-top palace.
In fact, after reading the message from Shanhai Pavilion, Yan Jingxiang immediately took Yan Jingrui up the mountain.
But his daughter did not meet them, and only saw Yan Chuan who was guarding the palace.
According to Yan Chuan, Master Jian is in a critical period of seclusion and will not see any visitors.
So they returned to the Peak Master's Hall and, from the high vantage point of Xuanjian Peak, looked down at the caravan in Nanfeng City opposite that was distributing porridge.
The taxation system that has been followed for thousands of years has ensured the transcendent status of immortal cultivators, and has also ensured that they can still live freely and unburdened by worldly matters even if they do not engage in production.
But if this matter is really rewritten, it will probably have a devastating impact.
The people of Qingyuntianxia can receive food from Fengzhou through their labor, without having to rely on local grain production for their survival.
But 80% of Kyushu's total grain production was taken away, which meant that there would no longer be enough supply.
Even though the aristocratic families can still use the common people as a threat and rob them of the food they use to settle down, everything is no longer a natural process.
The most important thing is that during the ten years of leasing the land, no one could have imagined what Ji You would do.
You know, it was only five short years from the time he entered the Heavenly Academy to the time he influenced this world many times.
More importantly, when the grain production is concentrated in his hands, he can win over other families and even immortal sects through offerings. No matter whether the profit is split 50-50 or 70-30, he has plenty of ways to rewrite the entire world's pattern and break up the Nine Provinces.
There has always been open and covert competition between the aristocratic families and the immortal sects, so it is natural that they will split from each other.
If they can get the tax power from Ji You, they will definitely take this opportunity to maintain this rule, use the mouth of justice to grow stronger, and suppress all parties.
From the founding of Daxia, to the emergence of the Immortal Sect, to the disasters committed by the thousand-year-old aristocratic families, such things have long been common.
Indeed, no matter what method is used, this is a plan that requires a long time span, but the moment it starts, it is already so loud that it makes people change color when they hear it.
"Peak Master!"
"?"
As Yan Jingxiang was gazing at his daughter's main hall, a disciple from the peak came hurriedly, and the sword on his waist made a rattling sound as he walked.
Seeing this person approaching, Yan Jingxiang turned around and said, "Speak."
"Reporting to Peak Master, the sect's outsiders have reported that the Shanhai Pavilion, the Chen Immortal Clan, and the Wendao Sect have all sent a large number of elders and disciples down the mountain."
"Then let's wait and see."
Yan Jingxiang spoke softly and looked at his younger brother Yan Jingrui.
The reason why they were not too anxious was because they knew that even if Lingjian Mountain and Tianshu Academy did not move, the other three immortal sects would not be able to sit still.
At the same time, disciples of the three major immortal sects flocked to the states and counties where they were located, and jointly issued an imperial decree to the families under their control, ordering them to stop the states from using the people to rob the Wuliu business.
At the same time, there was another clause in the imperial decree, which required the noble families under the imperial court to immediately distribute the collected grain to the refugees in sufficient proportions, and then keep what they needed and pay compensation according to the price of the grain, and return the rest immediately.
They would not allow Ji You to accomplish this, so they had to take back the fish scale books that had been signed.
But after the disaster that befell the human race, all the six major immortal sects except the Dan Sect suffered heavy losses. Without knowing the positions of Tianshuyuan and Lingjian Mountain, they did not want to take risks, so their attitude was quite gentle.
This is their sincerity, but also a test.
But at the same time, their sincerity is intended to be exchanged for the same sincerity from the other party.
The three sects' imperial orders came so suddenly that many noble families couldn't help but be stunned.
Because Ji You had no other options, and their own granaries were almost overflowing, it was a good opportunity to completely crush him. They didn't understand why the Immortal Sect suddenly issued an imperial order.
It would be fine if it was Tianshuyuan, but the ones who asked for the return of grain were Shanhai Pavilion, Wendao Sect and Chen Immortal Clan. This is even more difficult to understand.
"Elder Shang, Ji You has no other options left, so why return the food?!"
"Just do what you're told to do, and remember to be humble!"
"?"
Although many aristocratic families did not know why this decision was made, they found that the expressions of these visitors from the immortal sects were very anxious.
More importantly, they discovered that all the grain carts that had been pulled up the mountain by the Immortal Sect had been pulled down, and some of the carts were even fully loaded with magical instruments and elixirs.
Despite the hesitation, the pressure from the Immortal Sect was real.
Gradually, some noble families began to order the grain collection to be stopped, and at the same time, the grain that had been unloaded from the carriages and loaded into the granaries was filled back into the sacks.
At this time, under the gloomy sky, a fast horse was galloping all the way from Qingzhou to Fengzhou.
At the beginning of winter, the weather was already very cold. When riding a horse at full speed, the feeling of the cold wind blowing on the face was no less than that of a knife, but the fast horse still showed no intention of slowing down.
After a day and night of sleepless galloping, the fast horse finally arrived at Fengzhou City.
Then, a man jumped off the horse and hurried into Ji’s village.
This person was a clerk in Qingzhou, but he was not responsible for distributing grain at Wuliu Trading Company, but was responsible for observation.
What Ji You was going to do would have a huge impact on Qingyun Tianxia, but he was in charge of Fengzhou alone and could not take care of the six states at the same time, so he arranged spies to observe the movements of all parties before things started.
huff huff
The guy was exhausted from days of fast riding, and even his breathing sounded very tired.
But he did not slow down, and continued to run all the way through the house, and saw Qiu Zhong when he entered the second entrance.
"Uncle Qiu."
"What's wrong?"
"I want to see the boss."
Qiu Zhong became more serious and then took him to the main hall of the second courtyard.
As the temperature dropped sharply, fires were lit in all the houses, big and small, in Ji Village, and the main hall in the second courtyard was no exception.
As Qiu Zhong lifted the curtain in front of him, a warm breath suddenly hit him in the face.
The waiter walked into the front hall and bowed in front of Ji You, saying, "Boss, the food from the sixth warehouse has just been delivered, and those noble families have suddenly stopped. In addition, a large number of elders and disciples from the Immortal Sect have come down the mountain and into the city."
"It seems that he was discovered faster than I thought."
Ji You frowned and looked at Qiu Zhong: "Send the message out, tell all the shopkeepers and employees who went to rent land to quickly return the remaining fish scale books to Fengzhou."
Qiu Zhong cupped his hands and said, "I'll be there right away."
"etc."
"Master, do you have any further instructions?"
"Tell them to be safe."
Old Qiu nodded and then walked out of the house.
At this time, Cao Jinsong and others who were surrounding the other two sides of the stove could not help but stare at it.
In fact, they didn't know what Ji You was going to do at first. It was not until the contracts and fish scale books were brought back one after another that they understood his plan and had been trembling in their hearts for several days.
This isn't bloodsucking, this is skinning.
Rewriting Qingyun Tianxia's taxation system was something they couldn't even imagine.
Only later did they realize that they seemed to be witnessing history.
Especially Wen Zhengxin, Ding Yao, Zhuo Wanqiu and the Lu sisters, they couldn't help but feel confused.
There are countless geniuses and noblemen in the world. They have seen countless elegant and dignified people, but this is the first time they have seen someone who can overturn the world with a wave of his hand. The feet in their boots can't help but curl up.
“…”
"The Fengzhou food and porridge distribution hasn't ended yet?"
"No, a few days ago, several more truckloads of food were delivered. I don't know if 20% of it has been distributed yet. It's still early days."
"I never expected Fengzhou's grain production to be so horrific..."
"What's the use of having more? There are tens of millions of noble families in the world. How can they not be able to eat up even more food?"
In the Taiping Tower in Shengjing City, countless cultivators, holding tea cups, leaned on the railings and looked out at the center of the city, discussing the situation in full swing.
They are still paying attention to the scene of Ji You "unable to struggle", and they still enjoy it even after watching it for a month, and are even happier than Guo Xinyuan.
Especially Fang Jincheng, he had already imagined many big scenes in his mind, such as Ji You's pale face, Ji You's incompetence, Ji You's regret, etc., and he was grinning from ear to ear every day.
In his opinion, this scene was undoubtedly the most satisfying, and it even made his mind of Taoism clearer.
Zhao Yunyue, who was also leaning on the railing, couldn't help but speak up when she saw this: "Actually, if he could curb his arrogance and come forward to admit his mistakes to the noble family, there might be room for easing the situation."
"Bow your head?"
"After such a long period of distributing grain, most of the aristocratic families' needs have been met. What remains is just a suppression of Ji You's arrogance. The only thing they want is to let Ji You know their own worth."
In fact, what Zhao Yunyue said was indeed true. The grain collected by the aristocratic families was indeed almost enough.
But they still had no intention of stopping. To put it bluntly, they wanted to teach Ji You a lesson.
Therefore, as long as Ji You can stand up and admit his mistake and bow to the immortals in the world, even if he cannot end this predicament of being stuck in a quagmire, he will not be exploited so cruelly.
But until now, Ji You has not come forward, let alone admitted his mistakes and asked those aristocratic families to show mercy.
Zhao Yunyue looked at the bustling business and couldn't help but whisper, "If you insist on holding on for the sake of face and refuse to bow, you'll become a laughing stock. How foolish!"
Fang Jincheng pouted when he heard that: "Of course he won't bow his head, otherwise how can he highlight his uniqueness."
"Brother Fang has a really vicious tongue." Several noble young men from other families couldn't help but chuckle after hearing this.
"Isn't what I said true?"
"That's true, but since we're from the same sect, it seems like you're just adding insult to injury."
"Fellow disciple? He thought he was invincible and wanted to exploit the aristocratic families. Now that he's fallen so hard, I doubt he has the nerve to return to Tian Academy."
Fang Jincheng picked up the teacup and drank it, then he tutted his tongue. "Although everything that has happened in the past month has been quite exciting, it's a shame that he hasn't admitted his mistake. To be honest, I'd really like to see his expression right now."
A young master from the Zeng family turned his head and said, "Brother Fang, you are going to kill someone and destroy their soul."
While everyone was chatting, someone suddenly fixed his eyes and uttered a questioning sound, attracting everyone's attention.
So everyone stopped chatting and looked down again.
After the first group of people received their food, there were not many people following them, and the originally congested street soon stopped being so crowded.
Especially in front of the Wuyou business, whose threshold had long been worn out, the number of people crowding in front of it to receive food began to decrease.
From noon to nearly 3 p.m., in just one hour, Yong'an and Changsheng Streets were empty.
The cultivators in the teahouses and taverns had long been accustomed to the crowded scenes, and suddenly they all felt uncomfortable. Some of them even expressed doubts in a trance, wondering how the streets could be like this.
Fang Jincheng frowned: "Where are the people?"
"It seems that the noble families have stopped their attacks, and no one is coming into the city to beg for food anymore."
On the stairs, with the sound of footsteps, two men and two women wearing the immortal robes of the headmaster of Tianshu Academy walked up to the restaurant.
Fang Jincheng looked over and recognized the four of them.
They were all fifth-year students in the outer courtyard of Tianshu Academy. Actually, they were once Ji You's classmates. The leading man was named Xue Li. He entered the academy at the initial stage of Ninghua and was not very famous.
However, he continued to practice diligently and has now entered the Tongxuan realm.
The woman on his left was at the initial stage of Condensation Realm.
Fang Jincheng usually didn't bother to remember the names of people with such low cultivation level and from the outer courtyard, but he remembered this woman's name very clearly.
It was not because of anything else, but because there was a rumor in the courtyard that she was Ji You's fiancée.
The thousand-year-old aristocratic families joined forces to commit disasters, causing heavy losses to the immortal sect families, and countless disciples of the Master's Pavilion were killed or injured. Therefore, a large number of the outer courtyard students who left the academy five years ago entered the Master's Pavilion, and these four people were no exception.
Xue Li walked up to the pavilion and whispered to them, "I just came from the west city gate. No civilians are coming from the official road outside the city anymore. The carriages of the noble families that used to fill the South City Valley are gone."
"Are you serious?"
“I saw it with my own eyes.”
Hearing these words, all the disciples in the inner court of Tianshu Academy and the children of aristocratic families looked at each other in confusion.
The change in the situation was so sudden that they felt caught off guard and didn't understand what was happening.
Only Zhao Yunyue thought for a while and then said softly: "It seems that he admitted his mistake."
"How did the princess know this?" Fang Jincheng frowned.
"Didn't I just say that the food needs of the aristocratic families have been almost met? What remains is simple suppression. The only possibility for them to stop at this time is that Ji You has already admitted his mistake."
"I haven't heard the news."
"He must have privately admitted his mistake to save face. Did you think he would crawl down the street on his knees like you imagined?"
Hearing this, everyone chuckled but couldn't help but feel lost, regretting that they had never seen Ji You bow his head.
In addition, there is a lot of disdain in their hearts.
The outside world has been spreading rumors that Ji You looks down on the Immortal Sect and even more so on the aristocratic families. What is the result?
When faced with truly unbearable pressure, he would still become timid and retreat like an ordinary person. That's all.
Zhao Yunyue and the others sneered and lost interest.
Fang Ruoyao was also looking in the direction of Wulv Trading Company, and her eyes couldn't help but blink.
Although Ji You's identity and status are far different from hers, in her opinion, the two of them are still the most suitable.
Because they all came from Yuyang County, from the impoverished Fengzhou, and were also among the few cultivators in Tianshu Academy who had no background.
This common identity and origin made her feel that they were different from others.
In her opinion, Ji You should manage his business well, make friends with aristocratic families, and build up his personal connections. He should not have such thoughts that now he has to give in and admit defeat.
But she couldn't communicate with Ji You now, so she couldn't give him a sober and wise warning.
But what they didn't expect was that the matter did not end there.
At three quarters past three in the afternoon, as the people in the city gradually poured out of the city, countless fully loaded carriages appeared on the four official roads connecting Shengjing and its surroundings, and entered the city with the sound of rumbling wheels.
Seeing this scene, everyone's attention was instantly attracted again, and they turned to stare at the carriages that kept driving into the city.
The people driving the carriages were all children of wealthy families from all over Zhongzhou, and they were no strangers to the people in the teahouses and taverns.
Because in the past month, they have been in the city responsible for collecting food for the families they represent. They have appeared several times and have been noted.
But what is puzzling is that they had previously transported grain out of the city, but today they were driving horse-drawn carriages to transport the grain back.
On the top floor of the restaurant, Fang Jincheng, Zhao Yunyue and others could not help but return to their original positions, while others who had been paying attention to this matter for a long time also went up to the terrace.
As they watched, some people's eyes began to widen.
Because as the carriage entered the city, the grain that the Zhongzhou noble families had previously taken away by all means was now placed back in bags at the door of the Wuliu Trading Company.
"Are they returning the grain?!"
Zhao Yunyue showed a look of astonishment, and the others also looked incredulous.
Since the civilians entered the city, the Wuyou business was almost stripped of its bones and was on the verge of collapse in the entire month.
As the hungry refugees disappeared from outside the city, everyone judged that Ji You had made a mistake, but they never imagined that the ones who would bow their heads in the end would be those aristocratic families.
What's going on?
Everyone upstairs had frowns on their faces, not knowing what was going on.
In the following period, carriages continued to arrive non-stop, making Yong'an and Changsheng Streets congested again.
The only difference is that the congestion before was due to too many people, while the congestion now is due to being full of food.
The most important thing is that what was sent was not only food, but also some magical instruments, precious spiritual tea, spiritual wine and some valuable items.
In addition, disciples from other immortal sects such as Shanhai Pavilion, Chen Clan, and Wendao Sect came here many times and entered the Sixian Prison.
For three consecutive days, the developments in Shengjing were extremely strange, leaving many children from aristocratic families feeling baffled.
Watching scene after scene, Zhao Yunyue was puzzled. When he wanted to ask someone, he found out that his father had already left Beijing.
It was not until the fourth day that she waited for her father to return.
"Where did my father go?"
"I went to the countryside on the orders of the immortal." King Chong took off his winter fur coat and replied.
"Then does father know what happened recently in Shengjing?" Zhao Yunyue asked.
"You mean, the family returned all the food?"
"Father knows about this, but do you know the reason?"
Prince Chong sat down and poured a cup of tea: "Ji You is crazy."
Zhao Yunyue's eyes revealed a hint of doubt: "What does this mean?"
"When the noble families forced the people to sign labor contracts to seize Fengzhou's grain, Ji You sent people to sign contracts to seize all the arable land in the six states, offering a 20:80 split."
"arable land?"
After drinking his tea, Prince Chong looked out the window at the biting cold wind. "He doesn't want money, nor is he helpless against the exploitation of the aristocratic families. He has not taken any action so far. He is using the seven major immortal sects and Great Xia to jointly establish the Xia Law and Immortal Rules, depriving the entire world of taxes."
As soon as the words fell, Zhao Yunyue's brain buzzed instantly, her red lips parted for a long time, and her eyes widened.
As a descendant of the royal family, she was well aware that there was a rule in the original Xia Law that Daxia controlled the production of the people and had the responsibility to support the immortals in their practice with the tax amount set a thousand years ago.
In other words, it is actually Daxia that needs to pay tribute to the Immortal Sect.
But after signing the labor contract for all people and leasing farmland in Jiuzhou, future production would no longer have anything to do with Daxia.
In other words, the people who left Daxia no longer had any obligation to pay tribute to the Immortal Sect...
As the night fell, a puff of green smoke rose above Jizhai in Fengzhou Prefecture.
Ji You was sitting by the fire at this time, reading the messages sent by businesses from all over the place.
He already knew that the noble families had returned the grain and paid for the required grain according to the price, and he also knew that part of the relief grain that had been distributed earlier had gradually reached the hands of the people.
At the same time, he also received a letter from the Elders' Council of the Heavenly Book Academy.
There are only three words written on it: Stop it.
Others who wrote to him included Chai Ze, the Lord of the Hall of Longevity, and Lü Fengchuan, the Lord of the Hall of Desirelessness. The general meaning of their letters was that he had crossed the red line, but as long as the fish scale book with the signed contract was returned, everyone could pretend that it had never happened.
These letters, one after another, were filled with persuasion and comfort, which made Cao Jinsong and others amazed.
They had been in Tianshu Academy for a long time and always felt that the hall master-level figures were unattainable mountains. Who would have thought that one day they would write a letter to beg a disciple who did not have a family background.
"Ji You, this matter is of great importance. Now that it has been known to all parties, why not just stop for now?"
Cao Jinsong thought for a long time before looking at Ji You. "Even if you follow Xia Lu's immortal rules, even if you get the Fish Scale Book that signed the contract, given the immortal sect's habit of turning their backs on you, they won't recognize you in the end."
Ji You threw the letter aside: "This opportunity is too rare to let go like this. In everything, we must take the first step before we can talk about the future."
In fact, his plan was not as radical as the Immortal Sect thought, and he had not thought of cutting all taxes at once.
Perhaps after the autumn harvest next year, he would still give enough shares to stabilize those immortal sects and aristocratic families, and then divide them through unequal shares, allowing things to advance slowly over the next ten years to reduce resistance.
But no matter what the Immortal Sect feels now or how intense the reaction is, he must take this step.
Because only after taking this step will there be the next two or three steps.
(End of this chapter)
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