Chapter 137 Canghe Regulations (2)
Ah Xiao stuck her head out and asked, "Since we're all in the same body of water, how can you tell if it's your own fish or someone else's?"
Manager Bai replied with a happy smile, "Guest, you may not know this, but in Canghe we have a kind of net made of spirit hemp and refined iron, which is a low-level magic artifact."
This ritual implement is reasonably priced, and everyone buys it to raise fish, so the fish will not go wrong.
The small holes in this net have been standardized to a uniform size by the Ministry of Commerce, so they no longer pose a threat to the aquatic life in the river, nor do they obstruct waterways or the daily movement of aquatic creatures.
Ji Rong leaned closer and asked, "Master Bai, when you came here, you didn't have any golden seals on you. Did any cultivators take advantage of your weakness to eat your clansmen?"
Bai, the steward, whispered in Ji Rong's ear, "Fellow Daoist, you may not know this, but I arrived at a very opportune time."
As more and more tribes actively sought refuge with him, the private slave trade between tribes became extremely serious. After many years of investigation, Lord Canghe established the Talent Appraisal Office to deal with this matter.
When we arrived at the Canghe River area, we were immediately forced to the ground by the formation in the sky. The bird cultivator who discovered us knew that we had escaped from elsewhere, and he was so happy that he shouted that it was finally his turn to make a fortune. He immediately opened his storage ring and let us eat until we were half full.
Then he ordered his tribesmen to carry us to the appraisal office for evaluation. Our branch of ninety-eight egrets actually earned him a reward of eighty thousand spirit crystals.
A newly awakened bird can be worth anywhere from fifty to one hundred spirit crystals.
However, local fish cultivators sell unintelligent spirit fish fry for only one spirit crystal each;
The best spiritual herbs at the bottom of the water can be bought in large bundles for just a dozen or so spirit crystals; therefore, no foolish cultivator would steal them.
Now, these rules have been further refined.
Manager Bai continued happily, "There was once a spirit silver fish in the pelican clan who had cultivated to the Illusionary Realm. Taking advantage of the gap when the net was being opened, he ambushed the pelican cultivator who was opening the net, jumped ashore, and ran to the Commerce Department to complain about his background, saying that it was unfair."
The cultivator from the Commerce Department handed the fish over to the Clan Affairs Department, which then reported it to Lord Canghe.
Lord Canghe thought the fish's words made sense, so he personally stamped it with a golden seal and had the Silver Spirit Fish Clan take it back.
Furthermore, a new regulation was introduced: if cultivators with good intelligence are found in the waters of various races but have not been reported, they can be reported to the clan affairs office and rewarded with at least sixty spirit crystals per fish.
Therefore, some groups nowadays raise fish while also teaching them cultivation techniques, hoping they might accidentally gain some wisdom to claim a reward.
Miao Wudai asked, "What if the tribe eats it secretly?"
Bai, the steward, turned to look at Miao Wu and said solemnly, "Even gods have things they cannot do, let alone Canghe Jun, who is not a true god."
The situation described by the distinguished guest certainly exists, but since those who profited from and sold him were his relatives, he can only blame his bad luck.
If this cultivator manages to escape and report the matter, or if the fact that the cultivator was eaten is confirmed, then the person who ate the local cultivator will be publicly hanged and executed by slow slicing, or beheaded.
I heard that Lord Canghe once had an uncle who loved to eat fallen dragons. Even after Lord Canghe issued a decree, he still did not change his ways, so the old patriarch of the fallen dragon clan reported him to Lord Canghe.
The clan chief only wanted to file a complaint so that the old dragon would show mercy and stop chasing after their clan's young cultivators to eat them.
But when Canghe Jun found out, she was furious. She ordered the chief of the Fallen Dragon Clan to calculate exactly how many of his clan members had been eaten.
Then he personally led troops to capture the old dragon, confiscated his treasure trove, and compensated the fallen dragon clan.
He then tied the old dragon to the Cang River, and personally made the same number of cuts with his knife as the number of dragons reported being eaten by the fallen dragon clan, before beheading it and giving it a quick death.
After that, the clan affairs office used this method of execution. Those who had eaten more than a hundred were cut off according to the number they had eaten, and they were only allowed to die after all the cuts were made.
If there were fewer than a hundred, they were to be slowly cut into pieces, one hundred at a time, and then beheaded; this practice greatly intimidated the various tribes along the Canghe River.”
Manager Bai added with considerable regret, "Since I arrived, there has only been one case of cannibalism, but I was still on the ship at the time and was unable to witness it."
Jiao Jue then raised a question: "In that case, your intelligent beings will increase in number. In the long run, can Canghe Prefecture handle it?"
Master Bai sighed, "There aren't many left in our clan who came naked like us."
Many border tribes not only brought large amounts of treasure but also their territories to surrender.
This led to constant friction at the borders of Canglan and other states. Canghe also offered high prices to recruit soldiers every year, and when they couldn't recruit enough, they bought slaves from other states to serve as soldiers. How could they possibly be unable to cope?
For a moment, all the cultivators were speechless.
Noticing that everyone's expressions had visibly fallen, Manager Bai pointed to the plaza behind him and said, "This is a place where cultivators from within the island often come to purchase goods; there are no goods from outside the island here."
The prices of the goods are fair, set by the Commerce Department, and customers can buy whatever they like.
Upon hearing this, Gu Qingqing happily reached out her paw at Ji Rong, who reluctantly poured out another five hundred spirit crystals to her.
Having obtained the treasure, Gu Qingqing happily pointed to a shop selling freshly roasted spirit fish and said, "Master Bai, let's go eat there, it's on me."
"Wu Qi." Wu Qi chased the fish head off and gave Wu Qi some spirit crystals, saying, "The fish cultivator over there who sells spirit fish looks a lot like you. Maybe he's from your clan. Go and buy some."
Wu Qi took the spirit crystal, jumped off Ji Zhuang's back, and went to the fish stall.
Wu Pei then said to Miao Wu, "Since we've come out all this way, let's go take a look too."
Miao Wu nodded and led four female cultivators from the Lich lineage to the left, while Wu Pei led two male cultivators to the right, and the remaining three Lich disciples followed Ji Zhuang.
Ji Rong stood in place, carrying Amu and Axiao, while Jiaojue coiled around a flowering tree.
Ji Rong asked, "Brother Jinlong, what do you think of Lord Canghe?"
Jiao Jue squinted, her eyes shining, and said, "She is one of the best among the dragons, a natural expert at accumulating wealth. She has gained territory, treasures, and a good reputation. There are a steady stream of cultivators vying to come and work for her. She is truly brilliant."
Looking at the bustling Flower and Bird Island, resembling a pile of red sand and white reefs, and the islands further away, Jiao Jue thought to himself:
"The River Goddess, following her deity, united these weak races and created astonishing wealth."
He pointed at the islands with his claws and said, “Silly bird, don’t you think this looks like the ant colony you mentioned? They devoured the Cang River and offered it up to their king.”
Upon hearing Jiao Jue's words, Ji Rong thought to herself that the golden dragon had actually improved again.
Her eyes darted around, and she immediately adopted an admiring posture, saying, "Brother is brilliant. These words, spoken by you, have been elevated to the principles of governing a country. I, Ji Rong, have learned a great deal."
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