fifth form

Chapter 3081 A Solid Foundation Leads to Success

"Why do I feel that Shi Wudao and His Majesty Emperor Jing are both quite sane?"

"That's because our conversation only touched on the most important parts of their lives. If you change your perspective, you'll find them stiff, rigid, and difficult to answer!"

Emperor Jing, who is buried in Yangling, is concerned with politics, while Shi Wudao focuses on life, death, and spiritual cultivation.

If you ask each other about directions that you are familiar with, the conversation will flow smoothly.

However, if the question is phrased differently, Fei Jiang will become stiff and dull, and will not be able to answer Zhang Xuezhou and the others fluently.

This is indeed a special kind of being, connected to the past, but it cannot be treated as a person from the past.

Unless the flying zombie can forge its own path and gain new intelligence, it is nothing more than a zombie buried in Yangling.

After leaving Yangling, Zhang Xuezhou carefully sealed the gate again.

After releasing the fossils several times using the bluestone staff, the previously broken rocks and soil began to recover, roughly restoring their original appearance.

Although there were some differences from before, Zhang Xuezhou didn't care too much, as long as it was generally acceptable.

Once he dispatches some repair craftsmen to carry stones for restoration, everything will be covered up. He can even create a more suitable entrance so that he won't have to repeatedly dig and cast spells to get in next time he comes.

"Cousin, who was in charge of building Yangling in the past?"

"Zhi Buyi was an elder statesman in the court. He served Emperor Jing diligently until his last breath, and died while guarding the mausoleum!"

Rong Tianding asked a question out of the blue, but Zhang Xuezhou understood what Rong Tianding meant.

On the one hand, Rong Tianding felt that entering Yangling so openly would inevitably offend those responsible for building the mausoleum.

On the other hand, Zhang Xuezhou's future situation can be inferred from his predecessor.

Zhi Buyi was in charge of the construction of Yangling during the later stages of his career as Grand Master of the Palace. He eventually rose to the position of Grand Censor, one of the Three Dukes. He lived a low-key life and enjoyed many honors. In the end, he was buried in Yangling with Emperor Jing.

Zhi Buyi never encountered any difficulties from Emperor Jing in his life, and in the end he paid for Emperor Jing's death. This ending was not bad, but he died because he was not strong enough.

"Looks like this is a really good job!"

Rong Tianding nodded repeatedly, having understood the situation clearly.

It's hard to predict the distant future, but at least for now, they have extremely high authority over the cemetery. They can build the Maoling Mausoleum and also interfere with the restoration of various imperial tombs. It wouldn't be difficult for them to make some appropriate use of it.

The two walked as if on foot in Yangling, but in reality they were using cloud-riding techniques to move.

Zhang Xuezhou had previously transformed his cloud-riding technique into a skill for rapid land travel, and Rong Tianding was now accompanying Zhang Xuezhou on his journey.

Rong Tianding was originally unable to perform such leaps, but the Spirit Silk Jade Lotus root modified his body, making it not too difficult for him to learn from Zhang Xuezhou.

Ultimately, as long as you have a good foundation and someone to teach you step by step, learning many advanced skills is not as difficult as you might imagine.

In particular, Rong Tianding reached the Divine Power Realm, and his magical power underwent a qualitative change, greatly reducing the difficulty of spells that were previously laborious.

Although they appeared to be walking side by side, the two were actually moving at an extremely fast speed.

"That's the territory we've chosen!"

Passing through the South Sima Gate, the bustling construction scene of Yanglingyi came into view.

During Emperor Jing's reign, there was internal strife among the seven major vassal states. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to perform forced labor to build the Yangling Mausoleum. These people had to work in shackles, and the number of those who died from exhaustion and those who escaped and were executed was countless. This also resulted in a mass grave filled with resentment.

With fewer prisoners during the reign of the new emperor, the construction of the imperial mausoleum required the recruitment of craftsmen. The construction of Yanglingyi, a city that attracted a large number of craftsmen, served as a recruitment site for Maoling.

Zhang Xuezhou looked around for a while before finally focusing his attention on a large construction area.

Compared to Chang'an, where land is incredibly valuable, land in Yanglingyi is very cheap, and there are even official subsidies to help build ditches and channels.

The area purchased by Zhangjiazhuang is quite large, almost forming the shape of a village.

Looking around, charlatans are constantly appearing in various residential areas, with many carrying fortune-telling shams and small stools.

“Although the current court is not as harsh as it was in the Qin Dynasty, and we are a bunch of fake fortune tellers, we can’t be so high-profile, lest we invite trouble,” Zhang Xuezhou instructed. “We must make sure everyone understands the principle that a true master does not reveal his abilities. Only by being like Li Shaojun can we maintain our safety in the long run!”

“My cousin is right. Our uncles have indeed been quite high-profile in moving into their new homes recently,” Rong Tianding said.

It's much easier to talk than to do, and eventually even middle-aged men and women working and hunting in Zhangjiazhuang joined in, forming a large-scale "face reading" practice.

As long as they can provide psychological comfort, the people of Zhangjiazhuang can make a living by relying on this approach.

Although it can't be compared to being an official or a big businessman, it was still considered a relatively respectable job in this era.

"Where is Xu Yuan?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

“He took advantage of the policy to lease a piece of land at a low price, saying he wanted to cultivate fertile land and carry out the breeding business to the end,” Rong Tianding said.

"He is an ambitious man!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

Cultivating fertile land is not something that can be easily accomplished by simply talking about it. Many farmers have spent their entire lives practicing slash-and-burn agriculture, and they only manage to cultivate two plots of fertile land in their entire lives.

Autumn fires can only burn the surface and not the roots, making it difficult to eradicate weeds completely. All the fertilizer produced by the fire will become nutrients for the weeds in the coming year.

Without herbicides, weeds will grow wildly in the fields, sometimes even outgrowing the crops.

This required constant weeding and involved factors such as irrigation. Without the support of the imperial court and the deployment of agricultural officials to develop this area, many things would have been difficult to accomplish.

It was precisely because he understood the difficulties of the labor involved, and compared it with the ease with which the people of Zhangjiazhuang profited, that Zhang Xuezhou felt genuinely moved.

“The founder of the Agricultural Sect is doing so-so, and Xu Yuan is stubborn. Once he gets something done, he won’t turn back. We’ll have to keep an eye on him in the future,” Rong Tianding said.

"Agriculture...agriculture is a huge industry!"

Zhang Xuezhou pondered for a few seconds before slowly explaining the importance of people like Xu Yuan.

Few people make a fortune from agricultural production, but agriculture is the foundation of a country. Only when the agricultural base is stable can there be a continuous supply of people.

There are no strong cultivators in the Agricultural Sect, including the sect's founder, who was not an exceptionally powerful figure. However, the strength of the Agricultural Sect does not lie in its cultivation level or its governing philosophy, but rather in the behavior of a small branch that has emerged from the Agricultural Sect.

Breeding, farming, improving agricultural tools, and teaching agricultural production are the key tools for a prosperous nation.

If Xu Yuan could breed a large number of durable and high-yielding seeds, and then promote their sowing in various places, Zhang Xuezhou would feel that the agricultural sect had made a great contribution.

The disputes between schools of thought have lasted for hundreds of years, even thousands of years. All the leaders of these schools have been high above the rest, pointing out how the country should operate, how to control people's hearts, or how to defend against foreign enemies. But no school has turned its attention to the most basic foundation and truly made the foundation at the bottom solid.

Just like Rong Tianding's cloud-flying technique, if the foundation is insufficient, no matter how much one learns, it's like trying to walk in Handan and ending up imitating Zhang Xuezhou's gait, making it difficult to achieve the same level.

When Rong Tianding's body was altered and he entered the Divine Power Realm, everything suddenly became simple, and he almost naturally gained the ability to fly.