The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 156 What does the Southwest lack most right now?
In the past, the southwestern region was indeed difficult to compare with the fertile and prosperous areas of Jiangnan.

However, during the transition between dynasties, when the world was still unstable, some feudal lords occupied a corner of the southwest and carved out a small territory to maintain their rule. Through their years of painstaking planning and management, this land gradually began to flourish.

As time has passed, the southwest is no longer the wild and untamed place it once was. It has become a well-known land of fish and rice, where the rice is fragrant and the fish are plentiful, making the region abundant.

Before the disaster, Southwest China was even known as one of the three major granaries in the world.

But after three years of severe drought, this land of fish and rice turned into a living hell.

The people fled, causing widespread devastation. Wealthy families built walls and seized land to become bandits.

The lives of ordinary people were no longer just about "getting by," but about "enduring death." At first, they could barely survive by storing grain and digging for wild vegetables, but by the third year, even the bark on the trees had been stripped bare.

Subsequently, war, banditry, epidemics, and droughts struck one after another.

Purgatory on earth is nothing more than this.

Du Yuan has just entered such a place.

The blazing sun beat down on him, and beside him lay an empty, cracked road.

Looking at everything before her, Du Yuan frowned deeply.

Something is wrong, absolutely wrong.

But he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

All I could do was stand there and rack my brains.

Just as I was pondering this, I suddenly heard the sound of wheels turning ahead.

Looking in that direction, they saw a large group of wounded soldiers walking over, supporting each other.

Everyone was injured, and many could only lie sprawled on the oxcart.

Occasionally, you'll see a few people who seem to be doing nothing, whether they're guards or just helping out.

This is?

The leading lieutenant saw Du Yuan but didn't think much of it, simply saying:
"Stop looking, we're almost out of the southwest."

As he spoke, he pulled half a coarse grain cake from his pocket and tossed it to Du Yuan, saying:
"for you."

Du Yuan took the flatbread and examined it carefully.

This pancake is made from very poor ingredients – mostly old millet and sorghum flour, mixed with bran, bean husks, and possibly even some unsifted sand.

Judging from its color, the water used to knead the dough was probably not clean.
In the past, this would probably be something even a dog would refuse to eat. But in this place today...

After staring at it for a moment, Du Yuan threw the pancake back into the air.

"General, I am not a refugee, so thank you for your kindness!"

The general was so surprised that he actually reined in his horse and stopped in front of him.

The wounded soldiers behind him continued to move forward slowly, their eyes lifeless and their bodies weak.

This battle was fought too fiercely, to the point that no one understood how it was fought.

"You're a Taoist priest? You don't even have a Taoist robe, yet you call yourself a Taoist priest? Forget it, with your fair skin and delicate features, you couldn't possibly be a spy."

After shaking his head, the lieutenant withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and instead said:
"Let me give you a piece of advice: the Southwest is not a place you can go. The people inside are all trying to find ways to escape."

"You'd better turn back now. That way you might be safe. If you go any further, not only you, but even we will be in trouble."

The lieutenant didn't say anything further, but just shook his head helplessly as he looked at the large group of wounded soldiers behind him.

Du Yuan cupped her hands and said:
"General, thank you for your kindness, but I truly must go." The lieutenant didn't say much, only looking at Du Yuan and saying:
"Life and death are determined by fate; I can't persuade them, I just can't persuade them."

He turned to leave, but had only taken a few steps.

He sighed, reined in his horse, and turned back to say:
"Since you say you're a Taoist priest, it's smart of you not to wear a Taoist robe. In any case, never tell anyone you're a Taoist priest."

As he spoke, he pointed to a large mountain ahead and said:

"Do you see that mountain? That mountain is called Hansong Mountain. Before we came here, there was a Hansong Temple on it, which was a famous Taoist temple throughout the entire southwest. It occupied thousands of acres of land and had countless people."

"When our general came, he didn't intend to touch them. He even took the initiative to visit them, hoping they would open their granaries and give the starving people down the mountain a chance to survive. But these bastards wouldn't listen and even said that it was their private property and only enough to make a living."

"The general had no choice but to leave. But afterwards, they intensified their exploitation of the starving people at the foot of the mountain, forcing them to sell themselves into slavery. The general was furious and wiped them out! If you go now, you can still see the burned-down mountain!"

Don't even mention it, those old fogies were always complaining about being broke or lacking food.

When they stormed in, they were astonished to find that there was enough food to feed their hundreds of thousands of soldiers and hundreds of thousands of starving civilians for half a year.

Everyone who went with them to transport the grain glanced at their warehouse and cursed, "They deserved to die!"

Even after the news reached the capital, the emperor not only pardoned the general who had pleaded guilty from all punishments, but also granted him the title of "acting on behalf of Heaven"!
Finally, he earnestly said:
"Therefore, now our general, and even all of us brothers, don't like Taoist priests. If you talk too much and someone sees you, you'll be chopped off with a knife and have nowhere to complain!"

Du Yuan continued, cupping her hands in greeting:
"Thank you for the reminder, General, but they are them, and I am me. We are different."

Helpless, the general could only shake his head and turn away.

But this time, Du Yuan stopped him and asked him a question:
"General, please wait!"

The general turned around and saw Du Yuan asking him:
"May I ask, General, what is the Southwest most lacking right now?"

What is the most lacking thing? Upon hearing this, the lieutenant scoffed:
"What's the most lacking thing? Let me tell you, the Southwest is lacking everything right now: money, grain, firewood, salt, cloth, even people—basically everything you can think of!"

But as he spoke, he took out the half-eaten coarse grain cake and sighed:
"But if we really have to talk about it, it's still about food. Don't be fooled by the fact that we seized the grain from Hansong Temple and received reinforcements from the imperial court. The sheer volume of food consumed when the army moves is beyond imagination, not to mention the many starving people there are!"

After robbing Hansong Temple, their lives were good for a month or two.

After that, things really got harder and harder. So much so that even a minor general like him could only afford to eat this kind of flatbread.

Anyway, take care.

The general carefully put away the cakes and said no more, simply riding away.

Du Yuan then cupped her hands in greeting to him and said:
"Thank you for the reminder, General. I will remember it!"

The lieutenant ignored him and led his troops forward.

He was a grain transporter, and this trip was to escort the supplies and wounded soldiers back.

After traveling to midday, he glanced at the sky and ordered the troops to rest and cook on the spot.

He led his horse aside, took out half a coarse grain cake from his pocket, intending to mix it with some turbid wine to fill his stomach.

After taking a bite absentmindedly, I felt it was unusually hard and inexplicably heavy.

"Ouch!"

He covered his cheek and looked down, then his eyes widened in surprise.

I clearly remember there being half a cake, how did it turn into half a piece of gold?!

Finally, he suddenly stood up and looked in the direction he had come from.

We've encountered a living god!
(End of this chapter)