Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 229 The First Cultivator Official

Regarding the separation of the Agricultural Affairs Department, apart from the Minister of Revenue who explicitly expressed his opposition, other officials either remained silent or unequivocally expressed their support.

After all, the Department of Revenue, the Department of Granaries, and the Department of Agriculture were originally under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue. Now, two of them have been removed, leaving only the Department of Revenue. Naturally, the Minister of Revenue was not happy about this.

Unfortunately, he was unwilling but had no choice, because Zhang Chengdao directly appointed the Minister of Revenue as the acting Director of the Agricultural Affairs Department, so that he could hand over the work of the former Ministry of Revenue's Granary Department and the Ministry of Agriculture.

It is conceivable that the day the handover is completed will be the day he steps down as Minister of Revenue and Director of the Agricultural Affairs Department.

Even the Minister of Revenue dared not delay or engage in non-violent non-cooperation, because the bloody lessons he had learned before told him that as long as he dared not cooperate, Zhang Chengdao could remove him from his post on the grounds of his incompetence, and then he would not even be able to keep his position as Minister of Revenue!
Left with no other choice, the Minister of Revenue reluctantly agreed to the assignment.

As dusk fell, the first "Three-Year Plan" was successfully drafted and is expected to be issued and promulgated at the next court meeting.

After the court session ended, Zhang Chengdao stepped onto the teleportation array leading to the White Stone Immortal Sect. In a short while, he returned to White Stone Mountain, a journey far more convenient and faster than any mode of transportation in the modern world before his transmigration.

If in the future everyone can cultivate immortality and everyone can use it, wouldn't we directly enter the era of cultivation through cyber technology?

Shaking his head slightly, Zhang Chengdao cleared his mind of the jumbled thoughts, turned around and went back to his room to play Bubble Bobble and Candy Crush.

Are you kidding me? You've unlocked all the permissions, why aren't you using the time to cultivate? Are you waiting for your disciple to surpass you in realm and cultivation?
……

Meanwhile, the ministers who returned home after court each had their own worries.

Wang Yanqing was as heartbroken as an abandoned woman, pacing back and forth in the yard, not even eating, and pulling out the few printed books to look through.

In addition to the "Bai Shi Immortal Dao Book" which explains the basic knowledge of immortality, there is also the "Bai Shi Qi Sensing Book" which explains the sensing of qi, and the "Basic Qi Induction Theory" which explains the induction of qi into the body. These three books were written by Xu Wen, and then compiled, discussed, revised and supplemented by several inner disciples such as Ye Shuyun and Murong Ruyan.

These three books are detailed in content and written in plain language. Zhang Chengdao even specifically requested that they be written in the style of the books in the library's collection. Although Xu Wen muttered a few complaints in private, he still complied.

This is easy to understand. If only one book is written in plain language, it would be an insult to literature. But if the entire system of immortal cultivation is written in such detailed and rigorous plain language, then it is "a self-contained system," and one might even have to praise it as "truly worthy of being called the immortal cultivation system that benefits all rivers and embraces all people!"
In short, as long as one's status is high enough or the benefits are great enough, great scholars will come to debate the classics.

Just like the author who writes online novels, he was originally just trying to make a living, writing things that he liked and that some readers liked to read. But as the audience grew, he earned more money and had a wider readership, online literature entered university courses and was even included in various literary awards.

Because all three books on immortality were written in this plain language style, many clever ministers, led by Wang Yanqing, began to learn to write memorials in this way. The results were good, and Zhang Chengdao praised them several times. The literary style of the court changed rapidly. They stopped using allusions and imagery. Several scholars in the Hanlin Academy wrote "On Plain Language" to praise this behavior.

Among them was a young Hanlin scholar named Pei Zhao. Because he was young and handsome during the palace examination and had a pleasant-sounding name, he was selected as the third-ranked scholar and entered the Hanlin Academy.

Pei Zhao's background is actually quite sensitive; he belongs to the Pei clan of Jincheng County.

After the restoration of the Zhou state, the Pei clan of Jincheng split into two, with one group moving to Longxi and the other remaining in Jincheng County.

When the Pei clan of Longxi joined the Li and Wang clans in their rebellion, General Pei, who was from the Pei clan of Jincheng and was stationed in Longzhi City, was so frightened that he almost died for his country. Fortunately, his superiors had no intention of investigating him. Every time he received a letter from the Pei clan of Longxi, he didn't dare to read it and sent it back to his superiors unopened to show his innocence.

Those empty-headed noble families don't understand what the path of immortality means, but the Pei family of Jincheng, being military generals, understands it all too well.

The changes in Qin and Jin were irreversible.

A mere Grandmaster can plot against a nation, but a Grandmaster in the hands of that True Immortal on Earth would probably not even last a single move!
Even the disciple of that "immortal" could defeat a grandmaster in one move after only a few months of practicing immortality. What is a grandmaster compared to that?
rebel?

He was simply taking people from thirteen counties with him to his grave!

Pei Hanlin was born into the Pei family of Jincheng. His martial arts skills were not low. When he was selected as the third-ranked scholar in the palace examination, he was already a sixth-rank martial artist. Later, when Zhou Kingdom became the White Stone Immortal Sect, he ate "immortal food" with them a few times and successfully broke through to the fifth rank.

To reach this rank before the age of thirty is already a remarkable achievement for a young person.

However, Pei Hanlin has always kept a low profile and has not tried to get close to Zhang Chengdao, so he has remained a Hanlin scholar. It is likely that Zhang Chengdao does not even know Pei Hanlin's name and position!

But Pei Hanlin was not without ambition; his ambition lay not in the imperial court, but in the path of immortality.

Where is your eldest brother?

Pei Hanlin's first wife was Madam Yang. The two had grown up together since childhood and had both studied martial arts at the Taiyue Sword Sect. They were childhood sweethearts. In the early years, Pei Hanlin had been beaten by Madam Yang, who had entered the martial arts world first. Therefore, Madam Yang was very rude to Pei Hanlin at home.

For example, seeing that the food was already on the table but Pei Hanlin was still nowhere to be seen, Madam Yang's anger flared up: "All he does all day is cultivate that lousy immortality! I told you long ago, if he really had the talent, the sect leader would have already taken him as a disciple. It's just him; his martial arts are only slightly better than mine, and he thinks he can succeed in immortality too! Humph!" Pei Hanlin's only daughter was only six years old and didn't quite understand Madam Yang's nagging, but she could tell that her mother was angry. So she quickly ran to the outside of Pei Hanlin's study and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Ah Da! Something's wrong! Mother's angry!"

Pei Hanlin lived in a small rented courtyard in Chang'an City. Apart from the kitchen, there were only three rooms in the entire courtyard.

There was a main room, a study, and a bedroom. Even the two old servants in the house had to squeeze into the side room. So, Madam Yang, who was sitting at the dining table in the main room, could see her daughter running to the study next door and calling out from the window.

"I'm not angry! Why would I be angry!"

Mrs. Yang's face darkened even more after her daughter exposed her: "Eat it or don't, it's up to me!"

As he spoke, he slammed his chopsticks heavily on the table and shouted, "Pei Xiaoman! Come and eat!"

My daughter was born on the day of Xiaoman (the 8th solar term), so I named her Xiaoman.

But as in all families, when your mother calls you by your full name, it means you're on your own.

Although Pei Xiaoman was only six years old, she instinctively sensed the low air pressure. She shrank her neck and ran back to the main room.

The old servant quickly carried Pei Xiaoman to a chair, and was about to say a few words of advice to his mistress when suddenly a strange wind blew up in the courtyard.

No, it wasn't in the courtyard. The group looked in that direction and discovered that the strange wind was swirling outside the study, even making the study's doors and windows rattle loudly.

The wind grew stronger, swirling up fallen leaves and dust from the yard and heading straight into the study.

Although Madam Yang was still angry with Pei Hanlin, her expression immediately turned serious upon seeing this. She casually instructed the old servant to guard Xiaoman, and then leaped out of the main hall, circulating her inner energy in an attempt to resist the strange wind.

Madam Yang was, after all, a sixth-rank martial artist. When she released her true energy, a crimson flame appeared and rushed towards the strange wind.

While circulating her internal energy, Madam Yang shouted, "You surnamed Pei! What are you doing! Are you still alive!?"

"lady……"

In the study, the two words Pei Hanlin uttered seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, startling Madam Yang so much that she immediately disregarded the strange wind and kicked open the study door, where she saw Pei Hanlin sitting cross-legged in the eye of the wind.

Pei Hanlin's sleeves fluttered wildly in the wind, and his hair was completely disheveled, yet he still sat there meditating.

Just as Madam Yang thought Pei Hanlin had gone mad from practicing martial arts like a cultivator, and was about to slap him awake, Pei Hanlin finally finished the rest of his sentence:
"I... broke through... the Immortal Path... without incident..."

It was probably at some crucial moment of breakthrough that Pei Hanlin seemed to be putting a lot of effort into speaking.

Mrs. Yang breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt both annoyed and amused.

However, being able to enter the path of immortality is still good news. Madam Yang snorted softly and once again circulated her true energy to form a protective shield, suppressing the gale in the study. She also realized that this strange wind was of great benefit to Pei Hanlin, so she used her own method to help protect her husband, even forgetting to eat.

After an unknown amount of time, when Madam Yang's internal energy was almost exhausted, the strange wind in the study finally gradually subsided.

Or rather, Pei Hanlin finally got his hands on her completely.

Because Madam Yang could clearly see that the strange winds were continuously penetrating Pei Hanlin's body, and only "disappeared" after they had all entered.

After circulating his spiritual energy for a while, Pei Hanlin happily opened his eyes, looked at the exhausted Madam Yang, and was deeply moved: "Thank you for your hard work, Madam. I have finally succeeded in my cultivation and have successfully guided the Qi into my body!"

Although Madam Yang, whose true energy had been completely drained, looked disheveled, she still stared at Pei Hanlin and sneered, opening her mouth as if to speak.

Unfortunately, before he could say anything, he collapsed to the ground with a thud and lost consciousness.

Pei Hanlin was shocked: "Madam—"

(End of this chapter)