You, a tyrannical ruler, roam the heavens; you cannot understand my joy.

"Are there really that many?"

Shen Luoyan looked at Lu Zuo in disbelief. When the latter nodded, she suddenly felt the golden bean-like object in her hand become heavy.

"I'll go and make the arrangements right away..."

She carried the thirty-odd pounds of corn seeds as if they were fragile treasures and left the back room.

After Shen Luoyan left, Judge Yang walked in from outside the door.

"My lord, the Soul-Sorrowing Bird has returned."

So fast?

Lu Zuo only stayed in the fictional Ming Dynasty for about twenty days, which translates to just over two days in this world.

It seems these three ghost kings aren't far from Nantong...

"Let them in."

"Yes."

Judge Yang nodded and turned to leave the back hall.

Before long, he led in three tall, somewhat similar-looking middle-aged men who appeared to be in their thirties.

As soon as Pu entered, the three of them bowed to Lu Zuo, who was seated in the main seat.

"Mighty Ghost King greets Lord Lu."

"The Ghost King of Mangshan greets Lord Lu."

"The One-Horned Demon King greets Lord Lu."

Lu Zuo raised his hand: "The three of you need not stand on ceremony."

"Since the Soul-Wounding Bird brought you all here, it must have already agreed on the terms with you."

The Mighty Ghost King stepped forward half a step and nodded, saying, "It's settled."

"If Lord Lu can truly relieve us of the pain of this Netherworld Mark, what harm would we do if we sold our lives to you for ten or twenty years?"

Lu Zuo corrected him: "Not me, but the current Emperor!"

The three of them exchanged glances and nodded.

Without further ado, Lu Zuo immediately activated the Soul Dragon Soaring Technique, causing three golden threads to bloom from his fingertips and pierce into the brows of the three men.

"Hiss~~!"

The intense stinging pain caused the three ghost kings to gasp in shock, their faces contorted in agony, but they all gritted their teeth and endured it.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side...

As soon as Shen Luoyan stepped out of the prefectural governor's mansion, she almost bumped into someone, which startled her so much that she quickly stepped aside, her eyebrows furrowing in shock.

Just as he was about to open his mouth in anger, he swallowed back the words when he realized that the other party was Xie Guyan.

"Lord Xie?"

"Why are you here?"

Xie Guyan smiled apologetically: "I was just about to ask you to allocate some funds."

More money needed...

Shen Luoyan felt a pang of regret. Although the money confiscated from Buddhist temples and aristocratic families was considerable, she realized that once she started preparing for various matters, the money just flowed away like water...

"How much does Lord Xie intend to use this time?"

"Not much, 100,000 taels will be enough," Xie Guyan explained. "The foreign merchants who have recently come to the city have quite a few nourishing medicinal herbs on hand."

"I'm thinking of buying them all to train the new army."

Martial arts cultivation is a money-devouring beast.

Especially the martial arts of the God of War, which are the most money-devouring beasts among money-devouring beasts.

Not only do they need to eat meat every day to replenish their bodies, but they also need to take various tonics or use medicinal baths and other supplementary methods.

Otherwise, the progress of cultivation will definitely be greatly reduced.

Previously, Xie Guyan hadn't mentioned the medicinal herbs because she saw that Nantong was facing financial difficulties. It wasn't until Lu Zuo brought back the mechanical beast that she discussed the matter with Shen Luoyan.

Although Shen Luoyan felt the pinch, the Southern Chen New Army was of paramount importance and could not be neglected!

"it is good."

She nodded: "I'll allocate the funds to you after I deliver these seeds to the Agricultural Department."

The Agricultural Affairs Department is a government office that Shen Luoyan recently established.

The yamen recruited experienced farmers and breeding experts to teach the people how to farm and manage the land under the jurisdiction of the prefectural governor's office.

These people are experienced in farming, and although they are illiterate, they are much more useful than those who are well-read.

This matter was only finalized yesterday, and Shen Luoyan hasn't had a chance to report it to Lu Zuo yet.

Oh?

Seeing her cautious and appreciative expression, Xie Guyan couldn't help but ask curiously, "Lord Shen, what kind of seed is this?"

"This is corn, a high-yield crop that Lord Lu just brought back."

high yield?

Xie Guyan, like her, keenly grasped these two keywords.

How prolific is it?

"According to Lord Lu, the minimum yield per mu is 6 shi, and with proper care and sufficient fertilizer, 8 to 10 shi is not impossible. If this crop yields..."

Before she could finish speaking, Shen Luoyan saw Xie Guyan standing there, her red lips slightly parted, looking utterly speechless.

She couldn't help but find it amusing.

When I first heard about this, if I hadn't forced myself to stay calm, I probably would have been just as shocked by the astonishing output as she was.

"6 shi..."

After a long pause, Xie Guyan finally came to her senses and murmured, "My goodness, Nantong's annual grain production must be enough to..."

"More than ten million?"

"How many people, how many soldiers, does this need to support?"

"Lord Lu is truly... truly..."

After stammering for a few moments, Xie Guyan finally came up with a suitable adjective: "It's truly full of surprises!"

"There were indeed many pleasant surprises."

Shen Luoyan nodded, turned around and continued walking forward.

Xie Guyan quickly caught up with her and asked in a low voice, "Lord Shen, don't you think the relationship between Lord Lu and His Majesty... is a little strange?"

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it, no one in the imperial court has ever heard of Lu Zuo, nor has anyone in the martial arts world."

"It's like he just popped out of nowhere!"

"The crux of the matter is... His Majesty trusts him so much?"

Xie Guyan paused slightly, then said, "You, Lord Chu, and Lord Huang have the closest relationship with His Majesty, yet he gave the position of Prefect of Dongyang to Lu Zuo?"

Read the full text for free, Chapter 142: Shocking Outrageous Remarks! Could this Lu Zuo be the emperor's male favorite? (Link: [link missing])

Xie Guyan paused slightly, then said, "You, Lord Chu, and Lord Huang have the closest relationship with His Majesty, yet he gave the position of Prefect of Dongyang to Lu Zuo?"

"Don't you find it strange?"

"Furthermore, Lord Lu is at the Inner Heaven and Earth Opening Realm, and His Majesty is also at the Inner Heaven and Earth Opening Realm."

"Only Lord Lu knew that His Majesty had secretly recruited craftsmen to create mechanical beasts."

"All of these things are connected, and it makes one feel that there is something fishy going on."

Shen Luoyan was exceptionally intelligent and had already sensed something, but she didn't bother to investigate; she was only focused on doing her own thing.

Now that I've heard her say that, I'm also curious.

"So what do you think?"

Xie Guyan hesitated for a moment, then said, enunciating each word clearly, "Lord Lu, it must be His Majesty's male favorite!"

puff……

Shen Luoyan almost vomited blood!

"Stop talking nonsense..."

She laughed and cursed, then continued on her way.

"real!"

Xie Guyan caught up with him: "Don't you think these two are strange? Lord Lu disappears every few days; he might be going to Jiankang to meet His Majesty in secret..."

.......

At this moment, inside the prefectural governor's residence.

Lu Zuo slowly finished his practice, looked at the three ghost kings in front of him, and said in a deep voice, "That's enough."

Is that all?

The Mighty Ghost King and his companions found it hard to accept that the Netherworld Mark that had troubled them for decades was gone just like that.

The three of them secretly circulated their internal energy and silently sensed its effects.

"It's really...gone."

The mighty Ghost King Zhuang Han's voice trembled: "This Netherworld Mark is like a maggot clinging to a bone. I have toiled for thirty-seven years, using every means at my disposal, yet I cannot budge it even an inch!"

"Lord Lu... your skill is truly divine!"

The Ghost King of Mangshan, standing to the side, was breathing heavily. He closed his eyes, feeling the long-lost, unimpeded flow of true energy within his body, as if a thousand-pound shackle had been removed.

"It's not just the mark that's disappeared..."

"My sea of ​​consciousness felt as if it had been nourished and soothed by a warm, gentle force."

Immediately...

Thump, thump, thump.

The three of them knelt down at the same time, cupped their hands and bowed in gratitude.

"Zhuang Han, the Mighty Ghost King, kowtows in gratitude to Lord Lu!"

"Zhuang Feng, the One-Horned Ghost King, kowtows in gratitude to Lord Lu!"

"The Ghost King Manor of Mangshan bows in gratitude to Lord Lu!"

Lu Zuo quickly stepped forward and offered his hand in a gesture of support, saying, "No need for that, no need for that. If you want to thank someone, thank His Majesty."

The Mighty Ghost King gritted his teeth and said, "This insidious mark has controlled us for years, wielding life and death power over us, treating us like pigs and dogs!"

"Only today do I truly understand what it means to see the sun after the clouds have parted!"

"Lord Lu, from this day forward, Zhuang Hu's life belongs to you, to the Emperor! He is ready to face any danger at your command."

With the addition of three experts at the Third Realm, Lu Zuo was finally able to focus on Dongyang.

"Gentlemen, time is of the essence, so I will not waste any more words."

"Since the suppression of Buddhism in Nantong, the Buddhist community in Dongyang has been frequently active and is about to descend into chaos."

"You must immediately go to Dongyang to meet with the Ghost of Death and discuss with him the matter of destroying Buddhism in Dongyang."

"I, the Imperial Preceptor, and Lady Cai will arrive shortly."

"yes!"

Without further ado, the three bowed and turned to leave.

After they left, Lu Zuo gave some instructions to Judge Yang, went to his bedroom, took out the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden's Touring Token, and headed to the Qin Dynasty world.

During the month that followed, when Lu Zuo frequently traveled between Qin Shi and Tang Shi, he had already arranged for people to mine coal and build coking kilns in Shangjun.

They obtained a large amount of copper sulfate and ferrous sulfate from the Yin-Yang School and implemented a plan to refine ammonia fertilizer.

This process is not complicated and could have been easily accomplished with the conditions of ancient times.

Especially with the support of Qin Shi's advanced technology, the most troublesome problem of connecting pipes was easily solved by Gongshu Chou.

The first batch should be ready by now.

.......

A short while later, the world of Qin Dynasty arrived.

When Lu Zuo left last time, he was near the coking plant, and naturally, he is still here now.

He looked up and saw rows of earthen kilns shaped like steamed buns stretching out in a continuous line.

Thick smoke no longer billowed from the smoke vents on the top of the kiln; only wisps of bluish-gray smoke remained.

On the nearby open space, rows of large, rough pottery urns were neatly arranged.

The mouth of the urn was carefully sealed with wet mud mixed with straw fibers, leaving only a hole through which a pipe about the thickness of a wrist was inserted.

The other end of the pipe was also deeply embedded in the thick chimney of the earthen kiln, connecting the kiln and the urn.

"Marquis Changxin?"

A craftsman who was busy at work saw Lu Zuo, grinned, grabbed a handful from a large vat beside him, and hurried over.

"Marquis Changxin, Marquis Changxin, it's finished!"

When he reached Lu Zuo's vicinity, he spread out his palms and said, "Lord Changxin, please look, we have already refined that 'ammonia fertilizer' you mentioned."

Lu Zuo looked down and saw a blocky crystal in front of him, its color pale yellow, with a hint of green inside.

"How many were refined?"

"About five hundred shi (a unit of dry measure)."

"Grind them all into powder!"

.......

At this moment, near Shangjun.

"Why can't we catch this guy's shadow?"

As Jingni walked slowly forward, she thought to herself, "Today I'm in Xianyang, tomorrow I'm at Zhaixing Mountain, the day after tomorrow I'm in Shangjun, and sometimes I even disappear for more than ten days..."

"Is it really that hard to get close to him?"

"besides……"

"I've never heard of stones being used for firewood for heating before!"

"This guy's ideas are way too far-fetched; he's just messing around recklessly..."