Surviving in the chaos of war begins in the wilderness.

Chapter 54 The Reasons for the Rebellion

According to Lao Gao's introduction, Zhou Ye learned that when the Great Yin Kingdom was founded, due to its strong national power and the unity of its ruler and ministers, it greatly expanded its territory and occupied every place suitable for human habitation. Except for those remote and wild lands, it had occupied everything that could be occupied.

However, as time went on and the nation's strength declined, a very thorny problem arose—freak attacks on the border regions were frequent, and even large-scale monster raids occurred, requiring a large army to be stationed there. Military expenditures were like a bottomless pit. In the end, even the imperial court could no longer afford it.

Left with no other choice, the imperial court adopted the policy of military settlements—serving as civilians in peacetime and as soldiers in wartime, resulting in many border regions becoming places where the entire population was mobilized for military service.

For example, Fufeng County, where Zhou Ye is located, is also one of the border regions.

However, such a policy inevitably led to the concentration of power. The appointment of officials and military officers, as well as the control of finances, were all concentrated in the hands of the local prefect. Over time, border regions like Fufeng Prefecture began to slowly become semi-independent.

In other words, they became semi-independent warlords.

Specific policies will not be discussed here. Since it has become militarized, there will inevitably be frequent instances of you killing me, me killing you, and subordinates overthrowing their superiors. In short, they will use the handle of their swords to do whatever they want.

The imperial court tacitly accepted this rather distorted political environment. As long as you don't rebel and as long as you can protect the border regions, whoever wins the final battle will be appointed as the prefect, even if it's a reluctant choice.

However, as time went on, the military leaders grew weary and fearful. Every day was filled with uncertainty, and the constant need to play games like Candy Crush with their families? Who could stand that?

So, more than ten years ago, Fufeng County returned the position of county governor to the imperial court. They decided to let the court appoint a new governor, and we military leaders could stop vying for it.

But then another problem arose.

At first, the new prefect was cautious and did not excessively encroach on the local interests of the prefecture.

But as time went on, the prefect gained control of a portion of the army and other military forces. Feeling that he had become powerful enough, he began to press forward step by step, employing the ancestral skill of court officials—exploiting the land!

Are you kidding me? Officials travel thousands of miles just for money! If they don't exploit the people, do you think money will fall from the sky?

Therefore, in recent years, the amount of exorbitant taxes and levies has increased, and people's lives have become increasingly difficult.

Faced with this situation, a small number of powerful families and military leaders sided with the prefect, while the majority of them reluctantly accepted it.

In any case, it's the ordinary people at the bottom who suffer. They're like leeks, you can't cut them all no matter how many times you try.

Seeing that the situation was very favorable, the prefect was filled with boundless pride. He then employed another ancestral skill of court officials—drinking the blood of soldiers!

They're just a bunch of pathetic soldiers anyway. If we embezzle some of their pay, they won't be able to cause any trouble. Aren't they afraid of the prefectural governor's office and the mid-to-high-ranking military officers—those martial arts masters?

To be honest, this idea wouldn't be wrong if it were any other place that the imperial court could control.

But Fufeng County is completely different. It's a world of military leaders, big and small, where a long-standing tradition of fighting anyone who disagrees has taken hold, and insubordination is an ancestral skill.

No way? They actually dare to bully us soldiers? No problem, I'll draw my sword and fight!

However, this war disaster is slightly different from previous ones.

Didn't the prefect also gain control of a portion of the army? Have many powerful families and military leaders already pledged allegiance to him?

Therefore, fearing they were not strong enough, the rebellious army rallied the Black Iron Gang, one of the three major gangs.

Many high-ranking members of the Black Iron Gang also wanted to go straight and perhaps become government officials in the future, or even establish their own powerful families.

Add to that the large number of miners who have suffered under the oppression of the prefect for too long! They've been wanting to rebel for ages!

So the two sides quickly reached an agreement, and under the leadership of the garrison general, they stormed into the prefectural governor's mansion, killing not only the governor but also most of the mansion's top fighters. It was even rumored that one of them was a powerful expert in the early stages of the Transformation Realm.

Besides, it was also necessary to eliminate the governor's henchmen—those powerful families and military leaders who had pledged allegiance. Therefore, the city gates remained closed for several days, and the chaos outside the city was temporarily ignored…

"Ah Ye, I also heard that Big Dog was probably the one who did it, the Black Iron Gang." As an outer member of the Woodcutter's Gang, Lao Gao knew a lot of inside information. "Big Dog used to have a few old rivals in the Black Iron Gang. Taking advantage of the Black Iron Gang's help in getting ahead, they took the opportunity to do something dirty to Big Dog and his gang. So no one dared to do anything about it, even the higher-ups in our Woodcutter's Gang pretended not to see it."

So that's how it is. Big Dog died because of a personal vendetta by the Black Iron Gang? That's why it seemed so mysterious. The Woodcutter Gang not only didn't dare to seek revenge, but they also had to swallow their pride and accept it... right?

"Old Gao, everything should be alright now, right?"

"Tiebao is fine. Everything that needed to be dealt with has been taken care of. Didn't the imperial court already appoint the garrison general as the new prefect?"

"..."

Okay! It's good that you're alright. I don't have any ambitions, I just want to live a few peaceful days.

……

After finishing his drinks and returning home, Zhou Ye felt the meal was well worth it. At least he no longer needed to live in fear and could focus on his cultivation and life with greater peace of mind.

Reaching the corner of the kitchen wall, Zhou Ye dug out all the silver and copper coins; he needed to feed a certain little money-grubber tomorrow.

That copy of "Mirage Realm Free and Easy Skill" will remain untouched for now, along with the other two martial arts manuals. It's already too late; I'll just dedicate two hours to practicing the techniques myself!

However, before practicing, you need to try taking a dose of Qi and Blood Powder.

Taking Qi Xue San (气血散) is rather troublesome, as it requires decocting in a medicinal pot. If you don't have a medicinal pot, any other pot will do. It cannot be taken orally like Qi Xue Dan (气血丹).

While decocting the medicine, Zhou Ye also expelled the alcohol from his body and fully recovered his sobriety.

One of the advantages of entering the "Entering the Core" state is that it's also a wonderful use of the body's Qi and blood. For martial artists who have entered the "Entering the Core" state, ordinary alcohol will no longer make them drunk. Unless they specifically want to enjoy that tipsy feeling, they can expel the alcohol from their bodies.

Finally, the Qi and Blood Powder was fully prepared. As soon as it cooled slightly, Zhou Ye drank it all in one gulp…

In the blink of an eye, a surge of heat welled up within his body. As the Qi and blood in his dantian rushed towards his acupoints, this heat began to continuously replenish his dantian…

In the blink of an eye, two hours had passed.

According to the original training progress, today marks exactly four days, which will grant 1 experience point. Furthermore, the second acupoint of the dragon bone will be broken through.

To Zhou Ye's surprise, he actually gained 3 experience points in the end? He broke through the third acupoint of the dragon bone?

So this is what it feels like to be on drugs!

Zhou Ye seemed to be deep in thought. Without supplementary medicine, cultivation indeed seemed incredibly difficult!