Emperor Jingwu slowly withdrew his gaze at this moment, sitting on the dragon throne, his eyes fell on Chao Mu.
"Great Companion, now officials from various places have submitted their reports. Rumors are flying everywhere, and officials from various places are anxious. Some local sects are also stirring, starting to confuse the people!"
"Great Companion, how significant is the influence of the leaked Dragon Qi?"
Emperor Jingwu was also a bit headache, as the people’s wisdom had not yet opened, making them easily influenced by those crooked paths.
Of course, this was also the suffering of the people’s hearts.
Those without land, or those who have lost their loved ones, are essentially vulnerable to bewitchment.
It’s still the old problem, without solving land annexation, the people without land will never be fundamentally healed!
Chao Mu pondered slightly, shook his head after a moment, and said.
"It’s currently impossible to estimate, but if Your Majesty can strive for good governance and make the people prosperous, even if there are hidden dangers, I believe they can dissolve into nothing."
Emperor Jingwu sighed upon hearing this.
"Great Companion, this is easy to say but difficult to do. I also wish to achieve cultural and martial governance like the late Emperor and the esteemed ancestors, and be a Bright Monarch. However, upon becoming Emperor, I realized I can do nothing. I wish to help the poor people reduce taxes, but instead of achieving it, I have only increased their burden!"
"I dispatched Imperial Envoys to various places to cleanse corrupt officials and local tyrants. However, they only caught some petty officials, mere scapegoats. These noble families are deeply rooted, once a batch is eliminated, a new batch rises. When will it end!"
At this point, Emperor Jingwu’s face was full of exhaustion.
Seeing Emperor Jingwu’s anger, Chao Mu’s gaze was calm, yet he sighed in his heart.
Emperor Jingwu’s diligence was seen by him, working diligently after ascending the throne. However, from the third year of Jingwu to the ninth, he had not produced any significant achievements, making this diligent young emperor’s sense of frustration normal.
Thinking for a moment, Chao Mu comforted.
"Your Majesty is a capable ruler, reducing taxes for the people, punishing corrupt officials, and forming new troops, all officials without exception praise you!
The poverty of the people is not just human misfortune but also natural disasters. It’s not due to ineffective governance by Your Majesty. The Court is still under Your Majesty’s control, all are your achievements!"
Only Chao Mu dared to speak these words.
An ordinary minister, if casually evaluating the Emperor, would inevitably be suspected by the Emperor.
Emperor Jingwu, upon hearing these words, slightly relaxed his face, but still waved.
"Great Companion, you need not comfort me!"
"I deeply feel unworthy of the people of the world, unworthy of the earnest expectations of numerous officials, and the tax reform proposed by Assistant Reader Zhang, abolishing the population tax and spreading it among the land, such a great tax reform proposal, yet none of it has been implemented in three years!"
At this time, Emperor Jingwu’s temples showed a few strands of white hair.
The young Emperor had been under a lot of pressure recently.
Several rebellions caused the treasury silver to deplete rapidly.
At this crucial time, it’s an eventful autumn again, with the leakage of Dragon Vein Dragon Qi, certainly followed by natural and man-made disasters. If silver is lacking, many elite soldiers will turn into sharp blades hurting both others and themselves.
Emperor Jingwu was anxious.
Chao Mu also understood the difficulties faced by Emperor Jingwu. The treasury lacked silver, and if those main soldiers couldn’t receive their pay, affecting morale was secondary; mutiny would be possible.
Upon hearing this, Chao Mu pondered for a moment and then said.
"Your Majesty, if nothing works, we can open some of the mining restrictions. The Court now controls many salt and iron mines, these are like gold mines, which might temporarily alleviate the urgent situation!"
Salt, iron, and tea are three gold mountains, controlled by the Government Office since the founding of Daqian, with private selling forbidden and severely punished upon discovery.
However, with the current manpower of the Court, selling efficiency is not low, and the salt and iron sectors are heavily corrupted, hindering monetization.
If following the previous dynasty, reopening mining for a short time, changing from government-managed, government-purchased, government-sold, and government-distributed to commercial-managed, government-purchased, government-sold, commercial-transport, and commercial-distributed, it might monetize quickly, and the Court would only need to supervise.
"We can only do this!"
Emperor Jingwu frowned, feeling a headache.
However, he could foresee that with the opening of the salt route, the biggest beneficiaries would not be the Court, but definitely those County’s Noble Families.
But in this urgency, Emperor Jingwu could only find a way to get through the crisis first, then spare time to suppress the expansion of those noble families.
His time was still insufficient.
Zhang Jian’s suggestion to promote and train lower-class generals also required time.
It was best for a power transition during Daqian Kingdom’s peak strength, and in the current situation, Emperor Jingwu dared not act rashly.
...
Meanwhile, in Fengyang County, above Bai Shui River, countless dark clouds covered the sky, with thunder rumbling.
These streaks of thunder had shrouded above Bai Shui River for two days and nights.
The area around Fengyang County was also experiencing strong winds and rains.
Many gods were secretly observing the changes deep within Bai Shui Dragon Palace.
All the gods had guessed it, it was the thousand-year Divine Dao Great Tribulation of Bai Shui Dragon Monarch Bai Nu.
In various Divine Offices, many gods gazed from afar at the sky above Bai Shui River, their hearts trembling. No schadenfreude was on their faces, only awe.
This kind of thousand-year tribulation was exceedingly terrifying.
Many of them felt, upon slight contact, that their Divine Offices might shatter under the thunder light, and their Divine Positions collapse.
"This thousand-year Divine Dao Great Tribulation is truly terrifying, not weaker than the various tribulations faced by the Yin Spirit Venerable!"
On Phoenix Nest Mountain, the Feng Ling Mountain God quietly watched this scene.
Among the gods of Fengyang County, the only one she admired was Bai Shui Dragon Monarch.
The Flood Dragon is the exotic beast closest to a True Dragon, powerful in strength.
Beside her, Lady Honghua, dressed in a red skirt, her brow adorned with a bright red Divine Seal, was frowning tightly.
The thousand-year tribulation was a blade pressing on the hearts of all gods, forcing them to diligently practice.
She said in a deep voice, "Bai Shui Dragon Monarch previously injured his Primordial Qi, it will be very dangerous to cross this tribulation!"
After all, Bai Shui Dragon Monarch was an ally of the Zhang Family and also the father-in-law of her master, making him naturally her aid. Lady Honghua did not wish for Bai Shui Dragon Monarch to fail the tribulation.
The Feng Ling Mountain God shook her head, "After all, he has a Flood Dragon body, he won’t die so easily. The only need is to guard against someone taking advantage of the situation!"
A thousand-year Divine Dao Great Tribulation typically splits into strong and weak ones.
In the Sheji Divine Dao, there is a very strict evaluation model. If the divine evaluation is excellent, with little resentful fiend and enough merit, there might only be a Two-Nine Thunder Tribulation. If merit is insufficient or incense is sparse, with many resentful fiends, it might face a more severe Four-Nine Thunder Tribulation.
If beset by Evil Power, an extremely terrifying Six-Tribulation Thunder Tribulation will occur, along with an additional Heart Demon Tribulation.
Bai Shui Dragon Monarch, being suppressed for a thousand years, should not have too many resentful fiends. Previously, he brought sweet rain, relieving the drought in Fengyang County and neighboring counties, thus incense and merits should be abundant.
It’s probably hard to achieve an excellent evaluation, but getting an average should be possible.
The most likely is facing the Three-Nine Thunder Tribulation.
The Three-Nine Thunder Tribulation, for a Bai Shui Dragon Monarch who hasn’t recovered his peak, still holds hope.
The only trouble is the demons taking advantage of the chaos around.