Chapter 339: Discovering the Sweet Potato

The Wonu Country itself has no culture of its own; it is like a parasitic umbilical cord connected to the culture of the Central Plains, yet it refuses to acknowledge this at every moment, even desiring to replace it.

In fact, it is not just the Wonu Country; the Goryeo is the same, or indeed all the surrounding small nations, none of which are unaffected by the influence of China, yet all desire to replace it.

Therefore, occupying the Wonu Country is actually not easy; even the Longevity Sect only occupied Ryukyu Island and then established connections with its native Shinto.

Within the Wonu Country, it is claimed there are eight million spirits, with the supreme god residing in the Mythological Center, "Takamagahara," similar to Kunlun in the myths of the Central Plains.

Thus, the water in the Dharma Realm of the Wonu Country is relatively deep, because its connection to the Central Plains is too thick; it is not like the natives of Luzon, whose cultural level is not high, whose religion is quite primitive, and whose worshipped gods are all just small fry.

Although most of the eight million spirits of the Wonu Country are Tsukumogami, it has a perverted setting: "humans can turn into demons and ghosts." As long as one has an obsession, and the obsession is strong enough, very strange powers will be born.

This is somewhat like the Five Turbid Evil World in the movie *Green Snake*, where humans are like demons and demons are like humans.

One reason is that the wind and Qi of the Wonu Country itself are extremely perverted; another is that although its culture migrated from the Central Plains, it lacks one most critical mythological key: the "Cut Off Heaven and Earth" of Zhuanxu Dadi.

The boundary between demons, ghosts, and humans is not clear, and the boundary between yin and yang can be said to be blurred; there are even rumors of the "Heian-kyo Hundred Demons Night Parade," where the capital is for humans by day and for demons and ghosts by night.

Because the divine power, imperial power, and human path were never defined, they became inextricably entangled, to the point where they presumptuously dared to call themselves "Heavenly Sovereign," when in reality, through the ages, they were all enfeoffed by the Central Plains as Lords of the Wonu Country.

To the extent that the Wonu Country itself has no history; all ancient history was recorded by the historians of the Central Plains. If the Central Plains fell into great chaos, the history of the Wonu Country would be a blank slate, a broken lineage.

Such is the country and the people; they have received much grace from China, yet they are only ungrateful wolves that cannot be tamed.

Xu Jia ordered Chen Gongming to occupy Ryukyu, stating: "If there are those who resist, all those taller than a wheel may be killed. As for all the princes and nobles, if they surrender, exile them to a barren island. As for the common people, if they do not resist, they may be registered as households and equalized, and the land of the nobles shall be entirely subject to Equal Field."

The Wonu Country has little land and many people; conquering it is not of much value, but it excels in having many ports, which has economic value, and it has a large silver mine that is easy to mine, which can provide raw materials for making a silver-standard currency in the future.

Xu Jia plans to mint silver coins and gold coins similar to copper coins with square holes; copper coins are the smallest, silver coins are slightly larger and heavier, and gold coins are slightly smaller.

According to market rates, one tael of silver exchanges for six hundred copper coins; this one tael of silver can mint five silver coins, each worth one hundred and twenty copper coins. One tael of gold can exchange for twenty taels of silver and can mint four gold coins, each worth five taels of silver, or twenty-five silver coins.

Of course, gold will not be issued in large quantities.

In the current environment, it is very difficult to promote paper currency; one can only first use metal currency to stabilize the market, then establish a strong credit system, and then gradually issue gold notes based on the gold standard and silver notes based on the silver standard.

Those who issue paper currency recklessly before establishing a foundation are all of "grassroots character."

Relatively speaking, those who are "altruistic" and issue real currency have the character of longevity, but many noble families will issue debased currency and hoard good currency when it is issued, so it does not circulate in the market.

Xu Jia wants to open the silver mines of the Wonu Country, which is equivalent to having a money bag; he can establish a Treasure Fountain Bureau to continuously produce silver coins. With money, he can recruit soldiers and horses and compete for the Central Plains.

Chen Gongming is clear about this plan, and he does not like the people of the Wonu Country much, feeling they are short in stature and have arrogant personalities, acting cheerful on the surface while saying "baka yaro" behind one's back.

He reckoned that if Xu Jia said to kill everyone taller than a wheel, it wouldn't kill many people. Xu Jia's carts are built high, with wheels of 1.2 meters, while the average adult male in the Wonu Country is about 1.4 meters, and 1.5 meters is considered tall. 1.2 meters in the Central Plains might be roughly under eight or seven years old, while over there, they might already be twelve or fourteen.

It is already very difficult to tame such people; perhaps one should lower the standard, or make a Japanese cart with lower wheels.

While the expedition went off, a group of merchants arrived here with boatloads of immigrants.

Seeing that Luzon was already completely surnamed Xu and renamed "Song Kingdom," they were greatly shocked, some even heartbroken that they had not participated in the founding of the nation, thinking of asking if they could beg for an official post.

This time, they brought refugees from the Jiangzhe area. They were all silk farmers who, due to the heavy levies of the imperial court, could not bear the burden and thought of seeking a living overseas. They brought mulberry seeds and silkworm seeds along with them, and it is estimated they can continue to be mulberry households here in Luzon.

Xu Jia was very joyous and happy. Relying only on grain is not enough; many islands, besides planting spices and bananas, can also plant mulberry trees! It is just that mulberry leaves cannot be contaminated with too much Water Qi, otherwise, the silkworms are prone to diarrhea and death. However, thinking that after a few generations of selecting silkworm seeds, this flaw can also be overcome.

Besides a portion of silk farmers and mulberry peasants, the merchants also brought one thing: sweet potato vines.

This merchant was none other than Sun Bao, who said with a nervous face: "Sect Leader, do you see if this is the vine?"

Xu Jia asked curiously: "Where did you get this vine from?"

Sun Bao said: "Borrowing the Dharma Power of the Dragon Head Statue and some sea charts from the previous dynasty, we went toward the Persian Sea, then arrived at the Kunlun Continent, where there were all black-skinned people. Then we continued along, passed through a strait, arrived at another land, and met red-skinned people..."

"This time we were extremely lucky. We thought it would take half a year to return, but we don't know where a strange wind came from, and we arrived."

"I fear it is that 'Heaven and Earth both exert their strength to transport it'." Xu Jia's backlash from the Nail-Head Seven Arrows had not yet healed, and furthermore, he had killed the Longevity Sect Leader and the last emperor of the Great Heng, losing twelve years of Heavenly Mandate. At this moment, the Heavenly Mandate was directly grafted onto him, yet it was very flimsy, and he had inherited a portion of the Cause and Effect of the Wanshou Emperor of the Longevity Sect, and even the Cause and Effect of the Yellow Heaven Sect.

"Thus we returned in three months. When we returned, we prayed with all our hearts, and the sea ship sailed with the wind and current. A fifteen-day journey could be completed in five days, and traveling at night was even faster. Observing the stars and facing the favorable wind..."

Xu Jia nodded: "I count this as a merit. You have the sweet potato vines, but where are the sweet potatoes?"

That Sun Bao called for people to carry out a basket of sweet potatoes, though they did not grow very large, and some had become lignified; the variety was relatively primitive, but there were also large ones, like fists.

After wiping them slightly, Xu Jia took a bite. Although the sweetness was a bit lacking, the sweet potato flavor was indeed very rich; this was the thing.

Xu Jia laughed loudly: "Quickly promote this crop! In the future, good fields will still grow rice, and those newly leveled lands will grow this. This thing is the essence of earth grain, good for nourishing the spleen and stomach, no less than yam; it can be planted more! In the future, it can save ten thousand people; you all have merit for this!"

Sweet potatoes are resistant to drying and storage. It is hot and humid here, but they can be made into dried sweet potatoes, which can be stored for more than half a year if kept properly.

The tender stems and leaves of the sweet potato vine are relatively good vegetables, and the old vines and leaves can be used as pig feed, but one cannot feed them this exclusively, or they will get thinner the more they eat. It is a pity they did not find corn, but discovering the Kunlun Continent is also fine. However, to stabilize navigation and immigration, one still needs a Steam Engine. Currently, it is still in the "water power" stage; although research has begun, it lacks the soil for scientific invention. The ones that touch upon it are the alchemy Daoists, instrument-refining Daoists, and those craftsmen.

Even if it is to be hand-crafted according to the Daoist cultivation method and small manual workshops, it will take two or three years. And within these two or three years, continuously selecting and appointing relevant talents—it can be said that individuals do not have the energy for research and development; only the power of the whole nation can carve out a path from the small-peasant economy and manor economy to enter the industrial economy.

Industry is purely burning money at the very beginning, losing money, and doing experiments. Only after it matures can it be promoted and applied one by one, thereby making money. Therefore, besides scientific research, patent protection and copyright protection are also the relevant soil.

In the Central Plains, these are all "strange skills and ingenious techniques" that cannot be brought to the table. Even if they are helpful to production, they need time to ferment and promote themselves. The imperial order will not interfere; it will only use the latest technology to build its own palaces and decorations. This kind of non-interference is more due to the ideology of "revering only Confucianism."

For example, when studying a sickle, one must delve into the history of the sickle, the meaning of the sickle, the function of the sickle, and the future fate of the sickle...

Yet it will not say how to make a sickle, or how to use a sickle to cut wheat, rice, or pig grass.

Although Luzon has already been established as a nation, the culture here is very barren, making it even harder to find suitable talent.

Xu Jia's goal is still to be placed in the interior of the Central Plains. Even if only one in one hundred thousand people specializes in this path, their role is actually more important than those one hundred thousand people, such as figures like Song Yingxing or figures like Xu Shou.

Xu Jia wants to find such people; he can use divination and prophecy, but lacking relevant information, it is difficult to find precise people directly, and he can only have a general direction.

Compared to finding these people, those traditional alchemy and instrument-refining cultivators, as well as people from the Daoist and Buddhist sects—for example, the Daoists of the Shanju Guan previously could refine Jade Porcelain Divine Thunder, were proficient in Tiangang Thunder Law, and practiced the ingestion of jade—these very much fit Xu Jia's conditions.

The Jiangnan West Circuit is a holy land for Taoism. If the whole area is subdued and these Daoists with specialized skills are coordinated, it should not be difficult to refine a Magic Tool version of the Steam Engine.

Just thinking about it feels cyberpunk: what burns in the True Qi machine is not ordinary water, but "True Water"; the fire that boils the water is not ordinary fire, but Zhurong Fire; the steel is not ordinary steel, but Rune Steel; the machine is consecrated before operation, offered incense at the four seasons and fruits at the eight festivals, and then find a deity to moonlight as the "Water-Fire One Qi True Monarch," with Piston Boy, Qi Cylinder Strongman, Water Essence, Fire Essence, and Steam Essence under his seat...

Thinking about it, it is already a Dao Kingdom; there should be no problem building it like this. By then, Xiaopangdun's Shaman Technique, besides communicating with plants and animals, can also communicate with machines. If a machine gets possessed, he can perform rituals to drive away the evil, and perhaps it will be fine and continue to work.

"The Dao follows the nature of the pure body; having no worries or fears is true cultivation."

Xu Jia arranged these things and felt he had been away from Sanqing Mountain for too long, so he stepped on the waves and crossed the sea, heading toward the Jiangnan West Circuit.

As soon as Xu Jia left, Xiaopangdun relaxed: "Master has had a different temperament these days than before, making me unable to relax."

Others also attached: "Yes, yes, it is somewhat uneasy!"

Although Xu Jia was stepping on the waves, he had already "shrunk the earth into an inch"; one step, and he was already several miles away.

He did not break open the Dharma Realm to escape from it. The Dharma Realm of this vast ocean has been deposited for hundreds of millions of years; who knows what terrors are inside? Xu Jia had just been injured and still needed to recuperate well. It was better to raise his Qi; although it was not riding the clouds, he could still feel the scenery of the sea.

In less than an hour, Xu Jia had already returned to Sanqing Mountain.

He first returned home to see his parents; his old father was not there, still in Poyang, only his old mother was still chanting Buddha's name.

When Xu Mu saw Xu Jia, she was startled, examined him carefully, and said, "There is a baleful aura between your brows, bloodshot eyes, and black clouds rising behind your head. Where have you been?"

Xu Jia was surprised that his old mother could see such things, so he told her a bit about the Longevity Sect and the Wanshou Emperor.

Upon hearing this, Xu Mu only felt pity: "You have truly suffered much. No matter what you do, your mother will support you, but you cannot keep holding onto a murderous heart, otherwise, it will sooner or later fall upon your own head. You can kill others, but can others not kill you? You speak of justice, but what if they also have their own set of justice? Although you speak of relieving the suffering of all living beings, to ferry others, one must first ferry oneself. You must never fall into the state of a Mud Bodhisattva crossing a river, unable to even protect yourself; otherwise, how can you ferry yourself?"

Having said this, Xu Mu took the string of soapberry beads she held and placed it on Xu Jia's wrist: "This mantra-chanting method was taught to me by you, saying it could calm the mind and grant wisdom. Now, placed in your hands, I hope it can help you dissipate some of your murderous heart."

The murderous heart was the silent influence of the killing sword, though naturally, it was also influenced by Xu Jia himself; if the heart does not give rise to murderous intent, how can one wield the killing sword? If one does not wield the killing sword, how can one dare to call for the sun and moon to change into a new sky?

But he truly needed to be cautious about killing and to stop killing, otherwise, he would deviate from his own great vow of compassion.

Xu Jia gave a grunt of acknowledgment, then looked at the other child, who was none other than Xu Jian. This Ancestor of the Shanju Guan had returned to a childlike state and was growing very quickly; he could already recognize characters, but he had not yet awakened his Past Life Wisdom, and his Earth Soul was still buried where Xu Jia had planted his Life Foundation.

Now he could indeed take him along to cultivate, so he immediately said, "Little Jian, from now on, you will cultivate with me! Do you know that you are my True Transmission Disciple?"

"Aren't you my dad?"

"?"

"That's what they all say."

"Dad, if you teach me your skills, of course I'll learn!"

Xu Jia thought for a moment: "You are not allowed to call me dad, call me Master!"

Xu Jia intended to have no descendants, otherwise, his descendants might easily become emperors in the future.

Xu Jia could not let his descendants continue his own will, yet he also did not want his descendants to oppose him and eventually declare that his original decisions were wrong and muddled.

But without descendants, it was not easy to maintain stability. Perhaps in the future, he could use his essence and blood to create one through Transformation Birth. As for after he ascended, with the Chaos Pearl and his own Divine Path altar, he imagined there would still be a connection, and his years of hard work would not collapse.

(End of this chapter)