Chapter 582: Jiang Ziya's First Meeting with Wen Zhong

Shen Gongbao took a deep breath, not only to suppress the anger in his heart but also to put on a look of comfort: "Junior Brother, the Investiture of the Gods is a major matter, and this is also the Heavenly Venerable's high regard for you; do not let the Heavenly Venerable down."

Jiang Ziya nodded in agreement and said: "I think so too, so I feel a lot of pressure. Sigh, Senior Brother, I won't say more, I will be leaving first. If I go to Great Shang, I will set up a banquet to entertain you."

He took out the God-Beating Whip, made a slash in the air, and stepped inside.

In the Primordial World, Golden Immortals can travel through the void, and Innate Spiritual Treasures can do the same.

Besides that, there are also Space-Breaking Talismans, Space-Piercing Shuttles, and so on, similar to the Mysterious Jade Platforms in the Zhetian World, which can also perform long-distance travel through the void.

It is precisely because of these many methods that Teleportation Arrays are difficult to become popular.

Looking at the empty void, Shen Gongbao's face immediately turned dark, and a look of resentment flashed in his eyes.

"Jiang Shang, you deceive me too much!"

"And you, Heavenly Venerable!"

Shen Gongbao looked back at Yuxu Palace and gritted his teeth: "Since you value Jiang Shang so much, then I will not let him have his way. You let him assist Xiqi, then I will go to assist Yin Shang. I will prove to you that I am stronger than him, Jiang Ziya!"

………

"This is Zhaoge?"

Jiang Ziya looked around, his face full of confusion.

If it weren't for the characters 'Zhaoge' still hanging on the city wall a dozen miles away, he would have suspected he had gone to the wrong place.

The Zhaoge of the past had majestic city walls that made people marvel.

Today's Zhaoge still has majestic city walls, but there are a large number of high-rise buildings that look like mountain peaks, far exceeding the height of the city walls, and the original dirt roads outside the city have all turned into cement roads.

They are not only wide and clean, but also smooth.

Strange-looking vehicles are speeding along the roads.

The scene of noble children in fine clothes and on spirited horses can no longer be seen at all.

It just so happens to be the time for harvesting rice, and he sees many tall and strange Dharma Treasures eating countless rice plants with a clanking sound, then spraying out clean rice grains from the rear.

One mu of rice is harvested in just a few moments.

The Commoners in the fields are all dressed in bright clothes, their faces overflowing with the joy of a bumper harvest, and they are all strong and sturdy, walking like the wind, completely different from the thin and ragged people of the past.

He has only been up the mountain for thirty years, how does it feel like the world has changed!

For a moment, countless doubts surged into his heart.

Thinking of this, Jiang Ziya walked toward the ridge of the field and greeted an old farmer with a dark face: "Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable, this old lay Buddhist, this poor Daoist has some doubts, may I ask a few questions?"

"Oh, go ahead, Daoist."

The old farmer was flattered and hurriedly patted his hands, which were covered in rice chaff.

Jiang Ziya smiled slightly: "I wonder how many mu of land the old lay Buddhist has, and how many people are in your family? This poor Daoist sees this rice, it is completely a year of bumper harvest, is there enough surplus grain to eat your fill?"

The old farmer laughed and said: "Daoist, looking at you, could it be that you have been in the mountains for over a decade and have never come down?"

Jiang Ziya nodded and said: "I have been up the mountain for thirty years, and today I am returning home to visit relatives."

The old farmer realized and laughed: "That's no wonder, otherwise you wouldn't ask about such Common Knowledge. Speaking of which, this is all thanks to the great fortune of the Great King that we Commoners can live such a good life now.

Since the Great King ascended the throne, he first abolished the Slave System, so this old man could leap to become a Commoner, and then the Great King distributed land to us, encouraged us to cultivate fertile fields, and also distributed Taiji Rice seeds.

Now there are nine people in my family, with thirty mu of fertile land, and I estimate a harvest of forty-five thousand catties.

The Great King pities us Commoners, and since last year, we no longer need to pay taxes.

That is to say, all this grain is my own.

Daoist, you tell me, can we eat our fill?"

"Hiss!"

Jiang Ziya was shocked, his eyes widened.

Although he had never farmed since he was a child, he knew that the yield of ordinary fields was only about a hundred catties or so.

But according to the old farmer's land and yield, wouldn't the yield per mu be fifteen hundred catties!

This is a tenfold increase!

And for the people to pay taxes is a matter of course.

The Human Emperor actually abolished the grain tax for the people, which is unprecedented in history.

Jiang Ziya couldn't help but say: "Taiji Rice, where did the Great King obtain the seeds, how could the yield be so high? And, with the people no longer paying taxes, how are the salaries of the officials in the Imperial Court paid, and how is the army maintained?"

The old farmer laughed heartily and said: "How would the Imperial Court care about mere agricultural taxes? The current tax revenue of the Imperial Court comes mostly from commercial taxes. Moreover, the Imperial Court also controls a large number of state-owned enterprises, each one rich as oil.

For example, the Spirit Stone Mining Group, they explore and mine Spirit Stone veins everywhere, and it is said that they can even mine from one hundred thousand li underground.

What is mined out is Spirit Stone!

And there is the Smelting Group, the newspapers say that just the taxes paid in a year exceed one million Immortal Crystals.

What does our little bit of agricultural tax count for."

Speaking of this, he paused and continued: "As for the Taiji Rice, the Imperial Court has not explicitly stated where it came from, but everyone guesses it was presented to the Great King by the National Teacher.

For ordinary fertile fields like mine, the yield can basically reach fifteen hundred catties per mu.

And..."

The old farmer smiled mysteriously. He picked up a grain that had fallen in the field and handed it to Jiang Ziya: "Daoist, rub off the husk and take a look."

Jiang Ziya did not understand, but he took the grain.

This grain was about three inches long, shuttle-shaped, and half black and half white, indeed resembling a Taiji Diagram.

"What a strange grain of rice!"

Jiang Ziya thought to himself. He followed instructions and rubbed off the husk, revealing the crystal-clear rice grain inside, which was like beautiful jade, emitting a warm and jade-like luster.

Furthermore, it was actually emitting a faint Spirit Qi!

This is Spirit Rice!

Jiang Ziya's eyes popped out, shocked beyond measure.

"Hahaha!"

Watching Jiang Ziya's expression, the old farmer laughed heartily once more: "Shocked, aren't you! This Taiji Rice is no Ordinary grain; it is an Upper Grade spirit rice. The Spirit Qi contained in three catties of Taiji Rice is roughly equivalent to one Spirit Stone. Moreover, Taiji Rice has no impurities and can be completely absorbed by the human body. Eating this to practice martial arts yields twice the result with half the effort."

After a long while, Jiang Ziya exclaimed in wonder: "I truly never imagined there was such spirit rice in this world that could be grown in ordinary soil. The Great King promoting Taiji Rice on such a scale is truly a work of boundless merit."

The old farmer said with a solemn expression: "That goes without saying. Nowadays, among the common people of the world, who does not enshrine the Great King's divine tablet in their home? If not for the Great King, I fear this old man would have lived in a daze until death, having come to the human world in vain."

Jiang Ziya asked curiously: "Old lay practitioner, judging by how you speak, you don't seem like you were..."

The old farmer waved his hand and said: "A Slave is a Slave; there is nothing to be ashamed of, but that was all in the past. This is still thanks to the Great King's blessing, for Refining Dharma Treasures specifically for eradicating illiteracy. Now, not only can I read books and newspapers, but even regarding the works of many famous scholars, this old man can have some slight insights."

Speaking of this, he also felt a faint sense of pride.

Jiang Ziya was shocked; the Human Emperor was actually carrying out universal literacy, to the point that even former Slaves were well-read in poetry and books!?

To tell the truth, he considered himself someone who sympathized with the common people, but he absolutely had no intention of actively educating them, because the process was too difficult and consumed too much manpower and material resources.

Of course, there was an even more important point: if the common people all had their wisdom opened and their intelligence awakened, wouldn't they be even harder to rule?