Chu Zhiyuan turned and left the room, exited the inn, and strolled onto the street.
The streets of Wanghai City were far less bustling and beautiful than those of Yujing.
But they were also quite lively, with a kind of wild prosperity and vibrant vitality.
He walked among the crowds, passing through the light and shadows.
He pondered in his heart.
The decay of the Eastern Territory was not limited to the army, but extended to the government as well.
The Great Jing Dynasty was at its peak, like oil sizzling in a hot pan, like flowers adorning brocade, but it could not achieve universal peace.
The army was strong, and the people were prosperous, but there were inevitable regional disparities and severe wealth inequality.
This was difficult to avoid in all dynasties and could only be eradicated when productivity reached a certain level.
This world revered martial arts and pursued individual bravery, so there was naturally no concept of science.
Fortunately, the land was vast and sparsely populated, the grain yield was not low, and the imperial court was powerful, exerting absolute suppression over the localities and able to restrain the powerful clans.
Moreover, everyone was like a dragon, brave and strong, so they could not oppress the people like ants as in his previous life's ancient times. Therefore, the contradictions between the imperial court and the people were not acute, and the people's hearts still leaned towards the imperial court.
Even if there were corrupt officials, it would not damage the people's loyalty to the imperial court, but only make them hate a certain official.
Some would even find someone to assassinate these officials and replace them with a new batch.
The decay of the Eastern Territory was beyond imagination.
From top to bottom, from the government to the army, everything was filthy and unbearable.
In this situation, how could the people's hearts be attached?
He suddenly turned his head and looked west.
He was looking in the direction of Yujing City.
Did the Emperor send himself and the Phoenix Camp here merely to quell the rebellion of the Great Willow Camp?
Perhaps it was to make him see the situation in the Eastern Territory clearly and recognize the current state of Great Jing?
Of course, the Emperor certainly didn't expect him to solve the problems of the Eastern Territory, and he didn't have that ability.
After all, he was just a Prince.
With the Eastern Territory in its current state, let alone a Prince, even the Emperor would not be able to solve it so easily.
Otherwise, with the Emperor's wisdom, he would have solved the Eastern Territory's problems long ago.
Everything has its yang and yin, its good and bad, its advantages and disadvantages.
The Western and Northern Territories had strict military discipline, but as the saying goes, what is rigid cannot last long.
For the Western and Northern Territories to maintain such strictness for so long, there must be a price to pay, and that price was likely the Eastern Territory.
The Eastern Territory was not neglected by the Emperor, but intentionally indulged, intentionally formed.
Just like a clean and tidy street must have sewage ditches.
Was the Eastern Territory the Great Jing's sewage ditch?
Without a sewage ditch, how could the cleanliness of the streets be maintained?
He walked with his hands behind his back, pondering the correctness of his idea.
He had too little experience in governing a country and could not yet say whether this idea was correct or not.
He still had a lot to learn.
In any case, he must first stop the second rebellion in Jihai Town.
He just didn't know which camp the second rebellion was in.
All rebellions are the result, not the cause, often the process of dissatisfaction accumulating little by little and finally erupting.
Therefore, before a rebellion, there must be signs, and many people can even clearly see its inevitability.
He strolled on the street, passed through a small alley, and when he came out, he had changed his appearance.
From a sickly scholar, he had become a middle-aged merchant.
Wearing gorgeous brocade robes, gold ornaments, and jade pendants, sparkling with jewels.
He came to Tianshui Pavilion, the largest restaurant in Wanghai City.
Tianshui Pavilion was the tallest restaurant in Wanghai City.
Sitting upstairs, leaning on the railing, you could see the sea outside the city sloping towards this side, as if the blue sea was about to overwhelm it at any moment.
Chu Zhiyuan sat on the second floor, the most bustling and noisy second floor, ordered a pot of wine, two plates of dishes, and two plates of snacks, and drank slowly.
Various kinds of news entered his ears.
He felt that if there was really a rebellion, someone must know, and many people would know.
He only needed to listen for one night to hear it.
All kinds of sounds entered his ears, and after being captured and screened, the useless ones were discarded directly, and only the useful ones were remembered.
After Chu Zhiyuan drank a pot of wine, he ordered another pot, but his face became more and more serious.
"Damn it, I really can't stand it anymore, these damned bastards!"
"Lao Du, don't be anxious."
"Don't be anxious, don't be anxious, what are we waiting for? They're about to send troops over there to suppress us, and we're still waiting here! What are we waiting for!"
"Don't you think this is a good opportunity?"
"What good opportunity?"
"After the people from over there come, they will definitely remove that old guy from his position. When the new and the old take over, who can stop us if we launch it?"
"Hmm..."
"When the time comes, we'll rush into the General's Mansion, grab the things and run. The world is so big, where can't we go?"
"That's right... But the brothers really can't wait any longer. I may not be able to hold them back."
"You have to hold them back even if you can't!" That voice said fiercely: "We've waited for three years, what's the difference between these two months?!"
"... Alright."
This conversation in the midst of the noisy sounds caught his attention.
He immediately followed the sound and found two people in the corner.
They were wearing coarse cloth clothes, still thin in this cold weather, fully revealing their strong bodies and knotted muscles.
The people around them kept their distance, as if afraid of them.
Fortunately, their table was a separate one, and it was in the corner, with few people around.
That's why they spoke so boldly, sure that no one could hear them.
The surrounding noise was too loud, and the interference was too great.
They never expected Chu Zhiyuan to have such powerful skills, able to capture their words in the midst of thousands of noisy sounds.
After they left, Chu Zhiyuan put down his wine glass, threw down a silver ingot, and slowly went out.
He watched the two of them leave the restaurant and head out of the city.
They were two young men, one burly and strong, the other thin and slender.
The two went straight out of the city, and began to perform qinggong, heading towards the military camp not far away.
While running through a forest halfway, suddenly two small stones flew out and stopped them.
Chu Zhiyuan floated out, picked up the two of them, and went into the forest.
The moonlight was like water.
Chu Zhiyuan put them down, placed them in front of a tree, and slapped each of them once, then floated away.
Their bodies trembled like sieves, their eyes flashing with hatred.
But Chu Zhiyuan had already disappeared without a trace.
A quarter of an hour later, Chu Zhiyuan reappeared and patted the two of them again.
The trembling of their bodies weakened slightly, and the sliding sweat stopped.
Chu Zhiyuan said: "Whether you want to tell the truth, or continue to enjoy this Soul-Searching Hand, is up to you."
He tapped the burly young man's acupoints and said lightly: "Let's start with you, which camp are you from, what big things are you going to do, what are you going to rob from the General's Mansion? If you tell me clearly, I'll spare your lives, otherwise..."
He gently waved his hand, a stone flew up next to him, and then turned into powder in his hand.
He gently clapped his hands, patted away the powder, and looked at the burly young man: "Let's begin."
The burly young man gritted his teeth and glared at him.
Chu Zhiyuan shook his head: "Not sensible."
Then he gently patted his shoulder, causing him to tremble like a sieve again, sweating like rain.
Looking at the thin young man, he tapped his acupoints and said lightly: "Do you want to speak?"
The thin young man hurriedly shouted: "How dare you--"
Chu Zhiyuan patted his shoulder again, causing him to fall into trembling again.
An hour later, the two finally spoke.
Even men of iron could not withstand the Soul-Searching Hand.
The pain of the Soul-Searching Hand exceeded the limits of human endurance, unless one had the faith to sacrifice oneself for righteousness, otherwise one could not bear it for too long.
