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Chen Qing’s power naturally wasn’t met with gratitude by everyone, and there were some who were extremely dissatisfied with various policies enacted by Chen Qing, even to the point of grinding their teeth in resentment.

Of course, this was also because Chen Qing held absolute military strength and substantial support from the lower classes, otherwise the discontent would have been more than just teeth-grinding.

They were mainly divided into two groups, the first being led by Gu Beiquan, who were scholars of renown, many of whom had official titles and had been stripped of their positions by Chen Qing, viewing him as a rebel.

Especially after being driven out of the academy by Vice President Chen Ying a year ago, their resentment deepened.

Especially as the academy rose in prominence over the year, and many capable scholars began to work outside the institution, their panic only grew.

Then there were the local gentry who originally controlled the land.

These individuals had previously annexed a large amount of land and had a significant number of tenant farmers under them.

Especially in the countryside, where they possessed knowledge that ordinary people lacked—many didn’t even recognize characters—the edicts of the Imperial Court hardly reached the villages.

They held the majority of the civilian power, even in this demonic world!

But the recent outbreak of the living dead completely broke their foundation!

The countryside became the main battlefield for relief efforts, from Lyuzhou to the farthest Yunzhou.

All Warrior Armies followed a strategy of concentrating rural villagers in the cities.

In this process, Chen Qing’s influence gave the lowest classes the most reliable sense of security and highest prestige.

Along with the policy that anyone could join the Warrior Army, massive numbers of the lower classes enlisted, further shattering the conservative mentality of the countryside and completely overturning the status of the gentry.

Next came the land policy, with the new lands under Chen Qing’s power being developed around the Mountain God as a central focus.

The reason being, even if the fields in the countryside were cleared, there was still the possibility of invasion by the living dead, making the environment unsafe for the common folk to farm.

But close to the areas protected by the Mountain God, at least there would be timely warnings and a certain level of protection, allowing a large number of farmers to gather around the Mountain God.

Now the good lands in the countryside are distributed by the Mountain God; all the land is nominally owned by the Mountain God and only granted to those faithful. This model completely cut off the root of the gentry’s land annexation.

Not only because the land couldn’t be traded, but also because the Mountain God could largely prevent natural and man-made disasters.

With the descendants of the Mountain God and the Agricultural Institute present, insect plagues and droughts could almost be perfectly solved, depriving the gentry of any chance to return to their status as landlords!

Of course, this was a good thing for the common folk, but not for them.

Holding legally obtained land in their hands that nobody would farm, while everyone was well-fed and no one wished to be a tenant farmer, Chen Qing didn’t take away everything they had, it’s just that what they held was now worthless.

The reality was that the gentry, owning large tracts of land and property, could only rely on government relief.

Too proud to farm the land themselves or enlist as soldiers, and with their land lacking competitiveness, they couldn’t even attract workers by offering high wages and precious metals for part-time help with farming.

Even the grain they harvested held no advantage.

The produce from the Mountain God’s land was not only abundant but also of increasingly high quality.

The grain was crystal clear and richly fragrant, steamed buns made from it were so satisfying that one equaled five or even more of the ordinary ones.

Now, it was mainly the produce from the Mountain God’s land that fed the War God Army.

The gentry’s land produce was so undesirable that barely anyone wanted it on the market, let alone for relief efforts—it couldn’t even win the hearts of people.

Wouldn’t this cause them anxiety?

With their mode of survival thoroughly disrupted, these gentry grew more frantic by the day. The more prosperous the commoners lived, the more it felt like their hearts were being clawed at by a cat.

All they could hope for each day was for the Imperial Court to send troops to eradicate Chen Qing, the rebel, to restore order and return everything to the way it should be!

Just today, Shen Yuan had just left the institute when he was once again intercepted by Gu Beiquan and a group of gentry.

Recently, Shen Yuan had grown thoroughly tired of these people.

Wasn’t he busy enough with his studies? Those fellows a decade younger than himself were very smart, and if he slacked off for just two days, he risked being overtaken.

And now with the opportunity to accompany Lord Chen Ying to Daqing Mountain to study the Azure Dragon Formation, this was only offered to disciples ranked in the top ten in their studies; he had a lot to handle!

Did he have the spare time to chat with this bunch of good-for-nothings?

"Brother Shen..."

Seeing Shen Yuan’s impatient expression, Gu Beiquan and the others also had grim faces. Over the past year, Shen Yuan had shown his impatience toward them, but they didn’t have anyone else to gather intelligence from now.

Wanting to make a mark with the Imperial Court, they had to present something substantial, right?

Shen Yuan had spent so long in Chen Qing’s sham of an institute and must surely have valuable intelligence to present, especially now when they heard that the Imperial Court was planning a move!

"Brother Shen..." Gu Beiquan said soberly, looking at the other man, "You’ve been here for so long, have you completely forgotten your own identity?"

Shen Yuan: "...."

"You are the Imperial Court’s Second Place Scholar, an official personally appointed by the court. Surely, Brother Shen isn’t truly considering joining forces with the rebel Chen Qing?"

Shen Yuan’s face turned extremely unsightly, and after struggling for a while, he managed to squeeze out, "I never said that..."

"I knew it, Brother Shen still has righteousness in his heart... come on!" Gu Beiquan’s face immediately changed to a more flattering expression as he pulled Shen Yuan into the house of a local gentry in the southern part of the city.

Chen Qing did not seize these gentries’ properties. As long as they could provide deeds to prove ownership, even if the property had been allocated to the Warrior Army, he would get the army to move out again and return the houses to the gentry.

By ensuring the legal rights to everyone’s property, this action not only left the gentry without a word to say but also reassured others who had been allocated property.

It signified that the Prefectural Governor was trustworthy and would not arbitrarily deprive private property; he would not take away the gentry’s, naturally, nor would he take away that of the ordinary people’s.

Meanwhile, students from the Engineering Yellow Institute had now built two forty-story towers in Lyuzhou.

Many military and civilians were not at all worried about not getting a house and living in a high-rise overlooking Lyuzhou, a highly trendy matter, which also made these gentry drool with envy.

Once in the inner courtyard, several gentry warmly poured tea and brought out some pastries bought with gold and silver to the table.

Shen Yuan took one look and was filled with disdain.

The tea was aged for several years, goods from a year ago, yet anyone who had tasted the fresh tea produced in Daqing Mountain and Nan Mountain would disdain this aged tea.

What Capital City’s pre-rain Longjing or Yundu’s premium cloud mist tea?

Nowadays, which tea house on the street would dare serve their guests old tea, or else risk losing all its business the next day.

And those pastries were clearly cheap stuff.

The pastries made from the finest rice and flour grown in Immortal Fields were utterly different in both color and fragrance.

But what could be expected? Nowadays, the whole of Jiangnan was trading with Fragrant Silver distributed by the government, and ordinary gold and silver were becoming less and less valuable.

It was already a big stretch for these gentry to affort some pastries.

Shen Yuan couldnt be bothered to touch the things on the table. As a First Rank Scholar, he had special subsidies. Although he wasn’t wealthy, he could afford Daqing Mountain Fruit Wine and fine tea from Nan Mountain daily, and he certainly looked down upon the items before him.

"What is it that you’ve brought me here for?" Shen Yuan asked directly.

"Isn’t it... because there’s big movement afoot?

" Gu Beiquan cheerfully said, pouring tea for Shen Yuan: "This Chen Qing is acting perversely, trampling upon the sanctity of proper studies, supporting miscellaneous and heterodox teachings as orthodoxy, turning the whole of Jiangnan upside down in chaos and pandemic.

I also know Brother Shen has been forced to bear humiliation, currying favor with that rebel under the disguise.

Now that the opportunity has arrived, what is Minister Shen still waiting for? "

Shen Yuan felt irritable listening to these cliched words.

Without their own capabilities, they blame the academies for not teaching orthodoxy. As a student of the academy, Shen Yuan may not agree with Chen Qing on everything, but he wholeheartedly endorses what the academies are teaching nowadays!

The two spectacular towers in Lyuzhou, touching the sky, were the work of students from the Engineering Yellow Institute.

The fact that everyone in Lyuzhou could wear fine cotton and exquisitely beautiful silk came from the spinning machines produced by students from the Engineering Yellow Institute.

Lyuzhou has faced three epidemics this past year, all resolved swiftly, thanks to the efforts of the magical apprentices from the Mystic Academy.

Nowadays, everyone in Jiangnan can eat their fill, with every commoner’s face beaming with health, thanks to the hard work of various Mountain Gods, Immortal Farmers, and the agricultural magic studies of the Mystic Character Institute!

Which of these achievements, if taken out, isn’t a huge benefit to people’s livelihood, an achievement that will be honored for generations to come?

Compared to them, what have you, who constantly harp on about the orthodoxy of the classics, actually done?

If this isn’t knowledge for governing the country, what is? If these aren’t talents to support the nation’s foundation, what are?

Heterodox teachings?

Do you, who receive aid on North Street every day, even have the right to say such words?

Let alone them, even the students from the Heavenly and Earthly Institutes now can’t show any pride in front of the students from the Mystic and Yellow Institutes.

The achievements of those two institutes are revolutionary, each one able to change the world for the better. Frankly speaking, outside, even students from the highly regarded Heavenly and Earthly Institutes are not as sought-after as those from the Mystic and Yellow Institutes.

Holding back his frustration and not wishing to engage in a debate with these ignorant fools, Shen Yuan directly inquired about something that slightly concerned him: "What opportunity?"

"According to my observations... the Imperial Court is about to take action against Chen Qing!"

"What?" Shen Yuan’s heart skipped a beat, but he looked at the other person incredulously: "Where did you... observe that from?"