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"General Weichi having trouble sleeping?"

Atop the Observing Stars Tower, thanks to the face of the City God, a civil official named Zhou Haitao temporarily vacated his house for two individuals seeking a fresh experience.

The decor of the Observing Stars Tower was quite different from that of ordinary wealthy homes.

Although each residence was not large, they were exquisitely dazzling.

All floors were laid with something similar to ceramic tiles, which were so delicate that Weichi Peng hardly dared to tread firmly on them and even felt somewhat embarrassed to reveal his smelly feet when removing his shoes. ..

Each house had a large balcony, which was then sealed off with a large piece of transparent glazed glass, shielding from wind and rain while not missing the bustling views high-rise buildings could offer.

Weichi Peng watched the lights of thousands of Lyuzhou homes from the high-rise until the late hours of Chou Time...

"Look, it’s almost time for the rooster to crow..." Weichi Peng pointed at the lights beneath that seemed forever unquenchable, "The lights are still so bright, and there are still so many people on the streets..."

"When everyone is able to eat their fill, naturally they have the energy to stroll around in the middle of the night." Luo Yi gazed down with a complex expression and said, "Capital City doesn’t forbid night activities either, but there wouldn’t be as many people at night, because most only have two meals a day and can’t afford meat.

With no oil and water, they get hungry quickly and naturally need to sleep early.

Otherwise, hunger would keep them up and delay tomorrow’s work. "

"Do people here really need to work?" Weichi Peng stared blankly, feeling as though the inhabitants here always seemed leisurely.

"Less work doesn’t mean no work. How else would food and goods be produced?

" Luo Shilang sighed, "During daytime, at the Academy’s engineering college, I chatted with the students. The city’s workers, whether weavers, dyehouse workers, blacksmiths, precision craftsmen, or carpenters, don’t want to work long hours.

If they work more than three hours a day, they’ll strike, even banding together to do so. "

"Eh... Are they not afraid of losing their jobs?" Weichi Peng asked, puzzled.

"Afraid? No..." Luo Shilang shook his head, "Because of two points. First, the government provides basic food and shelter, so no one starves to death here. Second, it’s mandated that any work over three hours is considered overtime and should be paid an additional fifty percent of regular wages, otherwise, it’s illegal. However, in reality, most Lyuzhou citizens prefer more leisure time now. They aren’t willing to do overtime even if technically skilled merchants offer double the price. "

He continued, pointing to the street below, "That’s why you see so many idle people, as even with just three hours of work, they have decent benefits.

They can afford to drink daily and listen to music.

It’s said that after working four days, they rest for three full days.

If these conditions aren’t met, present-day workshops can’t recruit anyone. .."

"Eh... That’s so domineering?" Weichi Peng was astonished at what he heard.

"They have domineering conditions..." Luo Shilang chuckled and said, "The students from the agriculture college told me that Daqing Mountain has many uncultivated lands. Even if all of Lyuzhou’s residents moved there, there would be enough land to farm. The government encourages agriculture, and anyone willing to go to Daqing Mountain will be allocated twenty acres of good farmland. There, a type of meaty worm helps loosen the soil and plow better than oxen. Along with various water wheels and Azure Birds to control pests, a farmer hardly needs much time to manage the fields. They live very leisurely lives. People are willing to come to Lyuzhou City because it’s bustling.

And if they get agitated, they could just go back to farming.

This is the prevailing viewpoint of Lyuzhou people now.

To recruit enough manpower, workshop owners are almost reduced to begging. .."

"This..." After listening for a long time, Weichi Peng burst into laughter, "Sounds pretty good!"

"Yes..." Luo Shilang sat quietly, admiring the beautiful scene of lights below: "Pretty good indeed..."

"Isn’t this glaze quite fragile? It’s so high up, and such a large piece looks great, but won’t it break easily?"

"This is tempered glass..." Luo Yi touched the large glazed glass on the balcony and said, "It’s very strong. They say it could barely be broken by a warrior of the Fifth Rank or higher with a full-force punch. Normally, without intentional destruction, it wouldn’t break from just wind and rain..."

"Impressive stuff... Is this also something those Academy Sorcerers researched?"

"Yes..."

"Is there anything they don’t research?"

"Yes..." Luo Yi looked outside with some bewilderment and said, "I wandered the Academy for a day, some were researching better materials for clothing, some precision wood vehicles that reduce the need for manual labor, others larger and faster ships, some new grain varieties, higher quality, higher yield. .."

Weichi Peng, bewildered, murmured, "Chen Qing has... completely changed the profession of magicians..."

"Yes... Integrating into all trades, causing monumental change throughout the world with the power of magicians."

"Is this right?" Weichi Peng suddenly asked.

"Right?" Luo Shilang looked down and said, "I don’t know if it’s right or wrong, but I do know, if the Imperial Court lets Chen Qing continue like this, in at most ten years, the court will lose the ability to attack Jiangnan.

Within another twenty years, faced with Chen Qing, the court will have to kneel and lick his boots. "

"How is that possible?" Weichi Peng laughed, "Surely you’re being overly alarmist, Luo Shilang?"

"General Weichi, had you ever imagined being captured before coming here?"

"Uh..." Weichi Peng’s face darkened, that damned Scholar, bringing up the very topic he’d managed to distract himself from.

"Chen Qing has more up his sleeve than you think, like Wei Gongcheng from yesterday..." Luo Yi said gravely, "I still can’t believe it was real!"

Weichi Peng rolled his eyes in response. He wasn’t the same. Is that why he couldn’t sleep?

He still couldn’t fathom that two years ago, Wei Gongcheng was a crippled man, so dejected that he dared not return to the Wei Family for fear of being killed by the lady of the house at the first opportunity and could only live in the Weichi Clan under an awkward patronage. And now... to become such a person!

A city’s ruler of the dead, overseeing life and death in the world? Responsible for the determination of lifespan after death and the reincarnation of souls...

Are these events truly possible?

Yet what he witnessed last night was so real...

The spectral souls of the afterlife were so vivid, living lives in the world reflected by Lyuzhou that were hardly distinguishable from those of the living citizens of Lyuzhou!

This was truly a terrifying matter...

Weichi Peng and Luo Yi both felt this way.

Because if this were true, if people from Jiangnan could have a second life after death,

why wouldn’t the people of Jiangnan fight to the death for Chen Qing?

Because even death came with a guarantee!!

When Weichi Peng thought of this, he felt a chill throughout his body. The military forces at Chen Qing’s disposal were already powerful, and if the soldiers were fearless in the face of death, in this world... who could stand against them?

It was just as Luo Shilang had said, in no more than twenty years, the Imperial Court might have to grovel at Chen Qing’s feet!

Luo Yi felt the same. As long as Chen Qing could establish a firm foothold, he wouldn’t even need to take the offensive. With Jiangnan’s current situation, the noble families that held little sense of national loyalty would willingly move over to his side...

Here, the spiritual energy was abundant; even any random location could have the effect of a noble family’s Spirit Field.

There was high-quality food that could nourish the qi and replenish the blood; a variety of novel goods better than those in the Central Plains soon to become a trade hub.

But most importantly, there was the afterlife!

What did Magicians of noble families desire the most?

Eternal life.

What did they fear the most?

Being dragged onto the Path of Yin and Yang after death, then devoured by Evil Ghosts!

He didn’t know how Chen Qing managed it, but he was somehow able to forcibly retain human souls in what was referred to as the afterlife, and even set up gods to govern it!

For more than ninety percent of the world’s population, this was an immense temptation!

Everyone is afraid of death because nobody knows what they will face after they die. But here, you are told where you will go after death, what you will enjoy.

When in a place where even death came with security, who wouldn’t want to come?

Yes, Wei Gongcheng had said that obtaining life in the afterlife required merits, a price to be paid.

But couldn’t noble families afford the price?

They were the ones with the opportunity to pay it!

If Chen Qing’s offering could become stable, Luo Yi was certain that if the noble families across the land couldn’t make it their own, then they would have to capitulate!

But here was the problem... why not keep such a thing under wraps?

"You’ve thought of it too, haven’t you?" Luo Yi looked at Weichi Peng.

Weichi Peng didn’t turn around, he just kept staring blankly at the area below: "When I first heard that the Imperial Court was coming to Nanming Prefecture for negotiations, I was quite angry and embarrassed. Angry that the Imperial Court lacked backbone, and embarrassed because I would have to shamefully redeem myself and then probably wouldn’t dare to show my face for a whole year for fear of losing face. .."

"But I realize that maybe it won’t be so bad..."

Luo Yi looked at Weichi Peng and nodded: "Yes, Chen Qing’s steps this time are too big.

The Imperial Court, the Princess Royale, the Duke of Wei, and the monster from the West Sea, each of them is a major power, yet Chen Qing dares to let them all in.

The Spring-Autumn Alliance isn’t so easy to replicate, to make many lords obey you, you must show real strength.

Inviting four families means having the power to suppress four families. Does Chen Qing have this power?"

Weichi Peng was silent.

Lyuzhou was magical and wonderful, but also very fragile.

What was Chen Qing in such a hurry for?

Why was he so eager to expose?

Once the things here were exposed to the outside world, the noble families would likely turn into tigers and wolves, vying to snatch up the luscious meat that was Jiangnan.

Chen Qing... could he defend it?

Could he hold it down?

What... was he thinking?