My Cultivation Starting from Archery

"Do you not realize that we can barely feed ourselves, and if half of each mu of land grows Poison Grass, we will not even have seeds left for the next year!"

"Rebellious scoundrels, dare you spout nonsense?!"

Main General Pan Luo shouted loudly, with layers of Gang Qi surging and converging on the great spear, ready to make an example of one to warn others.

"Stop!"

Just then—

Chen Sansi arrived with Xia Cong.

"The Governor?"

Pan Luo paused, the great spear in midair, turned back to confirm the arrivals, and his face first showed surprise, then quickly dismounted and lowered his weapon to greet them with a clasped fist.

Regardless,

Chen Sansi was nominally the Governor.

They were his subordinates.

The requisite courtesies had to be maintained on the surface.

Upon seeing the White Robe—

not just the soldiers,

the troublemaking villagers also immediately quieted down, respectfully taking a few steps back.

"Creak—"

The door of the dilapidated tile house was pushed open.

Governor Wu Youde also hurried out to welcome: "This subordinate, greets Governor Chen!"

"Wu Youde, Pan Luo."

Chen Sansi, sitting atop the White Horse, feigned ignorance and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Reporting to Governor Chen."

Wu Youde bowed and said, "The villagers of Qingping Village defied orders, and when this official's persuasion failed, I was instead detained by them. Fortunately, General Pan came to the rescue in time, otherwise, I might have lost my life!"

"Indeed, Governor."

Pan Luo, pointing at them, reported, "These troublemakers are armed, and it looks like they want to rebel. If they are not sternly punished, more and more people will follow their example. What should we do?"

"..."

Chen Sansi didn't answer immediately but turned his gaze to the leader among the villagers and calmly asked, "Qi Dazhu, are you leading a rebellion?"

"Governor, you know my name?"

Qi Dazhu was startled, then quickly said, "Lord Governor, we are not rebelling, we just seek justice!"

"Governor!"

Qi Dazhu led the way, and many villagers "clattered" to their knees.

"Governor!"

"It's not that we are unwilling to plant Spiritual Grain, but we truly cannot grow it anymore!"

"Every time there is a war, the first thing is to conscript grain."

"This conscription goes on for several consecutive years."

"The taxes in Liangzhou are a bit lower compared to other places, but, but we really cannot withstand the yearly conscriptions!"

"..."

This Western Expedition to Mang Mountain,

whether it is the Beiliang Army stationed in the Eastern Territory or the armies in the west, a significant portion of supplies and fodder was requisitioned from the Northwest Three States.

"Governor..."

An old man knelt on the ground, his voice tearful as he said, "In these past two years, the harvests in Liangzhou have also been poor, and many of us had no seeds to plant in the spring, needing to borrow money to buy seeds; and when the crops are harvested, just the interest owed is a large sum, and in winter we need to borrow money to buy coal for heating..."

Many farmers turned from self-cultivating their own lands to being tenants, all due to this vicious cycle.

Once they borrowed money, they had to pay interest, and as time went on, their debts grew larger until they could only sell their lands and degrade to tenants.

"Lord Governor..."

"We can understand the need for warfare."

"For instance, after those barbarians are eliminated, we can cultivate our lands farther out without worrying about their raids."

"So we let the conscription and grain requisition pass."

"But..."

"But why 'Spiritual Grain'?"

"That Poison Grass, once planted, will devour the land's energy. If planted long enough, the whole plot will turn from good land to bad land..."

"Even if we must plant Spiritual Grain, can't it wait two more years?"

"..."

It was right during a famine.

Even a delay of two years could at least prevent starvation.

Listening to the villagers' desperate pleas, Chen Sansi calmly said, "Everyone, get up. There's no need to kneel."

Yet as he said this,

The villagers knelt even more firmly.

"I told you to stand up, no kneeling allowed!"

Chen Sansi's voice thundered.

This finally startled the people into hurriedly standing up.

He said sternly, "Since you're not rebelling, why don't you disperse quickly?!"

"Lord Governor..."

Qi Dazhu hesitantly said, "Our village chief didn't attack Wu Youde, he was..."

"I told you to get lost, can't you understand?!"

Su Can stepped forward, pushing him away, and whispered in his ear, "Do you really want to be a rebel and lose your head? The Lord Governor is settling your affair, don't create chaos, hurry and go!"

Qi Dazhu then understood, realizing they'd been tricked by the governor, and quickly said, "Disperse, everyone, just disperse."

The villagers, holding scythes and hoes, slowly left, looking back every three steps.

"We can't let them go!"

Seeing this, Pan Luo quickly said, "Lord Governor, just because they say they're not rebelling doesn't mean they aren't. We need to look at what they've actually done! Normally, they should have started farming half a month ago, but this Qi Dazhu led the way, and the farmers aren't working to this day. If this continues, we'll miss the planting season. How will we answer to the court?"

"You a military officer, what business do you have with tax matters?"

Chen Sansi cast a glance.

"..."

Pan Luo immediately bowed his head, clasping his fists and bending forward, " This subordinate spoke out of turn, I deserve death."

"Lord Governor, surely I can speak?"

Wu Youde grimaced, sighing heavily, "I know they're unwilling to plant, but if we can't deliver next year's Spiritual Grain tax, not just the court but the Immortal Masters won't tolerate it either."

"Wu Youde, from today, you are no longer the Governor of Liangzhou, fend for yourself."

Chen Sansi merely dropped these words and left with his disciples.

Pan Luo and Wu Youde respectfully bowed their heads and clasped their fists in farewell, not making a sound until the other party disappeared from sight, then they simultaneously sneered.

"Strip me of my office?!"

Wu Youde started to chuckle coldly, "Even in the past, the Governor Mansion only had absolute control during wartime, let alone now; the current Governor Mansion counts for nothing!"

"Don't mind him."