Chapter 3: The Disciple's Dilemma

  "Wow, it seems that this trip wasn't a waste after all. Guan Hai has already secretly admired and respected me in his heart. He's actually established a faith system, where as long as he submits to me and establishes a connection through incense offerings, the faith system will be successfully linked. My methods can now be used, and expansion outward can proceed. This is really great!"

  Zhang Xu's face was filled with a smile, and his complexion trembled slightly with excitement. After two years, he finally managed to recover the first great general. Although it was only a first-rate martial general and not a truly transcendent general who had entered the realm of refining Qi and becoming a god, it still made Zhang Xu extremely delighted.

  He had studied the previous life, and also saw some through, it seems that recruiting civil and military officials is as simple as eating and drinking, but in this world, he knows that wanting to develop and recruit civil and military generals is much more difficult than he imagined.

  If it weren't for his own means and the knowledge he gained from the information age of his past life, it would have been impossible to establish such a large-scale rural system in this barren land.

  10,000 to 20,000 people, in this world, is absolutely considered a large town, and even some dilapidated county towns do not have such a population.

  "If Guan Hai is willing to surrender, then with the accumulation of these two years, I can leave this isolated coastal area and take down the county city on the other side of the mountain. At that time, it will also be considered as having a foundation!"

  Thinking that he could finally rise up, his Dao heart, which had been cultivated for many years, fiercely throbbed a few times.

  "Hmm!" Suppressing his own thoughts, Zhang Xu slowly resumed his studies. Having the opportunity to rise up, he needed to be even more cautious. If the news were to leak out, it would be extremely unfavorable for his development plan and growth. This world, this Han Dynasty world filled with dense heavenly energy, was not so simple after all.

  "Master Xian!"

  Before long, a guard stood respectfully outside the thatched cottage and said to the immortal boy guarding the thatched cottage: "Please trouble you again, the rescued general wants to leave the city, General Wu Zhong specially sent me to ask for instructions from Master Xian!"

  That child responded with a sound, seeing Zhang Xu doing his homework, but didn't dare to disturb him. After a long time, Zhang Xu opened his eyes and heard the sound.

  "Master Xian, you're awake!"

  The child spoke respectfully, with downcast eyes and a lovely appearance. This was one of the outstanding members of Zhang Xu's Child Army, whom he had specifically recruited as a test subject. He knew that at present, he had no foundation in this world, so he followed the common saying "education starts from childhood" and these child soldiers would be his future foundation.

  "What's wrong with Zhang Yao?"

  Zhang Xu smiled and said, "It really has a kind of immortal style and elegance."

  "Master Xianshi, the two Mazi outside said that the rescued general wants to take a look outside the town. General Wu Zhong specially sent him to ask for your instructions!"

  The child's name is Zhang Yao, given by Zhang Xu. In this era, children from poor families usually don't have a big name to speak of, mostly just nicknames. Zhang Xu giving him a name was a great honor for the child's family, and they wouldn't dare refuse. Moreover, Zhang Xu was a celestial master, the spiritual leader and authority figure of this town, so it was a great blessing for the child to be named by him and follow in his footsteps.

  Although Zhang Xu spent only two years, he was able to slowly consolidate his foundation, but also made Qinglin Town a place where not a single drop of water could leak through. The people under him were able to survive because of him, and naturally became his loyal followers. This was also the reason why he was able to cultivate so quickly, all the way to refining his essence and transforming his spirit.

  To know that Zhang Xu's age has indeed missed the best period of cultivation, even if this world's heaven and earth are extremely rich in vitality, if it weren't for the power of faith from his followers' incense offerings, he wouldn't be able to cultivate at such a rapid speed.

  "Alright, in that case, bring more guards and let him go. Just remember to only allow him to visit places outside of the secret area."

  After some thought, Zhang Xu considered that since Guan Hai had already shown a submissive heart, he might as well let him take a look at Qinglin Town under his rule first, which would also serve to firm up his resolve. Although Zhang Xu's civil and military officials could not be recruited for the past two years, the foundation he had established over the past two years was by no means insignificant, and compared to Shan Wai, it was much better.

  "Yes!"

  Zhang Yao respectfully responded with a bow, and slowly backed away. He was very fond of the clever young Zhang Xu, whose learning speed was extremely fast. Now he could already replace him in teaching other children some knowledge, such as Arabic numerals, simple texts, and so on. This allowed him to gradually free himself from his busy teaching duties and have more time for self-cultivation.

  To know that at the end of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Xu established such a powerful force, it was just for self-protection, so as to accelerate his cultivation speed.

  "Er Ma Zi, Xian Shi has permitted it, but the person who saved him can be excluded from seeing him. However, more guards must be brought along, and secrecy is paramount, so don't go ahead!"

  Zhang Yao was eloquent and had a natural air of dignity, although she was young. This made the two guards, who were not to be underestimated, treat her with great respect and courtesy.

  "Thank you, young man!"

  Erma Zi respectfully bowed and said: "Then I'll go back and report to the general!"

  After saying goodbye to Er Ma Zi, he bowed his head again and immediately retreated. This person was originally a rough man, but when he arrived at Zhang Xu's immortal master's place, his attitude became much more gentle and respectful, which is what education can do.

  "Has the immortal master agreed?"

  Seeing Er Ma Zi panting and running over, Wu Zhong first apologized to Guan Hai, then walked over to Er Ma Zi and said that he deeply knew how much the Xian Sheng respected Guan Hai. He also knew how formidable Guan Hai was, as he had only just begun to refine his energy and could barely be considered a general, with an arm strength of over 200 jin. However, Guan Hai was at the peak of refining his energy and was a top-notch martial general, with an arm strength of over 1,000 jin. Wu Zhong had personally seen him in battle during the siege of the Northern Sea Yellow Turbans and knew that he was not to be underestimated, so he showed great respect.

  "Report to General, Xian Shifu has agreed, can be treated as a general noble guest, but must bring more guards!"

  Erma Zi hesitated for a moment before speaking.

  "Someone knows, Er Ma Zi you take my token, go and summon two fire guards to come, I'll wait with General Guan Yu to leave the city!"

  Wu Zhong, although not a top-notch general, had under his command the 500 soldiers recruited by Zhang Xu. Although they were unable to launch an attack, their withdrawal was orderly and well-managed, making him seem like a capable person after all. Soon, he brought in three hundred more soldiers, adding up to a total of five hundred, and set out with them from the city.

  "General Guan Yu, I hope you won't move around casually, lest we be put in a difficult position!"

  Wu Zhong watched as Guan Hai walked out of the town, and he still had some worries in his heart. Although he was somewhat intimidated by this man's sharpness, he couldn't help but say.

  "Please be assured, General. Our family's life was saved by your kindness, so we naturally wouldn't leave without bidding farewell. Please rest assured!"

  Looking at the fields outside, now a golden yellow color of wheat, even for someone like Guan Yu, who is a great general, couldn't help but reveal an excited expression on his face. In ancient society, food was extremely important, seeing a bountiful harvest would make anyone feel overjoyed. In this era, grain is life, and for Guan Yu, who has been through many hardships, when did he ever see such a scene again? It made him drunk with joy.

  Qinglin Town was not lacking in war horses, although raising war horses was extremely costly in terms of food and grass. Zhang Xu still formed a cavalry unit, but currently there were no generals who excelled at cavalry training, only infantry on horseback. The number was also limited to just one and a half troops, which was equivalent to eighty cavalrymen. This time, all fifty-two men rode war horses, with extremely high speed, galloping over ten miles of open fields that stretched as far as the eye could see, with golden wheat filling the entire view, an enticing sight.

  "Now some families believe it, and from this good fields and vast lands, your family's immortal master is indeed an immortal!"

  It can be seen that these good fields have an area of at least one million mu, which is indeed not trivial. In the good fields, although they are dyed golden yellow, some irrigation ditches and other objects can also be seen, which are the instruments of a bumper harvest, making him sigh with emotion.

  After all, although this place was also slightly heard of at that time, it was not considered a good place at the beginning. It can be said that it was a wilderness, but now it has such a scene, which is really attractive to people's eyes.

  "What a vast and beautiful landscape stretching for dozens of miles! It's been ages since I've seen such a sight!"

  All the way, the war horse was extremely fast, and from time to time, they would pass through some small villages. Guan Hei couldn't help but nod in admiration. These villages were reasonably planned, with water sources and other facilities arranged in a scattered yet orderly manner. The roads were made of unknown materials that had been pounded into shape, taking into account the terrain, making them extremely convenient to travel on, and blending in perfectly with the surrounding fields. It could be said that they had fully utilized the land area, truly remarkable.

  Until nightfall, they stayed in a village, where Guan Hai and Wu Zhong sat on the ground. At this time, Guan Hai's face was already somewhat moved, and his previous arrogance had long since dissipated. It can be said that although he hadn't finished observing, from today's scene, it was already possible to see some signs. This inspection made Guan Hai realize more about Zhang Xu's strength and ability.

  "This place is so prosperous, it's really hard to imagine, that there is such a place in the world!"

  He sighed faintly and said: "I wonder how much good land there is in this place?"

  Wu Zhong heard Guan Hai's praise and was also delighted in his heart. He admired the methods of his own immortal master, who was the person he most revered in his heart. He immediately spoke with some pride: "Now we have already opened up 500,000 mu of land, and the yield per mu is not trivial under the immortal master's methods!"

  "Five hundred thousand mu of land, but you have only a little over ten thousand people in total. How can you cultivate it all? Is every household going to have an ox?"

  He was quite surprised in his heart, to know that even if a family had oxen for farming, a strong laborer could only cultivate about 30 mu of land at most. This Qinglin Town sent out troops, although there were more young and strong people this year, but no more than six or seven thousand, and the most cultivated land was over two million mu, which was already the limit, unless all used oxen for farming, it would be possible. Now he is cultivating so much, he can't help but feel surprised.

  "My master's methods are not like this, but it is inconvenient to say more now. If General Guan Yu joins us, there is no reason why we cannot speak freely!"

  Wu Zhong smiled and said, "Today's guards and this Gan Hai are already familiar with each other, knowing his personality, it's not that difficult to talk to him, so I asked a probing question."

  This remark made Guan Hai silent for a long time, and just as Wu Zhong was worried that he might have ruined the plan of Xian Shi, Guan Hai said: "Although Xian Shi is not as good as Da Xian Liang Shi in terms of his magical powers, but being able to pacify the people like this, it's really beyond my expectation. Let's observe again tomorrow, and please introduce me to Xian Shi!"

  "What does 'general' mean?"

  Wu Zhong also listened to the immortal master's lecture with the children, and it was considered enlightening. He understood the language of Guan Hai, and he was overjoyed. He immediately understood Guan Hai's meaning and exclaimed: "This is what the immortal master wishes! I will introduce you to the general!"

  At this moment, Zhang Xu, who was sitting on the couch doing his homework, suddenly opened his eyes and felt the virtual line in the air that had already solidified, murmuring with great joy: "It has actually surrendered!"