Chapter 449: The Policy of Pacification
Rubber!
It was, after all, one of the greatest inventions of modern times.
Li Daoxuan knew that given Gao Family Village's current technological capabilities, it would be ten thousand lifetimes before they could invent rubber. So, he decided to directly supply them with some, allowing them to gradually figure out its creation through practical use.
His colossal hand outside the box placed the rubber down. As he withdrew his golden hand, he immediately activated "Co-sensing," his consciousness instantly shifting back into the silicone statue.
The transition was virtually seamless.
He raised a finger and pointed at the enormous block of rubber he had just set down: "Go on, feel this."
Song Yingxing stepped forward and touched the black block of rubber. A curious expression crossed his face. "Hmm? This material is softer than plastic, yet harder than the Heavenly Lord's statue. It truly seems ideal for solving airtightness issues."
Just then, the two sculptors had finished refining the fingers. They said in unison, "Heavenly Lord, our work is done. Please see if the fingers are acceptable."
Li Daoxuan glanced down. Excellent. Both hands now appeared normal, each with five fingers. He tried moving them; all five fingers were articulated, though the silicone fingers were a bit soft, lacking the strength of real ones.
It was a necessary trade-off.
He stood up. "All right, everyone, go about your business. I'm going out for a stroll. Don't follow me."
A collective bead of sweat seemed to form on everyone's brow as they thought to themselves: "The Heavenly Lord descends, and the first thing he does is go for a stroll?"
Well, this wasn't entirely unheard of in myths and legends. Legend had it that an immortal named Ji Gong loved nothing more than wandering the mortal realm. It seemed the Heavenly Lord was of the same ilk as Ji Gong.
Reluctantly, everyone dispersed.
But one person refused to leave with the others: Gao Yiye. She looked at Li Daoxuan with pleading eyes. "Heavenly Lord," she whispered, "may I not follow you?"
Li Daoxuan paused.
He decided. Let Gao Yiye come along.
He smiled. "Yiye," he said, "let's stroll together."
Gao Yiye beamed with delight.
And so, Li Daoxuan walked ahead, with Gao Yiye a half-step behind. The two, one leading, one following, walked out of Gao Family Village's main fortress.
The silicone body felt pliable from head to toe. Walking in such a body truly required time to get used to. As Li Daoxuan walked, he pondered: "Should I have the artisans cut open this body, insert a steel skeleton, and then seal the silicone back up? With their current technology, creating a skeleton with flexible joints would likely be quite difficult, wouldn't it?"
As he mused on these possibilities, he casually swung his arm and unexpectedly brushed against Gao Yiye's hand.
The young girl immediately let out a soft gasp, a significant reaction, but she didn't shy away. She continued to walk beside him, their distance unwavering.
The two walked about ten meters from Gao Family Village's fortress. Ahead, a middle-aged woman approached. It was Gao San Niang. From a distance, she had seen the Saintess walking with a man and had been murmuring to herself. As she drew closer, she took a proper look. She immediately gasped in shock, then dropped to her knees with a thud. "Your humble servant greets the Heavenly Lord."
"Rise," Li Daoxuan said.
Gao San Niang quickly retreated a good distance, her face a mixture of shock and reverence as she watched Li Daoxuan and Gao Yiye slowly walk away. After a long moment, she let out a startled cry: "The Heavenly Lord has descended to the mortal realm!"
Li Daoxuan continued forward. Before long, another group of villagers approached from the opposite direction. They caught sight of Li Daoxuan, gasped in unison, and with thuds, all dropped to their knees.
Li Daoxuan sighed and said again, "Rise, there's no need for such formality."
As they walked through streets and alleys, everyone they encountered reacted in the same way.
Li Daoxuan was torn between laughter and exasperation. He sighed, "It seems I'm not suited for casual strolls down here. Every step of the way, people are bowing and kneeling. It's practically disrupting social harmony."
Gao Yiye chuckled softly, then whispered, "Because this is the Heavenly Lord's first descent. If you came down often, people wouldn't react this way."
Li Daoxuan shook his head, smiling. He hadn't created this statue and explored the problem of descending just to idly wander through Gao Family Village. Gao Family Village was at the very center of his vision. He constantly monitored it from outside the box, already intimately familiar with every blade of grass and tree. This visit was merely to see it from a different perspective, to experience something new. Once the novelty wore off, there would be no need to descend here again.
The true purpose of this statue was to extend his reach beyond his usual field of view, to venture into Shanxi, or even more distant lands, to observe places he couldn't normally see.
But seeing Gao Yiye like this, he found himself reconsidering the matter. Perhaps... he should create a few more such statues, keeping one here in Gao Family Village, and descending whenever he had spare time, just to spend time with Gao Yiye.
"Yiye, how about we go hiking?"
"Oh, yes! That would be wonderful!"——
The fourth year of Chongzhen (1631), first month. The capital city.
The Chongzhen Emperor, Zhu Youjian, sat regally on his dragon throne, with civil and military officials arrayed on either side.
The hall was well-populated, everyone formally dressed and solemn. They were deliberating on matters of state, a setting that should have exuded energy and determination.
However, Zhu Youjian, seated on his dragon throne, appeared somewhat dejected. The civil and military officials also displayed a disheartened demeanor, lending the entire court an air of somber oppression, and lacking the vibrant, upward surge of momentum from the dynasty's early days.
Just recently, news had arrived from Shanxi, reporting that Wang Jiayin had declared himself king. With over a hundred chieftains and an army of 350,000 under his command, this intelligence had struck Zhu Youjian and all his officials like a hammer blow, leaving them deeply alarmed.
Three hundred and fifty thousand!
Zhu Youjian's mood plummeted as if he were on a free-fall ride.
He couldn't help but think to himself: "This rebel leader commands more troops than my own army! If I had such a force at my disposal, the Manchu barbarians would already be crushed to dust."
After a long pause, he spoke slowly: "My lords, the banditry in the Qin and Jin regions is growing worse by the day. What course of action should we take?"
Liu Jiayu, a Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commissioner, stepped forward. "Your Majesty, I have just arrived from Shaanxi, and I carry a letter to you from Yang He, the Supreme Commander of the Three Borders. I request Your Majesty's permission to read it aloud to the court."
"Read it!" Zhu Youjian commanded.
Liu Jiayu bowed, produced the letter from his robes, and read aloud: "The rise of bandits stems from extreme famine, leaving the common people no means to survive. If we suppress them, the expenses for rations and rewards would be immeasurable; there would be too many to execute, and repeated suppressions would never bring stability. They disperse only to re-gather, never truly disbanded. We must truly provide relief, ensuring they have the means to live, only then can they be considered genuinely dispersed. After dispersal, they still require resettlement; we must truly provide them with cattle and seeds, enabling them to return to farming and resume their livelihoods, only then can they be considered genuinely resettled. Should this be done, the bandits will find joy in life and lose the desire for death, naturally submitting to pacification. Once pacification is established, suppression can cease. This is what I mean when I say that to truly implement a strategy of both suppression and pacification, one must be prepared to bear the substantial costs of both."
Moreover, funds spent on suppression are silver and gold gone forever, and excessive executions offend the harmony of nature. Funds spent on pacification mean money departs, but the people remain. To save one life is to gain one soul. With banditry halted and the populace at peace, there is no greater benefit."
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