Chapter 779: Chapter 593 Assassinate the Official and Rebel_2
"""The situation in Dachang County was merely a microcosm; civil unrest appeared to varying degrees across the disaster areas, with some refugees being suppressed by the government, while others killed officials, stole food and silver, and hid in the mountains and forests.
In the western part of Jiangnan, the northern part of Yun Gui, the southern part of Longnan, and the eastern part of Shu State, they all share a common feature—they are all within the range of Wanshan Ridge. The people living there are mostly mountain dwellers, and now it is all too easy for them to retreat into the mountains.
A major disaster has given rise to tens of thousands of bandits.
Over twenty State Mansions in Da Rong plunged into turmoil.
However, Yang Zhenshan was unaware of these events; at this time, Yang Zhenshan was busy instructing the island’s youngsters in their cultivation.
As the Island Master, he led a leisurely life, but he was not one to sit idle. Aside from his own cultivation, his favorite pastime was mentoring others in their cultivation.
In short, Yang Zhenshan was somewhat prone to playing the role of a teacher.
Upon seeing someone make mistakes in their practice, he couldn’t help but give advice.
This was likely a habit he had cultivated over the years—after all, during the past two decades, he had mentored countless individuals.
At the foot of the mountain, in the open space outside of the village, over a thousand youngsters were divided into twenty formations, practicing the simplest forms of boxing and kicking techniques.
There were two villages, one housed the boys and the other provided for the girls.
Perhaps it was intended by Yu Tonghai; the number of boys and girls sent was about even, each totaling just over a thousand.
These youngsters were divided into forty classes, each class consisting of around fifty individuals, with former servants and maids of the Yang family serving as teachers. They were also assisted by many farm wives, who took care of their daily needs.
At the moment, they were all dressed in neat martial attire, practicing their Martial Arts in earnest.
Holding a bamboo pole in hand, Yang Zhenshan corrected the youngsters’ mistakes as he said, "The greatest benefit of the Body Refining Fist is to strengthen the physique. It is not a combat technique, but a method of training. You must exert your full strength with each movement, thereby engaging and conditioning the muscles of the body."
"Don’t practice blindly; feel every movement in your muscles!"
"Consider how your feet grip the ground when you punch, how the muscles in your legs exert force, how your waist and abdomen leverage that force, including the muscles in your arms!"
"You must be acutely aware, don’t practice foolishly!"
Yang Zhenshan made an adjustment to a youngster’s arm, and the young boy gave him a bright smile in return.
This brought a slight chuckle to Yang Zhenshan, but he still maintained a stern expression and said, "What’s so funny? Concentrate on your practice!"
Yang Zhenshan spent a little over two hours instructing before he left the village with his hands behind his back.
He did not ride a horse, instead strolling casually through the fields with hands clasped behind him.
In the dry fields, refugees who had recently arrived were busy plowing. The island had a complete set of farming tools, all purchased from the Tenglong Guard. However, there weren’t enough oxen on the island for plowing; on average, there was only one ox for every ten households.
The oxen had to be rotated among the households, and some families could not wait for their turn, resorting to pulling the plow by themselves.
It was exhausting and arduous work, but the refugees went about it with vigor.
Seeing an old man with white hair squatting and resting at the edge of a field, Yang Zhenshan approached and asked, "Brother, is this your land?"
The old man looked at him with a puzzled expression and replied, "Yes, this is the land the Island Master assigned to my family!"
Today, Yang Zhenshan was dressed very plainly, in a linen short shirt, with cloth shoes on his feet, and his hair casually tied up. His attire was indistinguishable from that of a rural farmer.
But his demeanor was clearly not that of an ordinary peasant.
"How many in your family?" Yang Zhenshan, with nothing particular to do, started chatting with the old man.
Even though the old man looked aged, Yang Zhenshan was unsure which of them was older or younger.
He himself was already sixty years old, whereas the old man before him might not even be fifty.
This was quite normal in the countryside, where farmers in their forties and fifties often had white hair.
"Eight, I have three sons. Those two plowing the field are my eldest and second sons," the old man still eyed Yang Zhenshan cautiously.
Yang Zhenshan glanced at the two young men working in the field, followed by a teenage boy and two women.
Eldest son, second son!
Yang Zhenshan asked, "Have you studied, old man?"
"Hmm, I have studied. And you are?" the old man couldn’t help but ask back."""
Yang Zhenshan smiled, "I am indeed the Island Master here!"
The elder was stunned and then, somewhat flustered, knelt down to pay his respects: "Elder pays his respects to the Island Master!"
Yang Zhenshan quickly reached out to support him, "No need for such formalities. I’m just idly passing the time and having a little chat with you, haha~~"
Seeing Yang Zhenshan’s casual behavior and approachable speech, the elder relaxed quite a bit, but he still said respectfully: "The elder thanks the Island Master for saving our lives. If it were not for the Island Master bringing us here, our whole family would have likely not survived the year!"
"Is the drought in Funing Prefecture that severe?" Yang Zhenshan asked.
The elder replied: "Very severe. Since last spring began, there hasn’t been a single decent rainfall, and the harvest in both spring and autumn last year was practically non-existent."
"I, the elder, used to teach at a private school in the village. I had some savings from the usual days; otherwise, I wouldn’t have managed to hold out until now!"
Yang Zhenshan had roughly understood the severity of the drought in Funing Prefecture. He couldn’t manage everything, so he didn’t ask further, then inquired, "How much land did the government allocate to you?"
"Six acres per person. Our family has eight people, so we were allocated a total of forty-eight acres!" the elder replied.
The government’s land allocation was based on the population; four acres of paddy fields and six acres of dry fields per person, only those above twelve years old were counted, and both men and women were included.
The eight people the elder mentioned refers to those over twelve years old; the little children in the family are not included.
Their family was considered lucky, as the whole family had managed to migrate intact to Star Moon Island without a single person missing.
Among the other refugees who had moved over, many only had two or three family members, and there were even some who came all alone.
Of course, this elder was a Scholar who used to be a private school teacher, so his family situation was certainly much better than that of ordinary folks.
Yang Zhenshan continued, "The government is planning to build a private school in the village. Since the elder used to be a teacher, you can apply for that position! Private school teachers also receive a monthly salary!"
The elder responded with a smile: "The Island Master is kind and righteous to let the children of us starving people study. I’ve already applied to the government. They said once the spring farming is over, they’ll build an elementary school in the village, and I’ll be a private school teacher again!"
Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly.
The two chatted idly about various things for quite a while, until the sun reached midday. Yang Zhenshan whistled to call Hong Dou and rode back into the city.
After the New Year’s festivities comes the spring plowing; only after the spring plowing is done can the government attend to other matters.
There will be recruitment of able-bodied individuals to build irrigation channels and ponds, dismantle city walls, construct houses, and so on.
Although these newly settled refugees look frail and thin, once the government allocated land to them, their spirit and vitality have returned.
Honestly, the government has given them quite a lot. Star Moon Island is not Chongshan Town; back when settling refugees in Chongshan Town, Yang Zhenshan could provide them with very little, even the food supply was limited, but it’s different on Star Moon Island. Yang Zhenshan is not short of Silver or daily necessities, so naturally, he won’t stint on supplies for the refugees.
The grain in Da Rong is in short supply, but the Yang Family Trading Company can buy grain from other places.
Moreover, the number of refugees settled on Star Moon Island isn’t large, totaling just over twenty thousand people. A small contribution by Yang Zhenshan is enough to feed these refugees.
When he got home, Yu Qingyi and the children were already waiting for him to eat.
There was a lot of food, meat, vegetables, and even a big fish.
"Ming Cheng wrote to ask if you want to celebrate your birthday!"
"Celebrate my birthday?" Yang Zhenshan raised his head in surprise.
"This year marks your sixtieth grand birthday!" Yu Qingyi said.
Yang Zhenshan suddenly felt a strong sense of malice, "But, this gentleman is not yet old!"
A sixtieth grand birthday?
Just hearing the word feels ominous!
This gentleman is still young, what grand birthday to celebrate.
"Let’s celebrate my grand birthday when I turn a hundred!"
As an Innate Martial Artist, he could live to at least one hundred and fifty years, and the Yimu Chang Chun Skill could even prolong his life. Even if his cultivation doesn’t progress further, he should be able to live for more than two hundred years.
He could live to be two hundred, while ordinary people might live to be one hundred. By that calculation, his sixty would be equivalent to a mere thirty for ordinary people.
Humph, I’m only thirty years old, what grand birthday is there to celebrate?