Chapter 183: A Flame Of Freedom
“I’m Huo Youming now, or you can call me Youming Huo. As long as you’re willing to help me with revenge, I can give you all of the Fire Tribe’s treasury.”
Although Huo Liao really wanted to calm himself down, just thinking about the family feud he carried on his shoulders made it hard for him to calm down. His tone became increasingly high-pitched, and he even became somewhat aggressive.
Watching the increasingly agitated Huo Liao, the flame of hope in Yun Ce’s eyes slowly extinguished. Ever since hearing that this guy had escaped from Cao Kun’s hands, Yun Ce, as an onlooker, had felt somewhat relieved for him.
He always felt that under this standard revenge protagonist template, the protagonist should have some skills, especially after learning that a Fire Tribe person had come to his camp. Such expectations were set very high.
Now it seemed this guy was just an idiot.
The man was here, the location of the Fire Tribe treasury was in his head… How was this guy so confident that he, Yun Ce, as the lord of this land, couldn’t pry open his mouth?
Yun Linchuan had once said that in theory, there are no people in this world who would rather die than submit. Dying for a noble ideal isn’t hard; what’s hard is the experience before death. Since body and mind are two independent entities, there are countless cases where the mind is strong but the flesh doesn’t obey. Unless this person’s body and ideal are highly unified, they can ignore all trials of the world.
And such people are one in ten thousand.
Overall, as an individual, a person’s cognition is limited. Basically, they stubbornly believe that those beneath them are ignorant and incompetent, those above them are corrupt and depraved, and only they themselves are both clear-headed and wise.
Currently, Huo Liao was approaching Yun Ce with this mindset.
1 He believed the Fire Tribe’s treasury had incomparable allure for Yun Ce, who now had only half a jin of grain to eat each day. He thought Yun Ce would pay everything for the Fire Tribe’s treasury, even help him take revenge on Cao Kun.
1 He hadn’t thought, or rather hadn’t considered at all, that what Yun Ce truly cared about were the people here—these people were his real treasures.
1 As long as he could get through this harsh winter, Yun Ce believed his camp would surely prosper.
1 The Fire Tribe’s forging of armor, iron smelting, and crafting of tools might be invaluable in others’ eyes, but to Yun Ce, they were purely like chicken ribs—barely even that.
1 If he wanted those things, he could just ask Doggy. The things in its head were far more advanced, sophisticated, convenient, and mature than the Fire Tribe’s so-called secrets.
1 Judging by Huo Liao’s body form, their family’s technology still relied on a strong body, probably also inseparable from a hammer. Otherwise, only a madman would evolve their body into that ghostly appearance.
1 If Yun Ce acted a bit more ruthlessly now, trading Huo Liao to Cao Kun for things would surely get him a lot.
1 Unfortunately, Yun Ce now needed this hardship, needed this famine, needed to use these famines and hardships to forge a group that could share adversity.
1 Cao Kun’s grain wasn’t that important to him.
1 Now was the time to share adversity; soon after, Yun Ce would continue shaping this group into one that could share prosperity—collective poverty, collective satiety, collective moderate prosperity, then collective wealth, ultimately achieving communism.
2 None of the processes could be skipped, the order couldn’t be disrupted, and no link could be forcibly omitted. Thinking about his own country on Earth, from founding to moderate prosperity took eighty years—Yun Ce felt that wasn’t long. With his current physical condition, he could afford to wait.
2 Lifespan is a big issue. If lifespan is extended, many things on Earth wouldn’t be necessary… We could proceed more steadily, more peacefully…）
2 This was what Yun Ce came to this world to do. Compared to achieving this great goal, becoming emperor was really not worth mentioning.
2 Huo Liao watched wide-eyed as Yun Ce finished his grain and shell porridge, then watched him wipe his mouth, then turn and leave.
2 He couldn’t help shouting loudly: “I can make you escape poverty immediately, make you full.”
2 Yun Ce stopped, turned back to look at Huo Liao and said: “If I hand you over to Cao Kun, I can get out of this famine faster. Cao Kun is a very generous person.”
2 Huo Liao said again: “Then why don’t you send me to Cao Kun? Isn’t it because you want to monopolize the Fire Tribe treasury?”
2 Yun Ce laughed: “The Fire Tribe treasury belongs to you Fire Tribe people. If you can use the Fire Tribe treasury to feed yourself, go do it quickly, so I can reduce your grain subsidy.
2 Once full, go quickly to the wasteland to find food. Otherwise, tomorrow’s three liang of grain won’t give you enough energy to keep arguing with me.
2 If you want to run, you can leave now—no one will stop you. But absolutely, absolutely don’t create diversions to escape and destroy my camp, or I’ll skin you alive.”
3 For a proud person, the greatest harm is being ignored. Huo Liao now felt completely ignored by Yun Ce. He shouted angrily, but was suppressed by the pitying gazes from those around him.
3 Now, everyone was only thinking of getting more food on top of the three liang of grain to eat fuller. Someone like Huo Liao shouting and yelling without working was truly looked down upon.
3 Feng An came lazily from the wasteland with a backbasket on his back and a scroll in hand. Seeing Yun Ce sitting on a stone watching the crowds all over the hills.
3 He took out an arm-thick lotus root from the backbasket and handed it to Yun Ce.
3 “Wash it clean, peel it, and you can eat.”
3 Yun Ce glanced at his heavy backbasket, saw it full of lotus roots, decisively peeled the lotus root, bit into it and found it crisp and sweet, then said: “Where did you find it?”
3 Feng An said: “In the mud pond, just thawed, too cold for people to go down.”
3 “This thing grows in muddy ground—how did you dig it out without going down?”
3 “Let me tell you, first drain the water from the mud pond, then next to the mud pond, use an ox to plow a deep pit. The mud will slowly flow into the pit, lowering the mud surface, exposing the lotus roots buried in it. Then, use a long hook to pull them out.
3 Of course, this breaks the lotus roots and lets mud in. A smart guy made a big wooden basin to sit in, tied a rope to one end, had another person pull from the shore. That way he could dig the shallowly buried ones by hand, all intact.
4 They also throw broken lotus root segments into new mud pits. In a year or two, new mud pits will grow lots of lotus roots.”
4 Yun Ce nodded admiringly. What Feng An described wasn’t just a lotus root gathering process—it was reporting his work method: discovery, acquisition, progress, expansion, then closing the loop.
4 Such a work method was naturally excellent, very instructive for the current Great Han polity still relying on gathering for survival.
4 Even for Yun Ce’s upcoming large-scale agricultural development, it was extremely helpful.
4 A group of children in Yi Tree Cloth clothes lined up neatly heading toward the River Bend. Yun Ce asked Feng An how the children were also pulled out to find food.
4 “A bigger mud pond was found there, with many withered lotus leaves on it too. An Ji thought it important for the children to broaden their horizons, so she took them to watch the farmers gather lotus roots.
4 By the way, that Fire Tribe person came to find you today, right?”
4 “Yeah, he did. Wanted to use the Fire Tribe treasury to lure me into helping with his revenge.”
4 Feng An had been with Yun Ce for a long time and was the one in this collective who understood him best. Biting into his crisp lotus root, he said: “No need. Our current battle methods have changed. Compared to that armor and weapons, bombs suit us better.
4 Moreover, I predict that by next year at latest, Great Han caravans absolutely won’t run as smoothly as now. Each state will turn on neighbors, delineating their own spheres. Then there’ll be endless taxes; places like Chang’an and Luoyang that rely extremely on caravans will fall into great crisis.
5 So, our agricultural planting this year can only succeed, not fail. If it fails, our plan to build Yun City will completely fail.”
5 Yun Ce nodded. What Feng An saw, he had naturally considered. If he wanted bountiful fruit from this land, favorable weather was essential.
5 So, placing Shehuo became the most urgent matter now. After all, agriculture was fragile—one rain, one drought, one insect plague, or even one hail could leave fields barren.
5 Placing Shehuo could only be discussed with Doggy.
5 Feng An had just walked away when Doggy carried Shehuo out of the Dragon Pearl. Seeing Doggy’s tentacles toss Shehuo to the ground, Yun Ce was scared out of his wits.
5 As he reached to catch it, he saw Shehuo hopping on a grass stem. The burning flame did no harm to the dry grass stem. It jumped from one grass stem to another, playing happily.
5 “As you see, your Shehuo is a free flame. It refuses to take root on the ground, preferring to run around with you.”
5 Doggy’s lazy voice sounded in Yun Ce’s head.
5 “Why such a change?”
5 “The two big fires at the volcano and Ghost King Mountain seem to have let it taste the benefits of freedom.”
6 “You know I want a Shehuo that protects the people, not an arson tool.”
6 “Twilight Month is ending soon. On the day Early Spring arrives, you can try hosting a spring sacrifice, hold a Shehuo parade, see if it can deepen the bond between the people and Shehuo.”
6 Editing and posting bit by bit, guaranteeing three chapters before four o’clock. Keep asking for monthly tickets, recommendations—no recommendation slots, so striving myself.
