Zhao Changhe said, "Since Sect Master Li has put it that way, I'll bring it up."

Li Shentong nodded, ready for the discussion about mobilizing troops to march into Hanzhong. Anyone who wasn't a fool knew that Zhao Changhe's main purpose in going to Ba Shu was to form an alliance against Guanglong.

In fact, this matter didn't need to be raised by Zhao Changhe; any ruler who wasn't content with being marginalized would undoubtedly need to expand their territory. As everyone knows, the land of Ba Shu lies in plains nestled among mountains, making it suitable for seclusion. However, if one were content with isolation and watched the Central Plains unify, everyone would eventually be depleted, and there would be no other outcome but death.

There are generally two routes for Ba Shu to expand: either towards Jingxiang or up to Hanzhong. Strategically speaking, Hanzhong is often more important. Seizing the land of Guanglong replicates many historical scenarios; this was the case during the Qin and Han dynasties. Early on, Li Shentong had made a foray into Hanzhong, but at the time, he failed to capture it and quickly withdrew his troops due to the alliance formed to slay a dragon.

At the moment, since Li Shentong harbors a deep hatred for Li Gongsi for allowing the enemy into the pass, he was already inclined to continue his campaign into Hanzhong, just waiting for the right moment.

In other words, even if Zhao Changhe hadn't mentioned forming an alliance to go against the Li Family, Li Shentong would have done it himself. Of course, he would observe the situation; it was more likely that they would wait for the New Han Dynasty and the Li Family to clash before they picked up the pieces, rather than cooperate directly. But now that Zhao Changhe had mentioned it, cooperating was reasonable and there was no reason to shirk it.

Zhao Changhe took a sip of wine and said leisurely, "On my journey here, I saw that the people of Ba Shu should have been given money, grain, and clothing to survive the winter—Sect Master Li's act of righteousness touched me deeply. But I'm not sure if they've received any land. If they have, let's not bring it up for the moment; if they haven't, I hope Sect Master Li will distribute some and set some rules... We must not let emerging forces fall back into the old patterns, for then everything we have done would have been in vain."

Li Shentong was stunned, "Is this your request?"

"Yes," Zhao Changhe said, "I do have a personal interest as well. Great Han resolved the land annexation issues of the Aristocratic Families with very mild measures, which left a lot of loose ends... Passing through here, I observed that breaking down and rebuilding from scratch seems much more efficient. Just earlier, people like Lu Jianzhang got themselves killed, and now even the capital has a hint of this notion of breaking down and rebuilding, and Old Cui is now very cooperative, making it the perfect opportunity... If Ba Shu truly does well, the experience or model could be promoted to the Central Plains, maybe even making the tasks of Chichi and Wanzhuang easier."

You call this personal interest?

Li Shentong was silent for a long time before slowly speaking, "We have distributed land, but things here are very complicated. It's up to the local officials, and it's very easy for them to deceive those above and below. I've heard that the implementation in many places didn't meet expectations."

Zhao Changhe said, "Set up an inspection tour, need I help you organize people from the original Demon Suppression Department? They are very experienced in oversight and adept at bureaucracy, unlike you who can easily be fooled."

Li Shentong gave him a strange look for a long while, "Do you think this is Great Han Shu County?"

"I'm not assuming anything because Ba Shu belongs to its people," Zhao Changhe said. "The question is, what were Sect Master Li's reasons for raising an army, and whether those reasons still hold true today."

Li Shentong and Situ Xiao looked at each other in silence.

Managing local affairs was indeed not as simple as originally thought. For example, the Divine Brilliance Sect had naively believed they could allow the people to be free from paying grain taxes and that everyone would have better days. Ultimately, they discovered it was a dream; without collecting taxes, you can't get anything done. They do have a substantial reserve of money and grain from previous plundering, perhaps even more than the Imperial treasury, but what use is that? What about next year or the years after?

The earliest promises of free grain taxes have now been retracted, and they have begun studying taxation systems, many of which were directly copied from the New Han Dynasty, considered more reasonable than those of Great Xia—such as the uniform grain tax for officials and gentry.

This was just one example among many. Are one's intentions still the same? Hard to say.

Err, judging solely from tax and administrative systems, saying this is Great Han Shu County doesn't seem to be too far off; they're almost identical, except for the lack of a Demon Suppression Department.

To say they're "Merely discussing the affairs of the Worldly Society": with the conversation at this stage, is it still about the Worldly Society? It can't be said it's not, because it is about the people's Ba Shu, if not the Worldly Society then what?

If one calls this chivalry, it is chivalry on the grandest scale.

Zhao Changhe's cup was empty, so he poured himself more wine and continued, "Actually, seeing the situation in Ba Shu stirs many thoughts and emotions in me... These are things I've never mentioned back in the Central Capital, as the circumstances are different. For example, I have some Basic Skills. I wonder if Sect Master Li could distribute them on my behalf?"

Li Shentong asked seriously, "What do you mean by that?"

"Everyone has techniques to practice... Everyone has books to read," Zhao Changhe said. "If Sect Master Li approves, I can also arrange for some literacy materials to be sent from the Central Capital..."

Li Shentong fell silent for a long time and said slowly, "Ba Shu has them, no need to send."

"Do you have teachers?"

"... We do. This is Ba Shu, not the Miao Region."

"Do you, Sect Master Li, agree to the idea?"

Li Shentong said, "You are adding trouble for me. Even if I am willing, I don't have the spare time to manage such matters."

Zhao Changhe said, "When the barbarians are expelled and peace returned, how about I take charge? No jest, I am genuinely interested."

"Do you think this is Great Han Shu County?"

"If peace were restored, then the world wouldn't need a King Zhao, I would resign to take on this task."

If peace were restored, would the world also no longer need Li Shentong?

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