In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 436 How Should I Choose?

Training a ninth-rank martial artist requires at least 50 taels of silver, and that's under ideal circumstances. Normally, training a ninth-rank martial artist would cost 100 taels of silver.

It takes 100 taels of silver to train a ninth-rank martial artist. If an entire army consists of martial artists, how much money would that cost?

Even the Xia Dynasty, which possesses the entire land of China, could not afford such expenses, could it?

Xu Zhiwen said that everyone in the Chen Family Army of Chen Family Village was a martial artist, which stunned Li Qingyun. How rich must Chen Family Village be to be able to build such an army?

"Brother Xu, are you trying to trick me?"

Li Qingyun opened his mouth wide and said, "How could Chenjia Village, a remote village, have an army, let alone an army composed of martial artists?"

Li Qingyun felt as if his worldview had been turned upside down. The army was something that always belonged to the government, that is, the imperial court. Chenjia Village was just a village...

Even setting aside whether it can support the army, it wouldn't be legal, would it?

Why would I lie to you?

Xu Zhiwen shook his head and chuckled: "Chenjia Village does indeed have an army composed of martial artists. Originally, this army only had about 35 people. Although the number was small, its combat power was extremely strong. Ordinary defeated soldiers of several hundred were no match for it at all."

There were only 35 people originally!

Li Qingyun breathed a sigh of relief. The number of 35 people was acceptable. The reason he was so surprised before was just that he subconsciously thought that a team called "army" would have a large number of people.

"but!"

Xu Zhiwen changed the subject and continued, "Recently, the army in Chenjia Village has been expanded, increasing in number from 35 to more than 300."

"!!!"

A huge exclamation mark flashed through Li Qingyun's mind. More than 300 people were enough to be called an army. You should know that the city guard of Ding'an County only had about a hundred people in total.

"Brother Xu, you're not going to tell me that these 300-plus people are all martial artists, are you?"

"exactly."

Xu Zhiwen nodded emphatically: "The newly recruited soldiers have been training in Chenjia Village for more than a month now, and presumably many of them should have already become ninth-rank martial artists."

"..."

Li Qingyun fell silent.

My head was completely in a mess. Not only did the village have an army, but the army was full of martial artists...

This was utterly outrageous and completely overturned Li Qingyun's understanding of the world.

After a long while, Li Qingyun finally came to his senses and asked, "Brother Xu, could there be an inexhaustible supply of gold buried beneath Chenjia Village?"

If it weren't for the gold buried underground, where would Chenjia Village get the money to support an army with so many martial artists?

Martial artists not only need to consume medicinal herbs to cultivate, but they also have a larger appetite than ordinary adults. It is no exaggeration to say that the daily food and money consumed by more than 300 martial artists is more than that of 10000 soldiers.

Even the finances of a county might not be enough to support an army of 10,000, let alone a small village like Chenjia Village.

"There is naturally no gold in Chenjia Village."

Xu Zhiwen laughed and said, "But Brother Li should know that Chenjia Village has yellow-feathered chickens, blood-feathered chickens, and red-blooded chickens, right?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qingyun revealed a look of sudden realization: "No wonder Chenjia Village can afford to support so many martial artists! The profits from yellow-feathered chickens, blood-feathered chickens, and red-blooded chickens are indeed enough to support this army."

Most of the goods Zhang Heyun transported to Ding'an County were sold through Li Qingyun, who acted as an intermediary. Therefore, Li Qingyun knew very well how profitable and effective these chicken breeds from Chenjia Village were. It was no wonder that Chenjia Village, which controlled these chicken breeds, could support an army of martial artists.

"good."

Xu Zhiwen nodded and said, "The reason why Chenjia Village can support such an army is because it controls the source of yellow-feathered chickens, blood-feathered chickens, and red-blooded chickens."

After saying that, Xu Zhiwen added, "If Brother Li wants to wipe out the defeated troops in Ding'an County, seeking help from Chenjia Village is the only option, however..."

Xu Zhiwen paused for a moment, then said, "If Brother Li wants to get help from Young Friend Chen, he will probably need to make some promises."

"What promise?"

Li Qingyun asked subconsciously.

"We pledge to stand with Chenjia Village through thick and thin..."

Xu Zhiwen recounted all the demands Chen Dao had placed on him.

After listening, Li Qingyun frowned: "Young friend Chen, do you perhaps intend to rebel?"

Li Qingyun was a smart man and naturally understood what Chen Dao meant by asking him to have a county magistrate stand with him...

If Chen Dao clashes with the imperial court, should the county magistrate side with the imperial court or with Chen Dao?

If you side with the imperial court, then there's nothing more to say.

But if you side with Chen Dao, that would be treason!

"Young Master Chen should not have any intention of rebelling."

Xu Zhiwen shook his head and said, "Based on my understanding of young friend Chen, he is not a person who is enthusiastic about power. The reason why he asked us to stand with him is probably because he does not want to face the court's tax increase again."

Increase taxes!

Upon hearing these two words, Li Qingyun's face immediately darkened. The repeated tax increases by the imperial court had not only angered ordinary people, but even he, the magistrate of Ding'an County, was extremely dissatisfied.

During the last tax increase, Li Qingyun witnessed many people being forced to their deaths, so he was extremely disgusted by the court's order to increase taxes.

"Brother Li."

Xu Zhiwen glanced at Liu Yi, who was sitting not far away. Seeing that Liu Yi's expression did not change, he said, "You are a smart man. You should be able to see that the Xia Kingdom is already riddled with problems. The change of dynasty is not far away, but imminent. Whether for the sake of the people or for your own sake, we do not need to be blindly loyal to the current court."

Upon hearing this, a look of struggle appeared in Li Qingyun's eyes. Having studied the classics since childhood, he held the idea of ​​loyalty to the emperor and patriotism in his heart, but he also had a feeling of pity for the common people.

At this moment, loyalty to the emperor and love for the country are equivalent to exploiting and oppressing the people. This makes it difficult for Li Qingyun to decide whether to stand on the side of the corrupt court or on the side of the people and find a way for them to survive.

After hesitating for a long time, Li Qingyun finally exhaled and said, "Since childhood, I have studied the classics. The books tell me to be loyal to the emperor, to love the country, and to cherish the people's strength and be considerate of their hearts. But now, loyalty to the emperor and love for the country are in conflict with cherishing the people's strength. Brother Xu, can you tell me how I should choose?"

"The choice is up to your own heart."

Xu Zhiwen pointed to Li Qingyun's chest and said, "Whether you are loyal to the court or to the people, I'm sure you have your own answer in your heart."

"call."

Li Qingyun exhaled a breath of stale air, his mind filled with memories of his experiences in the capital.