Chapter 449: Pacification Measures

Rubber!

This was one of the immensely significant inventions of the modern era.

Li Daoxuan knew that given the current technological capabilities of Gaojia Village, trying to develop rubber was at least ten millennia too early. So, he decided to personally deliver some to them himself, letting them ponder how it was made while using it.

His enormous hand beyond the box set down the rubber. As it retracted, golden and luminous, he instantly activated “Shared Perception”—his consciousness flashed once more into the Silicone statue of the Deity.

It was nearly a seamless switch.

He lifted a finger toward the massive rubber block he’d just placed. “Go touch this and see.”

Song Yingxing stepped forward, stroking the black rubber. An odd expression appeared on his face. “Huh? This is softer than plastic but harder than that statue of the Deity. It really seems ideal for addressing the sealing problem.”

By then, the two sculptors had finished adjusting the fingers. “Deity, our work is done,” they said in unison. “Could you see if the fingers are acceptable?”

Li Daoxuan looked down. Excellent, both hands now appeared normal with five movable fingers each. He tested them—they could move, though the silicone digits felt slightly limp, lacking the strength of real fingers.

Where there was gain, there was sacrifice!

He stood up. “Alright, everyone should return to your tasks. I’m going out for a stroll now, don’t follow.”

The crowd sweated nervously, thinking: The Deity descended to the mortal world only to take a walk first?

Well, it wasn’t unheard of in mythology and legends. There was a deity named Jigong who loved wandering around the mortal realm. It seemed the Deity and Jigong were cut from the same cloth.

So, they scattered!

But one person refused to leave. Gao Yiye gazed pitifully at Li Daoxuan. “Deity, may I not follow either?”

Li Daoxuan paused.

Fine, let Gao Yiye come along.

He smiled. “Yiye, let’s stroll together.”

Gao Yiye beamed with delight.

Thus, Li Daoxuan walked ahead while Gao Yiye followed half a step behind, both stepping out from Gaojia Village’s Main Fortress.

The entire silicone body felt soft and pliant. Navigating such a form required time to grow accustomed. As he moved, Li Daoxuan pondered: Should I get craftsmen to cut this body open? Insert a steel structure of artificial bones inside, then seal the silicone over? With their current technology, it would prove extremely challenging to make articulating joints flexible.

He was still lost in thought when his arm swung accidentally, brushing against Gao Yiye’s hand.

The girl immediately let out a soft “ying!”—a considerable reaction—but did not pull away. She kept her position, walking beside him exactly the same distance as before.

They had walked about ten meters from Gaojia Fortress when a middle-aged woman approached.

It was Gao San Niang. Spotting the Saint Lady walking alongside a man from afar, she’d privately whispered complaints. But as she drew near and got a clear look, she reeled backwards, then knelt abruptly with a thud. “This humble peasant honors the Deity.”

Li Daoxuan replied, “Rise up.”

Gao San Niang scrambled aside, still dazed with shock and awe as she watched Li Daoxuan and Gao Yiye stroll away. Only after a long moment did she regain her voice: “The Deity has descended!”

Li Daoxuan continued onward. Before long, he approached another cluster of villagers.

They caught sight of him and gasped out loud—then hit the ground with synchronized thumps to prostrate themselves.

Li Daoxuan sighed. “Stand. No need for such etiquette.”

Traversing the streets and alleys, reactions followed identically wherever he passed: everyone bowed at his presence.

Li Daoxuan found it both absurd and frustrating. He murmured, “Seems I’m unsuited for casual strolls down here. This entire trip, people bowing at every turn—utterly sabotaging social harmony!”

Gao Yiye giggled softly then murmured in response, “It’s because this is the Deity’s first descent! Stay down often enough, and they’d get used to it.”

Li Daoxuan just smiled while shaking his head silently. Creating this statue to explore manifestation wasn’t about idle walks around Gaojia Village—not primarily. The village sat firmly as his core viewing point from beyond the box; he observed every detail constantly there already. This descent served merely to glimpse familiar scenes from inside… seeking novelty. Once that novelty faded, recurring descents served no further purpose locally.

The statue’s true purpose remained deployment beyond his regular sight—into Shanxi or farther—surveying what lay unseen normally.

But seeing Gao Yiye’s hopeful expression, he reconsidered: perhaps he should craft more such statues… one stationed here permanently at Gaojia Village? Maybe descend occasionally simply to stroll alongside Gao Yiye.

“Yiye,” he said gently, “let’s go climb hills?”

“Yes! Yes!”

Year Four of Chongzhen (1631 AD), First Lunar Month, Capital City

Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian sat upright upon the Dragon Throne; civil and military officials flanked him.

The assembly felt numerous with somber robes lending a solemn tone—ideally an inspiring venue for discussions of national import.

Yet Zhu Youjian slumped subtly weary. All officials cast a similar drained aura… rendering the entire hall shadowed downcast… lacking that vigorous rising spirit of burgeoning empire.

Not long before, reports had arrived from Shanxi: Wang Jiayin claiming kingship; commanding over a hundred leaders and three-hundred-fifty-thousand troops.

It struck Emperor Zhu Youjian and every official present like a brutal blow to the head—shock and terror settled intensely.

Three hundred fifty thousand!

Zhu Youjian’s emotional state plummeted as if plummeted aboard free-fall machinery.

He couldn’t help musing: This rebel chief commands armies exceeding mine! If only I commanded similar forces, those Jurchens would’ve been ground to ash already.

After prolonged reflection, Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian spoke deliberately, “Esteemed ministers… The insurgency spreading over Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces. How should it finally be managed?”

Shaanxi Provincial Administrator Liu Jiayu emerged. “Your Majesty, I recently arrived from Shaanxi… carrying correspondence addressed to Your Excellency by Three Boundary Governor Yang He. Humbly requesting permission for its reading before court.”

Zhu Youjian nodded. “Proceed.”

Liu Jiayu bowed ceremoniously, drew the letter from his sleeve, and read aloud: “Banditry origins lie solely in devastating famine—mass existence rendered unlivable. Pursuit through suppression? Requisite grain rations, rewards, expenses… prove immense. Execution becomes futile—repeated suppression failing to stabilize. Relief dissolves them? Dissolved parties reassemble… remaining uneroded. Genuine relief demands true sustenance—supplies securing survival first. Only afterward calls it authentic dispersal. Dispersed masses then require settlement… true grants of Oxen Seed enabling return to farming—rebuilding livelihoods: only then qualifies as true settlement. Thus rebels embrace life’s comforts, abandon motives for death, inevitably submitting peacefully. Pacification once anchored ultimately concludes suppression. This, Your servant asserts, constitutes practical pacification: practical expenditure essential whether pacifying or suppressing.”

“Moreover? Using funds for suppression consumes gold/silver irretrievably; excess executions harm cosmic harmonies. Spending via pacification? Money departs yet lives endure—saving one means preserving one life. Banditry ceases; populace rests securely: gains remain incomparably greater!”