War raged across Shaanxi. Undercurrents of chaos swelled beneath the whole world.
In August, Yan Qian'er, the first captain under the bandit Bu Zhanni, led his troops into Chengcheng County, their spearhead aimed directly at Fengyuan Town.
Chengcheng Magistrate Liang Shixian, leading the militia from Chengcheng county seat and Fengyuan Town, once again dug in to defend Fengyuan Town, fighting with all their might. This time, Liang Shixian's preparations were extremely thorough. Besides the five hundred plastic bows borrowed from Gao Village, he had also produced several hundred proper bows himself. Nearly a thousand militiamen held the town, raining arrows down upon the enemy.
Then, Inspector Fang Wushang arrived with his troops and routed Yan Qian'er.
In September, the prisoners in Gao Village's reform-through-labor program completed their sentences. They were all released, beginning new lives. Meanwhile, the Heyang bandit Fan Shanyue once again entered Chengcheng County, launching a major attack on Quangou Village. He was repelled by the Quangou village militia and Inspector Fang Wushang.
In October, the powerful bandit Zuo Guazi of Yichuan no longer hid his true identity. He revealed his real name: Wang Zishun, known in the rivers and lakes as "Wang Zuo Guazi." Leading an army of eight thousand, he swaggered across Yichuan County. However, swaggering made it hard to see the road ahead. He ran headlong into Shaanxi's Grain Intendant, Hong Chengchou, and was promptly given a thorough beating by Hong's elite family troops. Wang Zuo Guazi suffered a crushing defeat and fled back into the Huanglong Mountains, forcing Bai Family Fort to enter a state of military readiness once more.
On November 3rd, an imperial edict called for the recommendation of Grand Secretariat members. Court ministers submitted a list including names like Cheng Jiming, Vice Minister of Personnel, and Qian Qianyi, Vice Minister of Rites. Others jointly recommended included Zheng Yiwei, Li Pengfang, Sun Shenxing, He Ruchong, Xue Sanxing, Sheng Yihong, Luo Yuyi, Wang Yongguang, Cao Yubian—eleven men in total. However, Minister of Rites Wen Tiren and Vice Minister Zhou Yanru were excluded due to their general lack of reputation. The great factional strife of the late Ming Dynasty had officially begun...
(Ming Context: The 'recommendation of Grand Secretariat members' was a critical political event. The Grand Secretariat, led by Grand Secretaries, was the de facto top administrative body of the Ming Dynasty. This round of recommendations in 1628 (Chongzhen 1st year) famously excluded the cunning Wen Tiren and Zhou Yanru, who later gained power through the emperor's personal favor, intensifying the brutal factional infighting that crippled the dynasty's final years.)
In just three and a half months, the world outside had churned into a pot of chaos.
Yet, Gao Village was still enveloped in an atmosphere of... well, not exactly peace. "Tense" would be more accurate.
The farmers of Refugee Valley stared at their cornfields—fields they had nurtured from barren wasteland with their own sweat and toil—their expressions a mix of fear and anticipation!
The corn harvest season had arrived.
To be honest, Li Daoxuan was a little nervous too. He was, after all, a city kid who couldn't tell his five grains apart and knew nothing about agriculture. Although he had printed out the complete "Growing Corn From Zero" guide for Zhao Sheng, he had no idea how reliable it was, or if it would even work.
If it failed, causing the common folk to waste immense effort and suffer heartbreak and disappointment, this Tianzun wouldn't be happy either.
Now was the moment of truth.
Zhao Sheng, his heart in his throat, walked up to a field of dense corn stalks.
The corn stalks, standing tall as a man, held one plump corn cob after another, though they were still wrapped in green husks, hiding their secrets.
If this were a crop the farmers planted themselves, someone would have long since peeled open a husk to peek inside. But this was "celestial grain," planted with "celestial methods." The Tianzun had even decreed they must "strictly follow the planting methods written in the celestial book."
The honest, simple farmers dared not disobey the Tianzun's decree. They didn't dare peek, completely unaware of what grew inside those spindle-shaped cobs.
Only when the "harvest time" written in the celestial instructions arrived did they invite Zhao Sheng over to personally reveal what this miraculous "celestial grain" actually was.
Everyone held their breath.
Even Li Daoxuan was on edge.
With a trembling hand, Zhao Sheng grabbed a corn cob and pulled with all his might...
The crowd cheered in unison: "It's picked!"
"Yah!"Zhao Sheng cried out. It didn't come off.
The crowd:"..."
Zhao Sheng strained again:"Waaah-ya!"
Still didn't come off.
The crowd:"!!!"
Zhao Sheng panted heavily:"Huff... huff...! It takes so much effort to pull this thing off! Is farm work really this tiring? Huff... Someone... help me..."
Everyone facepalmed simultaneously,the sound of hands hitting faces echoing in a unified "Smack!"
You're pulling on the wrong part, you idiot! Why are you yanking on the stalk?
In the end, the old village chief from Xiejiagou stepped forward. The old man was wiry and thin, not even reaching Zhao Sheng's shoulder, but he was tough and strong. He grabbed a corn cob and, with a motion like snapping a neck, crack, broke it off.
All the farmers of Refugee Valley cheered together: "It's off! Great, it's finally off!"
Li Daoxuan couldn't help but clench his fist in triumph:Yes! It's off! Wait... hold on. That's not right! We're just cheering because one corn cob came off? What's there to be happy about? Damn you, Zhao Sheng, you ruined the moment.
The old village chief stood there awkwardly holding the corn cob, unsure what to do for several seconds before remembering he had to peel it. After another flurry of fumbling, he finally stripped away the husk.
A golden-yellow ear of corn was revealed before everyone's eyes, its kernels plump, glossy, and perfectly round.
The crowd stared, stunned. "So... this is the fruit of what we planted in July. It just grows on a cob, similar to how rice and wheat grow on a head."
Once they grasped this, they suddenly realized something and exclaimed, "Oh! A crop that bears such a large 'head'... how many liang must this be?"
The Xiejiagou village chief hefted the corn cob in his hand, an expression of disbelief on his face. "This one cob... it must be at least half a jin."
"My heavens!One cob is over half a jin?"
"There's a core inside,that has to be discounted."
"Even discounting the core,it's still close to half a jin."
"Heavens!This yield... it's incredible."
"If one cob is this heavy,how much can one mu of land produce?"
"At least five hundredjin!"
They were accustomed to wheat heads, but those were tiny compared to a corn cob, completely different in scale.
The honest farmers were terrified by the corn's terrifying yield.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, the villagers erupted in loud cheers. "Celestial grain! Amazing! Celestial grain is amazing!"
"We actually grew five hundredjin of grain per mu on this poor loess land! Heavens!"
"It's not celestial grain.Warrior Xing brought this crop from the human world in Xi'an. We used the celestial methods and celestial fertilizer from the Tianzun to grow it so well."
"Oh,right, right! It's the celestial methods and fertilizer!"
"Praise the Tianzun!"
"Praise the Tianzun!"
The farmers of Refugee Valley leaped for joy, overwhelmed with happiness.
Li Daoxuan also breathed a sigh of relief: Success! Excellent, their hard work wasn't in vain. Once they gain experience, continuously optimize their methods, and diligently remove pests, the yield should increase even further.
Of course, that couldn't be rushed.
Just as he thought this, he saw points of starlight rise from the farmers of Refugee Valley, merging into the box. Then, the box erupted in golden light. The "Salvation Index" surged once more.
His field of vision had expanded again. And this time, the increase was substantial, because the number of farmers who felt their lives were happy and fulfilling, whose souls were "saved," was not small at all.
(Meta: This chapter masterfully contrasts macro and micro. The outside world descends into large-scale political and military chaos (the 'sky full of war'), while Gao Village focuses on the micro—the tense, joyful harvest of a single new crop. The real 'war' Li Daoxuan is winning isn't on a battlefield, but in these fields, fighting hunger and despair with corn and hope.)