Traveling to Ancient Times: My Space Contains Weapons

Chapter 295 King Wu Tuo is Threatened

Yan Lixuan glanced at the jade inside the box.

He turned to Chu Chen and said, "Young Master Chu, to be honest, this jade is what I rely on for my livelihood."

"Oh, you can absorb this stuff?"

"No, no, no, Young Master Chu, this is a long story..."

"Then let's make a long story short!"

Seeing the worried looks on their faces, Chu Chen immediately became interested.

So far, Chu Chen still doesn't know what use this jade essence has for other people.

Aside from the fact that he could make the space absorb the jade, even Zhu Liuxiang said that the jade essence was useless to him.

Could it be that the Wu Tuo Kingdom has other methods to allow people to absorb these kinds of resources?

Yan Lixuan let out a long breath and slowly began to speak to Chu Chen.

Half an hour later, Chu Chen finally understood why Eunuch Cao looked so reluctant and why Yan Lixuan looked so helpless.

It turns out that the Wu Tuo Kingdom did not have this kind of jade before.

But just before that calamity struck, a jade mine was discovered within the territory of Wu Tuo Kingdom, and from that mine, these kinds of jade stones, which were entirely green, were mined.

After receiving a report from his subordinates, Yan Lixuan fell in love with the beautiful jade.

But his joy was short-lived; Yan Lixuan's smile soon faded.

Not long after the jade was mined, a group of people came to Wutuo City.

They were incredibly powerful; each of them possessed strength comparable to that of Eunuch Cao.

They stormed into the palace, defeated the soldiers of Wu Tuo Kingdom, and then forced Yan Lixuan to eat a completely white worm.

After eating the worm, Yan Lixuan became extremely thin. He lost his appetite and suffered from unbearable abdominal pain from time to time. Even worse, sometimes he would pass long, white worms when he urinated.

After feeding Yan Lixuan the insects, these people forced him to mine the emerald green jade for them and to give him an antidote once a month.

Otherwise, Yan Lixuan would die within six months from being eaten alive by those insects.

To save his life, Yan Lixuan had no choice but to agree to their demands.

Then, the Wu Tuo Kingdom recruited a large number of people to mine the jade.

This is also why the officials captured the miners when Chu Chen first entered the Wu Tuo Kingdom.

Every month, that group would send people to Wu Tuo Kingdom to collect the jade, and they would also send people to the jade mine to supervise the work from time to time.

Therefore, this pile of jade stones in front of us is the bargaining chip we plan to use to exchange for the antidote this month.

After listening, Chu Chen fell into deep thought, looking at the thin Yan Lixuan and then at the white worm he mentioned.

Chu Chen thought of one possibility: first, he might have been cursed, which is a rather mysterious thing.

Secondly, it could be that the person was fed parasites, which is similar to being cursed, but not as mysterious as the way they are portrayed in modern television shows, where they are said to be able to control the host.

So he asked, "Are you sure that insect was entirely white?"

"White with a grayish tinge, long like an earthworm, quite frightening?"

Yan Lixuan sighed and answered softly.

"Besides weight loss, loss of appetite, and abdominal pain, are there any other symptoms? For example, mental symptoms?"

Chu Chen pressed for an answer.

After listening, Yan Lixuan looked at Chu Chen with a puzzled expression: "Young Master Chu, do you perhaps also possess medical skills?"

Chu Chen smiled and shook his head after hearing this: "In the Great Xia Dynasty, I only learned a few things from a Taoist priest, so I can't say I'm an expert."

In fact, Chu Chen suspected that Yan Lixuan had been fed with roundworms that left a deep impression on the post-80s generation in modern society.

In those days, they had plenty of roundworms and ate plenty of those pagoda-shaped sugar candies.

But Chu Chen hadn't seen the insect yet, so he wasn't sure.

Then he asked again, "Your Majesty, did you leave any of the insects behind?"

“Young Master Chu, those insects look disgusting and I’m afraid they might suddenly attack and hurt people, so I usually have my men kill them as soon as they come out.”

Chu Chen wasn't sure either after hearing this. It seemed he would have to wait for Yan Lixuan to pull him out of the box to figure out what it was.

So he asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, when will these insects appear?"

“Young Master Chu, I know that. Every time I take the antidote, a few will come out.”

After hearing this, Chu Chen thought to himself, if this thing really is a roundworm, does that mean these people created pagoda-shaped sugar in this era?

"In that case, I will take half of this jade, and you will hand over the other half to receive the antidote. Don't eat it yet; let me know when it's ready, and perhaps I can expel all the worms from your stomach."

After hearing this, Yan Lixuan felt as if he had suddenly seen a glimmer of hope.

"Alright, the day to hand over this item is in three days. Please wait patiently, Young Master Chu."

After saying this, Chu Chen unceremoniously took out half a box of blue stones from the box and stuffed them all into his backpack.

Seeing this, Eunuch Cao took the remaining jade back with him.

After Eunuch Cao left, Yan Lixuan couldn't wait to ask Chu Chen a question.

"Young Master Chu, you just said that my crisis, Wu Tuo's, can be easily resolved. Please enlighten me!"

After listening, Chu Chen pretended to think for a moment and then asked.

"What does the Wu Tuo Kingdom lack most right now?"

"To be honest, Young Master Chu, Wu Tuo Kingdom is currently unable to provide any food for disaster relief, so many people are starving."

Chu Chen smiled after hearing this: "Grain? But along the way, the fields have been abandoned and have completely lost their ability to regenerate grain. Even if I give you enough grain now, can you guarantee that these people can survive this famine?"

Yan Lixuan frowned deeply after hearing this.

Yes, what's lacking isn't food, but rather the enthusiasm of the people.

As long as the people can get moving and have hope of farming again, they can survive one season and be revived after the harvest.

However, despite allocating a lot of grain and seeds for disaster relief, the people simply refused to cultivate the land, and there was nothing I could do about it.

So he said to Chu Chen, "What you say makes sense, but after the natural disaster, the government has allocated a lot of money and grain, but the people are unmoved."

"Hehe, then you'll have to thoroughly investigate your Wu Tuo officials and find out if the funds and provisions have been delivered."

Then she shared with him the methods used by the Great Xia Dynasty for disaster relief.

The two talked for more than an hour before Yan Lixuan suddenly realized that there was a problem with his internal management, and a big problem at that.

He immediately summoned Eunuch Cao and whispered a series of orders in his ear, instructing him to secretly send his trusted confidants to investigate.

Having said all he needed to say, Chu Chen took his leave.

Upon seeing this, Yan Lixuan quickly summoned several maids and led Chu Chen to the residence he had arranged.

Chu Chen did not refuse and left Yan Lixuan with the others.

Once the problems have been pointed out, there's no need to stay there and watch how they implement them.

After all, this is overseas; we can't get too involved.

But barring any unforeseen circumstances, as long as Yan Lixuan has the ability, officials like Yin Tiancheng should be in dire straits in a few days.

After all, the people are starving and dying, yet he is happily tending to flowers and birds. How can this be the way of an official?