Chapter 209: Turning Stone into Gold
Outside Zhengyang Prefecture.
Fang Xian dressed up as a Taoist priest and walked along the way.
The riots in Dazheng County had a huge impact.
At least there is a more tense atmosphere in this prefecture.
"I don't know if the prefect has the determination to send the prefectural soldiers into the mountains to encircle and suppress the enemy. Otherwise, the prefect will need help from the state... If he still can't take it down, then the prefect's official position will be in jeopardy, and he might even be charged..."
"But Bailiang Mountain is vast, and it would be easy for the government to defeat Wang Shun. If he is determined to escape, it would be much more troublesome..."
While thinking silently, Fang Xian saw a grandfather and grandson pushing a cart nearby, looking worried. He couldn't help but feel something in his heart, so he stepped forward and said, "My dear father-in-law, I am a wandering Taoist priest. The sun is high in the sky now, and I am thirsty. I wonder if I can have a bowl of water to drink?"
The old man didn't dare to be careless when he saw the Taoist priest Fang Xian dressed up. Hearing that he was just asking for water, he smiled and said, "Okay, okay..."
He wiped it with a broken bowl, took some water and presented it to Fang Xian.
Fang Xian drank a sip and asked, "Why do you look so sad, old man?"
"Alas... I'm still worried. The masters have to harvest the summer crops, and the eldest and second sons in the family have been conscripted. Now the family has run out of food, so how can we make it until the autumn harvest..."
The old man sat on a piece of bluestone nearby to rest and started talking: "There is also a reform in this dynasty. This time we don't have to pay grain, only silver... But the three major grain merchants in the city are used to buying low and selling high, sucking our blood!"
After listening to this, Fang Xian asked a few more questions and found out that because of the corrupt administration in the late period of the previous dynasty, things like "kicking the stick and pouring the tip" were like explicit rules, and the people could not bear the suffering and rebelled one after another.
Later, when Taizu of the Great Zhou conquered the world, he implemented tax reforms in view of this and replaced the original taxes in kind with silver and money.
In this way, various taxes can be clearly measured by paying money per mu, which seems to be a great idea.
However, the price of rice fluctuated greatly. In addition, grain merchants hoarded rice and earned it at a low price during normal times and sold it at a high price during famines, so the people suffered terribly.
But after all, it is still a peaceful and prosperous time now. The old man originally relied on his two sons at home. He gritted his teeth and reclaimed a few acres of wasteland, so he could make a living .
However, for some unknown reason, a traitor appeared in Dazheng County, and the people in the prefecture were frightened, so they conscripted able-bodied men to repair the city walls and assist in the city defense.
As a result, the eldest son and the second son had to go to serve in the army, leaving only the old and the young at home, which was a real transition period.
"I see……"
Fang Xian nodded and sighed: "Since I drank a bowl of water from you, I must repay you."
He immediately looked at the child next to him and said, "Tong'er, go get some stones."
The boy looked at him in confusion, then suddenly smiled, revealing a few missing front teeth, and went to pick up some small stones.
Fang Xian didn't care. He took out a small tripod from his arms, started a furnace directly on the side of the road, and threw a few stones into it.
"Master, are you going to... make an elixir?"
The father-in-law couldn't help but ask.
"No, it's alchemy!"
Fang Xian laughed and patted the top of the small stove.
Bang!
When the lid of the tripod was opened, one saw that the few stones had turned into bright gold!
This precious metal has had a breathtaking and fascinating magic since ancient times.
My father-in-law's eyes suddenly widened.
"Give!"
Fang Xian threw him a gold nugget.
The old man looked at it, bit it again, and looked at the row of teeth marks on it. His body began to tremble: "It's real! Real gold! Could the Taoist be an immortal? He actually has the magic to turn stone into gold?"
"This little Daoer!"
Fang Xian replied with a smile.
In reality, all of this is just a trick of the 'invisible phantom', it's just too real.
Ordinary sleight of hand only targets the visual consciousness, so they can be broken at the first try.
His method is aimed at the six senses of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. Your eyes are deceiving you, your ears are deceiving you, your sense of touch is deceiving you, and in the end, even your consciousness is deceiving you... In other words, the whole world is deceiving you! Once you encounter this situation, the six senses will be destroyed. Unless you awaken the extraordinary seventh sense, you will not be able to see the truth.
"This bowl of water, use the gold to pay off the debt. With the gold, go to the city and buy more food from the three wealthy merchants. Of course... you can use it to pay taxes, or pay someone to serve on your behalf, or redeem your son. It's up to you."
Fang Xian handed a furnace of gold to the old man and said with a smile.
"This... is just a bowl of water. I dare not accept it."
The old man struggled for a while, but despite the child's pulling, he returned the gold.
"Oh? Are you afraid of the trouble later? That's right..."
Fang Xian nodded: "However, I intend to open a furnace in the nearby Qingquan Mountain to refine gold. I will use the water refining method to refine a river of golden sand... Please notify the people in the surrounding area to come and use it! Remember to notify them secretly, and exchange the gold for grain and cloth as soon as possible..."
No matter how genuine it is, it is still fake.
Once the magic attached to it dissipates, the flaw will be exposed, so it is better to spend this kind of gold as soon as possible.
"Thank you for the information, Taoist priest. I will go and inform all the poor families in the surrounding area!"
The old man bowed repeatedly and this time he accepted the gold with peace of mind.
The old man is very cunning. He was afraid of being held accountable later. Now, even if something really happens in the future, the law will not hold everyone responsible.
…
"Does this count as mine, playing with the world and punishing the evil merchants who dominate the market?"
Fang Xian came to Qingquan Mountain.
The mountain is not high. There is only a small stream flowing down from the top of the mountain , surrounding it like a jade belt, which is quite a sight.
Fang Xian reached the top of the mountain and threw the small tripod in his hand.
The cauldron suddenly became extremely huge, three meters high, standing tall as if it were the sky.
In fact, they are all fake.
The art of invisibility and phantom, in the hands of an ordinary alchemist, can at most change one's appearance. But in the hands of an immortal, it can be transformed into countless forms, almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
"I heard that the long drought was followed by a downpour of rain, which saved the suffering and the distressed and refined the golden sand..."
Fang Xian laughed and slapped the cauldron.
A golden light converged into the source of the spring, and then spread out into the distance in stars.
Fang Xian sat cross-legged on the top of the mountain, waiting quietly.
Not long after, the old man came over with a group of fellow villagers: "I tell you, that is a real immortal, he has seen the gold, and you still don't believe it?"
It was dusk at this time. A group of villagers came to the spring and were stunned when they saw the golden sands in it.
An old farmer immediately jumped into the water, grabbed a handful of golden sand, and his eyes were dull.
At this moment, flowers fell from the sky and golden lotus emerged from the ground.
Amidst the strange phenomena of heaven and earth, a voice came slowly:
"The gold sand here is for you to take, no fighting for it!"
"After taking it, immediately buy food in the city, don't delay!"
"When you become rich, you must benefit your hometown, otherwise you will suffer unexpected disasters!"
…
"This is the immortal sound!"
Many villagers knelt down at once: "We will not dare to disobey."
The villagers were cunning and understood the whole thing. They had already made up their minds to spend the gold sand when they returned.
And there is really no need to fight over so much gold , everyone can become rich!
