“If you have no objections, come over and sign this document, establishing a contract. From now on, you will be one of the nobles under my command, Duke Wu. This document will officially take effect in thirty years,” Lin Yang said with a smile. As he spoke, Xi Zhicai took a copy of the document and handed it over.
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Chapter 95: The Thousand-Year-Old Radish?
By the mandate of Heaven, the Duke decrees:
I am now blessed with great fortune and the grace of His Majesty, who has granted me the title of Duke of Wu.
However, the land east of the Yangtze is infested with many Mao Shen (a type of mythical creature), and the mountain tribes are everywhere, yet it remains undeveloped and faces numerous difficulties. Therefore, we are recruiting five hundred brave warriors to serve as officials.
Now, the King of the Capital Region has spoken, and his talent is unparalleled… Therefore, he is hereby granted the title of Scholar-official, which shall take effect in thirty years.
Written in Zhongping on [date] [year] [month] [day].
(The above content is purely fictional. Any errors are normal. Please refrain from criticism.)
This document was written by Lin Yang himself. Of course, "written by himself" does not mean that every single word was written by Lin Yang.
The content was readily available; Xi Zhicai had already prepared it. As the Duke of Wu, Lin Yang only needed to sign and stamp it. Otherwise, if he, the monarch, had to do everything, what would be the point of cultivation?
Furthermore, the contents of the five hundred imperial edicts were essentially the same, except for the names. Therefore, what Lin Yang wrote were simply different names.
The entire imperial edict was made of the finest Xuanhua paper, and its surface had been enchanted by first-rank Taoist priests, making it virtually unharmed by water or fire. If properly preserved, it could remain intact for a thousand years.
At the same time, under Lin Yang's Divine Eye of Fortune, this document also emitted a wisp of white mist. Although not much, it was enough to allow an ordinary person to grow into a first-tier cultivator.
This is because Lin Yang is currently only a figurehead duke. Once the Wu Kingdom is truly established, this document should at least possess second-tier red fortune.
By then, this document will be a true family heirloom.
Looking at the document in his hand, Wang Yan was very excited, and even his speech became somewhat incoherent.
"This, this... is truly an honor. I will serve the Duke wholeheartedly, and if I have any disloyal intentions, I will surely suffer unforeseen disaster."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang couldn't help but smile, and then glanced at Xu Zhu beside him. Seeing this, Xu Zhu, who was eating a spirit fruit, suddenly shivered and jumped up from the ground.
"Then, this is yours, this is yours, and this is still yours." With that, he picked up three boxes of different sizes and came to Wang Yan.
Then, glancing at Wang Yan, Xu Chu noticed that this guy was fat, just like him. He immediately whispered, "By the way, you can open the box after you leave and take a good look. See if it suits your taste. If you're not satisfied, you can come back and exchange it. Of course, you have to do it early, otherwise, once it's all gone, you won't be able to exchange it."
Upon hearing this, Wang Yan was immediately at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. No matter what Lin Yang had bestowed upon him, there was no reason to go back and exchange it.
Soon, Wang Yan went out.
"Oh, there are three more boxes."
"In the small box at the top, there seems to be a document. It looks like it has the seal of the Duke of Wu on it. Could this be an imperial edict?"
"Sir, nobleman, I'm going to be a nobleman too!"
"I wonder what's inside this box?"
"Just ask and you'll find out."
Soon, amidst everyone's warm greetings, Wang Yan slowly opened the box right in front of everyone. To be honest, not only were they curious, but he was curious too.
The first thing to be opened was a large box. Although it was called a large box, it wasn't actually that big; it was only about two feet square.
With a click, the lock opened. Then, a dazzling golden light appeared.
"Judging from its color, it should be red gold, and even among red gold, it is of superior quality, not far from pure gold. If it goes a step further, it could even be used to refine the elixir of immortality."
"This should be worth a thousand taels, and a small gold ingot is worth about fifty taels. These twenty, wouldn't that be a thousand taels?"
"That's ten thousand taels of silver? That's quite a lot. I work as a guard for wealthy families, and I only earn a little over a thousand taels a year, and it's incredibly hard work."
"Yes, that's quite a lot. I wonder what's in the remaining two boxes?"
Soon, amidst the envious gazes of the crowd, Wang Yan opened the medium-sized box without hesitation, which was about a foot square.
As soon as the box was opened, an even more exquisite jade box came into view. Putting everything else aside, this jade box alone was worth over a thousand taels of silver. Therefore, the contents of the jade box must be even more precious.
As soon as it was opened, a medicinal fragrance wafted out. Then, a plump, white, thousand-year-old ginseng appeared directly in front of everyone.
Although the main world is teeming with powerful experts and countless rare and precious treasures, once something has been around for a thousand years, even a radish becomes a thousand-year-old radish, let alone ginseng.
"This is too much! A thousand-year-old ginseng of this quality could easily fetch twenty or thirty thousand taels of silver, and even then, it's often impossible to buy one even if you have the money. The Duke is truly, truly generous."
"We might get one too in a little while."
With the groundwork laid by the first two boxes, everyone was even more curious about what was inside the third box.
"This...this is a scripture. Could it be used for cultivation?"
"Yes, it should be a cultivation technique, and it also contains a strong martial arts essence, but I don't know its grade."
"It's already a blessing to have this. This cultivation technique is a true family heirloom. After it's bestowed upon us, generations can cultivate it. With this, the embryonic form of a small aristocratic family in a county town is formed. Such a great gift, I would be willing to die on the spot."
"Yes, such a generous gift cannot be repaid without doing everything in our power."
Hearing the murmurs of the crowd, Lin Yang couldn't help but smile. This was actually killing two birds with one stone. To be precise, it was killing three.
On the one hand, spreading the word about this matter will surely attract more talented people to join him. After all, it's rare to find someone as generous and willing to be taken advantage of as he is; he's practically a fool with too much money to burn.
On the other hand, since they received such a generous gift when they came to me, how could I not devote myself to repaying their kindness and support until my dying breath?
It is estimated that the vast majority of people would be deeply grateful. They would then be wholeheartedly loyal to him, even extending that loyalty to their descendants generation after generation. This is the foundation.