Chapter 040: Fa Zheng’s Hesitation
**
The status and standing of a concubine were vastly inferior to that of a wife, even lacking comparable authority.
Their power was negligible; they were effectively property to be disposed of at will… even sold if the master so desired.
Thus, upon learning his own mother had been taken as a concubine, Fa Zheng showed remarkable restraint by not beating Long Tian senseless on the spot!
Of course, even if he had tried to fight, he simply wasn’t Long Tian’s match.
“In these borderlands, where war and chaos are the norm, keeping some military equipment for self-defense is only natural.
Fa Zheng, I’ll be blunt. In my heart, your mother and sister are no different from my wife. Even if I marry a formal wife in the future, I will choose someone who is not jealous.
You see I have thousands of miles of fertile land; if your mother feels wronged, I can find a separate residence to settle them in so they won’t be bullied. But you must trust me, I am the master of this family.
Your mother and sister were abducted by rebels and were destined to be given to Bian Zhang, after which they would have ended up in the grasslands. You should know how cruel the grasslands can be.“
”If you truly wish to protect them, then serve me. Once you hold enough power, no one will dare harm them. In the future, even the children they bear will need their elder brother and uncle to protect them!“
Long Tian spoke frankly.
He now needed someone who could assist him in military campaigns. Martial might was essential, but one could not charge single-handedly into enemy lines and slaughter everyone every time.
Without proper strategy, it was too easy to walk into a trap.
“My Lord, allow me more time to consider,” Fa Zheng replied, frowning. He didn’t refuse this time.
In truth, the matter was already settled.
Yesterday, his elder sister, Fa Shu, had come to see him and raised this very issue.
She told him she was happy now; she was a widow anyway, and this was essentially a remarriage. Long Tian treated her well, and she was content.
She hoped her younger brother could take a position under Long Tian, which would also provide her with a sense of security.
At that moment, he had already wavered, contemplating whether to accept.
Sometimes, people inevitably face many unavoidable problems and circumstances.
In a society built on personal connections, one cannot simply look out for oneself.
<<<•>>>
The two walked around the craftsmen’s camp.
Long Tian nodded to the artisans but did not seek out Ma Jun, who was deeply engrossed in studying something new.
Ma Jun was using his own unique channels to contact other craftsmen.
Craftsmen who, like him, possessed specialized skills.
Ever since Emperor Wu of Han dismissed the Hundred Schools of Thought to revere only Confucianism, the once-flourishing schools of thought had fallen into decline.
The Schools of Diplomacy, Fiction, Logicians, Syncretism, and Agriculture had all faded into obscurity. Nowadays, only the Legalists could barely manage to survive.
Finding true talent was difficult; one had to rely on fate and hope to rediscover the hidden remnants of those lost traditions.
Accumulate grain extensively, claim the title of Emperor slowly.
Long Tian felt a surge of ambition.
The world was in chaos, and heroes were rising everywhere.
The Yellow Turbans were still rampaging, yet the Imperial Court refused to move.
Are kings and lords born to their high status?
Long Tian felt heroic. He had been constantly dedicated to improving his assets.
He used superior fertilizers on his fields to mitigate the depletion caused by continuous farming.
Without fertilizer, the soil would lose its fertility and turn into wasteland.
Currently, fertile lands had to rest every two years, average lands every other year, and poor lands couldn’t be farmed at all.
Grain production couldn’t go up simply because there was no fertilizer.
While an amateur looks at the spectacle, an expert looks at the mechanics. Over the past few days, Fa Zheng had realized that everyone Long Tian recruited was part of a plan for expansion.
Better farming led to more grain, and more grain could support more people. More people meant more soldiers, more taxes, and more talent.
Though the progress seemed slow, the fact that Long Tian had this level of foresight proved he was not content to remain beneath others forever.
Long Tian, however, was dissatisfied with this situation.
He wasn’t a County Magistrate yet, so he couldn’t do as much as he wished.
He could only change things within his own private domain.
If the fundamental system couldn’t be changed, he would simply become a massive landlord; no one could tell him how to manage his own property.
Assigning land to refugees would only lead to other local clans seizing it, making it a wasted effort. He might as well keep it for himself.
After the tour, Long Tian instructed Ma Jun to find a way to manufacture mining tools for stone and ore.
With raw materials secured, other research projects could proceed with sufficient supplies.
<<<•>>>
After finishing his tasks, Long Tian paid a visit to the Dong Mansion.
“Little Tian, how thoughtful of you to come see your aunt again! Where’s Little Lu?”
Aunt Aiduo’s smile was as bright as ever.
Having birthed three children, she had filled out a bit; her figure was plump in all the right places without being bloated.
Her features were prominent, giving her the exotic look of a Western beauty.
Having ridden horses year-round, even after marriage, and standing tall, she exuded a certain foreign charm.
“Auntie, is there any trouble with your maternal family? Please tell me. Uncle is busy with other matters, so I should share some of the burden for him.”
Long Tian got straight to the point. In his mind, he couldn’t help but compare Dong Yuan to his aunt. Both mother and daughter were top-tier.
Dong Yuan was still a young wife, tender and smooth, while his aunt, though older, possessed a different kind of charm.
The seeds of incest had taken root in his mind. Once the heart was tainted, everything appeared corrupted!
Looking at his aunt’s tall, powerful, curvy physique, he felt a sudden, violent urge to pin her down and conquer her.
His Aunt looked at Long Tian with some surprise. She waved her hand to dismiss the maid, then picked up the teacup beside her.
“Did your uncle instruct you to do this, or is this your own idea?”
“Grandmother told me. You’ve taken care of me since I was a child, Aunt. Now that I can help, I won’t just stand by and watch.”
Long Tian lifted his head, studying the voluptuous woman before him.
Her tall frame gave her a commanding presence. If she were shorter, she might have looked bulky, but at her height, she was just right, like those foreign bombshells.
His Aunt rubbed the rim of her teacup, seemingly deep in thought.
“Didn’t your uncle mention anything?”
“No, he must have been too busy. Auntie, just tell me what’s going on. If it’s convenient, I can handle it within the next few days. If not, I can take care of it when I return. As long as you trust me, I’ll see it through.”
Long Tian didn’t know the specifics, but since Grandmother had mentioned it, he had to ask. It might be something that was difficult to handle.
With things spoken so plainly, the matter was now out in the open.
Though his aunt was saddened by her husband Dong Zhuo’s indifference, she felt a sense of relief that she at least had Long Tian…
A nephew who felt almost like the son she had lost.
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