The Monkey King

The soft light shines on the towering palace, and groups of heavenly soldiers walk past in formation, with flags flying.

A petal fell and rippled. Several koi carps were swimming slowly in the crystal clear fish pond.

In the imperial study, an immortal family presented a memorial with both hands. Li Jing reached out to take it and handed it to the Long Case. The Jade Emperor took the memorial in his hand, turned it over and frowned slightly.

Li Jing on the side bowed slightly and looked at the Jade Emperor quietly.

Turning over the memorial in his hand, the Jade Emperor said casually: "Is that Qingxin really unfit to be used anymore?"

"I think it's better not to use it. Even if she is to be put in charge of matters related to the monkey again, it would be best to investigate everything related to her first. After all... her performance today is really bizarre. If word spreads, I’m afraid I will become a laughing stock in the three worlds.”

"Even if she becomes the butt of a joke, the one who laughs will not be the one in heaven. What does a mere messenger mean? She is first of all a disciple of Laojun and Patriarch Subhuti. Maybe there are many things we don't know. As long as she is here, there are An advantage is that even if the monster monkey doesn't buy it, Laojun and Patriarch Subhuti are supporting her. Just like today, she dared to make conditions directly with the monkey head, which shows that even if she doesn't go through me, she is sure to fulfill her promise. In this way A minister is rare, rare."

"Your Majesty is right." Li Jing bowed slightly.

After a while, the Jade Emperor raised his head slightly, and his eyes narrowed into slits. Stroking his long beard, he closed the memorial and handed it to Li Jing.

Li Jing quickly took it with both hands, holding it in his hands and looking through it carefully. He sighed softly: "Your Majesty, if you say so, those grains should be prepared for the Wuji Kingdom?"

"It's about time." The Jade Emperor nodded slightly and looked at the immortal family who sent the memorial. He said: "The Wuji Country has been in turmoil for a while now. Have you ever visited it to see if there is any external intervention?"

"What is your Majesty referring to?"

"Gods, monsters, Taoism, Buddhism."

The immortal family bowed and cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, none of the departments in our Heavenly Court have intervened. As for monsters, the Wuji Kingdom is not within the sphere of influence of the monster army. On ordinary days, every half month, the Xuntian Mansion will send people to inspect A week. We have not received any records of the direct activities of Buddhist disciples and Taoists here. This turmoil started due to the king's decree and evolved naturally."

The Jade Emperor pursed his lips and thought carefully, and said: "The rations for two million people are indeed too much, but it is not unobtainable. It is just a lot of effort. It is not very good-looking. However, since it is a natural evolution. Logically, heaven should not intervene in the coming turmoil. Natural disasters are forgivable, but they are man-made disasters, so they should have consequences to serve as a warning to the world. Such indiscriminate interference is really inappropriate. In the final analysis, a few flat peaches and a weapon were , It’s just a matter of face. It’s not a big deal. Once this food is given, it will affect a wide range of people.”

After that, the Jade Emperor let out a long sigh, closed his eyes tightly, and sat back on the dragon chair.

The fingers were placed on the edge of the dragon table and flapped rhythmically, as if they were searching for something.

After a while, Li Jing bowed and cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, do you mean...to refuse the monster monkey's request?"

The Jade Emperor waved his hand. He half-squinted his eyes and said: "He came to the Nantian Gate in person. If he refuses, how can the demon monkey be willing to let it go? Isn't this what he has been afraid of all along?"

"Then what your Majesty means is..."

The two people in the imperial study room opened their eyes slightly and looked at the Jade Emperor.

After hesitating for a moment, the Jade Emperor stretched out his finger and said, "Let's find a compromise. You can give food to me, but you can't give it to me at will."

Li Jing frowned slightly and looked at the Jade Emperor, as if he didn't understand.

Seeing this, the Jade Emperor coughed twice and said: "The rations for these two million people must be false. Even in its heyday, the Wuji Kingdom may not have had a population of two million, not to mention that it has been in turmoil for five years now?" Not to mention those who died of starvation in the war, there were so many who just fled the famine. If the monster monkey really followed the wishes of giving food rations to two million people, then it would not be helping the Wuji country to tide over the difficulties, but it would most likely be A great empire has arisen out of thin air on Nanzhan continent, endangering neighboring countries and disrupting the world. Therefore, even if we put aside the difficulty of obtaining food, this food cannot be given no matter what."

After a slight pause, the Jade Emperor continued: "To take a step back, the food falling from the sky is not in line with the way my heaven governs the world. If things go on like this, it will become a disaster. There is a famine in the Wuji Kingdom, and the heaven will give food to other places. Famine...should Heaven also take care of it? If not, who will worship Heaven and Earth in the future?"

"So, let's find a compromise plan. Food can be given, but firstly, we won't give too much, and secondly...those who don't work will not be allowed to eat. The Wuji country is located in the plains, with fertile land, many lakes, rivers, and woodlands. But first May the lucky star change the fortune of the people of the Wuji country, put some fish in the rivers and lakes, put some livestock in the green forests, and wish for a good year. In this way, all things will grow, and the food ration problem of the people of the Wuji country will be solved. It’s almost solved.”

Having said this, the Jade Emperor gently patted his hand on the dragon table and said, "What do you think, Ai Qing?"

Li Jing was stunned for a moment, then raised his hands and sighed: "Your Majesty is wise. If you do this, firstly, the heaven will not lose its dignity, and secondly, it will not violate the original way of governing the world and leave nothing to say. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"It's just that the demon monkey is still outside the Nantian Gate. I don't know if he is willing to agree..."

"Isn't there still a pure heart?" the Jade Emperor said softly.

"Pure of heart?" Li Jing suddenly looked embarrassed and laughed dryly: "Your Majesty also knows that she just..."

"Try it, just now was just now, and now is now." The Jade Emperor stroked his long beard and said: "Tell her the matter. If it really doesn't work, then find another way. After all, she is a disciple of Laojun and Patriarch Subhuti. , now that she has been registered as an immortal, it doesn’t make sense to withdraw her again.”

"No!" Li Jing bowed slightly and exited the door.

…

At this time, there is one day in the sky and one year on the earth. Although the monkey has only been in heaven for a while, it has already spent a full half a month in the mortal world.

Early the next morning after the monkey left, Roller Curtain said goodbye to Xuanzang and his entourage and returned to the capital to continue doing those fire-fighting tasks. There is no doubt that he is still exhausted.

At this moment, for him, the food promised by the monkey was the last straw.

After bidding farewell to the rolling curtain, Xuanzang packed up his luggage and headed towards the royal capital with others.

Xuanzang originally thought that a place close to the royal capital would be better, but he was wrong. The empty village like before did not appear again, but the closer to the royal capital, the more people there were and the worse the situation became. They even saw scenes of people cannibalizing people. The miserable situation could be described as hell on earth.

Years of turmoil have caused harm to this country that has penetrated into every corner.

Xuanzang preached scriptures along the way, subdued the victims, redistributed the only food, and told them that he would take them to the royal capital to get food.

Obviously, this promise works better than anything else.

Thanks to the support of the residents of the original town, Xuanzang's persuasiveness increased sharply. In just half a month, when he arrived at the royal capital, there were as many as ten thousand victims following Xuanzang.

Displaced farmers, down-and-out merchants, and even some rebels who had laid down their weapons also followed. The only thing these people had in common was that they were starved of food and clothing, and had reached the point of eating leaves to satisfy their hunger.

On the day of entering the city, Rolling Shutter and hundreds of civil and military officials came to pick him up in person. The scene was huge.

For a time, both the foreign victims and the original residents of the royal capital seemed to believe that these turbulent days were about to end. However, because the monkey's food has not yet arrived, the roller blind did another stupid thing. He squeezed out some of the already very tight military rations and distributed them to the victims as a kind of comfort. It would be okay if the food is not distributed, but if it is distributed, it will be really out of control.

The news quickly spread like wildfire, and refugees from all over the country began to flock to the capital. In just a few days, the streets and alleys of the entire capital were already crowded with victims, and the food in the Wuji State's treasury was already stretched thin. May feed their bellies.

Food is the most important thing for the people. The victims who arrived first received food, but the victims who arrived later did not. How could they be willing to do this?

For a time, the entire king was in chaos. The hungry victims began to cause trouble, and some of the victims who were originally rebels even took up arms again and began to rob other victims of the only food they had.

In desperation, Juanlian's troops had to step in to maintain order. As a result, there was another conflict, and the royal capital was filled with blood and thousands of people died.

Due to this commotion, even the only troops who originally supported the rolling curtains complained.

Faced with this mess, Roller's scalp was almost scratched, but there was nothing he could do. He could only rely on his original prestige to maintain the situation, and at the same time pray that the monkey could find food and come back soon.

In this regard, Xuanzang could only run around trying to comfort the victims.

At the same time, the monkey was still waiting quietly outside Nantianmen, completely unaware that the situation in Wuji Country had deteriorated to such an extent. After all, whether it is rolling curtains, Xuanzang, or even Canopy, they all know that the rations of the Wuji Kingdom are no more than a few flat peaches, and cannot be obtained casually from heaven. Monkeys cannot rush them, otherwise something will happen if they push them.

…

In the courtyard of Tushita Palace, Qingxin and Queer sat quietly opposite each other. Li Jing stood opposite the stone table holding the hilt of his sword, but did not sit down.

Qingxin blinked her eyes, looked down at the empty table and said, "Why do you still need me to go? You've seen it...I can't do it."

Li Jing said softly: "That monkey has a perverse personality... After all, you are his junior sister. Even if you really offend him, at least you will not use the stick casually. Besides, if it is someone else who raises this matter, he will definitely not agree. And you go , at least there is still some hope. Therefore, what His Majesty means is that the appointment of the imperial envoy remains the same." (To be continued~^~)