Li Yao was slightly dazed. In fact, it was a very simple logic. However, the Xing Yao Federation was dealt with very quickly after the natural disasters. He had never seen a disaster of refugees before, so he did not think of it for a moment.
"Although there are a lot of refugees right now, and it will be more or less troublesome if we simply watch them turn into an army of ghouls, it is still within the range of Roaring Tiger Hall's ability to take care of them," Dan Fengzi said.
Dan Fengzi continued. "If we do listen to Master Righteous One and open the barn to release the food, millions of disaster victims will be attracted. By then, the food will still be insufficient, and countless disaster victims will still starve to death. When there are more corpses and more people, the possibility of a plague will be dozens of times higher. More people will die miserably outside of Roaring Tiger City, and their wronged souls will never disperse.
As a result, the army made of tens of thousands of ghosts would be upgraded into an army of hundreds of thousands or even millions of ghosts, which would occupy Roaring Tiger City. It was possible that Roaring Tiger Hall would not be able to resist them and would be razed to the ground and annihilated.
"Elder Spiritual Vulture, tell us about it. The lives of all your family are on your shoulders. How can the father and the son of the Duan family show any respect to Master Righteous One?
"For Roaring Tiger Hall, the only correct solution is to make all the disaster victims realize that Roaring Tiger Hall does not have any food and that they will only be killed if they continue to stay here. If they want to survive, they have to go to East Peace County.
"In such a way, the disaster will be directed to East Peace County, and Roaring Tiger Hall will be safe and sound."
Li Yao took a long breath in relief. "That explains a lot. People are truly unpredictable."
"Of course they are unpredictable. The most unpredictable thing in the world is a person's mind."
Dan Fengzi sighed and said, "Master Righteous One asked Roaring Tiger Hall to release the food. Was it because he wanted to reduce the pressure on East Peace County at the cost of Roaring Tiger Hall so that the disaster victims wandering around East Peace County would be attracted to the West River State and Roaring Tiger City so that Mother White Lotus would not be able to summon enough ghouls so that she could completely annihilate the White Lotus Cult.
Hehe, Daoist Righteous One is bullying Duan Yuanwu because he has just become a Yuanying and lacks experience in the world of cultivation. Little does he know that his father, Duan Tiande, is an old ginger who has been in the world of cultivation for hundreds of years. How could he be so easily fooled?
Just wait and see, Duan Tiande is definitely hiding somewhere. If Reverend Righteous One really dares to force his way in, the Duan father and son will definitely bite off two pieces of flesh from his body even if it means death! "
Li Yao was rather shocked. Pondering for a moment, he frowned and said, "That's not right. Since the major sects, including the Purple Pole Sword Sect, have delivered a large batch of food that will arrive in a couple of days, then Roaring Tiger Hall will be able to survive the crisis with only one or two days of food. Wouldn't it be a win-win situation? Why are we at loggerheads?"
"Hehe, hehehehe!"
Dan Fengzi chuckled awkwardly. Instead of answering Li Yao's question, he changed the topic awkwardly. "Even if Roaring Tiger Hall does have enough food to feed the millions of disaster victims for ten days to half a month, it is impossible for them to provide any grain."
Li Yao asked, "Why is that?"
"It's a simple reason."
Dan Fengzi counted with his fingers and said, "The flood and the febrile typhoon this spring have corrupted the fertile land in the southeast. Then, when there is a shortage of food in the autumn, the Cultivators will certainly be short of food.
"Not only will the spiritual rice and wheat that the Cultivators eat every day be seriously short of food, when the spiritual rice and wheat stored by the major sects run out and the Cultivators have to feed themselves with regular rice and wheat, their demand for food will multiply.
"By then, the price of food will certainly soar. It may even be five or ten times higher than right now.
"Whoever has a lot of food will have the resources and capability.
"If they offer a basket of food to the disaster victims right now, they will be reducing ten percent of their capability when there is a shortage of food in the autumn. Who would be willing to do such a stupid thing?
"After the natural disaster, Roaring Tiger Hall will certainly need to expand its territory. Weapons and sabers will be necessary. The food that we store will be exchanged for war resources. How can we waste it on the disaster victims?"
"Weapons and sabers?"
The more Li Yao listened, the more curious he was. "Weapons and sabers? What kind of war?"
"After every natural disaster, the Cultivators in the central plateaus will reorganize the situation and wage wars among the major sects."
"The central plateaus are different from the Southland of Sorcerers. The land is sparse, and the population is dense. The farmlands, plantations of the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, forests, and forests where the animals are raised, are all crowded together in the first place. Even a needle cannot penetrate through them, but they are within reach. Every now and then, there will be friction.
Originally, in the Land, there were restrictions and banners of the various large sects. Thus, they were able to coexist peacefully and mind their own business. However, after a flood or a febrile typhoon, most of the restrictions were destroyed, and all of the banners disappeared. Who could prove where exactly the boundaries of each sect's sphere of influence were?
"Everybody wants more. Isn't it natural for them to fight for a territory of one square kilometer?"
"Okay."
Li Yao took a long breath. He recalled the uncanny stories he had heard when he was inspecting the Sorcerers' River. Two sects of Jin Dan had been killed in a fight over a pile of feces.
"If it were just the friction of territories, it would not have been a big deal."
Dan Fengzi added with a smile, "What's even more chaotic is that a certain sect's headquarters happens to be hit by a natural disaster and completely destroyed. All of the experts in the sect perish, and they no longer have the strength to protect their original territory.
"Some unlucky sects were even uprooted by the natural disaster. Most of the disciples were killed, and a large area of farmlands and forests that were unowned was left.
Elder Spiritual Vulture, do you think it is worth it to fight for such a large area of unowned land? "
Li Yao nodded and squeezed two words out of his teeth, "Yes."
"Therefore, after every natural disaster, it is the best opportunity for the Cultivation sects to show their expertise and swallow other sects," Dan Fengzi said with a smile.
"For the magnates such as Roaring Tiger Hall, it doesn't matter whether the weather is favorable or the natural disasters are frequent. After weighing the two, it may be better for the natural disasters to break out.
"Elder Spiritual Vulture, think about it. Roaring Tiger Hall owns half of the fertile farmlands in the West River State in the first place. They have also established a lot of fortresses, settlements, and farms in the nearby provinces.
"If the weather is favorable, they will have the most food. Naturally, it will be a good thing.
In the event of a natural disaster, Roaring Tiger Hall was the most powerful sect within a thousand square kilometers, so it was natural that its ability to resist the disaster would be the best. While other small and medium-sized sects were already on the brink of death, Roaring Tiger Hall only suffered superficial wounds.
"As long as they survived the natural disaster, Roaring Tiger Hall will naturally be able to take the opportunity to swallow the territories and resources of the nearby sects. Isn't it a more cost-effective deal than harvesting food when the weather is favorable?
Otherwise, how could the Roaring Tiger Hall have developed to what it was today in only a hundred years? It was impossible to raise ten Core Formation Stage Cultivators and two Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators just by farming.
"To occupy the docks and territories, a lot of resources will be consumed. As the saying goes, before the army is mobilized, the food must be mobilized first.
"Considering the scale of the natural disaster this time, a lot of sects must have been significantly weakened or even completely collapsed. It is the best time for Roaring Tiger Hall to carry out its ambitions. Why would it sacrifice the precious war resources for the disaster victims?"
"That explains a lot."
Li Yao had a lot of complicated feelings. "Roaring Tiger Hall is very ambitious. That explains a lot."
"Even if they are not ambitious and only want to secure their capital, they won't offer any food," Dan Fangzi said with a smile.
Dan Fengzi smiled. "That's a trade-off. If Roaring Tiger Hall does provide a lot of food to the disaster victims and eat up their own granaries, they will be coveted by other sects nearby who have abundant resources even if they can survive the scourge of the army of ghouls.
"In this world, even if one does not intend to hurt the tiger, the tiger will hurt one's heart. If one does not eat the tiger, the tiger will eat the tiger. How can Roaring Tiger Hall put itself on the chopping board and be at the mercy of others?
"It has nothing to do with the temperament of the Duans but concerns the lives of the tens of thousands of disciples of Roaring Tiger Hall and the hundreds of thousands of servants, guests, and tenants that depend on them. Even if Master Bitter Cicada is the leader of Roaring Tiger Hall, can he trade the lives of the hundreds of thousands of people in Roaring Tiger City for the slim chance of survival of the millions of disaster victims outside?"
His words were like a blow to the head. Li Yao felt that his head was humming.
He raised his head and looked at Master Bitter Cicada, only to discover that Master Bitter Cicada was still soothing the undead in the gloomy clouds far away.
He closed his eyes and mumbled something to himself, not even looking at the confrontation between Qi Zhongdao and Duan Yuanwu.
Was the monk unwilling to watch it, unable to bear it, or scared to watch it?
If the monk had the choice, would he have attacked Roaring Tiger City and opened the food warehouse by force?
"It seems that I really cannot sell my face."
Pondering for a long time, Li Yao shook his head with a bitter smile.
"Of course not. Not even if the emperor comes, not even if all the deities and devils come together. Not even if all the threats and temptations come together," Dan Fangzi said firmly.
Then, he put on a weird smile. "Besides, Master Righteous One does not have that much face in the first place. His face has been slapped brutally."
"What do you mean?"
Li Yao was greatly confused. "Who is bold enough to slap the leader of the Great Qian Cultivators?"
"Of course, it was you, Elder Spiritual Vulture."
Dan Fangzi looked at Li Yao solemnly. "Have you forgotten how you and Junior Brother Yan echoed each other in the Dragon Spring Meeting three months ago and stomped Master Righteous One's face into the mud? Just think about it carefully."
Li Yao: "…"
"The gap between the best in the world and the second in the world is huge."
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