Xing Honglang and her group departed from Gaojia Village, journeyed eastward, passed Heyang County, stealthily crossed the Yellow River at an illegal crossing point, and entered Shanxi Province. Continuing their rapid march eastward, they soon arrived at Pingyang Prefecture.
Pingyang Prefecture, present-day Linfen County, administered six departnts and twenty-eight counties. The prefecture connected with Shangdang to the east, bordered the Yellow River to the west, linked with Bian and Luo to the south, and was shielded by Jinyang to the north.
It was a land frequently ravaged by war.
Pingyang Prefecture was bustling with nurous rchants and travelers. Though it couldn’t compare to Xi’an Prefecture, it was still an excellent place to sell goods.
Arriving in this place, Xing Honglang naturally intended a big operation. The high-quality goods sourced from Gaojia Village were quickly brought out for vigorous selling. In no ti, all the goods were sold out, and her pockets were once again filled with gold, silver, and copper coins.
This ant it was ti to return to Gaojia Village to replenish their stock.
Leading her thirty to forty subordinates, Xing Honglang left Pingyang Prefecture, planning to return to Gaojia Village. After crossing the Yellow River back into Shaanxi and traversing Heyang County, they encountered several commoners fleeing in disarray along the mountain path leading to a small village.
So were shouting as they ran, “Run! Bandits are coming! So many bandits! Hurry!”
Villagers imdiately retreated into their hos and bolted their doors.
The village fell silent in an instant, leaving only Xing Honglang and her thirty to forty salt smugglers standing there.
Xing Honglang muttered, “Great. Now we’re conspicuous targets.”
Before her self-mockery was complete, hundreds of bandit troops surged out thunderously ahead. Their chaotic equipnt clearly marked them as hastily assembled rioters. At their forefront was a large, imposing man with coarse features radiating viciousness.
This burly man instantly spotted the conspicuous group led by Xing Honglang.
A woman on horseback, followed by thirty to forty reasonably well-dressed n—clearly people of so ans.
The big man grinned widely, “Brothers! Charge! This haul should net us a big prize.”
Xing Honglang cursed, “Damn it! How dare you think about robbing your granny?”
A subordinate sweated, “Boss, that’s the wrong gender!”
Xing Honglang shot him a furious glare.
The salt smugglers drew their waist knives with sharp, synchronized sounds.
Xing Honglang also drew her own waist knife, laughing loudly, “Your granny has road north and south for years! This is the first ti I’ve t soone who charges straight to robbery without even a word of greeting! None in the righteous brotherhood these days are real n! All a damn bunch of unruly bandits! Brothers! Charge for your granny!”
The salt smugglers roared as one and charged with knives raised.
A chaotic clash ensued between the two sides.
The combat effectiveness of professional salt smugglers was incomparable to that of a hastily assembled rabble. Despite being outnumbered, Xing Honglang’s group quickly gained the upper hand. In a short ti, they battered the bandit troops into a humiliated, mud-streaked retreat.
“Hmph! Trash.” Xing Honglang thrust a dismissive gesture at the fleeing bandit army’s back, only to suddenly notice her right sleeve was entirely soaked crimson. Blood dripped down steadily, pattering to the ground.
Huh? She was wounded? When did that happen?
…
In the first month of Chongzhen Year One.
The population of Gaojia Village had once again increased significantly.
More and more refugees were arriving at Gaojia Village seeking food.
Liang Shixian, the magistrate of Chengcheng County, of course knew about this, but he did nothing to stop it.
Back when Li Daoxuan had promised him relief grain, Thirty-Two and Magistrate Liang Shixian’s steward had held detailed talks concerning disaster relief asures. When discussing establishing congee distribution points in various locations, it had been agreed that Gaojia Village would host one such point.
Liang Shixian was desperate to aid the people and certainly wouldn’t stop such a charitable act.
Therefore, when nurous refugees spread news in the county town that Lord Li of Gaojia Village distributed more congee than the county and could actually fill stomachs, Liang Shixian heard this without anger; instead, he felt greatly encouraged.
Having struggled with the refugee crisis over the past months, Liang Shixian was weary to the bone. Now that they voluntarily went to Gaojia Village for food, it could save him so trouble—why not welco it?
Under such circumstances, Gaojia Village’s population inevitably grew.
Especially the Short-term Workers Village, whose numbers swelled dramatically.
Li Daoxuan continuously placed plastic houses.
Soon, the area southwest near the bamboo grove ran out of space. Li Daoxuan had to place another cluster of houses along the official road to the southwest. In no ti, that area too beca overcrowded…
Before anyone realized, “satellite villages” had ford around Gaojia Fortress.
The original Gaojia Village, with its 42 villagers, had transford into a large town of over a thousand people.
Unconsciously, Li Daoxuan’s viewing scope expanded significantly. The “Zhuangjia Village” where Zhuang Guangdao initiated his rebellion now appeared on the box’s surface, along with unfamiliar nas like Zhangjia Village and Li Family Village.
With more people ca a greater need for job positions.
This proved troubleso.
Li Daoxuan lacked enough job positions to offer them. After much thought, only one solution erged: “Begin road construction! All surplus labor must work on road construction.”
Centered around Gaojia Village, cent roads began extending toward nearby villages. Zhengjia Village was the starting point. The cent road toward Wangjia Village was nearly ready for travel, while Zhuangjia Village, Zhangjia Village, Li Family Village, and others simultaneously began roadwork.
Construction sites buzzed with activity across a ten-li radius around Gaojia Village.
At this mont, Li Daoxuan understood why the road near his apartnt underwent constant repairs—laborers needed work.
As cent demand rose, Li Daoxuan stopped taking construction site supplies. Instead, he bought a large bag of cent himself, while villagers sourced river sand independently.
Whenever possible, villagers handled tasks themselves—this strategy also created more job positions.
Increased territory ant more blind spots in Li Daoxuan’s view. He usually kept his perspective fixed above Gaojia Fortress, occasionally inspecting other areas or triggering rainfall on farmlands when needed. Beyond these monts, he preferred watching Gaojia Village.
When incidents occurred beyond his sight, he simply couldn’t be everywhere.
Sotis he sighed: even deities couldn’t protect every life on earth, let alone a re mortal like himself.
This underscored the growing importance of the militia.
Cheng Xu’s militia now exceeded one hundred mbers.
The sixty new recruits all ca from the Short-term Workers Village.
Able-bodied youths who spent considerable ti in Gaojia Village and proved trustworthy would earn Cheng Xu’s recruitnt offer. Once enlisted, militia mbers stopped manual labor—they enjoyed better als and generous pay.
Yet… daily training was arduous, with most civilians incapable of enduring it. After drills, they reported to the Saint Lady, who taught them principles of conduct while they recited one hundred tis: “You are children of the common folk—you mustn’t take even a needle or thread from them.”
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