Chapter 1971: The Military Disaster Looming Close at Hand

Lady Wang let out an "oh": "No wonder everywhere is bustling with activity and fervor."

Fan Shuang added: "I only found out from checking the accounts these past few days that the original county magistrate and gentry of Miancheng were all executed by the Black Armor Army, and their properties were taken out for sale. The prices aren't high, but the government wants to take shares, requiring annual dividends, and there are additional conditions like immediate commencement of operations, not allowing hoarding or leaving idle. For example, the tin mine in the back mountain: the new mine owner who bought it must immediately hire workers to mine, and must supply two thousand jin of roughly refined tin ore to the Yangshan Merchant Guild every month. I checked, and before the change of ownership, this mine shaft only produced eight hundred jin per month. The new mine owner faces great pressure, so they've hired many extra workers, and recently the mine has been working overtime."

"When I went to the mine to audit the accounts, I found that a small village had sprung up at the foot of the mountain, specifically for mining-related business, and there are quite a few people there."

Lady Wang wondered: "What is this for? Why does Yangshan need to collect so much ore?"

"The Yangshan Merchant Guild and the Dragon God Army are both He Xiao's, so they fight wars while also doing business, right?" Fan Shuang has been thinking hard these past few days, "But attacking cities and seizing territory on the front lines is precisely when money is spent most fiercely, yet the rear is still so lavishly spending. I don't even know how many mountains of gold and silver He Xiong has in his possession to dare spend money so ruthlessly."

Of course, the government and Yangshan also encourage private merchants and gentry to purchase ownerless assets, especially large assets, to employ more people and start more projects, after all, the business of Shan Jin cannot be entirely monopolized by Yangshan alone, and Long Shen doesn't have that much money to support everyone.

Lady Wang casually inquired about wages and exclaimed: "So low?"

Not exaggerating, hiring a long-term worker in Tian Shui City costs enough to hire four laborers here.

The labor in Shan Jin is truly cheap beyond imagination.

"Not exaggerating, these people in the past could consider themselves lucky just to have a meal, so this wage is already quite generous in Miancheng. Looking at the accounts here, wages are settled every three or five days, with no arrears, very straightforward, so there are plenty of people willing to work!" Fan Shuang laughed, "The Shan Jin Plain is different from the former Yao State; if you give someone wages enough to support themselves, they can work steadily; if it's enough to support their wife and children, they can work desperately."

Fan's father interjected: "These people are earning money, and they will eventually spend it, so the market goods in Miancheng have also become lively, just as we see now."

Where there is demand, there is trade; where there is trade, there is circulation. With both supply and demand strong, the city gains vitality.

"He Xiao once spoke several times at the Yuanxiang Assembly, saying the turmoil in Shan Jin stems from poverty, and poverty breeds a hundred evils. As long as the common people have a livelihood and those with ability have a way out, people's hearts will naturally be at peace, and chaos will naturally resolve half. At the time, some said he was just talking empty principles, but it's actually a stubborn illness hard to eradicate." Fan Shuang clapped in admiration, "I never expected that He Xiao not only found the root of the problem but also wanted to cure it—truly extraordinary."

The premise of living in peace and contentment is that people can earn money; the premise of peace in all directions is that people hold hope. Now He Xiao has provided civilians with the opportunity to work hard and earn money, to consolidate the hard-won rear base of the Black Armor Army.

Simply put, as long as the common people can eat their fill and have a chance to earn money in the future, who would be willing to risk their heads to rebel?

"If he isn't said to be the incarnation of the Dragon God, then naturally he isn't human." Lady Wang didn't understand, "To deploy so many major projects, even mountains of gold and silver wouldn't be enough—where does he get so much money?"

"I don't know either." Fan Shuang shrugged, "But I saw in the account books that several large commodity transactions were directly conducted using Xuanjing."

Filthy rich.

Xuanjing is also hard currency, usable as money, but the denomination is too large for ordinary businesses to make change. For example, a one-jin-weight of medium yellow Xuanjing is currently worth about twenty thousand taels of silver, enough to buy at least thirty-five thousand dan of grain.

"Also, when the Black Armor Army initially took Miancheng, the county magistrate and several wealthy households were ransacked and beheaded, accused of wrongdoing and exploiting the people. A lot of money was confiscated, entered into the public accounts, and even road repair funds came from here."

As we spoke of this, Fan's father's face grew somewhat grim: "I received news at the office that the grain shipments coming to Miancheng from the west have been intercepted twice by Guo Bai Yu. This person is truly a persistent evil, and against the Dragon God's territory, he's becoming increasingly arrogant. Looking at the intelligence received by the office, in just half a month, Guo's forces have grown significantly, with troops coming from other places specifically to join him."

"When will the Black Armor Army deal with them?" Lady Wang interjected, "Isn't the Black Armor Army specifically for fighting bad people? Isn't your lifesaver, that friend of yours surnamed Tu, part of the Black Armor Army?"

Lady Wang asked three questions in a row, leaving both father and son silent.

Fan's father could only say: "Military operations are not as simple as you imagine."

Fan Shuang rubbed his head: "Tu Xiong seems not to have come with the main force."

"Ah? Just them?" Lady Wang despaired, "What use could they possibly be!"

"I've sounded him out, but he won't say." Tu Shan was staying at the guesthouse when we first met, and he said he was here on official business, "But the county magistrate treats him with great respect, and he often goes to the countryside."

Fan's father then said: "I went to Mian Township, and two squad leaders told me that Tu Dui lian has been training them, teaching them how to listen for signals, how to read hand signals and flag signals, and of course, most of all, how to kill on the battlefield, how to protect comrades, and he even said that killing enemies is like chewing tobacco—one spit, two chokes, three times and you can't quit."

"Training troops?" Fan Shuang understood, but his heart grew heavier.

Black Armor Army soldiers coming to train the local militia—this in itself is not good news, indicating the Dragon God Army won't arrive soon. To resist Guo Bai Yu, Miancheng can only rely on itself.

No errors, no omissions, one by one, inside and out, present and accounted for!

Five days later, disaster struck:

Guo Bai Yu captured Tuocheng. That place is now not far from Miancheng.

Fifteen days later, Guo Bai Yu consecutively captured a township and a county. His appetite seems to be growing ever larger, and according to the frantic influx of refugees into Miancheng, Guo's forces appear to be swelling ever more, and strange demonic beasts have even appeared on the battlefield, impossible for ordinary people to resist.

In those few defensive battles, soldiers and civilians fought with blood and desperation, but casualties were heavy and the situation was beyond recovery.

Fan's father and son couldn't understand: how could Guo Bai Yu, who was far from formidable in Yao State under Dan Ze's command, become so mighty upon arriving at the Shan Jin Plain, as if aided by gods?

Those several district and county militias also withdrew to the remaining cities, causing Miancheng's military and civilian population to surge, the atmosphere becoming one of universal vigilance, extremely tense.

Everyone understands that Guo Bai Yu will surely attack Miancheng sooner or later.

Abandon illusions, prepare for battle.

To address the people's fear and anxiety, the authorities also made efforts to mobilize everyone:

Take up arms, defend the homeland.

Externally, Miancheng is racing against time to build high city walls and dig deep moats.

Thanks to Mumushuicao, Bohuemen classmates for the rewards~~