Chapter 531: Gaining Momentum: Occupying the Five Counties

Three days later, the carriage of Qingxi County Magistrate Li Xun arrived at the foot of Liuyuan Mountain.

He brought no ceremonial guards, riding only in a single green-curtained carriage, accompanied by no more than twenty yamen runners and clerks; traveling light and with few attendants, he looked like an ordinary official heading to the countryside to collect grain.

Zhao Feng was still that loyal and devoted guard.

Yet, upon entering the camp gate, Zhao Liu noticed that this County Magistrate Li walked with a steady gait and had clear, bright eyes, showing not a hint of scholarly weakness.

Cheng Feng was severely injured and unable to rise to greet him, so he only had people tidy up the central tent and set out two chairs.

When Li Xun entered the tent, Cheng Feng was leaning against a soft couch, his left ribs wrapped in white cloth, his right arm hanging in front of his chest.

Da Hei was coiled behind the couch, its snake head lowered and golden eyes half-open; seeing a stranger enter, it swept its tail lightly, spinning the stool on the ground in a circle.

Li Xun's footsteps faltered, his gaze falling upon the giant snake before slowly shifting away, and he cupped his hands: "Righteous Hero Cheng, I have come presumptuously and disturbed your recovery."

Cheng Feng bowed slightly, pulling at the wound on his ribs, yet his brow did not even furrow: "Your Honor Li has come in person; I am remiss. Please, sit."

Li Xun sat in the chair and, without beating around the bush, spoke straight to the point: "The Red Lotus Sect has been a scourge in the four counties of Shiqiao, Shuanghe, Songling, and Liuyuan for many days. The Imperial Court has long heard of this, but due to the high mountains and distant roads, it has always been difficult to suppress them.

Righteous Hero Cheng, using the strength of local militia and civilian groups, has broken the branch altars in four counties in succession and beheaded the Dharma King Li Qianshan. This merit will be reported to the prefecture, and the prefecture will surely reward you."

No one mentioned the situation at Lianshan Prefecture, which had nearly been breached by the Red Lotus Sect,

but what had to be reported, had to be reported.

He paused here and looked at Cheng Feng: "It is just that since Righteous Hero Cheng holds no official position and has no military status, if this merit were reported exactly as it is, the Imperial Court would find it difficult to handle."

Cheng Feng smiled, pulling at the bloodstains on his lips: "Your Honor Li need not be troubled. Cheng does not seek an official position.

This merit may well be credited to Your Honor Li's administration—for suppressing bandits and pacifying the people with effective leadership."

Li Xun was silent for a moment and said: "You are severely injured and should not worry too much.

I will discuss these matters with your deputy first."

Cheng Feng nodded: "Wei Zhuang is building roads in Shuanghe; I have already sent someone to invite him. He will arrive tomorrow."

Li Xun did not stay long in the camp and soon moved to the temporary government office at Hou Shan to rest.

Cheng Feng had Zhao Liu personally lead twenty men to stand guard and ordered the captives outside the camp to be watched even more strictly, ensuring not the slightest mistake occurred.

At noon the next day, Wei Zhuang arrived.

He was covered in dust, with mud still clinging to his trouser legs, clearly having rushed over directly from the Shuanghe construction site.

The first thing he did upon entering the camp was not to see Li Xun, but to go to Cheng Feng's tent first.

Seeing that although Cheng Feng's complexion was pale, his spirit was still acceptable, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you badly hurt?" Wei Zhuang asked.

"I won't die," Cheng Feng said. "Li Xun is waiting. You go see him; do you know what to talk about?"

Wei Zhuang nodded: "Before coming, I had people check all the granaries, roads, and household registers of the five counties.

If he wants merit, we can give him plenty.

What we want is military power, road rights, and trade routes. Not one can be missing."

Cheng Feng looked at him: "I find Li Xun to be a decent person who understands propriety; he is not one of those fools from the Red Lotus Sect. What should be given, he will give."

Wei Zhuang grinned: "You said before that power grows out of the barrel of a gun, and that if people are fish and meat, we are the knife and the chopping board. We fought for all four counties; does he still want to pluck the peaches?"

For the next half day, Wei Zhuang and Li Xun held a secret talk in a side tent; apart from the two clerks recording the documents, no one else was present.

What was discussed, no one dared to ask.

It was only known that when Wei Zhuang came out, his steps were light, and when Li Xun left the tent, his expression was also calm as usual.

That night, Wei Zhuang went to Cheng Feng's tent again and handed over a roll of paper: "It is settled."

Cheng Feng unfolded it with one hand; it was an arrangement of the situation in the five counties. Shiqiao, Shuanghe, Songling, and Liuyuan, plus Qingxi, which had already been secretly managed by the Hong Sect,

the military power of the five counties—to be precise,

the local militia, patrol squads, and city defense forces of each county—were all to be unified under the command of the Hong Sect.

Externally, it was called the "Five-County Joint Defense Group," with Wei Zhuang serving as Chief Instructor.

Li Xun would claim the primary merit for "suppressing bandits and pacifying the people," reporting it to the prefecture to request rewards and promotion, while simultaneously allocating a batch of grain and pay to be used for the expenses of the Joint Defense Corps.

"This Li Xun is not simple," Cheng Feng said in a low voice after reading it.

"He is a sensible man," Wei Zhuang said. "He knows that once the Red Lotus Sect is destroyed, these five counties will have no standing armed force, and chaos will arise again within half a year.

Rather than letting us be scattered and acting independently in each county,

it is better to give us a title and gather us into one force. He occupies the official front, and we occupy the real power."

"What about the trade routes?" Cheng Feng asked.

"The Hong Sect's shops can enter these five counties without paying transit taxes, and thirty paces on both sides of the official roads are ceded to us, making it convenient to build tea stalls, grain warehouses, and inns," Wei Zhuang said. "But Li Xun added one clause: all shops must pay a 'Joint Defense Fee' to the public treasury every year. Calculated, it is not much; just consider it buying a legal identity."

Cheng Feng nodded: "There is nothing wrong with that. He also needs to answer to his superiors. Being able to issue official documents is better than anything else."

Half a month later, Li Xun left Qingxi with the report of victory in suppressing the bandits to report his duties at the prefecture.

Two months later, he was promoted to Assistant Prefect of Lianshan Prefecture, still concurrently managing the joint defense affairs of Qingxi and the other four counties.

And Wei Zhuang did not delay; taking advantage of the name of the Five-County Joint Defense Group, he began to conscript laborers on a large scale to build official roads between the five counties.

Unlike the government building roads, the Hong Sect provided grain and money for road construction and never conscripted the common people for free.

Once the news spread, many displaced people and idlers voluntarily came to join.

On the official roads, carts were pushed like dragons, and the sounds of stone-breaking and work chants were incessant day and night.

From Shiqiao to Shuanghe, from Shuanghe to Songling, from Songling to Liuyuan, and then to Xiaocang, five main roads were under construction simultaneously.

Stone slabs paved the center, crushed stone formed the base, side ditches were tamped down, and every ten miles a tea pavilion was set up, every twenty miles an inn, and every thirty miles a grain warehouse.

The wasteland on both sides of the road was reclaimed, and rows of new shops were erected.

The Hong Sect's caravans began to travel incessantly between the five counties, transporting grain, salt, ironware, and cloth.

Grain from Shuanghe was transported out, mountain goods from Liuyuan were traded in, and the cloth and salt from Qingxi became hard currency,

while timber from Songling was hauled cart by cart to build bridges.

Money flow and goods flow began to roll along the several new roads, and the once isolated and desolate little county became livelier day by day.

During this period, Cheng Feng spent more than half a month recovering from his injuries.

His wrist bone gradually healed and his rib wounds closed, but the claw marks on his shoulder still throbbed with pain whenever it was cloudy or rainy.

He was no longer in a rush to wield his blade, spending his days in Qingxi County practicing stance training and Qi, and occasionally riding his horse to inspect the various counties.

It could also be considered keeping Jin Ying company, striving to give her a child.

Having received the signal from Cheng Feng, Jin Ying was certainly putting in a great deal of effort.

In order to have a child.

Every late night, Jin Ying would always exercise by squatting until her legs went numb.

And then, inadvertently, she would dampen the bedsheets.

Cheng Feng remarked: "The effort cannot stop."

The injuries on Da Hei's body had also mostly healed; it had shed a few old scales and grown even blacker and brighter armor plates.

It was temporarily sent back to Hong Village by Cheng Feng.

The commoners of the five counties had never seen such a scene before. With the roads opened, business increased, grain prices stabilized, and even public security improved significantly.

Many old hunters and refugees who had fled into the mountains slowly returned to their villages, building houses along the official road and reclaiming fields to plant mulberry trees.

Cheng Feng rode his horse along the new official road from Qingxi to Shuanghe; a few half-grown children were playing in front of a newly established tea pavilion by the roadside, and seeing him riding a tall steed, they were neither afraid nor did they hide, only calling out in unison:

"Master Cheng, Master Cheng!"

Cheng Feng was slightly stunned, then immediately smiled, gently squeezed the horse's flanks, and sped past.

Once the road is repaired, the people come to life.