Chapter 358

First Volume, Chapter 358: How Can You Catch a Tiger Cub Without Entering the Tiger's Den?

Changping County has three scourges.

Drought, famine, and the Lin Family.

Qin Feng arrived in Changping County and resolved the water shortage and the Lin Family's henchmen with thunderous force.

All officials in the County Yamen, from top to bottom, were deeply grateful.

Upon learning Qin Feng intended to tackle the famine, Liu Leng was ecstatic and immediately bowed deeply to Qin Feng: "Young Master Qin is truly a Bodhisattva reincarnated! If you can resolve Changping County's grain crisis, I vow to lead every official and citizen in building an Ancestral Hall for you, to worship you for all eternity."

The attending officials all bowed in unison, shouting together: "We pledge our full support to Young Master Qin!"

As for building an Ancestral Hall—Qin Feng had zero interest in such things.

If he could permanently resolve Changping County's disasters and prevent starving refugees from fleeing elsewhere, it would ease the pressure on Beixi County—this was a win-win, not a matter of Bodhisattva-like compassion.

According to the County Assistant Magistrate, years of calamity had driven away nearly ninety percent of Changping County's population; originally eighty thousand, only seven thousand remained. More than half of those were Local Strongmen who lacked nothing to eat or drink. The rest who stayed were merely hired laborers of wealthy households, barely scraping by.

Changping County's demand for grain was, in fact, not urgent at all.

What it desperately lacked was population.

Qin Feng did not touch Changping County's treasury—those funds would remain for daily city operations. He had no intention of dipping into his own pocket, given the immense pressure on Beixi.

After much thought, Qin Feng ultimately decided to deposit all funds gained from Zhengyi in Jingdu into the Tianji Camp's accounts, and to divert one detachment of the Grain Escort bound for Beixi County to Changping County. It was essentially a transaction with himself.

Changping County is close to Jiangnan, and surrounding regions under Lin Family influence made grain procurement extremely difficult.

In contrast, Qin Feng could leverage Jingdu's Tianji Camp as a hub to procure grain from northern county cities, offering more diverse channels.

This first batch of grain was only for Changping County's emergency needs.

And Liu Leng was to spread the word.

Any starving refugee willing to settle in Changping County would receive three years' worth of rations per person, and be exempt from two years of taxation and Fu Yi.

But the condition: only starving refugees fleeing famine would be accepted; ordinary Common People would be turned away, to avoid destabilizing neighboring counties.

Even with these incentives, restoring Changping County's population in a short time was virtually impossible—reviving the county would be a long process. To permanently resolve Changping County's problems, the influence of Jiangnan Lin Family must be neutralized or eradicated.

Since he had come this far, Qin Feng decided to detour to Jiangnan.

When Qin Feng revealed this plan, as expected, everyone objected.

Wu Wei immediately voiced opposition, his stance firm: "Young Master, think carefully! Jiangnan is the Lin Family's territory—if we march in recklessly, we'll invite death. Generals Ning Hu and Xu Mo entrusted you to me—I must guarantee your safety!"

"If anything happens to you, how could I ever face the brothers of the Tianji Camp again?"

Li Xu, normally fearless, remained silent upon hearing they were going to Jiangnan—he clearly understood the danger.

Jing Qianying and Xiao Xiangxiang did not openly refuse Qin Feng, but their silence spoke volumes.

Qin Feng had anticipated this reaction, so he was unsurprised; instead, he glanced at Zhao Yuxiong: "Brother Zhao, what do you think?"

Zhao Yuxiong pondered: "The Lin Family has repeatedly tried to eliminate Brother Qin to eliminate any future threat—this shows they neither care nor mind the cost of killing you. To enter Jiangnan is like a lamb walking into a tiger's den. If your goal is merely to resolve Changping County's problems, I advise against risking yourself."

"But…"

"If it's for some other purpose, it might not be impossible."

Zhao Yuxiong spoke vaguely, yet everyone understood.

The "other purpose" was clearly war against the Lin Family.

As the saying goes: How can you catch a tiger cub without entering the tiger's den?

The Lin Family has long held Jiangnan and has no intention of expanding—securing Jiangnan alone ensures their invincibility.

With the Lin Taibao and the Imperial Consort as allies, they can use Jiangnan to suppress external threats.

Moreover, Jiangnan is a wealthy region, self-sufficient—external forces find it nearly impossible to exert real influence on the Lin Family.

To shake the Lin Family's position, you must enter Jiangnan—there is no alternative.

When they learned Qin Feng was going to Jiangnan not just to solve Changping County's problems, but specifically to confront the Lin Family, everyone fell silent.

At that moment, Jing Qianying stepped forward: "Feng'er, if you've decided to go to Jiangnan, I support you—but you must make thorough preparations. Jiangnan is entirely under Lin Family control; I fear it will be easy to enter but hard to leave."

Qin Feng chuckled, patted his chest, and grinned with absolute confidence: "Fourth Sister, do you think I'm reckless? Don't worry—I'm not just going to Jiangnan, I'm going to live right under the Lin Family's nose, leaving them utterly powerless to stop me."

If anyone else had said this, it would have been dismissed as bragging.

But coming from Qin Feng, it was an entirely different matter.

This man may seem lazy and careless, but his mind is sharper than anyone else's.

Jing Qianying firmly believed that if Qin Feng said he could do it, he could do it—how he did it was none of her concern; her role was simply to stand firmly by his side.

At this time, Beixi County's population was nearing "explosion."

But the situation was no longer as dire as before.

Following Qin Feng's orders, all starving refugees entering Beixi County were granted Beixi County Household Registration—but in times of chaos, harsh laws apply: all refugees under Beixi's protection must obey Lin Quqi's assignments. Besides consuming some manpower for city expansion, Lin Quqi had formed a three-thousand-strong Opening Wasteland Team, preparing to head to the Sugarcane Plantation.

This team would serve as the vanguard for the plantation.

Once the Sugarcane Plantation stabilized, more personnel would be sent to expand cultivation, maximizing sugar supply for the Tianji Camp.

Lin Quqi finally sighed in relief—he now understood why Qin Feng had been so bold, accepting every refugee without hesitation.

Idle mouths—even three or five hundred—were too many.

But if turned into laborers, thirty or fifty thousand were not enough!

Most astonishingly, pressure from the Di in the North was also easing—though Raiding Cavalry still ambushed occasionally, their intensity had dropped sharply.