"What? You're saying the bandits in Zixian have already massacred three villages?" Xu Rurong slammed her hand on the table.

What is a roving bandit? It is a bandit who does not have a fixed territory and makes a living by robbery and theft!

There weren't this many bandits here before. Even if they did come, they wouldn't dare to be so arrogant as to massacre the village. Something else must have happened!

"Go check it out!"

Before long, the constables returned to report.

Actually, those things weren't hard to investigate. Xu Rurong was very concerned about the safety of Huang County and had already sent people to keep an eye on the outskirts of the county town some time ago.

One or two refugees had already arrived outside the county town, but their numbers were small enough that they went unnoticed.

But after analyzing what these refugees were saying, Xu Rurong immediately realized that something terrible was going to happen.

It seems that what Grandma Gongsun said was true, and this chaos even came earlier.

In the north, some people have already risen up in rebellion, and in a short period of time, they have even recruited a force of 10,000 men.

These bandits probably thought things would soon descend into chaos, so they came to take advantage of the confusion and loot.

"Your Excellency, what should we do with these refugees? Don't underestimate them just because there are only one or two of them now, making them easy to settle. Once things get really chaotic, there will be hundreds or even thousands of refugees."

Magistrate Chen was quite knowledgeable about these matters.

Throughout history, the most troublesome people during times of war and famine are these displaced people. Providing them with porridge would consume a lot of grain.

The county already had a shortage of grain, and the grain was obtained only through the efforts of the county magistrate; it simply wouldn't last long.

If those people are left alone, these bandits will gather and disrupt the normal lives of the people in the desolate county, and may even mingle with the bandits and become new bandits.

"What? You're saying there will be hundreds, or even thousands, of more refugees?" Xu Rurong wasn't as worried as he had imagined; instead, her eyes lit up.

County Magistrate Chen: "???"

Has the magistrate gone mad? How can he be so happy about something like this?

"Think about it, what do you need most right now?" Xu Rurong clapped her hands suddenly.

"Grain," County Magistrate Chen said instinctively.

"Wrong, what we need most right now is people! With more people, we can quickly build those houses to keep warm, and we can also use this time to reinforce the city walls of our county!"

What could be more reassuring than building high walls, stockpiling grain, and having a larger population?

“But, food…” Even Luo Yong, who was standing next to him, hesitated.

"There's no problem with the food! I've already discussed it with Brother Zhong, and he'll bring the food over! Besides, I already asked someone to buy food in the provincial capital as soon as I received the silver!"

"As long as our food supplies can last through this winter, we can overcome this crisis!"

Even Magistrate Chen fell into deep thought, wondering if this was really feasible.

Even if they successfully build those houses and city walls, there's nothing the desolate county can do if the rebels attack!

Magistrate Chen sighed. He felt that war was even more troublesome than evil spirits.

“Don’t be afraid, there are still barren mountains, aren’t there?” Xu Rurong felt a strange sense of confidence when she thought of the Mountain Goddess and those believers with abilities.

Speak of the devil, and he appears; Cui Ying happened to be bringing several women from Linjia Village with him.

She explained the situation to the villagers from Zhangjia Village who had been brought by Zhang's wife, and then asked them a question.

"Your Excellency, the magistrate of Zi County has completely ceased his duties and is simply letting things go unchecked. What do you intend to do?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Rurong immediately perked up, knowing that the crucial moment had arrived.

This question from Lady Cui was definitely asked on behalf of the Mountain Goddess, who was also testing his attitude.

Xu Rurong then explained her plans, including how to deal with all the refugees.

Cui Ying nodded, then added, "Has Magistrate Xu considered cooperating with the barren mountain?"

“The barren mountain is located in the barren county and is originally part of the barren county. If there is a crisis in the barren county, the barren mountain will definitely be in trouble as well.”

"There might be more rebels coming next. If you are willing to cooperate, Huangshan will send a certain number of believers with special abilities to protect the county government and the county town."

"But you also have to promote the Mountain Goddess and bring more believers to her, and every now and then we should lead people to the barren mountains to worship."

"Furthermore, all believers who have been blessed by the Mountain Goddess are under the jurisdiction of the Wilderness Mountain Management Office."

Grandma Gongsun and Lin Anniang had come up with this method before, but at that time the barren county had not yet encountered a crisis and did not need anyone to protect it.

With bandits causing trouble, villagers in nearby villages are likely to face a crisis, and there may be rebels coming in the future. A small county town certainly cannot be defended.

"In this remote county, we also need to set up a mountain god academy where people ranging from three years old to eighty years old can come to study. Students should not be distinguished by gender or status. Is that possible?"

"What's so difficult about that? This is how a school should be!"

“Very good. The barren mountain will also provide some material support to the Mountain God Academy and give a certain number of blessing slots. However, in return, the teachers in the academy must be people from our barren mountain.”

"Besides these, a temple to the mountain god must also be built in the barren county..." Cui Ying then listed several more regulations, explaining each one clearly.

"Deal!" Xu Rurong clapped her hands quickly, without any hesitation.

In this situation, what could be more reliable than having the Mountain Goddess as a support?

Not only can he deal with demons and evil spirits, but he can also deal with bandits and chaotic rebels. Every second he hesitates is a disrespect to the lives of these people!

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!