"Take your men, disguise yourself, and head to Tongcheng overnight. It would be best if you can capture the people from Anliang Village.
If you can't catch them, bring a few villagers who have been harmed."
Yang Guan respectfully accepted the order and left.
Ji Wan rubbed his brows and continued to look through the account books for revenue.
The main output of the entire Qingshi State is copper, iron ore and firing in the imperial kilns, but most of the people here do not grow crops, for fear that the bandits of the Beirong State will see the crops and come to rob them.
Therefore, every year's grain has to be imported from prefectures and counties close to the royal capital.
Basically all copper and iron minerals were exchanged for food.
However, the Imperial Kiln was too small to accommodate the livelihood of the entire city, so it could not make much money.
Looking at the item about food in more detail, Ji Wan frowned even deeper.
It was discovered that the entire Bluestone State had been eating the inferior, cheapest rice and soybeans for three years.
The most important mineral resources have suddenly decreased by two-thirds in the past three years.
As for the lower-class people in Qingshi State, most of them were engaged in hard work such as cutting firewood in the nearby hills and selling it.
Ji Wan thought about it and realized that there was only a small mountain near the three cities of Qingshi State.
There is not much mountain product produced.
But she has come to Qingshi State, so the minerals cannot be used only to exchange for Shenmi.
Moreover, most of the mineral resources in Donglin Kingdom are under the management of Yicheng County Magistrate, so it is impossible for the output to decrease suddenly.
Then the problem of lack of minerals must lie with the county magistrate.
If she could get rid of that damned county magistrate, she could solve the problem of Anliang Village of Beirong State invading and stealing food before the spring plowing this year.
And they actively encouraged people in the city to farm and be self-sufficient.
By then, people in the city will have corresponding income and will not be too sad.
And if I can really solve these problems, it will be beneficial to my future reputation and will not cause any harm.
The three cities of Qingshizhou are connected on a line, and Jincheng where Ji Wan is located is right in the center of the three cities.
So Yang Guan acted quickly and kidnapped two border soldiers the next day.
A local hunter was also brought along.
"Your Highness, the Tongcheng County Magistrate was not at his residence last night. I was afraid of wasting time, so I asked the people in Tongcheng about it. I found that the people seemed to know a lot about the Anliang Village.
Almost all the beggars in the city knew these two people. They were the people from Anliang Village who stayed in Tongcheng.
This is a famous hunter in Tongcheng."
As he spoke, he pointed to the bearded man wearing thick fur.
Ji Wan nodded and motioned for him to stand up and speak.
"I am honored to meet Her Royal Highness the Princess." The hunter said in a strong voice.
"Every time before spring plowing and after the ore was mined, bandits from Anliang Village would cross the Yongcang River to rob the people of Tongcheng.
Your Highness! Countless people in Tongcheng have been disturbed day and night by these thieves.
It was the inaction of County Magistrate Zhang Baojiang that led to such consequences!
Moreover, Zhang Baojiang also killed my younger sister who was less than eight years old, causing her tragic death.
Your Highness, please stand up for our innocent citizens!"
As he spoke, his mountain-like body knelt down straight.
"The Tongcheng County Magistrate is doing nothing? What stupid things did Zhang Baojiang do? Also, what's going on with your little sister?
Tell me more about it. And how long have the bandits in Anliang Village been causing trouble?
The hunter took a deep breath, and his eyes gradually turned red.
"Your Highness, my little sister was playing on the street last year when she was caught by the thieves from Anliang Village.
Later, many of them came together to torture my sister to death."
At this point, Jin Lie couldn't help but choke up.
"When I, a humble citizen, found out, I thought about going out to seek revenge on the people in Anliang Village. However, I didn't expect that the city guard discovered me. He is a brother from the same village as me. He advised me not to seek death and even reported me.
The leader of Anliang Village was Zhang Baojiang's brother.
But I was so angry that after much thought, I decided to sneak into the county magistrate's residence and assassinate Zhang Baojiang.
Unfortunately, there were countless people around Zhang Baojiang. They took me, a commoner, and wanted to kill me on the spot.
It's a shame that Zhang Baojiang wanted to throw me into jail to torture me... I was able to escape by bribing the jailer."
The more Jin Lie spoke, the lower his voice became.
He knew that escaping from prison was a taboo, and the person in front of him might be in cahoots with Zhang Baojiang.
Ji Wan's face was gloomy: "Go on."
Jin Lie is a man of blood, but unfortunately his brain is not very good.
Something like jailbreaking could have been just mentioned briefly, but they actually described it in detail.
Jin Lie felt relieved after hearing this.
“Zhang Baojiang could have clearly captured the rebellious Anliangzhai bandits, but he watched helplessly as they entered the city and plundered the people.
He also ordered the border guards not to resist!
The banditry and chaos have lasted for five years."
Five years? Ji Wan had read before that the Tongcheng County Magistrate had been in office for six years and had made few political achievements, but had been involved in many romantic scandals. It was said that he already had a new thirteenth concubine.
Ji Wan narrowed her eyes, and had already sentenced Zhang Baojiang to death in her heart.
Regardless of whether there was anything wrong with Jin Lie’s sister, Zhang Baojiang must die because he was too suitable for winning people’s hearts.
It sounds like this person is as arrogant as a local tyrant.
If she succeeded in killing him, her popularity among the people would surely soar.
"Very good, Yang Guan, reward." Ji Wan raised his chin and ordered Yang Guan to reward the hunter.
"What's your name? You don't look like you're from Donglin Country?"
Jin Lie kowtowed.
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