Chapter 79 Reality is Harsh
The earthquake in Mengcheng, though not to the point of devastation, has left the city in a rather dramatic state. The Mengcheng government is turning a blind eye to the situation and ignoring the plight of the displaced people. When all efforts are in vain, they have no choice but to turn to the city lord's mansion.
As the city lord, Yang Chong has temporarily settled the people, but how to deal with them is a difficult problem.
However, there's no time to rush things now; we can only take it one step at a time.
Furthermore, with the earth turning upside down, there were more or less casualties among the people. In addition, as the weather gets warmer, in order to prevent the spread of disease, Li Jue, Lin Zheng and others are currently busy with disinfection and reconstruction work using lime.
Li Jue was so busy he barely had time to breathe, and Lin Zhaozhao wasn't idle either. Before, when they were traveling, Li Jue was always by her side, so she hadn't had a chance to enter her space. Now that Li Jue was busy, she took the opportunity to enter her space.
Upon entering the space, a series of system notifications followed.
[Ding! Congratulations on obtaining a beginner-level mutated yellow ox.]
[Ding! Congratulations on obtaining a beginner-level goat mutant.]
[Ding! Congratulations on obtaining a beginner-level wild boar mutant.]
[Ding! Congratulations on obtaining a high-grade cherry mutant.]
......
After reviewing all the messages, Lin Zhaozhao began placing the fruit on the shelves and feeding it to her supernatural abilities. When she reached the wooden shed, she was truly astonished.
In just a few months of neglect, the cows, sheep, and pigs with calves all gave birth. The cows and sheep were fine, with only one or two calves per litter at most, but the piglets were in litters of seven, eight, nine, or even ten. Watching the little animals grunting and suckling at their milk, and seeing the icons reflected above, Lin Zhaozhao hurriedly fed the mothers cherries and strawberries.
After finishing her work, Lin Zhaozhao felt something was missing. Looking around, she noticed that Meimei's belly had become rounder. At first, she thought it was because Meimei had gained weight, until she saw the burly cow following behind Meimei.
Lin Zhaozhao:...
It feels like my own homegrown cabbage has been eaten by a pig.
It was still in their own vegetable garden.
Ugh, I want to hit someone.
The two looked at each other, seemingly afraid of upsetting her. Unlike before, Meimei was not arrogant and unrestrained, but instead tried to please her, rubbing against her with her horns. Lin Zhaozhao was both angry and furious, but she couldn't bear it anymore and kept hitting her. In the end, she couldn't help but feed her a lot of superpowers.
After disinfection was completed, Mengcheng officially entered the reconstruction phase. The people actively participated, working day and night. Just when things were developing in a positive direction, bad news came.
In the dead of night, the night watchman's gong abruptly stopped, followed by screams and wailing.
The man, covered in blood, knocked on the gates of the city lord's mansion after being pounded on so many times that no one paid any attention. In despair, he knocked on the gates of the city lord's mansion.
Soon someone came out from inside, and the injured man quickly explained that there were bandits roaming the coastal fishing villages, burning, looting, and committing all sorts of evil deeds.
After settling the people in, the news quickly reached Yang Chong's ears, and he soon dispatched Li Jue to eliminate the bandits.
Without delay, Li Jue only managed to give Lin Zhaozhao a brief explanation before rushing off.
As dawn broke, Li Jue focused on surveying the terrain, his mind racing with thoughts of how to accomplish great things with minimal cost. Suddenly, he spotted a familiar figure. At first glance, it was alright, but upon closer inspection, Li Jue was stunned. "When did you get here?"
"Last night." Lin Zhaozhao smiled gently, but Li Jue, who was both angry and anxious, grabbed her hand. The man's hand was rough, but Lin Zhaozhao's smile became even brighter, and her anger instantly dissipated. Li Jue swallowed his anger.
"Have you told your parents?"
"I already said so," Lin Zhaozhao replied, pushing Li Jue forward. "Alright, stop nagging. The important thing is to get to the point now."
The investigation, which started with one person, now involved two. They walked and talked, occasionally asking the villagers about the bandits. After a round of questioning, they found almost no usable information. Thinking of the man who caused trouble during the rescue that day, Lin Zhaozhao instantly understood.
The bandits must have reached a tacit agreement with the government. This uprising was likely orchestrated by someone to consolidate the local power, both for the benefit of the people of Mengcheng and the city lord's mansion.
What Yang Chong wanted was to take advantage of this opportunity to smoothly repel external aggression, and once he achieved his goal, he would soar to great heights.
For five consecutive days, the fishing village remained silent. The soldiers who had come had gone from being full of energy to being listless and dejected, with no motivation whatsoever. Li Jue lost his temper because of this.
"Strike in the middle of the night and catch them off guard."
"Let's see how we make them suffer this time. If they want to control Mengcheng, they'll have to see if the local bullies will agree."
"A minor issue."
Late at night, the sea breeze was blowing, and the darkness made the sea surface appear as black as the gaping maw of a ferocious beast, inspiring fear. Li Jue and his group slept in disarray.
They were completely unaware of the faint noises coming from afar, and even started snoring loudly.
In this situation, the bandits laughed out loud. Their samurai swords gleamed coldly in the darkness. With their ferocious laughter, they were determined to win and pressed forward without hesitation.
However, in just a few seconds, the two poles reversed.
The soldiers, who had just been sleeping like logs, were now full of energy. Their swords clashed, sparks flew, and the bandits were forced to retreat in defeat.
Just as defeat was imminent, the bandit drew his katana and lunged straight at her abdomen. Lin Zhaozhao, standing in the shadows, swiftly used her supernatural abilities to block the katana.
You think you can get away with committing such an unforgivable act by committing seppuku? Don't even think about it.
The bandit fell face-first into the mud, his samurai sword flying far away. The soldiers acted swiftly and captured him alive.
The battle on this side proceeded as expected, while on the other side, they were waiting to capture their prey.
Multiple nets were suspended high in the sky, each containing two or three people. Their crowing sounds filled the air. After they had played around enough, the nets fell down, and the captured bandits were bound hand and foot.
"My sister-in-law is really capable; she's no wonder she can tame a general."
"Stop joking around, keep a close eye on them, don't let these bandits commit seppuku, they might be of great use later."
"yes."
The soldiers returned with loud voices, laden with spoils.
After settling Lin Zhaozhao in, Li Jue went to the city lord's mansion to report back.
"My subordinates have fulfilled their duty and captured all the bandits in the fishing villages they visited."
"Capture them alive? Why?" Yang Yuan asked, puzzled. Li Jue explained, "The bandits are wicked and do all sorts of evil. It's better to make use of them than to kill them on the spot. Mengcheng is currently facing many difficulties. After reconstruction, the problem will be food and clothing. To have food and clothing, we need land. Mengcheng has a lot of land, but most of it is barren mountains. Barren mountains need to be cultivated."
"Take him away for interrogation first, and try to find something to hold up," Yang Chong decided decisively. Li Jue quickly took the man away.
"Yang Yu, what do you think?"
"If it can be managed properly, Mengcheng will not be underestimated in the future."
"So it is."
The captured bandits were thrown into the barren mountains for reclamation. They worked for ten hours a day, often going hungry and cold. If they slacked off, they would be beaten. Unable to bear it any longer, the bandits wept bitterly, suffering unspeakable misery.
Even so, the heavy work still had to continue.
When this news reached the ears of the other bandits, they could not bear the humiliation and went to the prefectural government office. However, the negotiations failed and they ended up fighting amongst themselves.
Yang Chong reaped the benefits of others' misfortunes, recruiting bandits and impersonating both the prefect and the bandits to plunder money and treasures. At this point, the bandits and the prefectural government were completely at odds.
This was excellent news for Yang Chong. Previously, the three powers were in a state of apparent balance, but in reality, the prefect held absolute power, and he was constrained at every turn. Now that the two powers had broken apart, it was only a matter of time before they were defeated one by one.
On the Spring Equinox, Li Xiujuan celebrated her birthday. Because Mengcheng was still under renovation, the celebration was not grand. Instead, she invited familiar relatives to a meal, which was very lively. Ping An became the darling of the group, laughing and babbling incessantly.
Just as the banquet was about to begin, Yang Chong arrived. Li Jue quickly went to greet him and led him inside. A short while later, Yang Yuan arrived, took her hand, and with a few glances exchanged, Lin Zhaozhao understood.
Soon, she met Yang Chong, who was the man who could turn the world upside down in the original novel. He was approachable and seemed very kind. Lin Zhaozhao bowed and greeted him, behaving like a timid and shy woman.
Yang Chong did not expose her, but instead brought up the old matter again, starting with Yang Yuan, and then pointed out that the strategies and plans he had recently used were all her doing.
Lin Zhaozhao remained calm under pressure. When Yang Chong extended an olive branch, she glanced at Yang Yuan.
Yang Chong chuckled, “In Mengcheng, the capable reside there, regardless of gender.”
"Is the city lord's statement true?" Lin Zhaozhao was thrilled, showing none of the timidity she had felt upon first meeting him.
"A gentleman keeps his word." The two reached a tacit understanding, and Lin Zhaozhao was recruited to the city lord's mansion.
The following day, the city lord's mansion posted a notice recruiting talents of all kinds within the city, regardless of gender.
The notice sparked a great deal of discussion among the people, and when it reached the prefect, it drew ridicule from many.
However, after learning about the various benefits of entering the city lord's mansion, people flocked to sign up.
Although many people were eliminated, quite a few knowledgeable people remained. They were divided into several groups based on their abilities, and Lin Zhaozhao was assigned to manage the granary.
Mengcheng has a small land area and a large population, but it has the advantage of a suitable temperature and fertile land. Even so, the grain yield is still not high. Therefore, after understanding the situation, Lin Zhaozhao tackled the problem one by one.
The low grain yield was due to seed problems, but the soldiers themselves also had issues.
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