Chapter 10 Expansion: First, occupy all the surrounding counties.
"Slurp slurp".
Ning Huai'an and the bandits and civilians from Meishan he brought with him squatted in the square of the county government office and ate noodles.
The tender and juicy beef, the smooth and chewy noodles, and the rich and fragrant broth made many people who hadn't had a full stomach in a long time feel so happy they wanted to cry.
Meat!
Beef!
Even when the world was at peace, we never had beef this good!
The people of Yunhe County actually live a life where they eat meat every day!
Ning Huai'an wolfed down the noodles and slurped up the soup.
The empty bowl was instantly filled with steaming hot pork trotter and mung bean noodles.
Ning Huai'an was slightly taken aback: Is this... the goddess's divine power?
He picked up a mouthful of mung bean powder with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. As he chewed, he thought, "No wonder the people here are so convinced that she is a goddess!"
tasty!
People of all ages from Yunhe County stood around watching the spectacle.
"I heard it came from Meishan."
"They just helped us drive back the bandits and soldiers from Tianshui County."
My husband said they were bandits.
"Wow! Mountain bandits!"
"How come there are bandits too...?"
"These days even mountain bandits have nothing to eat, why don't you come and seek refuge with our goddess?"
“My husband said that the tallest young man was their mountain bandit leader, and that he probably shot and killed several of them!”
"That's amazing?"
"Yeah, yeah, that's amazing!"
“Look, he’s already…he’s already eaten three bowls.”
"His size is indeed..."
Ning Huai'an finished his steamed rice noodles with shiitake mushrooms and shredded pork, and put down his bowl with satisfaction.
Hu Dazhu, who was squatting next to him, handed him a bowl of soy milk.
Ning Huai'an didn't stand on ceremony. He took the bowl, tilted his head back, and drank half of it in one gulp.
It's candy!
Ning Huai'an was once again glad that he had made the right decision to seek refuge with the goddess, and quickly finished the remaining half bowl of soy milk.
Hu Dazhu then started chatting with him, "Brother..."
Ning Huai'an stood up, clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute, and said, "I am Ning Huai'an."
Hu Dazhu stood up and returned the greeting. "Brother Ning, do you plan to live in Yunhe or return to Meishan from now on?"
Ning Huai'an turned to look at the second-in-command, who walked over carrying a bowl of rice noodles. "If possible, we would like to stay in Yunhe County. With so many people with us, it's inconvenient for us to travel back and forth."
Hu Dazhu nodded, "Then you should go and pay your respects to the goddess first."
Ning Huai'an and the second-in-command exchanged a glance.
The garrison in Tianshui County mobilized a large force to attack Yunhe County, but was defeated and returned home.
The people of Tianshui County, hiding in the mountains, watched as the group fled back to the county town in a sorry state, and were very happy.
They deserve it; they only bully ordinary people like us.
That woman from Yunhe County is a goddess, she's not so easy to bully!
After the defeated army passed, they hurriedly went down the mountain and headed straight for Yunhe County to catch the noodles for lunch the next day.
Led by Hu Dazhu, Ning Huai'an and the second-in-command arrived at the county government office and met the legendary goddess.
The young woman sat in the armchair, gazing calmly at them.
Her face was expressionless, and she looked cold and dangerous.
“Ning Huai’an and Fang Qin,” He Qinglan read their names, “are training with Hu Dazhu.”
Ning Huai'an: "?"
He Qinglan: "The people you brought will be assigned to work and farm in various places, and the children will be sent to academies."
Ning Huai'an: "..."
He Qinglan: "Step down."
“Goddess,” the second-in-command hurriedly asked, seeing that she was trying to send him away so quickly, “do you plan to stay in Yunhe County indefinitely?”
He Qinglan's gaze fell on his face.
The second-in-command bowed respectfully, "Your reputation will spread from the southwest to the north and east, and more and more people will flock here. As for Yunhe, I'm afraid..."
Of Yunhe County and the four surrounding counties, except for Tianshui County to the east and Baoshan County to the west, the officials, garrison troops, and wealthy households of the other three counties had long since fled.
The goddess arrived in Yunhe County, but did not take advantage of the situation to occupy Songhua County and Qingyang County, which were also unsupervised.
The second-in-command originally thought that the goddess was only temporarily staying here and would move to another place to develop in the future.
But when he arrived in Yunhe County, he found that the local people were training soldiers, building workshops, and even academies.
He couldn't quite understand it.
He Qinglan didn't even lift her eyelids. "Go find Cheng Hui."
The second-in-command was taken aback.
Ning Huai'an and the second-in-command withdrew from the hall.
The little girl, who looked to be about ten years old, looked at their faces carefully and made a gesture of "respectfully seeing them off."
Ning Huai'an looked at her with curiosity.
Qiu Tang's expression was calm.
She had become accustomed to receiving curious or envious glances from those around her.
After all, according to Master Cheng, they initially planned to choose someone to serve the goddess, but the goddess politely declined, seemingly having no intention of choosing a maid. Unexpectedly, the goddess went out late at night and brought her back.
Everyone was curious about what aspect of her that the goddess had taken a liking to.
Qiu Tang didn't know either.
But since the goddess had chosen her, she could only obey the goddess's orders.
Ning Huai'an and the second-in-command went to see Cheng Hui first.
Cheng Hui's brow furrowed slightly. "You mean..."
Ning Huai'an said, "Let's occupy this territory first, so that others won't use it as a base to attack us in the future."
Cheng Hui seemed to be deep in thought, "Currently, there are also people from other counties traveling back and forth between this county and their homes, these people..."
The second-in-command suggested, "Why don't we occupy three counties, have them move here, and allocate land for them to build houses and grow crops? This would not only make it easier for them to receive the goddess's blessings, but also make it more convenient to train troops."
He looked at Cheng Hui: You've all been building workshops and training troops, yet you haven't thought about expanding your territory?
Cheng Hui was speechless. Yunhe County was enough to accommodate these people; it was far from the point where they needed to expand their territory.
Ning Huai'an frowned, "But Yunhe County is short of supplies."
He thought for a moment, "We have no wood or iron to forge weapons, no medicine or herbs, no oxen or warhorses. If the enemy outnumbers us many times over, we will have no strength to fight."
The second-in-command smiled slightly, "I heard that the goddess bestowed upon us a military treatise and said she would teach us how to make paper in the future, but we don't even have the materials to make paper." It's possible that the goddess isn't teaching us now because she lacks paper and ink.
Cheng Hui remained silent.
People had only just solved their basic needs for food and clothing, and were only thinking about how to spread the goddess's blessings and how to drive away the villains who coveted her; they hadn't thought about much else.
After a moment, Cheng Hui said, "I'll call everyone over for a meeting tonight. You can then share what you've been telling me with the rest of the group."
The second-in-command nodded. "Okay."
Cheng Hui changed the subject, "Let's settle the people you brought first."
Ning Huai'an said, "Yes, I'll go see the injured brothers and then take the children to the academy."
With the herbs given by the goddess, all the injured were healed. Doctors and apprentices cleaned, applied medicine, and bandaged the wounds of the injured.
They were fed meat porridge.
Help them lie down and rest.
"The goddess gave us many herbs, which is enough for now," Doctor Xu said to Ning Huai'an. "The goddess also gave us seeds containing herbs, and we have already selected suitable fields to plant them."
Ning Huai'an wanted to ask, "Will the seeds sprout in this weather?" but then remembered that this goddess could bring rain, so he shut his mouth.
The second-in-command said, "We're entrusting our brothers to you."
Dr. Xu smiled and said, "Don't worry, we treat all wounded soldiers equally."
The sound of reading aloud filled the Qinglan Academy.
The first books the teachers taught us were the Book of Poetry and the Analects.
From three or four years old to fourteen or fifteen years old, regardless of gender, they all recited "To learn and at due times to practice what one has learned, is that not a pleasure?" while swaying their heads.
They had pens and bamboo slips, which they had found in the homes of officials and wealthy families who had fled the entire county during the previous ransacking of the town.
A batch was allocated to "temporary administrative staff," and after the academy was established, some more was allocated to the children.
It was Mo Jingchun who made the suggestion, saying, "The goddess gave her name to the academy, which must have been a sign of her high hopes for it."
"When we have more supplies in the future, we can open a paper mill so that the children can use paper," the second-in-command said.
The academy's dean, Qian Shiwen, nodded in agreement, "Paper is much more convenient than bamboo slips."
Ning Huai'an looked at the students in the room with great curiosity, "Your academy even accepts girls?"
Qian Shiwen's expression turned serious. "The goddess saves all living beings, regardless of region, wealth, age, or gender."
Ning Huai'an was surprised.
The second-in-command narrowed his eyes, then smiled, "Indeed, in the eyes of the goddess, there is no difference between us mortals."
The bandits and common people from Meishan settled down in Yunhe County, joining the city's guard teams, workshops, and academies.
Meanwhile, the ambitious leaders encouraged the "temporary administrative personnel" of Yunhe County to expand their territory.
The others were persuaded.
There was no other way; Yunhe County was indeed short of supplies.
There aren't many trees on the mountains surrounding the county town. If we wait for the planted saplings to grow, many years will have passed.
Why not just rob someone else?
He Qinglan didn't care about any of that.
She and the cafeteria system are working hard to unlock dishes.
Isn't shredded pork with green peppers simply green peppers, shredded pork, oil, and salt?
The system reacted angrily: "Seasonings, oh seasonings! Do you only see oil, salt, and chili powder as seasonings?!"
He Qinglan scoffed lightly, "Don't underestimate me. I know there's soy sauce, vinegar, MSG, and Sichuan peppercorns in it."
System: [...How about you consider scallions, ginger, and garlic?]
He Qinglan: [Isn't the broth for cabbage and tofu soup boiled water?]
System: [You can use stock and chicken broth.]
He Qinglan: [Why use cooking wine?]
The system is exhausted. [For the sake of delicious food!]
He Qinglan: [This braised pork...]
System: [Dear, I suggest we unlock braised eggplant first.] Braised pork belly is a bit too difficult for you!
He Qinglan: [...Why do you add starch and sugar to braised eggplant? ? ? ]
The system calmly replied: 【For the sake of delicious food, dear!】
He Qinglan: [It's okay if I don't add it, as long as it tastes good after cooking, why can't I unlock it?]
The system calmly replied: 【Because it doesn't taste good.】
He Qinglan rubbed her forehead.
He Qinglan's face was as cold as ice.
The system calmly replied: [Host, keep up the good work.]
He Qinglan rolled her eyes.
He Qinglan said decisively: "[Let's unlock the cola, fried chicken, burger, and pizza first!]"
System: [okk.]
A note from the author:
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The system unlocks dishes by referencing the game "There's a House in the Deepest Paradise".
I often release lanterns in games and wish for wealth and fame, and I also wish for novels to become wildly popular qaq
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