“Only Third Brother came back.” Yunying shook her head.
Lin Yinan was immediately puzzled. Why was it that only Yun Mo came back by himself?
Could something have happened over there?
Lin Yinan was secretly alarmed when she saw a figure quickly walk around the screen and reach the bedside.
"Mother, A-Nan, I'm back!" Yun Mo stood in front of Yun's mother and Lin Yinan.
He glanced at Lin Yinan's snow-white chest and swallowed hard.
Lin Yinan looked up and saw that she had gotten quite tanned after going out; the exposed skin on her face, neck, and arms had turned bronze.
Mica stared intently at him, "Why are you so much darker?"
"The sea breeze over there is strong." Yun Mo smiled, revealing a set of bright white teeth.
After the child finished eating, Lin Yinan buttoned up her clothes, and Yunmu quickly took the child and patted her back to help her burp.
Seeing that the child had grown up a lot and looked like a little pink dumpling, Yun Mo reached out to touch her face, but Lin Yinan quickly grabbed his hand.
"You haven't washed your hands, you can't touch her."
Yun Mo awkwardly withdrew his hand.
"Yunying said you came back alone?" Lin Yinan asked.
When it came to business, Yun Mo pulled her to her feet and said, "Come on, let's go to the council hall."
When the two entered the council hall, they saw Yunye, Yunyi, the clan chief, Lin Yiheng, Lin Yuanzhi, Lin Tiezhuang, Pan Qingfeng, Liang Wen and other key figures from Longtan County, but not the village chief or several clan elders.
After taking their seats, Yun Mo went straight to the point, saying, "We have discovered an iron mine in the mountains of Xihe County."
His words were like a bombshell, revealing that Xihe County actually had an iron mine.
"Are the Japanese pirates already mining it?" Lin Yinan asked.
Yun Mo nodded, "That's right. They've already mined 40% of this huge iron mine. And according to our investigation, the Yu family of Nanzhou Prefecture is colluding with Japanese pirates to mine this iron mine together."
"How is the situation in Xihe County now?" Yunye frowned, tapping his hand lightly on the table.
Yun Mo said, "Currently, the entire Xihe County is under our control. We have destroyed two ships used by the Japanese pirates to escape, and captured all the Japanese pirates and the people sent by the Yu family. None of them have escaped."
"More than 5,000 people were rescued."
Liang Wen exclaimed in shock, "Wasn't Xihe County massacred?"
"I suspect the massacre was just an excuse; the real reason was that they were captured by Japanese pirates and forced to mine," Lin Yinan said calmly.
Faced with the all-powerful nobles and the formidable Japanese pirates, ordinary people were as insignificant as ants.
"The rescued people were severely ravaged, and many are sick. Yun Wu is too busy there, so I'm bringing Doctor Lü and some medicinal herbs with me when I come back," Yun Mo said to Lin Yiheng.
"Now that the iron ore is in our hands, will the Yu family find out?"
Yunye worried that if the aristocratic families united, they would be unable to contend with them.
Yun Mo said, "Second Brother, don't worry. I've questioned them carefully. The forged ironware is transported away every six months. A batch was just transported away in June. The mine manager said that the next batch won't be available until before the end of the year, and they will bring some good slaves with them."
While taking notes, Lin Tiezhuang asked, "Do we need to transport grain over now?"
"No need. They usually send a batch of grain every three months. There are still two months left. We can disguise ourselves as overseas Chinese to receive the grain. There shouldn't be any problem," Yun Mo said.
Lin Yinan's mind raced; this was a golden opportunity for them to grow and expand.
"Let the people of Xihe County clear land and farm there, and send out more secret guards to be vigilant."
Yunye said, "That's what I think too."
"Second brother, we don't have enough people over there. Could you give me some more? We need to keep an eye on the Yu family and the Japanese pirates at all times." Yun Mo's head ached just thinking about the cunning Japanese pirates.
Pan Qingfeng already had experience dealing with dishonest people. "Second Master Yun, since they are not honest, don't feed them too much, lest they have the energy to cause trouble."
“Then make them mine with shackles on,” Lin Yinan added.
One should not be too merciful when dealing with enemies, otherwise it will only create trouble for oneself.
After much discussion and brainstorming, Yun Mo decided to send fifty men from the Dark Guard Camp, in addition to taking Doctor Lü and the medicinal herbs with him.
Before going to bed that night, he summoned his brother-in-law, his second brother, and several junior guards, including Yun Yi, Yun Si, and Yun Liu.
“One of the Japanese pirates’ ships was not damaged, so I had it towed to the beach where we do salt production and hid it.”
"How big?" Yunye's eyes lit up. If they had ships, could they train a navy?
Yun Mo gestured excitedly, saying, "It can seat several hundred people."
As soon as the two brothers finished speaking, several cloud-based figures looked intently at their master, all eager to try their skills in the water.
Lin Yinan knew exactly what the two were thinking. She tapped the table to bring them back to their senses, "We only have so many people now, and you're already thinking of building a navy?"
"Why do all those people keep heading to bustling big cities?" Yun Mo said, somewhat discouraged.
Yunye, being older, quickly came to terms with reality. "It's alright, we'll take it one step at a time. Let's guard against the Japanese pirates first."
“They’ll definitely come,” Lin Yinan said.
Yun Mo unfolded the map drawn by Yun Qi, pointed to several marked areas, and said, "I've already found out which direction the Yu family and the Japanese pirates came from. If they come again, this is what we'll do..."
As the night deepened and the moonlight bathed the earth like water, they hurriedly dispersed after the meeting.
Since he was leaving again tomorrow, Yun Mo refused to sleep alone on the low couch and insisted on sleeping on the bed with Lin Yinan.
Lin Yinan was afraid that he would roll over and crush the child in the middle of the night, so she had no choice but to put the child on the inside.
After a long day of travel, the two lay down and chatted for only a few words before Yun Mo, holding Lin Yinan, fell into a deep sleep.
The summer morning breeze is cool, and dewdrops sparkle on the tips of the grass, while the pale golden rice stalks sway gently in the breeze.
The fiery sun shone through the thin clouds, casting its light on the earth and bringing a tranquil and warm atmosphere.
Smoke slowly rose from the rooftops, and gradually, more and more people woke up in the morning light.
After breakfast, all the necessary medicinal herbs were loaded onto the vehicle, and the supplies and personnel to be taken were also prepared.
Just as the carriage was about to depart from the county government office, the secret guards rushed over.
"What's wrong? Why are you in such a panic?" Yun Mo asked.
"Master, many refugees have arrived outside the city!"
"Refugees?" the crowd asked, puzzled.
"Let's go take a look." Yun Mo dismounted and followed behind the guards.
Once everyone was on the city wall, they saw a large number of refugees with their families gathering at the city gate.
The refugees saw that the city walls of Longtan County were indeed as Manager Chen had said, even taller and more magnificent than those of Yongqing City.
The leader of the refugees knelt down excitedly and kowtowed to Lin Yinan and the others on the city wall.
Before any questions could be asked, he introduced himself, "Sirs, please! Please, kindly take me in!"
"Where did you come from?" Yun Mo asked loudly.
“We came from Yongqing City. The Chen family steward said that you Longtan area is recruiting a large number of refugees, and you don’t have to sell yourself into slavery, so we all came.”
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