activa-t Chapter 10 The tree desires stillness, but the wind will not cease.
Chapter 10 The tree desires stillness, but the wind will not cease.
Li Zhao stood up, walked to the map, and looked at the area surrounding Pingyuan County.
"The Zhang family is a thorn in our side, and we'll have to remove them sooner or later, but not now."
"The most important thing right now is to use the supplies sent by the Zhou and Zhang families to develop the garrison and settle the displaced people."
"With food, manpower, and land, we can truly establish ourselves in this chaotic world!"
In the following month, Pingyuan County entered a period of rapid development.
With ample supplies provided by the Zhou and Zhang families, the settlements in the southeast of the city expanded rapidly.
New thatched huts sprang up, finally providing shelter for the refugees.
The women were busy in the newly built textile workshop, weaving cloth and making clothes using the hemp and ramie from the Zhou family's warehouse.
The men toiled in the fields, and the 700 acres of wasteland were quickly reclaimed, with the area continuing to expand outwards.
Li Zhao's prestige reached its peak in Pingyuan County.
The people no longer called him "Magistrate," but affectionately called him "Lord Li."
In their hearts, Li Zhao was a living bodhisattva who saved them from suffering and was the only hope in this chaotic world.
On Li Zhao's system panel, the data was also fluctuating wildly.
[Li Zhao, Magistrate of Pingyuan]
[Registered population within the jurisdiction (including migrants): 25600]
Daily rice production: 25600 liters
Current grain reserves: 128000 shi (a unit of dry measure).
More than 25,000 people, and more than 25,000 liters of grain every day—that's an astronomical figure.
Looking at these data, Li Zhao was filled with pride and ambition.
With the foundation laid, all that remains is to wait for the opportune moment to unleash the power and glory!
However, the tree wants to be quiet but the wind keeps on.
The commotion in Pingyuan County eventually reached Gongsun Zan's ears.
……
Jizhou, Panhe Camp.
Gongsun Zan, dressed in military attire, sat in his command tent with a gloomy expression.
The Battle of Panhe has been going on for several months, with both sides winning and losing, and is now at a stalemate.
The army was consuming a huge amount of food and fodder daily. The amount of grain and fodder being sent from the rear counties was decreasing, which greatly angered him.
"Report—"
A scout rushed into the commander's tent and knelt on one knee.
"General, I am reporting to you that there is news from Pingyuan County!"
Gongsun Zan frowned: "Pingyuan County? What could possibly be going on there?"
He had never paid much attention to Pingyuan, a poor and remote place, and only sent Li Zhao, a poor scholar, to be the county magistrate, just to get rid of people.
The scout presented a scroll of bamboo slips: "This is a secret letter from the Zhang family, a powerful clan in Pingyuan County."
Gongsun Zan took the bamboo slip, unfolded it, and his expression immediately became even more unpleasant.
The letter was written by Zhang Mao, who went to great lengths to sow discord, claiming that Li Zhao had secretly opened granaries in Pingyuan County to distribute grain, win over the people, recruit tens of thousands of refugees, and secretly manufacture weapons and armor, with ulterior motives.
It was also said that Li Zhao allowed his subordinate general Zhao Yun to indiscriminately kill innocent people, wipe out the entire Zhou family in the north of the city, and seize their property. Now, Pingyuan County is Li Zhao's personal fiefdom, and he doesn't care about the imperial court or General Gongsun at all.
"This is outrageous!"
Gongsun Zan slammed his hand on the table, his hair standing on end in fury.
"How dare this mere magistrate of Pingyuan act so recklessly! Does he even respect me, the governor of Youzhou?!"
Although he didn't quite believe Zhang Mao's one-sided account, the words "recruiting tens of thousands of refugees" and "privately manufacturing weapons and armor" mentioned in the letter touched a nerve.
In this chaotic world, having an army and wielding power is the greatest taboo.
What angered him even more was that Zhao Yun actually joined in Li Zhao's nonsense.
"Guards!" Gongsun Zan shouted.
"exist!"
"Issue my order: Magistrate Li Zhao of Pingyuan is to immediately come to the Panhe camp to report for duty! There must be no delay!"
"Furthermore..." A sinister glint flashed in Gongsun Zan's eyes.
"Send someone to investigate that Zhao Yun. If he's also following Li Zhao down this dark path, then don't blame me for showing no mercy!"
He needs a compliant rear base, not a powder keg that could explode at any moment.
If Li Zhao truly harbors ulterior motives, he wouldn't mind replacing him with someone else to fill the position of magistrate of Pingyuan County.
More than twenty days have passed, and the Tuntian District in the southeast of the city is already bustling with activity.
The 700 mu of newly reclaimed land was neatly divided into squares, with ditches crisscrossing the area, and waterwheels pumping water from the river into the fields day and night.
Although it's not yet planting season, the land has already been plowed twice and is now scorching hot from the sun.
The newly built thatched huts formed a village, and mulberry and hemp were planted in front of and behind the houses.
Women sat at their doorways spinning thread, children ran and played on the ridges of the fields, and the elderly gathered in the threshing ground at the village entrance to bask in the sun, puffing on their pipes.
These tobacco leaves were distributed by Li Zhao after being taken from the Zhou family's storeroom.
Li Zhao stood atop the newly built watchtower, overlooking the entire scene.
The numbers on the system panel jumped around so fast it was nerve-wracking, yet it also gave me a sense of security.
[Li Zhao, Magistrate of Pingyuan]
[Registered population within the jurisdiction (including migrants): 28450]
Daily rice production: 28450 koku
Current grain reserves: 185000 shi (a unit of dry measure).
With a population of nearly 30,000, this was a large number for Pingyuan County before the chaos of war.
These people are now gathered here, and the amount of food they consume every day is astronomical.
Apart from Li Zhao, no one else could afford to support him.
The confiscated property of the Zhou family and the donations from the Zhang family, based on the current situation, are enough to maintain the operation of the county government and its infrastructure for more than half a year.
More importantly, it's about public sentiment.
In Pingyuan County today, Li Zhao's words carry more weight than an imperial edict.
Zhao Yun climbed the wooden ladder to the watchtower and stood behind Li Zhao.
He had changed out of his military uniform into a fine cloth robe, making him appear much gentler than before.
"Brother Li."
Zhao Yun spoke up, looking at Li Zhao with some confusion, and said, "There are some unfamiliar faces in the city recently."
Li Zhao's gaze didn't waver as he softly asked, "Where is it from?"
"Their accents are mixed; some speak from Jizhou, others from Youzhou. They don't look like refugees, but more like spies."
"Just keep an eye on it, no need to alarm them."
Li Zhao's expression remained unchanged. "Such a big commotion in Pingyuan County, it would be strange if no one came to see it."
Although Zhang Mao, that old fox, has retreated back into his shell.
But a dog that bites doesn't bark.
Zhang Mao's network of connections within Gongsun Zan's army remained intact.
"in addition……"
Zhao Yun hesitated for a moment before speaking, "The Zhang family has recently started selling grain at low prices again, fifty coins per dou (a unit of dry measure) of rice."
Upon hearing this, Li Zhaoxiao burst out laughing: "He's trying to curry favor with me, and also with the people in the city. Let him be; it's a good thing that the people can eat cheap grain."
Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from below the tower.
Sun Fu ran up, panting heavily, his face deathly pale.
"Mingting! Something terrible has happened! People from above have arrived!"
Li Zhao turned around and calmly asked, "Where did you come from?"
"Panhe Camp! General Gongsun's personal guard!" Sun Fu swallowed hard. "They specifically requested to see the Ming court, and they came with great force. They don't look like good guys."
Zhao Yun's hand instantly gripped the hilt of his sword, his eyes blazing with murderous intent.
"Brother Li, I'm going to mobilize the garrison troops..."
"Stop." Li Zhao pressed down on the back of his hand. "We are guests, not bandits."
He straightened his clothes and brushed the dust off his cuffs.
"Zilong, you stay here and keep an eye on the settlement area. No matter what happens, things must not fall apart here."