Chapter 21: The Magistrate of Qiang Xiang's Little Thoughts

  Wang Qini and Feng Guo's efficiency was very high, but the direct consequence of this was that the animals living near Chong County for generations were almost extinct. Whether it was small like field mice or large like mountain tigers, they only had two roads to take: one was to lie down and become the food of the upcoming victory camp, and the other was to escape as far as possible before these killing gods found themselves. Even birds flying high in the sky would have countless arrows flying towards them if they flew too low. Although their accuracy still needed to be honed, it couldn't withstand the sheer number of arrows. As a result, these tragic birds would fall to the ground and become the spoils of war for a group of cheering men. The two of them went out to battle for several days, leaving the mountains and forests around Chong County devoid of birds. The auxiliary hunting targets were the archery level, assassination level, and small group coordination level of Wang Qini's subordinates, which greatly improved their ability to hunt large ferocious beasts, giving off a somewhat elite soldier vibe.

  The game obtained was quickly organized by the women led by Shang Haibo to be skinned and cured, hanging one by one in the camp. For a time, the whole camp was filled with a bloody smell, but everyone's face had an excited expression.

  There were no more prey nearby, so Wang Qiniang decided to expand his range and venture deeper into the mountains.

  Just as Wang Qi and Nian were busy killing, Jiang Kui's subordinates had cut down a large number of trees, shouting and carrying them back to the camp. Two shifts a day allowed these men to quickly recover their strength, especially when they saw General Li Qing doing one shift a day, these simple men did not spare their energy, after several days, the thick logs in the camp were piled up like mountains.

  On this side, Shang Haibo gathered the people in Chong County who were good at carpentry and added a batch of strong men. The task was only one: to build houses faster and more, beauty was not a consideration, there was only one requirement, that is, sturdy, can withstand wind and rain, after entering winter, will not be crushed by heavy snow. So many houses were built up, the branches on top were not cut off, and they still stretched out a green branch, which was also very natural.

  The entire camp is now in a state of ferment, with young and strong men rushing about, while the old, weak, women and children cannot idle around. A large number of women have been organized into the cooking squad, responsible for the food for the whole camp. The elderly can't do heavy work, but they can still whittle wooden pegs. It's getting colder by the day, but everyone's enthusiasm for work is increasing by the day. Everyone understands that if they don't complete all the preparations before the arrival of this year's first big snow, it will be a matter of life and death.

  At a time when everyone was busy, Li Qing had nothing to do. Now he has basically become a commander without an army. Even Tang Hu and Yang Yidao have been sent by him to Wang Qinyan's hunting team. These two guys have high martial values. Now the only thing Li Qing can do is to dress up as a wife every day, standing on a hillside overlooking the only road leading out of Chong County, which is broken and chaotic. Road, when will you be able to bring food back?

  Lu Yi Meng has not returned, but Xu Yun Feng, the strong and ambitious county magistrate of Qiang Xiang who had gone to Dingzhou to collect grain with a heart full of "the wind is whistling, the Yi River is cold, the brave warrior leaves and never returns", has come back, bringing with him over ten carts of cattle, dozens of soldiers, and a face full of anger and resentment.

  "Sir, Xu has failed in his mission and only managed to bring back a thousand stones of grain." Xu Yunfeng looked ashamed, bowed deeply to the ground, and remained there for a long time without getting up.

  Although there were only a few thousand stones of grain, it was already enough to surprise Li Qing. To think that he was now someone who would even search for and take away the dried fruits in a squirrel's nest, and kill the squirrel as well, seeing thousands of stones of grain, how could his eyes not light up?

  "Hurry up and get up, Lord Xu is indeed capable, to have obtained so much grain for us, this will allow us to pass a good period of time again!" Li Qing's face lit up, a thousand stones of grain, now the Victorious Camp can save some expenses, basically enough for a small month. "Someone come and pour a bowl of water for Lord Xu!" Looking at the dusty and tired Xu Yunfeng, Li Qing felt heartache, what an able official, what a capable person! But after shouting several times, no one responded, only then did he remember that all his personal soldiers had been sent away, so Li Qing personally took action, pouring a bowl of water for Xu Yunfeng, making him feel grateful to the point of tears in his eyes. He praised him and went out, but the result was only this small gain, making him feel ashamed, but looking at Li Qing's expression, it was clear that he was delighted from the bottom of his heart.

  "Master Xu has returned, now Chong County is in a state of disrepair and needs to be revitalized, but there's a lack of manpower. Now that you're back, I can rest easy. However, Master Xu mustn't think about resting, after eating, take a short break and then get to work." said Li Qing.

  Xu Yunfeng drained the water in his bowl and said loudly: "Of course, I have to go and do things. Great talents, just arrived on the road, Chong County has changed a lot, no longer that dull and lifeless appearance, everyone is full of energy and vitality. With this mentality, the reconstruction of Chong County is imminent. Now I can't wait to get started."

  Li Qing burst out laughing, "Alright, alright, you go find Mr. Shang Haibo and take over his work."

  Li Qing received the tens of thousands of catties of grain, and sent away the dozens of soldiers who were escorting the grain. However, the tens of thousands of catties of grain were stubbornly detained, and the tens of heads of cattle could now be used for labor. Without food to eat, they could even be slaughtered for meat. How could they be released?

  As they chatted, it was already time to eat. Li Qing called for someone to bring over a few bowls of thin porridge, accompanied by a plate of salted vegetables. He and Xu Yunfeng sat down at the table together, taking big mouthfuls of porridge and crunching on the salty vegetables as they talked about some interesting things that had happened recently. Xu Yunfeng was also starving, and in just a moment, two bowls of porridge were gone, leaving only a gurgling sound. Putting down his bowl, he looked at Li Qing sitting across from him, and secretly felt a sense of wonder. He had heard that this Li Qing was the son of the Li family, with a father who was a powerful noble, but looking at his usual demeanor and appearance now, he didn't have even a hint of the arrogance typical of young nobles. As an official born into a commoner's family, Xu Yunfeng was accustomed to seeing the haughty and extravagant behavior of these young nobles, and had long thought that all crows in the world were black. Suddenly seeing someone different, he couldn't help but feel amazed.

  "It seems that the rumors about this Li Canjun's background are true. At 15 years old, he dared to leave home and join the army, starting from a low-ranking soldier and rising to his current position as a general. Although it was due to Yun Jie's influence that he was promoted to general, this person indeed has real abilities, unlike many young masters of noble families."

  Xu Yunfeng thought to himself, in official circles, being familiar with one's superiors' preferences is an essential lesson to learn. Xu Yunfeng, although strong-willed, couldn't escape the norms either. Moreover, Li Qing was now his direct superior. For now, it seemed that this young general liked practicality and valued capable subordinates, but detested those who only knew how to flatter and had no real abilities. This made Xu Yunfeng very happy - he was finally getting the kind of superior he had always dreamed of.

  After serving as a county lieutenant for over ten years, with no hope of promotion in sight, suddenly everything changed, and he became the county magistrate. If Li Qing continued to rise through the ranks, wouldn't someone like Xu Yunfeng have an even brighter future ahead?

  Staring intently at Li Qing opposite him, Li Qing, who was also gnawing on a piece of salted vegetable with great effort, felt something was off and looked up in surprise. He met the fiery gaze from across the way and was startled for a moment. What did this mean? Could it be that Xu Yunfeng had some sort of bad habit? Touching his own face, he thought to himself: even if Xu Yunfeng did have some sort of bad habit, he wouldn't dare focus on his superior, would he?

  Xu Yunfeng was unaware of the thoughts turning in Li Qing's mind, he was still immersed in his own ideas, young, with a strong background, practical, and ambitious, truly a bright future ahead, as long as he followed the right person, what would he have to worry about his future prospects? Regardless of how clean Xu Yunfeng was, how dare he speak for the people, how strong he was, but being able to rise step by step in the official circle, having more power in his hands, and being able to do things for more ordinary people, had always been a dream, seeing the door to this long-held dream open a small crack, how could he not be delighted?

  Li Qingyue saw the other person getting more and more furious, just thinking of finding an excuse to drive this shining-eyed guy out, but outside came a loud noise, "General, General!" It was Tang Hu's voice.

  "What's wrong?" Li Qingxin's expression sank, and he suddenly stood up. Tang Hu let him send someone to follow Wang Qiniang outside to hunt and kill prey, how did he come back? There was some urgency in his tone.

  Xu Yunfeng also came back to his senses, and the two of them exchanged a glance. Before they could speak, Tang Hu had already rushed in.

  "General, one of Lord Wang's sentries was ambushed by bandits in the mountains and over a dozen were killed or injured!" Tang Hu said.

  Today's first chapter is presented.