Drought: I Have A Spirit Spring And A Farm In My Personal Space

Chapter 20 Benefits of Being Conferred a Title of Nobility

After settling Lu Shuxue and Qiu Shui at home, Chen Zhiyuan immediately got on his horse and rushed to the county town.

By the time he walked into the government office, the front of the hall was already filled with people.

In the crowd, Chen Zhiyuan actually saw a general in armor. This was the first time he had seen a general of this dynasty since he transmigrated.

“County Magistrate, I came late. Please forgive me!”

Chen Zhiyuan hurriedly went forward and bowed.

“No need for formalities. Constable Chen, since you have returned, then everyone is here. I have something important to announce!”

Liu Qingshan waved his hand, and he picked up a document at his side. “The county governor has sent the birthday gifts to the capital for the empress dowager’s birthday. The route that passes through our Qingshui County was intercepted by the bandits entrenched on Black Wind Mountain. The county governor was furious and ordered our county to clear the bandits entrenched on Black Wind Mountain within three months. Hence, he specially ordered the commander of the garrison troops stationed in our county, Xiahou, to assist in suppressing the bandits. Everyone, what good strategies do you have? Quickly tell us.”

As he spoke, he pointed at the armored general and introduced him to everyone.

“I am Xiahou Yong, commander of the garrison troops of this county. Greetings, my colleagues.”

The general named Xiahou Yong cupped his fists at everyone.

All the officials in the government office returned the salute and retreated to their original positions. No one made a sound.

A moment later.

Looking at the hall where no one replied, Liu Qingshan was furious. He slammed the official document on the table and said, “What’s wrong, everyone? I don’t usually see everyone being so quiet. Why did everyone become mute today?”

All the officials lowered their heads one after another. The county magistrate’s assistant and the other two constables hung their heads even lower.

Usually, everyone bullied the common people. Naturally, there was nothing they could say to drive away the local ruffians and hooligans in the city.

However, going up the mountain to engage in a real fight with those bandits was a life-and-death matter. At this moment, it was naturally bad to stand out.

Chen Zhiyuan was about to say something when he saw that Xiahou Yong had already stepped out and had something to say. He then retreated back into the ranks. He also wanted to see what Commander Xiahou had to say.

“County Magistrate Liu, since the county governor has asked me to cooperate with Qingshui County to suppress the bandits, I will naturally follow County Magistrate Liu’s orders. However, the garrison has been in disrepair for a long time. All the soldiers are old, weak, sick, and disabled. Their weapons are also incomplete. I wonder how much money and provisions you can mobilize to train the soldiers and forge weapons to suppress the bandits?”

Xiahou Yong stepped out and asked.

In the hall, Liu Qingshan thought for a moment, and he answered awkwardly, “Commander Xiahou, the county has not allocated any money or rations to this county. The county has been suffering from drought for many years now, and the silver in the treasury has been used to provide relief to disaster victims. We really don’t have the money to buy rations and recruit soldiers…”

“What? County Magistrate Liu, you want to exterminate the bandits, but you don’t have any money or rations. I, Xiahou Yong, would not be able to help with this task. County Magistrate Liu, please request the county to send someone else to be the commander!”

When Xiahou Yong heard this, he almost laughed out of anger.

With no money, no food, and no weapons, he still wanted the soldiers to fight for him. There was no such thing in this world.

“Commander Xiahou! I gathered everyone to the county office to offer advice! What do you mean by this? Remember, the county governor sent you to assist the county in suppressing the bandits. Not to disturb the morale of the army, and point your finger at me to scold me!”

Liu Qingshan was choked by Xiahou Yong’s words that he immediately felt embarrassed and stood up to look coldly at Xiahou Yong.

Xiahou Yong knew that he was in the wrong in a moment of anger and silently retreated to his original position.

Only then did Liu Qingshan once again size up the subordinates in the hall. He glanced around and found that only Chen Zhiyuan was raising his neck. He immediately felt as if he had grasped onto a life-saving straw, and with a face full of hope, he asked, “Constable Chen, what do you think of this bandit extermination?”

“Reporting to the County Magistrate, I think that the bandits of Black Wind Mountain are very bold and arrogant, so we must exterminate them! County Magistrate, think about it. Today, they dared to intercept the empress dowager’s birthday gift sending. If we don’t teach them a lesson, they would think that the imperial court is afraid of them and would dare to attack the county town tomorrow!”

Chen Zhiyuan stepped out and said with a furious expression.

“Good! What we need now is such loyalty and bravery like Constable Chen…”

Liu Qingshan was overjoyed and stood up to praise him.

He heard an inappropriate voice from the side.

“Without money and food, how can we suppress the bandits? A certain someone who wants to suck up wouldn’t know that when the time comes, he will blow his own trumpet. At that time, if he can’t solve the problem, it will be a capital crime.”

Xiahou Yong raised his head and said meaningfully.

Liu Qingshan was even angrier when he heard that. It was not easy for someone to pay attention to him, yet he was splashed with cold water like this. He could not help but say coldly, “Since Commander Xiahou can’t suppress the bandits, I’ll use my warriors. You can return to the garrison to reorganize the soldiers and wait for my command!”

“I’ll take my leave!”

Xiahou Yong did not stand on ceremony. He cupped his hands and took his leave. Before he left, he gave Chen Zhiyuan a fierce glare.

Liu Qingshan saw that Xiahou Yong had finally left. Just as he was about to speak, he saw that the people in the hall still had their heads lowered and did not reply. He immediately waved his hand as if he was shooing away flies. “All of you leave as well. Constable Chen will stay behind alone!”

“We’ll take our leave!”

The other officials also seemed to have finally gotten rid of their burdens. They bowed and left. Some of them even looked at Chen Zhiyuan mockingly.

They thought, “You’re new here, and you want to make a difference, but you don’t know what you’re doing. Once you burn your fingers, you’re going to regret it.”

In the lobby, only Chen Zhiyuan and the county magistrate were left.

Liu Qingshan no longer put on the airs of a county magistrate and walked down the hall to hold Chen Zhiyuan’s hand, and his eyes were filled with joy as he said, “Constable Chen, you heard what I said just now. The county has no money or food, so I’ll tell you the truth. The county governor has already confiscated the Xu Residence’s money. The empress dowager’s birthday cannot be delayed. What method do you have to exterminate the bandits without money or food?”

“My Lord, you must be joking. Naturally, soldiers and horses are needed to suppress bandits. If there are soldiers and horses, they will naturally have to eat food, and the salaries of the officers and soldiers have to be given too.”

Chen Zhiyuan replied respectfully.

“There’s no money in the county, nor did the county governor give any…” Liu Qingshan suddenly looked at Chen Zhiyuan reproachfully and suddenly thought of something. He stared at Chen Zhiyuan and said, “It can’t be that you want to use the money that you gave me… Cough, the share of the money that you returned to me for recruitment, right? I’ll say first. This time I will not lend it to you.”

“County Magistrate, I’ve thought of some ideas, and I’m not going to borrow money from you. I want to ask if we really exterminate the bandits and get back the birthday gifts, won’t the county governor have anything to say?”

Chen Zhiyuan asked softly.

He wanted the horses to run, but he didn’t want them to eat grass. He believed that the county governor wouldn’t be so tacky. Moreover, the county governor probably had relations with the royal family since he was giving gifts to the empress dowager.

If the county governor was really tasteless, even if he was stingy, he still had to reap some benefits from the county governor.

“Let me think…”

Liu Qingshan tried hard to recall. He returned to the table and looked at the official document. He said, “The county governor did say that he could ask the emperor to grant a viscount title for those who contributed to the suppression of the bandits!”

“Viscount? What benefits does this title have?”

Chen Zhiyuan hurriedly asked again.

“Constable Chen, this title is the second lowest rank of the imperial court. It’s said that only 500 households will receive it, and it’s not a real title. However, there are still some people who don’t care about this little bit of benefit. If you can do this well, I can let you recruit your own servants in your hometown. The land around Taoyuan Village will be under your name. What do you think?”

Liu Qingshan looked at the clueless Chen Zhiyuan and explained the benefits again.

“County Magistrate, don’t worry. With your words, I will definitely do my best!”

Chen Zhiyuan was overjoyed.

This was exactly what he wanted.

With a territory, he could truly develop his power!