My Apprenticeship to Uncle Jiu: I Was a Warlord in the Republic of China

Li Renjie's heart skipped a beat when he saw this. He immediately guessed that it was probably because the Dragon Slayer Taoist was captured and gave up both him and his son.

But he had studied abroad after all, so he immediately put on a smile and said, "County Magistrate Jiang, is there something that has brought you here so late? Maybe we, father and son, can help?"

Jiang Li didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "Just now my men saw a group of people acting suspiciously, so they arrested them. After searching, we found out that they were transporting opium under the guise of corpse-driving.

"After interrogation, they said that this batch of opium was to be delivered to Mayor Li's home, and part of the transaction had already been completed. I am here to ask in person, so as not to wrongly accuse a good person!"

Upon hearing this, the father and son of the Li family immediately shook their heads and denied it, "County Magistrate Jiang, don't listen to his nonsense. This guy is just making random accusations before he dies. Don't believe his lies!"

Hearing this, the Dragon Slayer shouted angrily, "Who is talking nonsense? You were the ones who asked me to bring the opium here. You also asked me to leave a batch of goods behind, saying that you were going to test the waters first, and asked me to ship this batch of goods to the next town first."

The Li father and son tried to explain themselves even more hastily, but Jiang Li didn't listen to them and directly ordered a search.

After a long time, a soldier came out holding a box and said, "Report to the county magistrate, I found a box under the bed, and there is a lot of opium in it."

Jiang Li looked at the Li family father and son and said, "You are also well-known figures, why do you do such a thing?"

Seeing this, the Li family father and son immediately begged for mercy, but Jiang Li interrupted him and said, "Don't say anything. I will report this matter to the whole town tomorrow. I will have to check the Qing Dynasty Laws to know how to deal with it later."

As he said this, he called for people to take the father and son, Tu Long and others away, and locked them up in the church. He then sent people to guard the church and the Li family respectively, and then he gathered his team and went back to the inn to rest.

The next morning, after Jiang Li finished his morning exercises and had breakfast with Uncle Jiu, he went to the stand to gather the people and start the interrogation.

Since the criminals were caught red-handed, no one tried to make excuses. After all, Jiang Li had told them in advance that the crime of selling opium was not punishable by death under the Qing Dynasty Law Code, but if they tried to make excuses with clever words, their crime would be even more serious.

So Jiang Li quickly completed the trial of the case. Tu Long and others and the father and son of the Li family were accomplices in the conspiracy, and there was no distinction between the master and the servant. They were all strictly enforced according to the "Great Qing Law Code", with thirty strokes of the cane and three years of imprisonment.

After this matter was over, Jiang Li began to take stock of the gains from this trip, starting with Li Youcai's property and his winery.

Then, the several hundred acres of land that the Li family had illegally annexed were carefully calculated and sorted out. Of course, they were given to the landless people to cultivate, but the ownership remained in their own hands. After all, in order to prevent land annexation, it is very important to nationalize the land.

As for his property, it was difficult to move it. After all, the Qing Dynasty laws did not stipulate that the property should be confiscated, so it was not easy for him to seize it by force.

The most precious things, of course, are the several martial arts books found on the dragon slayer, including the Shangqing Yu Gui Jue, the Yin Ling Ru Sheng Jue, and the techniques for raising and refining ghosts. These can be seen at a glance as the martial arts of the Three Ghosts Sect.

Moreover, Jiang Li and Uncle Jiu also got a piece of news from Tulong, that is, three hundred miles east of Jiuquan Town, there is a place where cultivators gather called Wuzhu Mountain. It's a pity that it is not a decent place, and most of the cultivators who go in and out are evil cultivators.

As for the opium, Jiang Li led his men to find an uninhabited hilltop, dug a pit, and destroyed it by soaking it in salt water and lime.

After the matter was settled, Jiang Li left with Uncle Jiu.

...

Returning to Tengteng Town, Jiang Li looked at the population and land accounts. After such a long period of population migration and land reclamation, Tengteng County now has a total population of more than 1,800 people, with an additional 3,000 acres of mountain land, more than 1,000 acres of grassland and orchards, six ponds and 23 reservoirs.

Generally speaking, the development is very good, but it is still far from the standard of a county, especially since there is not much land that can be reclaimed. There are quite a few hills, but due to the terrain, it is not convenient for irrigation.

Jiang Li was lost in thought while looking at the map. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he said, "Why am I so stubborn that I only focus on the land? Those hills can be used to grow medicinal herbs."

"I can grow the herbs for refining Essence Pills myself!"

As he spoke, he made a list of all the materials needed to refine various essence pills.

He also specifically marked that the main medicinal herbs that were twenty years old must be collected with their roots, and then transported back so that they can be planted on the hilltops. In this way, within ten years, he would have no shortage of main medicinal herbs for refining the Essence Pill.

Then he called Jiang Youchi and said to him, "Go down and send a message to all the company commanders under my command. I order them to expand their teams on their own."

"But their selection criteria must be strict, military discipline must be enforced to avoid disturbing or harming the people, and they must report the number of troops to me regularly."

"At the same time, have them send people to collect the medicinal herbs on this list. I will be very useful for these things."

Jiang Youchi saluted and said, "I promise to complete the task."

Seeing that he was about to leave, Jiang Li immediately said to him, "Your team also needs to be expanded. I will provide you with three times the current funding, and you can recruit people on your own."

"Also, send someone to the northeast right away. I heard there is a Wuzhu Mountain about 300 miles away. Send someone to find the location for me. As for the details inside, don't risk exploring it."

Jiang Youchi was delighted when he heard this and said, "Don't worry, Master. I will send someone to investigate immediately."

Then he left.

Jiang Li watched Jiang Youchi leave, and he recalled the Wuzhu Mountain that Tulong mentioned. Since it was a trading place for cultivators, he thought there would be some good things for cultivation.

The point is that it's so close, there's no reason not to go and see it.

As he spoke, he decided to take people on this journey. It would be great if he could find a stable source of resources for cultivation.

After going home to say hello to his family, he headed to Qingyun Temple. He had to make some preparations before setting off, otherwise if he made any mistakes he would be in big trouble, after all, that was someone else's territory.

I found Uncle Jiu who was interpreting divinations for others, took him aside and said, "Master, do you still remember the Wuzhu Mountain Ghost Market that the Dragon Slayer Taoist mentioned?"

Uncle Jiu frowned and said, "Of course I remember. You don't want to go there to do business, do you?"

Jiang Li nodded and said, "Yes, Master, you also know that cultivation resources are hard to come by now. There is such a place so close, so I naturally want to go and take a look. Maybe I can gain something from it."

Uncle Jiu said, "The Dragon Slayer said that there are often evil practitioners there, which means that the place is probably not very clean. If you go there rashly, you might get into trouble!"

Jiang Li smiled and said, "Master, don't worry. I have already sent people to inquire about it. Besides, I am not going to go alone. I plan to ask Uncle Qianhe and my four fellow apprentices from the southeast, northwest and northeast to go with me. With more preparations, I think this trip should be fine!"