I have been a county magistrate for ten years. My subordinates insist on giving me a yellow robe.

On Black Cloud Mountain, Chen Qing was in a very irritable mood.

Just as Jiang Yuan said, after losing a caravan, his income dropped by 30%.

The days when we had enough to support our family and still have some left over are gone forever.

Coupled with the support provided to Taiping County, the situation on Heiyun Mountain became even worse.

But this is not the most important thing. A few days ago, a caravan led by our old acquaintance Wang passed by here, and he was so bold as to say that he had already paid them a bribe.

Damn! Don’t you know whether you gave it to me or not?

How could I not know that we are the only bandits around Black Cloud Mountain?

But seeing that Captain Wang spoke sincerely and even mentioned Jiangyuan in Taiping County, Chen Qing immediately ordered his men to go to Taiping County to inquire about the news.

As expected, a group of bandits appeared in his own place. They were said to be very skilled in martial arts and very alert. If it weren't for Jiang Yuan, Captain Wang would have been in trouble this time.

After learning the truth, Chen Qing felt embarrassed to take advantage of the situation and asked for thirty taels of silver as tea money before letting the other party pass.

Whether he took more or less was a small matter. What really worried Chen Qing was that other forces had appeared in his territory.

This is what keeps Chen Qing awake.

Since ancient times, there cannot be two tigers in one mountain, unless one is male and the other is female.

Chen Qing looked at his crotch. He obviously knew that he was a man, and the other party dared to rob him on the road, so he was not a good person.

"Could it be that Lao Heizi wants to attack my territory?" Chen Qing frowned and thought.

"Or maybe Blind Zhao?"

After some guessing, Chen Qing scratched his head, sighed, and sat down on the stone.

It's so cool to be a bandit. You don't have to go to work, you don't have to look at anyone's face, you are free, you can eat and drink, drink and sleep, if you are happy you can go down the mountain to do a few more jobs, if you are unhappy you can do one more!

But it’s really not easy.

Let’s not even talk about whether we might make a mistake and stop a person who is like a dragon crossing the river.

The internal struggles among the bandits alone are enough to make people worried.

Survival of the fittest, the strong swallow up the weak, this is an eternal law.

Black Cloud Mountain seems very comfortable, but only Chen Qing knows the difficulties involved.

In order to support so many subordinates, he acted like a grandson in front of the bandits in the bigger mountains, serving them with good food and wine, and fought to the death with similar bandit gangs for the main traffic routes.

The hardships involved are too great to be told to outsiders.

But now Chen Qing feels inexplicably tired. He is nearly forty years old. How many more years can he work hard?

What should I do if my son fails to control these people and fails to deal with external enemies?

"Ugh……"

"Life is difficult, full of sorrow and suffering." Chen Qing shook his head and turned around to go back.

But the moment he looked up, he was stunned, and his already gloomy face became even more tangled.

That's the direction of Taiping County.

Chen Qing was quite clear about the current situation in Taiping County. To put it bluntly, there was a shortage of everything. As long as someone could breathe, Taiping County would need them.

"It's a good way to retreat..."

Chen Qing's frown relaxed and he immediately gave orders to his men.

"Xiao Mingzi!"

"My lord! I'm here!" A young bandit about fourteen or fifteen years old quickly came out from behind the rock.

Chen Qing looked at the little bandit's shiny mouth and said helplessly, "Damn it, that was what I saved for drinking tonight, and you ate it all?"

"How could that be, my king? I left a piece for you." The little bandit took out half a roasted chicken wrapped in a lotus leaf.

"Forget it, I'll give it all to you." Chen Qing said, shaking his head.

"Xiao Mingzi, go get two taels of silver from Old Chen and go to Taiping County to meet the County Magistrate Jiang."

"My lord! My current position is the captain of the mountain patrol team. You should call me Shi Da Shan Ze!" Shi Ming said dissatisfiedly.

Chen Qing was immediately laughed at: "I don't even dare to call myself a big bandit, and you, a small fry who hasn't even grown a single hair yet, call me that?"

Shi Ming wanted to refute, but he couldn't find a reason, so he could only whisper: "Then call me Xiao Da Shan Ze from now on?"

Chen Qing kicked Shi Ming's butt without hesitation and scolded him with a smile, "Hurry up and ask County Magistrate Jiang if there's anything he needs, or if there's anything we can help with."

At Chen Qing's urging, the young bandit carried a long knife on his back and went down the mountain.

In Taiping County.

Jiang Yuan sat happily with his legs crossed in the newly rebuilt room.

The room is just behind the lobby. It is a binary house with a small courtyard that leads directly to the lobby.

This was not done to facilitate overtime work, of course, but because Jiang Yuan wanted to walk fewer steps to reach the county government office.

In the past few days, the notice posted by Li Hu has been very effective. More than a thousand people have flocked to Taiping County, and the county's population has skyrocketed to more than 1,700.

As long as Taiping County works hard and reaches a population of 2,000, it will once again be among the lower-level counties.

On Earth, cities are divided into first-tier and second-tier cities, and the same is true here.

A county with a population of over 10,000 is called a Shangpin county, and the county magistrate of a Shangpin county is generally a sixth-rank official.

A county with a population of less than 10,000 but more than 5,000 is called a middle-grade county, and the county magistrate of a middle-grade county is generally a seventh-grade official.

This is why, although both of them are county magistrates, Mr. Zhang’s relative is one rank higher than Jiang Yuan’s.

Jiang Yuan is not in a hurry about this. He believes that one must take one step at a time and eat one bite at a time. Jiang Yuan has no doubt that Taiping County can become a top-grade county in the future. It is just a matter of time.

"Ah, now I just have to wait for the first batch of fruit wine to be brewed. Once I sell it, a happy life will beckoning to me!"

Jiang Yuan stretched, sat up from his chair, and prepared to go out and take a look.

The sudden influx of so many people into Taiping County is both a good and a bad thing. It is inevitable that some conflicts will break out, and Jiangyuan must maintain good public security.

But what gave Jiang Yuan a headache was that there was only one captain, Li Hu, to handle all the affairs in Taiping County, and he was really overwhelmed.

Even if Wang Gang was added into the mix, it would still not help.

Jiang Yuan had just left the chair when his vision blurred and a masked man appeared in front of him.

After Jiang Yuan looked at him for two seconds, he rubbed his eyes and secretly pinched his thigh to make sure that the man in black in front of him was not an illusion.

"Jiang Yuan, right?" A cold voice came out. Ding Yin stared at Jiang Yuan intently, trying to find a trace of guilt in his eyes, and was shocked.

But Jiang Yuan didn't. There was nothing but confusion in his eyes.

What's going on? Who did I offend? Why are they coming to kill me in broad daylight? How deep is the hatred? Can I fool them? How can I do that?

A series of questions popped up in Jiang Yuan's mind. He looked at Ding Yin silently. The two sides were in a stalemate.

Jiang Yuan's heart was already filled with turbulent waves. Wang Gang, Li Hu! Quick, come and protect me!

And Ding Yin, who was sitting opposite him, was even more confused.

Why doesn't this dog official beg for mercy?

When he saw me, shouldn't he kneel down and cry out for his crimes, and then cry loudly, saying that he had no choice but to do what he did, but that his body was in Cao's camp but his heart was with Han.

Then he swore to heaven that he would be loyal to the Zhao family and would never have any second thoughts.

After that, I threatened him severely, and we both went back to our homes and our mothers.

Everyone is happy, isn’t that great?

But why is this guy not making any movement?