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

Drinking the steaming rice porridge, Jiang Yuan looked around.

The sun has risen, illuminating the ruins of Taiping County clearly.

Jiang Yuan slowly stood up, feeling mixed emotions.

No matter how badly I had lived in my previous life, at least I had a place to stay.

But now, with the sky as a blanket and the ground as a bed, it is really miserable.

The food sent from Heiyun Mountain was enough to last for three months. During this period, Taiping County not only had to rebuild its homes, but also had to find ways to be self-sufficient.

The most urgent thing at hand is to build the house first.

Winter has already begun. If you don’t have a place to shelter from the wind and rain, you’ll freeze to death.

Jiang Yuan felt a headache when he thought of this.

These are all strenuous work. If you eat rice porridge every day, first of all, it will not contain enough salt, and everyone will have to give up after a few days.

However, Jiang Yuan couldn't find any solution to the salt problem for the time being.

Taiping County is located in deep mountains and forests, not by the sea, so salt can be produced by drying seawater.

There isn't much of this stuff in Heiyun Mountain. Salt has been controlled by the imperial court since ancient times. There is a limit on how much each family can buy each month. Unless you are a wealthy family, you can't steal much.

After hesitating for a long time, Jiang Yuan finally nodded with a heavy expression.

That's all.

After the meal, Jiang Yuan organized the people again, and after a burst of encouragement, he called on everyone to build houses using local materials.

Taiping County originally had nearly a thousand houses, and the remaining blue bricks and stones were enough for these people to use.

"County Magistrate, we don't have any beams. All the wood has been taken away."

"Yes, without wood, the house cannot be supported."

Jiang Yuan didn't even think twice and pointed at the mountain of trees behind him: "Go up the mountain and cut as many as you need."

Wang Gang scratched his head and whispered, "Master, that mountain belongs to Mr. Zhang. It would be bad to cut it down, wouldn't it?"

"Where is Mr. Zhang?" Jiang Yuan asked with a squint.

"Mr. Zhang has taken his family to seek refuge. I guess they won't be back for a while, but I heard they will definitely come back in the future," Wang Gang added.

Jiang Yuan rolled his eyes. What’s the big deal about coming back?

I am the county magistrate, Zhao, oh no, an eighth-rank official of the Great Duan Dynasty. What can a local squire like him do to me?

Ma Zhi grinned and said, "Sir, Mr. Zhang has nothing to be afraid of. The key is that he has a brother who is the county magistrate in a county town hundreds of miles away from us."

"He's the county magistrate, how can I be afraid of him?" Jiang Yuan said unhappily.

"You are of the eighth rank, and he is of the seventh rank. There is still a little gap between them." Ma Zhi stretched out a finger.

Jiang Yuan waved his hand: "Cut him off! Don't worry about it, just chop him off. At worst, he'll come find me later."

This is my territory, how can I let others mess it up?

Even a strong dragon will suppress a local snake, so what’s there to be afraid of?

After saying this, Jiang Yuan immediately called Li Hu over.

"Sir, what do you want me to do?" Li Hu raised one hand and made a fist.

Jiang Yuan rubbed his hands and looked at Wang Gang and Li Hu in front of him: "Come here, I will take you to do a big deal tonight."

After hearing Jiang Yuan's words, Li Hu's brows trembled fiercely. He looked around and made sure that no one was around before lowering his voice and saying, "Sir, this is illegal, isn't it?"

Jiang Yuan pulled him and pointed at the people who were busy rebuilding their homes, with a look of deep sorrow.

"Look at these people. If we don't do it, they will die. Do you think I want that?"

"Do you think I want this? It's all for the people of this county!"

Li Hu couldn't help but shrink his neck: "Sir, but if we are caught like this, we will be beheaded. We can also report it to the higher-ups. They can't just stand by and watch us die, right?"

Jiang Yuan glared at him. "Report to the higher-ups? Do you think they don't know what's going on here?"

Li Hu's face darkened. Indeed, Taiping County had been fighting for half a month. The provincial government should have known about it long ago, but there was still no news. It was obvious that they didn't want to care about them.

"Okay, sir, let's do it!" Li Hu gritted his teeth and stomped his feet.

"Action at night!"

A day passed quickly in the busyness. Jiang Yuan wrote several letters in succession in the court. No matter whether the higher-ups paid attention or not, the letters had to be sent out.

At night, Jiang Yuan and the other two slipped out of the city gate quietly.

Their target was Tai'an County, a hundred miles away.

Behind the three of them, Zhao Kai and the other two arrived as promised.

"Hmph! You glimpsed us yesterday, and now you finally can't hold back anymore!" Zhao Kai sneered.

Wang Jue scratched his head and asked in a low voice, "Brother Zhao, why do I feel like they don't seem to be visiting anyone?"

"Don't look at them. They are dressed in black and covered with black cloth. Could it be that they are going to steal?" Zhao Kai glared at his colleague fiercely.

Wang Jue said nothing more in dismay.

The six people in front and behind were not ordinary people, and they soon arrived at the foot of Tai'an County.

Jiang Yuan looked at the majestic city wall and suddenly felt a bitter feeling.

Look at their style, and then look at the devastation at home.

There is no comparison, there is no comparison at all.

"Can you turn over?" Jiang Yuan looked at the two of them with some concern. Wang Gang was carrying him on his back. If he stumbled, the meal would start right away.

Li Hu is still a tiger with broken claws, and Jiang Yuan is really worried.

"Don't worry, sir. I'm fine. The wall is only three meters high. There's no problem at all." Wang Gang smiled naively.

"Hmph!" Li Hu snorted coldly at first, then looked at the city wall with disdain.

"Don't worry, sir. All my skills are in my legs. There's no problem at all."

"Okay, let's take action!"

Following Jiang Yuan's order, Wang Gang took a deep breath, his muscles bulged, and after a few sprints, he jumped over the three-meter-high city wall and landed steadily.

Li Hu was even more relaxed. It was no exaggeration to describe him as light as a swallow. Holding a long sword in his arms, he easily jumped over the city wall.

Jiang Yuan felt envious and wondered when he would be able to have such skills.

Not long after the three of them jumped off the city wall, Zhao Kai and his two companions followed them.

"Could it be that it is hiding here? How interesting, trying to play tricks on us!" Zhao Kai sneered and followed the three people closely.

Jiang Yuan and the other two in front seemed to have a destination in mind. After landing, they did not stay for long and continued on their way without stopping.

Not long after, three thieves with sneaky looks began to sneak into the back garden of a tall house.

"Wang Gang, go to the kitchen and remember your mission."

"Don't worry, sir." Wang Gang said in a muffled voice.

Jiang Yuan was quite confident in Wang Gang and would complete the tasks assigned by him without any compromise.

On the other side, under the cover of Li Hu, the two of them walked all the way to the main house.

Unlike the heavily guarded mansions in the movies, there was not even a shadow of a person here in the middle of the night.

After all, Taiping County is a small place, and so is Tai'an County, which is a hundred miles away. Even the rich people there are not that rich.

Seeing this scene, Jiang Yuan finally felt relieved. He pushed open the door and walked in.

Li Hu followed closely behind. On a large bed in the room, a man in his fifties or sixties was sleeping soundly with a woman in her thirties in his arms.

This further stimulated Jiang Yuan's inner struggle plan. Once Taiping County is rebuilt, won't this kind of life be just around the corner?

Li Hu slapped the man in the face without any hesitation. The man woke up immediately and suddenly found two men in black in the room. He was almost scared to death.

But Li Hu gently pulled out half of the long sword, and the two men instantly became quiet.

"Mr. Huang, right?" Jiang Yuan looked at the man with a smile.

According to the news, this guy is the undisputed local emperor in Tai'an County. The county magistrate of Tai'an County is a middle-aged Confucian scholar with a mild temper and even a little weak. He cannot suppress Mr. Huang at all.

"How have I offended you, my dear man?" Mr. Huang said with forced composure.

Jiang Yuan grinned behind the black cloth on his face, took out a piece of paper from his arms and threw it to Mr. Huang.

Mr. Huang took a closer look, his face showing a mixture of confusion and bewilderment.

IOU?