If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

"Master Wu, that Hu man has woken up, but he doesn't seem to speak our language. He's just mumbling something incoherently."

Zhou Wu was discussing something with Master Niu when a villager came to say that the Hu man had woken up.

"Come on, let's go take a look."

Old Niu had never seen a Hu person in his entire life, so driven by curiosity, he went along to see them.

The house of the Hu people was already surrounded by villagers, who were undoubtedly there to see the Hu people.

"Where is this? Who are you?" (Hu Hua)

From afar, Zhou Wu could hear the Hu people's voices. To the villagers, the Hu people's words sounded like incantations, but Zhou Wu recognized them very well. Wasn't this English? In his previous life, he was a highly educated talent, so English was no challenge for Zhou Wu at all.

"This is the Great Dragon Empire, this is Niujia Village. You collapsed by the roadside, and it was our villagers who saved you."

"Oh God, finally someone can understand me! My friend, you know what? I feel like a monkey being watched, it's really unpleasant."

"Haha, everyone is just curious because they've never seen Hu people before. They're all good people, don't worry."

“My friend, my name is Hu Sai. I am a merchant who came to the Great Dragon Empire to do business, but I was robbed by bandits.”

"Hello Hu Sai, my name is Zhou Wu, I am a villager from Niujia Village. I believe you must be hungry now, would you like to eat something?"

"Oh God, you are truly my angel."

The two exchanged a string of nonsensical words, which shocked the villagers nearby. They were astonished that this scholar Zhou could actually talk nonsense.

"As expected of a scholar, he is truly cultured."

"Of course! If it weren't for the scholar, would our village have such a good life now?"

A villager soon brought over a grilled fish and some water. Hungry Hussein didn't care about anything else and started eating with his hands.

"Alright, now that everyone has met the Hu people, let's disperse."

After the crowd dispersed, Hussein had almost finished eating.

"Then what are you going to do next?"

If the other party were from the Great Dragon Empire, Zhou Wu wouldn't mind taking them in. However, the other party was a Hu person, and Zhou Wu didn't know much about the Hu people at this time. Moreover, even if he could accept them, the villagers of Niujia Village would definitely have objections. Therefore, Zhou Wu decided to ask the other party about their next steps.

"Wu, my friend, I hope to get your help to rescue my people. I will definitely repay you. I can pay you money, a lot of money."

Zhou Wu looked Hu Sai up and down. Hu Sai looked almost like a beggar, and he couldn't imagine how much money the other party could give him.

"I have money, don't you believe me?"

Seeing the other person looking him up and down, Hu Sai understood what the other person was thinking and reached out to grope something on his body.

"These are seeds of high-yield crops from our country. I can give them to you as a deposit."

Now it was Zhou Wu's turn to be shocked, because what Hu Sai pulled out was actually corn kernels. The Great Dragon Empire had always suffered from a food crisis because it lacked high-yield crops. Zhou Wu really didn't expect that corn, which he never dared to dream of, would actually appear in front of him now.

"This is truly a high-yield grain. In our country, this stuff can yield up to twelve shi per mu, and it's a staple food."

Seeing Zhou Wu's surprised expression, Hu Sai assumed that the other party did not believe him and hurriedly tried to explain. The main reason was that he only had this small bag of corn seeds left. If he could not persuade the only person in front of him who could communicate with him, his men would probably just be buried in this land.

"Alright, seeing how sincere you are, but what happens after you succeed..."

"I'm willing to pay you five hundred taels of silver after I successfully rescue the person."

Upon hearing that the other party was willing to save people, Hu Sai quickly seized the opportunity.

“I hope that every time you come to Dalong to trade in the future, Niujia Village can become your transit trading point.”

Faced with Zhou Wu's special suggestion, Hu Sai thought about it and figured that he would pass through Qingyang County every time he went to the Great Dragon Empire, so it was just a convenient route and he agreed.

"Alright, then tell me the specific information about the bandits."

Zhou Wu was not a reckless man. Although he agreed to Hu Sai's offer to help him rescue people, he did not act rashly. After all, his security team, including Captain Niu Er and himself, only numbered twelve.

"There were at least twenty bandits who robbed us at the time, about five of whom were on horseback, and their weapons were quite varied."

"Gone?"

That's all I know.

Well, these situations are better than nothing.

"Alright, then you can rest. I'll go back and gather some information in the next couple of days. Although I promised to help you, I need to ensure the safety of my people first."

------

The next day, Zhou Wu asked Master Niu to inquire about the bandits near Qingyang County from the county government office. He then asked Niu Er to take the two of them to the place where Hu Sai had the accident to investigate.

In fact, Zhou Wu's reason for agreeing to help Hu Sai rescue people wasn't entirely for the money. Of course, the corn was also a significant factor. However, Zhou Wu also considered that this group of bandits was not far from his Niujia Village, which was a potential threat to the village. As the saying goes, "How can one tolerate others snoring beside one's bed?" If they weren't eliminated soon, they might pose a threat to Niujia Village later.

Around noon, Grandpa Niu was the first to return from the county town.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Niu. Is there any news?"

Despite his advanced age and the inability to keep up with younger people, thanks to Zhou Wu's arrangements, Old Niu went to the county government office without a single complaint to inquire about the bandits, and fortunately, he did not fail in his mission.

“I went to the county government office and found the clerk I was on good terms with. I learned about the general situation in Qingyang County. It turns out that there are dozens of bandit groups that the government has records of in Qingyang County, and there are countless unrecorded bandits.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Wu was so shocked that he couldn't speak. When Niu saw Zhou Wu's expression, it was exactly the same as when he heard the news at the county office that morning. He thought this was a peaceful and prosperous era, but he didn't expect that so many unstable factors were hidden.

"Then the government doesn't care?"

"Hey, I asked that question too. The county government is short of funds and even its yamen runners are at full capacity. How can they suppress bandits?"

"What about the garrison?"

"Governing troops? Forget about it. Without orders from the Ministry of War, who would dare to move? That's a capital offense."

Master Niu is right. In feudal society, the actions of the army were the most suspicious by the monarch, so the army's actions were the most strictly managed. Without the order of the monarch or the highest military ministry, no one could move the army.

Zhou Wu still feels a bit scared when he thinks about it now. There are countless bandits and outlaws in this mere Qingyang County, and he often goes out at will. He was really too lucky.

"It seems that the matter of suppressing bandits is indeed urgent."

Zhou Wu believed that safety should always be the top priority for the development of a region. For example, farmers might have worked hard all year and finally had a good harvest, only to be attacked by bandits. Or a family might have finally raised their daughter to marriageable age, only to be attacked by bandits again. Zhou Wu might not be able to govern other places, but he would definitely eliminate the bandits in Qingyang County.