Ye Chen’s name and the recent events involving the Yunzhou Army were quickly shared among the people of Li Family Village. Similarly, Ye Chen learned that the place was called Li Family Village, inhabited by about a thousand people. These people were former Yunzhou civilians who had been forced into the mountains due to oppressive taxes. Since their retreat, they had lived self-sufficiently, even resisting bandits who attempted to take over the village.
The leader of the village, Li Xiaoyang, was an extraordinary woman. She was the daughter of a carpenter in Yunzhou, and after her father was killed by mountain bandits, she had no choice but to lead the villagers up into the mountains. Under her leadership, Li Family Village had become a peaceful refuge.
The second in command, Heilian, was a hunter who lived off the land. He too had been driven to the mountains and sought refuge in Li Family Village.
The third in command was a fortune teller from the city. He had once predicted a great opportunity for Li Family Village and thus joined them.
The three chiefs handled different aspects of the village, with most of the daily matters being overseen by Li Xiaoyang. When they heard the sound of battle coming from Heifeng Village the previous night, they sent scouts to investigate.
This was how Ye Chen, mistaken for a deserter from Heifeng Village, was knocked out and brought back by Lao Fang.
When the misunderstanding was cleared, Lao Fang, feeling embarrassed, scratched his head and said, “Brother Ye, I’m really sorry. I mistook you for someone from Heifeng Village and knocked you out. Let me untie you.”
As Lao Fang stepped forward to untie him, Heilian stopped him. “Wait!” He turned to Li Xiaoyang and asked, “Boss, this Ye Chen’s identity hasn’t been confirmed yet. What if he really is a bandit from Heifeng Village? Are we just going to let him go?”
Li Xiaoyang pondered for a moment before saying to Ye Chen, “Ye Chen, we still need to verify your identity. During this time, you cannot leave Li Family Village. Is that acceptable?”
Ye Chen, curious to see more of Li Family Village, agreed.
“Alright then, Lao Fang, find Ye Chen a place to stay. We can’t be inhospitable to our guest.”
“Yes!” Lao Fang then led Ye Chen out of the hall. As they walked, Lao Fang smiled. “Brother Ye, your Yunzhou Army is really something, wiping out Heifeng Village. You know, Heifeng Village has been oppressing the people for many years.”
Ye Chen waved his hand modestly. “It’s our duty as soldiers to protect the people.”
Lao Fang’s expression darkened. “But the military expenses are so high. If the Yunzhou Army hadn’t increased the taxes, we wouldn’t have had to turn to banditry.”
Ye Chen silently vowed to himself that such situations would no longer happen. After this campaign against the bandits, he would abolish the oppressive taxes in Yunzhou.
As they walked through the village, Ye Chen admired the construction of Li Family Village. The living areas and the farming areas were neatly separated, each with its own unique charm.
“Lao Fang, let’s go take a look at the fields.”
The two men soon arrived at the fields, where many villagers were hard at work. The sun was scorching, but the laborers worked diligently without complaint.
Lao Fang explained, “Summer is coming soon. If we don’t speed up the planting now, the autumn harvest will be smaller.”
Ye Chen observed the villagers’ actions closely but was more interested in the crops. These were ordinary rice plants with a low yield, barely enough to sustain the village.
Ye Chen suddenly thought of the hybrid rice, potatoes, corn, and other crops available in the system store.
“If I can make Li Family Village a base for growing hybrid rice and other high-yield crops, we can increase food production, which will allow the Yunzhou Army to expand!”
At first, Ye Chen had planned to use points to exchange for military supplies directly, but he now realized the saying, “Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime,” applied here. If he taught the people of Yunzhou to grow high-yield crops, it would not only earn their support for the Yunzhou Army but also reduce his need to manage the rear supply.
As Ye Chen murmured to himself, Lao Fang looked confused. “Brother Ye, what are you saying?”
Ye Chen smiled. “Nothing, just thinking how hard everyone is working.”
Lao Fang nodded in agreement. “Of course! But it would be nice to be an official; officials don’t have to work so hard.”
Just then, a commotion broke out in the village, and a large group of people came running. Lao Fang hurriedly stepped forward and asked, “What’s going on?”
A young man, who was stopped by Lao Fang, explained breathlessly, “The Blackwater Village bandits are here! There are at least a thousand of them this time. Get your weapons!”
Lao Fang jumped up in alarm and rushed toward the front lines, cursing, “We just wiped out Heifeng Village, and now we have Blackwater Village to deal with! There’s no peace in Yunzhou!”
In no time, the entire village mobilized. These people, who had been tending the fields moments before, were now gearing up for battle. Even the farmers donned leather armor and grabbed their weapons, heading toward the village gate.
Ye Chen quickly followed them to see what was happening at the gate.
【9 points deducted】
As Ye Chen ran, he exchanged points in the system for a homing pigeon. He intended to stay in Li Family Village for a while, so he needed to inform Old Huang and the others to avoid worrying them.
Releasing the pigeon, Ye Chen soon arrived at the village gate.
In front of the village, two burly men led a group of over a thousand bandits. One of the men shouted, “Li Family Village, we’re not here to fight today. We’re here to discuss something!”
Heilian looked down at the crowd of bandits and spat, “Hah! You call bringing a thousand men ‘discussing something’? Hu Lao’er, you’ve got some nerve!”
Hu Lao’er, with a scar running across his face and a missing eye, looked fierce, but instead of getting angry, he laughed. “Hahaha, Heilian, don’t be so rude. Our scouts reported that Heifeng Village was wiped out last night, and not a single person was left alive. There are even dozens of Yunzhou soldiers stationed there now.”
Upon hearing this, the people of Li Family Village were overjoyed. Heifeng Village had been a scourge on the common people, and their demise was well deserved.
Heilian responded, “So what?”
Hu Lao’er continued, “Our leader says the current situation isn’t looking good. Better to unite than to fight. Your Li Family Village is weak. If you all join Blackwater Village, you’ll have protection!”
The third chief of Li Family Village immediately rejected the offer. “We will never join forces with evil. If you want to survive, you’d better surrender to the Yunzhou Army!”
Hu Lao’er drew his sword and pointed it at Li Family Village. “You’d better not be ungrateful! Our leader is showing you respect by offering this deal. If you don’t agree, I’ll lead my men and burn your village to the ground today!”
Heilian spat again, “Come on then! Don’t think I’m afraid of you!”
With that, Heilian leaped from the top of the village wall and charged at Hu Lao’er, engaging him in a fierce duel.
The bandits had a rule: until the leaders decided the outcome, no one else was to interfere. The two men clashed in the open field, trading blow after blow, with neither gaining the upper hand.
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