novelraw Chapter 568: Three Kingdoms Cannon Fodder 10
Chapter 568: Three Kingdoms Cannon Fodder 10
With authority, prestige, and the people's hearts all secured, everything that followed became much easier to handle.
Especially since the previous county magistrate had abandoned the city and fled, which was not a glorious deed in the first place. Whether for himself or his family, the likelihood of rumors spreading from his side was not high.
In the following half-year and more, while the grand campaign against Dong Zhuo was still raging fiercely outside, Qu County, originally remote and impoverished, quickly entered a period of rapid development.
Achieving results in planting crops was difficult in the short term, but animal husbandry could still be developed. Only a small portion of the mountain medicinal herbs were processed into finished medicines for sale; the rest were all made into simplified versions of bone-forging and tendon-strengthening medicines by Si Yao and others. Combined with An Ning personally providing guidance and generously offering a boxing technique,
plus having enough to eat and drink, the newly recruited prefectural soldiers soon underwent a complete transformation.
Having witnessed the benefits, the followers naturally became increasingly loyal.
Especially one year later—just one year—the grain harvested in Qu County was more than the total of the previous two years combined. Besides the wasteland reclaimed by the government office, various homemade fertilizers also played a significant role.
Not to mention, there were also those raised livestock.
During the New Year, many households wore smiles.
In this era, what these things meant was clear to everyone. Just looking at how bandits in Ji Prefecture alone numbered hundreds of thousands, one could glimpse the situation.Especially the few elderly survivors after the disaster couldn't help but weep for joy.
In remote counties, local powerful families were already few, and especially after the earlier plague, there were almost none left. For ordinary commoners, undoubtedly, whoever could let them eat their fill and stay warm was heaven.
It could be said that from then on, the tens of thousands of people in Qu County were completely settled.
But An Ning knew in her heart that this was still far from enough.
It was only now, after being here for a full year, that An Ning finally set her sights on a certain place in the mountains.
And this time, she brought only two personal guards.
A quarter of an hour later: "I presume you are well aware of my purpose in coming today. May I ask how Brother Feng has considered it?"
Raising her hand, she drained the cup of clear tea in one go. An Ning did not beat around the bush but stated her objective directly.
Feng Yuan, the man before her—over thirty, wearing a simple blue cloth garment with a stern, resolute face—was, unsurprisingly, one of the most powerful mountain bandit leaders in the Changshan area, and also the main target of An Ning's visit today.
Coincidentally or not, the group standing behind him was precisely the same one that had blocked the road years ago, robbing people and medicine.
As her words fell, the gaze of the man opposite grew increasingly complex.
"Young Lady truly possesses remarkable courage!"
"But your appetite... isn't it a bit too big? Although I, Feng, am not particularly talented, I currently command at least three thousand men under my banner. The prefectural soldiers under your command in Qu County probably barely exceed a thousand.
Given such a large disparity in strength, isn't it somewhat excessive for you to demand our allegiance with a single sentence today?"
While speaking, the man before her also decisively downed a cup of strong liquor before speaking in a deep voice:
"I hope you know, Young Lady, that I, Feng, am by no means an ungrateful person who forgets favors. I will repay your life-saving grace from that day with my life in the future. But I also hope you understand that this absolutely does not include making my brothers risk their lives for you."
As expected. An Ning wasn't angry at this moment, merely picking up her cup again:
"Brother Feng has been active outside for many years. Surely you understand that troop numbers, while important, are often not the entirety of what determines strength."
"Moreover, since Brother Feng is so clear about the situation today, it seems you haven't been entirely unaware of my activities lately."
"To be frank, even with all the preparations now, I often feel uneasy. I know you don't want to take risks, but do you truly believe there is any truly safe place at present?"
Her words left Feng Yuan opposite her silent for a moment.
Because of their previous interaction, and the fact that the distance between their two sides wasn't actually that far, he had indeed been paying attention to this person.
Although Qu County's prefectural soldiers officially numbered only a thousand, whether in terms of equipment or other aspects, they far surpassed his own forces. Moreover, he had long suspected that her private forces were not limited to this number.
And this person truly enjoyed immense popular support. Undoubtedly, if an external enemy invaded, while not every single citizen would take up arms, it wouldn't be far from it. He had heard that she had been repairing the city gates since half a year ago.
Considering all this, Feng Yuan couldn't help but sigh.
It was precisely because he knew she wasn't speaking falsely that he was so hesitant today. Otherwise, giving up being a comfortable leader to become a subordinate risking his life for someone else—if it were anyone else, he would have fought his way out long ago.
Seeing the other's wavering heart, An Ning straightforwardly stated:
"I know what you're concerned about. But not to mention that the war ahead is about to end, and those people's attention will likely soon turn elsewhere. The Heishan Army faction, eyeing covetously and attempting to integrate various Green Forest forces, is only one of the threats.
Ji Prefecture, in a sense, is not a land without an owner."
"Of course, the most crucial point is..." An Ning sighed lightly again: "Brother Feng, to speak honestly, the act of your subordinates risking their lives to beg for medicine that day has remained fresh in my memory. I, Shen, am not particularly talented, but today I dare to ask you this:
Do you truly intend to let your brothers live as outlaws for the rest of their lives, living a life licking blood from the blade?"