From the fake emperor to the concubine

The intelligence gathering work did not take too much time.

Although from Zheng Yi's perspective, the Zhao family's current rule is actually already precarious.

If this were not a world dominated by immortal cultivators, the Zhao family would have an existence like Cang Yue Yan Huang who could suppress the entire world.

Their rule has been overthrown countless times.

However, Zheng Yi also knew that apart from him, no one would think so.

The Zhao family still regarded themselves as high and mighty gods, and ordinary people had never thought that such a behemoth might collapse suddenly.

Because of this, almost no one has ever been prepared in this regard.

Just like the mine they are in now.

There are simply countless loopholes in management.

If it were in the Dayu Immortal Dynasty, no matter the person in charge of this mine or the officials in charge of managing the surrounding areas, they would have been beheaded in public by him long ago.

But here, the Zhao family really doesn't seem to care much about such things.

The only thing they care about for this mine is whether they can get the igneous rock ore they need on time.

Apart from that, no matter what Zhao Tianming did, they had no intention of paying attention.

The most obvious point is that Zheng Yi had previously learned through inquiries that Zhao Tianming had gone to report on his work.

But later, after I got more information, I realized that the so-called performance report was just an excuse made by Zhao Tianming.

It’s just because life at the mine is not very comfortable, so Zhao Tianming would go to Qingjiang City to visit his mistress every now and then.

Zhao Tianming doesn't care much about the affairs of the mine, which is good news for Zheng Yi.

"He used to be a capable person, but now... he's just a useless good-for-nothing." After finding out all of Zhao Tianming's past, Zheng Yi quickly made a judgment.

When he was young, Zhao Tianming did achieve quite a lot.

But as I grew older and saw more things, I began to give up on myself.

This is also normal.

In the Cang Yan Realm, the only ones who can truly show their talents are members of the Zhao family.

No matter how hard others try, they can only be considered slaves of the Zhao family at best.

Perhaps it was because of this realization that Zhao Tianming completely degenerated, becoming less and less concerned about his work and just getting by.

After all, no matter how well he does, it doesn't make any sense.

If any member of the Zhao family is dissatisfied with him, no matter how well he does his job, he will probably have to sweep the streets tomorrow.

"Very good!" Although Zhao Tianming's situation was not very good, Zheng Yi felt more and more satisfied the more he looked at it.

Because the worse Zhao Tianming's situation is, the easier it is to implement his plan.

"My Lord, I have brought here the chiefs of the three most reliable villages."

In the morning, Zheng Yi asked Zhou Kunshan to contact a reliable village for cooperation.

Unexpectedly, he brought everyone here so quickly.

"It's so fast, there won't be any problems, right?" Zheng Yi believed that Zhou Kunshan would not joke about such things.

But since the matter was of great importance, Zheng Yi still asked one more question. If there was anything inappropriate, even if it would arouse suspicion, Zheng Yi would immediately terminate the meeting.

"My Lord, please rest assured. These people usually stay close to me. The situation in their village is also very bad. If there is no improvement, I am afraid they will not be able to hold on for long."

"Stop them now. Even if these people don't agree to cooperate with us, they won't tell anyone about this."

"After all, this won't do them any good. The Zhao family won't give them any rewards just because they sold us out."

"Very good!" Zheng Yi nodded slightly. He really did not choose the wrong person.

Zhou Kunshan has a rough appearance, and the first impression he gives is that of a rough man who can't hide anything.

In fact, this guy is a very thoughtful guy.

In the middle section of the mine allocated to Hewan Village, the villagers have dug out a relatively spacious space.

Fortunately, there are igneous rocks everywhere in the mine. Those igneous rocks that contain better spiritual energy can be used as good light sources after a little processing.

Otherwise, in the dark mine, let alone seeing each other's appearance, I'm afraid even normal communication would not be possible.

On the way here, Zhou Kunshan also briefly introduced the conditions of these villages to Zheng Yi.

Although they are all small villages with a small population, those that have survived to this day basically have some skills.

The people of Huorong Village are naturally strong. Even five years ago, they were the richest of all the surrounding villages.

Because the strong laborers in the village are generally stronger, their volcanic rock output is naturally the highest. In addition to handing in the levy, the remaining volcanic rock can always be exchanged for something.

Although trading with cultivation resources such as igneous rock is strictly prohibited.

But there are policies from above and countermeasures from below.

Huorong Village would only use these volcanic rocks to exchange for some daily necessities. Although this was a huge disadvantage, and the majority of the profits would be taken away by hangers-on like Zhao Qing.

But for Huorong Village, it is still a very suitable deal.

After all, these cultivation resources don’t actually mean much to them.

Even if he could exchange the money for money on the black market, he would definitely be blackmailed by people like Zhao Qing when purchasing resources. After all the hard work, the profit he obtained might not be much more than before.

Instead of going through so much trouble, it would be better to trade directly with people like Zhao Qing.

Although they get less, because they have been given many benefits, they will turn a blind eye to many things.

But a few years ago, many strong laborers in their village were conscripted by the Zhao family to fight in the war.

I originally thought that I was dealing with ordinary people, but suddenly a monk appeared on the opposite side.

After a hard battle, they defeated the enemy, but the strong labor force in their Huorong Village also suffered heavy losses.

However, despite such a huge loss, the Zhao family not only did not show any gratitude, but instead complained to the village chief that the villagers of Huorong Village were not strong enough.

Since then, Huorong Village has not only never recovered, but the situation has also become increasingly worse.

"Yes, they have a blood feud with the Zhao family." Zheng Yi was very satisfied with this village. Their decline happened in the past few years, which means that the younger generation in the village all have a blood feud with the Zhao family.

The second is Luma Village, where there are fewer men and more adult women.

It is basically impossible to complete the mining work relying solely on the strong labor force of their village. However, since Lu Ma Village has been able to survive to this day, it is of course because of its own special means.

The women of Luma Village are extremely good at spinning. Although all women of that era could spin and make linen, Luma Village has its own secret recipe, and the linen it weaves is both good and strong.

Although these linens cannot be directly exchanged for igneous ore, there is a demand for linens in such a large mine and surrounding villages and towns, and they can always be exchanged for ore in various ways.

However, compared to the precious igneous rock, the value of linen was too low, so they could only barely exchange it for a portion of the levy to make ends meet and to maintain their lives with difficulty.

The last one is Xiyuan Village, which is the village that Zheng Yi values ​​the most.

Xiyuan Village is far from the mine and has more land. It is the only village around the mine that produces a lot of grain.

Villages like Hewan and Huorong make the most of their income from mining. In good years, they can dig up a lot of extra ore every month.

However, due to its relatively low output, most of the ores have been exchanged for resources such as food and cloth.

Although it is cruel, these villages maintain this peace in this strange state.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

Zhou Kunshan chose these villages completely according to Zheng Yi's instructions.

The village that is willing to cooperate must have a grudge against the Zhao family.

More importantly, their situation cannot be too good, and there should be mutual benefits between the two sides as much as possible.

Empty promises are far less effective than entanglements of interests.

Only by taking two approaches at the same time can we avoid, to the greatest extent possible, any ambiguous exchanges between them and the Zhao family.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is my lord." Zhou Kunshan introduced Zheng Yi to Lin Dadao and the other two.

Then he introduced the village chiefs of the three villages to Zheng Yi.

"This is Lin Dadao, the head of Huorong Village."

"This is Feng Lai, the village chief of Luma Village."

"This is Zhang Gu, the head of Xiyuan Village."

The three village chiefs looked at Zheng Yi curiously. At the first sight of Zheng Yi, they could sense the difference.

It was a kind of inherent superiority that made them feel like they were facing the Zhao family.

But this feeling is slightly different. Zheng Yi is not as tyrannical as the Zhao family. He is majestic but not scary.

While they were looking at Zheng Yi, Zheng Yi was also observing a few people.

The chief of Huorong Village is probably in his fifties or sixties. Although his hair and beard are mostly gray, his muscles are still like those of a bodybuilder, as if they were carved by a knife or an axe.

Surprisingly, the head of Luma Village is a woman. A woman who has been working in the mine for many years cannot be very pretty. She has a plump figure. Apart from being a little short, her appearance still vaguely shows feminine features.

The village chief of Xiyuan Village is the youngest, probably around 30 years old. He is thin and has dark skin, a typical image of an ordinary farmer.

"Everyone, I believe the village chief has already introduced you all before, right? The purpose of my inviting you here is clear, right?"

Lin Dadao laughed and said, "Zhou Xiaozi told me that you guys seem to want to do business with us. Am I right?"

Zheng Yi nodded slightly: "Village Chief Lin is right. I do have some business that I would like to do with you. Your villages all have goods that we are in short supply of."

"It just so happens that our village has recently acquired a lot of meat for some reasons. These things cannot be stored for a long time, so the best way is naturally to replace them with things that can be stored for a longer period of time."

"That's no problem." As soon as Zheng Yi finished speaking, Feng Lai replied eagerly, "It just so happens that our village has some linen in stock. How about I have someone deliver it to Hewan Village tonight?"

In order to fulfill the Zhao family's apportionment, Lu Ma Village often makes such transactions.

Due to various reasons, the sales of their latest batch of linen were not very ideal, and Fenglai was still worried that he might not be able to complete this month's allocation.

However, she didn't expect that when she was worried, Zheng Yi actually wanted to do business with them. This was like providing timely assistance.

Zhang Gu frowned and thought for a while before smiling bitterly: "Although our village has some food stored, the value of this thing is not very high. Of course, if you want to buy it, we are happy to sell it."

Only Lin Dadao from Huorong Village frowned and said, "Their two villages have goods for sale, but our Huorong Village doesn't have such goods. Did you find the wrong person?"

Zheng Yi laughed: "Village Chief Lin, please be patient. If I am not mistaken, you should be able to get salt, right? This thing is also a relatively important material for us. If possible, I hope to buy it from Village Chief Lin on a long-term basis."

Lin Dadao's eyes lit up. Meat was something very important, even for their Huorong Village.

If there were no suitable channels to purchase enough salt, it would be impossible for every citizen in Huorong Village to be as strong as a calf.

These people were in tacit agreement and did not ask about the origin of the meat.

After all, no matter how Zheng Yi got the meat, as long as it is edible and can fill the stomachs of their villagers, that's enough, right?
"Lord, are we really not going to tell them about our plan?" After seeing off several village chiefs, Zhou Kunshan asked doubtfully.

"It's too early now..." Although the situation in these villages is very bad, it is not to the point where they can't hold on anymore.

Therefore, a certain degree of contact is still needed between the two sides.

Most importantly, Zheng Yi needs them to personally experience the benefits of trading with Hewan Village.

That evening, the linen from Luma Village was delivered.

They need to contact the seller to order the salt from Huorong Village, and the grain from Xiyuan Village needs to be delivered the next day because it is far away.

Even though he had not seen the goods, Zheng Yi still had someone secretly deliver the meat to them.

With Zhou Kunshan and Feng Haitao, two masters whose strength has greatly increased, it is not difficult to avoid those so-called defenders who are only in name only.

In fact, there is almost no force that can serve as guards around the mine.

At most, some checkpoints are set up symbolically at important traffic arteries and other places.

This is because more and more people have rebelled in recent years, so the garrison has been increased.

If it were a few decades ago, there wouldn’t even be this level of guards.

People who are willing to do such thankless work will naturally not take it too seriously.

The guards at many checkpoints would only come out for a stroll once in an hour or so. The rest of the time, they would hide away and sleep.

Many times, Zhou Kunshan and his team don’t even need to bypass checkpoints.

Just wait for the guards to slack off, and then swagger past. (End of this chapter)