Shulong Daojun

Jiang Heng's eyes lit up with joy, and he quickly asked the disciple to convey his thoughts to Bei Chen.

The method is very simple.

All that is needed is to summarize those three matters into a set of rules, and then have Beichen send a message to those of the same lineage scattered throughout the cities and counties of the two regions, asking them to spend half a day collecting and completing the rules.

He then compiled the information into a booklet, sent it to the disciple beside him, and then gave it to himself to review.

In this way, you can select several places you like, change your route, and visit them one by one.

In this way, the time required for site selection can be greatly shortened, allowing a county to be captured as soon as possible to settle logistics and establish a foothold.

After a moment's thought, Bei Chen understood the pros and cons and immediately replied, "Alright, please wait a moment, Brother Jiang."

He then contacted Li Xiaohai and others using a communication jade talisman, explained the matter, and instructed them to contact more disciples of miscellaneous schools of thought to complete the task together.

Upon hearing that it was entrusted by Beichen, all the disciples took it very seriously and quickly mobilized their own connections to pass it on as fast as possible.

Soon after, disciples of various schools of thought in the cities and counties of both regions learned of this matter and began to collect information in accordance with the regulations.

Thanks to this, seven or eight days later, Jiang Heng finally confirmed a location—

Chuxian is a small county surrounded by low hills and nestled beside a large river.

Although the county magistrate was an honest and conscientious official, he was too soft-hearted and could not bear to see the people suffer.

Logically speaking, he had a good temper, but after the refugees came, he turned into a bad one.

Unable to bear seeing the refugees suffer in the winter, he opened the official granaries to distribute grain for relief. He also personally persuaded the people in the county to share their firewood and charcoal so that they could get through the cold winter together.

This move naturally displeased the people of the county, but considering that the county magistrate had always treated them well, they reluctantly accepted it.

However, the refugees who had been sheltered by the county magistrate were not grateful; on the contrary, they became increasingly dissatisfied with him and even began to criticize him.

What does it mean that our food, clothing, and daily necessities are getting worse day by day?

The county magistrate promised to take care of us, but now he has changed his mind. Could it be that he wants to break his promise and abandon us?

Upon hearing this, the people of the county angrily denounced these outsiders as ungrateful and shameless.

Upon hearing this, the refugees lowered their heads in shame.

However, some people angrily shouted: "Since you saved us, why not save us completely? You might as well let us freeze to death in the winter."

The conflict between the two parties deepened, and at some point, disputes, fights, and even injuries began to occur.

The county magistrate and the local deities in charge of this area were extremely troubled, but there was nothing they could do.

Disputes involving ordinary people are not under their jurisdiction.

As for the county magistrate, he was caught in the middle, pleasing neither side.

He tried every day to find ways to solve the problem, but the people kept throwing rotten eggs and vegetable scraps at him, forcing him to flee in a sorry state.

This situation only changed after Jiang Heng arrived and took over the handling of the refugees' affairs.

The inner residence of the county government office.

The magistrate was in high spirits. He found a jar of coarse wine and two wooden bowls, filled them to the brim, and drank with Jiang Heng along with a dish of peanuts.

He picked up the wooden bowl and said to Jiang Hengjing, "Brother Jiang, you are indeed worthy of being by the side of the Daoist Master. The problem that has troubled me for so long has been mostly solved by you in just a few words."

I just don't know the ins and outs of it...

Before he could finish speaking, his face flushed red. He took a sip of wine, and, taking advantage of the alcohol's effect, asked again, "What is it...?"

Jiang Heng returned the salute with a smile and said, "It all boils down to the four words 'using both kindness and severity'."

The refugees outside the county actually knew how good the county magistrate was, and that's why they felt ashamed in the face of the words of the people inside the county.

But fearing that food might not be guaranteed and having no way to obtain it, he suppressed his emotions and became like that because survival was at stake.

Therefore, it is sufficient to simply enable them to solve their food problems on their own.

During the spring plowing season, labor is exchanged for food, which embodies this principle.

This also serves to keep them from being idle.

When people are idle and have nothing to do, all sorts of troubles arise.

The magistrate picked up a peanut, ate it, pondered for a moment, and nodded, saying, "That makes sense."

Jiang Heng smiled and continued, "As for the word 'prestige,' there are all sorts of troublemakers among the refugees. Such people need to be severely punished so that they will learn their lesson and know fear so that they can restrain their temper."

However, this measure can only solve the problems of the refugees themselves, and cannot resolve the conflicts between them and the people in the county.

If this continues, it will likely cause problems.

After saying that, his expression hardened, and he picked up the wooden bowl and took a big gulp of coarse wine.

Upon hearing this, the county magistrate recalled past events and suddenly felt a surge of anxiety. His eyes widened, and he hurriedly asked, "Young Brother Jiang, do you have a solution?"

"Well..." Jiang Heng looked troubled, his lips moved a few times, and he sighed, "I haven't been here long and haven't figured out the root of the problem yet, so I don't have a solution for the time being."

If the county magistrate trusts me and allows me to travel around the county a few times, perhaps I'll come up with a plan.

Upon hearing this, the county magistrate took a large gulp of wine, pondered for a moment, and said with a slight hint of drunkenness, "I trust the people the Taoist priest brought."

Brother Jiang has once again helped me out of a predicament, and he has been impartial to both the people in the county and those who have taken refuge. His abilities and character are both excellent.

Very well, I'll send someone to deliver a temporary county government badge to you tomorrow.

"Young Master Jiang, as long as you carry this token, you are acting in accordance with the law, and the village head and yamen runners will not make things difficult for you."

Jiang Heng's eyes brightened slightly, and he said gratefully, "Thank you very much, magistrate."

The county magistrate waved his hand and smiled, "It's good that the problems between the people can be resolved."

That night, the two drank an entire jar of wine, became completely drunk, and fell into a deep sleep.

Until high school.

Jiang Heng shook his head slightly, glanced at the hangover tea and a waist tag that had been prepared in advance, and couldn't help but smile.

Perhaps due to the need to start work early, the county magistrate had already woken up and gone off to perform his duties diligently.

He was not an official, so he was not bound by this rule, but he also had his own things to do.

Jiang Heng drank the tea in one gulp, hung the waist token on his waist, and strode out of the county government's inner residence, heading towards the various temples of the county's main deities.

He planned to do both: offer incense as a reward for land and keep the local officials in check.

The former should come first, followed by the latter.

This approach balances both aspects, making it easier to launch an uprising later.

The person chosen to build the temple first is naturally the one with the fewest worshippers, as they are the most likely to be moved.

After asking the yamen runners for details by showing his waist tag, Jiang Heng walked for a long time before finally arriving at a local earth god temple.

Due to years of neglect, the temple has fallen into disrepair, and the statues inside are mottled and the faces formed by the vegetation are even more blurred and difficult to discern.

Jiang Heng glanced at it, then cupped his hands to the statue and said, "May I ask if the Earth God is here? I have something to discuss with you and hope to see you."

As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man dressed in blue appeared.

When he saw someone approaching, he raised an eyebrow, his face showing excitement and joy.

Before he could speak, Jiang Heng said, "This humble citizen wishes to build a new temple for the Earth God. What do you think?"