Inside the main hall of the County Government Office.

Hu Qiang had been waiting for a long time. Wang Ping, Lu Yuan, and others surrounded a palm-sized seal, looking it over with expressions of inexplicable meaning.

Chen Mo and Han Wu hurried to the County Government Office, and upon seeing them, Hu Qiang quickly came forward to greet them.

"Immortal Master Chen, the one hundred thousand coins you gave, Yang Minggui accepted, but he said that if you want to take over the whole of Pingting County, a hundred thousand coins are not enough. You need to pay another hundred thousand coins, ten thousand stones of grain, and a thousand heads of cattle, sheep, chickens, and ducks in total," Hu Qiang said.

Hearing this, Wang Ping immediately jumped up. Ever since he took on a role similar to a financial manager, he knew very well how much one hundred thousand coins and ten thousand stones of grain were. He said:

"Immortal Master Chen, you can't agree. This is clearly bullying. We took down Pingting County, and their Celestial Master Army didn't contribute any effort. Yet, they want us to hand over two hundred thousand coins, ten thousand stones of grain, and a thousand heads of livestock. It's a business with no capital."

Han Wu and Lu Yuan also voiced their objections one after another. Although they didn't handle the finances, they knew that the numbers were too large.

The main issue was that the Celestial Master Army didn't put in any effort, yet they wanted to take away so much money and grain for nothing, which would upset anyone.

Only Hu Qiang looked serious. When Yang Minggui made this demand, he specifically took him to see his troops, and there were too many of them.

"Immortal Master Chen, Yang Minggui has nearly fifty thousand troops, and he also revealed himself to be a Fourth-Grade Martial Artist. He's already taken down Qingtian County. If we don't comply, I'm afraid..." Hu Qiang did not continue.

Chen Mo knew that if they didn't pay, Yang Minggui would likely come and take it by force, and it might not just be this amount. He glanced at the seal on the table and raised an eyebrow: "What is this?"

"This is the Military Token Yang Minggui asked me to give you. It means you will be a commander in the Sixth Battalion under his Tiger Wei Army, and you need to follow his... directives." At this point, Hu Qiang's voice diminished, fearing that Chen Mo might get angry.

Chen Mo lightly tapped his fingers on the table, seeming resigned to the fact that the other party was sure he would agree.

After pondering for a while, Chen Mo asked, "What else did he say?"

"He also said that we need to register the roster of our troops and submit it to him, with no concealment of personnel. Besides this, he wanted to inquire what kind of... Spiritual Qi Immortal Master Chen harnesses." Hu Qiang scratched his head, not understanding this.

"Innate Spiritual Qi," Lu Yuan interjected.

"Yes, that's right, Innate Spiritual Qi. He asked what kind of Innate Spiritual Qi Immortal Master Chen harnesses," Hu Qiang said.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo furrowed his brows. What was bound to come had finally come.

Since he had used Solar Purple Qi to appear sacred before others and win their hearts, he naturally had to bear the risk of exposing himself.

However, Solar Purple Qi was too advanced for ordinary people to discern.

At least, Lu Yuan and the others still didn't know.

Therefore, as long as he didn't reveal it directly in front of Yang Minggui, he could still cover it up for a while longer. But he needed to think of a type of Innate Spiritual Qi that could appear as purple energy on his body to muddle through.

"I understand. We'll pay the money and even add ten thousand coins more. As for the questions he wants to know, I will write them down in the register, and when you have rested, pass it on to him," Chen Mo instructed Han Wu:

"Prepare a thousand heads of livestock."

Currently, Chen Mo still needed the banner of the Celestial Master Army at the forefront and had to prevent being plundered by the other side to buy himself time for development. Given the demand is within his tolerance, he decided to endure and comply for now.

As for the extra ten thousand coins, Chen Mo wasn't giving it away for free. He had an eye on the Salt Lake in Qingtian County, occupied by the Celestial Master Army.

It was unlikely he could take it, as even a fool would know the Salt Lake was lucrative. What he was keen on was to see if he could buy crude salt from the Celestial Master Army at a low price.

"Understood," Han Wu responded reluctantly.

"Immortal Master Chen, Sun Meng has been clamoring to see you several times. Do you think it's time to meet him?" Lu Yuan roughly guessed Chen Mo's intention and thus changed the topic.

Chen Mo nodded; after leaving Sun Meng out overnight, it was time to subdue him.

...

Sun Meng's injuries were not too severe, as Chen Mo had held back his strength at the time, and part of the force was blocked by the Heart Protection Mirror on his chest, resulting in only minor internal injuries.

After two nights and a day, his condition had improved quite well.

However, he still pretended to be weak, his face slightly pale, and when Chen Mo came over, he deliberately coughed a couple of times.

Chen Mo had Lu Yuan step back so he could converse with Sun Meng alone.

Sun Meng was about two cycles older than Chen Mo, over fifty, an age considered elderly among ordinary people but still robust for a Seventh-Grade Martial Artist.

Sun Meng was from Qingzhou, though not a native of Pingting County. He had been a centurion in the Qingzhou Army and was dispatched to serve as the Commander of the Defense Army in Pingting County, eventually settling there.

Two years ago, he received a secret letter from above, instructing him to follow the orders of the newly appointed County Magistrate Chang Yuan.

Chen Mo understood that recruiting talent required different methods. He noticed Sun Meng's pretense but didn't expose it. Instead, he gently said, "General Sun, you should take care to recover properly. Why are you out of bed?"

Sun Meng directly asked, "What have you done with my wife and children?"

"Rest assured, they are doing well, being entertained in the village with good food and drink, and are under the protection of over a thousand people. They won't come to any harm," Chen Mo replied with a smile.

Sun Meng discerned an underlying message in his words. His temples began to pulse, and his breathing became long and steady—a sign a martial artist is preparing to act out of anger.

Yet, Chen Mo's expression remained calm, without any sign of preparing to defend himself.

First, he wasn't afraid; second, he believed Sun Meng wouldn't dare.

As expected, a few breaths later, Sun Meng's pulsing temples calmed, and like a deflated dog, he asked, "What do you want?"

"I am someone who values recruiting talents from all over the world, even if they were once my enemies. In these troubled times, General Sun's skills can surely be put to greater use. Serving this decaying court would only bury your talents.

Moreover, Pingting County has already fallen, and the entire Qingzhou is now in the hands of our Righteous Army. Even if you, as a captured general, return to the court, they won't trust that you haven't betrayed them, and they certainly won't put you to important use. Why not..." Chen Mo began to persuade.

In short, if you align with me, you will receive great treatment. If not, the court likely won't accommodate you again, leaving you with no place to go but death.

"Imprisoning my wife and children, is this your method of recruiting talents?" Sun Meng said with a hint of resentment in his words.

"General Sun, you misunderstand. When did I imprison your wife and children? I merely protected them. You don't know how chaotic the situation was at the time. Without my people to protect them, your wife and children might not have survived..." Chen Mo said.

Sun Meng raised an eyebrow, pondered for a long time, and finally made a decision. He knelt on one knee and respectfully said, "Subordinate greets County Magistrate Chen."

"General Sun, what are you doing? Please, get up quickly." Chen Mo helped Sun Meng up.

Taking a deep breath, Sun Meng said, "County Magistrate, about my wife and children..."

"Once you have recovered from your injuries, you can see them at any time."

Upon hearing this, Sun Meng's old face blushed. The previously weak appearance vanished, and he said, "Actually...my injuries are no longer serious and don't affect my movements."

"That's excellent," Chen Mo smiled and said, "I have to return to the village later, General Sun can accompany me back then."

"Yes," Sun Meng clasped his hands in salute.

"What kind of position does the County Magistrate plan to arrange for me?"

"For now...serve as my commander of the personal guard." Although Sun Meng had come over, Chen Mo didn't completely trust him. With his abilities, only keeping him close was the best option. Chen Mo said, "I will transfer three people to serve under you."

The three people he spoke of were the three guards of the Xia Sisters.

...

After arranging for Sun Meng, Chen Mo handled governmental affairs in the office.

The first thing was to reopen the government office to the people. Previously, when Chang Yuan sealed the city, the office did not accept civilian cases and pushed things aside whenever possible.

Without a place to maintain justice, private fights would break out over time, causing unrest and making the people dissatisfied with the office.

This was why Chen Mo recruited three hundred Qinghe Gang disciples to serve as constables.

Secondly, was to control the prices, which were currently too high in the city, especially the daily necessities for the people, which were skyrocketing.

Chen Mo planned to open a few more general stores in the city to control prices and collect the money previously distributed.

Then there was the issue of refugees in the city.

Chen Mo prepared to build a weapons factory in the city to manufacture weapons and armor, using the method of work for relief to deal with the refugees.

Regarding the lime factory and gunpowder factory, Chen Mo did not plan to place them in the city. These were his core industries, and it was better to keep them in the village.

Yet little was handled in a day, and a whole day passed with Chen Mo being busy.

Chen Mo brought Sun Meng back to the stronghold.

At the moment of seeing his wife and children, Sun Meng finally relaxed and then told Chen Mo he wanted to bring his family back to the city.

However, Chen Mo said it was safer for the family in the stronghold.

Sun Meng understood the meaning of those words and didn't bring it up again.

The next day, Chen Mo brought Zhao Daoxian to the office, appointed him as the chief clerk, and asked him to find a time to contact the Yi Family to set a date for a concubine acceptance.

As for the Wang Family's chief clerk, Chen Mo had already dismissed him.

The vacant position of the village schoolmaster was filled by a Child Student from the city at Chen Mo's appointment.

When it came to basic literacy, a Child Student sufficed.

...

Time flowed like water, and in the blink of an eye, five days swiftly passed.

[Name: Chen Mo.]

[Age: 17.]

[Cultivation Technique: Purple Sun Transformation Skill (Small Success 2712.6/5000).]

[Realm: Qi Refining (Sixth Grade).]

[Power: 280.]

[Skills: Great Sun Qi Slash (Basic 306580/5000000), Wind-Chasing Arrow (Advanced 1213/2000).]

In these five days, Chen Mo kept a tight schedule, handling governmental affairs after absorbing innate spiritual qi in the morning, practicing with the saber at noon, and practicing archery in the afternoon, receiving reports before dark to understand the progress of various projects, then returning to the village at night, with no time even to relax.

Currently, Qingtian County is overseen by Yang Minggui's trusted General Yuan Youchun. Chen Mo acquires coarse salt from him at a price of forty cents per pound.

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