In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 903 Thunderous Fury

"Xiao Cheng, you've really run into some good luck this time!"

Iron Hand said earnestly, "The owner treats you so well, you must be diligent in the shop and not let him down."

"Don't worry, Uncle! I know!"

Wu Cheng nodded emphatically. Having worked odd jobs for many years, he knew how rare a stable and high-paying job was. Naturally, he had to work hard to ensure he wouldn't be laid off.

Moreover, the employer told him that if business was good, their wages could continue to increase, from 500 coins to 600 coins, or even 800 coins...

Such a good job, no matter how tiring or difficult it is, Wu Cheng would never give up easily. Besides, this job is much easier than the manual labor jobs he used to do, and it's not tiring at all.

"It's good that you know what's important!"

Tie Shou was still at ease with Wu Cheng, so after offering a few words of advice, he urged, "Alright! Little Cheng, stop talking and hurry up and eat your meat."

"Okay! Thank you, Uncle Tie."

"Thank me! Eat more, you need to eat meat to grow taller."

"I know."

Inside the small house, the couple and Wu Cheng were enjoying the delicious duck meat. It was obvious that Tie Shou's family was not the only ones eating duck meat.

As night fell, countless residents of Shaman Town who had managed to buy chickens and ducks laid out meat dishes on their tables. Adults and children alike shared the meat, filling the air with a faint aroma of meat. The laughter of adults and children echoed throughout the town.

…………

…………

After all the chickens and ducks at Zhang's Department Store were sold out, Zhang He set off the next day with his caravan, leaving Shaman Town.

On the day Zhang He set off, caravans from Chenjia Village arrived one after another, and the chickens and ducks they brought to Shaman Town undoubtedly triggered another buying frenzy among the people of Shaman Town.

Just as the manager of Zhang's Department Store had said, although the chickens and ducks sold by these merchants were priced slightly higher than those sold at Zhang's Department Store, the difference was not significant. Even the most expensive merchant did not charge more than 300 coins for a single chicken or duck.

This price was naturally acceptable to the people of Shaman Town. Therefore, wherever the caravan went, the townspeople flocked to it, snapping up all the chickens and ducks it brought.

Even the people of other military towns knew that a large number of merchants had appeared in Shaman Town, and they all rushed to Shaman Town to buy chickens and ducks.

Suddenly, the entire town of Shaman became lively, giving people a sense of commercial prosperity.

Many of these merchants who arrived in Shaman Town chose to open shops there. After opening their shops, they would hire a large number of workers from Shaman Town, and so on...

As a result, more people have been able to find jobs that do not require them to travel around and provide them with a stable income.

This made Tian Yu very happy, as if he could already foresee a bright future where commerce flourished in each town and people lived in peace and contentment.

Just as the people of Shaman Town were enjoying cheap meat, another major event occurred in Kyushu!

Having conquered Mingzhou and now possessing four prefectures, Yang Zheng no longer concealed his ambition. After Mingzhou had largely stabilized, he seized the opportunity to declare himself king!

Generally speaking, a rebellious warlord like Yang Zheng often likes to claim a powerful ancestor to elevate his own status. However, Yang Zheng did not do this. Instead, he directly proclaimed himself the King of Liang and then began to bestow titles upon his meritorious officials.

Whether civil or military officials, all those who had rendered meritorious service under Yang Zheng's command received rewards, either being promoted or ennobled. Even the lowest-ranking soldiers received some rewards.

Immediately, the morale of the Yang family army soared from top to bottom. They couldn't wait for King Yang to send troops to unify the nine provinces so that they could obtain higher status and more rewards.

Undoubtedly, Yang Zheng's act of declaring himself king severely provoked the Xia Kingdom's court.

After learning of Yang Zheng's claim to the throne, the court, which had been hiding in the shadows for so long, was furious and immediately issued a proclamation to punish the traitor, calling on the people of the world to join forces against him!

however……

There were quite a few scholars who responded to the imperial court's call to punish the traitor, but not a single one actually sent troops to punish Yang Zheng!

The reason is simple: Yang Zheng now controls four states and is one of the largest warlord forces in the world. Forces that are loyal to the imperial court have no ability to attack Yang Zheng.

Not to mention... it's questionable whether there are still people truly loyal to the court these days. Apart from those blindly loyal scholars, anyone with even a little power knows that it's time for a change of dynasty. Rather than using their precious military strength to show loyalty to the court, it's better to preserve their power and seek a higher position in the new dynasty...

In short, apart from scolding Yang Zheng, the imperial court's proclamation against the traitor caused him almost no harm.

Yang Zheng, who had declared himself king, did not rush to send troops to seize more territory, but instead began to recuperate and rebuild his strength.

In the past year, Yang's army has seized territory in three states, which has obviously reached the limit of expansion. If it continues to expand, internal instability will inevitably occur.

Therefore, after capturing Mingzhou, Yang Zheng ceased all expansion efforts and instead halted the fighting to focus on honing his internal skills.

While dealing with landlords and powerful figures in Mingzhou, Yang Zheng began to distribute land to the people, making use of the land that no one was cultivating.

Meanwhile, Wei Zijie and other officials in Liangzhou also began to select officials through examinations in various prefectures, recruiting more scholars to fill vacant official positions in each prefecture...

The numerous affairs in each state kept Yang Zheng so busy that he could only sleep for two hours a day. It was only because Yang Zheng was a martial artist with a strong physique that he was able to cope with the government affairs alone.

"Erlang."

Inside the Mingzhou government office, Yang Zheng, who was using this place as his temporary office, chuckled, flicked the letters in his hand, and said to Yang Erlang below, "Guess who sent these letters?"

Having just arrived from Qingzhou to receive his title, and about to depart for Qingzhou in the next couple of days, Yang Erlang pondered for a moment and guessed, "Could it be the imperial court?"

"Yes and no!"

Yang Zheng shook his head, looking disdainful, and said, "These letters were sent by prominent families in the capital, and many of them bear the signatures of court officials."

"A prominent family in the capital?"

Yang Erlang was taken aback. If we were to talk about the most influential aristocratic families in the world, then without a doubt, it would be the powerful families in the capital.

Located in the capital, the center of power in the Nine Provinces, their family was able to wield greater power. While they might not be as wealthy as the Lu family, which controlled an entire province, they far surpassed the Lu family in terms of power and influence over the Nine Provinces.