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

Chapter 662 Condescending

Just as Li Mingyuan and his two companions left the city, Li Gang arrived at the prefectural government office with his men in black. After showing the black-clad guards' token, he successfully met with Prefect Zheng Qing, who was on duty at the prefectural government office.

"So you are Zheng Qing?"

Standing in front of Zheng Qing, Li Gang asked in a condescending tone.

As the commander of the Black-Clad Guards, he naturally had the right to put on airs with Zheng Qing, the prefect.

In fact, the commander of the Black-Clad Guards held the rank of a third-grade official. In other places, a prefect like Zheng Qing wouldn't even have the right to meet Li Gang.

"Indeed! Your humble servant Zheng Qing greets the Commander."

Having already learned Li Gang's identity, Zheng Qing hurriedly bowed, feeling somewhat uneasy. He wondered if his plan to build an army had been exposed, otherwise why would the dignified commander of the Black-Clad Guards come to the remote Taicang County?

"May I ask what brings the Commander here?"

Zheng Qing asked anxiously.

"I, the commander, have come in person to apprehend this important criminal!"

Li Gang said, word by word, "According to the information gathered by the Black-Clad Guards, the criminal Chen Dao, who murdered the Prince of Qing, is hiding in Taicang County. I have come here to capture the criminal Chen Dao!"

Arrest Chen Dao?!

Zheng Qing was shocked. He thought that the commander of the Black-Clad Guard had come because his army-building had been exposed. He did not expect that the commander had not come for the army at all, but because of Chen Dao.

"Young friend Chen, you've really put me in a terrible situation!"

Zheng Qing inwardly groaned. He knew this matter wouldn't end easily when Chen Dao killed the Prince of Qing, and now his guess had been proven true. The imperial court had actually sent the commander of the Black-Clad Guards to arrest Chen Dao in person...

Although Zheng Qing didn't know how strong Li Gang was, the aura emanating from him was enough to make Zheng Qing tremble.

Not to mention, Li Gang was followed by a large number of skilled Black-Clad Guards.

"As the prefect appointed by the imperial court, you have a responsibility to help this commander capture the wanted criminal Chen Dao."

Li Gang continued, "I, the commander, order you to immediately dispatch men to accompany me to Chenjia Village to apprehend the wanted criminal!"

They even found out where Chen Dao was...

Alarm bells rang in Zheng Qing's mind. The black-clad guards already knew about Chen Dao's village, Chen Family Village. This time, young friend Chen was probably in grave danger!

Zheng Qing is now in the same boat as Chen Dao and Chenjia Village. No matter what, he cannot stand by and watch Chen Dao be captured...

Zheng Qing's mind raced as he racked his brains for a solution.

At this moment, seeing that Zheng Qing remained silent, Li Gang asked with some dissatisfaction, "What is it? Does Prefect Zheng have some concerns?"

"no!"

Zheng Qing immediately regained his composure and said with righteous indignation, "Commander, rest assured, as an official appointed by the imperial court, I will do my utmost to assist you in capturing the criminal!"

"Ok!"

Li Gang nodded in satisfaction: "Make the arrangements as soon as possible, and we'll set off first thing tomorrow morning."

"Yes!"

Zheng Qing readily agreed. After arranging accommodations for Li Gang and his group, he quickly returned home, intending to discuss countermeasures with his teacher.

Before he had even returned home, the steward reported, "Master, Miss and two distinguished guests have already left the county town. This is the letter they left for you."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qing took the letter, quickly glanced through it, and immediately felt much more at ease.

It turned out that long before Li Gang arrived at the county government office, the teacher and others had already met Li Gang and guessed his intentions. They then went ahead to Chenjia Village, intending to arrive there before Li Gang and protect Chenjia Village and Chendao.

"With Brother Li here, Young Friend Chen's safety should be no problem!"

Zheng Qing completely relaxed. Li Qiao was someone who could protect his teacher and fight his way out of Beijing. With such a person protecting him, Li Gang's threat was no longer a problem.

but……

After thinking for a moment, Zheng Qing summoned a servant from the mansion and ordered him to rush to Chenjia Village to inform Chen Dao, the commander of the Black-Clad Guards, of his arrival.

After doing all this, Zheng Qing returned to his residence to have a meal and rest.

…………

…………

Two days later, Li Mingyuan and his party, who were rushing on their journey, arrived in Taiping County.

After Zheng Qiuyan showed her travel permit, the three entered the city without incident.

"This Taiping County does have a rather prosperous appearance."

Upon entering the city, Li Mingyuan couldn't help but remark that while Taiping County was far smaller than Taicang Prefecture in terms of scale, its prosperity gave him the feeling that it was no less impressive than the prefecture city.

The bustling merchants and travelers coming and going at the city gates, the dazzling array of shops inside the city, and the busy streets create an extremely lively atmosphere.

What made Li Mingyuan even more gratified was that he could not see any trace of hunger among the people of Taiping County.

The people passing by all seemed full of energy, unlike the pale-faced people of Liangzhou. Everyone had a genuine smile on their face.

"Old Li is unaware of this."

Zheng Qiuyan said from the side, "Taiping County is the first stop for goods leaving Chenjia Village. After a large number of yellow-feathered chickens, white-feathered ducks, blood-feathered chickens, and red-blooded chickens leave Chenjia Village, the first place they arrive at is Taiping County. The large number of goods and merchants gathered in Taiping County has greatly benefited the county, resulting in a very prosperous business environment. As a result, the people have also benefited and were able to earn enough money to support their families."

"I see."

Li Mingyuan suddenly realized that after serving as an official for most of his life, he naturally knew the importance of commerce. Taiping County was the first stop for Chenjia Village's goods to be exported, and merchants and goods gathered here. The arrival of merchants also brought a lot of job opportunities, allowing the people of Taiping County to earn money through their labor.

With money earned, people can eat their fill and their lives will get better and better. No wonder the people of Taiping County look so much better than the people of Liangzhou.

"Who are these people from Taiping County?"

Li Mingyuan asked, "The people of a county can live well, which must be inseparable from the efforts of the county magistrate. Therefore, he also became somewhat curious about the county magistrate of Taiping County."

"It is Magistrate Xu Zhiwen."

"Xu Zhiwen?"

Li Mingyuan felt the name was somewhat familiar, but couldn't quite place it, so he gave up.

"Let's go to Chenjia Village first."

The three set off again, heading straight from the south gate to the north gate.

Upon reaching the vicinity of the North Gate, the level of prosperity immediately surpassed that of the North Gate.

The North Gate is the area in Taiping County closest to Chenjia Village, so there are more shops and a larger flow of people here.

The shops lining the streets were so numerous that Li Mingyuan and Li Qiao were overwhelmed by the sights, and the throngs of pedestrians made them feel as if they were in a bustling city.

"San Gou General Store?"

At that moment, Li Mingyuan happened to be standing in front of a shop called San Gou General Store. Looking at the crowded scene inside, Li Mingyuan couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why is this shop doing so well?"