Feel Free to Mention Anything You Want

Those two gamblers were either Chen Zhiyuan's men, or they were already in his hands!

The more Zhao Dengming thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

"Smash!"

The high-quality blue and white porcelain teacups were smashed to the ground.

"Good! This kid actually dared to blackmail me and almost brought me to the ditch. I'll go find him now!"

Zhao Dengming said angrily and was about to leave.

"Lord Zhao, if you want to shed all pretense of cordiality now, you can explain to the county governor that there are no weapons in your armory."

The man in black said calmly behind him and immediately pulled the furious Zhao Dengming back.

"What do you mean by that?"

Zhao Dengming turned around and asked.

"Lord Zhao, the matter of you and the county magistrate selling armaments has obviously been discovered by Constable Chen. He didn't want to shed all pretense of cordiality, so he set up this trap or used the evidence against you to make this deal. As for why he didn't want to shed all pretense of cordiality, it might be because he didn't want the county magistrate to be replaced. Come to think of it, you still benefited from the county magistrate."

As the man in black spoke, he looked at Zhao Dengming mockingly.

Zhao Dengming's face turned red, unable to refute.

Chen Zhiyuan was currently under the county magistrate's orders to suppress the bandits, and the county magistrate was under the county governor's orders.

In other words, now the county magistrate had the authority to order him to give Chen Zhiyuan armaments, and it was precisely because he knew that the armaments in the armory had long been resold that he did not say anything and allowed Chen Zhiyuan to prepare them on his own.

If Chen Zhiyuan knew that there were no armaments in the armory, he could have directly reported the county magistrate to the county governor. However, because he knew that the county magistrate was also involved, he set up this trap and asked him to make enough weapons and armor to give to him.

The county magistrate might be unlucky if this matter was made public if he went to blame Chen Zhiyuan and force him into a corner now. However, the crime of him as the military governor supervising the armory was definitely the greatest.

"Then what do you think we should do? Should we really forge weapons and armor for him? He's going to annihilate you."

Zhao Dengming could not help but look at the man in black again and asked.

"Just forge it for him. If he wants to annihilate the bandits, let him annihilate them. At the same time, he can also help us."

The man in black stood up after saying that, and he said to Zhao Dengming, "When he sends out troops to annihilate the bandits, you might as well go to the county magistrate and apply to supervise the troops. The county magistrate might consider it. Bring a pigeon with you. If there's anything urgent, we will contact you through the carrier pigeon."

"What, bring a carrier pigeon? That will be too obvious. If I'm not careful, I'll be discovered..."

Zhao Dengming immediately felt that he was in a tight spot.

"Lord Zhao, money is easy to get, but shit tastes terrible. You've boarded the ship of my Black Wind Mountain. It's too late to jump ship now! I advise you to take care of yourself!"

The man in black glared fiercely at Zhao Dengming and disappeared into the backyard.

...

On the other side, Chen Zhiyuan was rushing to the county office.

He didn't know that after he left, a capable person from the Zhao Residence had guessed part of his actions. He only thought that since he had lied for the county magistrate in the Zhao Residence, he should at least get some benefits from the county magistrate.

"Constable Chen, why are you here? How are the preparations for the recruitment of local soldiers coming along?"

In the county office study, Liu Qingshan saw Chen Zhiyuan coming over and immediately got up to ask him. He didn't have any airs of a county magistrate at all.

"Reporting to the County Magistrate, the recruitment of the local soldiers is currently going very smoothly. However, when I went to the armory to apply for weapons and armor, Military Governor Zhao refused to admit that I was recruiting local soldiers on the ground that you didn't give me any funds. County Magistrate, you have to stand up for me. I can collect money and food, but where am I going to collect weapons and armor!"

Chen Zhiyuan pretended to be extremely wronged and became angrier the more he spoke in the county magistrate's study.

"Constable Chen, you have been wronged. It's my fault for not thinking properly. Weapons and armors are only available in the armory. Anyone who privately builds them is guilty of treason. As for Military Governor Zhao, I'll talk to him personally another day."

Liu Qingshan smiled along and pulled Chen Zhiyuan to a chair beside him to sit down. He personally brought a cup of tea and handed it to Chen Zhiyuan.

His expression was a little pained.

Zhao Dengming did share a portion of the weapons resale with him, but it was less than 30%.

But this time, if he went to talk to him, perhaps the two of them would have to split the money to forge weapons and armor.

"County Magistrate, there's no need for that now. I've already taken care of Military Governor Zhao's side. At least he agreed to forge weapons for me."

Chen Zhiyuan drank a mouthful of water and said.

"Oh! Constable Chen, you have already convinced Military Governor Zhao to make weapons! That's the best. We can't delay the extermination of the bandits for even a day. The sooner the better! The sooner we exterminate this huge threat, the easier it will be for me to ask for credit from the county governor for you."

When Liu Qingshan heard that, he immediately beamed with joy.

He didn't need to pay this money. No matter how he looked at it, it was a good thing.

"County Magistrate, this time, I didn't spend a single cent of the county's money on the recruitment and suppression of the bandits. After we take down Black Wind Mountain, it shouldn't be a problem for me to take an extra share of the profits from the mountain stronghold, right?"

Chen Zhiyuan opened his mouth to ask Liu Qingshan.

"No problem! Of course, there's no issue! As long as we hand over the county governor's share, you can take an extra share of the rest that we have to share!"

Liu Qingshan immediately patted his chest and promised.

After all, he did not spend a single cent, but the credit for exterminating Black Wind Mountain was his. It would not be a big deal if he took a little less money.

After the distribution of the spoils from the Xu Residence last time, he had now completely treated Chen Zhiyuan as one of his own people, so there was no need to hide these words.

"Since that's the case, County Magistrate, it shouldn't be a problem for you to treat the Black Wind Mountain that you've conquered as my county's fief."

Chen Zhiyuan spoke again.

"As long as you can conquer Black Wind Mountain, you can choose any mountain in Qingshui County. Whichever you want your fief to be is fine! If you have any other requests, please state them."

Liu Qingshan waved his hand once again.

After all, Qingshui County did not have any mines. The mountain peaks were almost the same. For an undeserved title, a fief was just an ordinary mountain peak. There was nothing wrong with that.

"Not for the time being. It's enough to have the County Magistrate's words. I will definitely take down Black Wind Mountain for you!"

Chen Zhiyuan stood up. With the county magistrate's words, he was ready to take his leave.

If he wanted to develop his power, he had to have a territory first.

Taoyuan Village was too obvious, and the land wasn't fertile, so it was extremely suitable to be used as an excuse.

It was obvious that living on the mountain was possible since the bandits on Black Wind Mountain were able to stay on the mountain for so long in this year of drought. After it was conquered, he could move the refugees in with a few repairs, quietly growing and waiting for the right time.

"Good! Zhiyuan, with your words, I'm half relieved. If there's nothing else, you should hurry back and recruit enough local soldiers to train, so you can send out troops to suppress the bandits as soon as possible!"

Liu Qingshan patted Chen Zhiyuan's shoulder affectionately and beamed with joy.

"County Magistrate, then I'll have to trouble you to put in a few good words for me in front of the county governor. I'll definitely do my best."

Chen Zhiyuan was also beaming with joy.

Only a fool would be willing to replace such a boss who was deaf to the outside world and only focused on getting money.