"Fine. Notify Commander Zhou to hold back for now. When the great chaos arrives... heh heh..."
Xiao Jing said coldly.
The salt mine represented immense wealth and was a major source of income for his Wild Mountain Village.
Once mined, he could sell it to the Tam Tribe through his shop.
A single unit of salt ore could sell for as much as 1,000 copper coins. It was a path to instant riches.
With taxes not yet established in Wild Mountain Village, he was counting on this salt mine to generate his fortune. How could he possibly let a puny place like Xiahe Village cause trouble?
Guo Yun nodded respectfully, a hint of ruthlessness showing on his wrinkled face.
"My Lord, it's getting more and more chaotic out there. Why don't we use a borrowed knife to do the killing?"
"Those Yellow Turban fanatics would make an excellent blade!" he schemed.
Xiao Jing thought for a moment, first shaking his head, then nodding.
'It's not that simple. Xiahe Village might not be stronger than us, but they aren't weak. I doubt those disorganized Yellow Turban fanatics, that rabble out there, can actually do anything to them.'
"Still, there's no harm in trying. Pick a few clever men from the village and give it a shot."
Yanmen was a border commandery, after all, so the Yellow Turban forces here weren't as strong as one might imagine. This was especially true for a frontier town like Shanwu County.
But regardless, it was worth a shot. It wouldn't cost anything to try, and even if it failed, harassing and weakening Xiahe Village was a good thing.
"Xiahe Village is just a petty nuisance, not worth much of our effort. Elder Guo, we need to shift our focus back to our own development. The food problem is pressing."
Xiao Jing turned back to face his civil and military officials gathered in the hall and spoke with gravity.
"I understand. In the coming days, I will have the villagers forage in the mountains for wild vegetables and fruits to fill their stomachs."
"Good. I'll leave the specific details to you, Elder Guo."
...
After the meeting, Xiao Jing went to inspect the village.
After two weeks of development, Wild Mountain Village had changed dramatically.
The most obvious change was that the rows of thatched huts had been replaced with brick and stone houses, and the pitted, muddy roads had been leveled and repaired.
Two main roads, one running east-west and another north-south, crisscrossed the village, connecting Wild Mountain Village itself to the stockade at the valley mouth, the mountains and streams to the north, and the great plains to the south.
The stockade at the valley mouth was built from a Gray-quality "Stockade Blueprint," which Xiao Jing and his Wind Cavalry had found in a cave while hunting and training during the past two weeks.
It was worth mentioning that they had only found the cave thanks to Ye Mengmeng.
[Building Name]: Valley Mouth Stockade
[Quality]: Standard (Gray)
[Garrison]: 12/1000
[Upgradeable]: Yes (Garrison capacity increases after upgrading)
[Effects]: Defend from a strategic position. Inside, soldiers receive Damage -5%, Evasion Rate +5%, Might +2%, and a minor boost to morale.
[Structure Durability]: 1990/2000
[Description]: The prototype of a strategic, fortified pass.
It was no exaggeration to say Ye Mengmeng was truly Wild Mountain Village's "Lucky Star."
The Valley Mouth Stockade was purely a military structure, and it greatly enhanced Wild Mountain Village's defensive capabilities. With it, Xiao Jing was confident he could block an army of ten thousand at the valley entrance.
Of course, he was referring to ten thousand Tier One or lower soldiers.
This was also the source of his confidence to seize the opportunity during the coming Yellow Turban uprising and make a play for Shanwu City.
'After all, if I can't win, I can just retreat to Wild Mountain Village. Once the gates to the Valley Mouth Stockade are shut, would the Yellow Turbans really go to the trouble of attacking such a heavily fortified position?'
People bustled along the two main roads, and merchants gradually began to gather and trade.
Xiao Jing knew that to revitalize Wild Mountain Village's economy, the villagers needed to have money.
Only when the villagers had money could he logically implement a tax policy and generate revenue for the village.
Therefore, a few days ago, Xiao Jing had begun deliberately paying the villagers "wages."
Money fueled transactions.
Now, it seemed the effect was remarkable!
Xiao Jing nodded.
'I can only collect taxes when there are transactions, and that revenue will alleviate Wild Mountain Village's reliance on a single source of income. I can't depend on the shop and trade with the Tam Tribe for everything.'
'Speaking of trade, I need to get the village blacksmith and tailor shop running as soon as possible. All these beast hides are perfect materials for making leather armor. Once the armor is made, I can make another killing off those big spenders in the Tam Tribe!'
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Xiao Jing continued walking without pause.
As he walked, refugees who recognized him greeted him respectfully, their voices filled with sincere gratitude.
After all, he hadn't just taken them in when they were displaced, providing them with food and shelter; he had even paid them wages for their work, allowing them to earn money. He was an incredible benefactor!
Before long, Xiao Jing had finished his tour of the entire village.
He had a good grasp of the village's overall development.
'The village is developing well, but some unsettling trends have appeared... those ruffians and hooligans...'
Xiao Jing mused.
The refugees were a mixed bag of good and bad people.
There were talented individuals like Liu Jing and Xi Yun, but also ruffians and hooligans. If left unchecked, such people would inevitably drag down the territory's development.
Having recently taken in nearly a thousand refugees, public order in the village had naturally declined.
'Looks like I need to prioritize building a prison.'
With that thought, Xiao Jing opened the village panel.
[Territory]: Wild Mountain Village (Level 2 Village)
[Lord]: Xiao Jing
[Population]: 1356
[Public Sentiment]: 71 (The people are content, Development Efficiency +2%)
[Public Order]: 56
[Economy Index]: 75/100
[Politics Index]: 47/100
[Culture Index]: 22/100
[Military Index]: 2311/100
[Prosperity]: 114
[Territory Specialty]: None
[Existing Buildings]: Village-level Lord's Residence, Wind Cavalry Barracks (Gold), Basic Shop (Yellow), Residences (122), Warehouse, Training Ground, Barracks…
[Fortification]: Valley Mouth Stockade (Gray)
[Buildable]: Residences, Clinic, Basic Market, General Store…
[Territory Assets]: 1,213 mu of farmland on the Wild Mountain Plains, Basic Horse Ranch
[Output]: Copper Coins: None (Tax rate: 0), Grain: None, Minerals: Iron Ore (200 units/day), Salt Ore (120 units/day)…
[Secret Realm]: Pre-Qin Ruins - Ancient Qin Secret Realm
[Troops]: 200 Soldier Terracotta Warriors, 30 Wind Cavalry, 36 Village Braves (newly trained recruits)
[Summary]: A small village just starting to develop.
Thanks to Guo Yun's diligent efforts, the village's prosperity had increased, and Wild Mountain Village had officially been upgraded to a Level 2 Village.
After becoming a Level 2 Village, any further upgrades required the Economy, Politics, Culture, and Military indices to reach 100.
'Sigh... I wonder when I'll be able to upgrade this place into a city.'
Xiao Jing sighed after looking at the panel.
Upgrading to a Level 2 village in just two weeks was already quite fast.
But the prospect of upgrading to a city was still a long way off. After all, a Level 3 Village was followed by townships, and only after three levels of township upgrades could it become a city…
Reaching the city level was the true starting point for a territory, since only towns and cities could unlock the "Teleportation Circle" function.
...