Fang Ling laughed and said to him: "Don't you say that I almost forgot, when you go to the backyard with Dong Guard, bring two boxes of silver, probably a few thousand taels, it should be enough to spend in the near future." ”

"Your Highness. Cao Jingyuan was overjoyed.

Fang Ling touched his chin and said: "Then the matter is decided, you all perform your duties, and when this king takes the stone city one day, he will be crowned as an official for you!"

"Your Highness. Everyone quickly stood up and saluted respectfully.

According to the law of the state of Chu, the fief where the prince was located was called a vassal state, and he did not need to pay taxes to the emperor, but was the lord of one party, and at the same time enjoyed the power to appoint and dismiss officials.

It's just that because the situation is undecided at this time, even if it is not official now, it is not official, so I will leave it for later.

Early the next morning, He Zhutou took the gong and drum, and while walking along the street, he beat and shouted loudly: "The king of Shicheng has an order, and the young and middle-aged people of every family should gather outside the city, and there must be no mistake!"

Although Fang Ling has not been in Feng County for a long time, everyone knows that the King of Shicheng is the lord of the fief, and even Cao County's order has to obey his orders, and ordinary people naturally dare not disobey his orders.

So, by the time Fang Ling and the others arrived outside the city, more than 500 young adults had gathered under the empty city walls.

Seeing Fang Ling walking to the front, everyone knew that this young man was the King of Shicheng, so they knelt down in unison and shouted in unison: "I've seen the King of Shicheng!"

Fang Ling smiled slightly, motioned for everyone to get up, and then said to Cao Jingyuan: "It's up to Lord Cao to announce the matter." ”

Cao Jingyuan bowed, stood under the city gate and said loudly: "On the orders of the King of Shicheng, this county will recruit 50 laborers to dig the stone mountain, with a monthly salary of 2 taels of silver. ”

As soon as these words were said, the young adults were all taken aback, and some people couldn't help but ask: "My lord, what you said is true, you can get 2 taels of silver by digging this stone mountain?"

Cao Jingyuan naturally knew that in this small town, 2 taels of silver per month was very tempting, because the salary of being a soldier was only 3 taels, and he was only 5 taels of silver. And the young and middle-aged people in the county are all working hard, farming, digging mountains, isn't that the same?

Cao Jingyuan said with a solemn face: "The king's golden words, how can there be a fake?"

Everyone suddenly cheered, and they were eager to sign up.

Cao Jingyuan said loudly: "Don't worry, in addition to labor, you also have to recruit carpentry, blacksmith apprentices and other jobs, any type of work can get a monthly salary of 2 taels of silver." ”

Everyone immediately began to talk about it, and their faces were full of joy.

Cao Jingyuan finally said: "In addition, this county will recruit a hundred soldiers, and they will pay 3 silver per month!"

The boiling sound in the crowd became more intense, and everyone rushed forward enthusiastically, shouting loudly one by one:

"I'll report the soldiers!"

"I'll report the carpenter!"

"I'll apply for a blacksmith apprentice!"

Looking at this noisy scene, Chen Mou couldn't help but smile and sighed: "Your Highness, even if you get this salary to the imperial city, it is not low." ”

Fang Ling smiled slightly: "If you want to make this county town, which is like a pool of stagnant water, come alive immediately, how can it not be stimulated? And compared to the profits we are about to earn, these salaries are really insignificant." ”

Speaking of this, he smiled again and said, "Speaking of which, it seems that Master Chen hasn't been given a monthly salary yet?"

Chen Mou hurriedly said: "The minister is willing to be like Lord Cao, not to seek high-ranking officials, but to serve His Royal Highness with all his heart." ”

Fang Ling stretched out his hand and pressed his shoulder, and said earnestly: "The ancients are cloudy, out of the mud without staining, rich and noble without arrogance, to be a clean official, clean in the heart, if this king allows the Qing officials to live in poverty, how can he be worthy of being the king of this fief? ”

"The ministers will obey His Royal Highness's teachings!" Chen Mou arched his hands, with a look of admiration on his face, although the prince is small, he can understand the people's hearts, treat the side ministers well, and know more about the truth that it is difficult to fight the country and defend the country.

There are more than 2,000 people in the county, almost 400 households, each family is about 5 people, and there are generally one or two young adults in the family.

In about half an hour, more than 500 young adults have found their respective jobs.

Among them, Huang Jian is responsible for mining, Cao Jingyuan is responsible for building a smelter, and Meng Zhiyuan, who has run through business, is responsible for the sales of ironware.

After the recruitment was completed, Fang Ling signaled that except for the recruited soldiers to stay, the others could go to their respective places of work with the adults in charge.

As a result, under the city wall, only the hundred soldiers recruited were left, and in addition, the original soldiers defending the city were also called out of the city and stood in several rows, which looked quite strategic.

Fang Ling's gaze swept over everyone, everyone straightened their chests, their expressions were very serious, although it was only a 16 or 7-year-old boy in front of him, however, his noble status as the king of Shicheng and his eyes as sharp as a knife were like seeing the depths of his heart from everyone's faces, which made people dare not have the slightest slackness.

At this time, the sun has also risen in mid-air, and the lazy winter sun shines on everyone's faces, looking vibrant.

After a long time, Fang Ling slowly asked, "Do you understand what your duties are as a county soldier?"

Everyone hesitated, but Hao Tieniu replied loudly: "Your Highness, as a county soldier, the most important duty is to protect the safety of the people in the town!"

Fang Ling bowed slightly, and said loudly: "I know that some people may come for these three taels of silver, but you must remember that the more important thing in this world than silver is our family, and you, everyone here now, will shoulder the responsibility of protecting your family." ”

Everyone listened to the "color" of "color", and they no longer dared to be frivolous

Fang Ling stretched out his hand and said to the guards beside him: "These guards from the palace forbidden army have been appointed by this king as county lieutenants, and from today onwards, you will be trained into a qualified soldier with fifteen days of special training. Because one day, you will also shoulder the heavy task of exterminating the bandits, and take back this green mountain that originally belonged to your ancestors! ”

When the bloody "sex" man heard his awe-inspiring expression, especially when he heard that he wanted to recapture Qingshan, his eyes exuded a strong fighting intent, and he shouted in a shocking voice: "Please rest assured, Your Highness, the little one will definitely live up to His Highness's high expectations!"

Fang Ling nodded with satisfaction, then handed over the next things to the guards, divided the hundred people into several groups, and began to practice 'drills'.

Time passed day by day, and Fengxian County also began to undergo obvious transformation.

The establishment of the smelter, the beginning of iron smelting, a piece of iron was baked, although these are slightly inferior iron ore from the mine, but the iron content is better than that sold by the mines in the surrounding states and counties, and the agricultural iron tools produced are more durable.

The soldiers, who had been trained hard day by day, began to escort the iron to Gukou Town in a formation of 30 people, led by two guards each time.

At Meng Zhiyuan's suggestion, he bought a large shop directly in Gukou Town, which was dedicated to selling ironware, and its price was cheaper than that of the surrounding counties.

At the same time, on the way to the escort of the soldiers, they also encountered a sneak attack by a small group of bandits, and they were successfully repelled under the leadership of the guards who served as the county lieutenant.

Things were just as Fang Ling had predicted, although the bandits were good at mountain warfare, they were not good at fighting on mountain roads.

Therefore, the business travelers gradually put their minds at ease, and the materials transported began to gradually increase, and the people of Feng County had silver in their hands and the ability to consume, and with the opening of the first liquor store, there were various shops opened in Feng County.

In just over half a month, Feng County's economy has gradually become a little "bright", although it will take a long time to catch up with Xihe County, but there are six iron ore treasures, and it is only time.

Now, it is the beginning of spring, and the weather is gradually getting warmer.

After Fang Ling refined a Pei Yuan Pill, he walked out of the room, looked at the hanging moon in the sky and let out a long breath.

Fang Ling stretched out his hand and said to the guards beside him: "These guards from the palace forbidden army have been appointed by this king as county lieutenants, and from today onwards, you will be trained into a qualified soldier with fifteen days of special training. Because one day, you will also shoulder the heavy task of exterminating the bandits, and take back this green mountain that originally belonged to your ancestors! ”

Although Feng County has a "color", but he does not have any sense of ease, since he came to Feng County, the bandits are a big trouble, I don't know when they will be eyeing these six mines, in case the other party forcibly occupies the mines, it is also a headache.

The farthest of these six mines is several miles away from the county seat, and next to it is a deep mountain and old forest, the other party occupies a geographical advantage, and the current 100 soldiers in Feng County have to spend 30 people every day to escort business trips and iron weapons, and at the same time, 30 people are also spent on guarding and other work at the edge of the mine, and as time goes by, the troops will gradually be insufficient.

The only way to solve this problem is to control the forces of Xihe and Maling counties, so it is imperative to go to the two counties.