With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

A middle-aged man dressed in brocade robes was standing in front of a roadside vendor, talking quietly with the vendor.

The brocade robe was made of good material, but the style was quite old, and the edges were worn shiny. In addition, he was buying ordinary odds and ends from a street vendor, so his living conditions were obviously not very good.

"Which Old Zhou?" someone asked, puzzled.

"It really looks like Old Zhou!" The other person recognized him, and the five of them immediately quickened their pace and walked forward.

It turns out that this person was Old Zhou, who used to run a clothing shop in the west of Xiangxian County.

Although the Zhou family wasn't a large family, they were considered a middle-class family in the county. They owned several clothing and tailor shops, and their business was comparable to that of the Tian family, who owned a hotel back in the day.

After exchanging pleasantries, Old Zhou learned that everyone had been appointed as stewards of the town and were here with the new lord on business, which he found quite enviable.

After chatting for a while, Zhang Yuan looked Lao Zhou up and down. "Lao Zhou, what's wrong with you? I remember you used to change your clothes three times a day, and you had to change into a new robe every few steps, as if you were afraid that others wouldn't see the signs of your several clothing stores."

Old Zhou smiled bitterly upon hearing this and sighed: "Alas, since Xiang County gradually declined six years ago, as you all know, I'm in the clothing business. People can't even afford to eat, so it's even more difficult for clothing shops to stay afloat."

Three years ago, I moved my family to Yun County.

"We know that. We were even saddened at the time, thinking that another one had been lost," Zhang Yuan replied.

"But when I arrived in Yun County, I found out that there were already clothing shops here."

We anticipated this before we came. At worst, we'll compete. With the Zhou family's culinary skills, making a living will definitely not be a problem.

Old Zhou sighed and continued, "However, as more and more people come from Xiang County, it has had a great impact on all walks of life in Yun County."

Those who can come here all have some skill, but Yun County is only so big, and the competition is getting fiercer and fiercer.

He paused for a moment, then said, "The locals in Yun County are slowly starting to ostracize people from Xiang County. They won't buy anything from our shops anymore. Local gangs even send people to guard our door, scaring customers away. Business is just not going to work."

"Some people couldn't hold on any longer, so they started stealing. This made the reputation of the people of Xiang County even worse, and everyone's life became even more difficult."

At this point, Old Zhou's eyes reddened and his voice choked up. "I had no choice but to bring my family to this newly developed town."

After all, there are more opportunities, and fewer people from Yun County. But even here, I'm still often bullied by people from Yun County.

In the end, he couldn't help but shed tears, wiped them away with his hand, and said bitterly.

"We didn't want to come to Yun County either, it's all because of those damned Northern Xiongnu! We only came here because we couldn't survive in Xiang County anymore, otherwise who would want to leave their hometown?"

Listening to this, Zhang Yuan couldn't help but interject, "Now that we have a stronghold in Xiang County, and the lord is benevolent, you can go back!"

Old Zhou shook his head, his voice even lower, "We heard about it a few days ago, and everyone was discussing going back privately."

However, there were demonic beasts blocking the way, and the lord of Yun County might not be able to let them go.

"If we leave, the town will be empty, and they won't want that."

Zhang Yuan listened silently without saying anything more.

Old Zhou bid farewell to everyone and left with heavy steps.

The heads of the five major families watched his retreating figure, overwhelmed with emotion.

They are about to become the town's stewards, and their family is thriving under Lin Ye's leadership. Yet, those who left Xiang County back then have ended up in such a state.

Comfort and wandering, glory and hardship, are separated by just a few years of trials and tribulations and choices.

In the evening, Lin Ye sat alone in his study, with several thick volumes spread out on the table. These were general introductions to Yun County sent by Li Liang, covering everything from geography and population to industry, and even the layout and customs of some towns.

They will rest for a few more days in this small border town of Yun County. Li Liang has already sent someone to inform the lord of Yun County, and they will decide on the next steps after receiving the reply.

Wang Qing's voice came from outside the door: "Junior brother, the Zhang family patriarch requests an audience."

"Come in." Lin Ye closed the book and turned his gaze toward the doorway.

"Master Zhang, what brings you here so late?"

Zhang Yuan cupped his hands and said, "I apologize for disturbing you so late, but after much thought, I feel I should still report to you."

Seeing Lin Ye nod slightly, signaling him to continue, he finally spoke: "Today I met an old friend outside the town..."

So Zhang Yuan recounted his encounter with Lao Zhou and Lao Zhou's experiences in detail.

He added at the end, "I also sent people to investigate in town today, and the situation is pretty much the same as what Lao Zhou said."

After listening, Lin Ye did not respond immediately, but sat quietly in the chair, lost in thought.

Lin Ye had long known that the biggest problem in Xiang County was not resources or martial artists, but people.

Xiang County is as vast as two counties in my previous life, but its current population is less than 200,000. Large tracts of farmland are barren and workshops are idle, so there is no way to talk about development.

In this world, martial artists are certainly important, but the outcome of a war often depends on the number of people involved.

A larger population means the ability to cultivate more land, build more teams, and defend a wider territory.

However, the lords in various regions all understood this principle, and they were extremely strict in their struggle for and control over the population.

Moreover, people in this world are attached to their homeland and rarely leave unless there are natural disasters or man-made calamities.

Lin Ye had previously hoped to encourage childbirth and drive population recovery through natural growth, but this approach was too slow to be effective.

The news Zhang Yuan brought today served as a reminder.

Those Xiangxian people who had drifted to Yunxian had the desire to return. This solved the most difficult problem: if people were unwilling to return, all the planning would be in vain.

However, there are still two problems.

First, will the lord of Yun County release the people? And how can we persuade him to let them go? If these people leave, it will mean that the border towns of Yun County will lose their labor force, and he may not be willing to accept it.

Secondly, even if they can return, how will they be resettled? To some extent, they are "escaping" from their old place to make a living elsewhere. If they are treated exactly the same as those who have always stayed in Xiang County, it will inevitably cause dissatisfaction and resentment, and will cause turbulence in management.

After a moment, Lin Ye said, "Okay, I understand. Your message is very timely, and you did a great job."

He gestured for Zhang Yuan to sit down opposite him. "Come, let's talk in detail. How many people from Xiang County are currently living in Yun County? And how many of them are willing to go back?"

Seeing how much Lin Ye valued this matter, Zhang Yuan immediately felt relieved and thought to himself that coming tonight to report was the right decision.

So he gathered up the scattered information he had gathered and recounted it in detail, from Lao Zhou's personal experiences to the general plight of the people from Xiang County in the town, and the private discussions about their desire to return home.

When he got emotional, he unconsciously raised his voice, emphasizing that many people were looking forward to returning to Xiang County day and night, but were afraid that the journey was not safe and that Yun County would not release them.

As Lin Ye listened, he quickly weighed the options in his mind. If these two difficulties could be resolved properly, Xiang County would have a rare opportunity to fill its population gap, which would greatly benefit future land reclamation, defense, and trade.

They were already planning how to negotiate with the lord of Yun County and how to formulate a sound resettlement plan that would reassure those who returned and satisfy those who remained.