Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

The reputation of the Protectorate Army for its thousand-mile pursuit still resounds across the grasslands, but another storm within the Cold Abyss is quietly brewing and on the verge of erupting.

This storm has nothing to do with external enemies; it targets the root cause—the land.

Xiao Chen knew that land was the foundation of farmers and the cornerstone of the nation.

However, since its rise, Hanyuan has taken over a large amount of land from the previous dynasty, Northern Yan, and even unclaimed wasteland, and has also distributed a large amount of land through "military merit-based land grants" and "the assimilation of displaced people".

The unclear and chaotic land ownership has led to numerous problems.

The phenomena of powerful families encroaching on land, concealing land ownership, and the privileged class seizing land have been repeatedly prohibited but not stopped.

Many of the lands allocated to displaced people had incomplete or no land deeds at all, making them vulnerable to being seized by trickery or force at any time.

This not only harmed the interests of the people, but also led to the loss of tax revenue, the failure to implement government orders, and seriously undermined the foundation of Hanyuan's rule.

Therefore, after the bloody battles along the trade routes, Xiao Chen decisively issued a general offensive order for the "New Land Deed Policy":

"Effective immediately, all land in Hanyuan will be remeasured, household registrations will be verified, and official deeds in a standardized format will be issued. Using the fish-scale map as the standard, fields, land, mountains, and ponds will be registered as a whole, clearly specifying their boundaries, area, grade, and ownership. Anyone with land but no deed, deed but no land, or deed and land not matching, must report and correct within a specified period. Failure to report by the deadline, concealment of land, or resistance to investigation will result in the confiscation of all land and severe punishment according to the law!"

The new land deed was made of specially made mulberry bark paper and bore the seals of the Prince of Jingbei, the Ministry of Revenue, and the local government, along with anti-counterfeiting marks. Two copies were made, one for the official and one for the civilian, serving as the sole legal document.

This land survey will be jointly carried out by the Household Registration Office, Night Owl, and the Merchant Protection Army, with Han Lie as the overall commander and Zhao Tie and Liu Yidao as assistants. Any resistance will be dealt with by execution without prior notification!

The king's decree caused a stir throughout the entire region.

Countless ordinary farmers, military settlement residents, and displaced people applauded, finally receiving a talisman to confirm their land and protect their hard-earned money.

However, those local tyrants, former officials, and even some restless military officers who relied on seizing, concealing, and colluding with officials to possess vast tracts of fertile land were on tenterhooks, living in constant fear.

Among them, the one who jumped the most, resisted the most fiercely, and was the most representative was Liu Bancheng, the local tyrant of Heishan Town.

Heishan Town, due to its proximity to the Heishan Coal Mine and Tiecheng, rapidly developed from a remote border town into a prosperous industrial and mining hub with a population exceeding 20,000. Liu Bancheng (real name Liu Quan) was the local tyrant.

He was originally a down-on-his-luck minor official from the previous dynasty. Taking advantage of the newly established Hanyuan and the unstable system, he colluded with several clerks from the former Heishan Town. Through extortion, usury, forcing people to sell their land, and even forging land deeds, he managed to seize nearly half of the fertile land and mines surrounding Heishan Town in just a few years! His official land holdings were only a thousand acres, but he actually controlled at least thirty thousand acres!

He built a huge fortified village and kept hundreds of private soldiers and thugs. Even the tax collectors and patrolmen in Black Mountain Town had to be mindful of his mood.

The town's merchants, artisans, and even some miners owed him high-interest loans.

The locals called him Liu Bancheng behind his back, meaning that half of Heishan Town belonged to him.

Rumors of the new land title policy circulated, but Liu Bancheng dismissed them with disdain.

He had already bribed the "land surveying commissioner" sent by the Household Affairs Department to Heishan Town with a large sum of money, and coerced and enticed the town's village head and headman to give the same story and help him conceal his land holdings.

"A prince? Hmph, the emperor is far away in the sky."

Standing in the main hall of his fortified village, Liu Bancheng, with his beautiful concubine in his arms, addressed his trusted confidants, "This Black Mountain Town belongs to the Liu family. Xiao Chen wants land deeds? Fine, I'll forge hundreds for him. Want my land? Unless he sends an army to raze this fortified village to the ground!"

"Your Excellency is wise!"

The confidants flattered, "Our fortified village has walls three zhang high, ample supplies, and our brothers have all seen bloodshed. No matter how powerful the Han Yuan army is, they can't really attack their own people for a few pieces of land, can they?"

However, Liu Bancheng's wishful thinking soon fell through.

The surveyor, whom he had bribed, suddenly fell ill and died after receiving the second tribute from Liu Bancheng.

His successor was an inspector from Night Owl, with a stiff face and sharp eyes.

Meanwhile, a patrol team of fifty elite soldiers disguised as merchants was stationed in Heishan Town.

They did not contact anyone in the area, set up camp directly outside the town, and were highly disciplined and menacing.

After the new inspector took office, he completely ignored the gifts sent by Liu Bancheng and directly led his men to remeasure the fields around Heishan Town according to the original records of the fish scale map.

"My lord, this land is my family's heirloom..."

An old farmer, forced to sell his land by Liu Bancheng, pointed out the suspect tremblingly, encouraged by Night Owl Inspector.

"This hillside used to be public land in the town, but it was seized by Master Liu... no, by Liu Quanqiang and turned into his orchard." A bold village headman also stepped forward.

The more they investigated, the more problems they found.

The thousand acres of farmland under Liu Bancheng's name were soon discovered to contain tens of thousands of acres of hidden farmland!

Moreover, many of these cases involve forged land deeds, illegal occupation of farmland, and even murder!

"They've rebelled! They've all rebelled!"

Liu Bancheng was furious inside the fortified village. "Arrest those peasants who are talking nonsense! And that so-called inspector, 'invite' him to the fortified village!"

His private army leader, One-Eyed Dragon, led over a hundred thugs and stormed toward the town hall, intending to teach the inspector a lesson and arrest the troublemakers.

However, as soon as they arrived at the town hall, they were stopped by the fifty guards who were responsible for land surveys.

"stop."

The captain of the guards said coldly, "This is a government-controlled area. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to trespass."

"The government?"

The one-eyed man grinned maliciously, "In Black Mountain Town, Master Liu is the government! Brothers, give him a good beating!"

"Whoosh whoosh-"

His response was a rapid whistling sound of crossbow bolts piercing the air! Not bows, but crossbows! And armor-piercing hand crossbows of the Cold Abyss standard!

"Pfft pfft pfft..."

The dozen or so thugs who rushed to the front were instantly shot down, and One-Eyed Dragon himself was shot through the thigh by an arrow and fell to the ground with a miserable howl.

"Anyone who dares to step forward again will be killed without exception!"

The captain of the guard's voice was as cold as ice.

The soldiers behind him had already raised their second rounds of crossbows in unison, the cold arrowheads gleaming with a deathly light in the sunlight.

The remaining thugs were stunned by this swift and decisive action. They were used to bullying ordinary people, but they had never seen such an elite, ruthless regular army. They scattered like birds and beasts.

When the news reached Wubao, Liu Bancheng was shocked and angry, but even more so, he was terrified.

He knew that this time, the prince was serious.

"Close the gates! Everyone, get to the walls!"

He roared, "Send someone to Zhenbei City to find...find my distant cousin who works in the Household Revenue Department! Tell him to figure something out as soon as possible!"

He still harbored a last glimmer of hope, wanting to force Xiao Chen to compromise through connections and power.

His fantasy was utterly shattered the next morning by a low, rhythmic thud of horses' hooves.

Dust billowed up from the direction of Zhenbei City.

A cavalry force of five hundred men, fully armored, silently galloped toward Black Mountain Town.

The leading general, clad in black armor and riding a black horse, his face covered in iron armor, was none other than Liu Yidao, the captain of the Protectorate Army!

The cavalry behind him, exuding a murderous aura, were the elite force that had just fought the bloody battle of Vulture Valley!

In the middle of the procession were several prison carts, containing Liu Bancheng's cousin who worked in the Household Affairs Department, as well as several other clerks connected to Liu Bancheng! They had been intercepted by owls on their way to escape in the dead of night.