In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

The changes that took place in Yanjing County over the next month can only be described as "rapid and dramatic".

With the new equipment in full operation, a steady stream of pure white salt is being transported out of the basin every day.

Because of the extremely high quality of the salt, and the relatively fair wholesale price offered by the county government, merchants from other places flocked to Yaozhou like sharks smelling blood.

Lei Laohu's caravan business was so good that it made people envious. Every day, hundreds of mules and horses, fully loaded with salt bags, traveled along the salt road in an endless stream.

Real gold and silver flowed into the county government's treasury like water.

The county government office was no longer the dilapidated place that couldn't even pay its runners' salaries.

Yang Xuan kept his promise: all the workers and salt workers at Qing'ao Well received double the wages and were provided with three full meals a day.

Those salt workers who were once thin and pale are now not only stronger, but also have smiles on their faces, and they work even harder.

Because they knew that only by protecting Magistrate Yang could they live a good life.

Meanwhile, Pei Zhao's army expansion is progressing extremely smoothly.

With the fame earned from the Battle of Black Wind Gorge, coupled with the extremely generous military pay and resettlement allowance offered by the county government, retired veterans and wandering swordsmen from several surrounding prefectures and counties flocked to join him.

In just one month, the "salt protection army" of 300 people began to take shape.

These three hundred men were all equipped with high-quality steel swords, standard leather armor, and even fifty extremely rare military-grade repeating crossbows, all secretly procured by Cui Shen from other places.

Pei Zhao divided them into three hundred-man teams, and they drilled in military formations day and night on the training ground.

When these three hundred fully armed soldiers marched in unison through the streets of Yanjing County, their overwhelming murderous aura made the local thugs and remnants of the old regime so afraid to even breathe.

The impregnable camp finally took shape completely in Yang Xuan's hands.

……

The flower hall in the backyard of the county government office.

Yanhe was sitting behind a desk piled high with account books, holding a vermilion pen in his hand, carefully checking each expense.

Over the past month, with the surge in wealth, the household affairs have become extremely demanding. However, thanks to her outstanding management skills and the strict rules she had previously established, Yanhe managed the entire household in an orderly manner without any mishaps.

"Madam." Uncle Wen strode into the flower hall, his face beaming with barely suppressed joy. "The final account for this month has just been delivered by Registrar Cui."

"Read it." Yanhe put down his vermilion pen.

"Yes." Uncle Wen opened the ledger, his voice booming, "This month, Qing'ao Well produced a total of 80,000 dan of refined salt. After deducting the guaranteed minimum and dividends paid to the prefectural government, the daily expenses of the county government, the salaries and equipment purchases for the salt protection troops, and the wages of the salt workers..."

Wen Bo swallowed hard and said excitedly:

"Our county government's treasury has a net surplus of 50,000 strings of cash!"

Fifty thousand strings of cash!

One month!

Upon hearing this number, Yanhe's hand holding the vermilion pen trembled slightly.

Even among the imperial relatives and nobles of Chang'an, this sum of money was a huge amount.

And this is just a month's surplus from a remote county.

"Understood." Yanhe suppressed the turmoil in his heart and regained his calm tone. "Exchange all this money into gold bars and easily portable flying coins, and deposit them in the secret vault. Remember, this account must not be known to a fifth person other than you, me, my lord, and Registrar Cui."

"This old servant understands." Wen Bo respectfully withdrew.

Yanhe stood up and walked to the window.

In the courtyard, several withered wintersweet trees, with ample nutrients and careful care, unexpectedly bloomed with several delicate flower buds ahead of schedule in early winter.

Everything is moving in the best possible direction.

However, at that moment, Pei Zhao strode into the backyard, his face ashen, and he even had traces of blood still wet on his body.

"Madam, is the young master in the study?" Pei Zhao asked urgently.

Yanhe's heart sank, and that vague unease surged up again.

"In the study. What happened?"

"Something's happened on the salt road." Pei Zhao gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing with fury. "Lei Laohu's caravan has been detained."

"Who detained them?" Yanhe frowned. "Wasn't Black Wind Stronghold wiped out? Which bandit group would dare to touch the county government's salt carts?"

Pei Zhao took a deep breath and uttered three cold words.

"Zhechong Prefecture".

Yanhe's pupils suddenly contracted.

......

Sixty li outside Yaozhou City lies Luohun Valley.

This is the most treacherous section of the official road connecting Yaozhou to the outside world. The cliffs on both sides are sheer, and there is only a narrow dirt road in the middle that can only accommodate two horse-drawn carriages side by side.

The valley floor, where sunlight never shines, is permeated with a lingering, cold, and damp atmosphere.

Lei Laohu rode a tall, blue horse at the head of the procession.

His face, weathered by years of wind and sun, now beamed with a triumphant smile.

Since he and his caravan brothers completely broke away from the Tian family's control and turned to the newly arrived Magistrate Yang, Lei Laohu felt that he had finally started living a normal life.

In the past, transporting salt for the Tian family was practically begging for food with one's head tied to one's waistband.

Not only did they have to guard against bandits and highwaymen on the road, but the Tian family also cut their transportation fees at every turn. The brothers worked themselves to the bone for a month, only to end up not even being able to afford a decent meal of meat.

It is different now.

Magistrate Yang paid extremely fair freight rates, not only paying the full market price but also never delaying payment.

More importantly, the snow-white and delicate refined salt produced by Qing'ao Well is now a hot commodity.

Lei Laohu didn't even need to find buyers himself. As long as the salt was transported out of Yaozhou, big merchants from all over the country who came after smelling it would wave their cash and buy it all up.

"Cheer up! Once we pass through this Valley of Fallen Souls, the road ahead will be wide and flat!"

Lei Laohu turned around and roared at the caravan that stretched for miles.

"Alright, boss!"

"Once this trip is over, I'll definitely go back to Chunfeng Tower, order a couple of girls, and have a good, damn good meal!"

The men of the caravan burst into boisterous laughter, lightening the previously somber atmosphere of their journey.

Hundreds of mules and horses carried heavy sacks of salt, their hooves clattering on the gravel road, echoing through the empty valley along with the jingling of the copper bells around their necks.

However, just as Lei Laohu's horse turned a sharp bend, the smile on his face froze instantly.

The road ahead was completely blocked.

Two rows of sharpened, thick barricades blocked the already narrow official road completely.

Behind the barricades stood a row of fully armed soldiers.

These soldiers were different from the lazy state soldiers in the prefecture, and even less like the newly recruited salt guards in the county government.

They wore identical bright armor, which, though covered in knife marks and dark red bloodstains, exuded a chilling aura that could only be forged through real bloodshed and carnage.

Each person held a drawn steel sword, its blade gleaming with a chilling light in the cold valley.

In the very center of the barricade stood a black military flag, embroidered with a fierce tiger baring its fangs and a large character "折" (zhé).

The Great Tang Dynasty, Zhechong Prefecture.

Lei Laohu's pupils suddenly contracted. His intuition, honed by years of experience in the underworld, told him that something terrible had happened.

The Zhechongfu of the Tang Dynasty was a regular border defense field army.

Logically speaking, the duty of the Zhechong Prefecture is to guard against the barbarians on the border and suppress large-scale rebellions. It is absolutely impossible for them to set up checkpoints on the official roads in the interior without any reason.

Unless, of course, they're after my batch of salt.