When we returned to the county government office, the sky had just turned white.

Although Jiang Mingyu was exhausted, he had no intention of taking a rest. He frowned and ordered with a serious expression: "Brother Yunhai, hurry up and prepare the notice. We must post it immediately."

At dawn, the streets and alleys of Shangmu County were filled with notices written by Jiang Mingyu himself.

After several loud gongs, the good people came to watch the excitement.

"It's strange that since the county magistrate took office, he hasn't seen any notices posted in the government office for a long time." An old man said suspiciously.

"What's going on? Are the foreigners here again?" Another middle-aged man couldn't help but wonder.

"I think we are inseparable. Folks, please hide quickly." There were several frightened comments from the crowd.

"..."

Soon, an old man with a gray beard, squinting his nearly blind eyes, carefully identified it for a long time, and then hesitantly said: "There is no foreign invasion. This notice comes from the new imperial envoy."

"The notice states that hundreds of strong men and vehicles will be recruited to work in the county government." The old man slowly said the contents of the notice.

"Everyone who applies will receive two pieces of silver!" The old man's voice rose, as if he was making sure he was right.

Hearing this, the people suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and burst out into crazy discussions.

"Can you still get money by working for the yamen?" a middle-aged man asked suspiciously.

"I don't think so. How can the official have time to play with poor people like us?" Another young man said dismissively.

"What do you know? The government is burning incense without asking for money from us. It is a wishful thinking to earn money from them!" an old man dissuaded us.

"..."

The people talked a lot and each held his own opinion. Although most of them doubted whether the notice was true or not, some people who were tempted started to gather at the Yamen.

Two hours later, when the sun was high in the sky, more than 30 people arrived in front of the county government office, bringing with them several shabby carts.

Jiang Mingyu looked at these people and couldn't help but frown. His face was a bit more serious than before, and he looked a little disappointed: "Only more than thirty people?"

Murong Yunhai also had a bitter look on his face: "It's not easy to come here. The strong men are almost gone, so you can make do with it."

The thin Wu Er also explained: "The oppression of the previous county magistrates has long made the people disillusioned with the government."

"Many of these people came here to try their luck because they really had no way out."

Hearing this, Jiang Mingyu nodded slightly and his expression became solemn.

It seems that the most important thing now is to re-establish the people's confidence in the government. Jiang Mingyu thought to himself.

How could this Shangmu County town really not even have a hundred men?

Jiang Mingyu cleared his throat and said with a wry smile: "Everyone, my new Imperial Envoy, Jiang Mingyu, will temporarily act as county magistrate."

"You have all read what is on the notice, and I will reiterate it again. As long as you work hard, you will get paid."

"Your mission is to go to Qinglong Village outside the city and help me dig out the necessary supplies..." Before Jiang Mingyu could finish speaking, more than half of the remaining thirty strong men were in a hurry.

Escaped.

"This imperial envoy is crazy. He wants us to go to Qinglong Village. We are looking for death!" a short, fat man said in horror.

"Why are we digging in those ferocious fields? We don't want to live anymore?" Another man also shouted.

"Stop talking nonsense, run away, are you waiting to die?"

"..."

A bitter smile appeared on Jiang Mingyu's face, and then he realized that except for the entourage the night before, no one knew that Qinglong Village was out of danger.

After some painstaking explanations, Jiang Mingyu reluctantly convinced the remaining people that Qinglong Village was now safe.

In order to reassure everyone, he personally led the team to Qinglong Village.

The coal seams on the mountain are shallow and can be mined effortlessly.

After the peasants filled the cart, they all looked puzzled, not knowing what this black thing was.

But for the sake of money, no one talks much.

Jiang Mingyu looked at the mountain village in the distance and thought: "These gangsters have been here for many years, how come they don't have any savings?"

"Brother Murong, you and the waiter go up and look for it. You might find something unexpected."

He ordered Murong Yunhai to lead a search, and there might be some unexpected results.

Time passed quietly, and the coal mining work was basically completed, but there was still no news from Murong Yunhai and others.

Just when Jiang Mingyu was about to give up, Murong Yunhai suddenly appeared, his face filled with joy.

"Brother Xingqiu, we found it! There are tens of thousands of taels of silver in vain, we have given it away!" Murong Yunhai said excitedly.

Jiang Mingyu pretended to be calm: "You are so happy with just tens of thousands taels, why can't you be steady?"

"If you bring it back after dark, be sure not to make any noise!" Jiang Mingyu warned.

In the Shangmu County government office, dark coal piled up in front of Jiang Mingyu.

A strong man who had just received his reward looked at these things and couldn't help but asked: "Sir, what is the use of these things?"

Jiang Mingyu smiled slightly and explained to these ancients as simply as possible: "This is called coal. It is used for heating just like you burn firewood for heating."

The man was still puzzled: "Can this keep you warm?"

Jiang Mingyu didn't explain much and directly ordered people to fill the coal into the backyard stove.

After a while, looking at the steaming cauldron, the man's eyes widened and he said in surprise: "It's amazing!"

"If we can also use this thing to keep warm, we won't have to brave the wind and snow to chop wood." The man murmured to himself.

Although other civilians did not say anything, their eyes also showed the same joy and expectation.

Jiang Mingyu smiled with satisfaction and said: "As an official of the imperial court, it is my duty to benefit the people. From tomorrow on, the poor people can receive five loads of coal for free, and the old, weak and helpless seven loads of coal, how about it?"

For a moment, all the people fell to their knees on the ground and said with red eyes: "How lucky I am to meet such a good official who loves the people like his own son!"

Jiang Mingyu helped them up, feeling very happy. With the support of the people, things will be easier to handle in the future.

The man just now rolled his cloudy eyes and asked tentatively: "Sir, do you mean that we can still come to work tomorrow?"

Jiang Mingyu nodded slightly: "Not only can we come, but this county also needs to recruit more people."

With the counterfeit money as a backing, Jiang Mingyu sounded a little firmer: "You work hard, and you get money every day. I also want to sell the endless coal to improve people's lives."

While the man was happy, a trace of vigilance flashed in his eyes: "Sir, you have to keep a close eye on such a precious thing. If it is stolen, we will suffer a big loss."

Jiang Mingyu smiled clearly: "It depends on you. This county needs twenty people to garrison Meishan, and they will be paid."

The man signed up without hesitation: "Sir, my name is Liu Dagang, please send me to guard the mountain!"

Jiang Mingyu nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, I see you are quite diligent, I will leave the affairs on the mountain to you first."

Before dawn, there was a noise outside the county government office, causing Jiang Mingyu to wake up suddenly.

He hurriedly opened the door and was surprised to see hundreds of energetic strong men gathered outside.

In the cold wind, Liu Dagang grinned at Jiang Mingyu and said, "Sir, we are here to get to work!"

In the next few days, Jiang Mingyu taught people how to use coal safely for heating, and the coal he mined was continuously transported to people's homes.

With the heating supplies, the entire Shangmu County seems to be a little more lively, and there are even more pedestrians on the street.

The batch of white coins shipped back from the village had already been put into the warehouse. Jiang Mingyu was counting them when Wu Xiaoer suddenly walked in.

He was thin and raised his hands to Jiang Mingyu: "Sir, several squires in the city want to see you."

Jiang Mingyu stopped moving his hands and frowned: "What are they doing here?"

Jiang Mingyu became wary. These squires usually ignored the county affairs, but now they suddenly asked for a meeting, fearing they had ulterior motives.

He pondered for a moment and said: "Servant, go and invite them in. Since they are here, they must be treated well."

Soon, several richly dressed squires walked into the reception room of the side hall in a swaggering manner.
Chapter completed!