Before long, Chen Yuanbo personally came out to receive them.
He was now dressed in the official robes of a seventh-rank county magistrate, sleeves wide and orderly, a black gauze cap resting neatly atop his head. The transformation was striking. Gone was the anxious scholar scrambling for survival. In his place stood a proper Ming official, refined in appearance and measured in bearing.
The city gates of Wenshui County were opened wide.
Chen Yuanbo stepped forward, bowed deeply, and spoke with practiced humility.
"Your humble servant, Chen Yuanbo, failed to welcome you earlier. I beg your forgiveness."
There was no need to waste time on endless formal courtesies.
Fan Shangzheng waved it off and led his troops straight into the county seat.
Only then did the truth reveal itself.
From the outside, Wenshui County appeared to have been restored. The city walls stood upright, newly patched in many places, their outlines intact. But once inside, the illusion shattered immediately.
More than half the buildings within the city had been burned black. Charred beams jutted out like broken ribs, and even from a distance, the lingering stench of burnt wood clawed at the nose. The surviving commoners crowded together inside the few remaining structures, all of them damaged to varying degrees.
Next to these ruined houses stood rows of tents.
What was strange was not the tents themselves, but their colors.
They were bright and vivid, splashes of red, blue, and yellow standing out starkly against the gray ruin, lending an odd and almost surreal beauty to the devastated city.
Fan Shangzheng did not ask about the tents.
Instead, he turned immediately to Chen Yuanbo and asked bluntly,
"Magistrate Chen, after taking office in Wenshui County, was repairing the city walls your first priority?"
"Yes," Chen Yuanbo answered without hesitation, nodding firmly. "Bandits still roam the surrounding areas, and Huaqing Prefecture to the north remains under siege. At any moment, the bandits could return. This humble servant therefore mobilized the people at once to repair the city walls. Should the bandits come again, walls will at least make defense easier."
Fan Shangzheng fell silent.
With only a few hundred laborers, he thought, even if the walls are rebuilt, how could they possibly stop the bandits? It is little more than a gesture.
But he kept the thought to himself.
There was no reason to crush the initiative of a young official who was, at the very least, trying to do something.
As they moved deeper into the city, Fan Shangzheng quietly observed the people of Wenshui County.
The city was in ruins, yet the expressions on the faces of its inhabitants were not those of despair, helplessness, or resignation to death.
Instead, he saw diligence.
Perseverance.
A stubborn will to survive.
There was a sense of order, of people busying themselves with tasks, of life stubbornly pushing forward amid the ashes.
It was a vigorous, almost stubborn vitality.
Fan Shangzheng felt genuine surprise.
Wenshui County was devastated this badly, yet the people still have such spirit? They are even willing to work under the magistrate's direction to repair the city walls? This is highly unusual.
Unable to hold back, he asked,
"Magistrate Chen, you have only just arrived here, yet you have organized the people remarkably well. They are actually willing to work. I have passed through several counties where the common folk were impossible to control."
Chen Yuanbo smiled calmly.
"What the common folk want is very simple. They want enough food to eat, and a way to stay alive. This humble servant provided them with sufficient provisions. Once they saw hope of survival, they naturally became willing to work. Since they want to live, repairing the city walls for their own protection is only reasonable."
Fan Shangzheng's attention snapped to a single word.
"Provisions?"
He turned sharply.
"There are still provisions left in the county treasury? The West Camp Eight Great Kings burned this place so thoroughly. How could any grain remain?"
Chen Yuanbo shook his head.
"There is no grain in the county treasury. All the food here was provided by Hero Xiao."
Fan Shangzheng immediately understood.
He turned and looked toward Li Daoxuan.
Li Daoxuan met his gaze and gave a helpless chuckle.
Fan Shangzheng hurriedly cupped his hands in greeting.
"Hero Xiao truly possesses a compassionate heart. Mengjin County benefited from your aid, and now Wenshui County does as well. Wherever bandits appear, you arrive to help. If the Great Ming had more men like Hero Xiao, why would the realm ever fear unrest?"
Li Daoxuan smiled faintly and said nothing.
Inwardly, however, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
If the Great Ming had more transmigrators like me, this feudal imperial system would have been torn apart long ago.
One would establish a theocracy. Another would push capitalism. Another socialism. Another communism. Someone would insist on republicanism.
Throw in people playing Civilization, Stellaris, or Mount and Blade, each seizing a province to experiment with their favorite mechanics.
The result would be utter chaos.
Fan Shangzheng continued observing.
Provisions were indeed the greatest weapon, but this Chen Yuanbo clearly had more than just food. His administrative ability and organizational skill were obvious. The surviving residents of Wenshui County had been arranged with impressive clarity and efficiency.
The elderly, women, and children handled cooking and miscellaneous tasks. Able-bodied young men hauled stones and earth, steadily raising and reinforcing the walls. Each group worked within its own area, without confusion or obstruction.
Fan Shangzheng asked,
"Magistrate Chen, have you done this kind of work before?"
Chen Yuanbo replied,
"This humble servant previously served in Puzhou as chief strategist under the Prefect. My appointment to Wenshui County also came through the Prefect's recommendation."
Fan Shangzheng nodded inwardly.
So that is how it is.
No one in court was willing to come here, so they pushed you forward.
Tsk. A capable young man. I only hope he does not die here.
The word die brought his thoughts back to reality.
His brow furrowed deeply.
Li Daoxuan stepped closer and asked quietly,
"How is the situation at Huaqing Prefecture?"
Fan Shangzheng sighed heavily.
"Over two hundred thousand bandits have surrounded it. They are laying siege. I command only three thousand men. Just the ones you see behind me. There is no way we can relieve Huaqing Prefecture."
Chen Yuanbo asked in confusion,
"Did not the Governor of Shanxi, Xu Dingchen, lead a large force in pursuit of the bandits? Why is it that once the bandits reached Huaqing Prefecture, no government troops were still chasing them?"
Li Daoxuan answered calmly,
"You forgot again. Government troops cannot cross provincial borders."
Chen Yuanbo froze, then understanding dawned on his face.
Once the bandits entered Henan, the Governor of Shanxi lost all jurisdiction. Only the Governor of Henan could act. Even if the bandits stood one step across the border, mocking the Shanxi troops, those soldiers could do nothing but watch.
The situation was absurdly rigid.
Fan Shangzheng spoke again, his voice heavy.
"This humble servant has already submitted a memorial to the court, requesting immediate reinforcements. Otherwise, how can I alone contend with such numbers? Alas."
As he spoke, the Henan troops had already entered the city.
These three thousand soldiers were utterly exhausted. They needed rest badly, yet with burned houses everywhere, there was scarcely any place suitable for recuperation.
The multicolored tents remained in the distance. Not knowing their origin, the soldiers did not dare approach them.
The Henan troops had low morale and irregular pay. As they sat down, some pulled out half a rice cake. Others had nothing at all and could only swallow dry saliva.
Fan Shangzheng's expression twisted in pain.
"Even here, I cannot pay them their wages in full. Alas. How can we suppress bandits when we cannot even properly feed our own men?"
Chen Yuanbo glanced at Li Daoxuan.
Li Daoxuan gave a slight nod.
Only then did Chen Yuanbo turn back and say,
"Hero Xiao has provided abundant grain. This humble servant will immediately arrange for the soldiers to have a proper meal."