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Chapter 669: How Many People Did Gao Family Village Start With?

Smoke billowed from Wenshui County.

But this was not the gentle wisp of cooking fires; it was thick, black smoke.

From a distance, Chen Yuanbo saw the county seat, a mile ahead, consumed by destruction. Its city walls had been toppled, crumbling into a chaotic ruin. Over half of the town's buildings were gutted by fire, and the few remaining structures still exhaled plumes of black smoke.

"Still burning?" Chen Yuanbo muttered, baffled. "Zhang Xianzhong ransacked this place days ago. How could the fires still be raging after so many days?"

Within his chest, the Heavenly Lord's subtle presence stirred, a voice echoing in Chen Yuanbo's mind: "The fires set by Zhang Xianzhong would surely have died out by now. What still burns must be new conflagrations."

"But who else would set fires?" Chen Yuanbo wondered aloud.

The Heavenly Lord's presence sighed deeply. "Take a guess," it replied.

Chen Yuanbo's expression turned grim.

He had guessed correctly.

He instinctively quickened his pace, leading the militia at a frantic sprint toward the town.

Where the city gate once stood...

No, the gate was gone.

The former gateway was now just a gaping maw in the ruins, an open invitation to enter. On either side, streets were choked with charred, splintered wood, and houses stood, gutted and blackened, in endless succession.

The detachment raced through the devastation toward a small, as-yet unburnt district, where plumes of black smoke had just begun to rise. If they delayed even a moment, this last pocket of the town would surely be lost.

Just as they reached the edge of the district, they witnessed a chaotic scene: a crowd, clad in tattered rags and unmistakably common folk, were brawling in front of the last surviving block.

Neither side of the brawl displayed any skill; they were clearly untrained, flailing with makeshift weapons. Sticks clashed chaotically—*ping-pong, ping-pong*—as shouts of rage mingled with screams of pain. Behind them, homes continued to burn, plunging the entire scene into utter pandemonium.

Chen Yuanbo's earlier grim premonition proved true, deepening his despair. It wasn't roving bandits still setting fires; it was the remaining townsfolk tearing each other apart. The cause was agonizingly obvious: a petty theft, a desperate grab for scraps, spiraling into brutal, self-destructive chaos.

Abandoned and ungoverned, Wenshui County had fully reverted to the law of the jungle. Stripped bare, human nature revealed its most brutal facets: unbridled destruction, theft, arson, and free-for-all plundering erupted in every conceivable form.

Chen Yuanbo felt a wave of disorientation wash over him.

The Heavenly Lord's presence spoke then: "Fire a warning shot into the air. That will bring order to the chaos."

Chen Yuanbo snapped to attention, turning to a militia soldier. "A shot in the air!" he commanded, pointing upwards.

The militia soldier raised his rifle, sighting the sky.

"CRACK!"

The single rifle shot instantly silenced the brawling townsfolk, who recoiled in panic. Their eyes widened as they took in the sight of hundreds of armored men, rifles held ready, radiating an undeniable aura of power. Then, with a collective shout of alarm, they scattered like startled birds, bolting deeper into the last surviving block.

Chen Yuanbo bellowed, "Halt! Don't run!"

But his summons fell on deaf ears; the crowd continued to flee, each person scrambling faster than the last.

Chen Yuanbo raised his voice, making himself heard above the lingering panic. "I am Chen Yuanbo, your newly appointed Magistrate! Disobey me, and you'll all receive twenty blows of the heavy staff!"

This declaration, it turned out, did the trick.

The fleeing townsfolk froze as if struck by a paralysis spell, rooted to the spot.

The fear of officials was ingrained in the common folk of this dynasty, etched deep into their very bones.

With that, a semblance of order was restored.

Chen Yuanbo gestured, and a squad of militia soldiers immediately rushed to extinguish the fires. Others moved to round up the scattered townsfolk, bringing them back to stand before the Magistrate.

"Why were you fighting?" Chen Yuanbo demanded.

A middle-aged man retorted, "They stole our rice!"

The man on the opposing side countered, "No, they snatched our flour first!"

The two factions immediately geared up for another argument.

Chen Yuanbo held up a hand. "Silence, all of you! Reconcile. Each of you will receive three catties of flour. Anyone who continues to argue will get nothing, not even an ounce."

At his words, the two warring factions instantly ceased their squabbling, becoming chummy as brothers in a flash.

Chen Yuanbo inwardly sighed with relief. *Fortunate, indeed. My stint as a strategist in Puzhou taught me the subtle arts of managing the common folk. Otherwise, bringing order to this chaos would have been a truly arduous task.*

"How many people remain in the city? What is their condition?" Chen Yuanbo asked.

"Reporting to the newly appointed Esteemed Magistrate," a middle-aged man replied, "Nine-tenths of the county's population is gone. Only... only fewer than seven hundred souls remain alive."

A collective gasp rose from the gathered men.

Even the Heavenly Lord's presence within Chen Yuanbo stirred in shock. *So brutal? Dammit, this is excessive.*

"And the rural areas beyond the city walls? What is their state?" Chen Yuanbo inquired.

The middle-aged man shook his head helplessly. "We know nothing of the outside."

Seeing their terrified faces and utterly clueless responses, Chen Yuanbo understood. The brutal aftermath of the bandit attack had left them numb with shock, their every waking moment since consumed by the desperate struggle for survival, leaving no thought for the world beyond their ruined town.

He swiftly dispatched several scouts, sending them in separate teams to the north, east, and west. Their mission: to assess the condition of the surrounding countryside and, if possible, to ascertain the bandits' current movements.

As he surveyed the shattered district and its handful of miraculously surviving residents, a flicker of trepidation touched him. No wonder the imperial court couldn't find a single official willing to take this post. This, he realized, was a hell-difficulty beginning.

Just as panic threatened to overwhelm him, the Heavenly Lord's presence whispered from within his chest: "Chen Yuanbo, collect yourself. What is there to fear? Do you recall how few people Gao Family Village began with?"

Chen Yuanbo snapped out of his daze. "Ah, that's right! Gao Family Village began with only forty-two villagers!"

The Heavenly Lord continued, "And here, you have seven hundred civilians, five hundred militia soldiers, and a cohort of middle school students, all as knowledgeable as you. What possible cause for fear remains?"

Chen Yuanbo bowed his head. "The Heavenly Lord speaks truth! I am truly unworthy, to be intimidated by such a minor setback."

He raised a hand and sharply slapped his own cheeks a few times, steeling his resolve. Then, facing the bewildered townsfolk, he declared in a booming voice, "My name is Chen Yuanbo, your newly appointed Magistrate of Wenshui County! For all the days to come, I pledge to protect you."

The townsfolk stared, their eyes hollow and vacant, their expressions betraying utter disbelief at his words.

Chen Yuanbo waved a commanding hand. "Distribute the grain now!"

The several grain carts brought by the five hundred soldiers were quickly wheeled to the forefront. Two carts, laden with two thousand catties of grain, were enough to provide each of the seven hundred villagers with three catties—a nearly perfect allocation.

With the grain secured in their hands, the townsfolk's morale instantly steadied.

A chorus of gratitude rose as the crowd bowed low. "Thank you, Esteemed Magistrate!"

Chen Yuanbo's gaze swept over the dilapidated, embarrassing county town. His thoughts turned to strategy: with only seven hundred able bodies, a comprehensive restoration was impossible. Prioritization was key.

What, then, was the most urgent task?

Gao Family Village possessed ample resources. With a steady flow of logistical support, raw productivity was not the primary concern; security, above all else, was paramount.

He made a decisive call. "Rebuild the city walls! Once you've all eaten your fill, I want every able-bodied person to begin constructing new ramparts around the county. They needn't be towering, but we must encircle the town with at least a two-meter-high wall and restore the city gate."