Chapter 36 Baoshan
Only a small number of nomadic peoples lived here following the water and grass, and it was also a buffer between the Daliang Dynasty and foreign ethnic groups.

However, the emperor of Daliang two hundred years ago, in order to show his bravery and contribution to expanding territory, occupied this place despite opposition.

Since the territory has been occupied, it is natural to populate it with people. Otherwise, it will be an empty wilderness where nomads will live, following the water and grass. How can it be considered the territory of Daliang?

As a result, the people who originally lived peacefully in various states and counties of Daliang were forced to move here.

The place to deal with exiled criminals was also designated as Jizhou.

It is not a bad thing for the Daliang Dynasty to expand its territory. The problem is that you have occupied this land and filled it with a large number of people, so naturally you should invest a lot of resources in development.

Without going into other details, can taxes be reduced or exempted, and can a large number of troops be transferred in?
But the Daliang Dynasty did not do so, and even ignored it after occupying it. Those who didn’t know might think that Jizhou did not belong to the Daliang Dynasty.

Back then, the Daliang Dynasty populated this place with a population of one million!

However, the conditions in Jizhou were so harsh, coupled with the looting of barbarians, that after two hundred years, the original population of one million has been reduced to less than 200,000 people today.

Since you have no intention of developing Jizhou, why do you have to occupy this place and fill it with so many people?

Many dead souls were lost on this land for no reason, so when Wang An said that the imperial court was sorry for the people of Jizhou, it was not really a statement of flattery, but he really felt that the imperial court was sorry for the people of Jizhou.

As a native of Jizhou, Chen He actually had some resentment towards the imperial court.

However, after hearing what Wang An said, most of the resentment in his heart disappeared immediately.

After all, as a prince of the Daliang Dynasty, Wang An was able to personally admit that the court had let down the people of Jizhou, and the resentment and grievance in his heart instantly dissipated for the most part.

"Your Highness, there is no need to say that. We, the people of Daliang, should do our part to defend the borders for the benefit of the world. There is nothing to be sorry about." Chen He said with emotion, his eyes slightly red.

Wang An knew that now was not the time to say more. To express one's apology, one had to prove it with practical actions.

So he patted Chen He on the shoulder and said solemnly: "Don't worry, I will pay you back what the court owes you!"

"The first thing to do is to build the city wall. Whether it is to guard against these bandits or to deal with the upcoming danger of autumn harvest, the city wall is of utmost importance."

Chen He looked at Wang An, then at the dozen or so large boxes filled with silver in front of him, and said with embarrassment: "It will cost a lot of money to build the city wall, but our treasury..."

Wang An glanced at Chen He with a half-smile, which only made Chen He look embarrassed. He then smiled and said, "There is no silver in the treasury. There is not much silver on this mountain, right?"

"When I decided to come to Jizhou to be a vassal, I knew I was not here to make money and enjoy life. If I wanted to make money and enjoy life, I would not come to Jizhou. After I return, the construction of the city wall will be put on the agenda. All the money will be paid from here."

Chen He was suddenly very excited. Although he was moved by what Wang An said before, he was just moved in the end.

I didn't expect Wang An to take action so quickly, and even with just one sentence, tens of thousands of taels of silver were used to build the city wall. How can this not make people sigh?

After all, the bandits in Crescent Mountain were wiped out by Wang An and his palace guards, but eliminating the bandits in Crescent Mountain was already a great thing that benefited the country and the people.

Logically speaking, all the property seized from the bandit camp was Wang An's spoils of war, but Wang An was willing to use it to build the city wall, which was more than just generosity. Only a true hero would not be blinded by the power of the moment.

Chen He suddenly felt that the first prince welcomed by Jizhou, which had never had a vassal king in the past two hundred years, seemed to have truly brought a glimmer of hope.

However, Chen He was not sure whether Wang An was really willing to spend the money or was just pretending to be generous, so he said hesitantly: "If we just repair the city wall, maybe we won't need so much money."

Wang An's eyes widened, and he asked in surprise, "What's the point of repairing our adobe wall?"

Chen He's eyes widened immediately, thinking that the guy in front of him had changed his mind so quickly, and began to feel sorry for the tens of thousands of taels of silver. "This... It won't take a lot, I guess a few thousand taels will be enough..."

Wang An waved his hand and said, "Even if the adobe wall is repaired, it won't be of much use. It would be better to tear it down and rebuild a brick wall."

Chen He didn't even remember how much shock Goodnight had brought to him during these few short conversations. He was shocked when he heard the words: "Build a brick wall! I'm afraid these tens of thousands of taels are not enough!"

Wang Anzui smiled evilly and said, "If the silver is not enough, go get more. There is so much wealth in the Crescent Mountain Bandit Camp alone. What if we rob all the other bandit camps?"

Chen He couldn't imagine a situation in Jizhou without bandits, and Wang An ignored him and turned to make arrangements for the captured Crescent Mountain bandits.

After the Battle of Baicheng, there were only about 700 people who could truly be called Crescent Mountain bandits. The remaining 2,000 or so were their families, including the elderly, the weak, women and children, and posed no threat.

On the contrary, with these old, weak, women and children in hand, they can better control the more than 700 bandits.

So Wang An immediately ordered that all the prisoners be taken back to Baicheng.

All matters were handed over to Chen He, Chen Huaian and others. They were naturally responsible for how to recruit prisoners and organize the confiscated property.

Wang An was strolling on the top of the mountain. He was quite curious about the legendary bandits.

After a rough walk around the top of the mountain, Wang An discovered that these vicious bandits were not as well-off as outsiders imagined.

It was even discovered that these people's daily food and clothing were not as good as those of ordinary people. They also ate bran and wore coarse cloth clothes.

Come to think of it, the Crescent Mountain Bandit Camp has a total of 3,000 people, and Jizhou is poor. Even if these bandits want to rob, they need someone to let them rob.

Since we couldn't grab much, we could only eat half full.

The ones who can obtain most of the profits are always the bandit leaders like Guoshanhu, while the lower-level members in the bandits have to work hard to support themselves and their families.

Unknowingly, he walked to the edge of the cliff. Wang An didn't pay attention and stepped on a stone. If he was cruel, he would have slipped off the cliff accidentally. Fortunately, the original owner left behind a body with quick reactions, so he stabilized himself in time.

However, when Wang An looked down, he found out what almost made him slip.

(End of this chapter)