In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 720 Sense of Oppression

Although Li Mingyuan declined his invitation, Yang Zheng's respect for Li Mingyuan remained undiminished. Despite his busy schedule, he personally accompanied Li Mingyuan and Yang Zheng throughout Liangzhou Prefecture and sought his advice on governance strategies.

Li Mingyuan didn't hold back either, teaching Yang Zheng all the local governance strategies he had accumulated over the years.

Upon learning that Yang Zheng lacked scholars who could serve as officials, he personally recommended many talented but unappreciated scholars to Yang Zheng.

It can be said that although Li Mingyuan did not serve under Yang Zheng, his help to Yang Zheng was enormous. The governance strategies taught by Li Mingyuan enabled him to better govern Liangzhou, and the scholars he recommended became Yang Zheng's right-hand men, relieving Yang Zheng of much of the pressure of government affairs and allowing Yang Zheng to focus a lot of energy on military construction.

Li Mingyuan deserves much credit for Liangzhou's current situation, so Yang Zheng has always been very grateful to him.

Upon suddenly seeing Li Mingyuan, he was naturally very excited.

"Oh, it's Yang Shuai!"

Upon seeing Yang Zheng, Li Mingyuan immediately burst into laughter.

"Mr. Li, you flatter me. Just call me Yang Zheng."

Yang Zheng scratched his head and said, "Old Li, you haven't answered my question yet. What are you doing in Chenjia Village?"

"Because I like this place."

Li Mingyuan answered in this way.

He loved Chenjia Village and the prosperous life of its people. Whenever he saw the happy and relaxed smiles on the faces of the villagers, Li Mingyuan felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

Do you like this place?

Yang Zheng's expression dimmed slightly. He had invited Li Mingyuan several times, but Li Mingyuan had never accepted. Now, however, Li Mingyuan stayed because he liked Chenjia Village.

Doesn't that mean that in Li Mingyuan's mind, Liangzhou is far inferior to Chenjia Village?

Upon realizing this, Yang Zheng felt relieved. The people of Liangzhou were poor, while the people of Chenjia Village were wealthy. It was understandable that someone like Old Li, who cared about the people, preferred Chenjia Village.

"And why have you come here?"

Li Mingyuan asked, "Yang Zheng is the ruler of Liangzhou. His personal visit to Chenjia Village sends an unusual signal."

Li Mingyuan was somewhat worried that Yang Zheng might have his eye on Chenjia Village's wealth and was planning to send troops to seize Chenjia Village for himself.

This is the situation Li Mingyuan least wants to see. Yang Zheng is the rebel he most "admires," and Chenjia Village is his ideal place. If a conflict breaks out between the two sides...

Li Mingyuan really didn't know what to do.

"Reporting to Elder Li, we are here to discuss matters with the head of Chenjia Village."

Yang Zheng didn't hide anything: "The chickens and ducks produced in Chenjia Village, as well as the down jackets, are things that Liangzhou urgently needs. Therefore, I plan to discuss with the head of Chenjia Village to see if we can obtain these things from Chenjia Village."

That's it!

Hearing Yang Zheng's reply, Li Mingyuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, saying, "The weather in Liangzhou is cold now, and we do need a lot of warm clothing. Although the down jackets from Chenjia Village are a bit uncomfortable to wear, they can at least alleviate the shortage of warm clothing in Liangzhou."

As he said this, Li Mingyuan wrapped his clothes tighter around himself. As he got older, he became increasingly afraid of the cold. Even though he was dressed very warmly, he still felt cold in his limbs.

"I wonder if Elder Li has ever met the head of Chen Family Village? Is he an easy person to deal with?"

Yang Zheng asked.

"Of course I have seen it."

As Li Mingyuan recalled his previous meeting with Chen Dao, he said, "Chen Dao is a very easy person to get along with. Your visit should be successful."

Although Li Mingyuan had only met Chen Dao once, he could tell that Chen Dao was a person who cared about the common people. Yang Zheng had come for the sake of the people of Liangzhou, so Chen Dao should not refuse Yang Zheng's request.

"Then I can rest assured, young man!"

Yang Zheng looked much more relaxed, and then asked, "Old Li, where does Chen Dao live? I would like to request an audience now."

"It doesn't have to be this way."

Li Mingyuan shook his head and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, Chen Dao's people should already be on their way."

Li Mingyuan knew that the entire Chenjia Village was actually under Chen Dao's control, and Chen Dao must have already known about the arrival of Yang Zheng and his group of strangers.

By now, the people Chen Dao sent should be arriving soon.

Sure enough, the moment Li Mingyuan finished speaking, Chen Cheng's burly figure appeared in front of Yang Zheng and the other man, and said, "Yang Tianwang of Liangzhou?"

Yang Zheng was startled when he turned to look at Chen Cheng. The man was indeed too tall and imposing, giving off a powerful sense of pressure.

Most importantly, this person appeared in front of him silently; he didn't even notice the person approaching...

This means that this person's martial arts level is definitely not low, and may even be far higher than his.

"I am Yang Zheng."

Yang Zheng subconsciously took a step back and asked, "May I ask how you are addressed?"

Not only Yang Zheng, but also Yang Erlang and the men of the Yang family army who accompanied him also distanced themselves from Chen Cheng, their expressions solemn, and some even placed their hands on the hilts of their swords at their waists, ready to strike at any moment.

There was no way around it; Chen Cheng, who was already tall, became even more imposing after practicing martial arts, giving off an overwhelming sense of intimidation.

"My name is Chen Cheng."

Chen Cheng revealed a simple, honest smile that contrasted sharply with his imposing physique: "Brother Dao wants to see you. Come with me."

It was him!

Yang Zheng immediately remembered Chen Cheng's identity. According to the news brought back by the scouts, Chen Cheng was Chen Dao's personal bodyguard and one of Chen Dao's most trusted people.

It is said that this person was born with superhuman strength and had an extremely high level of martial arts. He was the second-highest level martial artist in Chenjia Village, after Chen Dao.

"Please lead the way."

After realizing Chen Cheng's identity, Yang Zheng felt much less pressure. He said goodbye to Li Mingyuan and then led Yang Erlang and the others to follow Chen Cheng's footsteps towards Chen Dao's house.

Li Mingyuan stood there, watching Yang Zheng and his group leave, his eyes shining with anticipation.

Yang Zheng was the rebel he admired most, and Chenjia Village was his favorite place. Li Mingyuan desperately hoped that the two sides could reach a cooperation agreement.

In this way, the resource-rich Chenjia Village can become an asset to Yang's army, helping Yang Zheng to better conquer the world.

Chenjia Village can also benefit from the cooperation. With the protection of Yang Family Army, Chenjia Village no longer needs to worry about external threats. It can sell its products to Liangzhou and even the entire Kyushu, bringing cheap meat to people all over the world while making a lot of profit for itself.

In that time, all the people in the world will benefit from it, which is the situation that Li Mingyuan most wants to see.

Whether all of this can be achieved depends on this meeting between the two sides.