"Team leader, what's up?"
"What did you call us over for?"
The Inspectors all started talking at once.
"In a few days, someone from up top is coming to inspect our mine!"
"I hear they're a big deal. All of you get yourselves in order and don't cause any trouble."
After saying a few words, Li Gang waved his hand dismissively, clearly impatient for everyone to leave.
Everyone was used to Li Gang acting this way. After all, with the expansion of the Inspection Office, some people were happy, while others were naturally troubled.
And Li Gang was undoubtedly one of the troubled ones.
Chu Mu didn't pay it much mind. Of the ten or so Inspectors present, his record was likely the cleanest.
In the few dozen days since joining the Inspection Office, all he did was read and practice martial arts. No matter who came to inspect, it would have little effect on him.
His only transgression was receiving a double salary once, but the chances of that being discovered were minuscule. Even if it were investigated, it involved over a thousand officials of all ranks throughout Qinghe County. He was far too insignificant to be noticed.
"Why an inspection all of a sudden?"
"Nothing's happened at our mine lately, has it?"
"Wasn't there a mine collapse the other day? Are dozens of lives not a big deal?"
"What's the big deal? What year does our mine *not* have a collapse?"
"When have you ever seen the higher-ups come to investigate us because of a mine collapse?"
"The lords up top only care about the mine itself."
"Right, and hasn't the Thousand Households been leading people around all day, digging here and looking there...?"
"The rumors are getting wild. They say a treasure has been discovered in our mine. You think this is related?"
A few Inspectors chatted back and forth while Chu Mu silently followed along, not saying a word.
He had, of course, heard the talk of treasure long ago. But rumors become fact when repeated enough, and people just parrot what they hear. He figured very few actually knew the truth of the matter.
But what was beyond doubt was that they were definitely looking for something, and it was right here in the mine.
Otherwise, why would figures like the County Captain and the Inspection Office's Vice Thousand Households spend all day hanging around the mine?
Chu Mu wasn't too concerned about the so-called treasure. After all, even if there really was one, it would never fall into his hands.
Strolling slowly and chatting idly, the Inspectors each returned to their respective posts.
Chu Mu, as unmovable as ever, sat down under a tree, a small bonfire lit before him for warmth. He picked up a book and read for a moment, then seemed to think of something and suddenly froze.
'If I remember correctly, the Commandery City ordered the mine to increase production, which led to an increase in Forced Labor.'
'Then, the Thousand Households and Vice Thousand Households started leading men around the mine, looking for something.'
'And now, some bigwig is suddenly coming for an inspection…'
'These events… they seem like they could be connected.'
'In other words, they're looking for something. That must be why the orders came down to increase production and bring in more Forced Labor, and why this important person is coming to inspect the mine…'
Chu Mu silently pondered this possibility. As far as he knew, the Nanshan Iron Ore mine had been in operation for many years, and the quarrying quota had always been set at the beginning of the year. There had never been a mid-year request to increase production.
This fact seemed to support his theory.
Chu Mu glanced at the laborers toiling in the distance and couldn't help but wonder, 'What could possibly be worth all this trouble?'
Unable to figure it out, Chu Mu couldn't be bothered to waste any more mental energy on it. His gaze shifted back to the book in his hands.
It wasn't the nearly tattered primer, nor the *Nanshan Wild Chronicles* or that history book, but a travelogue that Chu Mu had picked up in a bookstore a few days ago.
Its contents described the travels and experiences of a wealthy scholar journeying through various lands.
Although it was mostly descriptions of scenery, the wide range of his travels broadened Chu Mu's horizons, ensuring he wasn't completely in the dark about the world outside Nanshan Town.
Judging from this travelogue, the current Great Chu empire could still be considered peaceful.
A place like Qinghe County was clearly an exception.
After all, not every place had mines that needed to be quarried.
And most importantly, food is the first necessity of the people.
'Looking back at the thousands of years of history from my past life,' he mused, 'widespread chaos was almost always because, for one reason or another, the common folk could no longer survive. That's what laid the foundation for rebellion.'
'But in this era,' Chu Mu reckoned, 'that problem is unlikely to arise.'
'After all, food is just too cheap.'
Just a few days ago, Chu Mu had learned that the rice in this era was actually a drought-resistant crop. You could plant it on any random patch of land, and with just a little care, it would grow.
Most importantly, the yield wasn't low in the slightest. On average, a single *mu* could produce as much as thirty *shi*—the equivalent of three thousand *jin* from his past life!
And it wasn't just rice; other crops were the same. They were easy to grow, and their yields were frighteningly high.
Such high crop yields naturally led to extremely cheap food.
No matter how much they were exploited and oppressed, with such cheap and high-yield food, it shouldn't be hard for anyone to get enough to eat.
In an era like this, unless they were truly at their wit's end, how many people would risk beheading to rebel?
Under these circumstances, how could the realm not be at peace?
It was precisely because he knew this that Chu Mu began to focus more and more on his martial arts.
In fact, his purpose for practicing martial arts had subtly shifted from mere self-defense to carving out a future for himself!
Chaos was terrifying, but it was also an opportunity.
'After all, the realm is stable; that general trend is irreversible.'
Even if trouble broke out in Qinghe County, it would only be a brief turmoil. Faced with the overwhelming trend of peace in the realm, it would quickly be pacified.
The three peasant uprisings recorded in the *Nanshan Wild Chronicles* clearly illustrated this point.
The most severe one had only swept through Nanshan Town, but it was suppressed by Thunderbolt in just over a month.
'If I master my martial arts, with this identity as an Inspector… should chaos truly erupt, it could even be an opportunity for me…'
A flicker of light crossed Chu Mu's eyes, and he felt a faint, inexplicable excitement.
It seemed… ever since imagining himself in the Hanging Ball Array yesterday, his entire mindset had changed.
'Was he even starting to look forward to it?'
Chu Mu pursed his lips, silently suppressing the strange excitement in his heart. He slowly got up and began to wander around the area.
As the saying goes, you learn from your mistakes.
After three peasant uprisings, it seemed Qinghe County had learned its lesson three times over.
Here at the mine, the source of the trouble, that meant strict measures in every respect.
Each team of Inspectors was responsible for an area, which was then subdivided among the individual men.
The same applied to the Forced Labor.
Every single laborer was assigned to a specific area and a specific Inspector.
In the area Chu Mu was in charge of, for example, he was responsible for six laborers.
The work of these laborers was also very simple: just transporting Ore Materials.
The Ore Materials quarried from the mine were transported from one area to another; the section he was responsible for was just one link in the chain.
Although this kind of management reduced the overall efficiency of the mine, it was clearly extremely effective for managing the Forced Labor.
Moreover, Chu Mu knew that in the barracks next to the mine's mess hall, nearly a hundred fully armed Inspectors were on standby at all times.
Their purpose was abundantly clear…
...