Gao Village Family had once managed a large number of labor reform prisoners, but the situation back then was not quite the same as it is now.
In the past, most of those labor reform prisoners came from Zhen Family Village, Zheng Family Village, and a few nearby settlements. After Zhen Guangdao and Zheng Yanfu died, their fierceness collapsed almost overnight, and they obediently accepted their new identity as labor reform prisoners, a career path that, in its own strange way, had prospects.
Li Dao Xuan barely even restricted their freedom. For the most part, he let them roam as they pleased, and they behaved themselves, not daring to stir up trouble or cause chaos.
But the Guyuan rebel soldiers were a completely different story.
These men were not ordinary peasants. They were hardened frontier troops with real combat ability. They had no friends here, no neighbors to keep them grounded, and their numbers exceeded six hundred, far more than any previous batch of prisoners.
They had to be tightly controlled, otherwise something would definitely go wrong.
That meant they could not be placed in the so-called labor reform village. A proper prison had to be built for them.
Ever since Li Dao Xuan started playing with his miniature world, he had developed a habit of buying any tiny model he came across online. His house was now stacked with all sorts of miniature structures. After rummaging through the pile, he quickly found what he needed, a Lego prison set.
Perfect. This would do nicely.
At that moment, Fang Wushang had just escorted over six hundred captured rebels to the outskirts of Gao Village Family. Shan Shier brought Tan Liwen out to receive them. After hearing that these prisoners were sent by Dao Xuan Tianzun for labor reform, Shan Shier was still pondering how to arrange them.
Then the golden hand descended from the sky.
Right in front of Fang Wushang and the six hundred prisoners, the massive hand began snapping pieces together, click after click, assembling something out of thin air.
Li Dao Xuan deliberately built the structure in full view of the prisoners. It served as a warning, a silent intimidation tactic to reduce any foolish ideas they might entertain during their reform.
And indeed, it worked.
Not only the prisoners, even Fang Wushang and his men were stunned. They watched as the golden hand snapped and pressed, and in no time at all, a massive gray structure rose into existence. It had numerous compartments, each sealed with grid-like doors.
The design did not exactly match the prison cells of the Ming era, but anyone with a functioning brain could immediately recognize what it was.
A jail.
Once the structure was complete, the golden hand swept aside a patch of land beside the road leading from Gao Village Family to the county town, clearing it flat in one motion before setting the prison down firmly.
Shan Shier immediately understood.
"General Fang, please trouble yourself to escort the prisoners into this facility. After that, you can leave them to us."
Fang Wushang was still dazed, but his subordinates had already sprung into action.
Unlike him, his soldiers had all read Dao Xuan Tianzun's tales. Accepting the existence of the Heavenly Lord came much easier to them. After witnessing this divine construction of a celestial prison with their own eyes, they wasted no time.
"Move!" one soldier barked, tapping a prisoner with the butt of his spear.
The man he struck was no ordinary soldier. He was a fierce warrior known by the nickname Old Nanfeng. His real name was unknown. He had once clashed directly with Gao Chuwu, breaking his spear in the exchange, and had been chased halfway across the battlefield by a heavy-backed broadsword.
He was skilled, dangerous, and not easily cowed. He had not fallen in battle, but he had surrendered after witnessing Li Dao Xuan's terrifying strike.
Now stripped of his armor and dressed in nothing but a thin cloth garment, he took the blow from the spear shaft and instantly flared with anger, glaring at the soldier with killing intent.
The glare was so fierce that the soldier's hand trembled, and he did not dare strike a second time.
"W-what are you doing? Get inside. Otherwise… Dao Xuan Tianzun… will punish you…"
Old Nanfeng did not fear the soldier. Empty-handed, he could take down two or three of them without breaking a sweat. But when he heard the words Dao Xuan Tianzun, his courage visibly deflated. He lifted his head and glanced at the golden hand still hovering in the sky, then lowered it again and obediently stepped into the Lego prison.
One by one, the captured soldiers entered the massive gray structure.
Although they had been frightened out of their wits by the divine display, their years of military discipline still showed. Once inside, they behaved as if entering a barracks, forming small groups and occupying cells in an orderly fashion. The entire process unfolded with surprising efficiency.
Then the golden hand descended once more and gently pushed the prison gate shut, sealing all six hundred men inside.
Only then did Fang Wushang fully snap out of his daze. His facial muscles twitched awkwardly as he clasped his hands.
"My duty is complete. I will take my leave now."
Shan Shier, having witnessed Dao Xuan Tianzun reveal himself in front of Fang Wushang, knew that the situation in the county town must already be under control. There was no need for further secrecy.
He smiled. "General Fang, safe travels. Come visit Gao Village Family again when you have time."
Fang Wushang nodded vaguely, still in a haze, and departed with his men.
And just like that, the problem landed squarely in Shan Shier's lap.
He glanced up at the low clouds, tempted to ask Dao Xuan Tianzun for guidance. However, Gao Yiye was currently away in the county town on what could only be described as an official assignment. It was clear that handling the tens of thousands of people there was the priority.
Which meant everything here in Gao Village Family depended on him.
Shan Shier straightened up and thought carefully for a moment before turning to Tan Liwen.
"Go find Zhong Gaoliang."
Tan Liwen blinked. "Plant sorghum? Understood. Spring is coming anyway, I will organize people to start planting immediately."
Shan Shier lifted his foot as if to kick him, then stopped midway and sighed, lowering it again.
"I said find the person named Zhong Gaoliang. How are you even functioning as an advisor? Your most important skill should be memory, especially remembering key figures among the common people. And you cannot even recall Zhong Gaoliang? He was the model prisoner in the labor reform camp, the first to have his sentence reduced and be released."
That finally jogged Tan Liwen's memory.
He hurried off and soon returned with Zhong Gaoliang.
The man had been working the fields when he was summoned. Now standing before Shan Shier, he looked nervous, rubbing his hands together.
"Shan Manager, what do you need from me?"
Shan Shier spoke calmly. "You were once the exemplary labor reform prisoner. You should have some experience with that kind of life, yes?"
Zhong Gaoliang nearly jumped out of his skin.
"No experience, none at all. I do not want to ever commit crimes and end up in labor reform again."
Shan Shier pointed toward the newly built prison, then gestured at the golden hand still lingering in the sky.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun has just created this prison. Inside are over six hundred Guyuan rebel soldiers. They need to be managed."
Zhong Gaoliang blinked. "And… what does that have to do with me?"
Shan Shier looked at him and said, very clearly, "I have considered this carefully. There is a position that suits you perfectly."
He paused for effect.
"Jailer."
In modern times, the word jailer might refer to the most dominant inmate within a prison.
But in ancient times, it referred to an official appointed by the authorities to oversee the prison. In modern terms, the equivalent would be a prison warden.
Zhong Gaoliang's mouth fell open.
"Me… a jailer? Do I even have what it takes?"