After Wu Guan County Town was taken, Yu Yang County, the second county town fifty li to the southeast, was taken as well.
Together with the Saintly Teaching's stronghold on Crushed Scallion Ridge, the two county towns formed an iron triangle.
After taking these two places, Wenren Sheng did not send anyone to attack again. Instead, he focused on training personnel.
A county might be small, but it possessed all the essential organs.
The institutions under a seventh-rank county magistrate were practically a miniature version of the imperial court.
Within the County Yamen were the Six Bureaus of Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Punishment, and Works, corresponding to the Six Ministries.
Only by governing a county well could one govern the realm.
Many Righteous Armies failed to overcome this hurdle and ultimately died halfway through their journey.
The significance of governing a county well was immense.
It marked the difference between a proper regime and bandits.
Many people had searched for countless reasons why the Manchu Qing succeeded while Li Zicheng failed. In truth, the most direct reason was that the former could manage its territory, while the latter barely began managing its territory only at the very end—and even then, it did so in an extremely crude manner.
Wenren Sheng understood all this very well, so he would not blindly sweep across the realm.
Instead, he began using the two counties to cultivate talent.
Teaching was his original profession.
And in later generations, it was commonplace for schoolteachers to rule the world.
Wu Guan County's County School had originally been for xiucai scholars to study in. It was now converted into a training academy.
"In a county, every matter, great or small, lies in three fields: agriculture, industry, and commerce. These three produce and circulate wealth. Scholars produce nothing; they