Chapter 58: Developing Baishui River

  A great ability is indeed a great ability.

  After Xun Yu was semi-forced by Li Jing to take over the management of the ranch, the entire ranch became well-organized and ran smoothly.

  Everything is well-organized and efficient, not only has productivity increased significantly, but even the people in the grasslands are no longer as tired as they used to be.

  This made many people feel strange.

  It seems like the workload hasn't decreased, but why does it seem so much simpler now?

  Moreover, Xun Yu was far from being as busy as Zhao Wu in the beginning. Every day, he only needed half a time to arrange his work for the day. The rest of the time, he would either stroll around to clear his mind or even go hunting in the nearby forest with ease.

  This carefree and contented state is simply like heaven and earth compared to Zhao Wu.

  Li Zhong expressed satisfaction with this. Zhao Wu said he was deeply moved and convinced.

  In just a few days, the entire grassland showed considerable respect for the new manager - capable people are respected wherever they go, let alone Xun You with his great reputation.

  Of course, Li Zuo expressed satisfaction at the same time, but did not weaken his surveillance of Xun Yu.

  These ingenious and extraordinary people are not easy to deal with. If they were to be cheated by accident, who would Li Zhēn reason with?

  In order to squeeze out Xun Yu's value, Li Jing even had Zhou Fei come to the grassland from time to time to ask Xun Yu for advice on some doubts about managing Lingzhou County.

  As for this, Xun Yu never refused to come, and each time he was able to provide extremely crucial suggestions, making Zhou Fei gain a lot of insight, so that his governing ability grew significantly in a short period of time.

  After seeing that everything in Lingzhou and Caoyuan was developing in a good direction, Li Zhong shifted his attention to Baishui River.

  If Shen Zhou Cao Chang is the foundation, then Ling Zhou County and Bai Shui Chuan have basically equivalent positions in Li Zhong's mind.

  At this stage, Lingzhou County can provide him with manpower, materials and money, while Baishui River is the first platform for the development of the War Horse.

  Li Zhēng's first task is to survey the various landforms within a hundred miles of Baishui River and categorize them for future planning.

  Which places are suitable for grazing, which places are only suitable for planting thatch, which places have high terrain, which places have low terrain, which places need to be garrisoned and defended, which places also need to establish cities, etc., etc.

  And all of this requires someone in charge.

  This made Li Zhong scratch his head in dismay.

  Xun Yu's ability is naturally unquestionable, but for the time being, Li Zong only wants him to be in charge of the pasture, and his scope of activity cannot be too large, so as not to leave his sight.

  As for Zhao Wu, he was incompetent.

  Zhou Fei, on the other hand, had to take control of Lingzhou.

  After calculating and recalculating, there is only one Zhou Lin who barely passes.

  But Zhou Lin also had to be in charge of commercial matters, which was not a trivial matter, involving not only the resources and money of the ranch, but also the intelligence system, which was crucial.

  Li Zhēng suddenly thought of Old Man Li Běr Rán.

  From the time Li Beran was invited out, to now several months later, the entire Lingzhou County's educational infrastructure construction has almost reached its head. All kinds of publicity work have been done in place, and next, it will only be responsible for enrollment.

  So Li Bo Ran is now idle, and he still needs to be given more responsibilities!

  Li Zhong's mind turned and he had an idea.

  He immediately issued two orders.

  One was to order Zhou Fei to resign as the magistrate of Lingzhou County and report to him at the pasture, while the other was to let Mr. Li Bohran take over Lingzhou.

  Zhou Fei still has some ability and has been in charge of Lingzhou for a period of time, so he also has experience. Presumably leading the development of Baishui River should not be too difficult.

  As for Mr. Li Boran, he was even more valued by Li Zhēn.

  This old gentleman used to be an official in his early years, and over the years, with the growth of age and the depth of experience, he has become even more cunning. In charge of a small place like Lingzhou, it's definitely no problem.

  Li Zhong's control over Lingzhou was naturally unparalleled.

  In less than half a day, Zhou Fei had completed the handover of various matters in Lingzhou with Lao Li and brought a large team to the grassland. It was not that Zhou Fei liked to show off, but rather it was necessary for the development of Baishui River.

  It can't be that Zhou Fei alone can take down Bai Shuihe, right?

  Such a large grassland, from scratch, the workload can be imagined, one person can't handle it.

  As for his transfer, Zhou Fei felt puzzled and also somewhat depressed in his heart.

  Watching Lingzhou become better and better under his management, the sense of accomplishment made Zhou Fei feel very satisfied. But he didn't expect that before he could finish what he wanted to do, he was transferred, which left him feeling depressed.

  Heaven knows what Li Zhong will have him do next.

  What if it was because he didn't do well in some aspects and Lord Li Jing was dissatisfied with him? For a moment, Zhou Fei's heart was filled with anxiety and apprehension.

  Li Zhong's study room.

  Sit.

  When he saw Zhou Fei coming in, Li Zhong casually waved his hand and let him sit down. He got straight to the point: "Because there's something very important that affects long-term development, I need someone trustworthy and capable to take charge. After some thought, I thought of you."

  Zhou Fei heard this and his spirit shook. His nervous heart immediately calmed down.

  "You know earlier, I led troops and took down the White Water River in the north."

  Zhou Fei nodded. So many captives were handed over by him, how could he not know about this matter?

  "In this case, I'm not just putting Bai Shui Chuan there for show. My foundation lies in the War Horse, and Bai Shui Chuan is the first step I took to develop it!" Li Zheng said solemnly.

  Zhou Fei, as Li Zhong's man and already a core figure, naturally knows the importance of war horses. Li Zhong is willing to entrust such an important matter to him, which shows how much he values and trusts him.

  For a moment, Zhou Fei was so excited that he could hardly contain himself.

  Li Zhēng immediately explained his plan for developing Baishui River, detailing the measurement of the area, classification of land types, and how to expand animal husbandry and plant alfalfa after completing various basic works.

  Zhou Fei listened on one side and secretly remembered it in her heart.

  "The specific matters of developing this pasture will be handed over to you. As for the garrison defense, it's my business." Li Zhēn pondered for a moment and said: "It's deep winter now, the snow on the grassland is very thick, and it's temporarily not conducive to action. You can first do the preparatory work well, how many people you need, go recruit yourself, how many tools you need, prepare them yourself. Wait until next spring, then take action and make a big effort."

  "Ah!"

  With a slight nod, Li Zhēng waved his hand, and in an instant, a bright light screen appeared in front of him.

  Zhou Fei's eyes narrowed, and his entire body immediately slumped down. Although he had seen many wonders of the grassland, Zhou Fei had never seen Lord Li Zheng display such skills out of thin air. However, after a moment's thought, Zhou Fei understood. With the War Rider Hall and other treasures in front of him, it was only natural that Li Zheng could deploy his light shield at any time. So he quickly calmed down.

  Li Zheng smiled and pointed at the light screen, saying to Zhou Fei: "This is a map of the entire Lingzhou, including Baishui River!"

  Zhou Fei heard this and widened his eyes, taking a closer look, and indeed it was the case. On the light screen, mountains, rivers, plains, and wetlands were all clearly visible at a glance. Zhou Fei's eyes shone brightly as he thought that with this thing, his work would be much easier, and he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise again and again, flattering incessantly.

  "Stop flattering." Li Zhēng laughed and scolded: "Take this silk, record the map of Baishui River, it's convenient for traveling."

  "Ah!"

  Zhou Fei's spirit shook, and he hastily got up, walked to Li Zhong's desk, picked up a piece of cloth that had been placed on the table early, and waited for Li Zhong to project the White Water River map onto the cloth before starting to copy it.

  The development of Baishui River was restricted by the season. However, the garrison was the top priority, and Li Zhong ignored the harsh environment of the winter pasture and handed over some things on the same day, leaving the pasture and heading to Baishui River.

  The geographical environment of Baishui River is superior, which is why it has been coveted.

  Although annihilating the Xiongnu's separate drops would produce a deterrent force, this deterrent force is limited after all. Li Jing will not place his hopes on this aspect.

  For example, the Xianbei nobleman, Beidi Chanyu, was defeated by Li Jing and suffered a crushing defeat, I'm sure he won't be willing to accept it.

  Perhaps for this and that reason, Bo Li will still help Li Zheng conceal the facts, but Li Zheng knows that this is not absolute.

  Anything can happen, and the only thing you can do well is to be fully prepared!

  At the arrival of the New Year, Li Zhong still rushed about on the grasslands of Baishui River. In this era, the Spring Festival, which would later become a grand holiday, had not yet risen to prominence, although it already had some significance; people placed more importance on the following Upper Yuan Festival, also known as the Fifteenth of the First Month.

  During this period of running around, Li Zhong basically ran a lap around Baishui River, and by comparing the system map, he was familiar with the terrain of Baishui River.

  Although he had the most advanced map in hand, Li Zhong still felt that he had to walk through it himself, take a look, and compare it with the map to be sure.

  This hundred-mile prairie, west of the Great River, on the other side of the Great River, is the border of Lian County, also under the jurisdiction of Beidi Prefecture. The east and north sides are all territories of the Xiongnu people, while the south side is Lingzhou.

  Several ferry crossings along the western riverbank need to be garrisoned with some troops. Garrisoning troops at the ferry crossings is not to guard against anyone, but Li Zhong has a covetous eye on Lian County. The plan is to wait until the opportunity is ripe and then send troops directly from Baishui River to occupy Lian County.

  In comparison, Lian County was indeed part of Li Jing's plan, but it wasn't urgent. The east and north borders were the top priority, defending against the Xiongnu was the most important task.

  According to the map, Li Zhong chose a garrison point on both the east and north sides.

  He intended to bring all the soldiers recruited from Lingzhou to Baisuichuan in the future, where they would be trained and defend against the Xiongnu people.

  After all, in Li Zhong's view, the infantry under his command would eventually be transformed into cavalry. And the terrain for cavalry training is naturally best on the grasslands.

  The two garrison points, one in the east and one in the north, are quite suitable in terms of location, leaning against tall grass hills, with abundant water sources nearby. The straight-line distance between them is nearly eighty miles, watching each other with a flanking stance, and with the speed of cavalry and the terrain on the grasslands that complements each other, they can make a round trip in one hour.

  Although there were only two battalions, it was difficult to defend the entire grassland terrain. But who made Li Zhong's troops so few?

  Moreover, Li Jing had always believed that setting up military camps in these two places was only a temporary measure. The entire Hexi Corridor would eventually be his territory, and the Xiongnu people were already in his pocket!