Chapter 40 Development Plan

  Chong County, the General's Mansion, Li Qing spread his hands and said to Shang Haibo: "What can I do? To be honest with you, I have no way." There were only two people in the study, coal had already begun to be accepted by the people of Chong County, and every room in Li Qing's General's Mansion was equipped with a heating system, making the rooms warm as spring.

  The door opened and a gentle breeze carried the tea tray, which walked in slowly and placed two cups of fine clear tea in front of the two people. He smiled and nodded to Shang Haibo, then bowed his head and retreated.

  Looking at Qingfeng's back, Shang Haibo said thoughtfully: "The soldiers in the military camp are easy to say, but these rescued slaves are not easy to say. There are many people and many mouths, and this road in Jizhenze will eventually be exposed one day."

  "Yes, so before that, we must be prepared for battle and defend against the barbarian army's attack from here at any time." Li Qing pointed to the Chongxian map on the case between the two of them.

  "I inquired carefully about the Over Mountain Wind, and in Chicken Crowing Marsh, there is a place with an area of about 100 meters square, all of which are solid ground. I plan to send people there after next spring to build a small fortress, blocking the middle of Chicken Crowing Marsh, only needing more than 100 soldiers to garrison it, and it will be as secure as a golden soup."

  General, isn't this a case of "there is no silver in this land, three hundred taels"? By doing this, aren't you openly telling others that there's something strange about Chicken Crowing Ditch? Otherwise, why bother spending money and effort to build a fort here?

  Li Qing smiled strangely, "Mr. Shang, there's something good at Chicken Cry Marsh!"

  "What good things?" Shang Haibo's head was a bit dizzy, what good things could there be.

  Li Qingdao said: "Mr. Shang, our Chong County has many mountains and little land, but there is a lot of wasteland in Jimingze, but most of it is uncultivated land. Even if we reclaim it, it's hard to get any harvest, right?"

  Shang Haibo nodded, the general's mind is very clear!

  "So, we went to dig up the Ji Ming Ze, and the silt in the Ji Ming Ze was very fertile! After digging it out and piling it on those barren fields, we can improve the land there. This way, what we planted that year would yield a harvest that same year."

  Li Qing said excitedly, standing up and pacing back and forth in the room, waving his hand: "Jī Míng Zé is dozens of miles around, we only dig a small part near us, digging away these silt, isn't the empty space a natural lake? What can we do? We can raise fish, we can raise chickens, ducks, and geese, right? Look, this way, turning waste into treasure, originally nothing Jī Míng Zé will become our treasure basin, with grain, meat, everything."

  Li Qing picked up his teacup, took a big gulp and drained it in one go. Shang Haibo remained still, staring blankly at Li Qing. He had originally come to discuss the defense of Chicken Ridge with Li Qing, worried that the exposure of this secret passage would deal a fatal blow to Chong County. But he never expected Li Qing to think of so many things all at once, jumping from military to civil affairs in an instant. Even with his exceptionally sharp mind, Shang Haibo was left stunned by Li Qing's words, looking at him with a strange gaze. What kind of person is this? What's going on inside that head of his?

  "General, this is a civil administration matter, you should look for County Magistrate Xu and Old Lu!" he muttered.

  Li Qing waved his hand, "Mr. Shang, you are my chief military strategist, and you must participate in both military and civil affairs. Moreover, these two things are combined as one in Jimingze. I plan to allocate the wasteland that has been opened up here, as well as future animal husbandry, directly to the army. Next spring, we will take action, and this can be used to cover our small actions of building fortresses in Jimingze." Li Qing said with a pleased expression.

  Shang Haibo's spirits lifted upon hearing this, Li Qing had clearly established his position in Chong County and Changsheng Camp. Although Wang Qinyan and others had previously regarded him as the second-in-command under Li Qing, it was only a subconscious reaction brought about by Shang Haibo's strong presence. As the saying goes, "if the name is not correct, then the title will not be proper". Now that Li Qing has spoken out, he formally established his own position.

  A happy smile appeared on his face, and Shang Haibo said: "Good, General has already made plans, so I'll go down and prepare now. Such a big action requires careful preparation in advance to avoid chaos at the time." He stood up and bid farewell, "Haibo will return to the camp and discuss a detailed plan with Wang Jiang Feng and others, and report it to the general for review in two days."

  Li Qing nodded, "Alright, the sooner the better. After the New Year, it will be spring and the weather will warm up, we must seize the time, for time waits for no man! Oh right, this thing is for you!" He walked to the desk, rummaged through it, and finally found a drawing paper amidst the mess he had made of the neatly arranged papers. He handed it to Shang Haibo, "This is the design for the fortress I drew up for that stronghold. You guys take a look and follow this plan when building it."

  Shang Haibo was shocked again, the general would build a fortress, this is a technical job. Looking at the drawings in his hand, he couldn't help but be stunned. This fort was strange and unlike any of the common fortresses in Chu State. "What is this? Is it a fortress?"

  Li Qing nodded, "Of course, this kind of fort is called a ravelin. Alright, I've told you, but you won't understand it anyway. After you go down, you can make a model with Wang Qinyan and the others, try it out and you'll know its power."

  Shang Haibo, who had thought himself omniscient in military strategy and geography, was deeply shocked and left the General's mansion in a daze.

  The gentle breeze opened the door of the study, carrying a tray with a bowl of millet porridge and some small dishes, walked in, placed the tray on the table, arranged them one by one, and said: "General, it's getting late, have some porridge to warm your stomach!"

  Li Qing and the monk Hai Bo both felt a bit peckish after several hours of meditation. Li Qing sat down at the table, laughing: "I'm really getting hungry! It's so late, why haven't you gone back to rest yet?"

  Qingfeng smiled and trimmed the oil lamp, saying: "The general is still busy with official duties, how can I go to rest?" While speaking, he tidied up Li Qing's disordered desk. "General, why did Mr. Shang leave with a strange expression on his face, muttering to himself? It's really strange!"

  Li Qing drank the porridge in two gulps, wiped his mouth and smiled: "It's a blow, never mind, it'll be fine after a couple of days." Hmm, today's porridge tastes different from usual, not Yang's cooking, "Qingfeng, did you cook this porridge today?" Li Qing asked casually.

  "Ah!" Qingfeng replied casually, "Yang's wife has been busy all day, I saw her being very tired, so I let her go to sleep. I thought the general would also rest early, but seeing Mr. Shang arrive, you two started talking and didn't stop, so I went down to the kitchen to cook some millet porridge. How is it, not good?"

  "No, no, it's delicious, really delicious!" Li Qing hastily said, her pale face flushing red as she turned around to continue cleaning the house.

  Looking at Qingfeng's busy figure in the study, it was actually quite a sight to behold. Qingfeng was indeed beautiful, and even though she wasn't deliberately dressing up, the rough hemp clothes on her body still made her stand out. "Hmm, the two sisters are indeed national beauties, but compared to each other, Qingfeng has more charm. Xiumei is still not fully grown." Li Qing couldn't help but compare the two sisters. Having a few women around was actually not bad, at least his life had become more regular and his clothes were cleaner. He didn't know what Qingfeng had done, but after she handled his clothes, they always carried a faint fragrance.

  Occasionally turning her head back, she saw Li Qing staring at her intently without blinking. Qing Feng was taken aback for a moment before quickly becoming flustered and red-faced again. "General, is there something?"

  "Oh, nothing, nothing!" Li Qing hastily stood up and said: "It's very late, let me send you back."

  "No need, I live close by anyway." Qingfeng hastily declined.

  "It's okay, anyway I just had your millet porridge, it's just right to take a walk, having stayed in the house for too long, going out to breathe some fresh air is good." Li Qing picked up his own coat and put it on.

  The two walked out of the house, and the cold air hit them in the face. The gentle breeze that had just come out of the warm room suddenly shivered, "How, is it cold?" Li Qing asked with concern.

  "It's okay, I'm not cold!" Qingfeng hastily said.

  Yang Yidao stepped forward, "General, I'll send Qingfeng back!"

  "Never mind, never mind, it's just a short distance, I'll go see you off. You two have had a long day, take a rest!" After saying that, he ignored Yang Yidao and walked out with Qingfeng.

  Yang Yidao raised his foot to leave, thought for a moment, and stopped again. Behind him, Tang Hu poked his head out and said, "Yang Tou, it's not right, the general seems to have taken a liking to Qingfeng!"

  "Shut up!" Yang Yidao glared at Du Yanlong, "Not speaking doesn't mean nobody thinks you're mute! Let's go, the two of us will quietly follow them."

  Tang Hu shook his head and said: "The general sent off the beauty at night, we followed to spoil the fun, aren't you afraid of the general getting angry?"

  Yang Yidao angrily said: "You stupid thing, are you thinking of having Mr. Shang beat our boards again? I'm saying quietly follow him, don't let the general know, isn't that enough?"

  Tang Hu shuddered, thinking of Shang Haibo's face, and was actually a little afraid. "Yang Tou is right, let's be quiet." The two of them followed quietly, treading softly.

  The snow crunched underfoot, making a crunching sound. The two of them didn't know what to say for a moment and walked in silence for a while before Li Qing asked, "Qingfeng, have you installed the earth dragon?"

  "Thank you, General, for your concern. My sisters and I have also installed heaters everywhere, so whether it's the kids' school or our living quarters, everything is warm now."

  "Don't be like this with me!" Li Qing said sullenly, "You are all people around me, if you are so estranged, wouldn't it suffocate people?"

  The gentle breeze was silent and did not speak, bowing her head forward, "General is our sister's great benefactor, saying thank you is a must."

  Li Qing shook his head, "What are you going to do from now on? Are you really not going back?"

  Qingfeng shook his head, "What's going to happen from now on? Qingfeng had never thought about it. Maybe I'll just live the rest of my life like this, and that's okay too."

  Li Qing turned his head to look at her, but saw that her face was as white as snow, without a hint of blood color. Perhaps it was due to the cold, her shoulders were shrunk inwards, and her whole person seemed somewhat huddled together, making her slender figure appear even more fragile.

  "People should always look forward, some things that are meant to be forgotten, just forget them! Thousands of sails have passed by the sunken boat, and thousands of trees are blooming in spring. Don't always live in pain, there are more beautiful things waiting for you in life!"

  The clear wind stopped, turned around and looked at Li Qing, a painful expression appeared on her face. "I, will I still have a new life? No, General, you don't know what fate awaits a woman who has lost the most precious thing to her."

  Li Qing stared blankly as two streams of tears flowed down from Qing Feng's eyes, the wind blowing her long hair into a wild dance, and in those eyes, what appeared was despair. Her heart ached, she walked forward, stretched out her hand and gently pulled Qing Feng into her arms, "You will have a better life, promise me, don't give up, always look forward."

  Leaning on Li Qing's broad shoulders, Qing Feng suddenly felt a sense of security she had never had before, a feeling of finding something to rely on that instantly rose to her heart. She wrapped her arms around Li Qing's waist and burst into loud sobs. All the resentment, heartache, and pain in her belly were transformed into tears, gushing out.

  Today I'm going to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday, and before leaving, I'll update a chapter on the web. Please give me some votes! Sorry to say that there is only one chapter today, and I will make up for it tomorrow.