Chapter Thirty-Five: Water Conservancy

  After returning from Qingfeng Xueyue, Li Qing's mood was somewhat depressed for several days. Dingzhou is a border state, and every year it suffers from the raids of the barbarian tribes, with countless civilians being taken away, and families broken and people killed innumerable times. People like Qingfeng are considered lucky to have been rescued, but there are still many more who remain enslaved on the grasslands. Even for those like Qingfeng, their fate has been changed forever. Thinking of Qingfeng Xueyue's family and relatives, and the many others whose fates may be similar, Li Qing felt a lump in his throat. In the end, it all comes down to not having a strong army to intimidate the border regions!

  The barbarians must be pacified! Li Qing thought to himself, otherwise the borders would not be peaceful and he would have no energy to do other things. As for Xiao Yuanshan? Li Qing sneered, expecting him to take care of this matter was like trying to catch a fish by climbing a tree, being able to defend his territory was already quite something, the painstakingly built Dingzhou army had been destroyed overnight, and now its military strength was much weaker than before. It's likely that Xiao Yuanshan didn't even have the courage to go out of the Great Wall to fight. Thinking about this, Li Qing's desire to take over Dingzhou became more urgent.

  Li Qing, wearing only his undergarments on top, wielded his waist knife and exercised in the snow, the initial chill having been replaced by a fiery heat that rose steaming into the air. His robust muscles demonstrated his extraordinary vitality. As a general who commanded troops in battle, Li Qing did not place as much importance on personal martial prowess as Tang Hu and Yang Yidao did, but after all, he was a commander who led troops into battle, so if he had the leisure to increase his own combat strength, it wouldn't be a bad thing. If he really had to go into battle bare-chested, Li Qing thought that would mean he was already at the end of his rope.

  Across the window lattice, Xi Yue looked at Li Qing's robust figure and turned to ask Qing Feng: "Sister, what kind of person is General Li?"

  Qingfeng shook his head, "I can't see through it, but I know he's not an ordinary person. People like him, unless they have no opportunity, will rise to the top like a dragon entering the sea or a giant bird soaring into the sky."

  "Sister, you said General Li arranged for us to work here and that all the supplies would be provided just like his top generals and strategists. Could it be...?" Her face turned red as she stole a glance at Qingfeng, "Sis, could it be that she has taken a liking to you?"

  The gentle breeze slightly shook in her heart, and she took a glance at the clear moon. Seeing her sister's face flush red, her eyes dazed, she thought it was not good. She knew that her sister had already developed different feelings for Li Qing. As for herself, Qingfeng was very clear about these things, having long since become indifferent. Seeing that her sister had already fallen in deep, she wanted to quickly let her sister escape, otherwise, one day her sister would definitely get hurt.

  "Sister, don't think wildly, General Li has a kind heart, seeing that you and I have pitiful lives, he lent a helping hand. Who is General Li? A member of the esteemed Li family, although not born to the main wife, he is still nobility beyond words. His marriage is not something that ordinary people can match!"

  Jingyue's face was somewhat pale, and only then did she remember the huge gap between her and Li Qing, not to mention that she was now a withered flower. Seeing Jingyue's expression, Qingfeng felt a little unbearable, but in an instant, he hardened his heart again, thinking it would be better for his sister to give up this unrealistic fantasy sooner rather than later, which would actually be greatly beneficial to her.

  Saw his sister turn back to the desk, and deeply buried her head in a pile of papers. Qingfeng turned his head to look outside, but saw that Li Qing was already dressed and walking towards the old camp with Tang Hu and Yang Yidao. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

  The door was gently pushed open, and a middle-aged woman carried in a burning brazier, it was Yang Yidao's wife Yang Zhou. After Yang Yidao brought them here, he let his wife do some rough work for Li Qing. His wife also came from a poor background, she was quite tall and had thick calluses on her hands, obviously someone who was used to doing hard labor. Compared to the sheep fat and jade-like skin of Qingfeng and Xuemei, it was truly worlds apart.

  Yang Yidao is not a gossip, Yang Zhou doesn't know the identity of the two girls, but in her heart, those who can work in the general's study are naturally the general's confidants. These two girls are beautiful and must have an unusual relationship with the general. She usually serves them with extra care. Her own husband has been promoted to be a captain thanks to the general's blessing, so she should take good care of the women around the general.

  "Two young ladies, this was the general's order before he left, saying that the weather is cold and you two have weak bodies, and also need to sort out these complicated documents, I'm afraid you will catch a chill." Yang Zhou placed the brazier in the middle of the room, rubbed her hands together and said respectfully.

  "Thank you, Yang's wife!" Qingfeng didn't dare to be slow. Although this woman was just a peasant woman, if it were before, Qingfeng might not have even bothered to look at her. But now, things were greatly different. He himself was just a fallen scholar who couldn't return home and had to rely on others for shelter, but this peasant woman was the wife of Li Qing's trusted general. The positions between them had already been reversed.

  Lao Ying, Xu Yunfeng's temporary county government office. Li Qingzheng listened to Xu Yunfeng's report, "General, it is now winter idleness, apart from new recruits training, we also have a large number of idle laborers. Not utilizing them would be a waste, letting them eat and drink for free every day is not feasible either. I intend to take advantage of this opportunity to carry out large-scale construction in Chong County, what do you think, General?"

  These days of land allocation work have made him and Lu Yiming anxious, with a messy beard on their faces, seemingly without time to tidy up, and bloodshot eyes. Seeing the two men's appearance, Li Qing felt a little apologetic, as he had been relatively idle these past few days.

  "This plan is excellent, but I wonder what Magistrate Xu wants to do first?" Li Qing nodded in agreement.

  "One of them, of course, is to rebuild Chong County. Originally, Chong County had already been burned into a white land, but the bricks and stones were still there, so it was easy to rebuild. Also, the general's mansion, the county government office, these places need to be rebuilt first, as they are the symbol of official authority, now it is really not in line with the dignity."

  Xu Yunfeng's suggestion, however, differed from Li Qing's idea. He shook his head and said, "Chong County must be rebuilt, but the top priority is not the government office." Li Qing pointed to the simple wooden houses outside and the white canvas tents, saying, "Let's repair the people's homes first and resettle them in batches. As for the government office, it can wait until last."

  Lu Yi Ming said: "The general has the people in his heart, this kind of intention makes one feel reverence. Although the official residence is put last, it doesn't matter. However, I think that what's most important right now isn't a place to live."

  Li Qing and Xu Yunfeng both looked at each other in surprise, "What does Mr. Xu mean?"

  Lu Yi Ming said calmly, "In these days, I've looked up some information and asked some local old people. This Chong County is not big, and there's also a place called Biyuan. This is related to our survival in the future, we can't be careless."

  Li Qing was shocked, this matter related to his survival in the future, it's a matter of life and death, "Mr. Lu, please speak!"

  Xu Yunfeng's expression also became serious, and having been with Lu Yiming for these days, he naturally knew that this person was talented and not a boastful one.

  "Chong County has little land, but nine out of ten years are droughts!" Lu Yi Ming said: "Although we have enough food to hold on until next autumn's harvest, what about after that? Chong County originally had little land, if there is another drought and a poor harvest, we'll be in trouble. We can't rely on the Li family to support us every year."

  Li Qing suddenly woke up, "Mr. Lu is right, our top priority now is to develop water conservancy." He stood up and walked back and forth in the room a few times, saying: "This winter has plenty of snow, although Chong County has many mountains, there are also many streams between the mountains. We can choose a place to build a dam, build some small reservoirs, when spring comes next year, the accumulated snow will melt, plus the accumulation of mountain streams, and we will have enough water source, and after repairing the canals to irrigate the fields, we can ensure a bumper harvest in Chong County!"

  Li Qing clapped his hands together, "That's it, County Magistrate Xu, this matter is of utmost importance, arrange for it to be done immediately."

  Xu Yunfeng nodded, "It should be so. I'll get started with the arrangements right away."

  The three of them discussed the details for a while, but then it started snowing again. Seeing the fluttering snowflakes, Li Qing worriedly said: "In such weather, starting work might be somewhat difficult, and if there's any injury or illness, that would not be my wish."

  General, you're worrying too much. As long as we explain the situation clearly to the people, they'll understand. This winter, if they don't work, next year they'll definitely go hungry. These are all people who are afraid of hunger, how can they not work hard? Moreover, as long as we prepare properly and have some ginger tea and hot soup ready, working outside isn't impossible either.

  Li Qing nodded and said, "These things require County Magistrate Xu to pay more attention."

  Get up, look at the increasingly large snow with a restless mind, and say to Lu: "Mr. Lu, why don't you accompany me to Lao Ying to take a look? It has been snowing for so many days in a row, and the old snow has not melted yet, but the new snow has started falling again. I am worried that the houses of the people will be crushed."