As for why such powerful explosives couldn't be sent to the imperial court, Xu Di had already come up with a reason: the raw material for making explosives was scarce, and if that raw material were found again, it could naturally be produced again.

When Xu Di was making these explosives, he had considered developing even stronger explosives. The purpose of building roads was simply to improve people's lives. If these explosives were used for military purposes, many people would die. In modern warfare, sometimes a battle can be won by simply dragging it out. In this era where there is no more comfort, the premature appearance of advanced things will only make people's desires more rampant.

Xu Di is a man who plans carefully before acting. He will not do anything lightly without thorough consideration. He never underestimates anyone, nor will he be arrogant because he has thousands of years more knowledge than people of this era. For the sake of his family, he cannot tolerate the slightest arrogance.

Xu Di had considered the water issue for Xu Zhi long ago. He shared the same idea as Xu Zhi and Zheng Boyuan: to draw water from the boundary river. However, the question was where the water would ultimately flow after it was brought over.

Xu Di had seriously considered this during the Spring Festival, and he finally came up with an idea. Luzhou is located at a relatively high altitude. After diverting water from the boundary river, a reservoir could be built at Huitou Ridge. Then, an irrigation canal could be built along the newly constructed road, right on one side of the road, all the way to the Miao River. This way, the water problem of some villages along the canal could be alleviated. During the months of road construction, Xu Di had carefully surveyed the area along the road. Many villages in the mountains were not suitable for living. Now that the road was completed, the people in those mountain villages could be relocated. With this irrigation canal, why would these people be reluctant to leave their homeland?

After Xu Di discussed his ideas with Zheng Boyuan, Zheng Boyuan was worried that the villagers would have to build houses after moving out of the village. The villagers in the mountains rely on the weather for their livelihood and don't even earn enough to eat all year round, so where would they find the extra money to build houses?

Xu Di had actually considered this issue long ago. Once the road was repaired, the transportation costs for building materials would be reduced significantly. Xu Di had once visited Luzhou with Zhang Zhaozhi, who had mentioned that although Luzhou was poor, the mountains there were very suitable for the growth of certain Chinese medicinal herbs. Herbs grown in this environment had excellent medicinal properties. Would it be a way for the villagers to get rich by growing these herbs?

The Chen family is now the largest medicinal herb merchant in Daliang. Xu Di wants the Chen family to cooperate with these villages. The Chen family will help these villages settle down, and then send people to guide the villagers to grow Chinese medicinal herbs in suitable places on the mountain. The Chen family will then come to collect the herbs, the villagers will generate income, and the Chen family will have a stable source of medicinal herbs. Isn't that a win-win situation?

This is just Xu Di's idea. The most important thing now is to repair the road. Only when the road is repaired and it is convenient to get in and out will the Chen family consider this matter. Otherwise, why would the Chen family help these villagers build resettlement houses for free?

Once you have an idea, you can slowly work on it step by step. As long as you don't give up, you will eventually succeed.

Xu Di stood on the edge of the border river, looking at the surging water below the cliff, and said to Zheng Boyuan, "Don't let your guard down just because it's steep here. Sometimes, the places that are easily overlooked are the places that are easily attacked."

Zheng Boyuan nodded, thinking of Xu Di's resourcefulness, and asked, "Brother, in your opinion, what do you think the Great Yan people will do if we land from here?"

Xu Di surveyed the surrounding terrain and thought of the zipline he had seen by the Nu River.

The mountains on both sides of the border river are made of extremely hard rock. If you hammer iron nails into such rocks and tie ropes to them, you can slide across to the other side.

Xu Di picked up a tree branch from the ground and explained the zipline to Zheng Boyuan. Zheng Boyuan listened with a very serious expression, pondered for a long time, and said, "Brother, it's fortunate that you told me all this today. Otherwise, we would still think that with this border river and cliff, the Great Yan can't do anything to our Luzhou. If the Great Yan were to sneak over in the middle of the night, with the current troop deployment in Luzhou, we would have no choice but to surrender."

Xu Di nodded and said, "The most crucial thing now is to do a good job in early warning. This applies not only to the people in your garrison, but also to the people along the border river. We need to raise everyone's vigilance. If there is any unusual activity, your garrison must receive the information immediately."

Zheng Boyuan said confidently, "There is no problem with that. After all, Luzhou was established to defend against the Great Yan on the other side of the river. The people of Luzhou are civilians in peacetime and soldiers in wartime."

This was true in many places along the border, including Hexi. When the Northern Di invaded, every person in Hexi was a soldier, and everyone was willing to sacrifice their lives to protect the country behind them. Xu Di had seriously considered why the people of Hexi, and even along the border from Hexi to Liaodong, could do such a thing. Later, Xu Di slowly realized that when foreign enemies invaded, they were the first to suffer. And for generations, every family had relatives who had been killed by the invading enemies. If they did not stand up, their relatives, and even their descendants, would become fish on the chopping block of the enemy. In that case, why not fight?

Many of the people in Luzhou were relocated here from other places when the Liang Dynasty established garrisons here in earlier years. Although many years have passed, the spirit they carry in their bones and the bloodline they inherit remind them to protect the country behind them and to fight to the death against the invading foreign enemies.

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