Chapter 49

As autumn approaches, most people will guard their fields during the day and use various means to drive away the birds that come in. Otherwise, only some empty shells will be left before the crops are ripe.

Wen Yi faintly heard the sound of weapons clashing as he passed the training ground. Yao Wenjun had already left when he got up, so he must have been practicing for quite some time.

However, you can't see what's inside now. If you want to get in, you have to go around a big circle and enter from the west.

Originally, there was only a fence here, but later, as more people came, a high wall was built. Many trees were planted outside the wall, so it was quite shady when walking underneath.

A queue had formed at the city gate. Those who moved forward the fastest were naturally the original residents of the city. They were out looking after the fields at this time and did not carry much with them. They were allowed to pass only after their household registration cards were checked.

On the other side, the caravan verification process was a bit slow. When they came from the warehouse, the carts were full of various things, and they had to carefully check the list before they could leave the city gate.

Wen Yi was naturally in the fastest-moving group. The soldiers guarding the city gate did not show any change in expression. After checking and confirming their identities, they walked out.

The line outside wanting to enter was longer than the one inside the city, and most of the people were dusty and looked exhausted.

There were quite a few people outside the city at this time early in the morning, and the temporary buildings not far away had also been renovated and were now used as a resting place for many people.

"morning--"

Many people greeted their acquaintances and walked together to the fields not far away.

There is still enough water in the canal, and it just needs to be diverted to the ditches around our fields. It is much better than before.

Wen Yi walked half a circle around the city wall and saw the buildings downstream of the river outside the city. This was a place specially designed for patients with infectious diseases such as colds to temporarily live.

However, no one else can enter unless they have a receipt issued by the clinic.

It rained a while ago, and more people have fallen ill than usual. But overall, the situation is under control and there are no problems for now.

*

After practicing with Nanxun for a while, Yao Wenjun washed up, changed his clothes, and stood on the stage, watching the soldiers who were constantly chopping at the straw and wooden dolls.

"How is it?" Nan Xun walked to her side.

Yao Wenjun smiled and nodded, but in a firm tone: "Teacher has told you about our plan."

The people around her didn't reply, but she didn't care and continued:

"I originally thought we needed to recuperate and it would take a few years at the earliest, but from those letters, I can tell that some people can no longer bear it."

Not only did Wen Yi receive news of peace, but he also made his ambitions clear, stating that if sufficient interests were not ceded, he would send people over after the autumn harvest.

Since yesterday was a day off, Yao Wenjun did not tell anyone about these things. He would discuss them with a few people tomorrow when he returned to the city.

It doesn't matter how much of it was instigated by the old people of Yudi. They have no shortage of food, while the other side has suffered serious disasters. This is a contradiction that cannot be resolved.

Yao Wenjun originally wanted to go there in person, but this time they were facing enemies from both the southwest and southeast directions at the same time, and the east was not stable. He came back this time to discuss some details that could not be disclosed with Wen Yi, Song Jin and others, and he would have to go there when the two sides came into contact.

She didn't trust anyone else, nor did they necessarily cooperate with Wen Yi and others' arrangements, except Nan Xun.

"You are quite bold."

Nan Xun whispered, threw the cloth he used to wipe his sweat onto the shelf beside him, picked up the bow and weighed it, pulled the string to the fullest, and then let go and hit the middle of the target not far away.

Yao Wenjun raised his eyebrows.

"Leave it to me. Although I always lose when fighting with you, I still have the ability to protect the safety of a few people." Nan Xun said.

The next day.

After resting for more than a day, everyone looked much more energetic, especially Wen Yi and Song Jin, who originally looked like they were emitting black energy.

Wen Yi came earlier than usual, but he didn't expect that everyone else had already arrived. He was chatting and laughing while packing up the things he had accumulated over the past two days so that he could deal with them later.

"Why did you get up so early today?"

Song Jin was a little surprised. Although Wen Yi only needed to go through one door to reach the front hall, from the direction she came from, it could be seen that this person should have come in through the main door, which meant that this person had left earlier.

Wen Yi sighed, "It's not too early."

I haven't had a comparison target for half a year. Just by comparing my daily routine with Yao Wenjun's over the past two days, I realized that most of my previous physical discomforts were caused by lack of exercise.

She has eliminated those exercises that require a lot of physical strength. She just gets up every day, takes a walk and has breakfast, which can be considered as stretching her muscles.

After hearing her story, Song Jin probably guessed who had influenced her. He thought Wen Yi wanted to follow Yao Wenjun's schedule, so he laughed and said,

"What's the point of competing with that guy? Let's not talk about other things, just talking about martial arts, there are so many cities, how many can fight with Wen Jun?"

Some people are naturally energetic, needing only a short rest each day to shake off fatigue. On the other hand, she had seen someone who was constantly sleepy. They felt extremely exhausted no matter what they did. Their family initially thought it was laziness, but after seeing a doctor, they realized it was a natural weakness that needed to be taken care of.

People like them who engage in mental activities also get tired easily. Fortunately, they are still young and don’t go home every day without the energy to eat.

"It's not entirely about this." Wen Yi said, "We went to the clinic last night to discuss it. We decided to open a small room next to the clinic in a few days to help relax your muscles and bones."

When I went to see it this morning, the place was almost ready and we were just waiting for the few hired masters to arrive before we could officially open.

Several people became interested in this matter and discussed going over to take a look when they had free time.

"What are you discussing?"

Footsteps were heard from the door. It was Yao Wenjun who walked in carrying a wicker box. She felt a little strange when she saw the people gathered in the room.

Song Jin had already raised his head before this person came in, and smiled when he heard this:

"Nothing, just looking for a place to relax and rest. But why did you bring so many things here?"

Everyone's attention fell on the wicker box that Yao Wenjun was carrying. She didn't keep anyone in suspense. She placed the things on the table in the middle and opened it from the side. Inside was a box full of documents.

"Ahem."

Wen Yi took a sip of tea and almost choked, but fortunately he reacted in time and swallowed it.

Song Jin also leaned back slightly, but still walked forward, picked up the top one, unfolded it and took a look, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

It turned out that most of them were letters from other cities or forces, made of various materials, so they took up more space. If they were all paper, the amount would be terrifying.

This time Yao Wenjun brought all these back and compared them with Wen Yi's, so as to reduce omissions and errors caused by information asymmetry.

Wen Yi also put the teacup back, turned around and went to the cabinet at the back to take out the things he had accumulated, including the previously marked map.

There were quite a few repeated letters between the two sides. Most of the content was similar, and the conditions proposed were not much different. Those that were different were put aside separately.

The others, together with Song Jin, dealt with most of the other matters before Wen Yi and Yao Wenjun sorted out the documents according to their content.

From this we can see that many people still have different attitudes towards the two sides.

Tong Wenyi would probably directly mention the exchange, but Yao Wenjun would receive more pleasantries, with only a brief mention at the end, the meaning of which was not clear, which was very characteristic of the documents of that time.

"What are they thinking?" Yao Wenjun took out a piece of silk and read out its contents:

"This year we suffered from a disaster, and we have only a small amount of grain to eat. Thousands of people are starving. I hope you can help me. I will repay you in the future."

This was a roundabout way of asking for food under a banner, and it also carried some threats. After all, a few thousand soldiers could be considered a number that could pose some threat.

"I have spoken with him and feel deeply dissatisfied. We will work together and will never allow you to be constrained by others."

This is an attempt to sow discord between the two to achieve one's own goals. If Wen Yi and Yao Wenjun were not clear about what each other wanted, if there really was a conflict of interests or ideas, seeing this too much would always create a rift.

But for now, it's just for fun.

Song Jin was observing from the side and found that Wen Yi and the other man did not show any change in expression at all because of the letters, so he relaxed a little.

In fact, sometimes she couldn't understand what these two people were thinking. Common sense told her that no matter it was a city or a larger area, under normal circumstances, even if there were multiple people who could make decisions, in the end, only one person would be able to make the decision.

But Yao Wenjun and Wen Yi didn't seem to have this awareness, and sometimes Song Jin was a little worried that something unexpected might happen.

Naturally, they selfishly think that Yao Wenjun is more suitable, but considering those old subordinates in Yu Di, if it is really decided, that group of people with some blood relationship will come over under various banners to take over the position. Even many people who do not know the truth will think that Yao Wenjun should step down and let others take over.

But Wen Yi... Song Jin sighed.

Forget it, if you can't figure it out, just let these two people be. Anyway, they both seem to be very resourceful. Wen Yi seems to be working on some new things during this period, and we'll see how it develops.

Wen Yi didn't go back to read these meaningless letters carefully. When Yao Wenjun read them out, he just shook his head and commented with only four words:

"A waste of silk."

Yao Wenjun nodded in agreement and put the items aside. This wasn't even as threatening as the ones asking for food, so he could just deal with it later.

Wen Yi unfolded the previously marked map and placed it on the cleaned desk. There were more markings on it than at the beginning.

"Here, and here." Wen Yi pointed at several cities in the southwest direction with his right hand, "The news coming back is that they have already started to move." These deployments are naturally preparations for the attack, which will not be a good thing for the nearby cities.

The nearest one was the place Wen Yi went to some time ago because it was severely affected by the disaster. It has been managed quite well by Song Jin's cousin during this period. In addition to the instructions before leaving, it seems that pre-war preparations are already underway.

"We have sent several caravans there before. I think we will be able to get the latest news in a few days," Wen Yi added.

Although the caravans would be inspected, their priority was trading and they were carrying some food, so no one would stop them from moving forward during this time of food shortage. However, they would sometimes force the price down.

Fortunately, the things that can make money are not food. Taking them with you will only provide more security and dispel some people's doubts.

"Leave this to Nanxun?"

"Well, I'll go east. The people transferred back are already on their way." Yao Wenjun marked something on the map with a pen, then turned to Song Jin and asked:

"How's things going at the workshop?"

Yao Wenjun had previously sent a message back asking for a batch of the latest siege equipment. Research in other places is always slower than here in Pingyi, and it takes a long time to make it according to the blueprints. If you need to use it urgently, it would be faster to bring it over directly.

"Everything is almost ready."

Song Jin pulled out the data that Sang Yu had just compiled and left for her to review. "The equipment is ready, but the assembly in one place needs to be adjusted according to the different terrain. Remember to bring someone with you when you leave. Once you've taught the craftsmen there, you can send someone back."