Chapter 57

The simplest thing is naturally to use the unexplainable phenomenon at this time to create mystery, but sometimes it may have the opposite effect, and normal inquiries are more reliable.

These people who were sent here were, to a certain extent, giving themselves up to death, so naturally they would not be people with some status like deputy generals. When faced with questions, they would quickly tell what they knew.

When Wen Yi came in, there was no one else around her and she was wearing ordinary clothes. It was difficult to tell the difference in the dim light, so the other side did not realize her identity and just thought she was an ordinary soldier sent to inquire.

After chatting for a few other things, I felt that the person in front of me was reluctantly relaxed, so I started asking relevant questions.

In fact, you can also make a contrast between the relaxed attitude when talking about other things at the beginning and the serious attitude when asking what you really want to know, or by cooperating with each other, one playing the good cop and the other playing the bad cop, and speaking from the other person's perspective, which will make it easier to get what you want to know.

You can also make excuses for the other party. If the person being asked agrees or falls into deep thought, the answer to this question is most likely yes, because things that have not happened will most likely not be accepted just because of excuses, but will be firmly denied.

However, these are not applicable to the person being questioned today.

This person had been here for quite some time, but no one had come to check on him. Meals were only brought in the mornings and evenings, so he was naturally a little nervous, not knowing what awaited him. Seeing someone come in at this time was naturally extremely nervous, but after a few words, they were finally able to communicate, and Wen Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

The person on the other side spoke haltingly at first, even confusing the order of things a lot, but seeing that Wen Yi didn't show any impatience or interrupt him, he finally spoke smoothly.

Of course, the treatment here was not as good as they had imagined. The daily meals included relatively clean porridge and the food was much better than that of the team over there.

You have to know that the events of the previous year had caused food shortages everywhere. Before they were released, they had rarely eaten enough, but the food was mostly mixed with bran and unknown plants, making it difficult to resist swallowing. During the time they were detained, many of them even recovered significantly from their skeletal state.

"Yeah, so I just sent you here to take the opportunity to create some trouble."

After Wen Yi summarized what the man had said earlier, he spoke again, "What kind of supplies did you use before arriving here? Did you hear anything else when you set out?"

She was used to asking for details, as fabricated details would always have subtle variations in multiple retellings. She could even ask about the recorded process in reverse order, as it was difficult to retell a fabricated story that hadn't actually happened.

You can also observe the person's movements or eyes. Usually, if the eyes wander to the left, it means they are reminiscing, while if they look to the right, there is a certain possibility of lying. The facial expression on the non-dominant hand can also betray the person's true thoughts.

The man in front of him didn't seem to be lying, but Wen Yi didn't believe him completely. Instead, he put the record away and turned to the other side to ask.

With the first testimony, the information asymmetry was smoothed out, and the subsequent interrogation proceeded more quickly. Realizing that Wen Yi already knew most of the information, many people simply gave in and answered whatever Wen Yi asked. This was mainly because they were just ordinary farmers who had been drafted into the military and couldn't refuse.

After collecting seven or eight pieces of materials, Wen Yi got up and left. After checking, he returned to the temporary affairs office.

There are far fewer people available here than in Pingyi, but several guys from the academy have taken over Nanxun's stall, and the several craftsmen who came with him also figured out the most needed materials after writing and drawing.

Fortunately, Nanxun had previously stipulated that food must be exchanged for a certain amount of labor. If disaster relief had been provided free of charge from the beginning, it would be impossible to get these people to help build the city.

The resources here are also quite abundant.

In fact, there is no need to worry about these things. In the era of small population, most cities were built in places with rich resources. They were definitely not far from the river or were simply built on both sides of the river.

Since they were not planning to advance further south in the short term, in addition to the guards, Nan Xun's men had also helped with some construction, at least to prevent Wen Yi and others from handling affairs in the tent or in the open air.

Yes, before evacuating, that group of guys actually burned down the city's palace and granary. The fire in the granary was saved because the main materials used were different, but only unburned wood and black ashes were left in the city.

"Forget it, just consider it as saving the effort of cleaning. We have to rebuild it anyway."

"Too."

After the exchange, several young people did not come here again and started to devote themselves to their heavy work.

Under the coordination, the originally somewhat stagnant process gradually became smoother, and the progress of the city construction was much faster than when Nanxun was busy with his soldiers. After all, the main task of the soldiers was training, and they did not have much free time every day.

"It's better to take it easy now."

Nan Xun looked at the busy crowd. Although he had just returned from patrol, he looked a lot more relaxed.

God knows that I had to do both before. I was exhausted by the account books and the enemies who harassed me from time to time. I felt terrible. Sometimes I even wanted to capture my junior brother Sang Yu who was far away in Pingyi.

Fortunately, Song Jin, Wen Yi and others replied to the documents quickly, so they were able to hold on.

"Of course." Wen Yi handed over the tea. "These people are much better at this than us."

This is not modesty. Those who are selected by He Xuan and others to enter the palace already have talents in this area. After more systematic learning, these talents can be well used in handling affairs.

Wen Yi was able to handle these things thanks to a little bit of training and experience in handling various matters, and some things in his memory were already vague. When faced with the same unfamiliar matters, he was not as good as these guys.

Nan Xun nodded in agreement, but still felt a little worried: "But everyone has been brought here, as for Yao Wenjun..."

He naturally knew where this group of people were dispatched from. Although Nan Xun was always in the training grounds on weekdays, his own teacher and junior fellow apprentice were in charge of the academy. Even without asking, he could still infer some of the content from their words.

At first he thought that Wen Yi would rush to Yao Wenjun immediately after bringing the person here, but it seemed that this person was not in a hurry to leave, which made him a little confused.

Wen Yi shook his head, understanding what Nan Xun was worried about, and said with a smile:

"No, Jidi is much harder to deal with than here. It's enough for the people who were originally in Shangyong to go there."

The main reason was that the buildings in the recently captured city had not suffered any damage. Although there was a shortage of food, it was relatively prosperous in the past, and many families did not starve to death. Some people had a strong sense of belonging to the Ji State, and it was difficult for them to accept Yao Wenjun or his men in a short period of time. They could only be temporarily suppressed by military force.

Even if people go there, it will be difficult to take over most of the things like here, let alone direct people to carry out construction.

Nan Xun drank the tea without asking any more questions. He waved his hand and walked towards his residence, ready to change his armor and clothes that were stained with dirt.

In the past few days, not only have the remnants of the Xi State been making inquiries, but several surrounding cities have also often sent people to observe from a distance and then return to report the situation.

Most of these people rode fast horses. Although they did not have the saddles and stirrups equipped by the messengers under Wen Yi and others, after a long period of training and running-in, they had no problem escaping the pursuit of ordinary soldiers.

Because they usually stay at a high altitude far away, it is difficult for soldiers to hit these moving targets with their crossbow arrows.

At this moment, I kind of missed Yao Wenjun's accuracy. If it were her, she would definitely not let these guys leave in one piece.

Nan Xun and his soldiers set up ambushes outside the city several times, then chased on horseback, but they were always unfamiliar with the terrain and lost the chase. Later, he simply ignored these people, letting them watch from a distance, making their actions public as a form of deterrence.

After Wen Yi and others came, there were fewer people coming to monitor. One of the reasons was that Nan Xun and others had their hands free to patrol. On the other hand, it was probably because the previous actions had made some cities restrain their ambitions and wait for their next move.

This is the southernmost city in Pingguo. If the surrounding area becomes safe, the caravan can use these places to open up markets further south and bring back more news.

Since the official start of the war in Xi State, the caravans that originally traveled here have changed their routes, avoiding the fighting area to avoid being plundered by one side for supplies. Of course, this mainly refers to Xi State. Nanxun and others would not do such a thing, and they are not short of money and food to this extent.

Wen Yi did organize some caravans to take a detour to the south, but language and other issues were difficult to resolve in a short period of time. The best way was to wait for people from there to come and find a reliable guide to open up this trade route.

It's also a great way to find seeds or local specialties that were previously rare in the north. While Wen Yi's impression is that it took a long time for crops like cotton to be introduced, it's possible that some seeds were brought over in the past, but simply weren't valued or were held in the hands of certain individuals, preventing widespread dissemination.

There are also many medicinal herbs not found in the north. Although the south uses witches as doctors, many witches can actually be considered half-doctors, with many methods or prescriptions for preparing medicinal herbs.

The caravans sent out before did reach a city a little further south than the current location, but they did not get what Wen Yi wanted.

She could understand that being out and about was stressful, and sometimes even seeing a seed wouldn't necessarily tell it was what she needed. If she had the chance, she might go there herself.

After organizing the information she had obtained, she handed it over to the people in the Temporary Affairs Office. Wen Yi would no longer interfere in these matters and let them handle them. If there was anything that could not be solved, she would come to help.

Although many buildings in the city were burned down, the main task now was to build a new wall outside. The city was only slightly cleaned up and some usable wood was collected. Many people used these to build temporary shelters. Fortunately, it had not rained recently.

The place where the soldiers live on the other side has not been built yet, and some people have been assigned to clear out an entire area.

While supervising, she saw Wen Yi coming over and originally wanted to lead the way, but she waved her hand, indicating that the man should just do his own thing and she just came over to take a look.

After confirming Wen Yi's intention, the attendant continued to direct the transport of stone materials. It wasn't that she enjoyed this job, but rather that the local residents, although they came to work for food, were not as dedicated as the soldiers. Countless of them were cunning and dishonest, and if they weren't careful, some would take advantage of the opportunity to steal.

After only a few days here, this worker has become much thinner, but he is in good spirits. He feels a sense of accomplishment when he sees the surroundings changing little by little under his control.

Wen Yi found a clean corner and sat down. The soldiers following him stood silently behind him, observing the surroundings so that they could respond in time if there was any danger.