The Sinful Woman's Golden Branch: The Jade-Faced Yama is Actually Me (Chapter Twenty-Three...)

Five years have passed, and Ji Siyin has changed a bit.

Years of political and military experience have given this princess a composed and dignified air, making her appear somewhat like a ruler.

Shangguan Lanyi's heart stirred slightly. He stepped forward, clasped his hands in a salute, and said respectfully, "Your Highness, His Majesty is in good health and in high spirits, but he misses you a little."

"His Majesty often mentions Your Highness, saying that Your Highness's actions in Dengzhou have truly made great progress and deserve praise."

"I was sent here today to learn about Dengzhou's governance strategies. If they are indeed so excellent, they should be promoted throughout the country."

"Oh?" Ji Siyin perked up upon hearing this: "Does Mother Empress mean she wants to learn from me?"

"Hahaha! I can't learn it!"

"The new laws in Dengzhou would require earth-shattering reforms to be adopted. Does she still have the energy to do that?"

Shangguan Lanyi: ...

You dare say that? I wouldn't dare reply...

"Hahaha."

Seeing Shangguan Lanyi's timid and hesitant manner, Ji Siyin stopped teasing her and put his arm around her shoulder: "Lord Shangguan, please continue painting. Of course, don't tire yourself out. Take a stroll around Dengzhou City in your spare time; it will be very enjoyable."

Shangguan Lanyi smiled and nodded; she had seen this before.

Every day in Dengzhou was a novel experience, as if I had entered another world.

Sometimes I even feel that being a commoner in Dengzhou is better than being an official in another place.

Of course, that's just talk; being an official is definitely more powerful.

However, when women hold official positions, they always receive extra attention, whether for good or bad.

In Dengzhou, it was as normal as eating and drinking, as if it were the law of nature. Only women could hold official positions in Dengzhou.

Shangguan Lanyi, as a special envoy from the capital, and being a woman, received considerable preferential treatment in Dengzhou.

Can you please stop pushing Zanhualang on her all the time? We have to allow some women in this world who don't like that kind of thing!

Her tasks were quite demanding, and she really couldn't afford to indulge in sensual pleasures.

Dengzhou has several counties and countless villages, and she was required to draw concept sketches for each of them, as well as to paint jade portraits of princesses for the emperor.

The water survey and mapping, including the delineation of areas, had already been completed before she arrived. The next step was for her to use her imagination to design a concept map.

It doesn't matter if it's a bit abstract; she's only responsible for the artistic aspects, while the actual implementation will be handled by others.

Then Shangguan Lanyi boldly unleashed her imagination.

In the main city section, she adopted the perspective of a mortal dreaming of a fairyland, with magnificent palaces and towering rainbow bridges connecting the high places.

Below, the wide road is bustling with traffic, while above, groups of three or five tourists lie on the rainbow bridge, laughing and watching the flow of people below.

When foreign merchants enter the city from the port, the first thing they need to do is eat and rest. Therefore, there should be many restaurants and inns with different styles, but none of them should stand out. All should be served equally.

Entertainment facilities are naturally indispensable, including a literary pavilion for performing Dengzhou's unique operas, and a theater for housing Dengzhou's distinctive "flower-adorned" male performers...

Shoe and clothing shops, water shops, teahouses, pastry shops, and general stores are also indispensable.

Before visitors enter the city and climb the bridge, they can rent horses outside the city and parade through the streets, where they will see shops selling daily necessities and popular local products.

Vendors would display all the tea, silk, porcelain, painted fans, paper umbrellas, paintings, and other items they wanted to sell by the roadside for customers to choose from.

If the quality is satisfactory and the price is reasonable, the goods can be loaded onto the ship directly the next day. After the business is concluded, foreign businessmen can also go upstairs through any winery.

The rainbow bridge, perched high above, connects all the restaurants and entertainment venues. From this vantage point, one can clearly see the bustling activity in all the venues and easily cross the bridge to other venues, offering a one-stop shop for eating, drinking, and entertainment.

Ye Xiqing was a little surprised when she received Shangguan Lanyi's sketch.

She told her to use her imagination, referring to artistic imagination, but what surprised her even more was Shangguan Lanyi's imagination regarding worldly affairs.

Looking at her paintings, one can easily see from the perspective of a foreign businessman. Imagine what a uniquely civilized Eastern power a foreign businessman who has traveled from overseas would see after landing in Dengzhou.

Even though she had seen many overpasses in modern times, she never imagined that an overpass could connect entertainment facilities above and a street of shops below, creating a clear yet harmonious division between daily life, entertainment, and trade.

This was even more surprising than drawing Transformers for her, Ye Xiqing praised: "Lord Shangguan is indeed a capable minister by His Majesty's side. Not only is he outstanding in his thinking, but he also has a keen understanding of the people's conditions. Looking at his paintings, one can know the depth of his mind."

Shangguan Lanyi smiled and returned the greeting: "I dare not accept Lord Guan's high praise. It is just a trivial skill. In fact, I think it would be more interesting if there were boats like in Luoyang."

"It's a pity that although Dengzhou is near the sea, it has little fresh water, so it may not be possible to succeed."

It's alright. After we conquer the south, we'll let you build the city.

Ye Xiqing was extremely satisfied with the sketch and returned it to Shangguan Lanyi, asking her to enrich the details.

Once the conceptual drawings are ready, another on-site survey and mapping will be conducted to determine the hydraulic engineering layout.

In ancient times, most structures were made of wood, and drainage and fire-fighting water systems had to be considered.

Ordinary surveying and mapping tasks can be done by the women in her accelerated training program.

Dengzhou has many girls' schools, one type is for girls to learn to read and write, and the other type is for adult women to learn quickly.

All the women had come from male guilds and had experienced the hardships of those guilds. Now that they finally had a chance to become officials, they studied very hard and quickly mastered a lot of skills.

Even if you don't learn any special skills, it doesn't matter if you only know a few words.

The world is a giant makeshift organization, a principle that has held true throughout history. First, give them a position, and once they arrive, they realize they can't handle the job and are afraid of losing their position, so they'll be eager to learn on their own.

What keeps the world running is countless ordinary people. Moreover, the many brilliant achievements praised by later generations are nothing more than flashes of inspiration from countless ordinary people.

Ye Xiqing never believed in any "theory of genius," "the ability to recognize talent," or "appointing people based solely on their abilities." He would just grab someone and assign them tasks, regardless of whether they had any talent or not.

She believes more in the environment than in personal qualities, that the environment shapes, compels, and ultimately shapes a person.

Of course, people are not diodes and cannot apply a single theory to everything. For technical jobs like hydraulic engineering that require generations of experience, it is necessary to find professional workers.

Dengzhou is not a place famous for its architecture, so these skilled craftsmen need to be found outside. And such skilled families will definitely pass on their skills to sons only.

Ye Xiqing didn't care anymore. Anyway, the money was in her hands. Whether you earned the money to build a city or not, I'll just find a woman.

Money is hard to earn in modern times, and even harder to earn in ancient times. Everyone wanted to take on the enormous wealth and historical significance of building a city.

Even if you're unwilling, you can only try to win over the daughters in the clan. I'll pass on the skills to you, but you can't betray them and hand them over to outsiders, even if that outsider is your husband's family, understand?

Forget it, you might as well not get married. From now on, you'll be a member of the X family, whether you live or die!

Is this for real?

Women in ancient times weren't stupid; of course they knew that getting married wasn't good. Now they could learn skills and also openly choose not to get married. How come they got all the good things?

Arriving in Dengzhou is like arriving in a paradise on earth. Although the clan chief had repeatedly warned them before they came not to side with outsiders, what if they wanted to side with outsiders as soon as they arrived?

They don't want to be abducted to any particular man, but they really want to be abducted to the goddess. They truly hope that the goddess's teachings will spread throughout the world soon!

The doctrines of the cult of witches are highly infectious among women. Unlike the general principle of religious spread, the more educated a woman is, the more easily she is infected by the cult of witches.

Because of their faith, when these female workers saw Shangguan Lanyi's concept art, they didn't think, "You designers are really good at designing things," but rather, "We must replicate the scene in the painting!"

In Shangguan Lanyi's concept art, she really liked the high-rise wooden buildings and rainbow bridges, which were not easy to build in this era.

However, several craftsmen from different families gathered together, started from their own family's special skills, discussed together, and expressed their determination to complete the task!

Shangguan Lanyi doesn't need to draw actual architectural drawings; he only needs to draw concepts, yet the project is still completed very quickly.

After she finished painting, the painters in Dengzhou were responsible for making a copy of her painting. She wanted to take the original painting back with her, partly to show it to the emperor, and partly to refine the details.

When she left, Ji Siyin personally saw her off, which added to her sorrow: "Please give my regards to my mother."

Shangguan Lanyi nodded vigorously to her, indicating her agreement.

Standing on the high hill, Ji Siyin watched for a long time until the figure completely disappeared before turning around. Ye Xiqing was already standing silently behind her.

"What's wrong, Your Highness? Are you homesick?"

Ji Siyin:...

"You're like a tapeworm in my stomach, how did you know all this?"

"Don't say that, Your Highness. That's a very unpleasant analogy. I won't be able to eat later."

"My analogy is fine; you've upgraded it!"

"Oh, I'm really sorry."

Over the course of five years, Ye Xiqing and Ji Siyin became very close.

The two of them knew each other so well, like they knew the palm and the back of their own hands, and then they became even more adept at arguing.

Ji Siyin has gone from repeatedly failing to succeed to now being able to follow Ye Xiqing's sophistry and retort as soon as she speaks.

Ye Xiqing, the person involved, said that the naughty child just doesn't know how to study properly and only learns useless skills.

However, as a subordinate, she mostly respected her lord and comforted him, saying, "Princess, don't worry, we'll be back in the capital soon."

Ji Siyin paused in her steps: "Really?"

It's true, of course.

Dengzhou is not actually a good place for military operations, so why did Ye Xiqing choose Dengzhou?

Besides salt, the most important thing Ye Xiqing wanted to use it as a culture medium.

In this world, Ye Xiqing needs many companions.

But many of our companions have been separated for far too long.

Then we can start from scratch. The salt industry and maritime trade in Dengzhou can easily develop, and the great wealth will become the most suitable breeding ground for new life.

Now that the culture medium has finally entered a positive cycle, the seeds it cultivates can be scattered in all directions.

"The states of Mi and Lai have long awaited the arrival of the princess as if she were their own mother. How could the princess not meet their expectations?"

“You may not be able to directly enforce the law across borders, but in their old lands, there is no prohibition against land annexation. Just as the old powerful clans took land from the people, you can take their land for yourself in the same way.”

"Can we stop you from enforcing the law? Can we stop you from buying land?"

"Land annexation is based on individual ability; this is the rule they established first."

“You have the power to cover the sky above, you have the power to communicate with the gods below, and you also have a reputation for benevolence in the world. How can the local clans of Mi and Lai states withstand your oppression?”

"First came Lai, then Mi, and finally Qing."

"From now on, you will be number one on the northern border."

"ha!"

Ji Siyin couldn't help but laugh as she listened to Ye Xiqing's story.

Just thinking about that scene makes it hard not to laugh. The four prefectures of Deng, Mi, Lai, and Qing have ports, salt industry, iron mines, large areas of farmland, and countless people. If they were to control them all, let alone succeed to the throne, they would be more than capable of rebelling!

Ji Siyin barely managed to suppress her laughter and asked Ye Xiqing, "So what do we do next?"

"Let your subordinates spread their influence in the border regions, give them money and power as they wish, use both kindness and severity, and pave the way with money."

“But didn’t you say before that the urban construction and civil construction in Dengzhou were all funded by the government? Such a big project, I don’t know where to get the money, let alone the extra money to build roads.”

"Do you really have to pay the full amount for the project in one lump sum?"

"You mean you'll owe me for now?"

"Of course, once you're on the pirate ship, there's no getting off. What's there to be afraid of?"

"Let them advance the funds first, and wait for the finance department. Dengzhou is a large and wealthy family, so they are not afraid of not being able to repay. If they withdraw now, those who came before will not be able to either."

Ji Siyin:...

"I've discovered you're a little naughty, you really are a little naughty..."

"If the princess thinks it's bad, then let me do it."

"Alright, alright, I'll step in. What good will it do if you step in?!"

Because of this, Ji Siyin gave the ancients a shock by delaying payment for the project. The timber and stone materials were delivered, but only a small portion of the money was paid.

Faced with the several families of artisans looking at each other in bewilderment, Ji Siyin said, "Don't be nervous. I'll vouch for you with my mother. The money will definitely be paid in full. You can suffer for now and make money once the city is built!"

What could the major families do? How could they do business with the government without spending some money? Building Dengzhou was a huge project. Seeing the state of Dengzhou's economy, many families were trapped and unable to get out, and they were all willing to take a gamble.

Ji Siyin first distributed the money for the materials to prevent the suppliers from using inferior materials, and wrote an IOU for the rest.

This time, the entire population of Terengganu mobilized again because the Terengganu state government promised to build them houses for free! They can move in immediately!

The local residents of Dengzhou were filled with excitement and wanted to work without needing any encouragement.

The outsiders were envious again: "You brats, how come you eat so well!"

But it doesn't matter, their benefits have also come. Feng Yuzhu is now not only inspecting the salt industry, but also supervising other businesses and migrant workers.

Miss Lakshmi in "The Legend of the Sea" is not only beautiful and outstanding. In fact, the whole story, which is called a love story, is about Captain Peng Lianggong and a local noble lady's battle of wits and courage over "white flower seeds".

In the end, it was clear that our Captain Liang Gong won; such a small sacrifice is nothing to worry about.

Miss Lakshmi's intelligence is wasted if she is not put to good use; she is now in charge of foreign agricultural trade, white chrysanthemum cultivation, and handicraft supervision.

The two held a meeting to recruit migrant workers. The princess wanted to develop trade in their home state and hoped they could guide her.

Is there even a need to consider this? This way, Princess!

Don't just develop trade, let's develop something else too!

Migrant workers returned home happily, while local workers worked enthusiastically on the project, and the comprehensive transformation was completed in just five years.

Once you enter Dengzhou after its complete transformation, you'll feel a different kind of beauty.

The main city could not be built by the sea, so what we saw after coming down from the port was the auxiliary city used for inspecting ships, registering them, collecting taxes, and disseminating the law.

You have to pass through vast fields and residential areas to reach the main city.

The houses in Dengzhou are fresh and elegant, arranged in a staggered and orderly manner, built along the fields, facilitating farming and the common life of neighbors.

The fertile fields are nestled against the mountains and beside the water. There are terraced fields on the mountains, irrigation ditches around the fields, many trees planted along the roads, and peach, plum, mulberry and jujube trees in front of and behind the houses, as well as vegetable plots in the yards.

The middle-aged women chatted and laughed with their neighbors at the village entrance, directing the donkeys to pull the millstone to thresh millet, while the elderly and men at home carried firewood and water, started fires, cooked, and looked after the children. Everyone did their job, and they were all happy together.

Just looking at this scene might dispel all ambition; it's too peaceful, and one would only wish to stay in this moment forever.

But when I arrived in the main city, I realized what a true paradise on earth was!

The high eaves of the main city, beyond the city walls, are visible to visitors from afar, leaving them in awe.

If it happens to be foggy, although it is a nuisance for the locals, to visitors it is like a pavilion in the clouds, breathing in the fog, and walking on the rainbow bridge is like walking in a fairyland.

Of course, it would be a mistake to assume that Dengzhou is a gentle and wealthy place just by looking at its appearance.

When developing maritime trade, Dengzhou cannot ignore the threat of the sea.

To prevent pirates from disturbing the city, the main city wall of Dengzhou was ten thousand ren high and was built entirely of stone, surrounded by deep water for protection.

Both urban and residential buildings are equipped with secret passages, which are intricate and complex, facilitating urban and street warfare.

The residents of Dengzhou are all skilled in martial arts, habitually carry weapons, and have a fierce and tough character. They are ordinary people when they settle down, and soldiers when they take up arms.

If foreign invaders attack, the militia will work together to defend against the bandits.

Only with strong military force can one preserve one's current wealth and status. Women in Dengzhou receive this kind of education from birth, and then they educate their own descendants.

As the saying goes, "Clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse." After the renovation, Dengzhou City became even more famous, attracting more and more visitors. Trade flourished, almost surpassing the salt administration, and the city's construction costs were paid off in just a few years.

Looking back now, it was a wise move to take out a loan for urban construction; otherwise, who knows how much time and effort would have been wasted.

With no debts, all businesses are thriving, and it's time to return home in glory.

Beijing News –

Summon Princess Yongning back to the capital!