Chapter 175 The Village Chiefs Enter the Manor
Xu Zhenying set the tone and no one could say anything else.
Xu Yinxi said, "The imperial court's grain and fodder must be heavily guarded. You are only a hundred people, how can you escape unscathed?"
Xu Zhenying smiled mysteriously. "Well, of course I was playing tricks. White phosphorus powder is flammable, so I first made a bunch of it and spread it on both sides of the riverbank to create ghostly lights. Then I used a trick to make people float in the air, making them think they saw a ghost. Naturally, they were so scared that they dropped their food and ran away."
Fang Ningmo was puzzled: "A trick?"
Xu Yinxi pointed to the corner and said, "The thing is over there. You can go and see for yourself."
Qian Zhenniang and Fang Ningmo were curious for a moment, so they walked over there and picked up the specially made floating crutch. Sure enough, from a distance, it looked like the person was floating in the air.
Xu Yinxi felt both helpless and amused. "The imperial soldiers are so weak. We easily tricked them out of so much food and fodder."
"It's not that they're bad, it's that they suffer from a lack of education. If they had taken the intermediate literacy classes we have here, they would probably understand the general principle of this levitating crutch when they saw it."
Xu Yinxi pondered, "No wonder the city lord requires all our soldiers to receive literacy classes. If a general is confused, it will be a real hazard to the entire army."
Xu Zhenying remembered what Wang Sanniang had said before, and asked Xu Yinxi, "Have you heard any rumors about me recently?"
"Are you referring to the rumor that you are a woman?"
Xu Zhenying raised an eyebrow. "You knew that too? Why didn't you tell me?"
"This... this kind of thing only makes things worse the more you explain it. Besides, the elders who have been with us all know about this, so it's hard to investigate."
"Everything was calm before, but recently there have been these rumors. I think someone is dissatisfied with me, Xu Zhenying, and is deliberately spreading them."
Xu Yinxi's expression changed slightly. She hadn't thought of this. "City Lord, I'll send someone to investigate in the next few days."
"This might be difficult to investigate, but I still want to find out who's behind this. By the way, people from several villages are coming tomorrow. Have you prepared a reception plan?"
"Mrs. Qian Zhenniang will be in charge of reception tomorrow. The initial plan is to circle the city, focusing on our research institute and medical school. We'll have lunch at the county government office, and afterward, we'll take the villagers to meet up at the demonstration base."
Xu Zhenying suddenly thought of something and said with a smile, "These villagers must have come here reluctantly, right?"
Xu Yinxi also laughed. "For the past few months, the gates of Lan County have been closed. The villagers couldn't enter the city, and they didn't know what was going on there. Rumors spread that a new king had come here, killed the county magistrate and the people, and took away all the chickens and pigs, as well as the grain. When our propaganda workers went to the village, the villagers avoided them like snakes and scorpions. We asked them to learn composting techniques, but not only did they refuse, they almost got into a fight with us."
"Oh, there's this?"
Xu Zhenying handed all the matters over to Fang Xun. She never paid attention to the process but only looked at the results. The people under her probably knew her temper well, and they would hardly ask her for instructions unless the matter was beyond solution.
"Yes, Fang Xun later adjusted his strategy and borrowed dozens of men from the military camp. He threatened them with force, saying that if they didn't come, he would send his men to attack the village."
Xu Yinxi was helpless at this point. "There's nothing we can do. The villagers won't listen to reason, so we can only use tough tactics to make them obey. Once they come, they'll walk around and see more, and maybe they'll change their minds."
Xu Zhenying agreed. "That's right. The country folk are ignorant and barely know how to read. If you do them a favor, they'll become wary. Why not let them come and see for themselves first? I heard the village chief from Zhangjia Village is here too."
"That's right. After knowing that we occupied Lan County, he became quite easygoing and cooperated with us. If he hadn't taken the lead, no matter how tough our methods were, we wouldn't have been able to do anything."
"Okay, let Zhenniang take them around the city tomorrow. We'll wait for them at the demonstration base this afternoon."
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The next morning, the village heads of more than a dozen towns under Lan County and Ye County and the respected elders in the villages were all waiting at the main gate of Lan County.
The old man from Zhangjia Village arrived neither too early nor too late. When he arrived, there were already more than a dozen people there. They all looked at the city wall and whispered to each other, refusing to go in.
The reputation of this new king has spread far and wide.
It is said that this king already owned the two cities of Lan County and Ye County, and took in tens of thousands of refugees, and the population expanded by more than double.
Last year's floods had severely damaged Jinzhou Prefecture, and more than a dozen towns, including their own, had seen a sharp decline in population, barely surviving the winter. They had expected to find a devastated and devastated Lan County, but upon reaching its gates, they discovered something quite different.
The official road at the entrance seemed to have been repaired. It was a little wider than before and the road surface was more compacted.
The city gate was wide open, and there were small vendors hawking their wares everywhere on both sides. Moreover, the soldiers guarding the city seemed to have changed. Not only were they all tall and mighty, but they were all wearing uniforms and looked particularly energetic.
Not only that, the soldiers also let the vendors do whatever they wanted. They only ordered them to keep their stalls clean and did not drive them away.
This Lan County seems to be several times more lively than before.
Especially after the floods, people had to tighten their belts to make ends meet. Although the farmers in the countryside did not starve to death, they looked hungry. How could they be as energetic as the people in the city?
Some people couldn't help but wonder: "Is this... is this still Lan County? Why does it look different from before?"
A nearby vendor heard this and responded with a smile, "It's Lan County! Old man, it's been a long time since you've been to Lan County. Our city lord has reinforced the city walls, repaired the official roads, and encouraged us to go out and start small businesses to supplement our family income. Not to mention you, even I sometimes feel that Lan County is developing too fast. It changes every day. Sometimes I wake up to find that the outside world has changed again. You, don't worry about sighing. Only when you enter the city will you understand what Lan County is like now!"
Everyone nodded, but because they were unfamiliar with the place, they became even more reserved. This time, their voices were finally quieter.
"Isn't it said that the king has three heads and six arms and specializes in eating the children in the city?"
"Oh, no, I heard he sent people to rob all the pigs and chickens from the people's homes, and even set up a special place to keep them in a pen. He said he would cast a spell to make them grow up in half a year."
"I also heard that he killed Magistrate Sun. Magistrate Sun was such a good official!"
"Why did I hear the exact opposite of what you heard? I heard that he led the people to open up wasteland, reclaiming thousands of acres of land at a time, and he even sent people to buy farm tools from us before—"
The Zhangjia Village chief stroked his beard but chose not to join the discussion. Unable to resist the other elders' instigation, he finally said slowly, "You're all just hearsay. I've met that king before. It was the king who stopped that big-headed Li from plundering our village before, otherwise everyone in our village would have died. Don't worry, this king is different from ordinary bandits. Just look at the thriving scenery outside the city and you'll know that the people are living a good life."
Several old men shook their heads in disbelief. "Oh, throughout history, have we ever seen a bandit who didn't kill or rob? Anyway, Lan County has been occupied, and County Magistrate Sun is nowhere to be found. We'll just have to hope for the best!"
"Village heads!" As several people were talking, they saw a girl of fifteen or sixteen years old running out from the city wall with two soldiers. She was wearing common coarse cloth clothes, smiling warmly, and came straight towards them.
Everyone was unsure of her identity, but seeing two soldiers following her, they knew she was of high status, so they did not dare to act rashly.
The girl looked them over with a smile, speaking politely and bowing. "Everyone, are you the village heads from Lan County? My name is Qian Zhenniang, and I'm the city lord's secretary. You're all much older than me, so just call me Little Qian. The city lord has specially sent me here to meet you village heads and old men."
secretary?
What is that for?
The old people didn't understand what she meant, but that didn't stop them from calling her "Little Qian Miss" affectionately.
Nonsense, the people around the city lord, aren’t they equivalent to the second in command?
"Excuse me, Miss Qian, the king... the city lord asked several villages to send representatives, saying they want to learn some composting technology. Now that we're all here, where should we go to learn?"
"Don't worry, village heads and elders. The city lord has ordered me to entertain you well, so I've prepared a carriage for you. Let's take a stroll around the city first, then have lunch at the county government office before heading to the Demonstration Village. The city lord will be there too, and representatives from the villages in Ye County will be waiting there."
No one expected such attentive hospitality. Although they were all respected elders in the village, they had never received such treatment every time they came to the city. They were flattered for a moment and felt that the new king was a very good person.
As they were talking, a huge carriage stopped under the big willow tree on the city wall.
The carriage was made of pearwood and could accommodate a dozen or twenty people. The bottom was made of an unknown material, but it was very stable. The interior structure was also strange. Unlike other carriages with a small table in the middle and benches on the sides, this one had rows of short benches arranged horizontally, each seating two people, with room for walking in the middle. The curtains on the sides were wide open, allowing for a clear view of the scenery outside.
Qian Zhenniang invited the elders to board the carriage. Everyone was surprised. They also saw that this carriage seemed to be more stable than other carriages along the way. They couldn't help but exclaimed in surprise: "Miss Qian, how come this carriage is not bumpy at all?"
Qian Zhenniang, sitting in the front row, turned her head and explained with a smile, "This carriage was developed by the research institute. It's shock-resistant and anti-bumping. The wheels underneath have anti-vibration strips, so the carriage doesn't shake too much. This carriage was originally intended as a public facility, oh, so it could be used by all the people. The city lord called it public transportation. For five cents, you can take a ride from Lan County to the demonstration village. However, only one of these carriages has been produced so far, and I wanted to give it to you gentlemen today. Once these roads in the city are repaired and renovated into cement roads, you can ride this carriage again and travel thousands of miles a day without any bumps."
"Research Institute? What kind of place is that?"
Qian Zhenniang was overjoyed, just waiting for the fish to bite the hook.
"The city lord gathered all the craftsmen in the city and formed a research institute to research new things. We'll pass by the institute later, so let's stop and take a look. Oh, by the way..." Qian Zhenniang pointed to the highest tower in Lan County. "Look, that's the first thing the institute has made. The city lord said it's called a clock."
Everyone looked in the direction of Qian Zhenniang's finger, and found that at some point, a huge structure had been erected on the highest point of the city wall, the tallest building in Lan County.
The huge object was square and could be seen from all directions. There were some symbols they didn't recognize written on it, as well as two long strips, one long and one short.
"Oh, that strip seems to be moving!" an old man shouted as if he had discovered something important. "That's right, it's moving, look!"
"Oh, it's true!"
"What the hell is that? Why is it moving?"
Even the head of Zhangjia Village stuck his head out to take a look.
Qian Zhenniang immediately said, "This was developed by the City Lord and the craftsmen at the research institute after countless days and nights of research. It's called a clock. The long hand is called the minute hand, and the short hand is called the hour hand. Whichever number the short hand points to represents the time—oh, that's what we call the hour. Look, the short hand is almost at eleven, and the long hand is at twenty, which means it's eleven twenty, almost noon."
When everyone heard this, they were even more amazed, and some even asked directly, "Didn't they say that the king had captured all the craftsmen and forced them to do labor?"
Qian Zhenniang smiled helplessly, "You guys are really spreading rumors. Who said the city lord forced the craftsmen to do forced labor? Where did this rumor come from? I'll take you to the research institute later. Those craftsmen are all fine. They are now working for the city lord, and they get at least one or two taels of silver a month, and three meals a day. If they make something the city lord wants, there's even a bonus! How many people in the city envy their lives? Why do you make it sound like they're living in dire straits?"
The old man looked a little embarrassed and smiled awkwardly, "To be honest, Miss Qian, we haven't been to the city for over six months since the flood. Don't think we old guys are too talkative, it's really... the city has changed so much that we almost don't recognize the roads. Not to mention these weird things, we've never seen them before and we don't recognize them!"
"Alas, Village Chief Fan, you haven't been to the city for a long time. Our Lan County is changing every day now. Today I happen to be free, so I will take you around. If there is anything you don't understand, just ask me!"
The Fan village chief immediately took action, "The girl said that the clock can be used to tell time, but I still don't understand. How do you tell time with this?"
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