Qiao Lian'er watched the people eat breakfast and saw their satisfied expressions, which made her feel gratified.
When they first came into this world, the Qiao family was starving and cold, and they toiled every day just to have a full meal.
Therefore, she was able to sympathize with these people.
She nodded to Lord Liang.
"Let's go. However, the starting point of the excavation is sixty miles away from here. To improve efficiency, we'll cook wherever we dig. As for the ingredients, they will be delivered by a special person to ensure that everyone has three meals a day. Also, tents and bedding will be delivered so that everyone can rest and spend the night on the spot."
Digging a river channel is no small project; it requires a significant investment of manpower and resources.
Regardless of whether the story of digging a canal to bring in water was true or not, as long as there was food and lodging, the people of both places would simply follow Princess Zhenguo.
Anyway, staying at home will only lead to hunger.
As they passed through towns and villages along the way, the people, hearing that there was food and lodging available, all gathered there. There was no need for any special call to action; they quickly formed a large, unbroken procession that stretched as far as the eye could see.
With so many people, the journey was slow. People kept joining along the way to register, and it took them from morning till afternoon to complete the sixty li (about 30 kilometers).
What appears before everyone is still towering mountains, but this area is dominated by karst landforms, forming countless caves and stone forests.
Lord Liang now understood what Qiao Lian'er meant, and he gave a wry smile.
"It is true that there is water in the caves in the mountains, but it is blocked by heavy rocks and mountains, so it is impossible to dig through. The princess is probably being a little too optimistic."
A sigh rose from the crowd.
If this method works, they won't have to go hungry for so many years.
Princess Zhenguo is being naive. Unless these mountains are moved, how can a river be dug to bring in water?
There's no way they can dig anymore; they can only hope that Princess Zhenguo will provide them with dinner.
"The reason why Lord Liang has such concerns is that he does not know the direction of the underground water source. The underground river in the cave flows out of the cave and continues to flow under other terrains, meandering and turning, without knowing its direction. If we do not excavate, we will never know where it flows to."
Qiao Lian'er pointed to a spot at the foot of the mountain: "Dig here, dig a dozen and a half feet deep."
The location looked unremarkable, not at all like a place where water flowed, so no one wanted to move.
Anyway, digging is pointless.
Lord Liang was somewhat helpless. He felt that Qiao Lian'er was too idealistic. No one knew that there was a river passing by here. She had just arrived in Queyuan Prefecture, so how could she be so sure?
It's likely that Princess Zhenguo is just gambling with her luck.
"Everyone, try digging it up."
Qiao Lian'er has provided the ingredients and is also offering tents for everyone to rest in, relieving the county government of any pressure. It can be said that she has shown her sincerity. Lord Liang did not want to offend her, so he said...
He thought that if they couldn't dig out any water from the river, he, as the local magistrate, would step in and find a way to save face for Princess Zhenguo.
“Princess, Lord Liang, if we can’t dig up any water, we can’t be blamed,” a villager said.
"Just do as I say."
The able-bodied men stepped forward, raised their hoes, and began to dig.
When one team got tired of digging, another team took over.
The others were not idle either; some lit stoves to cook, some went into the mountains to find firewood, and some carried the excavated mud and stones to a distant place to pile them up.
Qiao Lian'er went around to the back of the mountain, rummaged through her spatial storage to get the tents and bedding out, and then came back to tell everyone that the items had been delivered.
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