Chapter 122 Rebirth from the Ashes
The last skill Jinsui taught the construction soldiers was to use charcoal pencils to draw blueprints and sketches, making the proportions right so that the general idea could be seen at a glance.
Then make a model sand table according to the drawings. Mountains, deserts, coastal areas, storage fields, roads, etc. can all be made out of mud, which is clear at a glance.
She was originally teaching the infrastructure soldiers, and Gu Changxiao took the opportunity to study the fish oil tools, but when he saw everyone gathered around to listen to the "Prince" teaching how to make a sand table, he also listened in curiosity.
I was attracted when I heard it. The army also has sand tables, which are used for simulation exercises when the two armies are fighting. But compared with Taoist Xiao Ji's sand table, it seems too rough. Moreover, the terrain and topographic maps all rely on people's imagination. The text description alone is not enough to show the real terrain.
But Taoist Xiao Ji's method is different. People who have been in the army for a long time can see at a glance that the terrain in this area is clear about where it is suitable for ambushes, setting up ambushes, and setting up camps.
Gu Changxiao was so absorbed in what he heard that he couldn't help but ask Jin Sui, "This sand table is suitable for military exercises. Does the Black Feather Army have it?"
Jin Sui laughed dryly and said embarrassedly: "Of course there is. In order to build the border town, I made a huge sand table. Unfortunately, it burned down."
Gu Changxiao said hurriedly: "It doesn't matter, we will make another one when we return to the city."
Because they were discussing the construction of the sand table planning base, they discussed until the moon was at its zenith. If the prince had not been so sleepy that he could hardly open his eyes, the soldiers would have been reluctant to disperse.
After finally escaping and crawling into the tent to prepare for sleep, Jin Sui reached out his hand to the bed and touched something cold, soft and slippery.
The touch at that moment was disgusting. Her brain instantly recognized what it was. She lost all sleepiness and screamed. When she crawled out of the tent, she knocked the tent down.
Gu Changxiao pulled her up from outside and protected her behind him, and his two bodyguards also drew their swords.
"There's a snake! Be careful, don't get bitten!"
A huge snake nearly five feet long quickly crawled out from under the tent. It also knew how to avoid people and ran directly to the dark area where the fire was.
A soldier was quick to chop off the snake's head with a knife. The two men turned the tent upside down to make sure there was nothing else inside before restaging it.
But how could Jinsui dare to sleep? After asking, he found out that poisonous snakes and insects often appeared in this area, and they had to sprinkle realgar powder on the camp every few days.
The soldiers took the snake to the stove. In that era of meat shortage, it was a great tonic.
Jin Sui thought of Grandpa Ling jumping three feet high in fright when he saw the snake, and couldn't help laughing.
Gu Changxiao saw her laughing and asked hurriedly, "Are you scared?"
Jinsui shook his head: "I got it from my grandfather. He is most afraid of snakes. Actually, I am not afraid of them. I just felt a little disgusted when I touched them suddenly."
She ran to the beach to wash her hands. She was no longer sleepy and started chatting with Gu Changxiao about the coastal development strategy.
The main problem with the border town was the shortage of manpower, so she started a discussion on this. In order to attract the refugees out of the mountains, they should first allocate and resettle land along the coast so that they could have salt fields and arable land.
First, let Li Heng hide the truth from the court and not officially register the refugees. Instead, he would only give them registration in border towns. This way, the refugees' land would not have to pay taxes to the court.
As long as we don't pay taxes to the court for three years, our border town will be able to develop.
Jin Sui's words were extremely treasonous, and seemed to be instigating Gu Changxiao to rebel and establish his own regime. If it were before, she would definitely not have said it.
But after spending these few days together, she felt that Gu Changxiao really trusted her, and at the same time was very disappointed with the court and wanted to develop the border town, so she boldly made suggestions indirectly.
Going out to sea to do business was the first test, and giving the refugees a new household registration was the second test.
Fortunately, Gu Changxiao is not a pedantic and foolishly filial person. In fact, he hates some people in Chang'an more than Jinsui thought.
He said to Jin Sui very frankly: "I know what Taoist Xiao Ji is worried about. Don't worry, Border Town is my Border Town. I hope that Border Town can become strong and prosperous more than anyone else."
"Haha, they exiled me to the border, hoping that I would die quietly here. But I want them to see that even if they send me to the underworld, I can still crawl out!"
Jin Sui didn't dare to respond, and didn't even dare to look at his face. She could hear the hatred and resentment in his tone.
This is also the reason why she doesn't want to "work" for Gu Changxiao. Military Advisor Zhuge worked for Liu Bei, so at least he was starting a business with a clean record.
Our boss is not only in the start-up phase, but also has a lot of bad debts, the kind that could cost him his life. As a commoner, how could she dare to get involved in such a fight between big shots?
Gu Changxiao may have sensed her fear, so he did not continue to delve into the topic, but smiled and said, "Brother Ji, what good ideas do you have for attracting refugees out of the mountains?"
Jin Sui smiled and said, "I'll take you to the trade zone when we return to the city tomorrow. Some of the refugees who left the mountains were scared away by the bandits who were looting. But there are still many who are willing to come out."
"Winter comes early in the North, and many refugees haven't stocked up enough supplies for the winter. As long as our border town spreads the word and recruits refugees, they will be very willing to come to the border town."
"But we have to ensure their personal safety. The refugees not only face bullying from Tartars, bandits, and mountain bandits, but also have to hide from officials, soldiers, and wild beasts."
"They are like rootless plankton and drifting grass seeds, only slightly better than rabbits in the mountains. They will prick up the courage to show their heads, but as soon as they sense danger, they will immediately hide in the mountains and forests and never come out again."
"During our battle against the Tartars, the refugees saw the ability of the border town and that it was able to protect them."
"As long as the policy is relaxed a little bit, the most important thing is that the superiors should keep their words and not change their orders overnight. During the spring ploughing season, they said they would only collect half of the grain tax, but in the autumn harvest, they insisted on collecting 80%."
"When we recruited people to the city, we told them they were exempt from corvée labor, provided food and wages, but they forced us to do corvée labor every other day. No one would want to come to the border town and be a citizen!"
"A reputation is hard to build, but it can be destroyed overnight. I haven't done much in the past two months, and I have offended powerful officials, but I think my reputation among the people is still good."
Gu Changxiao assured: "Brother Ji, rest assured, I will always be kind to the people and will never treat them harshly like the nobles in Yandi."
He felt that because Taoist Master Xiao Ji came from the lower class, he had a deeper understanding of the situations of the lower class people and could empathize with them more. Therefore, when he gained power, he worked hard to fight for the rights and interests of the lower class people.
This is a good thing, but it is also his shortcoming. He had been in the army for a long time before, and after returning to Chang'an, he also dealt with the powerful and wealthy. He didn't know much about the common people.
The way he understood the people was to know what disasters occurred in which states, how many people were affected, died, or rioted...
Another thing is the country and its people that appear when offering sacrifices and singing praises.
In the eyes of those in power, the people are just a group of data.
But from Taoist Xiao Ji, he realized that the people are not data, but living people like him. Everyone has his own destiny and is trying hard to live.
Taoist Xiao Ji took him to see different scenery and a different world.
It brought him from a world that should have been full of suffering, depression and pain into another world that was prosperous, vibrant and hopeful.
People in Chang'an thought that he would be trampled into the mud and his spine would be broken, but they didn't know that he would be reborn here! Jin Sui didn't know when she fell asleep, but when she woke up, she and Gu Changxiao were sleeping together on the haystack.
She vaguely remembered that she didn't want to go into the tent again last night, for fear that another snake would crawl in, so she moved her bedding to sleep in front of the haystack.
All the soldiers slept like this anyway, with a thatched hut to keep out the wind. The winter house was half built, but everyone was reluctant to go because it was too far away, preferring to sleep by the sea so they could work.
Probably because there were too many complaints yesterday, Captain Liu didn’t call everyone to get up early today.
When Jin Sui opened her eyes, she saw Gu Changxiao's face and smelled the scent of hay and sea breeze. Their heads were almost touching. She immediately held her breath and moved slowly.
He was still wearing the same clothes, wrapped in a thin blanket, while Gu Changxiao was not covered with anything. He held his sword and curled up like a cat.
Jin Sui went to the advanced space to take care of his hygiene needs and quickly changed his inner clothes. He did not dare to change his outer clothes, for fear that Gu Changxiao would notice something.
Looking at the pile of energy bars, she hesitated for a moment, but in the end she didn't dare to take any out.
Gu Changxiao checked the supplies when he came. If she produced these brown sugar cubes out of thin air, Gu Changxiao would definitely be suspicious.
He is not as easy to fool as Hei Hu! Forget it, to be on the safe side, I'd better go back to the border town and have someone send supplies to the base.
Afraid that she would have to wait until the morning to eat breakfast and then be too hungry, she ate two energy bars, nibbled a raw tomato, brushed her teeth, and then hurried out.
When she opened her eyes, Gu Changxiao was already awake. He was lowering his head to cover himself with a blanket. Their eyes met, and both of them felt awkward.
"You're awake."
"You're awake."
After speaking in unison, they turned their heads away at the same time, not knowing what to say.
Captain Liu's voice was the first to be heard: "Is the prince awake? Breakfast is ready."
Jin Sui was surprised and asked, "Aren't you going to work first and then eat today?"
Captain Liu said reluctantly: "Your Highness must leave early, otherwise he will have to spend the night on the road. We will accompany Your Highness for breakfast."
Breakfast was still seafood porridge, with yesterday's leftover mutton chopped up and stuffed into bread. The soldiers were all reluctant to leave, and they were speechless after eating such a sumptuous breakfast.
Only Jin Sui couldn't eat because she had set up a special kitchen. How could she know that she didn't have to work half a day before eating? Then Captain Liu and the others misunderstood that the prince couldn't eat because he couldn't bear to leave them.
Captain Liu had the expression of an old father sending his son on a long journey, and with tears in his eyes he advised:
"Your Highness, eat quickly. Eat more. You can only eat cold food on the road. Don't worry, I will make sure to dry the salt and build a base. Next time you come, you will see a brand new camp."
Jinsui was not sad at first, but became sad after hearing this. The next prince who comes will not be me.
She glanced at Gu Changxiao and said meaningfully, "Don't worry, I remember all your hard work at the base. The construction of the border town requires our concerted efforts. Everyone should work hard for a while before winter comes."
Gu Changxiao looked at her and said sincerely, "Yes, the prince will remember it and will reward you according to your merits."
Even though it sounded a bit strange to everyone, it was clear that the prince was praising them.
All the soldiers immediately spoke at once, saying that this was their job and they would do their best to live up to the prince's trust.
Captain Liu wanted to see him off on horseback, but Jin Sui refused: "No need to see him off. The base is now in your hands. If you need any supplies, ask Master Cheng in time. I will send someone to notify you when the imperial court gives you the reward."
Captain Liu stood there and waited for Jinsui and his party to go away. Then he suddenly knelt down and kowtowed heavily. All the soldiers followed his example and knelt down together.
They were sincerely grateful to King Li for allowing them, the soldiers in the farming camp, to truly live a normal life.
Jin Sui did not look back, for she was afraid that she would be sad and cry. She had experienced so much together with the Border Army, and some of them died in battle. When she and Gu Changxiao exchanged identities and left Border Town, how many of them would still miss her? The fate and bond between people is really a wonderful thing, which makes people have to believe that there is a divine hand controlling it in secret.
Gu Changxiao naturally noticed that she was in a bad mood, and whispered: "We will return someday after this farewell."
Jinsui understood that he was persuading her to stay. Since she was so reluctant to leave, why not stay?
He shook his head and said, "It's different."
When everyone knows that she is a liar, how will they look at her? Even if they accept Ji Sui, how many people can accept Ling Jin Sui?
She looked at Gu Changxiao. Could she accept the King of True Brutality who cherished the talent of Taoist Xiao Ji and wanted to become his sworn brother and keep him? Before returning to the border town, Jin Sui took Gu Changxiao to the trading area to see the refugees as he said. However, she did not see the refugees, but saw dozens of corpses hanging in the woods and being eaten by vultures.
The guards were startled and were about to blow the horn to scare away the enemy when a soldier came running over to explain that these corpses were the horse thieves and bandits that Han Xing had led his men to suppress.
In order to make the refugees believe that it was safe outside the mountain, Han Xing had the bodies hung here for the people to examine.
Therefore, this horrific scene happened, which could be regarded as a strange story at the border! There were corpses hanging in the woods in front, and the city was burned down and the Tartars were burned in the back. If it spread out, the border town would be like a hell city! Who would dare to come? She asked the soldier: "Have the refugees come to inspect?"
The young soldier shook his head and said in surprise: "They dare not come! How strange, they are afraid of the living bandits, what is there to be afraid of the dead?"
Jin Sui yelled, "Why don't you put the body down and burn it! Don't you find it smelly? Don't you know that the body can spread disease?"
She just wanted to call Han Xing over and give him a good scolding. Gu Changxiao even spoke up for Han Xing: "In a chaotic situation, severe punishments should be used. Captain Han did nothing wrong. This move can not only appease the people, but also deter foreign enemies. The northwest border also does this. There are always corpses hanging on the city walls."
Jin Sui said unhappily, "I have said this many times in meetings. Hot weather can easily lead to the spread of diseases. The bodies must be burned immediately. Han Xing has always been vigilant. How could he have forgotten?"
The soldier shrank his neck and said, "Captain Han was not here. Yesterday, Miss Yan wanted to go to the East China Sea to find the prince, and no one could stop her. Captain Han went to stop her and brought Miss Yan here..."
Jin Sui was shocked: "Bring him here! Does he want to scare Miss Yan to death?"
The soldier hurriedly said, "She wasn't scared to death, she just fainted. Captain Han personally sent her back to the camp."
Jin Sui hurriedly said, "Quick! Quick! Go back to the camp!"
Seeing how nervous she was about Yan Twelve Niang, Gu Changxiao felt very uncomfortable: "Brother Ji really treats Miss Yan differently from others."
Jin Sui said anxiously, "What are you thinking! Miss Yan is here to give you dividends. How can you do business if you scare people off?"
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(End of this chapter)
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