Thinking of this, Xu Di said to Zheng Boyuan, "Special Envoy of Luzhou, the court will not be able to send any more officers and soldiers to you for the time being. If you want to defend this place well, you still have to rely on yourselves. Boyuan, winter is coming soon, and the border river will freeze over. That will be the opportunity for the Great Yan. If you defend the terrain and the people, you still have a chance to keep the Great Yan people on the other side of the border river."
Zheng Boyuan nodded and looked up. Below the cliff was the rushing boundary river. The weather was fine today, and from this distance, one could see several figures on the mountain on the opposite bank of the river. Zheng Boyuan knew that while Lüzhou on this side of Daliang was always on guard against invasion by Da Yan, Da Yan on the other side was also always on guard against invasion by Daliang. They might even have people stationed here all the time, just to find out the troop deployment of Daliang on this cliff.
Xu Di followed Zheng Boyuan to see the five hundred old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers in Luzhou Garrison. To be honest, these people were really too weak. Xu Di kept shaking his head as he looked at them. But Zheng Boyuan said helplessly that this was the result of his training for several months. Many of these people were from the battlefield and did not want to retire and return to their hometowns. The Ministry of War could only send people to small, unknown places like Luzhou Garrison.
Judging from Xu Di's expression, Zheng Boyuan knew that he looked down on these people. However, these people were now the first line of defense guarding Luzhou. Zheng Boyuan put on a stern face and pestered Xu Di to help him train the soldiers. Xu Di had no choice but to agree to help develop a training method.
Seeing Zheng Boyuan's delighted expression, Xu Di thought for a moment and said, "Boyuan, you must make these people realize the importance of the place they are guarding. You also need to do ideological work with the surrounding people so that they can notify you immediately when they discover enemy activity. Don't think that war is just a matter for soldiers. The invasion of Great Yan concerns every citizen of Great Liang. It is their responsibility to report the enemy activity they have discovered. They are part of Great Liang and have a responsibility to help you guard this place."
Zheng Boyuan took notes carefully, but in his heart he was thinking about how to let the people know that protecting this place was protecting their homeland.
Xu Di said earnestly, "As long as you improve the lives of the people and let them feel the taste of happiness, they will take the initiative to help you with your guard duties."
Zheng Boyuan looked at Xu Di with a puzzled expression. Xu Di said, "Take this road we're building, for example. His Majesty gave us the money because I explained to him that once this road is built, if there's an emergency in Lüzhou, I can quickly come from Miaozhou to provide reinforcements. Whether it's personnel or supplies, they can be supplied quickly. However, once the road is built, the surrounding people are the most direct beneficiaries. The mountains are rich in resources, but just because the road is difficult to travel, it's hard to transport the harvested goods out, so they can't exchange them for money and buy necessary daily necessities. How can they live a good life like this?"
Zheng Boyuan shook his head, and Xu Di continued, "What if there was a road that was close to our homes and could take us to bigger places? Boyuan, when we were building the road, we went to many villages in the mountains. The people in these villages were living in great hardship. I have an idea to move these people out of the mountains and let them live closer to this main road."
After thinking about it for a long time, Xu Di felt that his idea had matured, so he revealed it to Zheng Boyuan.
Zheng Boyuan said in surprise, "Brother, it is said that people are cheap when they leave their hometown, but hard to leave their homeland. Especially the elderly people in the village, who have lived in their village for generations. Do you think they will agree to move out like this? The most important thing is, where will they live after they move out? Building a house is not an easy thing. Some families have built a house and several generations have lived in it."
Xu Di then explained his desire to cooperate with the Chen family. Zheng Boyuan's eyes lit up as he listened, and his expression grew increasingly excited. Finally, he exclaimed excitedly, "So that's how it works! Brother, I think this is a great idea. It's not just about medicinal herbs; there are many other things that can be grown on the mountain, like fruit trees and tea trees. We can try anything that can be sold. Don't I own a goods trading station? I heard from the manager that they've made a fortune these past few years by trading goods from Hexi. I'd like to do what you suggested and make an investment. Maybe we can make a lot of money in the future."
Xu Di smiled and shook his head, saying, "This is a long-term investment. It won't be worth the cost for the first few years or even more than ten years. You and Xiao Jiu have money, but your family's wealth is still a bit thin. Let's invite some experts to come and thoroughly investigate the mountains along the roadside to see what's suitable to grow there. If that doesn't work, I'll start the discussion, and you and Xiao Jiu can invest. We'll also bring in your Yuan Yuan and my sisters so everyone can pool their savings and earn some pocket money to buy jewelry for fun in the future."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Boyuan laughed heartily and said, "Brother, no wonder people in the capital say that the daughters of the Yongning Marquis's mansion are the happiest. Their brothers help them earn their own money. Now I know that it's not a rumor, it's true."
Xu Di gently punched Zheng Boyuan's chest and said with a smile, "Our family just treats girls better. What's wrong with treating them better? Girls already have a much harder life than us men. If we, their brothers, don't cherish them, who will?"
Zheng Boyuan clutched his chest and said with a smile, "Yes, yes, brother-in-law is absolutely right."
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