Chapter 41
If you want to control the entire area, a relatively simple method is to geographically intertwine the passes in various places, making it difficult for them to form an independent defense system.
But nowadays, each city is still relatively independent, and can even be described as sparsely populated. All we can do is to transfer people from different places in rotation to achieve the goal of preventing one local force from dominating.
Those people were naturally unwilling to do so. Even many of the officials and scholars who had previously defected tried their best to dissuade them, some with sarcasm in their words, but they were all stopped by Song Jin and others.
After hearing about this, Wen Yi also brought up the postponed construction of the academy.
Spreading knowledge and skills is one aspect, but what is more important is to cultivate suitable talents. Changing a person's three views is much more difficult than training new people. Sang Yu Nanxun is relatively better, but there are many people who try to influence the people around them.
Unfortunately, Yao Wenjun seemed obsessed with recruiting neighboring forces. With the support of various equipment and sufficient food and grass, even the elite soldiers who were hard to come by were unstoppable. Many cities on the border that were not under control simply opened their gates and surrendered when they heard that she was coming.
Everyone thought that Yao Wenjun would care about the territory established by the old people of Yudi, but she deliberately bypassed that territory, slowly encroaching on the surrounding areas, leaving behind that isolated island.
Many people could sense the intention of joking, but if this incident could slow down this extremely powerful guy, Song Jin and others would not care about the life or death of those old subordinates at all.
In a sense, it is diverting trouble away.
Wen Yi read the revised charter several times. It was revised with the help of Amu and his junior brother Yao Wenjun.
Compared to the original draft, this plan is much more practical. Wen Yi originally wanted to combine management with skills, but at this stage, everyone still prefers the master-apprentice model, completing learning through extensive practice.
"So we should reduce some of the theory and focus more on practice?"
Not only that, Amu and the others also discussed considerations similar to grading. After all, not everyone is willing or good at specializing in a certain area, and it is also great to be able to live a peaceful and stable life.
She nodded and smiled at Amu beside her, "That's great. I'll leave this matter to you guys."
Amu nodded seriously.
The black-haired cat lying next to him lazily raised its body and rubbed against Amu, replenishing the scent that had become extremely faint.
"Meow."
Yuwan stretched and decided to go for a walk outside.
People living in Pingyi naturally know that this huge cat is raised in the city. If it is not disliked, you can touch the cat's head to bring good luck.
After all, the declaration will start in a few days. Many people have become strange in the past few days, making the normal patrol soldiers seem a little out of place.
Amu took the document with the seal and left the front hall with the cat.
The few people who had been waiting outside were expectant. When they saw Amu nod, they cheered in low voices, and then walked arm in arm towards the renovated academy.
The academy was built on an open space not far from the parade ground. It was originally a place for traveling merchants to rest and store goods. Later, the outer city was expanded and those transactions were no longer carried out here. After the open space was renovated, a new building similar to a dormitory was built.
At first people thought it was a place for soldiers to rest, but later craftsmen told them that it was a "school palace".
There was constant discussion in the city. After Song Jin asked Wen Yi, he simply released the news. On the one hand, it could calm the messages in the city, and on the other hand, it could provide enough time for people who were not nearby to prepare.
*
Since the so-called alliance broke down, the territory fell into the hands of Yao Wenjun and his men. Jiaya and Zhi left that area and lived in the area outside Pingyi with the group of people with identity cards.
Compared to those people who were caught but refused to accept it and even swore at him, Jiaya was actually relieved and even secretly glad.
In this chaotic world, a single city can only be regarded as cannon fodder. Her original plan was to find a force that could protect the residents of the city to the greatest extent and surrender. However, before she and Zhi could make a choice, Yao Wenjun and Wen Yi directly broke the fragile cooperation.
At first she was a little worried, but later she found that this seemed to be a better outcome than she had expected. Wen Yi carefully pacified the newly regained territory, and there were enough supplies for the winter. Jia Ya packed up his things and left with Zhiyi.
When the outer city was being built, Song Jin recruited a lot of people from this group to help build the outer city. Some of them saved some money and lived in the newly built outer city.
Jiaya seemed to have found what he wanted to do. He spent the whole day in the workshop, leaving most other things to Chao Niang and Zhi.
The three of them continued to live together. Although the courtyard in the outer city wasn't huge, the price was not something one person could afford in a short period of time. After discussing it, they decided to pool their money and find a place to live first. After all, the number of houses they had was really a drop in the bucket compared to the people outside the city.
Facts proved that their decision was very correct. Within a few days, the newly built houses had been divided up by people who had passed the inspection, and the remaining ones could only continue to wait.
There is less to do in the winter workshop than in other seasons, and a new craftsman only has to do half of what an old craftsman does in the first year, so Jiaya spends most of his time researching new and weird things.
Zhi was carrying some food they had cooked together in the yard, while Chao Niang was carrying a cloth bag, and the two of them walked together to a familiar place.
Most of the things processed here are wooden things, mostly flat wooden tables, and some are carvings. Although the rules are not so strict in the outer city, unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter the places that actually involve iron and other metal materials as well as bows and crossbows. Each one will have a hidden special mark on it, and most of the craftsmen are not allowed to go out, which is completely different from here.
Jiaya was staring at the joints between the pieces of wood, looking troubled. Seeing her staring at the object in front of her, Chao Niang and her mother came over to take a look, but did not disturb Jiaya.
This thing was much larger than the other wooden tables, constructed from a combination of various wood strips. While Zhi was still pondering what it was, Wen Yi was more surprised. Even though the center plank hadn't been added yet, the frame alone looked very much like a bed frame.
When Jiaya saw the two men coming, he greeted them and then started to check the problem with the connection.
"Come and have something to eat first. There's no rush."
Zhi obviously knew what Jiaya was researching. Seeing that she was no longer busy, he asked her to come out first and continue considering it later.
Jiaya also sighed and stopped worrying about it. He asked the craftsmen here to go and rest first and come back to continue later.
This was considered hard work, and the food supply was sufficient, but the food for ordinary craftsmen was still slightly worse than theirs. In addition, the higher-ups attached great importance to these places, so the two of them often sent some food to the busy Jiaya.
Chao Niang helped bring over a wooden table, put the basket on it, and then carefully took out a not-so-big porcelain jar.
The food inside was still warm and just right for the mouth. There was also a small dish of vegetables next to it, which were harvested recently. Everyone got some. Chao Niang waited for Jia Ya to finish eating and asked curiously:
"What are you doing?" She pointed to the randomly stacked wooden strips on the other side. Just looking at the shape, it was impossible to tell what it was.
Jiaya did not hide it. He collected the things and put them aside, then took the two of them back to the yard.
“Look at this!”
Jiaya happily took a few pieces of wood and tried to put them together. Some of them looked like smaller versions of the previous ones.
Blocks of wood that have been cut into various shapes and can be spliced together are toys for children in Pingyi and even the entire country. Those with better conditions choose better materials, while those with less conditions carve some out of wood themselves. The children all have a lot of fun playing with them.
Zhi carefully picked up the thing, observed it for a while, then carefully removed the wooden strips, and finally closed the small shelves on both sides, turning the original entire shelf into a small foldable piece, which looked very delicate.
Although she also felt that this kind of life was a bit bad at the beginning, but having been with Jiaya since childhood, she could naturally feel that she was really relaxed and happy now.
That's enough.
Zhi sighed when no one was paying attention, suppressed the last bit of hesitation, and listened attentively to Jiaya's words.
"See, I think this thing is very convenient to disassemble. This idea can also be used in other places, which can save a lot of space and transportation costs."
Not only is the traditional method of stacking wood pieces bulky, but damage to a single part will render the entire thing unusable. Now, you only need to replace some parts.
Chao Niang on the side also nodded, and then handed a set of things she brought back today to Jiaya. The size was just right and it was warmer than what they were wearing now.
She was skilled in her craft and had previously worked at the Xinyi workshop. After escaping, she initially thought she wouldn't survive much longer, but she was the first of the group to find a suitable job. She combined her experience with the water- and animal-powered machines, and when she encountered problems, she would work with Jiaya to research them, unexpectedly helping the workshop achieve significant progress.
I was originally thinking about where to get some winter clothes, but the person in charge here came over and gave Chao Niang and the others coupons, which they could use to collect clothes from the treasury. The rest of the money was given to Zhi, who helped to organize it.
It should be said that those who can cross long distances to reach the new city are mostly people with strong strength, excellent luck, or both. After inspection, Song Jin and his colleagues recruited many talented people, and the workshop also had some new forces.
Originally, most of the things there were built based on Wen Yi's basics, and they collided with these people who were at the pinnacle of traditional skills, creating a lot of sparks. From time to time, some interesting news could be heard in the city.
After Wen Yi came back, the few of them had less things to do. Sometimes Sang Yu would be called to help check the things in the granary. After all, the scale of the caravan was getting bigger and bigger, and the management of the accounts was becoming more difficult. Many times even Sang Yu had to check again and again, so it was normal for others to get different results after calculating several times.
There was a letter from Yao Wenjun from the east in this caravan. After Wen Yi opened it, she learned that she was finally going to take action against those who had betrayed her.
[…Recently, when I think about the past, I suddenly feel bored.]
[Businessmen act for profit, strategists think for wisdom, but military men act for what?]
Wen Yi did not need to give an answer to these questions, because the next battle report that was quickly sent back had already told Yao Wenjun, who stayed in Pingyi, the answer.
"Report - General Yao has arrived in the Eastern Capital and breached the city gates in half a day."
"Report - all the traitors have been taken into custody, and the city of Dongdu has been taken under control." The city of Dongdu was requisitioned as a temporary palace. Even though it was a bit shabby, the books and money in the granary could not be faked.
"Report—General Yao led his troops to pursue the remnants and won a great victory!"
The successive news brought liveliness back to Pingyi's atmosphere, which had become somewhat dull due to the winter. Many people squatted in front of the notice, stumbling over what was written on it, and from time to time someone would ask questions from behind, making it very lively.
When the storm finally passed, the outside was covered with snow, and there were only deep and shallow footprints on the road.
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