Seeing Gu Yuzhi's slightly open mouth and curious expression, Xie Changshi explained to him in a low voice, "Your Highness, you see, these fortresses are all built with bluestone slabs, which are more defensive than ordinary houses, and fire is not easy to burn through them."
Gu Yuzhi nodded repeatedly, pointing to the two small holes at the top of the fortress and asking, "Chief Secretary Xie, are those two small holes the windows?"
He scratched his head, feeling that although such a fortress looked very sturdy, people living inside it would never see the sun.
Teacher Shu said that people who don't get enough sun for a long time can become depressed.
Although he didn't understand what depression meant...
Following the direction Gu Yuzhi was pointing, Xie Changshi looked over and nodded, saying, "That's right, these are windows."
Gu Yuzhi pouted and said, "In that case, their room must be very dark."
He had been blind for a long time and knew all too well how painful it was to be completely blind in the dark.
When Xie Changshi heard him mention black ink, he immediately realized what he was thinking and gently comforted him, "Actually, it's not that bad."
"Your Highness, don't be fooled by those two small holes. Their orientation has been calculated to ensure that the room receives ample sunlight throughout the day."
"Moreover, this small window serves more than just lighting purposes."
Gu Yuzhi's attention was quickly drawn to Xie Changshi's words, and he asked curiously, "What else?"
"Defense, of course!"
Just then, they passed by a fortress. Xie Changshi pointed to two small windows above and said, "These windows look very small from the outside, but the openings inside are quite large. There are stairs and shelves inside."
"And on the shelf are the heavy bows. As soon as the smoke signals are raised, the people of Jingxiang will see them, and the village chief will sound a gong to warn them. All the villagers will go to the village chief to get their crossbows and then return to the fortress to defend themselves."
Looking at the fortress, whose original color was no longer recognizable, Xie Changshi felt an indescribable regret: "It can be said that the people of Jingxiang were all soldiers. They were a very important second line of defense for the Northern Desert Army after its defeat and retreat."
Heavy crossbow!
Is it that amazing?
Gu Yuzhi's big eyes darted around, and he shook his head, saying, "I can't imagine it."
He had never seen such a strange building before.
Chief Secretary Xie said, "When we arrive at the destination, Your Highness can go in and take a look."
"This kind of fortress can only be seen in the northern desert. It's normal that Your Highness can't imagine it."
Upon hearing that such fortresses only existed in the northern deserts, Gu Yuzhi's eyes lit up, and he said with delight, "Then even my imperial brother has never seen one?"
Ha ha!
Thinking about it this way, my brother is so pitiful. He hasn't been to so many places and hasn't seen so many sights.
That big idiot, the King of Chu, still wants to sit on the throne.
Someone as intelligent as him wouldn't even consider doing something so restrictive.
The carriage traveled a short distance before it could go no further, so the group had to get off and walk.
No one has lived here for many years, and the weeds have grown taller than a person.
Gu Yuzhi couldn't see anything in front of him even when he looked up, so he had to tug at the guard's sleeve and ask him to pick him up.
After walking along the overgrown grass for a short while, they saw the white fortress again. Xie Changshi pointed to the fortress ahead and said, "Guard Qi, let's go to that fortress and take the young prince inside to see the unique fortresses of the northern desert."
The wooden doors of these fortresses were rotten. With a slight effort, Qi, the guard, kicked the doors open, and sunlight streamed in through the small windows, revealing dust swirling everywhere.
There was almost nothing left in the room; everything was buried under dust, a dark, unrecognizable mess.
When the door was kicked open, Gu Yuzhi couldn't help but cough violently, covering his mouth with his hand and squinting his wide eyes.
Qi, the guard, and the others covered their mouths and coughed softly. After a while, the dust that had been flying up slowly settled down.
Chief Secretary Xie shook his head and glanced at Guard Qi, clearly displeased with his reckless act of kicking down the door.
"Your Highness, it's very dusty inside. You can see it from here."
Chief Secretary Xie pointed to the window that looked very small from the outside: "Your Highness, do you see that this window looks much bigger from the inside?"
Gu Yuzhi nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes! But Chief Secretary Xie, where are the stairs and shelves you mentioned?"
After looking around, Xie Changshi realized that the dark black things were not dust, but ashes from a fire.
He sighed and said, "Your Highness, do you remember that after Guard Zhang captured those people, they said the entire village was burned down..."
Gu Yuzhi nodded and said, "I know! Chief Secretary Xie, are you trying to say that the stairs and shelves were burned down?"
He wanted to see what a heavy crossbow looked like, but obviously he couldn't see it now.
Gu Yuzhi puffed out his cheeks and craned his neck to look inside, but apart from the dark ashes, he couldn't see anything else in the house.
That's such a shame!
If only it weren't for the schemes of the King of Chu!
These fortresses in Jingxiang are so good; everyone can fight against the Northern Di people like soldiers. Why did you, Brother King Chu, have to kill all of them?
At this moment, Gu Yuzhi was quite dissatisfied with the King of Chu.
He even wanted to rush to Jiangnan and ask his brother, the King of Chu, what he was really thinking.
Is it really worth it to cause the deaths of so many people for a position where they have no freedom in anything?
None of them had ever witnessed the grand spectacle of the entire village mobilizing for war; they had only heard about it from Mr. Huo.
The original Huo family army was admirable, but the people of Jingxiang were even more remarkable!
After Gu Yuzhi finished reading, he put his arm around Qi's neck and whispered, "Let's go out. I've already seen it, and I know what it's like inside!"
If possible, he would also like to bring the people here to continue what the people of Jingxiang did before, and to protect the northern desert.
But what should he do if even Magistrate Ke couldn't accomplish this?
Gu Yuzhi scratched his head, completely at a loss for what to do!
Chief Secretary Xie reminded him, "Your Highness, what are you looking for? Let's continue onward."
Gu Yuzhi then remembered the purpose of their visit to Jingxiang and gently patted his head: "Oh dear, I forgot."
He pointed cheerfully to the overgrown weeds ahead, where there was no clear path, and said, "Let's set off now! Let's find a place with slightly flatter terrain."
I'll definitely be spending tonight outside.
Gu Yuzhi chuckled and said, "I haven't had a chance to practice any wilderness survival skills since I learned them from Mr. Huo last time!"
He nudged Guard Qi on the shoulder: "Guard Qi, watch me show tonight!"
Mr. Huo said that we should apply what we learn!
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