Although it was sunny on the river embankment, a cool breeze was blowing.
Li Chang, worried that Yuan Yao would get sunburned, specially found a shed before asking, "What does the princess wish to ask me?"
The sunshade was set up right by the river.
Yuan Yao smoothed her wind-blown hair and asked Li Chang, "How did you repair the river embankment on this side?"
Li Chang sighed: "Fill it with soil."
Fill in the soil?
"But when the flood comes, won't the soil be washed away?" Yuan Yao asked, puzzled.
Li Chang said, "This is just a temporary measure. It's the height of summer now, and no one can say for sure when the next flood will come."
Therefore, the only option is to use the existing soil to thicken and raise the river embankment.
A stopgap measure...
Yuan Yao vaguely remembers that in modern times, when floods came, the damaged river embankments were reinforced by filling them with sandbags.
More advanced methods could use large machines to transport huge rocks and trucks to transport soil for construction...
Unfortunately, this is a backward ancient world.
Forget about machines and trucks, there weren't even any bags to carry soil!
Tragic, that's the only word to describe it!
Looking at the raging floodwaters, Yuan Yao thought, "It's better to dredge than to block. After the rainy season, I should suggest to the Ninth Prince that he raise the issue with the court to dredge the silt that has accumulated in the river..."
Yuan Yao took a sip of the tea that Li Chang had poured for her.
This tea was for the men building the dike. The tea leaves were large, what's called coarse tea. It was quite astringent, with a strong bitter taste at first, but it quenched their thirst and even had a subtle sweetness aftertaste...
It was hot, and Yuan Yao couldn't resist taking a few more sips.
Seeing this, Danqing said with concern, "Princess, this tea is not very good. You are delicate and drinking too much will upset your stomach."
Beside him, Li Chang also said awkwardly, "It was my oversight..."
Their little princess is so pampered!
But he gave her such poor-quality tea to drink...
Yuan Yao almost choked on her mouth when she had a sip of tea in it.
With great difficulty, she swallowed the tea and said, blushing, "You don't need to think of me as so delicate."
This tea is suitable for everyone, including me.
Compared to other children her age, she might be a bit spoiled, but she's not a cloud that will dissipate with a single breath...
It was because the Ninth Prince pampered her too much that everyone's impression of her was that she was too delicate and needed to be well taken care of.
Danqing pursed her lips, feeling heartache, but didn't know what to say.
She thought that on the next day, when the princess went out, she would personally prepare water and take it wherever she went...
At this moment, Li Chang peered through the gap in the pavilion: "Princess, those people..."
Following his gaze, Yuan Yao saw Da Shan and the others waiting there.
Yuan Yao quickly replied, "They are the helpers I brought."
Li Chang looked them over and nodded, saying, "They are all strong and healthy."
“Right, I think so too.” Yuan Yao took another sip of tea.
The more she drank, the more she felt that the tea was delicious.
“Princess…” Danqing complained.
Yuan Yao had no choice but to put down her teacup.
She said to Li Chang, "Guard Li, these people are bandits I brought from Eagle Beak Mountain."
I promised them that I would bring them to Huaishui City for disaster relief, and that I would also provide them with food and lodging, and that I would not mistreat them.
"Look around, is there any work that would be suitable for them?"
“This…” Li Chang hesitated.
There's so much to do in disaster relief!
These bandits were numerous and much stronger than ordinary people.
But... can they really obey orders and do things obediently?
After thinking for a moment, Li Chang said, "Princess, there is a section of dike along the Huai River that is particularly important."
If that section of the dike collapses, even if the downstream river dikes are very strong, Huaihe City will still be flooded...
"How about... we send them there?"
“Okay!” Yuan Yao agreed without hesitation.
Upon hearing this, Li Chang added, "Hundreds of imperial guards have been working there for almost half a month. With the princess's men going there, perhaps the project can be completed sooner."
The Imperial Guards, paired with mountain bandits, would surely get the job done very quickly.
Yuan Yao immediately made the decision: "In that case, let's send them!"
Da Shan and his bandit brothers were finally able to get to work...
Fearing a conflict between the bandits and the Imperial Guards, Yuan Yao repeatedly instructed Da Shan before he and his men left: "I will supervise the work when I have time, so you must behave well and work hard!"
"Do not clash with the Imperial Guards. Keep your heads down and do your work, understand?"
"clear!"
The voices of nearly sixty strong men resounded through the sky.
Yuan Yao said with satisfaction, "Go."
The large band of mountain bandits was led away by the imperial guards who were guiding them...
Under the scorching sun, several carts were pushed onto the embankment.
A man wearing a white apron took a gong from a cart, struck it twice, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Dinner's ready..."
As the shouts rang out, people on the riverbank dropped what they were doing and gathered over there.
Seeing this, Li Chang scratched the back of his head and said to Yuan Yao, "Princess, we're about to eat..."
He meant to remind Yuan Yao that she should go back.
However, Yuan Yao wanted to stay and see.
She said, "Let me see what you're all eating."
That's also the reason she came today.
On the river embankment, everyone does hard labor, so they should eat well. Only by eating well can they have the strength to work.
She came here to assist the Ninth Prince, intending to do logistical work...
Li Chang chuckled.
As expected, the young princess, who was pampered in Qianhua Palace since childhood, is interested in everything.
With Yuan Yao by his side, Li Chang walked to the "dining cart".
When the cook saw an incredibly beautiful little baby coming onto the embankment, he was first surprised, then smiled and asked, "We're having meat buns today, would you like one?"
Meat buns?
Yuan Yao smiled and said, "Then let's have one."
"Okay!"
The cook smiled and picked up a meat bun, handing it to Yuan Yao: "It's fresh out of the steamer, still piping hot, be careful!"
"Thank you." Yuan Yao held out both hands and accepted the meat bun.
The cook smiled and said, "You're welcome."
Danqing quickly reached out and took the bun before Yuanyao could: "Princess, let me hold it for you first."
The cook was so shocked by the title "Princess" that he almost lost his footing: "You...you are a princess?"
"I was blind and didn't recognize a great person; I didn't know the princess had arrived..."
As he spoke, the man was about to kneel down.
Yuan Yao quickly said, "I am a princess, but you don't need to kneel before me or observe so many formalities."
Everyone's hungry, let's serve them food first.
The cook, seeing that the little princess was cute, sensible, and approachable, immediately took a liking to her: "Alright!"
Today's lunch was meat buns with porridge.
The steamed buns filled with cabbage and pork, served with pickled vegetable porridge, were a delightful meal for both the common people and the imperial guards.
Yuan Yao sat to one side and struck up a conversation with the cook: "Uncle, do the people building the dike eat the same meals every day as they do today?"
"No, it's not that..." the cook said with a sigh. "In the past, the kitchen would steam rice for everyone and cook one meat dish and one vegetable dish every day."
These past few days, let alone rice, we've almost run out of noodles, and meat... is almost gone too...
But, no one should suffer as much as the labor force that is resisting the flood, right?
So, for the past two days, the kitchen staff used the leftover flour and meat to make steamed buns and cook porridge to eat with them..."
Yuan Yao listened and quickly extracted two pieces of information—
The labor force building the river embankment needed rice and meat.
Yuan Yao knew that the time had come when she would be needed...
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