Chapter 119
The freezing season had passed, but Libei Town was still bitterly cold. Fortunately, the heavy snowy season was over.
It was evening when the carriage arrived at the fortress. The setting sun filled the sky, casting a golden glow over the fortress. Because Sun Yushan had been notified in advance, someone was already waiting at the gate. Zhou Jingchen had rushed to Luntai for an urgent matter, and Sun Yushan was still in charge. Once the carriage entered the fortress, it was led directly to Zhou Jingchen's tent.
Ye Jia wasn't sure how long she would stay this time; she just wanted to see if there was anything she could do to help. So, she didn't bring much luggage with her, and she didn't need Sun Yushan to come pick her up. She just settled in on her own.
Whether the northwest defense line is strong or not is related to the peace of the entire northwest, and also to the survival of the entire Zhou family. Ye Jia naturally cares a lot about it.
At the same time, outside the city, Sun Yushan was personally supervising the construction work of the soldiers.
Speaking of which, before Ye Jia came, the supervisor and the person in charge outside the city had several arguments about the repairs.
Since Zhao Weiqing had previously participated in the construction of the annex palace and the bridge, Zhou Jingchen, lacking anyone else, naturally handed over the supervision of the renovations to Zhao Weiqing. During his absence from the fortress, Zhao Weiqing was solely responsible for the renovations. Due to the importance of this site, Zhao Weiqing didn't even need to report to Sun Yushan, but was directly responsible to Zhou Jingchen.
Obviously, Zhao Weiqing's ability could not sustain such an overly high attitude, and the renovation project reached a bottleneck.
A watchtower was completed in mid-February. Although constructed primarily of mud and brick, ventilation proved to be a major challenge. To ensure the tower's sturdiness, the renovation focused on increasing the thickness of its walls. However, since the tower itself occupies a relatively small area, thickening the walls would have squeezed the interior space. With this reduced interior space, the biggest challenge was maintaining a permanent presence in the tower.
If internal ventilation and drainage issues aren't addressed, then once fighting breaks out, someone might throw fireworks or something inside. Smoke can't escape, potentially suffocating people. The drawbacks are so obvious, and something that does more harm than good will naturally be less effective.
As soon as Zhao Weiqing presented something, it was rejected by Zhou Jingchen, and he was in an awkward situation.
Ye Jia came over from the main tent. The soldiers and craftsmen outside the fortress had already stopped to rest. While the watchtower couldn't be solved for the time being, the city wall was more convenient. While using mud for construction was somewhat labor-intensive, once completed, it was indeed much stronger than a wooden fence.
This is also made with peach blossom paste, but maybe the proportions are different, so it’s not as viscous.
Ye Jia pinched a little into his hand. If it were thicker, it would probably stick more firmly. If we were to ask for the strongest hold, concrete would definitely be better. But concrete doesn't exist in today's society; the production technology isn't up to par. Still, this level of peach blossom paste is enough. I wouldn't say it would last for hundreds of years, but it would definitely last for seventy or eighty.
She looked for a while, patted her clothes and wandered back to the foundation.
Because the watchtower's internal structure hadn't been finalized, only a basic square frame had been laid. The tower itself served as a sentry, and its internal structure wasn't complex. As long as visibility was guaranteed, a simple interior would suffice. Ye Jia wandered around the area, conspicuous even in her dusty clothes.
There were few women in the fortress, and even fewer young women. Many people were naturally curious when they noticed the sudden appearance of a woman.
Speaking of which, there are women in the fortress as well. Most of them are involved in the logistics of maintaining the fortress's livelihood and daily operations. They are mainly responsible for caring for the wounded, handling meals, and purchasing. There is also a prostitution camp near the east. Many exiled military prostitutes live there, providing sexual relief to the soldiers on the frontier when necessary. However, those who come out and about are mostly women from the northwestern border villages closest to Libei Town.
The city was being repaired in a hurry and there was a shortage of manpower. To help with the repairs, young girls would occasionally come and go. But there had never been anyone as beautiful as Ye Jia.
Ye Jia walked around the foundation and then went to the city wall to look around.
"Go ask where Lord Zhao is now?" Ye Jia's presence was unknown to anyone except Sun Yushan and some of the guards in the main tent. To avoid conspicuousness, she had changed into a dusty, easy-to-move jacket.
Zhan Lin nodded and immediately went up to ask.
Several people turned their heads and their eyes lit up when they fell on Ye Jia. After noticing two tough-looking people following behind her, they quickly withdrew their gaze and pointed to the northeast.
Zhao Weiqing had specially set up a tent outside the city wall. When Ye Jia led people in, he was drawing inside.
"If we build according to your blueprint, I'm afraid the tax revenue of the entire Kashgar County for two years won't be enough to support the construction of a fortress here." Ye Jia watched silently, and suddenly spoke up, scaring Zhao Weiqing.
Zhao Weiqing suddenly turned around and saw a young woman coming in. His brows immediately furrowed. "Who let you in? Get out!"
Ye Jia blinked, not caring about his attitude. He pointed at his blueprint and said, "...the watchtower can be topped with cement. Once the water dries up, the wooden planks can be removed and used. There's no need for these expensive large tiles. Firstly, they're not suitable because the wind and sand in the north are strong, and the tiles are easily blown off. Secondly, the cost is high, and the city probably doesn't have enough funds for repairs."
"Who the hell are you?" Zhao Weiqing didn't even listen to what Ye Jia said. His previous mistake had made him lose face, and he was particularly angry. "Do you really need to criticize me for what I do? What kind of woman is this who has barged into this important place? Come on, get her out!"
Ye Jia: “…” This Lord Zhao doesn’t seem like someone who can get things done.
While the fortress was busy, Zhou Jingchen, after discussing the strategic deployment with Li Wenzhu, rushed back to Luntai. Li Wenzhu's combat experience was unquestionable. With him guarding Jizhou, the imperial court's forces had no chance of breaking through.
The Ye and Yan families were in a somewhat awkward situation. This was a long story, starting at the end of last year.
Why was the Ye family so anxious to capture Ye Wumei? Both the Yan and Ye families were anxious to finalize this marriage. Ye Qingshan was stationed in Luosang Town, unable to return, and Ye Qinghe was in Suiye Town. Currently, only Ye Qingjiang lived with his parents in the Luntai Commandery. Coincidentally, Ye Qingjiang had no other special abilities, but his family's rising status had made him somewhat arrogant.
He despised his wife for being ugly, coarse, mute, and even inferior to a maidservant in a wealthy family. He secretly had an affair with the daughter of a poor scholar in Luntai. When she became pregnant, the poor scholar used the girl as a pretext to demand that the second son of the Ye family divorce his wife and marry another, and also pay an exorbitant bride price. How could Ye Tongsheng afford such a bride price?
But he didn't have it, while the Yan family did. Coincidentally, the Yan family was also anxious to finalize this marriage. Firstly, they wanted to take over the Ye family and thus establish a connection with Zhou Jingchen. Secondly, the Yan family's youngest son was becoming increasingly unruly, his private affairs causing him some serious health problems. They urgently needed to find a wife to marry him off to, keep the youngest son under strict control, and sever all his dirty connections.
As luck would have it, both families had their own unspeakable secrets, and they hit it off. Ye Qingjiang's matter was urgent, and the poor scholar's daughter's pregnancy couldn't wait. Ye Sushi and Ye Tongsheng couldn't bear to see their son being criticized, especially after arriving in Luntai. Ye Qingjiang resumed his studies.
Ye Tongsheng was still waiting for the second child to succeed and pass the imperial examination. Naturally, he would trade his youngest daughter for his son.
Only they knew about this privately. After Ye Wumei was brought back to Luntai, the marriage between the two families was scheduled for the first month of the following year. But the two families were embarrassed because on the eve of Ye Wumei's wedding, the short-sleeved affair of the youngest son of the Yan family was exposed and made public.
This incident was a riot that shook the city. The youngest son of the Yan family was caught having an affair with a man in the gardens of the Protectorate on the day of Luntai's Lantern Festival. Li Wenzhu, acting as Suletu's deputy, hosted a banquet for the wealthy merchants and military commanders of Luntai to celebrate the Lantern Festival. The city's distinguished guests and celebrities gathered that day, making it a solemn occasion.
The unbearable scene instantly frightened almost all the high-ranking officials and their wives present, and the old couple of the Ye family also witnessed it firsthand. Not to mention the psychological trauma this incident caused to the Ye family, the Yan family became the object of scorn by the entire city because of this incident.
The Yan family was completely disgraced, and Ye Su and the mistress of the Yan family fainted with their eyes rolled back.
After this incident, the marriage between the Ye and Yan families became a joke. Even after what had happened, the Ye family was still willing to marry their daughter off. They were truly throwing their skin on the ground. Ye Tongsheng was the most shameless person. Back then, he had tied his family's belts tightly to support Ye Zhang's sister for the sake of his face. Now, naturally, he would refuse to accept the Yan family's promise for the sake of his face.
But they couldn't eat the big cake anymore. Ever since the scandal, the Yan family's business had plummeted. It was like a bloody mold on their horoscope. The shop had no business, and the prospects of the farmland had also been damaged.
Caught between these two, the Yan family was too busy to handle themselves and couldn't even think of explaining to the Ye family. The Ye family was even more embarrassed. They couldn't afford the bride price for the second son, and were accused of abandoning his wife. The academy that Ye Qingjiang had finally gotten into was expelled and sent back. The poor scholar refused to give in, and the pregnant woman came crying every day...
The Ye family was in a state of despair, unable to find a solution. Finally, driven to desperation, they wrote a letter to Dongxiang Town asking Ye Jia for money. However, the letter never reached Ye Jia, as it was intercepted by Zhou Jingchen and passed through another channel to Ye Qingshan.
Ye Qingshan's approach was decisive and even a bit ruthless. He said nothing else but gave Ye Tongsheng a choice.
Should he keep Ye Qingjiang or him? Should he tie the whole family together or save his reputation?
Ye Qingshan's words were not harsh, but he mentioned two things to Ye Tongsheng. One was that if he wanted to continue to rise in the official ranks, his official reputation was of paramount importance. He also mentioned that Ye Qinghe had made some achievements in Suiye Town and would also want to climb up in the future. The things the second brother had done would definitely delay Ye Qinghe's marriage proposals with his nephews and nieces. He was given two options to choose from. The other thing was naturally to emphasize the importance of the Ye family's reputation to himself and Ye Qinghe. If the Ye family could not maintain a high moral character, it would directly affect his and Ye Qinghe's official reputation. He was told to be careful with his words and actions in the future.
The words were absolute, but they were enough to scare Joey Wong.
After reading the letter, Ye Tongsheng made a decision without hesitation. He directly separated Ye Qingjiang's family.
Although Ye Tongsheng was confused about many things, he was incredibly clear-headed when it came to his eldest son, the most promising of the family, and his youngest son, the lifeblood of his family. Not only did he separate the second son's family from the family, but to prevent them from using the eldest son's name to commit mischief, he expelled them all from Luntai. Using his authority as the head of the family, he forbade him from returning to Luntai.
As for Ye Wumei, after her marriage was cancelled, she finally made up her mind and took all her belongings and ran away from Luntai at night.
This time, she didn't return to Dongxiang Town to look for Ye Jia. She left on her own. She knew that as long as she was in Beiting, the Ye family would always find her. This time, she couldn't be timid anymore. Without destruction, there would be no construction. The day she escaped from the Captain's Mansion, she followed a caravan, leaving Luntai and heading south. Ye Wumei was determined to go to a place where the Ye family couldn't find her and live a good life!
After Liu Yuan accepted Zhou Jingchen's orders to deal with the affairs of the Ye and Yan families, he had not paid any attention to Ye Wumei, so naturally he was unaware that she had already left Beiting. By the time he realized something was wrong, it was already the end of February.
Let’s not talk about it now, just say that because he felt sorry for this matter, Liu Yuan specially wrote a letter to Ye Jia.
However, Ye Jia was not in Dongxiang Town, so she did not receive the letter. She was in the city at the time, but she did receive a letter from Ye Wumei. The letter was sent earlier, informing Ye Jia of her plans and telling her that she would write to her once she settled down.
Ye Jia was a little shocked, but at the same time he couldn't help but admire that Ye Wumei was really brave.
Knowing she was alright, Ye Jia felt relieved. She was now wondering if she should replace Zhao Weiqing. She had originally thought they were professional, so she came over to take a look. But now, after looking at the blueprint, Ye Jia felt that if she gave it to Zhao Weiqing, he wouldn't be able to produce anything decent in ten years. The situation in the Walled City was already critical, so there wasn't much time for him to waste.
After thinking it over, she went back to her room and wrote a letter to Zhou Jingchen.
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