knife

Chapter 138: Experts See the Doorway

Spring is always invigorating.

The withered and decaying branches and leaves have now mostly turned into spring mud, and the green of hope has broken through the soil, densely covering the neatly tended rows of fields.

Walking among the crisscrossing fields, watching barefoot people digging ditches in the fields, even Wei Yi, who had no feelings for the area beyond the Great Wall, felt somewhat inspired.

In the newly established Anxi Protectorate, although everyone was polite to Wei Yi, not many people really cared about him. Xiao Changche only showed up once on the day he welcomed Wei Yi, wearing a demon mask on his face, which prevented Wei Yi from seeing his true face.

Then Xiao Changche never appeared in front of Wei Yi again.

Li Dachui, whom Wei Yi met every day, always had a friendly smile, but Wei Yi could clearly sense the underlying distance in him. His daily greetings were merely out of politeness.

If the two superiors were like this, then the subordinates were even worse.

Only Zhang Ruo was still with Wei Yi.

For Zhang Ruo, befriending Wei Yi was equivalent to befriending Wei Zhengdao, which was necessary both personally and publicly.

If we can secure more benefits for the Anxi Protectorate, that would be ideal.

Outside the Great Wall, Linghu Ye is still the strongest.

The reason Linghu Ye was unwilling to go to war with Xiao Changche was simply because he did not want to lose his own strength. In the long-term competition to come, the Andong Protectorate would inevitably launch a comprehensive campaign to suppress the Anxi side, trying to weaken Xiao Changche's power. This is something that even a fool could understand.

Two days ago, Wei Yi wandered around the city and its surroundings. Today, he simply came to the countryside.

Moreover, Wei Yi was accompanied by another person, Linghu Zhishu from the Andong Protectorate.

To be honest, the imperial edict reprimanding Linghu Ye, the edict bestowing upon Linghu Ye the title of Grand Pillar of State and Duke of Zheng, and the edict downgrading the Beiting Protectorate to the Andong Protectorate were still in Wei Yi's possession.

Since things had already come to this point with Xiao Changche, Wei Yi simply handed the imperial edict meant for Linghu Ye to Linghu Zhishu.

Outside the Great Wall, the rules had already collapsed. The fact that they didn't throw the imperial edict back in front of you or tear it to pieces was already a great show of respect.

Linghu Zhishu was quite a character. After receiving the imperial edict, he calmly ordered a group of his men to return to Zhenwu City immediately, while he himself remained enthusiastically with Wei Yi.

This made Wei Yi think more highly of him.

This is a character!

Walking along the ridge of the field, I watched as two farmers piled some soil on top of firewood and dry grass, then laid more firewood, then more soil, and finally poured several large buckets of rice dung on top. The stench immediately filled the air, causing everyone on the ridge to cover their noses.

As the farmer lit a torch and set the large mound ablaze, the peculiar smell spread in all directions with the smoke, causing a group of people on the edge of the field to scramble to escape.

In the distance, the laughter of farmers could be heard.

"What's going on here?" Wei Yi asked, somewhat puzzled.

"This is fertilizer!" Linghu Zhishu seemed to know more about it. "Although it's a bit dirty, it's an essential ingredient for farming!"

Everyone looked around and saw white smoke rising everywhere, indicating that people were burning fertilizer.

Not wanting to smell that peculiar odor, the group followed the ridges of the fields, choosing areas where there was no white smoke.

The large field in front was noticeably different from the surrounding fields. While the other fields had already been ridged and seedlings were being cultivated and composted, this plot of land, which was about three or four acres in size, had not yet been cultivated.

At this moment, a young man was holding a plow and wielding a whip to drive a large water buffalo to plow the field. Behind him, a woman was sowing seeds, and behind her, another man was wielding a rake, smashing clods of earth into powder. Several other strong men were digging in the nooks and crannies, clearing away the areas that the plow could not reach.

They don't look like a family at all.

It's impossible for a family to consist of only one woman and so many strong men.

Wei Yi stopped and looked everyone over.

On the edge of the field, there were two children and a black dog.

When the dog saw Wei Yi and his group approaching, it immediately went to the two children, baring its teeth and whimpering softly. However, its tail was tightly tucked between its legs. Although it was clearly afraid, it did not run away.

The man plowing the field saw the group of people and walked over. He clasped his hands and bowed to them, saying, "Esteemed guests, I am Ding Ergou, the village chief of this village. May I ask what your orders are?" The man in front of them looked young, at most seventeen or eighteen years old. He seemed a little reserved in front of the group, but he still maintained his composure. His every move exuded the air of a soldier.

Wei Yi's heart skipped a beat, and he asked with a smile, "Are you a soldier from the garrison?"

Ding Ergou nodded repeatedly: "Yes."

"Did you live in this village before?"

“No, that’s not it. I used to live in Helan Plain. We came here after we conquered Baoping Prefecture.” He turned around and pointed to a few men who were still standing in the field, leaning on their hoes and rakes and looking this way. “Two of them came down from Helan Plain with me.”

"Isn't this field yours?"

"Of course not, my fields were already planted long ago!" Ding Ergou laughed. "These belong to her family. Her husband used to be a soldier in the Yan family. He fought with us and was seriously injured. He lost a leg and is still recovering. Since her husband can't work, the fields have been left uncultivated. We helped plant her land, otherwise, she wouldn't have a harvest in the fall and would go hungry."

These words left Wei Yi and Linghu Zhishu speechless. After a long while, Linghu Zhishu finally said, "Aren't they your enemies?"

"What enemies!" Ding Ergou waved his hands repeatedly. "His husband was just a soldier. After the battle, since he didn't die, he returned to the village and became an ordinary citizen just like us. From now on, we'll be neighbors, so naturally we should help each other. Besides, if his family is so poor that they can't afford to eat, wouldn't that drag down the whole village? Our village has a large brigade of soldiers, and all the military equipment, provisions, armor, and livestock have to be prepared by the whole village. If his family can't provide it, other families will have to contribute more, which is not good. So, it's best if the whole village is doing well."

"You're willing to risk your lives and prepare all this stuff yourselves?" Linghu Zhishu couldn't help but ask.

Ding Ergou stared at the other man with wide eyes for a long while before saying, "This distinguished guest must be from out of town, right? How can we have a good life without war?"

Everyone fell silent.

What's the logic behind the saying "Only when there's war can we have a good life"?
“Let’s go!” Zhang Ruo said, “Li Dachui and Xiao Changche have always done this. That’s why their subordinates are looking forward to war.”

The group walked on in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Linghu Zhishu felt a faint sense of fear in his heart.

They've only been in control of Baoping Prefecture for a few days, and they've already got it under their thumb? Don't be fooled by Ding Ergou's seemingly ordinary words; to those who are paying attention, they hear a completely different story.

I thought that the Yan family had ruled Baoping Prefecture for hundreds of years and had some connections with the people. I thought that it would take Xiao Changche and Li Dachui several years to fully grasp and digest it. But now it seems that they have it all under their control.

This truly confirms the saying that once someone leaves, the tea gets cold.

The Yan family's bodies were barely cold, and their heads had only been removed from the city wall a few days ago, yet the people of Baoping Prefecture had already forgotten them.

Li Dachui stretched lazily. These past few days, he had been busy relocating the bulk commodity trading market from Tai'an City to Baoping City. With the convenient waterways here, the volume of bulk commodity trading was expected to reach a new high, thus firmly controlling the pricing power of bulk commodities outside the pass.

Linghu Ye wants to have a long-term battle with me. Hehe, just wait and see, I'll make sure you're completely destroyed.

Just wait and I'll come and harvest you, you fat leek, one crop after another.

"Wei Yi left?"

"They've left, Scholar Zhang, Colonel Ma, and that Linghu Zhishu have all gone with them!" Mao Daxian said. "After Wei Yi searched this place thoroughly, he went to Linghu Ye to find out what was going on!"

"It's just a cursory glance," Li Dachui said dismissively. "Actually, he doesn't care about us; what he cares about is whether we can withstand Linghu Ye."

“I’ve known this person for a few days, and he does have some talent. However, his perspective is limited by his own position, and his thoughts are ultimately constrained!” Mao Daxian said.

"Ignore him! We've already got the title we wanted most. Now, what we need to do is compete with Linghu Ye for control of the area outside the Great Wall. Old Man Fu should be arriving soon, right? Once he arrives, I'll accompany him to Yandu. By the way, Qian Jia, didn't you say that the Yuan army is getting restless over Qingtongxia? I'm afraid the Yuan army has already decided on a new commander. We might have to fight a battle first. You need to prepare for war here."

"Young Master, it will take some time for news from Yandu to get back, but Qingtongxia is indeed reorganizing its army. Moreover, the person in charge of the reorganization is not Lengge, the former top general under Tiele, but Shaliewen, who used to be in charge of logistics. It seems that Tiele has returned to Yandu and has been sidelined."

"That's exactly what we need—for him to step aside. Otherwise, how can we talk to him? Shalievin is one of Akton's men, isn't he? It seems the third brother still wants to give it a try?"

"Give him a good beating, and he'll be backing away!" Mao Daxian chuckled. "This guy has done a lot of business with us. Let him suffer a defeat and back down, then we can continue doing business with him."

"Has the intelligence already been delivered to Xiao Changche?"

"Upon receiving the intelligence, as you instructed, I not only reported it to you but also informed the General," Qian Jia said.

"Spring has arrived, and instead of focusing on farming, this Shaliewen wants to start a war. Well then, don't blame us for being ruthless. We'll make sure Qingtongxia has no harvest this year!"

(End of this chapter)