Tiger Guards

Chapter 681 Guo Liang Xiaoxian
Jinyang, the residence of Han Rong, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial.

The offices of the high-ranking officials were all located in the northeast corner of Jinyang City, which was near the Fen River, and outside the city to the north was Jinyang Lake, which was formed by siltation.

Therefore, the terrain in the northeast corner of the city is generally low, which is difficult to fill in or raise.

However, in the past two years, the wetlands and swamps in the city have been drained and turned into various construction sites.

To increase the defensive layers within Jinyang City, the highest point has always been the old site of Jinyang City. Located in the northwest corner of the city, it is a high ground and remains an important storage area within the city.

It's one thing if other areas suffer from floods, but as long as the grain and armory in the northwest corner are safe, the people of Jinyang have the confidence to continue to persevere and resist.

Therefore, in the past two years, the wards built in Jinyang City have shown a step-down trend from the northwest corner outwards.

On average, every 500 steps, there will be a height difference of 1.5 feet.

Zhao Ji's Grand Marshal's Mansion, located in the city center, was originally designed as a field camp. During his absence, the surrounding soil was dug up to raise it.

Construction work on Jinyang City has ceased since the onset of winter.

However, the outline of the plan is already very clear. There are only two high grounds in the city: one is the warehouse city in the northwest corner, and the other is the shogunate in the city area; the second level and the third level, while the northeast corner where the offices of the dukes and officials are located is already at the lowest level, the fourth level.

Although Jinyang did not build any sturdy city walls, Zhao Yan initiated renovations during his tenure, gradually giving the city, nestled against the mountains and beside the water, the outline of a mountain city.

A two-zhang-high covered walkway bridge connects the northwest corner warehouse to the shogunate in the city. The neighborhoods near the warehouse are inhabited entirely by the families of the Jinyang garrison, which gives the army control of the high ground and warehouse in the northwest corner, making it difficult for outsiders to approach.

The nearly 1.5-meter drop in elevation transformed the various steps, passageways, and gentle slopes into unconventional city walls, passes, and surveillance channels.

The current plan is that any excess earthwork will be used up during subsequent construction work.

At this moment, Zhao Yan had already planned out the scope of this type of hierarchy, and dug trenches, laid stones, and built walls.

Excluding the foundation buried in the soil, the stone walls in each place are all 22 feet high.

These stone walls served to stabilize the soil, and patrol routes were formed around them, separating Jinyang City into different levels to ensure the safety of the core area.

So much so that after the main structure of the fourth-level Honglu Temple was completed, the pavilion on the foundation was clearly three stories high, but when Han Rong stood on the third floor and opened the window, it was barely level with the second-level pavilion in the distance.

Although from the third floor he could look down and observe the neighborhoods within a radius of four hundred paces, and could also clearly see the outlines and layout of the neighborhoods within three miles to the west and south, further away was the stone wall leading to the second level. He could not see the layout of the neighborhoods on the second level, let alone the movement of officials and personnel in various places.

Zhao Yan not only drastically altered the topography of Jinyang City according to the terrain, but also extensively repaired the Jin Canal to the west of the city.

The first step was to reinforce and expand the Jinshui River canal, and to build weirs layer by layer to raise the river surface and increase the water storage capacity, so that the water pressure could be distributed and borne by the weirs.

It was only after the completion of the Jinshui Weir project that the major repairs of the Jinqu Canal west of the city began.

The Jin Canal draws water from the Jin River in the south, flows north around the city, and empties into Jinyang Lake.

Furthermore, a canal was built eastward from Jinqu, with five tributary canals leading to Jinyang City, ensuring an ample supply of drinking water for the city.

Jinyang City is high in the west and low in the east, so these canals are very smooth. However, they are also divided into sections. From north to south, the second and fourth canals are relatively wide open channels that can be used for sewage discharge.

The other three are underground channels, which can resist the cold in winter and prevent freezing, allowing water to be drawn like well water.

This resulted in the water supply for the officials and commoners living on the fourth level in the east of the city not being very clean... at least in Han Rong's view, they were drinking water that others had already taken.

Therefore, relying on his good relationship with Zhao Yan, Han Rong is currently promoting the construction of a new waterway, which is to divert water from the upper reaches of the Fen River to the eastern part of the city, and then drain it away from the former Jinze area in the southeast corner of the city.

Now, he can only speak loudly about city construction. As for wars or other matters outside of Jinyang, Han Rong will not easily get involved or speak up.

Although he tried his best to avoid getting involved, trouble eventually found him.

Just as Han Rong was gazing out into the distance in the limited space, his old servant climbed up the wooden ladder. Due to the insufficient construction period, the wooden steps in Han Rong's pavilion had not yet been built, so he was temporarily using the wooden ladder to go up and down.

Therefore, the third floor only contained two simple bookshelves, as well as a low table and cushion used by Han Rong when he wrote.

When Han Rong turned around, the old servant was climbing up the ladder carrying a basket of burning charcoal: "My lord, the acting prefect, Lord Zhao, has sent an envoy to pay his respects."

"he?"

Han Rong frowned and came to the bronze furnace. He picked up the fire poker and pushed open the furnace lid. The old servant half-squatted in front of the furnace and poured the charcoal fire in the bronze cage into the furnace chamber. He then used a wooden shovel to add new charcoal.

The charcoal burned extremely quickly, and a copper pipe, as thick as an arm, extended outward from the bronze furnace. The pipe was only five or six feet long, with the other end connected to the fire wall in the inner wall. Han Rong pulled over a thick cushion woven from rushes, sat cross-legged in front of the bronze furnace, and continued to frown in thought.

He would definitely not see any messengers from other prefectures, and he wouldn't even accept their congratulatory gifts.

But this is the prefect of Dai Commandery, and the biological father of Grand Tutor Zhao.

As a person lacking aggression, Han Rong lacked foresight and perception of crises.

At this moment, he felt troubled, as he really didn't want to deal with any officials other than Zhao Yan.

It wasn't that he looked down on these people, but rather that they would bring disaster upon themselves.

"Why?"

“I do not know that this man was traveling in the personal carriage of the acting prefect, but said that he had come to pay his respects to you on the orders of Prefect Zhao.”

Han Rong felt immense pressure upon hearing this, but still said, "I won't see him... no, arrange for this person to come to me. I want to see what Prefect Zhao has to do with this. If it is... hmph!"

He gave a faint smile. This kind-hearted man had managed to save his life from various brushes with death because he was able to assess the situation while maintaining his excellent personal character.

"Here."

The old servant calmly agreed, then turned and grabbed the stairs to go down.

Before long, he led someone up a ladder to the third floor, where the copper stove was burning brightly, and a warm, cozy feeling wafted towards them.

Han Rong was also observing the other party, who was a thin, strong middle-aged man with sparse sideburns, short beard, but a thick mustache.

Looking at the other person's eyes, eyebrows, and face shape, he immediately felt that they looked familiar and judged that they were a descendant of an old friend from Yingchuan.

"Guo Liang and Guo Xiaoxian of Yingchuan have come to pay their respects to Mr. Yuanchang on the orders of Lord Zhao."

He then cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, revealing a silk scroll between them.

Han Rong's old servant also stepped forward to take the scroll of silk and turned to hand it to Han Rong.

Han Rong opened the simple silk scroll containing only Zhao Lian's greetings and said, "Since entering Jinyang, I have lived a secluded life. It was only after the Grand Tutor's repeated insistence that I reluctantly became the Grand Herald of the Court. May I ask what brings Prefect Zhao to visit me?"

"Nothing else...it's just...cough cough...it's just that the Grand Tutor is very strict in managing his household, and my son Zhao has no opportunity to use his talents. People are talking about this, and my son Zhao is quite distressed. I hope that Mr. Yuanchang can put in a good word for him with the Grand Tutor."

Guo Liang bowed again with his hands clasped, saying, "That's all I ask for; I dare not hope for anything else."

Han Rong also breathed a sigh of relief: "Although this is a matter of the Grand Tutor's family, the court is in need of capable people. If a good opportunity arises, I will certainly offer my advice accordingly."

He didn't rule out the possibility of saying anything negative about Zhao Lian in front of Zhao Yan.
Because now, no one dares to speak ill of Zhao Lian. Everywhere, people are praising Zhao Lian and Zhao Jian, and no one cares about Han Rong's few words.

Guo Liang bowed and thanked him for the third time. Han Rong smiled and nodded, then turned to look at his old servant.

The old servant stepped forward and gestured with his arm outstretched. Guo Liang smiled and nodded, then tactfully took his leave.

After seeing Guo Liang off, the old servant, panting, quickly climbed the ladder back to the third floor: "My lord?"

"Borrow a few men from the Senior High School Lieutenant to investigate this Guo Liang."

After Han Rong finished speaking, he got up and pushed open the window on the other side of the third floor. This window faced east and could directly overlook the Fen River and its east bank.

Although opening the west window only allows him to see the fourth and third tiers of neighborhoods and the people and livestock moving around, opening the east window offers a view of dozens of miles, a sight that is enough to relax him.

After gazing into the distance for a moment, Han Rong could no longer bear the cold draft blowing through the room, so he lowered the window and fastened it. He turned back to look at the old servant who was still waiting: "At the same time, have the Senior Officer tell the Grand Tutor that it is cold recently and it is not advisable to go out."

"Here."

The old servant bowed deeply with his hands clasped, his expression calm and composed.

As Han Rong's companion and servant, he followed Han Rong through all sorts of events, big and small, and the bizarre experiences had long since numbed him.

Even if someone told him that Zhao Lian attempted to assassinate Zhao Yan, he wouldn't be surprised, but he also wouldn't believe it.

(End of this chapter)