Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 123 A good official is one who can get things done even without money.
Go against the old man.

Besides increasing the difficulty of achieving your ideals, it will also deepen your understanding of society and human nature.

That's right. Going against old men, especially a group of high-ranking and powerful old men, will definitely give you a taste of the coldness and warmth of human nature, the fickleness of the world, and the betrayal and alienation of friends and family, not to mention the bittersweet experiences of life.

"I'm about to climb Mount Taihang, but the snow covers the mountain; I want to cross the Yellow River, but the ice blocks the way."

These two lines, from Li Bai's poem, were written by Yun Ce himself in his third month as a full-time clerk in Manshui Township (enjoying deputy section-level treatment).

Before writing these two lines of poetry, Yun Ce, as a nationally selected civil servant, still possessed a youthful spirit of ambition and vigor.

Three months later, he suddenly realized that his greatest role in Manshui Township was to spread the benefits of raising small-tailed Han sheep and encourage the villagers to abandon the goats with hard hooves, sharp horns, and fierce teeth.

Goats are easy to raise. They eat almost anything, and they can reach grass no matter where it grows. Even grass roots buried in the soil can be dug up with their hooves, horns, and teeth, and eventually eaten clean.

It can be said that where goats pass, not a blade of grass grows, and Manshui Township, located at the junction of the Gobi Desert and the plateau, has an extremely fragile ecosystem.

The small-tailed Han sheep is different. Not only is this type of sheep gentle in nature, but the best way to raise it is by penning it. Herdsmen can easily raise it by simply planting some alfalfa or something similar.

Yun Ce tried to reason with them, but the villagers just wouldn't listen. The more he talked, the more those unruly, semi-pastoral, semi-farming country folk pushed him and told him to get lost. The unattractive country women even spat at him.

This is actually nothing; grassroots work is difficult, that's almost certain.

What Yun Ce found most unacceptable was that he discovered that if no one rescued him at this time, it would take him at least ten years to possibly get out of Manshui Township. And that was only after he had successfully promoted the small-tailed sheep and brought about a significant change in the ecology of Manshui Township.

A person has several decades in their life, and these are the best decades. He doesn't want to tie these ten years to sheep, let alone small-tailed sheep, even large-tailed sheep wouldn't do.

Working hard is nothing; being forgotten is the most terrifying thing.

Like a blade of grass on a wasteland, even if it blooms into a Gesang flower, it is just a Gesang flower.

Yun Ce went to find Yun Linchuan. The hanging flower gate, which he used to be able to enter easily, was now blocked by the staff, who said that he needed his old leader's permission to enter.

Yun Ce spent the afternoon drinking tea in the small living room before finally meeting Yun Linchuan.

He was greeted by a mouthful of saliva that Yun Linchuan had been holding back for a long time. This mouthful of saliva had the smell of smoke, tea, and some leftover green and red threads.

"If you're truly willing to settle down and dedicate yourself to serving the people at the grassroots level, I might think more highly of you!"

Yun Ce felt that he would remember the complex flavor of that mouthful of saliva and the humiliating words that were etched into his soul, even in his next life.

Fortunately, he persevered, determined to accept the humiliation and leave that dead land of Manshui Township.

Sure enough, after suffering extreme humiliation, Yun Linchuan's expression improved, and he even praised him for his ability to remain unperturbed in office...

From that day on, Yun Ce understood a principle: everyone is like a brick, and everyone has their place. Yun Linchuan is the craftsman who can arrange where the bricks go. Those used to build pigsties, those used to repair latrines, and those that can be buried in the ground as foundations are all available for allocation.

So, when Liu Changsheng asked Zhou Bo in a consultative tone whether he could go to the open space between the Great Wall and Tiewei Pass to cultivate land.

Yun Ce agreed without hesitation. After all, agreeing at this time would be the best way to gain their support. They had already discussed it, so there was no need for them to be so polite.

As expected, seeing that Yun Ce agreed without hesitation, Grand Marshal Zhou Bo patted him on the shoulder twice to show his satisfaction.

However, Yun Ce still made a request: could he wait until the current crop of crops at Yun Family Manor was harvested before going there, so that he could accumulate some experience and better carry out the next step of the work?

Zhou Bo thought Yun Ce was being indecisive, while Liu Changsheng thought it was a wise and prudent move for governing the country. In the end, the two reached an agreement, and Sang Luoyue could set off for the area north of the Great Wall.

The Great Wall also exists on Earth, but it has lost its defensive function and only serves as a tourist attraction. More than half of the Great Wall of China is made of rammed earth. I wonder what the Great Wall here will look like.

"Are we really going to the north of the Great Wall?" Eji looked at the newly built house with great reluctance.

Yun Ce held E Ji's hand and said, "If we don't go, we won't even be able to keep this little bit of our property."

"My father passed away very early, and my mother always wanted to leave something for me. She worked hard all her life, but in the end, she only left me eighty-two coins."

I want to fix this place up so it can be left to our children in the future.

"Yes, that's good. We won't only have one child in the future. We should also leave some property north of the Great Wall. With more property, the children won't fight over not having enough to go around."

“From now on, give more to those who are obedient, and less to those who are disobedient.” “You’re right. The important thing is to be filial to you. Give nothing to those who are not filial, and let them fend for themselves.”

“We will give to them even if they are disobedient or unfilial. We are their parents, and this is all from our hearts.”

Yun Ce sighed and embraced E Ji. He knew that E Ji had always wanted a stable and wealthy home. Because of this, she valued wealth very much. Even so, she did not squander the family's wealth on herself. She wanted to keep it and accumulated more and more. She did not want her children to suffer the same hardships as her from childhood.

She is a very kind woman, and also a very normal Chinese woman.

Zhang Min, who had been missing for many days, returned, this time bringing many things. Anji told Eji that Zhang Min had brought all her belongings and it seemed she was going to stay at home from now on.

"Let her live in the west wing; the east wing is where my son will live." Eji was not surprised to hear this.

Anji whispered, "She should live in the back courtyard. The east wing is where the eldest young master will live, and the west wing is where the eldest young lady will live. She is a concubine, so she can only live in the back courtyard."

Eji disgustedly dropped the dog in her arms and said to Anji, "What do you know? This dead dog only has a big mouth and no other skills."

My husband said that Zhang Min is quite good at fighting. There are many people in the family who can't fight, so living closer to her means that she can quickly help him if the enemy comes to attack him.

Also, decorate her room nicely. Concubines, after all, love all sorts of colorful, glittering things. Give her more, lest she develop other ill intentions and ultimately embarrass her husband.

Anji looked at Eji with admiration, thinking that she was the best first wife in the world. Back when she was in Zhang Yaliang's house, she had seen how Zhang Yaliang's wife tormented the other women in the family.

Zhang Min was naturally unaware that Eji was engaging in a power struggle with Anji within the inner court.

She came this time because the High Priest had taken her from the Star-Climbing Tower. From now on, she would be Yun Ce's adjutant and assistant, not a concubine.

After reading the document Zhang Min handed over, Yun Ce passed it on to Feng An and Liang Kun. Once they had both finished reading it, Yun Ce said, "Prisoners, corrupt officials, deserters, prostitutes, women and children, and merchants—aside from the merchants, can't they give me some normal people?"

Feng An added, "Most importantly, none of us here know how to farm. If the High Priest wants us to settle and cultivate land north of the Great Wall, then we need to have some useful personnel."

Liang Kun added, "I think they don't seem to have much faith in our reclamation project. You can tell from the people they've assigned. They probably think that if we succeed, that's good, but if we fail, it's not a big deal."

They are completely disregarding our hard work. Furthermore, the provision of farm tools, draft horses, new-style oxen, armed personnel, and the distribution of food and fodder in the early stages of reclamation are all major issues, and none of them should be neglected.

Zhang Min shook her head and said, "Don't think about it. When I received this military order, the Transport Commissioner said that you have to find the supplies, food, cattle and horses you want yourself. He has done everything he could."

Feng An immediately retorted, "How is it enough to just give people mouths to eat?"

Yun Ce glanced through the document and saw the number of people at the end. He frowned and said, "Originally, we were given three thousand, but now we have five thousand. It seems that these extra two thousand people will be the source of our food, tools, and cattle."

Zhang Min nodded and said, "Although the Transport Commissioner didn't say it explicitly, I guess that's what he meant. He also gave me a name, Ren Hu. I asked my colleagues at Panxing Tower to check, and this person is the notorious slave trader in Chang'an City."

I think we should select 2,000 unwanted women and children from the 5,000 people, and sell the prostitutes to raise money to buy back the supplies we need. Cattle and horses will do too.

Yun Ce thought for a moment and said, "That place needs to be garrisoned for a long time. There are only men, no women, and no children. It is impossible to form a city there."

Therefore, we will not sell any of these five thousand people.

Zhang Min shrugged and said, "Are you planning to pay for it yourself?"

Yun Ce laughed and said, "It's more reassuring to build your own city and use your own money."

Zhang Min shook her head and said, "That's a city of the Han Dynasty."

Feng An looked at Zhang Min and said, "Yuncheng, how could it belong to the Han Dynasty? That is my lord's fiefdom."

“A fiefdom? Only a marquis has a fiefdom.”

Yun Ce clapped his hands and said, "It's too far ahead to talk about these things now. Let's think about how to get the initial development funds we need out of Ren Hu first."

Zhang Min asked in confusion, "Ren Hu was arranged by the transport commissioner to sell slaves for us, not the fat sheep you're talking about."

Yun Ce glanced at Zhang Min and said, "That's what the Transport Commissioner meant."

(End of this chapter)