Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 157: Love Winter Wheat (Additional Update)

Inside the council hall of the Jinyang Prefectural Governor's Mansion, the charcoal fire dispelled the chill of late autumn, but could not dispel the solemn atmosphere that permeated the huge map.

The territories of the two prefectures of Bing and Ji are spread out on the plain silk, with mountains, rivers and streams clearly depicted.

There were not many people present, but they were all Zhang Xian's confidants. At this moment, their eyes were all focused on the Taihang Mountains, which stretched between the two states like a huge scar and were extremely treacherous.

Among the mountains, several thin lines representing the passes meandered and twisted, one of which, marked with the words "Jingxing," was pressed firmly down by Zhang Xian's finger.

“Jingxing!” Zhang Xian’s voice echoed like the clang of metal in the silent hall.

"Jizhou is a fertile land, but if anything changes, it will become the throat for refugees to flee westward! Bingzhou is the lifeline for looking eastward to the Central Plains! If this road continues to be as rugged as it is now, frozen in winter and muddy in the rainy season, making it difficult for merchants and armies to travel, it will be a poisonous thorn blocking Bingzhou's way to the Central Plains!"
With this road blocked, the refugees of Jizhou can only sigh in despair, trapped in the Central Plains! Even with my vast tracts of fertile land, Bingzhou cannot save us from this suffering! If this road is impassable, Bingzhou will be a trapped beast.

He whirled around, his gaze sharp as lightning, sweeping over the crowd below: "So we must get through! At all costs!"

Xun Yu, who had been standing quietly to the side, slowly stepped forward and unfurled a scroll of plain silk document that he had prepared beforehand in front of Zhang Xian's desk.

The ink strokes on the silk were vigorous, and the title was prominently displayed as "Strategies for Dredging and Strengthening the Jingxing Pass".

"What you say, my lord, is indeed the truth." Xun Yu's voice was calm as still water.

“Jingxing must be opened! However, there are many important considerations regarding how to open it.”

His long, slender fingers traced across the strategy document, revealing the clear and logical structure of his and Zhang Xian's arguments:

"Firstly, we implemented a work-for-relief program, taking advantage of the autumn harvest and the off-season for farming, we conscripted able-bodied laborers and refugees from Taiyuan Prefecture, with a limit of two thousand people, and organized them into the 'Mountain Opening Camp'."

Then, centering on the Luqi craftsmen's camp, skilled artisans were selected, equipped with newly manufactured Luqi steel pickaxes, crowbars, hammers, and other tools.

"Breaking through mountains and splitting rocks! Working in sections, day and night in shifts! Within six months, we can widen the three most dangerous bottlenecks in Jingxing – the 'Cliffside Plank Road,' the 'Eighteen Bends,' and the 'One Line Sky' – to a point where two oxcarts can pass side by side!"
In addition, all loose and dangerous rocks along the way must be removed! All potholes and puddles must be filled and compacted! When encountering mountains, we must open them up; when encountering streams, we must build bridges to ensure smooth passage! Xun Yu's tone was calm and steady.

"Secondly, it is crucial to guard the vital passage. If the pass is unobstructed, there is a risk of the gateway being wide open, which must be guarded against! Therefore, the pass at the western entrance of Jingxing (on the side of Bingzhou) needs to be reinforced and raised to serve as the eastern gateway to Bingzhou!"

Xun Yu pointed his finger heavily at a narrow pass between two mountains at the western end of Jingxing Pass on the map.

"The city walls should be built according to the terrain, reinforced to be high and thick, constructed with rammed earth and stone blocks, and equipped with barbicans, ramparts, and arrow towers! A thousand elite soldiers should be stationed inside the pass, commanded by a capable general! Beacon towers and hidden sentries should be set up everywhere within ten miles of the pass! Anyone who tries to cross the pass without checking their travel documents will be executed without mercy! Once this pass is established, even a thousand troops will find it difficult to cross!"

"Thirdly, the post roads within the well pass need to be well-connected in order to control the network! Therefore, a post station needs to be set up every thirty li along the pass."

The post stations served multiple purposes, including relaying messages, supplying provisions, and patrolling. Each post station was manned by fifty soldiers and equipped with fast horses.

The roads between post stations must be flat. The number of post stations in dangerous areas can be increased to ensure communication can be maintained under any circumstances. Post station officials are directly appointed by the prefectural government, and the judicial officer conducts regular inspections!

This post road is not only convenient for merchants and travelers, but also of great importance for Bingzhou to control the movement of the pass and transmit military and civilian information! Xun Yu's eyes gleamed with wisdom.

"The advantage of the pass lies in communication, but the power to make that communication must be firmly held in the hands of our lord!"

After Xun Yu finished speaking, he bowed deeply to Zhang Xian.

Zhang Xian was not too surprised by Xun Yu's strategy, as it was the conclusion they had discussed for a long time.

He stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the map he had personally led the surveying team to draw, and nodded slightly.

"Wenruo's strategy is exactly what I want!"

His piercing gaze swept over the few people standing solemnly below the hall:
"Han Ji and Zhao Shi, listen to my command!"

"Your humble servants are here!" Han Ji and Zhao Shi, who had come to Jinyang to appeal their official duties, stepped forward at the same time.

"Han Ji! I hereby appoint you as the governor-general of all projects including the excavation of Jingxing Pass, the fortification of the city, and the construction of post roads! The artisan camps of Lüsi, as well as all the artisans and laborers under the jurisdiction of Jinyang, are all under your command! Six months! I will only give you six months! Within six months, I want to see the prototype of a smooth road that can be traversed by cattle and horses and ridden by post horses."

Han Ji straightened his chest and said in a booming voice, "Your subordinate obeys!"

His eyes gleamed with a fervent passion for the engineering challenge. "Zhao Shi!" Zhang Xian's gaze turned to the judicial clerk.

"Your humble servant is here!" Zhao Shi bowed.

"I hereby order you to take up the Judicial Office's decree and lead three hundred elite troops from the prefecture to accompany the engineering battalion to Jingxing! Wherever the project goes, all laborers and artisans under the jurisdiction of the judicial office shall be registered and their households recorded, and the law shall be strictly enforced!"
Anyone who engages in shirking responsibility, incites negligence, steals materials, or spreads rumors, regardless of who they are, has the right to be detained and tried on the spot and severely punished according to the law! Any local tyrants, bandits, or brigands who dare to obstruct the project, attack camps, or damage roads…

"Kill without mercy! Confiscate their property and seize their land!" Zhang Xian's voice was resolute, providing the strongest backing for Zhao Shi's actions.

"Your subordinate obeys!" Zhao Shi's voice was calm and even, yet it carried an iron-blooded edge.

“Grain Rain!” Zhang Xian looked towards the shadows one last time.

"Your subordinate is here." Gu Yu appeared silently, like a ghost.

"Your spies are to infiltrate Ji Province immediately! Gather information on the gathering of refugees there! Attract refugees to Bing Province on a small scale, using my name."

Zhang Xian paused for a moment at this point, realizing that his reputation in Ji Province might be a little too good.

"Understood!" Gu Yu bowed.

"Wen Ruo!"

"Your humble servant is here," Xun Yu replied with a bow.

"The allocation of provisions and wages is entrusted to you. For those who are not engaged in corvée labor, wages should not be too high after the work is completed. For those engaged in corvée labor, their daily food needs must be guaranteed to ensure the people's peace of mind."

"Your subordinate obeys!"

"Good!" Zhang Xian looked around at everyone. "All departments, proceed according to plan! Within six months, I want this treacherous Taihang Mountains to be much smoother than before. Let's begin!"

"promise!"

Military orders are absolute. As Zhang Xian uttered his last two words, an invisible force, powerful enough to shake mountains, began to surge and converge towards the ancient Jingxing Road deep in the Taihang Mountains!
in the afternoon.

Zhang Xian tidied up the homeland and fields he had cultivated outside Jinyang City.

Yes, he moved Lu Si's residential area here again.

It has been more than half a year since the spring planting, and the number of variant crops under his management has increased considerably.

Wheat seeds that grow faster in winter have undergone another mutation, becoming even more cold-resistant.

Therefore, this year he plans to promote this wheat on a small scale in several counties.

Needless to say, in Lüqi, less than half a month after the autumn harvest, this type of wheat had already been planted throughout the entire county, even on newly reclaimed wasteland.

Of the entire 100,000 mu of land, eight-tenths of the wheat seeds he had were used to supply the farmland seeds for Lüqi.

If it weren't for his "Collection Master" skill, which has a chance to yield double the harvest, he probably wouldn't have been able to gather so many wheat seeds.

He planned to plant the remaining seeds nearby, in Jinyang and Yuci County, which, along with Yangqu, were the places he controlled most firmly.

If the seeds are moistened and some are planted sparsely, it should be enough for more than 20,000 mu of various crops in both places.

He has now given this wheat a new name.

It's called "Xidongmai" (喜冬麦).

(End of this chapter)