Chapter 220: Miss Ling Alone Can Withstand a Thousand Troops
The only thing Jinsui didn’t flaunt was the military zone, but the less she showed it off, the more the officials from Chang’an wanted to see it, and they kept asking the border city people about it.
Especially after seeing the old site of the border city, the scorched earth and black ash seemed to bleed if you stepped on it.
Only then did they realize how brutal the battle was when the entire city was burned, killing countless Tartars. They became very curious about the fish oil firearms, even though Li King had used fish oil when fighting Prince Yu in the suburbs of Chang’an.
But that was only for deterrence, to ignite the river channel and prevent Prince Yu’s troops from crossing. It didn’t showcase the true power of fish oil at all.
And the gunpowder, dropped from hot air balloons onto the enemy camp, was a weapon of mass destruction as if aided by gods!
Then, hearing the Black Feather Camp boast, His Majesty used gunpowder to help King Batel kill the Left Wise King when he went to the Northern Frontier. The moment the gunpowder was thrown, the Northern Frontier people didn’t dare to resist, all thinking it was divine thunder.
When officials from the Ministry of War also arrived, officers requested to visit the Military Industry Department every few days, but Jinsui still refused. No one was allowed into the Military Industry Department before His Majesty arrived.
As they requested too many times, Jinsui had Cheng Yu take them to see the East Sea Base to temporarily appease their curiosity.
Currently, the East Sea Base has ten thousand mu of salt fields and several hundred mu of reclaimed farmland. Jinsui and Gu Changxiao visited once at the beginning of the year, and it had developed from a town into a small county town.
With the addition of a large number of refugees, it has now reached the scale of three county towns. And there is something there that the border city doesn’t have, which is a specially built railway for transportation.
Because the base also has coal and iron mines, and goods from the sea also depart from the base, the carriages are constantly transporting goods day and night.
To make transportation faster and more efficient, Jinsui specifically built a railway at the base. The four-wheeled iron carriage frame fits the track, and two horses can easily pull several tons.
As soon as the officials from the Ministry of Works arrived at the base, they were attracted by the railway carriages, exclaiming that the base was hiding such a treasure, and why wasn’t such a track built in the border city?
Cheng Yu could only say that the iron supply was insufficient to build it throughout the city, and it would be built in the new capital when the pig iron supply was sufficient.
They were invited to ride the railway carriages to experience them, and they all exclaimed that they were stable and fast. If such tracks could be built between cities, the speed of marching would be much faster!
Cheng Yu remembered that Jinsui had once said that one day, the whole country would be covered with such tracks, but that was the future, and they didn’t have the capability for now.
He never thought Jinsui was boasting, because most of what she said had come true. No matter how unbelievable it sounded to them at the time, the results had been achieved.
For example, flying.
The other officials were shocked by the salt fields. With such a salt output, it was no wonder that every household in the border city had refined salt to eat, and no wonder the salt in trade with the Northern Frontier was refined salt.
So the border city had already mastered such an efficient sun-drying salt method! Although the officials thought to themselves, why hadn’t His Majesty presented this method to the Imperial Court before!
But then they thought of the high-yield crops, which had also never been presented to the Imperial Court.
Imagine what the result would be if they were presented to the Imperial Court? They would definitely be taken over by Prince Yu’s Faction, and His Majesty would face even more brutal suppression…
However, it was quite unexpected that even the gentry of Yandi helped the border city keep it a secret, wasn’t it said that the border city had always been ostracized by the Sixteen Prefectures of Yandi?
Well, if they knew, someone had once inquired about the sun-drying salt method in the border city and reported it truthfully to Prince Yu’s Faction, but the matter never reached Prince Yu’s desk.
Because the examiner thought this person was crazy for fame, first talking about grain yield of three thousand jin per mu, and then talking about vast salt fields drying in the sun by the sea.
This is treating us like ghosts! Who would believe it!
Then this secret reporter was suppressed…
I wonder if there are any remnants of Prince Yu’s Faction who came to the border city? Are they regretting it and slapping their mouths right now?
Gu Changxiao’s ascension to the throne was indeed due to the strong support of the border city, with top-notch supplies of soldiers, provisions, and weapons, as well as his own ambition and iron will.
Jinsui felt it was also related to the enemy, Prince Yu’s Faction was too stupid! They were too arrogant and out of touch for too long.
They thought the small border city was a barren land, but they didn’t know that this small place was like a cyberpunk city to Chang’an!
Hearing the officials’ praise at this moment, Cheng Yu, like Jinsui, was numb. Unlike before, they were not proud.
They had heard too much, and the officials were too easily surprised. Even the giant machines that the border city people were accustomed to, these officials from Chang’an could stare at them for a whole day.
The common people were discussing privately: “Aren’t the officials from Chang’an supposed to be very capable? Why are they all like country bumpkins entering the city?”
“I heard that Chang’an doesn’t have these things, so they are so curious.”
“What doesn’t Chang’an have?”
“Potatoes, sweet potatoes, railway carriages, salt fields, greenhouse vegetables, sea vessels, street lamps, cranes… none of them!”
Some didn’t believe it, pointing to the street lamps by the road and saying: “Chang’an is the capital city, how can it not have street lamps?”
Someone from Chang’an sighed lightly: “Indeed, it doesn’t. So when the curfew is over, the whole city is dark.”
“Hiss, I thought Chang’an was brightly lit, as beautiful as a place where immortals live, but it doesn’t even have a street lamp!”
At this moment, a large four-wheeled carriage stopped in front of them, and a few people got into the carriage. The people from Chang’an didn’t understand and quickly asked: “What are they doing?”
“Taking the bus to the workshop.”
“Bus, bus?”
“Does Chang’an not even have buses? Then you can only walk when you travel?”
After learning what a bus was, the officials were surprised again: “In this way, even the people outside the city can quickly enter the city?”
Cheng Yu said: “The border city doesn’t lack horses, and the roads are wide. Even with more carriages, there won’t be traffic jams. The bus was proposed by Miss Ling as a benefit to the people, and although there is a fee, it is extremely low.”
The officials all knew that Miss Ling was the future Empress, and they saw the attitude of Cheng Yu and Li Heng towards Miss Ling.
Some old officials had the thought of ‘a hen crowing at dawn’, while younger officials felt that the Empress was amazing. As a woman, she managed the border city in perfect order during His Majesty’s absence in Chang’an.
Whether it was civil officials, military generals, or even the common people, they showed her great respect. It seemed that our Great Xia would have an unprecedented Empress.
The only thing the officials disliked was the refugee camp. They learned that refugees and displaced people coming to the border city were properly resettled in the refugee camp, and there was never a situation where refugees were turned away from the city.
They all worried: “In this way, after the border city becomes the capital, more refugees will surely flock here. If they are still treated with the same gentle methods as before, it will be detrimental to the country!”
“In my opinion, the refugee camp should be closed, checkpoints should be set up, and refugees should be strictly prevented from entering the border city.”
Many officials agreed: “Exactly! If people in rags and from all walks of life flood into the capital, it is simply an offense to public morals!”
“This refugee camp is even built on the path His Majesty will take to return to the city. How unsightly! It should be moved before His Majesty returns.”
…
Cheng Yu listened silently, his fists clenching tighter and tighter.
But he had to explain, because if he didn’t, and Miss Ling came to explain, it would easily escalate into a riot.
Miss Ling had been looking for an opportunity to take them for military training!
“His Majesty said that as long as there is still one person in the world who cannot eat or wear warm clothes, the refugee camp will not be abolished!
If Your Excellencies feel that the capital should not have refugee camps or charity halls, then you should find ways to make all the people in the world eat and wear warm clothes.
Instead of thinking it’s an eyesore and driving them away!”
Cheng Yu recalled hearing about a local rich landlord who, upon seeing a pitiful beggar by the road of his manor, said with tears: “I have always been kind-hearted and cannot bear to see anyone starving or freezing.”
Everyone thought he was going to help these beggars, but he changed his tone: “So, drive them further away, so I don’t see them!”
These officials from Chang’an were quite similar to this old landlord. But Cheng Yu didn’t think they were unchangeable; even Li Heng was completely subdued by Miss Ling.
Just wait! After His Majesty relocates the capital, if you still serve with this mindset, you will eventually be dealt with by Miss Ling until you cry for mercy!
Cheng Yu intended to conceal it, but these officials didn’t think their suggestions were wrong.
They publicly discussed the refugee camp with disdain, repeatedly proposing to set up checkpoints and not allow refugees to flock to the border city.
This news quickly reached Jinsui. Jinsui raised her eyebrows and summoned more than twenty officials who had spoken out the loudest: “I heard that Your Excellencies want to abolish the refugee camp and drive away the refugees?”
They were all stunned, not knowing her intention behind the question, and dared not answer too definitively, only vaguely saying: “Your subordinate merely felt that it would be inauspicious for His Majesty to see such a dilapidated place upon his return to the city.”
Jinsui knew: “It was my oversight that I didn’t consider this issue. Your Excellencies are right, the refugee camp does indeed damage the city’s appearance.
How about this, before His Majesty returns, we will relocate the refugee camp.
However, I am too busy, and Lord Cheng is also busy. Since Your Excellencies are so concerned about discussing the refugee camp, then you shall be responsible for it!”
Their eyes lit up, believing that completing this task would be a great merit.
Their method of handling it was to drive people away! This was a common practice in Chang’an. Whenever there were natural disasters or man-made calamities, refugees would always flee to Chang’an.
Then they would be driven away. The refugees were weak, like sheep without their own will, they wouldn’t cry when beaten, nor weep when scolded. They were simply driven away.
However, they heard Miss Ling change her tone: “What I mean by being responsible is not to drive people away, but to teach them the way of survival, to have a skill, and to find a place to live in the city.
Oh my, perhaps you cannot empathize with this, and cannot understand.
How about this, Your Excellencies, take your families and go live in the refugee camp for a period of time, and truly experience what it’s like to be a refugee. Then you will surely come up with a plan to resettle the refugees!”
This made all the officials anxious: “How can this be! Miss Ling, you are too disrespectful to us! Let alone you are not yet the Empress, even if you were, you have no right to dictate to us court officials!”
One hot-tempered official even pointed his finger at Jinsui. Jinsui looked up at him, flicked her wrist, and a short knife appeared in her hand, instantly slicing off his finger:
“Dare to point at this young lady again, and I’ll chop off your head!”
The official cried out miserably, and soldiers immediately stepped forward to gag him and surround these officials with weapons.
Jinsui snorted coldly: “It seems you haven’t recognized the situation yet. This is not Chang’an!
His Majesty is not Prince Yu, and I, Ling Jinsui, am not some delicate young lady. I have both strength and means!
Hmph, in Chang’an, you are high and mighty officials, and the lives of the common people are like grass!
But in my Li Da Wu Qiong City, every common person is His Majesty’s subject, and their lives are the most precious!
Guards, take them down, and send their families and servants all into the refugee camp! Station troops to guard them, and anyone who dares to escape will be killed without mercy!”
Some officials shouted: “We want to see His Majesty! How can you trample on us court officials like this?”
Jinsui directly threw the bronze token given by Gu Changxiao onto the table, along with the jade token that had just arrived, inscribed with ‘As if His Majesty is present’.
Two tokens, one for commanding the army, and one for political affairs.
Jinsui stared at them coldly: “Believe it or not, if I kill you now, no one will come to your defense!”
No one dared to say anything now, except for the official whose finger was cut off, who was sent to the infirmary for emergency reattachment. That’s right, Jinsui had even taught the military doctors surgical knives and limb reattachment methods.
Although the reattached finger could not be used, it looked better than a severed finger.
The others and their families were all sent to the refugee camp. Like the refugees, they had to earn work points to qualify for household registration.
Cheng Yu soon received the news. He never thought of speaking up for these officials or persuading Jinsui.
He had been waiting for this day. The officials from Chang’an hadn’t adjusted their mindset yet. Miss Ling was just giving them a small lesson. If they were still like this when His Majesty arrived, many people might die.
However, he contacted Li Heng and asked Li Heng to go to the refugee camp to persuade these officials.
Li Heng was even funnier; he called Jiang Nansheng over. The two of them, one civil and one military, one had his hand cut by Jinsui, and the other had his beard cut by Jinsui.
Then there was Zheng Yun, who was beheaded, the bandits who were hung in the forest, the Tartars who were burned by flames…
With so many precedents, you are only going to the refugee camp to eat and live with the refugees for a while, what grievance is there!
Hurry up and admit your mistakes, and complete the task assigned by Miss Ling. She will not pursue it.
Li Heng and Jiang Nansheng could both guarantee this, as neither of them was held accountable later. Although Miss Ling’s methods were harsh and her actions eccentric, she was still very magnanimous.
“As for reporting to His Majesty, listen to my advice, and forget it! If you don’t report it to His Majesty, this matter can be put aside. If you report it to His Majesty, even if Miss Ling has moved on, His Majesty will not let you off lightly.
We know you have just come from Chang’an and are not familiar with the rules of the border city. But we old timers know that you can offend anyone, but you must never offend Miss Ling!”
The officials couldn’t understand, and lowered their voices: “You allow her, a woman, to oppress you?”
Li Heng sighed: “Because she is not an ordinary woman!”
They didn’t know about her disguise as Li King, so they didn’t mention it.
“The fine breeds with a yield of over a thousand jin were all found by Miss Ling.
Fish oil, gunpowder, and flying artifacts were also developed by Miss Ling.
And the good medicine to cure the plague was also prepared by Miss Ling.”
“Miss Ling is responsible for ninety percent of the border city’s achievements today!
His Majesty once said that Miss Ling alone is worth a thousand troops.”
“She is also His Majesty’s only beloved woman, the future Empress.
Tell me, can she be offended?”
