Lonely non-good minister

Chapter 330 A rare skill

He made up his mind and felt a lot more relaxed on the way back. However, before he left Song Fen's station, a group of soldiers and horses were waiting on his only way back.

The wind and sand swept across, and more than a dozen guards from the Chinese army camp drew their bowstrings fully while they were still some distance away, aiming at Song Ling and his party who were rushing on the road. If they dared to cross the boundary monument in front, their feather arrows would kill them. He was crucified at the border between the Wei Dynasty and the Xiongnu.

Forcibly forcing them to stop, Ma Xu, who was leading the team, held the command in his hand, looked at the guilty, angry and anxious Song Ling and shouted loudly: "Song Ling, the commander-in-chief of the Jiuquan garrison, left the station without permission, walked out of the country, and was escorted to the Chinese army camp."

Song Ling's lips were pale. He tightened his grip on the reins and wanted to rush out, but was hurriedly held back by the guards following him. Once they broke through, they would have no place in the Wei Dynasty.

After learning that Song Ling had left the station without authorization and was discovered and taken away by Song Run, Song Pun dared to delay and followed Ma Xu and his party to the Chinese army camp.

Along the way, he saw the craftsmen gathered in the fields. He was so anxious at this moment that Song Fen's progress slowed down a lot. He saw large pits two feet long appearing regularly in the fields, on both sides of the road. They were all facing the fired pottery pipes, the fields were piled with firewood, and the soil for making pottery was brought in by bullock carts. All the people were busy and busy. There were no government servants to drive them away and blame them, and everyone was working hard.

He knew about the construction of water conservancy in the northwest, but he didn't expect the management to be so loose.

"Making these civilians obedient and working hard is also a skill." Song Fen suddenly understood why Song Ling was unbalanced. It was also a project construction, and they needed to arrange for someone to supervise it, but Song Yuan didn't need it at all. He could Let the merchants donate their own money, and the people can be willing to contribute with the supply of two meals a day, which they cannot do.

After watching the journey, Song Fen also made a decision in his heart. He had to meet Song Yuan and his youngest brother.

Song Yuan also knew the news that Song Fen rushed to the Chinese army camp, but she didn't have the energy to take care of it. From the day the construction started, the money on the account flowed out like water, and the grain depot had to move thousands of kilograms out every day. Food, these are all consumable things, and she has to ensure that every penny is spent on practical things.

The weather turned cold overnight. Winter in the northwest came very early. The cold wind was noisy. When it blew through the desolate valleys and gullies, it was as sharp and shrill as an army of gods and ghosts fighting. It was wrapped with yellow sand and blew on the face, like The slender blade was tearing at the face, and the dark clouds were heavy above the head, brewing a blizzard, reminding everyone that the cold winter was coming.

Song Yuan had been patrolling outside for a few days, and her cheeks were chapped, her cheeks were red, and her lips were chapped and peeled. The pain made her restless, and it hurt so much when she washed her face. Wei Yan traveled all over Zhangye before he started from Rouge. A small jar of women's suet ointment was bought from the shop.

"The mother-in-law who runs the shop said this is the best. If you apply it thicker, it won't get chapped. All the wealthy women in the northwest use this. They are as white and as clean as eggs that have been peeled off." Wei Yan dug out a piece of it. Tuo smeared it on her face: "Wash your face at night and apply it thickly. It will be cured in two or three days."

Song Yuan looked skeptical: "Are you sure it's not sheep oil? It smells terrible."

"Your Highness, please don't dislike it. It's important to be useful." Wei Yan gave her a confused look: "It's windy, so you have to cover your face when you go out, otherwise it will only get worse and your face will start to bleed. If you don’t apply some more, you will have scars on your face.”

Song Yuan felt her face hurt, so she took a bronze mirror and looked at it carefully. Wei Yan brought the hot water, she took a sip and then leaned against the back of the chair and stayed quietly, licking her lips from time to time to let the hot water moisten herself. Peeling lips.After a day's rest, she started to get busy again before dawn the next morning. She had already inspected the progress of the project in Zhangye and had to go to other places to check it out.

Before setting off, Song Yuan not only dressed warmly, but also found a piece of gauze to wrap her face, leaving only her eyes exposed. In addition to Wei Yan, she also brought along other officials and seven or eight government officials. Everyone has their bows, arrows and sharp swords ready just in case.

Before it snows, the Xiongnu raids are most frequent, and no one can guarantee whether they will encounter them during their patrol.

They first went to Xijun, accompanied by the county magistrate. After visiting all the counties governed by Xijun, they rushed to Wuwei as soon as possible.

The progress of Wuwei was also very fast. Along the way, Song Yuan could see the oxcarts transporting pottery pipes and clay. The peasants used sledgehammers to smash the stones into regular shapes, and carefully piled them around the dug pits. Layers of clay are carefully applied, and after a few days of drying, the pottery craftsman can light the fire.

Song Yuan didn't know how to perform this step specifically, so she didn't give any advice. Fortunately, the craftsmen in charge were all reliable, and there were rules for naming and holding people accountable. No one dared to muddle through, for fear that something would go wrong. At the expense of the lives of his whole family.

"These places don't seem to be arranged like this on the water conservancy map." Song Yuan pointed: "Why is this?"

She has seen the water conservancy map many times, and remembers every detail clearly, and even a small change cannot escape her eyes.

The accompanying County Magistrate of Wuwei quickly said: "Sir, in the past few years, the county has built several water conservancy projects. I asked the craftsmen to check them and found that they are still usable, and they are not too far from the locations marked on the water conservancy map, so Just order people to build on the original water conservancy foundation, which can improve the progress of the project and save some money.”

"Will it have an impact on the overall water supply of water conservancy?" Song Yuan is more concerned about this. She doesn't want to build a batch of things that have little practical effect just to save money.

The governor of Wuwei immediately said: "The lower officials have discussed with the craftsmen, and also surveyed on the spot, and it doesn't affect it."

"That's good." Song Yuan felt relieved: "Since the location has been changed, the compensation and replacement of the occupied farmland will also be in place. By the way, is the food in the grain depot being consumed quickly?"

The magistrate of Wuwei County hurriedly brought the list of civilian husbands: "Because of the construction of water conservancy projects to provide food, although it is stipulated that each household should have one young man, but now that the farming season is slack, people in order to save food at home, some young men from some families have basically come, and the official has already If you continue to explain, let each county make careful arrangements and try to speed up the progress, so the food consumption is slightly more, about three thousand kilograms of food per day, and the food in the warehouse can only last forty or fifty days."

"Forty or fifty days?" Song Yuan worried for him: "It's not a big problem to complete the project within forty days, but we have to plan for it. When it snows and the road becomes difficult to travel, we have to wait for the snow to melt in April and May next year. The caravans will come in and out only after [-]. If there is a disaster during this period, the grain depot will have to be supplied with food. The batch of food prescribed by the imperial court must not be touched."

(End of this chapter)