Chapter 334: Build the Ships First

Li Daoxuan was happily musing about the little man sailing the boat when Feng Jun shook his head and sighed. “Although we have the Qiachuan Port in our region, it has been practically abandoned over the past year.”Li Daoxuan found it strange. “Abandoned? With such a port, merchants should seize the opportunity to transport grain from the prosperous Jiangnan region here to sell. Wouldn’t they make a huge profit with just one shipload of grain? Why would it be abandoned?”

Gao Yiye was also curious and quickly conveyed the question.

Feng Jun sighed. “Madam, you may not know. Last year, when Hu Tingyan was the Provincial Governor of Shaanxi and Wu Zhiwang was the Provincial Governor of Yansui, they both reported the bandit uprising. Later, Wu Zhiwang died of illness, Hu Tingyan was dismissed, His Majesty appointed Yang He as the Three Boundary Governor, and at the same time… the imperial court ordered a ban on transporting grain into Shaanxi. Therefore, grain merchants stopped coming. Apart from grain, no one wants any other goods now. As a result, no merchant ships have entered the Qiachuan Port for a very, very long time.”

Li Daoxuan cursed, “Fuck!”

Gao Yiye was also shocked. Before Li Daoxuan could speak, she urgently asked, “Why? There’s a severe drought. Why would the court ban grain shipments into Shaanxi?”

Feng Jun sighed. “To prevent banditry!”

Gao Yiye asked, “What does preventing banditry have to do with banning grain shipments into Shaanxi?”

Feng Jun explained, “The grain entering Shaanxi would be distributed to the common people, but the common people would immediately be robbed by bandits. In the end, that grain would fall into the bandits’ hands, nourishing them and giving them the strength to rebel.”

Seeing Gao Yiye and Bai Yuan’s grim expressions, he hastily clarified, “That… that’s what the people above said, not me, alright? I, an official in Shaanxi, understand perfectly that this must be the kind of idea conceived only if your head gets crushed by the palace door…”

Li Daoxuan: “…”

Gao Yiye: “…”

Both were speechless for a moment.

Bai Yuan, however, accustomed to such bewildering moves by the court, seemed less shocked. He spread his hands and said, “Oh, if the bandits get no food, they all starve, thus no rebellion. Impeccable logic. Much admired.”

Feng Jun gave a bitter smile. “This is beyond the ability of a mere Seventh-Rank magistrate like me. Please excuse my incompetence.”

Li Daoxuan spoke up: “Heyang County must be helped.”

He spoke, so Gao Yiye understood. “Lord Feng, our Gaojia Village actually has a considerable amount of grain. We are willing to share a portion to help the people of Heyang County.”

Feng Jun was overjoyed upon hearing this. “Really?” he blurted. “Ah? Lord Feng! Your nose is bleeding! Suddenly gushing!” exclaimed Gao Yiye.

Feng Jun wiped his nose. Blood instantly smeared across his face as if cutting it in half. Ignoring it completely, he rapidly calmed down and countered, “You give me grain. What must I give you in return?” After the initial ecstasy, he instantly grasped that mutual benefit was the key tune. Clearly, the nosebleed hadn’t addled his brains.

Gao Yiye smiled. “We don’t require goods. We merely ask Lord Feng to issue an administrative decree to build several roads. The rules would be the same as those in our Chengcheng County.”

Feng Jun was momentarily surprised, then understood immediately. He had heard rumors about Bai Yuan’s Chengcheng County Magistrate, Liang Shixian, engaging in large-scale construction there, though he didn’t know the exact scale. Hearing Gao Yiye mention “road construction” made him realize instantly.

He thought to himself: So that’s how it is! No wonder the Chengcheng County Magistrate could undertake road construction during this great disaster. He’s getting support and grain supplies from Gaojia Village. If Liang Shixian dared to do it, Feng Jun certainly dared too. Building bridges and roads was inherently sound governance. If he hesitated over even this, what kind of magistrate was he?

“Of course I have no problem with that!” Feng Jun stated firmly.

“Then it’s settled,” said Gao Yiye. “Lord Feng, why not first go to Xi’an to deliver your report? After you return from Xi’an to Heyang County, come back to our Gaojia Village. We can then discuss the specifics of the road construction.”

Feng Jun replied, “Good!”

His mood instantly brightened considerably. Over the past year or so, not only had Fan Shanyue harassed him relentlessly, but he also received no aid from the court. Worse still, the officials above had outright severed his trade route, banning grain shipments. Heyang County’s future had seemed utterly hopeless. Now, suddenly, people are actively seeking to help him? He couldn’t contain his joy.

“By the way!” Bai Yuan interjected with a smile. “Lord Feng, if you’re traveling to Xi’an, you can take our little train for part of the journey. It will save you quite some time.”

Feng Jun was puzzled. “Oh? What’s a little train? A fire-burning cart?”

Bai Yuan chuckled, “You’ll understand once you ride it.”

Minutes later…

Feng Jun boarded the small train heading from Gaojia Village to Chengcheng County. With a loud “Wooooo!” from the whistle, the train, carrying him, shot off towards the county seat at a roaring 60 kilometers per hour.

It was Feng Jun’s first time riding such a bizarre mode of transport: excitement, screaming… accompanying a sudden, torrential nosebleed. The blood loss mounted. He felt dizzy. He fell unconscious…

Upon reaching Chengcheng County, his attendants had a tough time reviving him.

Meanwhile, Li Daoxuan had already turned his attention to researching ships.

Although the Yellow River hadn’t yet entered their zone of control, it inevitably would. The matter of ships likely needed to be ordered well in advance. He dialed his old friend Cai Xinzi.

“Hello, Old Cai? Haven’t asked you to customize anything for a while. Want a few cute, kawaii, ship models this time. Riverboats, not oceangoing ships, alright?”

Cai Xinzi laughed, “Ship models? I’ve got models aplenty. Why bother making more? Just come pick a couple!”

Li Daoxuan clarified, “I don’t want regular remote-controlled ship models. I want the kind that you can ‘operate’ from inside the model boat. Riverboat, riverboat, riverboat. Important things thrice said.”

Cai Xinzi got it. “Shrooms again? Remember your weirdo sun chariot? That teeny-tiny cart the size of a knuckle? Still adding braking and steering systems? Tsk, man, I’m out of patience. Now you’re onto boats? Fine. What systems this time?”

Li Daoxuan listed, “Steering system’s a must. Propulsion system’s definitely required. Transforming…”

He barely got “Trans” out of his mouth when Cai Xinzi roared down the line, “First two? Fine! ‘Transforming’? Absolutely not! Not ONE. Enough mushrooms! Throw them away! You will DIE if you keep this up. Die!”

Li Daoxuan whined, “Don’t reject so fast! Boats are big. Making a Transformer should be easy! Toy shops are stuffed with Transformers!”

Cai Xinzi retorted, “Sure, transformation itself is easy. But you’ll demand full remote operation after transformation! Listen, operation? NO-HOW! Impossible! All that ‘Gundam’ jazz about psychic links and joysticks controlling bots? Utter fantasy! Impossible! Unless Musk finishes that brain-chip interface, forget it! Without operation? Pure transformation? Utterly. Useless.”