Chapter 396: Moving the Capital to Chenzhou (III)

In terms of making caustic remarks, the viewers in the streaming room were the best at it.

Maixi Zhaozilong: “After watching the streaming for so long, I finally understood a principle: The streamer is different from ordinary people. Ordinary people would, at most, eat what’s in their bowl and glance at what’s in the pot. But the streamer? She hasn’t even finished her food yet and she’s already wondering what to eat for supper. She’s even planning out which chicken and which duck she’s going to slaughter!”

Yingyang Kuaixian: “The user above phrased it so euphemistically. Why don’t you just say that she has insatiable desires? Of course, I mean that as a compliment.”

Laosiji Lianmeng: “Do you think that ‘having insatiable desires’ can be used to describe the streamer’s character?”

The audience in the streaming room began discussing the last comment. Jiang Pengji secretly rolled her eyes and hid the bullet screen.

Ordinary people probably would have been terrified by Jiang Pengji’s words. Feng Jin was not an ordinary person, and he could actually understand Jiang Pengji’s strange way of thinking.

He set his mind straight and only spoke after hesitating for some time. “Do you mean that… you want Fengyi County?”

Judging from the Great Universal Geographical Map of Dongqing, Dongqing had six states and a total of 21 counties.

The six states were namely Cangzhou, Chongzhou, Zhangzhou, Wanzhou, Chenzhou, and Haozhou.

Wanzhou included Shangyang County, Fengyi County, and Chengde County. Among the three counties, Fengyi County had the largest area, but was situated in the north and had the least number of people. Xiangyang District, where Jiang Pengji would immediately take office, was located in Fengyi County.

Jiang Pengji revealed an imperative smile and asked him rhetorically, “Why not?”

Feng Jin answered, “I’m not trying to dampen your spirits, but the Emperor won’t allow this.”

Liu She was already the magistrate of Chongzhou. Before he retired, Liu Xi could only be the district magistrate of the Xiangyang District. He could go no further.

The Emperor was a suspicious person. He had his guard up against his sons and kept watch over them day and night. Therefore, he was even warier of Liu She and his son.

“When did I say that I needed his permission?” Jiang Pengji smiled and continued, “You’re too noble.”

Feng Jin was speechless…

The word “noble” was definitely not complimentary when it came out of Jiang Pengji’s mouth.

Jiang Pengji explained with a smile, “The earthquake has affected the entire Wanzhou, and the Emperor insists on moving the capital to Chenzhou. There are also the three tribes of the Northern Borderline who are eyeing us with hostility. In other words, the north of Dongqing is in a state of chaos, and the court is so fully occupied that they can’t spare any time for other things. Huaiyu, under such circumstances, do you think the appointment letter of the court or a solid and powerful troop is more useful?”

In troubled times, military force was the best way to save lives.

The troops were chosen previously, so the number of people in the troops had been repeatedly cut down. Now that the chaos had become apparent, Jiang Pengji had no choice but to consider expanding the troops.

Feng Jin understood what Jiang Pengji meant. If there were well-equipped and well-trained troops with high morales, and if military force was used to control Fengyi County, then it would be successful.

By then, even if Jiang Pengji was still the district magistrate of Xiangyang District, she was essentially no different from a county chief.

Jiang Pengji had never been to Xiangyang District, but she had read a lot about it. Some geography and history books had also mentioned Xiangyang District, so she knew a little about what it was like. “Xiangyang District is a good place for military training. Its topography makes it easy to guard and difficult to be attacked…”

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Feng Jin was from Shangyang County, which was bordered by Fengyi County, so he also knew a little about Xiangyang District.

He frowned, a grave look on his face. “It’s true that it’s a vast land, but it’s a place with barren hills and turbulent rivers. The population is sparse and it has a dangerously steep terrain, which is not conducive to farming.”

The troops were not easy to feed. Each person had a mouth, and in addition to the daily training, each person’s appetite was twice that of a normal man. They would consume a lot of food. The land in Xiangyang District was infertile and there were few people who farmed. The grain produced was simply not enough to feed the troops.

In other words, if she were to station troops there, she would spend a lot of money every year on buying grain from outside the county. Could she afford to use up her assets like that?

The troop consisted of 5,000 people. If she wanted to expand the troops, her budget would skyrocket.

“Huaiyu, you have to understand a principle.” Jiang Pengji crossed her arms in front of her chest and smiled in a particularly confident manner. “The poor resources of a place can’t be blamed on its barrenness. One can only blame it on the foolishness of the people who manage the land. They only fix their gazes on the disadvantages; they do not capitalize on the advantages.”

What Jiang Pengji said could be considered a stereotype.

“Come here. I’ll show you a treasure.” Jiang Pengji rummaged through her book box, took out a roll of slightly yellowed sheepskin, and unfolded it. She signaled for Feng Jin to come over and have a look. “Sometimes there’s no harm in expanding the scope of your reading.”

Feng Jin took two steps forward and sat on the side of the desk. He looked at the unfolded sheepskin carefully. There was a faint gamy odor in the air. “Is this… the Great Universal Geographical Map of Dongqing?”

Feng Jin identified it carefully and realized that it was indeed the Great Universal Geographical Map of Dongqing. However, the drawings on it were far more detailed than the Great Universal Geographical Map that he knew. Not only were there many river branches and mountain structures, but also many other strange symbols.

“Yes, it’s indeed the Great Universal Geographical Map of Dongqing.” Jiang Pengji replied, “Mr. Cheng Cheng has a myriad of books, which almost touch upon all aspects. The Langye Academy is extraordinary, too. A lot of incomplete books are kept there, as well as books that only have one single copy. I counted all the geographic records, as well as the relevant unofficial and official history. Then, I copied according to the Great Universal Geographical Map and made these annotations on it. It took me a long time.”

At first, Feng Jin was somewhat confused while he looked at it. When he realized that the corner of the map was marked with annotated symbols, he was enlightened.

By understanding the meaning of each symbol, the Great Universal Geographical Map looked much simpler.

“This… This…” Feng Jin was so astonished that he could not say a word.

The Great Universal Geographical Map was actually marked with all kinds of mineral veins!

“How do you know all of this?” Feng Jin managed to find his voice after quite some time.

Jiang Pengji rolled her eyes and replied, “Reading widely is beneficial to one’s physical and mental health. You gain unexpected things by studying. Before the Sixteen Kingdoms, people had valiant spirits. They were free and easy. Many scholars traveled around the world and compiled what they saw and heard along the way into books. Later, after the war of the Sixteen Kingdoms, most of the books were either lost or incomplete. Some even only have the sole existing copy, and they’ve been continuously handed down since the ancient times…”

She sorted out Cheng Cheng’s collection of books, which contained a lot of relevant information. However, people mostly regarded them as travel biographies and did not pay attention to them.

Over the past two or three years, when she was in Langye County, Jiang Pengji did not idle. She tried to read a lot of valuable, unique books.

The Great Universal Geographical Map might have looked simple, but in fact, it took her three years of hard work to complete it.

Feng Jin still did not understand it. Jiang Pengji explained, “There’s a book called Catalogue of a Trip in the Mountains that was written by a revered Confucius scholar in the former dynasty. Ordinary people only sense the magnificence of the mountains depicted in the book and the interesting things that the revered Confucius scholar encountered on his trip. However, I sensed something else…”

She pointed at the Great Universal Geographical Map on the table with her finger. She slid her finger from one point to another. It was the revered Confucius scholar’s “travel route.”

Feng Jin glanced at it. The route was marked with numerous tiny words. Looking at it carefully gave him a headache.

For example, the revered Confucius scholar mentioned that he saw some glorious scenery that was too beautiful to exist in the world. However, Jiang Pengji analyzed the formation of the scenery and examined other geographical records of the same type. She combined a series of conditions, such as the soil of the mountains, temperature, humidity, and time, and then speculated as to the peculiar terrains or geological conditions in the vicinity…

She did not have to measure the mountains and rivers in person at all, but she could already “see” the places that ordinary people did not pay attention to.