Chapter 235 - Huang River

Ah…

Wei Liuying forgot that the reputation Yang Xian and Prince Ji Sheng had was not exactly that good. They were known to be great at military, but there was never any word that said anything regarding their abilities in other field. If they wished to convince other people, it wouldn't be easy.

Besides, Prince Ji Sheng was sent to the north because the Emperor didn't favor him. Why would these officials follow his words if they would only gain dislike from the current Emperor?

No one wanted to dig their early grave.

And since the generals at the north also saw Prince Ji Sheng in unfavorable light, how could the officials had different view? That was simply impossible.

"I guess it's not a plausible option."

"Come on, we'll take a short detour first. Lu Wen will be preparing breakfast while we're away."

Wei Liuying was amused. Usually, Yang Xian would prepare simple breakfast for the two of them in the morning or it was her turn. This time, they would give the task to Shi Lu Wen because they would go for a while.

It didn't take long for them to prepare their horses and galloped out of the city. The location of the river were several dozen feet away from Dong Shan City. It was not that far, so they could easily take water that they needed.

The sound of water stream entered their ears. Looking at the harsh current of the water, Wei Liuying furrowed her brows. They have passed the river yesterday by making use of the bridge that was built in the area with shallow depth. However, the current seemed to be faster here.

"Is it always this fast?"

"It's not that obvious in the place where we cross yesterday. This part has a lot of rocks, so it's more dangerous if you fall into the river," Yang Xian replied.

Wei Liuying watched the river for a moment. "This can be a good defense wall against the tribes."

"You have read about it, haven't you?"

"If you're talking about how we managed to fool the tribes back then, then yes," Wei Liuying replied unhurriedly. Her lips curled up to form a smile. "Crossing the river at the unexpected place, Han Shi Kingdom's men caught them unprepared and made sure that the tribes were pushed to the back."

Yang Xian nodded. "We'll not let them use the same tactic as us, so we have already created plan to prevent such thing to happen. But of course, I can't say it'll be the same with other leaders."

"They should have already learned about the history, right?" Wei Liuying asked in confusion.

"Not all commanders and generals are literate."

"Oh."

Wei Liuying forgot that some generals have commoners background or probably lower noble. They didn't learn how to read that much and their knowledge was limited. Not all of them have spent their youth in the academy where they learned about history, strategy, and many others. 

Yang Xian didn't let Wei Liuying ponder for long. He pointed to one side. "Also, the path is over there."

There were several people who have already started working as path in the mud could be seen heading to the north. There were hills that they have to cross too, not far from Dong Shan City.

Wei Liuying frowned. "Do you plan to destroy the hills?"

"No, we'll circle around it."

"There's another hill again a few thousand feet ahead."

"We're going to make another detour later. The path for this area is already almost complete, so we'll be able to get fresh water soon," Yang Xian said with a smile.

Wei Liuying rolled her eyes. The way Yang Xian talked sounded as if they couldn't get fresh water every single day. All they needed to do was to get the water from the well. It was not as easy as taking water from the river, but the long journey to the river would make it hard.

"It's a project from a long time, right?"

"Yes. We'll open the path in a few days, but for the second one that'll be making a small river between Dong Shan City and Prince Ji Sheng's City, we'll need more time," Yang Xian said helplessly.

"I see. It'll be good if we can gain more people to help."

"The Emperor won't approve."

Wei Liuying chuckled and averted her eyes to Huang River once more. The water was filled with mud and the surface reflected the light from the sun. From a distance away, it looked like gold, which was why the name 'Huang River' was given to it.

"Why do you bring me here?" Wei Liuying asked.

"Next year, you'll be the one to supervise when we create another channel," Yang Xian replied.

"Eh, another one?"

Yang Xian looked to the west. "The water has been steadily gaining more volume as time passed by. I'm afraid it'll create another flood soon."

Wei Liuying blinked her eyes. "Are you sure it's not because there are a lot of mud at the bottom of the river?"

"That's one of the reason too, but there's nothing that we can do about that," Yang Xian said helplessly. There was no method to take out the mud except from manually taking them bit by bit. Who would want to do the menial task aside from farmers? But then again, they would keep their distance from the Huang River in case it was flooding again.

"Is it because of winter?"

"That's one of the reason."

Wei Liuying sighed. She nodded. "Fine, let's create another channel while trying to move the farmers to this area. If they can help to pull the mud out for their farm, it'll greatly help the overall situation."

"True."

The two of them stopped speaking as they watched the river before them. It was flowing steadily to the East and headed to the sea. Nothing could stop it's current.

…

After talking about Huang River with Wei Liuying, Yang Xian brought her back to Dong Shan City for breakfast before they departed with horses again. Shi Lu Wen wanted them to stay behind, but she understood that they were busy, so she didn't try to prolong their stay. On the other hand, Shan Yi was glad that he didn't need to see that strategist anymore.

At least, for the time being.

Who knew when that strategist would suddenly call him and asked him to do something again?