Qing Muluan had already told Jin Feng long ago that the Ninth Princess wanted to visit Xihe Bay, so several days earlier Jin Feng had summoned more than a hundred escorts from various places to Double Camel Peak to ensure her safety.
The next day the rain finally stopped. At first light the column left Double Camel Peak and headed west.
They had scarcely enjoyed a clear day when, shortly after descending the mountain, Jin Feng and the others saw many common people rushing to their fields to inspect the crops.
The continuous downpours had flooded fields in many places. Even if they replanted now, they would miss the farming season.
Numerous villagers sat blankly by the roadside, at a loss for what to do.
When they spotted the black banners of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency, the people lit up as though seeing dawn. They surged onto the road.
“Big brother, is the bandit-suppression team still recruiting? I was a soldier once. Even though I’m missing three fingers, I fight just as well!”
“Big brother, is the saltworks still hiring? I don’t need wages, just food!”
“Little Yu said before that Mister Jin might open a textile mill. When will it start? Can we go work there?”
“Big brother, I see you’ve been hauling a lot of salt lately. Let me haul salt for you!”
The villagers blocked the middle of the mountain road, asking question after question.
Men asked whether the escort agency or the chamber of commerce needed workers; women asked about the saltworks and the textile mill.
With the road blocked, the column had to halt.
Jin Feng and Zhang Liang had repeatedly stressed that escorts must never raise a hand against common people unless absolutely necessary, or they would face military law.
The escorts had no choice but to look back at Jin Feng.
As more and more villagers gathered, Jin Feng feared an assassin might be hiding among them. He urged his horse forward.
“Everyone, quiet down! Mister Jin is here!”
Big Liu hurried after him and shouted at the crowd.
“Ah, Mister Jin is here!”
“Mister Jin, this year’s harvest is completely lost. Please have mercy and give us a way to live!”
“Mister Jin, open another factory!”
Hearing that Jin Feng had arrived, the villagers rushed forward, pleading through their tears.
The scene grew even more chaotic.
Clang, clang, clang!
Big Liu struck a bronze gong several times, and only then did the crowd finally quiet down.
“Listen to me, everyone,” Jin Feng called loudly from horseback. “In the near future I will be building several more factories nearby. When the time comes, anyone who wants work can come and apply.”
Over the past few days he had spoken several more times with the Ninth Princess and finalised the salt supply for the army.
To prevent the salt-making method from leaking, Jin Feng had no plans for now to open saltworks elsewhere. This meant large-scale construction would soon begin around Double Camel Peak.
The demand for labour would be enormous.
These people could be put to good use.
“Did you all hear that? Mister Jin is going to open factories right here!”
“Wonderful! We can work in the Xihe Bay factories too!”
“Mister Jin is truly a living bodhisattva. Not only did he drive away the bandits, in a disaster year he still finds work for us!”
Many villagers dropped to their knees and kowtowed to Jin Feng.
“Please, everyone, there is no need for this. Stand up.”
Jin Feng shouted, “I have urgent business in Xihe Bay. Kindly clear the road.”
The villagers quickly moved to the sides and let the column pass.
“Big Liu, tell everyone to lower the banners and turn their robes inside out.”
Jin Feng glanced helplessly at the black flags.
This rainfall had affected a wide area; the entire Jinchuan county was stricken.
No matter how fast construction proceeded in Xihe Bay, it could not employ the whole county.
If they were stopped again later, Jin Feng really would not know how to extricate himself.
Inside the carriage, the Ninth Princess had witnessed the entire scene.
Watching the cheering villagers, she frowned slightly.
Having long viewed matters from the emperor’s perspective, her field of vision was far broader than most.
The disaster zone was vast. The villagers here were lucky to encounter Jin Feng, but what about the victims in other places?
Soon every banner in the column was furled, and the escorts removed their outer robes and put them on inside out.
Now ordinary people could no longer recognise them as being from Xihe Bay, and indeed no one blocked them again.
Double Camel Peak lay east of the county seat, Xihe Bay to the west. It was too far to reach in one day, so for safety Jin Feng did not choose an inn but led the party to Maomao Mountain.
Maomao Mountain was far less steep than Tiger Head Mountain or Double Camel Peak. For security, Zhang Liang had ordered a small gate tower built at the entrance using poured cement.
It was the Ninth Princess’s first time seeing a cement structure. She pointed at the little tower and asked, “Sister Mulan, was this tower carved from a single block of stone? How are there not even any cracks?”
“It isn’t stone. It is something Mister invented called cement.”
Qing Muluan explained, “Cement starts as powder, but once it meets water it becomes harder than stone. Even a siege ram cannot break it.”
“A powder that turns harder than stone when mixed with water?”
The Ninth Princess looked doubtful.
“If you don’t believe me, tonight I’ll find some cement and let you try it yourself.”
Hearing shouts of training from the mountain, Qing Muluan grabbed the Ninth Princess and ran. “Wuyang, it must be the veterans and the women soldiers doing confrontation drills. Let’s go watch!”
Maomao Mountain was now the Zhenyuan Escort Agency’s training base for new recruits. By the time the Ninth Princess and Qing Muluan reached the drill ground, several hundred veterans and female soldiers were engaged in live combat practice.
Watching the women soldiers fall again and again yet climb back up to keep fighting, the Ninth Princess exclaimed, “Sister Mulan, are the women under your command just as impressive as these?”
“These are all new recruits. In Mister’s words, mere rookies. The women I lead are veterans, far better than them.”
Qing Muluan said proudly, “Women do lag behind men in physical strength, so they are not suited to close combat. Their speciality is the crossbow.”
“Crossbows?”
“Yes. Mister says the best way to deal with enemies is to destroy them on the approach, so victory is won at the smallest cost.”
Qing Muluan continued, “The crossbow and the trebuchet were both created by Mister according to that principle.”
“Destroy the enemy on the approach. That makes perfect sense.”
The Ninth Princess nodded slightly. “Brother Qinghuai wrote that Mister is a genius at commanding troops. It is indeed true. It is a pity Mister has no taste for fame and refuses to join the army, otherwise Dakang would gain another great general!”
“Actually, I think it’s just as well that Mister does not lead armies. Staying in Jinchuan, he can invent all sorts of things. The contribution he makes may well be greater than if he commanded troops directly.”
“You are right.”
The Ninth Princess nodded in agreement.
“Enough of that. Weren’t you always saying you wanted to try on my armour? Come on, while it’s still light, I’ll take you to try it.”
Qing Muluan dragged the Ninth Princess toward the drill ground.
