Chapter 262 Want to make trouble When the water network construction project started, Chen Gong once again geared up to work hard. Although the overall design has been finalized, how to implement it and in what order are still issues worth considering. Considering the Battle of Sili that was about to begin the following year, Chen Gong naturally focused on Bingzhou, especially the canal that ran through Youzhou and Bingzhou, as the primary target. Today, Tianze’s main grain producing areas are still in his hometown of Liaozhou and Youzhou. The canal between Liaozhou and Youzhou is already unobstructed. If this canal is opened up, grain transportation will be unimpeded, greatly reducing the logistical pressure of sending troops from Bingzhou. Moreover, it can also save a lot of manpower and money for the subsequent construction of Sili. As for other states and counties, Chen Gong recruited young and strong men from nearby areas to build water networks. Speaking of this, one cannot help but sigh at Tian Ze's powerful ability to observe water veins and identify geographical advantages. For such a huge water network, Tian Ze not only took the overall situation into consideration, but also the details. It is like a large machine composed of countless sophisticated machines. Even if it is disassembled, each part can still operate well and perform basic functions. Therefore, Chen Gong can completely implement segmented construction and then connect them together at the end.
As long as we follow Tianze's plan and excavation sequence, it will definitely be beneficial to the local climate and hydrology. This greatly reduces the pressure on the project. After all, work can be done nearby, which not only saves a lot of travel time, but also allows for the best possible balance during the busy farming season to reduce grain losses. The propaganda team led by Jia Xu worked every day while shouting the slogan of "Building Home" and explaining to everyone the benefits of building a water network. This not only reduced the complaints of the people, but also greatly accelerated the progress of the project. Working for one's own village and simply working for the government, with the same salary, everyone's level of effort will naturally be different. Despite the cold winter, the people were working hard. With the help of a large number of cattle, horses and other livestock, the water network was built at a very fast speed. However, after seeing the progress, Chen Gong was still not satisfied and kept thinking about how to squeeze out more manpower. Young children have to study and cannot move, and older children can only participate to a moderate extent. The aliens in the engineering team had hardly any rest to begin with, and could not be exploited any further. After going through the whole process, Chen Gong found that there was almost no one left to exploit. Even most of the local officials went to the front line and devoted themselves to construction. The people attracted to the Sanfu area were all pale and thin, and could not do much work at all. Chen Gong could only focus his attention on the grassland. Coincidentally, at this time, Lu Bu also had some ideas of doing something wrong. Shoujiang City is located in the north of Bingzhou, outside the Great Wall, and is an isolated city. It was built during the reign of Emperor Wu in order to surrender the Huns. Prior to that, with the rise of the Xianbei in the grasslands and the rampage of the Southern Huns in Bingzhou, the city had long been in name only. However, after Lu Bu was settled in the northern part of Bingzhou by Tian Ze, he took the city without hesitation and used it as his base. In Lu Bu's eyes, he didn't care whether the city was isolated or not. The Xianbei people were just a piece of cake in his eyes, and the name of Shoujiang City just matched his status. After Lu Bu moved in, the surrounding Xianbei people naturally retreated, as they did not want to provoke this "flying general". The Xianbei had now become a loose group, fighting each other and scattering across the grasslands outside the Great Wall, because they had been defeated successively by Zhang Liao, Pang De and others. It's just that the area outside the Great Wall is too big, and these Xianbei people have no fixed place to live, which makes Lu Bu even more troubled after they are scattered. After all, the biggest problem in fighting outside the Great Wall is not how to defeat the enemy, but how to find the enemy.
Haven’t you seen that Li Guang was full of bravery, but ended up getting lost every day and finally committing suicide due to depression? Although Lu Bu is as brave as a tiger, it is useless if he cannot find the Xianbei people. If there is no accurate intelligence, every time you go out for a raid it's like playing a lottery. If you're lucky you might come across one or two tribes, but if you're unlucky you might not see a single person for half a month. "Military Advisor, we finally captured so many Xianbei prisoners. Why did you release them after only two months of keeping them?" Standing on the city wall, looking at the Xianbei people riding their horses to leave the surrendered city, Lu Bu asked in confusion. Li Ru gently flipped through the Legalist classics in his hand and said calmly: "How can you catch a big fish without putting out some bait?" "Oh? Military Advisor, do you have any ideas about the Xianbei?" Lu Bu asked with a little excitement. He was helpless against these Xianbei people. Every time he went out, he was lucky enough to encounter a tribe of several thousand people. He had no idea where those large tribes were. "Under Tian Ze's command, you can't just eat for free. If you don't show some value, it will be difficult to talk to you in the future." Li Rulue said a little unhappily. Although he had no intention of retaliating against Tian Ze now, he still felt very uncomfortable because Tian Ze had installed a limiter on him. With his life and death in the hands of Tian Ze, he could only put aside other ideas and think about how to get a fiefdom with Lu Bu, so that he could at least become the King of Yan or Zhao, so that his life would not be in vain. After being defeated by Tian Ze and witnessing the true strength of Tian Ze's subordinates, Li Ru's obsession had long since disappeared. Li Ru, who had let go of his resentment and no longer worried about his life, had a change of mind at this time. He is the person in the world who knows best what Tian Ze is going to do, except for the civil and military officials of Tian Zezhi. Even Mao Jie and others cannot compare with him. He knew very well what kind of vast world would come next, and he happened to have seized the initiative by accident. It would be a huge waste if he did not make use of it. Although the civil and military foundations of Lu Bu's people were weak, they were not all useless. Li Ru had educated these people a lot after he changed his mind during this period. For example, Wei Xu, who was ignored in the past, was led by Li Ru every day, and he used some special methods to severely get rid of his greed for money. As a result, he now trembles when he sees gold, silver and money. Since he had decided to cling to Tian Ze, Li Ru decided to cling to him till the end and not consider himself an outsider at all. He unceremoniously sent all the civil and military officials with some talent under his rule to the Jixia Academy for further study. At the same time, he made a big fuss to poach talents from the Jixia Academy and the twelve ministries under Tian Ze's rule. With so many outstanding talents, even if Li Ru could not eat the meat but could only drink the soup, it would be enough for him to strengthen his civil and military officers several times. After all, Lu Bu still has some appeal. Not only is he an independent force, but he also often fights wars, making him a potential stock. Compared to joining Tian Ze, who was already a big deal and wanted to add icing on the cake, many people were interested in providing timely support to Lu Bu. As for the princes in the Central Plains, they are not within their consideration for the time being. Are you kidding? With such a huge advantage over Envoy Tian, it would be difficult for the hostile princes to turn the tables, unless Emperor Guangwu is alive again. Even Emperor Guangwu could not do it. With more than 40 million loyal people, a perfect ruling system, and huge strategic depth, how could they lose? (End of this chapter)