The envoy secretly ground his teeth. When did he ever say that?
Thinking of the Great Chanyu's instructions before he arrived, he calmed his emotions: "Fine, however, the official roads must be mutually accessible."
"Meaning that from now on, when you pass through our official roads, we won't attack you, and you cannot attack us."
Jiang Jin answered very decisively: "Alright. Is there anything else?"
The envoy was left hanging by her casual attitude. It took him a good while before he finally choked out, "Farewell."
Jiang Jin kindly reminded him, "Remember to take the corpse with you."
The envoy and the Quzhao soldiers were fuming with anger, but being in someone else's territory, they did not dare to start a fight.
They could only quickly gather their general's body and leave in a hurry.
Jiang Jin didn't lead her people back into the city until the figures of the Quzhao envoy and his entourage had completely disappeared from sight.
Soon, all the high-ranking officials of Gefeng arrived at the council hall of the county office.
Looking at the map, Jiang Jin frowned deeply.
Yun Ci, draped in a mink coat, said, "I don't know what's going on this year. It's already May, yet it's still so cold."
Although this year was indeed colder than previous years, it hadn't reached the point of needing a mink coat.
It was just that Yun Ci was getting older, and a leg injury had taken a heavy toll on his body, making him extremely susceptible to the cold now.
Fortunately, the current Gefeng had heated walls and heated brick beds, as well as two doctors, Suo Qian and Mu Zhuo. Otherwise, he might not have even survived this past winter.
Yun Yu sat beside him, his eyes revealing worry, but being poor at expressing himself, he didn't say anything.
Because of his father's fear of the cold, their home still kept the heated walls burning even now, just to make him more comfortable.
Speaking of which, their current treatment was actually better than when the Yan Kingdom was still around. All three members of his family received a salary; though it wasn't much, the other benefits were truly excellent.
For instance, the charcoal and honeycomb briquettes burned during the winter months were all free. There were also cotton quilts and padded clothes—these warm items were always prioritized for them.
Even the servant boy taking care of his father was assigned by their Lord, and his wages were paid by the county office, sparing them from worrying about a single thing.
Jiang Jin lifted her gaze from the map. "Elder Yun, you must take care of your health. The weapons workshop still relies on you."
In truth, the people she had taken in harbored no selfish motives. Perhaps it was because they had experienced national enmity and family feuds, the fall of their country and the ruin of their homes, witnessing too much death and blood.
Everyone turned this hatred into strength, holding only one firm belief in their hearts: to drive the barbarians out of the Han lands and reclaim the territory of the Yan Kingdom.
Yun Ci waved his hand. "I'm fine, I'm fine. It's just that this weather is a bit abnormal."
Mu Qing nodded. "It is indeed abnormal. This year's spring plowing is later than in previous years."
"That's exactly what I called you here to discuss today," Jiang Jin said, looking around at everyone.
Xie Nanxiao looked utterly astonished. "Aren't we here to discuss the matter of the Quzhao envoy?"
The Quzhao envoy had just left, so he assumed Jiang Jin had gathered them to discuss the envoy.
Jiang Jin couldn't help but smile. "The matter of the Quzhao envoy is one aspect. Since you brought it up, let's talk about the envoy first. Quzhao said that the entire Gefeng County now belongs to us."
Zhou Sui sneered coldly, "Gefeng was originally ours to begin with. Besides, what kind of agreement is this verbal promise of his? It's nothing but a stalling tactic."
Let alone a verbal agreement, even a formally signed written treaty could be torn up at any time.
Moreover, believing an agreement that merely involved sending an envoy to flap his lips meant you had already lost.
Jiang Jin nodded. "It is indeed a stalling tactic, but isn't it also a stalling tactic for us?"
Quzhao needed time to deal with Ze'a Commandery, and her Gefeng equally needed time to develop.
Yao Ji pondered, "Does that mean Ze'a Commandery has now reached a critical moment, and the two sides might soon decide a victor?"
Yun Ci leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily. "Quzhao is currently attacking Dongcheng County in Ze'a Commandery. This is a crucial transportation hub."
"It is also a vital defensive barrier for the other counties in Ze'a Commandery. Once Ze'a loses Dongcheng County, Quzhao will smash through like splitting bamboo, and the other counties will be in grave danger."
Because of this, Dongcheng County had become a fiercely contested battleground between the noble families of Ze'a Commandery and Quzhao. One side defended to the death, while the other relentlessly attacked.
Yun Ci continued, "With the manpower and material resources of the noble families, they might be able to hold out for half a year or even longer."
In the beginning, he had actually approached the head of the Sheng family, hoping for military and civilian cooperation to face the barbarians together, but unfortunately, the other party refused.
Xia Chanyi snorted, "They plan to use Gefeng to placate us first, and then turn back to deal with us after they take Ze'a Commandery."
Jiang Jin nodded. "Exactly, which is why we must accelerate the construction of our city walls."
"Also," her expression turned solemn, "I plan to build additional arrow towers outside the new city, as well as open up wasteland for farming."
Previously, she had only planned for farming within the new city, but as they brought back more and more people, Gefeng's population had now reached around 12,000 and was continuously growing.
Relying solely on growing grain within the new city was no longer quite enough. After all, they didn't just need to grow food; they also needed to plant cotton and hemp for clothing, rapeseed for oil, and sugar beets for sugar...
Mu Qing thought for a moment and said, "Is My Lord worried that the farming area within the new city is insufficient?"
Jiang Jin nodded. "That is one reason."
She looked around at everyone, her face grave. "Have you ever heard of the Little Ice Age?"
This was the second problem she was worried about.
Everyone looked bewildered. Even Mu Qing asked in confusion, "What is a Little Ice Age?"
Jiang Jin explained, "It means the overall temperature of the entire country, and even other countries, drops. Moreover, it's usually not just for one year; it's very likely to last for several consecutive years, or even decades."
"The drop in temperature will very likely cause a reduction in crop yields. But that isn't the most fatal part. A decrease in temperature is often accompanied by a reduction in rainfall, leading to widespread droughts."
"Are you saying there will be a drought?" Mu Qing exclaimed in shock.
With the chaos of war compounded by drought, would people even have a way to survive?
Xie Nanxiao chimed in, "It's just that the weather is a bit colder than in previous years. It couldn't be this Little Ice Age, right?"
"No!" Mu Qing suddenly remembered something. "I read about the kind of thing My Lord is talking about in a book on agriculture."
He tried hard to recall. "I think it was over a hundred years ago. There was a massive drought in the northern lands, and the commoners didn't harvest a single grain. That also started with freezing weather. The book said that at the time, even the south could only grow one season of crops."
He raised his eyes to look at Jiang Jin. "Could that have been a... a Little Ice Age?"
Jiang Jin nodded heavily. "Yes. But don't worry, everyone. I might be guessing wrong. However, no matter what, it's never wrong to be prepared. We need to hoard more grain."
She pointed to several locations on the map and said, "The south and north sides of the outer city can both be cleared and planted with grain. Anywhere within a three-mile radius of the city walls will do."
"We will build a few more arrow towers around the farmland. This way, we can protect our fields while also echoing the defenses of Gefeng City from the outside, allowing us to face the enemy together."
Everyone looked at the spots she was pointing to, their eyes lighting up.
If they really built arrow towers in these places, and equipped them with Eight-Ox Crossbows and Dragon Feather Crossbows, the sheer power would be...
Zhou Sui thought for a moment and said, "It's just that, to open up so much wasteland for farming, we don't have enough manpower."
