Yu Zhu glanced at her and shook his head. "It's not far, but it's open ground. People would spot us before we even got close."
Shuangjiang checked the sky. "Alright, where's the tunnel you guys dug?"
Before long, Yu Zhu led the group to what looked like a ditch, covered with mountain vegetation, though now that vegetation was buried under snow.
Looking at it that way, you'd never guess there was an entrance here. The camouflage was indeed well done.
Nest Man walked over at the front, pulled aside the vegetation, and revealed dirt underneath that matched the color of the hillside exactly.
Then he dug around at the bottom, and there was a faint click. He pushed, and a pitch-black opening appeared.
The opening was only half a man's height, but as they went further in, the passage gradually rose until it was about one man tall, though very narrow—only wide enough for one person at a time.
Shuangjiang was genuinely impressed. "Impressive. You managed to dig a tunnel like this."
Nest Man puffed up with pride. "Of course. We spent months on it."
Then he let out a sigh. "Feels like it was a lifetime ago."
At the end of the tunnel was another door-like design, though for safety, they'd piled a lot of mud behind it as well.
Even if Qu Zhao's men discovered something was off and smashed through the door, they'd see the mud below and most likely stop suspecting anything.
Nest Man knew what he was doing. He shoveled the mud aside, pressed his ear against the door to listen, and only when he was sure it was safe did he open it.
Soon, bags of grain were passed through the tunnel, like ants moving their colony—from one pair of hands to another...
Shuangjiang hadn't expected things to go so smoothly either, watching the soldiers haul cargo nonstop.
Some soldiers were also filling their own burlap sacks, packing and passing them along with practiced speed.
Everyone's face wore a satisfied, slightly mischievous grin...
Just as they were in the thick of it, the sound of a lock being opened came from outside.
Shuangjiang's heart tightened. She made a gesture.
Everyone stopped immediately and quickly found places to hide.
Those inside the tunnel ducked back in, some jumped into the grain bins, some hid behind the burlap sacks, and those with nowhere to go grabbed winnowing baskets and held them in front of themselves.
Click—the lock opened. A sliver of light came in, and footsteps followed.
"One, two, three..." Shuangjiang silently counted the footsteps she heard—six people in total.
The granary was so quiet you could hear only the six men's footsteps.
"Something feels off. This grain... it looks like less?" One of them scratched his head, puzzled.
"Really. What's going on? Was there a shipment recently?" Another also felt something was wrong.
As they talked, the light slowly dimmed.
"Why'd the door close?" The one in the back turned around confused, and saw—the granary doors that had just been opened... closed.
Before he could even investigate, a shadow fell over him. There was a crunch.
Shuangjiang snapped the man's neck and gently laid him down.
Mu Ning and the others had silently dealt with the other five as well.
"Hurry up," she urged.
Everyone got back to work.
"What are you two doing?" Shuangjiang looked at Nest Man and Straw-Raincoat Man, who were quietly stripping the clothes off the corpses.
Nest Man gave an awkward smile. "Well, their clothes are pretty nice, so I thought... heh, how about we split them with you?"
It was the Junyao Army who'd killed them, so scavenging felt a bit wrong.
But they were so poor; they just couldn't bear to leave the clothes behind.
Shuangjiang remembered the days when she first joined her lord. Back then, they'd been equally short on supplies, but in just over a year, they had everything.
While most of the people of Yan Nation still lived in misery.
She waved a hand. "Fine, quick. You can have all of it."
The two men were overjoyed and stripped faster.
Within a quarter hour, everything in the granary was gone except the empty wooden bins themselves. Even the baskets and brooms had been taken.
The large granary now held six naked corpses—even their undergarments had been stripped off.
Jiang Jin had no idea her men had raided one of Qu Zhao's granaries. After several days of cleanup and repairs, Lin County looked completely different from before.
At the very least, no more stench permeating everywhere. At mealtimes, smoke rose from the chimneys, and the town felt alive again.
The city had come back to life.
Jiang Jin was at the county office discussing follow-up plans for Lin County with Zhou Sui and the others. She planned to head back to Gefeng in a few days.
Qiu Liao sounded a bit regretful. "The houses in town don't have heated walls, otherwise we could have the people grow some vegetables. Feels like a waste of a few months."
Jiang Jin shook her head. "No waste at all. Once the city's infrastructure is done, recruit more soldiers from the locals, and put everyone else who can work on digging tunnels."
She then pointed at a spot on the city map. "Here, I want to build an underground granary."
Gefeng had one, but it was too remote.
She had her spatial ability, but she couldn't rely on it for everything. Besides, she didn't want anyone knowing about it.
Supernatural powers were a double-edged sword. Used well, they could make you seem divine.
Used poorly, you'd be branded a monster, and enemies might latch onto it, blaming her for the fall of Yan Nation.
Most importantly—she had real strength. She didn't need cheap tricks to win people's hearts.
Qiu Liao understood. She was preparing for the future attack on Chongzhou.
Lin County sat right at the junction of Fengzhou, Chongzhou, and Juanzhou, and wasn't far from the Daqing County docks, where water transport was possible when needed.
It was a perfect spot for a granary.
He inwardly marveled at Jiang Jin's foresight.
Their lord deeply understood the principle of "troops move only when supplies are ready."
With a lord like her, he, a former strategist, barely had a role to play.
Qiu Liao nodded. "Lin County as a granary works, but what about cement and such?"
Jiang Jin smiled. "No rush. Have the people dig the tunnels first, and we'll see about the rest next year. The raw materials for cement are pretty common. If conditions allow, we'll build a cement and brick works outside Lin County."
If you want to get rich, build roads first.
Cement roads were the best and most practical material option she could manage right now. Once she took Fengzhou, she'd have to build roads everywhere anyway.
Counting on Gefeng's single cement works wouldn't be enough, and transport was inconvenient.
Qiu Liao could see she had it all planned out, so he said no more.
Jiang Jin turned to Zhou Sui. "How's the defense construction going?"
Zhou Sui nodded. "The city walls are all repaired as needed, especially the watchtowers. Each one has three eight-ox crossbows installed."
To fit the crossbows, he'd specially modified the watchtowers to make shooting easier.
Jiang Jin trusted Zhou Sui completely.
She looked at Nan Wen. "Remember, through this winter, your only job is to hold Lin County."
Nan Wen, taking on his first major assignment, was a little excited. "My lord, rest assured. I'll hold the city."
Jiang Jin nodded. "I'm leaving Ye Shang and the others with you for now. They know the terrain well, so consult with them on anything."
With winter's chill and injuries slowing them down, Ye Shang and the rest would be staying in Lin County for a while.
Zhou Sui asked, "Will Qingming and the others stay up on the mountain?"
By rights, now that they had taken Lin County, the liaison posts near Lin County could be pulled back into the city.
Jiang Jin thought it over, then shook his head. "Lin County is out in the open, while Wutou Mountain is hidden in the shadows. If something unexpected happens to Lin County, Qingming and the others can serve a greater purpose from outside."
The 'bandit stronghold' on Wutou Mountain had been built with fire walls and heated brick beds, so winter wasn't hard to endure there, but they still had to train and scout the area every day.
While various discussions were taking place in Lin County, the Great Chanyu Qu Zhao of Wuqin slammed his hand on the table: "Did the Jiangyang Army really say that?"
