bestfiction Chapter 200 Marquis of Zhennan
Chapter 200 Marquis of Zhennan
After a moment of contemplation, the Emperor said, "This is a great act of kindness, and I cannot turn a blind eye to it. Yichen, convey my decree to reward Nangong Wenrui and his wife with a thousand taels of gold, a hundred bolts of silk and satin, and a thousand acres of fertile land." Xia Yichen accepted the order and left.
The reward was taken from the Emperor's private treasury without alerting anyone else; even the Empress Dowager was unaware that Wen Yuxia had received another reward from the Emperor.
Before Wen Yuxia and her husband returned to the capital, Steward Tang accepted the rewards on their behalf. At this time, Yunyi Tower received a message from Wen Yuxia, delivered by Nangong Wenrui.
It turned out that, considering the locust plague was inevitable after the severe drought, Wen Yuxia and her husband went to Jiaping County, the place where the locusts first appeared, after collecting the locust eggs.
The group arrived in Jiaping County, where the scorching sun beat down on them, their feet treading on the sun-cracked earth, and they saw that the river was about to dry up.
Listening to the old man watching the water level by the river sadly recount, "Jiaping County hasn't had rain for three months. If it doesn't rain soon, the entire county will have trouble getting drinking water."
Wen Yuxia asked curiously, "Why didn't the imperial court send anyone to provide relief?"
“Relief,” the old man said angrily, then looked at Wen Yuxia and the others with surprise and asked, “You’re not locals, how did you get in?”
Just as the three-year performance evaluation was approaching, Qin Su, the magistrate of Jiaping County, for the sake of his own career, suppressed news of the drought in Jiaping County and sent people to guard all the passes, forbidding outsiders from entering Jiaping County and forbidding the people of Jiaping County from fleeing the famine.
When the old man saw Wen Yuxia and her group, he assumed they were from Jiaping County. After a few words, he learned they were from out of town. He was curious about how they had managed to get into Jiaping County.
"I sneaked in at night while the guards at the crossroads were asleep," Nangong Wenrui lied without batting an eye.
Wen Yuxia inwardly cursed Magistrate Zhang for disregarding the lives of the people for his own advancement. Then, she had the old man dictate the current situation of Jiaping County to Bei Yi, who then wrote it down on paper and handed it to Nangong Wenrui.
Nangong Wenrui found a secluded spot to return to the small world, then traveled from the small world back to the capital, delivering the letter to Zhang Jinxuan at Yunyi Tower.
Zhang Jinxuan handed the letter to Xia Yichen, who rushed to the palace to see the emperor. After reading the letter, the emperor was furious and immediately ordered a thorough investigation of Qin Su, the magistrate of Jiaping County.
Xia Yichen received the imperial decree and led a troop of men at full speed to Jiaping County. Upon arrival, he went directly to the county seat and captured Qin Su. He then sent men to pacify the people inside and outside the city and organized constables to search for water sources in the mountains.
At this time, Wen Yuxia and her husband, along with Bei Yi and others, were searching for water sources in the mountains outside Jiaping County. They searched all the mountains near Jiaping County but found no water.
That day, Wen Yuxia and the others went to a relatively remote mountain peak and found an uninhabited, dilapidated wooden house halfway up the mountain.
"Mu Hua, rest here for a while, have some food, and then continue searching for water," Nangong Wenrui said gently.
Wen Yuxia hadn't had a proper rest in a long time, and Nangong Wenrui felt sorry for her.
Wen Yuxia smiled faintly and said, "Okay."
Bei Yi, who was in charge of cooking, noticed a well outside the kitchen. She glanced into it out of habit, and then exclaimed in surprise, "Master, Master, there's water in the well!"
Everyone was excited. They had searched for more than half a month without finding a drop of water, but today they finally heard Bei Yi shout that there was water in the well!
After investigation, it was discovered that there was an underground river beneath the well. Wen Yuxia and the others returned to the county town and happened to run into An Yi, who had been sent by Xia Yichen to find water.
"Your subordinate greets the Princess!" Xia Yichen has already dispatched ten teams to search for water; the Dark One team was added temporarily.
Wen Yuxia said calmly, "No need for formalities," and then inquired about the situation at the county government office. An Yi replied respectfully, "The master has taken over the county affairs, but a water source has not yet been found."
"We found a well with water next to an abandoned wooden house about thirty miles away. A preliminary inspection suggests there should be an underground river at the bottom of the well," Wen Yuxia said calmly.
A slight smile actually appeared on An Yiyuan's icy face, which had remained unchanged for ten thousand years. "That's great." He then stopped searching for water in the city and followed Wen Yuxia and the others towards the county town.
Upon learning that a water source had been found, Xia Yichen immediately asked Nangong Wenrui to take him out of the city to the mountainside to see the well water. Nangong Wenrui understood his feelings and, after escorting Wen Yuxia back to her room at the county government office, accompanied Xia Yichen to the outskirts of the city to see the well water.
Well water left to stand for a long time often becomes polluted by the surrounding environment, thus affecting its quality. The green water in front of him was clearly polluted, but Xia Yichen still excitedly shouted, "An Yi, bring up two buckets of water for me to see!"
Nangong Wenrui suggested from the side, "Pull out all the well water, wash the well walls clean, then fill it with water again. Then dig a ditch down from this spot so the well water can flow down the mountain..."
This was something he had discussed with Wen Yuxia; a single well simply couldn't solve the drinking water problem for hundreds of thousands of people in Jiaping County.
Since there's an underground river beneath the well, we'll dig a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) deep into the well and dig a ditch around each of the four sides to allow the underground river water to flow to the surface. Xia Yichen will decide the direction of the water flow in the four ditches.
Xia Yichen listened attentively to Nangong Wenrui's suggestion, thinking it over carefully, nodding occasionally, before finally deciding to build the ditch according to Nangong Wenrui's advice.
Nangong Wenrui said calmly, "Digging the ditch was Mu Hua's idea."
Wen Yuxia described the ditches as being one foot deep and one foot wide. These ditches were simple and easy to dig. When the river had water, the flowing water in the ditches was a beautiful sight; when the river was dry, the water in the ditches was a lifesaver for the people.
Upon hearing that the idea of digging ditches came from Wen Yuxia, Xia Yichen couldn't help but remark, "Mu Hua, this princess from the common people, is far more competent than other princesses."
"Mu Hua is a princess of Great Xia, and she should work for the benefit of the people of Great Xia," Nangong Wenrui said politely, but in his heart he cursed Xia Yichen to the core.
The old fox had long ago tied Wen Yuxia to the Great Xia's side, forcing her to wholeheartedly devise strategies for Great Xia and help them amass wealth. Consequently, he too was compelled to side with Great Xia.
Xia Yichen glanced at Nangong Wenrui with some suspicion, thinking to himself, "What's wrong with this guy today? He's speaking so politely."
Nangong Wenrui seemed to see through Xia Yichen's thoughts. He said coldly, "Considering your kindness to Mu Hua, I'll reluctantly treat you as an older brother."
Xia Yichen laughed heartily upon hearing this. The Nangong family was the most prominent family among all nations, and the young master of the Nangong family had actually acknowledged him as his elder brother! This was wonderful! With the Nangong family as their backing, Great Xia would never have to worry about funds again.
No, ever since Wen Yuxia came along, the Great Xia treasury has become increasingly abundant, and he himself has made a fortune. The disabled veterans who once needed his financial assistance have also found suitable jobs for themselves.
"I am well aware of Mu Hua's contributions to Great Xia, and so is His Majesty," Xia Yichen calmly told Nangong Wenrui.
To avoid causing Wen Yuxia unnecessary trouble, the Emperor had long ago stopped sending imperial decrees to bestow rewards upon her; all rewards were now delivered to the Princess's residence through his own hands.
This time, Wen Yuxia eliminated locust eggs, provided grain to aid the people, and dissuaded them from fleeing the famine. She performed several meritorious deeds, and the Emperor has already sent Eunuch Zhang to the Princess's residence to deliver a reward.
Xia Yichen honestly told Nangong Wenrui all of this. He explained that Nangong Wenrui, the young master of the family, had far more power and influence than him, the heir to the throne of Great Xia.
Xia Yichen had tried to befriend Nangong Wenrui many times, but Nangong Wenrui had always ignored him. This time, however, Nangong Wenrui actually acknowledged him as his elder brother, which thrilled Xia Yichen immensely.
The next day, Xia Yichen ordered the county government's bailiffs to go to various villages to mobilize villagers to dig ditches and to organize people to clean the well walls halfway up the mountain.
After several days of hard work, all the dirty water in the well was removed, and the well walls were washed clean. Seeing the clear spring water gushing out, the officials responsible for cleaning the well and the villagers cheered with joy.
Meanwhile, led by their village chiefs, villagers picked up hoes and began digging along the white lines drawn on the ground by the constables.
With many people and the ditches being relatively shallow, the villagers outside the city completed the ditches to the village entrances in just over twenty days.
The town mayor led the town's residents to dig ditches into the town, while An Yi led the county officials and some residents to dig ditches in the city.
In order to transform Jiaping County into a city surrounded by water, Xia Yichen also instructed Zhu, the county clerk, to mobilize the wealthy people in the city to contribute money and labor.
In short, the entire Jiaping County has become vibrant thanks to the clear water flowing through these four ditches, and everyone's face is filled with happy smiles.
With the completion of the irrigation ditches, irrigation for farmland in Jiaping County was now guaranteed. Xia Yichen was filled with satisfaction as he watched the people begin to cultivate the land again.
Wen Yuxia knew that this alone was not enough; they also needed to prepare for the next drought. So she told Xia Yichen about building a small-scale water conservancy project.
Xia Yichen agreed with her reasoning and immediately wrote back to Yunyi Tower, reporting the matter to the court and imploring the Emperor to promote this practice within the Great Xia territory.
With a full national treasury, the emperor naturally gave his full support to anything that benefited the country and its people. He instructed Gu Yue to allocate funds to various prefectures and clearly define the intended use of the funds.
Using her knowledge from her previous life, Wen Yuxia became the chief inspector of the project, overseeing and supervising it nationwide, while Xia Yichen was responsible for coordinating manpower and resources.
On behalf of the Nangong family, Nangong Wenrui donated 10,000 taels of silver and accompanied Wen Yuxia on an inspection tour of the water conservancy projects throughout the Great Xia Dynasty.
However, the project did not progress smoothly. In some places, it was blocked by mountains and forests, and in other places, the underground rock was too hard to excavate.
Just as Xia Yichen and Wen Yuxia were worrying, Nangong Wenrui brought two elderly men with white hair. Both of them were elders of the Nangong family.
One of them was an experienced stonemason, and the other was a skilled orchard tender.
Nangong Wenrui brought them here to teach special excavation techniques and tree transplanting skills, so that the workers could chisel through hard rock and relocate trees from the mountains.
A few months later, the small-scale water conservancy project in Jiaping County was completed. Xia Yichen and his team then went to other cities to assist in the construction of local water conservancy projects.
Several years later, the water conservancy projects throughout the Great Xia were completed, and with the construction of reservoirs, the people of Great Xia no longer worried about having no water during droughts.
Overjoyed, the emperor bestowed upon Nangong Wenrui the title of Marquis of Zhennan, and upon his wife, Wen Yuxia, the title of First-Rank Imperial Lady. Like Wen Yuxia, Nangong Wenrui received a stipend but held no real power.
Neither of them were fond of power. Having a salary without real authority was a good thing for them; they had the symbolism of honor, the social status, and the family glory, and they didn't have to clock in every day.
After discussing it, the two decided to continue traveling to various places, using their wisdom and kindness to benefit the people.
One day, they arrived at a remote town, only to find the fields barren and the people emaciated. Upon inquiring, they learned that the area had been plagued by rats, and the crops had been completely destroyed.
Wen Yuxia remembered that cats are the natural enemy of rats, so she told everyone that keeping cats could kill rats. However, the area was poor, and no one in the Great Xia Kingdom kept cats, so even if they had the means to keep cats, they had none to keep.
So Wen Yuxia used some of her savings to send Nangong Wenrui to other countries to buy kittens, which were then distributed free of charge to families in need. At the same time, she instructed the people on how to make simple rat traps to help control rats.
Looking at the barren land, Nangong Wenrui said with some heartache, "It's such a waste to leave the soil idle. Mu Hua, I still have quite a few potatoes and sweet potatoes here. Let's be good people and teach them how to plant potatoes and sweet potatoes, okay?"
Wen Yuxia smiled gently. She knew very well that Nangong Wenrui was helping the people so that the small world could be restored to its original state as soon as possible. She calmly said, "Brother Rui decides."
Nangong Wenrui found the town mayor and told him his plan. The mayor was very happy and personally led Nangong Wenrui and his wife to his fields.
Having experienced a rat infestation, the mayor was eager to restore the fields to their former state, but it wasn't planting season, and haste makes waste.
Nangong Wenrui and his wife were the heroes who helped them completely eradicate the rats. He firmly believed what Nangong Wenrui said, and not only did he personally take Nangong Wenrui and his wife to his own fields, but he also let them do whatever they wanted. In the end, he even called his family members to help Nangong Wenrui.
Nangong Wenrui directed the town mayor and his two sons to cultivate a field for an experiment. He dictated everything from sowing to cultivation, and the three—the mayor and his two sons—followed his instructions.
Fifteen days later, the potato seedlings sprouted from the ground, but the sweet potatoes showed no signs of life. The town mayor, looking at the potato seedlings, grinned foolishly: "Great! We'll have something to eat!"
The town was so remote that it was forgotten by the county government. Every year, the town head collected and paid the taxes on behalf of the county officials; the county yamen's runners never even came here.
He had heard that potatoes and sweet potatoes were high-yield crops, but unfortunately, the county magistrate had never allocated them with potato and sweet potato seeds. With the rampant rat infestation of recent years, he hadn't bothered to ask the magistrate for seeds.
Right now, Nangong Wenrui is giving them potato and sweet potato seeds for free and teaching them how to plant them. The town mayor was so moved that he shed tears.
Watching the town gradually regain its vitality, Nangong Wenrui and Wen Yuxia exchanged a smile, then turned and headed to the next city in need of help.
Every night, Nangong Wenrui would bring Wen Yuxia back to the small world so that she could witness its recovery firsthand. Wen Yuxia would also pull Nangong Wenrui to her space to observe the changes there.