Chapter 27: City Walls Can Be Built with Steel-Reinforced Concrete

The blade tore through the air, stopping abruptly at Ning Jinli's waist.

Her T-shirt was slit open, the cut barely missing her body.

Xiao Qidi's eyes turned cold and stern, "Miss Ning, are you trying to stop me?"

"Jinli Fairy, this is absolutely unacceptable..." the Patrol Guard Captain choked out, "I have neglected my duty, I almost caused the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians, I... cannot escape blame, I am willing to bear all responsibility and accept punishment from His Majesty."

"Move aside." Xiao Qidi ordered.

Ning Jinli was frightened by his murderous gaze, yet she did not move her feet.

She took a deep breath and stared directly into his eyes.

"Soldiers and civilians together total seventy thousand, but how few are the guards responsible for patrolling each area? They simply cannot possibly make the rounds."

"So, this cannot be blamed on them, especially not beheading the captain."

Xiao Qidi pressed his thin lips together, did not interject, and did not lower the knife in his hand.

Ning Jinli swallowed, then continued, "Actually you know this, don't you? You want to kill one to warn a hundred, to remind the patrol guards, right? I know this is all for protecting the civilians, but this method is wrong."

"'Are you teaching me how to govern my subjects?' A dangerous glint flashed in Xiao Qidi's eyes."

Ning Jinli assumed a desperate stance, "I'm just speaking out what I think is wrong, to remind you; if you insist on beheading, then go ahead and cut me down as well!"

The Patrol Guard Captain behind her was stunned, a look of extreme complexity flashing in his eyes.

Jinli Fairy... actually stood up for him, confronting His Majesty like this!

His heart was deeply moved, he clenched his back teeth, secretly picked up a stone from the ground, intending to end his own life!

Besides being moved, he had another reason.

If he did not stake his own life to bear all responsibility, Xiao Qidi would certainly investigate and pursue the other patrol guards.

This would expose the identities of the few people he had placed in the patrol squad...

The consequences then would be absolutely more severe than him losing his life now!

"You say my method is wrong, but do you have a better one?" A profound look appeared in Xiao Qidi's eyes.

"Yes! I do! First put down your knife!" Ning Jinli hurriedly said.

Xiao Qidi suddenly flung his battle knife toward her.

Bang!

The knife grazed her waist and flew past, squarely knocking the stone from the Patrol Guard Captain's hand, producing a crisp sound!

Ning Jinli was so frightened her hair almost stood on end!

Xiao Qidi coldly said, "Don't rush to die, first hear her out."

"His Majesty..." the captain clenched his teeth, tears welling up.

Only then did Ning Jinli realize he was stopping the captain from committing suicide.

She almost thought her little life would end here!

"Miss Ning, speak." Xiao Qidi's deep, dark eyes fixed on her.

Ning Jinli forced herself to stay calm, "Seventy thousand people are trapped here, the situation is extremely unfavorable for us; honestly, without a traitor it's impossible, but we can't investigate now and must rely on the patrol soldiers to keep patrolling; if you kill him, it will unsettle the patrol troops."

"In this situation, what we can do now is strengthen the defenses."

Hearing this, Xiao Qidi's brows began to furrow.

Strengthening the defenses is easily said.

Previously, all labor had been mobilized, and overnight they built an earth-and-stone city wall, using up all usable materials.

Moreover, due to limited conditions, the quality of the earth-and-stone wall is worrisome; even with the large amount of rubble produced by blasting, it can only be barely reinforced a little.

With such defense reinforcement, how can we solve the problem of someone defecting to the enemy?

Ning Jinli took a moment to collect her thoughts, her expression becoming composed and calm, then continued, "As long as the defenses are built strong enough, even if the enemy attacks, they cannot break in."

"Now we have water and food, plus impregnable defenses; even if our forces are severely lacking, the civilians will feel at ease."

"Furthermore, I will gradually provide supplies that can improve the civilians' lives, even enabling his mother to start preparing for farming; I can give many seeds!"

"This way, everyone will grow more reassured, and naturally they won't harbor thoughts of defecting to save their lives."

What she said is indeed quite reasonable.

Xiao Qidi listened to all of it, then posed the key question, "Miss Ning, please tell me, how can we build the defenses to the degree you mentioned?"

"'Steel-reinforced concrete,' Ning Jinli said, 'Even if you don't know what it is, it's fine; in any case, I can guarantee that the wall we build will be far sturdier than you can imagine.'"

"'All right, then I'll follow Miss Ning's advice.' Xiao Qidi agreed readily."

Before Ning Jinli could fully relax,

he stood with his hands behind his back and lightly said, "But I still must warn everyone here."

Ning Jinli was a bit dazed.

After all her effort, can she still not stop Xiao Qidi from wanting to kill?

Tyrant... tyrant!

Xiao Qidi seemed to see her emotion, and added softly, "Even if the outer defenses are impregnable and cannot be breached, if there is the slightest problem inside, it will still cause a great disaster."

Ning Jinli:...

Well, this reason is quite sufficient.

But even knowing it's a special period requiring harsh measures, moreover this is still an ancient society over two thousand years ago.

She still could not bear to let the Patrol Guard Captain lose his life.

"'You...' she gritted her teeth and asked, 'Can you, not kill the people here?'"

The hope is slim, but we must strive further.

Xiao Qidi slowly approached.

Although he is only eighteen years old, his height of about 1.9 meters, coupled with an extremely oppressive royal aura, makes Ning Jin's heart pound with fear.

"You think," Xiao Qidi's thin lips twitched, "Am I really that tyrannical?"

Ning Jinli tensed up, almost unable to stop herself from nodding.

"Tyrannical, of course tyrannical!"

That's an assessment made by who knows how many people in Huaxia's history after the Xuan dynasty!

He is the eternal emperor who laid the foundation for Huaxia's great unification, the ancestor of emperors, yet also a genuine tyrant!

Even according to that secret history, the puppets who replaced him also followed his methods to conquer the Six Nations, unify the realm, and govern the state—many of those tactics were indeed effective, yet they did not stop later generations from judging them as tyranny.

Ning Jinli's mind was filled with many thoughts.

She forced a smile: "You... what kind of personality do you think you have?"

Xiao Qidi thought for a moment, then seriously replied, "I think I'm lively."

Ning Jinli's cheeks twitched and contorted as she inwardly raged.

Little bro!

Are you mistaken?

The gloom in your brows is about to overflow, yet you still think you're lively?

Your era lacks cameras, but surely you have mirrors?

Don't you know what kind of demeanor you have?

"Um, as long as you're happy," Ning Jinli said with an embarrassed but polite smile.

Forget it—considering how handsome he is, I won't argue about this.

"Come!" Xiao Qidi waved his hand.

Ning Jinli panicked: "No, no—I must stop him from using lethal extremes as a warning!"

"Besides giving you reinforced concrete to build a super wall, I can also..."

Her mind raced: "Oh! I can also give you drones! Yes! Drones! They can patrol, scout enemy intel! Absolutely great stuff! Want to learn more?"

Xiao Qidi doesn't know what a drone is, but he understands patrol and scouting enemy intel.

He asked curiously, "What's a 'no-person chicken'? Is it some kind of trained chicken? Can chickens patrol and scout?"

Ning Jinli deliberately kept him in suspense: "It's not an animal; it's a tool that can fly high and help you oversee the ground."

Xiao Qidi's pupils trembled—he immediately realized this could play a huge role in battle!

By then, wouldn't the enemy's movements be completely in view?

"Want it?" Ning Jinli asked.