Chapter 604: Dingbian Town

Armor is a very important weapon in this era.

Its boost to combat power has never been just a little bit.

In the case of comparable combat strength, a fully armored army can easily crush unarmored troops, and can even achieve a one-sided slaughter.

If fully armored troops are also equipped with warhorses, it's equivalent to taking off from the spot.

Chen Wuji has always been keen on this; to achieve this wish as soon as possible, his demand for the workshop has always been: as long as they can, make it as big as possible.

The army, after marching back and forth on the road for a full six days, finally reached the border area between Guangtongzhou and Dingzhou—a huge town formed by three forts joined together, Dingbian Town.

This place was once a military garrison; after being abandoned, it was turned over to civilian use.

During the Former Dynasty, at its peak this area once garrisoned thirty thousand troops, being an extremely important link in the Former Dynasty's border defense array, tasked with resisting the western Qiang.

Standing beneath the wall of this place steeped in historical dust, Chen Wuji, who rarely feels anything, couldn't help but have the thought arise: success or failure, gain or loss, all turns to emptiness.

The Former Dynasty was a very glorious dynasty; its civil and military achievements far surpassed those of the present dynasty, it reclaimed countless lands abandoned by predecessors, expanding the dynasty's territory by nearly a third.

But how glorious it was, it was ultimately still subject to replacement.

"I don't even know how far I can go." Chen Wuji murmured softly; that hint of feeling quietly drifted away with the wind. "No matter how far I go, moving forward is good—at least in Hezhou, Guangyuan Prefecture, and Guangtongzhou, the people's hearts already hold hope."

If we strive a bit more, letting the entire Nan Jun's people have hope, Chen Wuji could almost say to himself: Old self, you're already pretty awesome.

"My lord, the county magistrate has come with the county's civil and military officials and the populace."

Chen Wuyi brought a few personal guards over and, clasping fists toward Chen Wuji, said.

"Then let's go." Chen Wuji nodded, striding past the vast military formation to the front.

In front of the fort, the short-statured county magistrate saw Chen Wuji approaching, quickly waved at the people around, and with a fawning expression hurried forward.

"As the subordinate Dingbian Magistrate Xie Jichuan, I escort the civil and military officials and commoners of Dingbian to welcome the Regional Inspector Commander; the city has prepared wine and simple tea, please enter the city to rest, Commander."

"Thank you, Magistrate Xie; I wonder if the city has space to accommodate the large army?" Chen Wuji asked politely.

Xie Jichuan immediately replied boldly: "Reporting to the Commander, there's no problem at all; the military camp left from before still exists, and I have repaired a bit over the past two years—housing people is no issue."

"Then please trouble Magistrate Xie to arrange it." Chen Wuji said.

Xie Jichuan hurriedly said with panic: "How dare I let the Commander thank me; these are merely what a subordinate ought to do."

"Your ears are quite good." Chen Wuji chuckled and walked forward.

He thought that, as a Regional Inspector Commander, his identity would take some time to become known throughout Nan Jun, both high and low; he didn't expect that in just a few days it had already reached the ears of the frontier county magistrate.

In this era, the speed of information transmission in some aspects is truly not to be underestimated.

Xie Jichuan froze for a moment, somewhat bewildered, "What the Commander said is……"

"Nothing much; Guangtongzhou has changed masters—how are the people's hearts in Dingbian?" Chen Wuji asked.

"Everything is quite fine; the people would rather have the Commander control Nan Jun than that scoundrel Shi Dao." Xie Jichuan said, "I am at the westernmost edge of Guangtongzhou; originally there were few people under my jurisdiction, but that grandson Shi Dao came and caused a ruckus, and about half the county's populace packed up and fled to neighboring Dingzhou."

"If it weren't for the troubles caused by Shi Dao, I, as subordinate, wouldn't dare to boast that the entire army could certainly be housed if it entered the city. The two military camps are now completely empty; if the troops don't fit in the camps, there are also many vacant civilian dwellings that can be used."

"These damned scoundrels deserve to be hacked to pieces; I, the subordinate, was nearly angered to death by that grandson, but there was nothing I could do, so in desperation I had a mountain Daoist make a clay effigy of Shi Dao for me to spit at every day."

Chen Wuji burst out laughing.

This Magistrate Xie is quite an interesting fellow.

He asked casually, not expecting to draw out this person's resentment.

"Is there any way to bring back the people who have left?" Chen Wuji asked.

The phenomenon of population loss in Guangtongzhou is not limited to Dingbian County alone; every county experiences it.

He has asked this same question not only of Xie Jichuan now, but of many others before.

Actually, Chen Wuji knows deep down that the likelihood of this is not high.

The people leave with their families; once they go, they become refugees, and refugees rarely turn back.

Basically, they are constantly on the move and facing death until they find a new place to settle.

"Commander, this is difficult!" Xie Jichuan sighed.

"When the Commander's orders reach Dingbian, I, the subordinate, post the notices and also write another bulletin telling everyone in the territory to try to locate their relatives, friends, and neighbors."

"But up to now, only a few households have returned. Even if the relatives are willing to search, no one knows exactly where they went, and Dingzhou is so large that they lack the means to go door to door."

Chen Wuji nodded, "Just do your best on this; is the implementation of the orders going smoothly?"

"Smooth, it's extremely smooth." Xie Jichuan laughed.

"The Commander's orders are all for the people's benefit; what reason do they have to obstruct? They're all delighted and can't keep up."

"Just now, I, the subordinate, sent people into the streets to shout, calling the townsfolk out to welcome the Commander. The bailiffs merely beat gongs and shouted a few times on the main street, and nearly all the city's residents came."

"I, the subordinate, have done this sort of thing many times before; normally, one has to have the bailiffs go door to door to notify people, otherwise nobody would come. But today is the first time like this—everyone wants to see what the Commander looks like."

Chen Wuji noticed that this fellow seems to be a bit talkative.

The talk is too dense.

Accompanied by the county's civil and military officials, Chen Wuji led the personal guard battalion into the city.

Though called a city, it actually falls considerably short of a true city—it's just a somewhat larger fort.

It's uncommon for a county to have a proper city like Yunan; most are merely towns.

Dingbian Town is entirely composed of three forts joined together; its whole structure is built of massive stones, with countless arrow towers on top, where huge stones and logs can be faintly seen stacked, and beside the beacon towers stand bundles of firewood.

Seeing these, Chen Wuji felt somewhat surprised: "Magistrate Xie, why are rolling stone logs still piled on the city wall?"

Dingbian Town is no longer a border garrison; it seems there's no need for such large-scale military preparations.

Xie Jichuan said: "Don't blame the Commander, this truly isn't something I did this year just because of turmoil in Nan Jun. Every year I repair the military camp and city defenses, replacing the rolling stone logs and such."

"Dingbian Town is a military garrison; even though no troops are stationed now, I, as the magistrate, believe it remains a military garrison. As county magistrate I cannot ignore the ancients' insight—perhaps it's not needed now, but who knows when it might be useful again."