Chapter 323: First Volume, Chapter 323: The Jin Yi Wei Is Born

First Volume, Chapter 323: The Jin Yi Wei Is Born

Qin Feng had been calculating all along, and the only thing that could soothe his wounded heart was Second Sister's warm embrace; like a hurt little boy, he threw himself into Liu Hongyan's arms.

Liu Hongyan's heart pounded wildly, her whole body flushed with tension, yet she did not stop Qin Feng's childish clinging.

One hand cradled Qin Feng's head, the other gently patted him as she spoke with solemn gravity: "By handing over the Wuhu Restaurant to the Xie Family, our Qin Family and the Xie Family are now intertwined—each within the other, inseparable. The bond between the Qin and Xie families is of paramount importance, and Xie Yun'er is the doting daughter of the Duke of Ning; she has already stood with our Qin Family before. You must never mistreat Xie Yun'er again."

Hearing this, Qin Feng looked up at Liu Hongyan, bewildered: "Again?"

Liu Hongyan knew Qin Feng too well—this rascal must have conjured up some filthy, lewd thought again—but after racking her brain, she couldn't find anything wrong with what she'd said.

Liu Hongyan decided to ignore Qin Feng and continued muttering to herself: "Yes, you must treat Xie Yun'er well from now on."

Qin Feng rubbed his nose, revealing a sly smile Liu Hongyan couldn't decipher: "Heh, we'll see about that later."

Liu Hongyan bit her thin lips, tapped his forehead with a finger, and scolded: "You—you've got what kind of nonsense in your head all day?"

While Qin Feng and Liu Hongyan were dawdling in the Account Room, Beixi County had already launched a vigorous reconstruction effort.

Under Lu Ming's leadership, craftsmen and civilian laborers filling the manpower gap cleared away the rubble and, following Qin Feng's blueprints, raised the original Beixi City Wall by another zhang.

This project was no small undertaking.

Lin Quqi, hands behind his back, surveyed the bustling city wall and could not help asking: "Lu Ming, Qin Brother did assign you to reinforce the city defense, but raising the wall by a full zhang—not only is the timeline long, the labor cost alone is astronomical."

"Second Miss already wrote that the Tianji Camp is financially strained—we must still budget carefully."

Lu Ming knew that, excluding Qin Feng and the Four Young Ladies, Lin Quqi was the de facto head of the entire Tianji Camp—even Ning Hu and Xu Mo took orders from him.

Moreover, the lives of Third Miss and Lady Qin were entirely under Lin Quqi's charge; his authority was immense.

Lu Ming did not dare delay and quickly explained: "Young Master, I did not act on my own initiative—this was the plan on Qin Young Master's blueprint. Before I came, Qin Young Master ordered me not to consider costs, only to push forward with full force."

"Every chi we raise the wall, the Beidi Army's siege ladders must grow four chi longer. Raise the wall one zhang, and their ladders must extend four zhang. Ordinary wooden siege ladders lack the strength to reach such lengths. Next time the Beidi Army tries to siege, they'll have to transport specially made Cloud Ladders from their rear camp. Those ladders are massive, hard to move, and vulnerable to Border Army defenses—far water cannot quench near thirst."

"No city defense is as practical as raising the wall."

Lin Quqi understood this well—siege ladders must form a certain angle with the wall; if too steep, they can be easily toppled by long forks or wooden poles.

To prevent them from being toppled, the angle must remain at roughly forty-five degrees.

This greatly increases the ladder's required length.

Strengthening the wall is a high-return investment.

But…

In the end, it all comes down to "money."

Since Qin Feng had entrusted Lu Ming fully with reinforcing the city defense, Lin Quqi said no more and asked casually: "How much will the entire project cost?"

Lu Ming had already calculated it and answered instantly: "Including hired civilian laborers and local residents, over three thousand people are involved."

"Just raising the wall will take a month. Labor costs alone are about six thousand taels, plus materials—wood, stone, clay—totaling roughly three ten thousand taels of silver."

"Beyond the wall, we must repair burned homes and build structures for both civil and military use: expand the Military District in City South, plan the Cavalry Battalion in North of the City, plus granaries, the Military Supply Depot…"

Lu Ming counted on his fingers as he spoke: "Young Master's goal is to turn Beixi County into a frontier stronghold, an impregnable fortress that will never fall—total cost: fifty thousand li silver."

Hearing this sum, Lin Quqi's heart sank halfway.

Just city defense alone required fifty thousand li silver.

After repeated battles, Beixi County's people's livelihood was devastated; reviving it would demand another massive sum.

And now, during wartime, all commerce had halted; every civilian supply in Beixi County depended on the Tianji Camp's subsidies.

Beixi County was like a voracious gold-devouring beast, swallowing vast amounts of white silver each month.

I wonder…

Can Qin Feng sustain this alone? Or how long can he sustain it?

Meanwhile, in the Back Courtyard of the County Yamen.

Qin Cheng Clan and Li Xiaolan sat in the Cool Pavilion, while fifty men stood outside—some as young as sixteen, others nearing thirty.

Though their ages varied greatly and their builds differed, all stood rigidly straight, their gazes calm and resolute.

Li Xiaolan said softly: "Though you've hidden your identities since childhood and lived as commoners, all of you come from strict families, trained by your fathers—I trust you completely. Return to Beijing immediately; the moment you see Feng'er, pledge your full loyalty to him."

The men hesitated not a moment; their voices rose in perfect unison, strong and clear: "We shall not fail Third Miss's trust!"

Li Xiaolan rose, bowed deeply to them, her eyes filled with gratitude: "All these years, my correspondence with Second Sister relied entirely on your fathers—I, Li Xiaolan, thank you."

The fifty men knelt on one knee in unison, clasped fists in reply: "To serve Third Miss is our families' greatest honor."

"No time to waste—we return to Beijing at once to assist Young Master Qin!"

No sooner had the words ended than the fifty men vanished without a trace.

Qin Cheng Clan watched silently and said lightly: "With such loyal servants to aid him, forming the Jin Yi Wei is already assured. Come to think of it, if Lin Taibao hadn't ambushed the messengers and blocked the Beixi County War Report, Feng'er might never have made such a decisive move to form the Jin Yi Wei."

"Compared to heavy cavalry, the Jin Yi Wei is Feng'er's dagger."

Li Xiaolan turned back to the Cool Pavilion, sat opposite Qin Cheng Clan, and helped peel soybean shells, her eyes flickering with anticipation…