When Dong Chao entered the city, he registered and explained his purpose, but Chang Jianyi did not rush to meet the guest from Jiucheng (Yibin) after receiving the notification. Instead, she began to discuss with Chu Chaoyan whether to agree to the request for help.
Chu Chaoyan stated clearly, "According to my grandfather's plan, the next battle is to recapture the entire territory within the jurisdiction of Yuzhou. This means that after fighting in the western plains, the next step is to fight eastward, preferably to connect with Xiangyang, so that the railway can be opened! Jiucheng has not even been recaptured yet, so ignore him!"
Chu Chaoyan's consideration was very practical. Since their own plan was to develop eastward after gaining control of all of Yuzhou, there was no need to pay attention to the plea for help from upstream on the Yangtze River. Jiucheng, after all, had only about 400,000 people. Let them fight on their own.
However, Chang Jianyi expressed a different view. She took out a map and pointed to Jiucheng, saying, "This is the necessary passage between Sichuan Province and Yunnan Province. Yunnan Province must pass through here to go north, and Sichuan Province must also pass through here to go south. It is also located between Gangcheng and Yuzhou, so its geographical position is very important."
Chang Jianyi's biggest worry was that the people of Jiucheng would cause trouble between Yuzhou and Gangcheng. Yuzhou had no coal distribution, but Gangcheng upstream had coal. Gangcheng had been recaptured for nearly two months and was preparing to sell coal downstream. If the people of Jiucheng caused trouble in between, wouldn't it disrupt their own plans?
Chang Jianyi did not expect that at this time, the people of Jiucheng would come to ask for help. Coming to ask for help at such a critical juncture was truly unexpected.
At present, the western plains of Yuzhou had been recaptured,屯田 (túntián - farming for self-sufficiency) was underway, and the army was developing eastward, preparing to capture the cities in the eastern mountains. They had no time to deal with matters upstream on the Yangtze River. Now, with the sudden appearance of trouble, it could only be said that things had come too suddenly.
Chu Chaoyan frowned and said, "These people who come to ask for help are merely civilian organizations from Jiucheng. How dare they intercept ships on the river? I think we should ignore them and focus on developing our own forces."
Chang Jianyi nodded at this, feeling that Chu Chaoyan's words made sense. Capturing all of Yuzhou was the most important thing. Moreover, after the western region of Yuzhou was recaptured, the population had also surged. If they did not hurry to屯田, they would not even be able to feed the people within their jurisdiction.
Chang Jianyi roughly calculated that the population within the jurisdiction had reached 1.5 million. So many people were hungry and waiting to be fed, but the grain reserves in Yuzhou were very limited. If there was a food crisis, Chang Jianyi would have to rush to ripen the crops. Such a large population absolutely could not have any problems.
"Then let's inform Shen Feng and Professor Chu about this matter and let them make the decision. I hope they have a good solution!" Chang Jianyi nodded.
Chang Jianyi called Shen Feng to inform him of the matter. After hearing about it, Shen Feng immediately discussed it with Professor Chu.
However, Professor Chu proposed a different view, which was to go to Rongcheng!
When Shen Feng heard Professor Chu propose such a solution, he was completely confused and did not understand what Professor Chu meant. Why go to Rongcheng? What did Rongcheng have to do with this?
"Professor, I don't understand what this means. Please explain!" Shen Feng asked honestly.
Professor Chu said, "It's very simple. This matter seems to be between you and the civilian organizations in Jiucheng, but in reality, Jiucheng is still under the jurisdiction of Rongcheng. No matter what action you take, you must seek instructions from Rongcheng. If Rongcheng refuses to support Jiucheng, you have a reason to refuse, and Jiucheng will not resent you. However, if Rongcheng agrees to your support, they cannot show no reaction at all, after all, Jiucheng nominally follows Rongcheng."
Shen Feng suddenly understood after hearing this explanation. This was politics. Troubles that could be dealt with could be kicked to someone else's feet, so he would not have to face the trouble. As for how others would handle this hot potato, it was not his concern.
Professor Chu advised Shen Feng, "You don't have to go to Rongcheng; let Chang Jianyi go. Her appearance is the same. Besides, didn't they capture a guy named Wang Xiao in Jiangyang? This person incited chaos among the people in Rongcheng. Sending him to Rongcheng for trial is also a gesture of goodwill."
Shen Feng really missed his parents and wanted to see them in person, but after careful consideration, Chang Jianyi had not met his parents yet. This time, Chang Jianyi had to go.
Recently, Shen Feng had been learning to use a paraglider. Although Shen Feng had always wanted to fly, when he actually stood on a mountain and jumped down, his eyes couldn't help but close. It took many days for him to adapt to flying in the sky. If there was a downward trend, Shen Feng only needed to use "Dong Feng Hao Dang" (East Wind Raging), and the paraglider would immediately be lifted.
In the past, Shen Feng stood on Zhang Jue's back and didn't feel scared because he believed Zhang Jue could fly, but after Shen Feng mastered the paraglider, he felt uneasy.
Shen Feng leaped from the top of the building, grabbed the paraglider's bar, and flew westward. Half an hour later, he arrived in Jiangyang.
Shen Feng was specifically delivering messages and testing his ability to fly in the sky. The experiment was very successful. Shen Feng could fly in the sky for a long time with the help of the paraglider.
When Chang Jianyi heard that she was going to Rongcheng, her face immediately lit up with a smile. She took out a small mirror and began to dress up, saying, "What kind of style do the elders like? Gentle or cheerful? What gifts should I bring?"
Chang Jianyi had wanted to meet Shen Feng's parents for a long time. After all, as Shen Feng's wife, she had not even held a wedding ceremony. Apart from receiving a bracelet from Shen Feng's mother, she had received no other acknowledgment, which made Chang Jianyi's identity as the legitimate wife seem very hollow.
When Chu Chaoyan saw Chang Jianyi's smug look, she couldn't help but frown and say, "I'll go too. I also want to see the elders!"
Shen Feng coughed and said seriously, "Chaoyan, your teacher misses you very much. He is not in good health. You should go back and take care of him more. You've met him before, so there's no need to make a special trip."
Chu Chaoyan looked at Shen Feng in confusion, only to find Shen Feng winking at her. Chu Chaoyan immediately understood. This was an opportunity to be with Shen Feng. With Chang Jianyi gone, she could spend time with Shen Feng!
"Yes, I also need to take care of Grandpa. He is not in good health," Chu Chaoyan quickly changed her words.
Chang Jianyi's peripheral vision had already noticed the two of them exchanging glances, and she couldn't help but get angry. It was one thing for you two to conspire behind my back, but at this moment, you are still winking and speaking in code in front of me. Do you take me for air?
Chang Jianyi put away her small mirror and makeup case, smiled, and said, "You take care of Professor Chu. As for Chaoyan, I'll take her to Rongcheng. Speaking of which, I happen to not know the way to your house. It's just right for Chaoyan to take me there. What do you think?"
Shen Feng dared not object and looked at Chu Chaoyan. Chu Chaoyan lowered her head guiltily, "Mm."
Chang Jianyi then brought more than twenty evolutionaries, bound Wang Xiao, and set off towards Rongcheng. Chu Chaoyan could not resist Chang Jianyi's decision and could only obediently follow Chang Jianyi to Rongcheng.
After Wang Xiao was tied up, he kept struggling, his face full of fear. If his mouth had not been stuffed with socks, he would have been begging for mercy now. He had luckily survived the battle with mutated plants, but he was captured.
During the interrogation, Wang Xiao started his old routine, which was to talk nonsense. He hoped to lie and reduce his crimes as much as possible, so that he might only need to serve and escape in the chaos while working. Wasn't that good?
But Wang Xiao didn't know that Zhang Xixi's ability was specifically for lie detection. When he lied, Zhang Xixi directly exposed his lies, "There isn't a single true word from this guy's mouth. Beat him severely!"
Wang Xiao had been lying for more than ten years in his life and had always been successful in deceiving people. Therefore, when he lied again, he thought it would be the same as usual. But at this moment, Wang Xiao's lies were exposed by Zhang Xixi, and he was then beaten severely, forcing him to tell the whole truth.
Those who learned the truth were very angry. They did not expect Wang Xiao to drive the mob to commit crimes for his own selfish gain. Such a person should be cut into a thousand pieces!
However, it was appropriate for Chang Jianyi to bring this scoundrel back to Rongcheng and hand him over to the people of Rongcheng for trial. Moreover, it could also be a gesture of goodwill to Rongcheng.
Shen Feng had already contacted General Xie in Rongcheng in advance. When the general heard Shen Feng's purpose, he immediately expressed his welcome and said that they should strengthen trade between the two sides, and it would be best to open a railway from Rongcheng to Yuzhou. The reason was that Rongcheng had too large a population and not enough food. If they could obtain grain produced in Yuzhou, it would bring great benefits.
After Chang Jianyi left the territory of Jiangyang, she saw many people sowing seeds. Last year, the battle in Rongcheng had cleared out most of the zombies in the basin, so Rongcheng had once again become the rear area. Wherever there were paddy fields, they were all planted with rice. Some places missed the sowing season, so they had to plant a large amount of corn and potatoes, as these two crops were easy to plant.
The previously crowded road had now been cleared. Chu Chaoyan looked at the scenery outside the window and felt a great difference: "Before, when Shen Feng and I went to Rongcheng, we encountered obstacles every few minutes on the road, and there were no people in the places we passed. Now it's different. There are people everywhere, and the roads are quiet."
Chang Jianyi drove and said to Chu Chaoyan in the passenger seat, "Look carefully. All the people we see are working. This means that Rongcheng is also屯田. I guess the apocalypse was too cruel and destroyed almost everything!"
Chu Chaoyan looked closely and found that it was indeed the case. Large machinery and personnel could often be seen in the fields, but apart from the people who were屯田, no one else could be seen.
Chang Jianyi and Chu Chaoyan stopped and asked a woman who was working, "Auntie, how is life now?"
At this point, the woman's tears immediately flowed down, and she said painfully, "If you are talking about life, it is still passable. At least as long as you have the strength, you can always support yourself. But my husband and son are dead, and I am living alone, not knowing what to do."
"Auntie, please accept my condolences." Chang Jianyi did not expect that her casual inquiry would bring up the other party's sad past.
At this time, Chu Chaoyan continued to ask, "Is the land you are planting now your own, or is it public property?"
"Of course, it's public property, but we also have wages. If we plant land ourselves, it won't work, it won't work!" the aunt said helplessly.
"Why won't it work? Is it not allowed?" Chu Chaoyan continued to ask.
The aunt quickly shook her head and said earnestly, "No, no! If you plant land yourself, the public will not manage it, but in the mountains, there are often mutated wild boars coming down, and mutated rats and mutated rabbits harassing the crops. If you plant land yourself and these animals ruin it, you will have nothing. On the contrary, planting for the public ensures a harvest regardless of drought or flood."
Chu Chaoyan understood and nodded. She finally understood the reason. This was a matter of risk. In peaceful times, planting land yourself would be the best. But now it was a chaotic world, and the entire world was unstable. The zombies had not been resolved, and mutated beasts had appeared. Survival was the most important thing.
After thinking about these things, Chu Chaoyan also understood the environment in which people in the world lived.
Chu Chaoyan took out her notebook and wrote, "There are no large-scale zombies around Rongcheng, but many people are still struggling to make ends meet. The fundamental reason is insecurity. If zombies and mutated beasts disappear completely, then the world will naturally get better. In the final analysis, it is the impact of last year's meteor!"