279: Chapter 0279 They're in Charge

Located between the Capital Region and Yong Province, outside Qixia Pass.

A caravan was resting at a post station.

"Official Xie Tong, the weather is quite nice today. Although it is cold, at least it has cleared up!"

The Old Butler served tea to Official Xie Tong and said with a smile.

Official Xie Tong looked up at the sky, which was clear for thousands of miles. "Indeed, it is rare to get out of the capital to catch some fresh air. I haven't seen a view like this in a long time."

A guard returned from the front.

"Reporting to you, sir, there are some signs of fighting ahead, but we haven't seen any bandits. Should we continue forward?"

Official Xie Tong smiled. "Even if there are bandits, as a dignified imperial envoy, why should I fear them? Let us continue on our way!"

"Yes!"

After the caravan left, a masked woman emerged from the post station's kitchen.

In the kitchen's cellar, three corpses were lying there.

"My husband was right; there is poisoning, and there are bandits..."

Leng Bingyan muttered, "Who is so bold as to dare to kill an imperial envoy of the imperial court?"

Meanwhile, at a camp in the forest.

"Commander, these are not mountain bandits. Judging by their martial arts style, they should all be assassins from the martial arts world."

Several elite members of the Silver Armor Army in plain clothes placed a dozen corpses in front of Lu Sanchuan.

Lu Sanchuan looked at an ugly man with a scar on his face, his eyes filled with amusement.

"Xiao Ming, leader of the Iron Sand Gang, was once considered a figure in the martial arts world. To think he has resorted to such deeds..."

"This man's martial arts are indeed strong. It is fortunate he encountered you, Commander; otherwise, we truly would not have been able to stop him!"

Lu Sanchuan said sternly, "Continue to protect them in secret. The newcomers are not well-intentioned; we must ensure that Official Xie Tong does not meet with any accidents in Yong Province!"

"Yes!"

West of Yong Province city, in a mountain village called Shuangxigou.

Although it was thirty miles from the nearest market, because two streams intersected here, dozens of farming households had originally settled in this place.

However, a later landslide blocked the water source on the mountain, causing the place to lose its water supply.

For such a small place that could not provide much tax revenue, the government was naturally too lazy to spend much effort on repairs.

Hundreds of acres of fields were abandoned, overgrown with weeds. The remaining dozen or so households of villagers struggled to survive, living in extreme poverty.

When hundreds of soldiers from the White Kings Army, Yan Kings Army, Cold Iron Guard, Silver Armor Army, Golden Scale Guard, and the Prefectural Army arrived at Shuangxigou in high spirits, there was no great battle as imagined.

In a valley, they saw a young man covered in mud, wearing a coarse cloth coat with his pant legs rolled up, looking around.

Beside the young man, in addition to General Wu Jinzhe and several other generals, there were two women. Although they were dressed like village girls, many people recognized them immediately!

"Mu Wanying!?" "Isn't that our Deputy Commander Zhao Caiwei!?"

Mu Wanying and Zhao Caiwei were naturally beautiful after all; no matter how simple their attire, their elegance could not be concealed.

There was no need to guess; this young man who looked like a mud-covered peasant was certainly the current number one person in the Northern Territory—Lin Xiao!

"Don't just stand there!" Lin Xiao turned around, hands on his hips, and shouted from the dirt slope, "Get off your horses! Come and get to work!"

The "recitation experts" from each army looked at each other in dismay.

Wasn't this supposed to be a battle? What is going on here?

"Today, we are going to break through this blocked valley! We are going to haul all the rocks and silt out of here!"

"If we don't finish today, we will continue tomorrow! We won't stop until there is water in Shuangxigou!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hundreds of people present were dumbfounded!

The rock and soil layers in this valley had been there for nearly ten years; it was practically a small hill.

In this deep winter, with only a few hundred of them, they would probably only scrape off a layer of skin in a day, right?

But Lin Xiao had spoken, and they dared not disobey. They had to silently dismount and line up to pick up the various farming tools they had brought along.

Shovels, hoes, scoops, baskets, carrying poles...

Armor was taken off, coarse cloth coats were put on, and they all instantly turned into farmhands.

Just when they didn't know where to start, they saw Lin Xiao walk to the middle of the mountain mass and strike it with one palm!

"Boom!!" The earth shook and the mountains swayed!

The originally solid pile of mud and rock was forcibly blasted open by this overwhelming power!

Following that, the top began to collapse.

Lin Xiao retreated, and after the collapse finished, he went up again and used the Great Mercy Hand to shatter the hard rocks.

Repeating this several times, more than half of this mud and rock slope was directly shaved off!

Not to mention the hundreds of soldiers who were dumbfounded, even Mu Wanying and Zhao Caiwei felt amazed!

This is the Great Grandmaster, a power beyond human capability!

The subsequent work was much simpler; the soldiers went up and continuously hauled the mud and rocks out.

Although they were all martial artists, doing this kind of manual labor was no easier than training.

Liu Tongguang carried three loads of mud and rock, walked ten miles, and felt sore and aching in his waist and back.

"Soldier, have some water!" An old lady, a remaining villager of Shuangxigou, brought over an earthen jar of water.

Liu Tongguang just wanted to take it and drink, but suddenly remembered the rule "do not take a single needle or thread from the common people." He looked at Lin Xiao not far away and hesitated.

Why were they chosen, if not because they were good at reciting military regulations?

Who would have thought that Lin Xiao seemed to have eyes in the back of his head and actually turned to look at him?

"Drink it. The old lady is kind-hearted, and you didn't take it by force. But after drinking, you must work harder to be worthy of the old lady's kindness!"

Liu Tongguang nodded excitedly, took the earthen jar with both hands, and drank two mouthfuls of cold water.

Inexplicably, it tasted sweet and warm as he drank it.

"Thank you, old lady!"

Liu Tongguang wiped his mouth, his face a little red. This old woman reminded him of his late grandmother.

"Oh my, you soldiers are opening the mountain to get water for us; we are the ones who should be saying thank you!"

The old lady was teary-eyed. "It's been nearly ten years. The government didn't care whether we lived or died. We have waited for this day for too long..."

Liu Tongguang's expression was solemn, and some soldiers nearby heard this and had complex looks in their eyes.

Although they were soldiers, their own families and those around them had often been harmed by the corruption of officialdom.

They actually felt the same way about the hardships of these villagers.

"What are you all staring at? No slacking off!!" Lin Xiao shouted from the side, waking Liu Tongguang and the others up.

Everyone smiled awkwardly. Although tired, they had to grit their teeth and continue to persist.

The key was that Lin Xiao led by example, bringing the two women, as well as a group of generals from the Zhenbei Army, to work busily.

The soldiers watched Lin Xiao carrying mud, working hard to haul it out with them, and it felt like a dream!

This was the current number one powerful official in the Northern Territory! It would not be an exaggeration to say he was the new King of the Northern Territory!

He actually came down to do hard labor with them? If they went back and told this, wouldn't their comrades' jaws drop?

"I carried mud with Lin Xiao!" "I peed in a mountain ditch with Lin Xiao!" That's enough to brag about for a lifetime!

By the time it was getting dark, they could already see water flowing once again into the ditch that had been dry for many years.

"General! There is water!" "Haha! We did it!"

Several soldiers looked at Lin Xiao and let out excited shouts.

Throughout this day, they discovered that Lin Xiao was not hard to get along with; from time to time, he would chat with them about daily life and crack jokes.

This was completely different from the "God of Slaughter" image in their impressions; he was a young soldier with flesh and blood.

Therefore, the soldiers were no longer reserved and were much more relaxed when talking to Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao was also very satisfied. He pointed to the plain in front and said, "Taking advantage of the good weather these days, starting tomorrow, we will help the fellow villagers reclaim the wasteland into fields!"

"By then, you will be the 'Reclamation Heroes' of this Shuangxigou."

Lin Xiao pointed to a cliff wall not far away.

"Your names will be carved on that cliff wall, and the common people who rely on these fields for their livelihood in the future will remember you for generations!"

The soldiers did not expect such a "reward" and their eyes couldn't help but shine!

Although it was just a small Shuangxigou, being able to have their names carved on the cliff under the official name for future generations to admire was something they wouldn't have dared to dream of before!

"General Lin, we just did some rough work, can we really be carved on it?" "Yeah... it's a bit embarrassing..."

Liu Tongguang and several comrades from the White Kings Army also felt a bit uneasy.

After all, they were just commoners, not some nobles!

Lin Xiao did not answer but looked into the distance...

The old village chief, with a dozen households of the elderly, weak, women, and children, led by Mu Wanying, came before Lin Xiao.

"General Lin, we, the one hundred and three people of Shuangxigou, thank you for your great kindness! We kowtow to you!!"

The old village chief and the group of people were choking with sobs.

They could finally be self-sufficient again, without having to climb over mountains and ridges to find water.

"Old man, no need to thank me. It was not just me alone who helped open the mountain, chisel the rocks, carry the mud, and haul the soil; it was every soldier here."

"Besides, we are the Zhenbei Army. You are the common people of the Northern Territory, suffering and in trouble; how could we sit idly by?"

Upon hearing this, a group of villagers knelt down to Liu Tongguang and the other soldiers standing nearby one after another.

"Thank you, soldier!" "Thank you all..." "We don't have anything to give you..."

Liu Tongguang and the others hurriedly stepped forward to help them up.

Looking at the burning sincerity in the villagers' eyes, their hearts felt as if they had been heavily struck by something.

Even when they had won battles before, they had never seen such eyes!

"Look carefully, listen well. Whether your names are worthy of being engraved on the cliff wall is not for me, Lin Xiao, to decide; it is for them to decide!"

Lin Xiao's words, unhurried and calm, reached everyone's ears.

Liu Tongguang and the others could not help but fall into deep thought.