183: Chapter 93 The Will of the People

In the first month after the railway network was completed and opened to traffic, the lives of the people of the Tang Country underwent a series of tangible changes.

In the early morning in Jinling City, before the mist had fully dispersed, street vendors selling breakfast had already set up their steaming steamers.

The fragrance of deep-fried dough sticks and the rich aroma of soy milk mingled and drifted through the alley entrance.

An old man wearing a grey cotton robe sat in front of the breakfast stall, took a bite of a freshly fried dough stick, narrowed his eyes in satisfaction, and sighed indistinctly: "Ever since Li Ling arrived, life has been getting better and better. In the past, I had to think twice before eating a dough stick, but now I can have one every few days, and the kids can go to school too. My eldest son worked on the railway construction site for half a year, and the money he sent back is enough to buy an acre of paddy field."

The stall owner next to him chimed in with a smile: "Isn't that the truth! Last year, when the railway built by the imperial court opened, grain was transported faster, and our rice prices dropped by twenty percent. I heard they are going to build more roads this year, right up to our village entrance. When that happens, the vegetables I grow can be sold in Jinling City, and the price will double! I've been stocking thirty percent more goods every day, and I'm sold out by noon."

Not far away, several children with brand-new school bags ran chattering across the stone-paved road; their bags were printed with the words "Qingxia Primary School."

As they passed, a little girl with pigtails shouted "Grandpa" to the old man, then ran a few steps and turned back to smile, revealing a gap where her front tooth was missing.

A red hair tie was tied to the ends of her braids, swinging back and forth in the morning light.

Such conversations could be heard all over the country.

Li Ling did not sit in the imperial palace listening to reports; he changed into simple plain clothes, put on an old straw hat, and accompanied by Commander Zhao Tieshan and an attendant, slipped out of Jinling City to visit the villages and towns along the newly built roads.

The road surface was newly paved with gravel; although not perfectly smooth, it was a hundred times better than the old dirt roads, and carriages no longer got stuck in the mud when passing through.

He walked into an ordinary village. The wheat seedlings in the fields were lush and green, and a few yellow oxen were grazing leisurely by the ridges, their tails flicking from time to time to drive away insects.

Under the big locust tree at the entrance of the village, several old men were playing chess, surrounded by a few young people watching the fun.

Li Ling leaned in to watch the chess game for a while, casually took a few peanuts from his pocket to give to the children nearby, and then asked an old man smoking a dry pipe: "Old man, has life been easier these past few years?"

The old man looked up at him, grinned, revealing teeth stained yellow by smoke, his eye wrinkles bunching together: "Much better! In the past, our place was dirt poor; the landlord would take seventy percent of the yield from an acre of land, and we couldn't even afford a steamed white flour bun all year round. Now it's better; the imperial court has waived taxes and even given us good seeds and chemical fertilizer, so an acre of land can produce three hundred catties of grain! Last year, my family even bought a bicycle, and my second son rides it to school in town, saving more than an hour on the round trip! That bicycle was produced in a factory in Jinling; it's sturdy and durable, and half the price of the ones from foreigners."

Li Ling smiled and asked again: "Then what do you think of our Emperor?"

The old man put down his pipe, thought seriously for a moment, and said: "He is a good Emperor! We commoners don't ask for anything else, just to be well-fed, warmly clothed, and safe. Since Li Ling arrived, the public order here has improved, those bandits have long been wiped out, and we don't have to worry about being robbed on the road anymore. I heard he even sent foreign doctors to treat us; my wife's rheumatism has improved a lot. In the past, she couldn't even get out of bed on rainy days, but now she can walk to the village entrance by herself to soak up the sun."

He paused and lowered his voice: "And I heard from the village schoolteacher that Li Ling is even opening schools, so that children from poor families can also learn to read and write, and maybe even pass exams to become officials in the future."

Li Ling didn't ask any more questions; he patted the old man on the shoulder, turned, and walked on along the field ridge.

When he reached the wheat fields outside the village, he saw several farmers working in the fields. Someone was pushing a new type of seeder between the ridges, and the seeder made a rhythmic clicking sound.

This kind of seeder was designed by the small farm implement workshop of the Production Base; it could simultaneously open furrows, sow seeds, and cover them with soil, increasing efficiency fivefold compared to manual sowing.

A half-grown child squatted by the ridge, holding a book in his hands, muttering to himself as he recited the multiplication table.

"System," Li Ling said in his heart, his voice calm but with warmth, "These commoners, their smiles are more precious than any war booty. Their lives have improved, so the wars we fought were not in vain. Moreover, they will become the most solid line of defense for the Tang Country—anyone who wants to subvert this country must first cross thousands upon thousands of such smiling faces."

The System's voice carried a rare hint of gentleness: "Host, the will of the people is the greatest politics. If you win the hearts of the people, the country will be as stable as a rock. What do you plan to do next? The System has detected that the remnants of the old warlord forces in several southern provinces have been active recently and may have contacts with armed forces at the border."

Li Ling did not answer directly. He stood by the wheat field, watching the farmers working in the spring breeze, his gaze passing through the fields and landing on the railway line under construction in the distance.

There, a group of workers were using shovels and pickaxes to level the roadbed. The sound of work chants drifted in the wind, mixed with the crisp sound of hammers hitting steel drills, clanging away like a silent march.

"Continue to develop," he finally said, his voice calm. "Roads must be built, factories must be established, and schools must be run. Let the common people truly feel that life is getting better day by day, and they will be the most solid backing for the Tang Country. No matter how many enemies want to sabotage, they cannot shake the mountain of the people's will. At the same time, have the intelligence department keep a close eye on the movements of those old forces in the south. I want to know the location of every one of their strongholds, the list of attendees for every gathering, and every route for smuggling weapons."

Just then, Commander Zhao Tieshan walked over quickly and whispered: "Your Majesty, I have just received news that there are new developments in several southern provinces. Several remnants of old warlord forces are secretly connecting, attempting to take advantage of the imperial court's preoccupation with northern defense to create trouble in the south. They have contacted some armed forces at the border, preparing to launch attacks around the time of the autumn harvest to seize grain and destroy the railway. According to reports from insiders, they have already established secret strongholds in three counties and stockpiled a batch of weapons and ammunition smuggled from abroad, including hundreds of British-made rifles and a few light machine guns."

Li Ling withdrew his gaze from the wheat field, his voice turning cold: "Let them connect. I just happen to need a reason to clean up the southern remnants. Send out all the intelligence personnel, mark every one of their strongholds clearly, and when they make a move, wipe them all out. Have Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan secretly mobilize two Heavy Combined Arms Brigades to move south, stationed under the guise of 'rotation exercises,' and do not disturb the local people. Tell the Special Forces to first find their weapon caches, mark them clearly, and do not alert the enemy."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the railway construction in the distance: "Tell Chen Haisheng that his Naval Base Construction Committee must also cooperate. Some ports along the southern coast need to be controlled in advance to prevent them from obtaining support from the sea."

When he returned to Jinling City, it was already dusk. In the Imperial Study, a report on the preparation for the "Qingxia Army University" was waiting for his review, marked with the list of the first batch of one hundred and twenty students and their hometowns and backgrounds.

The bell tower in the distance chimed the time in the twilight, long and solid, like the heartbeat of the earth. He picked up the report and was about to open it when the System's notification sound suddenly rang out, with a hint of urgency: "Host, satellite imagery shows an unidentified cargo ship appearing at a port on the southern coast. Its docking time is abnormal, and it may be secretly unloading cargo. According to ship type analysis, it is suspected to be a smuggling ship for arms."

Li Ling's hand stopped in mid-air. After a moment, he put down the report, walked to the window, and looked towards the grey southern skyline. Night was falling, and the flames in the dark had already begun to burn.