Chapter 88: Zhao Yinling’s Grave Was Disturbed?

“Liangzi, do your best. I know your skills. Ever since we were children, when we went bird hunting, no one could shoot more accurately than you. I believe in you!”

In Quanzi Village, behind the old house of Li Yuanjing, a simple shooting range had recently been built. Li Yuanjing gave Zhang Liang a heavy pat on the shoulder, looking at him with warmth and hope in his eyes.

“Master...” Zhang Liang was so moved that his eyes turned red. He wanted to say something, but the words caught in his throat.

In truth, as children, his relationship with Li Yuanjing hadn’t been very good. Li Yuanjing was a studious boy—aloof, somewhat poor, and always away at school in the county seat. To a local boy like Zhang Liang, who only knew how to catch birds and fish, Li Yuanjing had seemed insufferable. Even later, when Zhang Liang went to work in town, he couldn’t deny that he’d wanted to outdo Li Yuanjing, to prove himself better.

But after his recent troubles, Zhang Liang found that his temperament had completely changed. Especially now, as Li Yuanjing’s star continued to rise, Zhang Liang no longer wished to compete; he could barely even look up to him, as if even that was out of reach.

And yet, at this moment, Li Yuanjing showed no sign of holding old grudges. Instead, he placed his trust in Zhang Liang.

“All right, then. Train well, and if you need anything, come find me at once!” Seeing that Zhang Liang had been won over and was beside himself with emotion, Li Yuanjing smiled, patted him on the shoulder once more, and went to gather Mao Fugui, Zhao Zengjin, Mao Xiaocao, and the others.

He said, “Xiaocao, when you load gunpowder, you just go by experience, right?”

“Yes, Master...” Mao Xiaocao struggled to keep up with Li Yuanjing’s line of thought and nodded instinctively.

Li Yuanjing smiled, “Xiaocao, here’s what I’m thinking. You have great experience, and your hands are steady. But for beginners like Liangzi and the others, it’s much harder. If they get nervous, they might make a mistake, and that could even risk a gun bursting.”

“So, what do you think of this? Using your experience, we pick the optimal amount of gunpowder, wrap it in oiled paper, and whenever it’s needed, just unwrap the paper and pour it into the touchhole. That way, we eliminate risk and even improve new shooters’ accuracy, don’t you think?”

“Uh...?” Mao Xiaocao was stunned. She was still young, and though she seemed to grasp the idea, something didn’t quite connect. But beside her, Mao Fugui and Zhao Zengjin, both adults, understood immediately—utterly astonished.

Especially Mao Fugui, who dropped to his knees with a thud and kowtowed furiously to Li Yuanjing. “Master, you’re a genius! Only a sage could have thought of this. If we do it like this, even us new gunners could be ready in ten days at most!”

Mao Xiaocao finally understood as well and, full of admiration, knelt to Li Yuanjing. “Master, your wisdom leaves me in awe...”

Not far off, Zhang Liang and the other recruits didn’t really understand what had happened, but seeing the respect and excitement on Mao Fugui and the others’ faces only deepened their awe and reverence for Li Yuanjing. Zhang Liang, especially, felt a surge of emotion and a bitter, wordless regret.

No wonder, he thought. No wonder people say you have to study. How ridiculous he’d been to believe, all those years, that he could get by just fine without reading books. Only now did he realize how foolish and hopeless he’d been...

Thankfully, Heaven hadn’t abandoned him. Li Yuanjing had dragged him back from the brink...

“All right. Since everyone agrees, I’ll arrange for two women to help out. From now on, they’ll be in charge of this. Everyone else, focus on your own work. If you need anything, come find me!”

Li Yuanjing saw the looks on everyone’s faces and couldn’t help but smile. This was exactly the effect he wanted! The “pre-measured gunpowder” might seem a small trick, but in later history, it was a crucial innovation born of much blood and tears—a true revolution in firearms that dramatically increased their effectiveness.

By putting the elderly Mao Fugui in charge of the gunner squad and giving Zhang Liang a hint, Li Yuanjing could be sure that, with Zhang Liang’s competitive nature, the squad would be combat-ready even sooner than he’d hoped.

…

Leaving the shooting range, Li Yuanjing went to discuss further plans for Quanzi Village with the old village chief and several master craftsmen, including how to develop his own complex of industrial buildings.

He very much wanted to build Quanzi Village into a town-sized settlement, complete with every function of a modern city. That way, he would have both offensive and defensive options, and plenty of room for maneuver. However...

The ideal was full-bodied, but reality was thin and bony. Even though Li Yuanjing had made up his mind to build a brickworks, it was not something that could be accomplished overnight. Especially now, with the external situation so precarious, the village’s top priority had to be defense and safety.

After half an hour of discussion, weighing the opinions of the village elders and veterans, Li Yuanjing began to form a plan.

Brick houses needed to be built, and he had to be the first to build them. They also had to be grand and attractive. If he didn’t take the lead, who else would dare to build brick houses? How could he stimulate demand?

But while brick houses could be built, there was no point in leveling earth slopes—too idealistic and unrealistic, and far too time-consuming.

Now, Li Yuanjing knew exactly what he needed most: warehouses. As many as possible, of all sizes.

Only with warehouses could he store grain and other vital supplies. Next came dormitories, office areas, and workshops. Only by clearly distinguishing these spaces could efficiency be improved. And these didn’t necessarily have to be brick structures. The sticky loess dug from Quanzi Village’s moats, combined with wooden beams, was both economical and durable—lasting thirty years or more without any trouble.

With his thoughts in order, Li Yuanjing made his decision. To the south, west, and east of his family’s home, there were existing houses. While he certainly had the power to order demolitions, it was deep winter—not a good time to displace people.

However, to the north, past a steep slope, the area near the back mountain was relatively flat, spanning at least twenty acres, with several natural springs—no worry for water. Li Yuanjing decided to fence off this land as his private domain.

After all, how the earth walls were built, and how large they were, was entirely up to him, with costs negligible. The main expense would be building a good road to link all the structures, but that, too, was no challenge for Li Yuanjing.

In fact, this was the perfect opportunity to reshape the entire village’s defenses and security, especially his own territory.

With the plan set, it took less than half an hour for Li Yuanjing and the village chief to pull together fifty or so able-bodied men and women from the north gate worksite and get started. Li Yuanjing couldn’t help but marvel at how wonderful it was to have both money and power—especially in this era.

In his former life, even with his status, how could he have made things happen simply by issuing an order?

But just as construction on the earth walls and moats was in full swing, Zhang Kun arrived with ill-timed news, quietly reporting to Li Yuanjing, “Master, since noon, five or six scouts have shown up outside. Our people recognized one of them—they seem to be from Daguo Village...”

“Oh?” Li Yuanjing’s brow knitted, but he quickly relaxed, a sly smile appearing on his lips. “Keep an eye on them, but don’t let them in or let them gather any information. Understood?”

“Understood!” Zhang Kun perked up and nodded vigorously. He had been with Li Yuanjing long enough to grasp his way of thinking—clearly, Li Yuanjing wanted to send false signals to the lord.

Just as Zhang Kun was about to leave, Chen Chunyan came stumbling over in a panic, nearly falling as she ran, her voice trembling with terror: “Master, something terrible has happened—something truly terrible... The grave of Second Madam Zhao—Zhao Yinling’s grave—was dug up this afternoon, and the body... the body has been stolen...”

“What?!”