Chapter 527: Chapter 529: Civil and Martial

As soon as Jin Qianqian arrived at the residence, she immediately had someone prepare a warm bath.

She had been walking by the sea all day, and her body smelled of sweat and the fishy scent of the ocean. If she didn’t wash up soon, she wouldn’t be able to stand it herself.

As for the two maids following her, she said, "Li Xia and the others can attend to me. You two should go and get cleaned up as well. You don’t need to be on duty for the rest of the day."

After walking all day, Lichun and the other maid were exhausted, so they naturally didn’t insist. "Yes, Madam."

Once she was submerged in the water, Jin Qianqian listlessly swirled it with her hand.

She had been in Lu City for several months now. On the surface, everything seemed to be getting on track, but she knew there was still a long road ahead.

After visiting the fishing villages today, a new idea had taken root in her mind.

Transportation was currently very inconvenient. Even when the fishermen returned with a full catch, all they could do was turn their haul into various types of dried goods.

In this coastal region, dried goods weren’t in high demand. Further inland, only a few people actually ate them, and usually just for a change of pace. Naturally, the prices couldn’t go up.

It was like sitting on a mountain of treasure, unable to claim any of it.

"’To get rich, you must first build roads!’" Recalling this familiar slogan, Jin Qianqian slapped the water. ’What a monumental undertaking.’

’In a future era, it wouldn’t be this difficult.’

But in this ancient era of low productivity and limited capabilities, building a simple road was incredibly hard.

Otherwise, the national roads leading to this border city wouldn’t be in such a dilapidated state.

Just like how she had to walk most of the way to find the fishing villages by the sea today; otherwise, she wouldn’t have returned to the residence in such a disheveled state.

If the roads were clear, fresh seafood could be delivered to the city in time, even during the hot season. The city residents would have more delicious dishes to enjoy, and the fishermen could earn more income.

But accomplishing this was not so easy. It was just wishful thinking on her part.

Building roads could change Lu City’s current situation and would be a great achievement. She was unwilling to give up just like that.

Later that night, as the family sat around the dinner table, Jin Qianqian brought up the topic.

Ancient Wen Heng said, "It’s actually quite simple, but we can only start after the autumn harvest."

Jin Qianqian’s face was full of curiosity.

Ancient Wen Heng placed a piece of lamb in his youngest son’s bowl. "Don’t forget the power of the common people.

If we really build the roads, it will benefit them, and the labor will naturally become available."

Jin Qianqian asked, "But everyone is busy trying to make a living. Who would be willing to do this work for free?"

Ancient Wen Heng replied, "You’ve forgotten, my dear, about the corvée labor."

Jin Qianqian had almost forgotten. Every year, the common people were required to perform one month of corvée labor, a type of service tax, which mostly involved manual labor like building palaces, city walls, and river channels.

When they first arrived in this dynasty, they were in the midst of fleeing a famine.

Later, after they settled down and were busy building their homes, Fu County didn’t require their village to perform corvée labor.

And after that, once Ancient Wen Heng earned an official title and the Gu family brothers had more silver in recent years, they simply paid silver to be exempt from the labor.

"But even if we have the manpower, won’t there be other expenses?" Jin Qianqian didn’t think the government office’s current financial situation could support such an expenditure.

Ancient Wen Heng said, "Taxes are due soon. I believe everyone would be willing to offset their taxes with labor."

Besides, Shangjing City was aware of the dire situation here and wasn’t expecting much tax revenue from Lu City anyway.

He believed that with the Holy Emperor’s wisdom, His Majesty would prefer to see long-term benefits.

He had considered this matter before; he just hadn’t expected his wife to notice the problem after just one trip out.

"There’s also the issue of sailors," Jin Qianqian never hid her doubts from Ancient Wen Heng and wanted to resolve them immediately. "Do you think General Zhou would be willing to lend us a few soldiers who are skilled on the water?"

"That shouldn’t be a big problem," Ancient Wen Heng immediately took responsibility for the matter. "I’ll have Qi inform him."

"Will it affect General Zhou’s plans?" Jin Qianqian knew that although Shangjing had not yet approved the formation of a Navy, General Zhou was full of confidence and was already slowly assembling his core team!

"It won’t be an issue," Ancient Wen Heng said.

Everyone in the dining hall was family, so Ancient Wen Heng had no intention of revealing too much.

Zhou Shixiong was making preparations, but who knew if the higher-ups would entrust him with the heavy responsibility of establishing the Navy?

And taking a step back, even if the Navy wasn’t put under his command, he would still want to have an ace up his sleeve.

After getting a taste of success last time, Zhou Shixiong placed even more importance on these soldiers who were skilled on the water. After this period of training, their numbers should have multiplied several times over.

Jin Qianqian dropped the subject and placed a large helping of vegetables into the bowl of Gu Benluo, who was eating beside her. "You can’t be a picky eater."

Gu Benluo’s face fell. He had hoped to quickly finish his meal while his parents were chatting so he could make a quick getaway, but he was a step too late.

"You should eat more," Ancient Wen Heng’s chopsticks followed suit. Gu Benluo secretly pulled his bowl closer, not daring to protest. He could only lower his head and eat diligently!

Ancient Wen Heng glanced at Gu Ben Can. The little boy had rice grains all over the place and was still energetically shoveling food into his mouth.

"We should start working on Can’er’s table manners."

Jin Qianqian said, "Let’s wait a little longer. He can’t even hold his chopsticks steady yet. There’s no point in being strict with him about this now; it won’t yield much result."

Ancient Wen Heng was speechless for a moment. "...Then let him practice more."

Jin Qianqian glanced at her younger son’s chubby body. "Maybe we should wait a while. More practice means more eating..."

Ancient Wen Heng was speechless.

Gu Benluo looked up at his little brother’s chubby cheeks, secretly pinched his own, and breathed a sigh of relief. ’This silly brother of mine really has a fool’s luck. It looks like he’ll escape Dad’s clutches this time.’

Ancient Wen Heng said, "Then tell the wet nurse not to carry him all the time. The backyard may not be big, but he can run a few laps."

At this, Gu Benluo was filled with nothing but sympathy. ’My silly little brother just learned to walk, and now he has to start running?’

He secretly glanced at Jin Qianqian, hoping his mother would be a bit more supportive and defend his brother.

Jin Qianqian said, "He should run around a bit. It’s better for children to be hardy.

And Luo Luo, you shouldn’t just stay in the courtyard learning to read with your tutor all day. Why don’t we have both of you brothers train with Master Wu for a while every day?"

In their second month here, Ancient Wen Heng had already hired a separate Western Tutor to begin Gu Benluo’s education.

A sharp mind needs a healthy body. Jin Qianqian felt it was time to start focusing on both of her children’s physical training.

She didn’t expect them to be masters of both literature and martial arts, but as their mother, she at least wanted to see them grow up healthy.

"That’s a good idea," Ancient Wen Heng naturally wouldn’t coddle his children. "When I see Brother Zhou tomorrow, I’ll ask him for someone."

Although the guards and Hidden Guards around them all had a foundation in martial arts, their training methods weren’t really geared toward general fitness and health.

The families of military generals, however, were different. They also had to accommodate weaker individuals, so some of their training methods were much gentler.

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