bookrebus Chapter 308 Snow Chains
Chapter 308 Snow Chains
In the end, Zuo Yongqing did not die, but was sent by Xiao Mo to dig iron ore. It would be a good thing for a corrupt official like him to die. Letting him dig iron ore for the rest of his life and slowly atone for his sins was the real punishment for him.
When they came out of the county government office, the snow outside had become much lighter. The two of them stepped on the thick snow and took a carriage back to the camp together.
"The situation in Ningchuan Prefecture is much more complicated than we imagined. Your Majesty, please think about how to deal with it."
"When we get back to the camp, I will send people to the counties that Zuo Yongqing mentioned just now to investigate carefully to see if what he said is true or not. If it is true, I will not be polite. I didn't have much money when I came to Ningchuan Prefecture. I happened to confiscate the homes of all the corrupt officials. The money I confiscated can be used to build Ningchuan Prefecture. It is very good."
"This is a big project. If the news leaks out, I'm afraid someone will transfer their assets in advance."
"Yes, so after I get the evidence, I'll attack them at the same time so that before they can react, I'll have already ransacked their homes."
After returning to the camp, Xiao Mo immediately called all his advisers and confidants to discuss matters. It was not until late at night that Xiao Mo returned to the king's tent.
Ye Jintang hadn't slept in the tent. She huddled beside the charcoal stove, covered with a thick woolen blanket and reading a medical book by a lit candle.
"why are not you sleeping?"
Xiao Mo took the medical book from Ye Jintang and kissed her eyes gently. "If you keep reading at night, your eyes will be damaged."
"Well, how are the discussions going over there?"
"Everyone's idea is to arrange a team of carriages to go to other counties and cities to investigate the tax silver issue early tomorrow morning. This way, when we arrive in Ningchuan City, we can basically take action."
"But you can see that the snow outside is so thick that the carriage can't go on the road at all."
When Xiao Mo came back just now, it was snowing outside again and the sky was pitch black without a single star. It was hard to say when the snow would stop and when their carriage would be able to set off.
Ye Jintang was silent for a moment and then asked, "What do we do with our carriage when it snows? It's not like we really don't need it anymore and have to rely on our two legs."
"In winter, carriages are equipped with wheels that have a stronger grip, but even with such wheels, they cannot travel on the snow for a long time."
"Your Highness, have you ever thought that if iron chains were installed on the wheels of the carriage, the carriage would be stable when traveling on the snow and would not slip?"
"Chains? I've never heard of chains tied to wheels. How can the carriage move?"
Xiao Mo looked at Ye Jintang with confusion.
"Sure. I'll draw it for you. It's not a very thick chain."
Ye Jintang took out pen, ink, paper and inkstone and drew an anti-skid chain for Xiao Mo to see.
"There must be blacksmiths in Yunliang County. We will take some over tomorrow morning to make emergency anti-skid chains first, and then we need to prepare some for ourselves. This way, even if the road is blocked by heavy snow, we can still move forward."
"Okay, then let's go put on some snow chains tomorrow and see if it works."
Xiao Mo leaned forward slightly and pulled Ye Jintang into his arms.
"Jintang, how can you be so smart?"
"I didn't invent the snow chain. I just read a lot of miscellaneous books. It was invented by people living in the ice and snow in the north. It snows all year round there. If you don't go out, you'll probably starve to death."
The next day, tiny snowflakes were still floating in the sky, with no sign of stopping.
Ye Jintang and Xiao Mo brought more than twenty strong men who knew a little about blacksmithing to a blacksmith shop in Yunliang County.
After looking at Ye Jintang's drawings, the blacksmith said that he could make anti-skid chains according to her requirements, but he would need dozens of them at a time and he didn't have that much iron.
Xiao Mo immediately asked people to go to the county government to recruit people, and all the iron ingots and other ironware in stock should be brought to the blacksmith shop.
Even Ye Jintang was searching in the space to see if he could find some iron products. After searching for a long time, he didn't find any large iron products, but he did find a lot of copper products and copper jewelry.
It seems that the Danyang Marquis's Mansion still has some wealth, and these copper jewelry are probably used to reward servants.
With the raw materials and people, the four anti-skid chains were made soon. Xiao Mo specially let the carriage be tested.
The carriage can still move forward steadily even when there is ice and snow on the road.
After confirming that the anti-skid chains could be used, Xiao Mo immediately arranged for people to start mass production. In just one day, dozens of anti-skid chains were ready.
At dawn the next day, more than 20 teams of horse-drawn carriages with anti-skid chains left one after another.
The issue of taxation and banking is of great importance, and even the most severe snowstorm cannot stop the people.
A heavy snowfall trapped Xiao Mo and his companions in Yunliang County. The snow did not stop, and he could not get on the road even with anti-skid chains. The strong wind blew the snowflakes on his face, which was very painful. Besides, people could bear it, but horses could not. If the horses got sick, they would have no chance of continuing their journey.
"Jintang, do you want to go hunting? It's snowing for two days straight. The pheasants and rabbits in the mountains must be starving. Let's go and take a look. Maybe we can have some extra food for dinner tonight."
Xiao Mo took out a small strong bow and handed it to Ye Jintang.
"I made this bow for you. See if it works well for you."
"Oh."
Taking the strong bow, Ye Jintang drew the bow and put the arrow on it. The sharp arrow flew towards a tree not far away. There was a dull bang, and the sharp arrow firmly stuck into the tree trunk.
"Not bad, it's only been a few days and your archery skills seem to be better than before."
"It's all because of your good teaching, Master."
Ye Jintang gently stroked the strong bow with her fingers, feeling very happy. She couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you help me carve a little wooden man? Why haven't you given it to me after so long?"
"Wait a minute. At first I thought carving little wooden figures would be easier than making strong bows. But I have already carved more than a dozen little wooden figures and have not carved a single one that looks good. It would be faster for me to learn how to make strong bows."
"I will keep it in mind now. You owe me a little wooden figure."
"Okay, sooner or later, I will carve a lifelike little wooden figure for you."
The two chatted and laughed as they walked towards the woods nearby. Just as Xiao Mo had said, it had snowed for two days and today the snowflakes were finally smaller, so many small animals took the opportunity to come out to look for food.
After a while, Xiao Mo and Ye Jintang both had some gains, especially Ye Jintang, who shot a pheasant on her first hunting trip. The feeling was very pleasant.
"Look over there, there's a snow-white hare."
Ye Jintang had sharp eyes and spotted the hare lying in the snow at a glance. Before she finished speaking, the arrow in her hand had already flown out. At the same time, a fiery red figure jumped up from the snow and pounced towards the hare.
Ye Jintang's arrow and the ferret pounced on the hare almost at the same time. The arrow landed on the hare's head and the ferret bit the hare's throat.
The arrow shot from the strong bow was very powerful. The hare and the ferret were lifted up by the arrow and stuck in the snow half a step away.
Even though it was lifted up by the arrow, the ferret still held the hare's throat tightly and showed no intention of letting go.