Chapter 282 — The Dragon Lord's Invitation
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
Sect Leader Shen is our sect leader and holy teacher, and he is also very concerned with these matters. As the Holy Maiden, the questions I ask the Princess are exactly the questions the sect leader cares about. " The two young women stared at each other with wide eyes.
Shen Mu ignored them.
Looking into the distance, he saw officials from the Waterways Bureau and the Farmlands Bureau inspecting the irrigation works, and the Bureau of Gardens and Husbandry checking fruit trees and vegetables, so he walked over.
The assistant director of the Gardens and Husbandry Bureau, an Incense Master of the Agriculture Hall, was digging in the dirt. He rummaged about, examined the soil, picked out some insect eggs, and said to Shen Mu, "Sect Leader, when the crops are turning from green to yellow, there will most likely be an insect plague. The winter snows were devastatingly cold, yet these pest eggs cannot be frozen to death.
In another three or five days, when the weather warms, they will hatch into insects.
In winter the refugees chopped down and burned all the grass and trees, so the insects will have nothing to eat but the crops. We must take precautions early, prevent the plague before it begins, and kill the insects as soon as they are born. " Shen Mu asked, "Incense Master, how does one prevent an insect plague?
" "Station experts in swordsmanship in the fields, have experts in magic apply the needle arts, or summon masters who raise gu insects to release creatures that will eat the pests.
" The assistant director stood up and clapped his hands; his body and hands were covered with mud. "Disciples from the Sword Hall, the Dharma Hall, and the Gu Hall can all come out to gain experience. " Shen Mu nodded and asked Fan Yunxiao to come over. "Brother Fan, pass along my order: the Sword Hall, the Dharma Hall, and the Gu Hall are each to send a dozen or more disciples here. " Fan Yunxiao summoned a bandit and ordered him to convey the message. Meanwhile the Waterways Bureau was putting the waterworks in order, dredging the silt out of channels and rerouting the waterways so that farmland could be irrigated more easily. On the other side, Farmlands Bureau officials were surveying the fields.
They took out sky-measuring rulers one after another and animated them with primal qi; each folded ruler unfolded and stretched longer and longer, and graduated scales appeared on its face.
Beside them, Imperial College scholars recorded the numbers while their primal qi grew into strange, many-part abacuses that clicked and snapped. The Vice Minister of Works, for his part, led the Ministry staff into midair, looked down over all the roads of Jiazhou, noted where they were damaged, and then went down to repair them.
"Shan Youxin is a capable man! " Shen Mu felt genuine admiration.
The Ministry of Works officials of the Jingping state handled their affairs in an orderly way, and everything they did truly benefited the state and the people. At the prefectural residence, the Prefect of Jiazhou gave Ling Yushu a report on the state of the prefecture.
Ling Yushu listened all night, then summoned the chief clerk to inspect the records and stayed busy without sleeping.
By the next day, both Ling Yushu and the Prefect were exhausted. No sooner had they stepped out than the Minister of Works, the Vice Minister, Shen Mu and the others were already waiting outside.
Vice Minister Shan Youxin presented several rolls of documents and said, "Your Highness, the irrigation, roads, fruit and vegetable problems in Jiazhou have all been handled properly; only the matters of the Farmlands Bureau require your attention. " "So quickly? " Ling Yushu exclaimed in surprise. Shan Youxin said, "Once Your Highness has read these, you can prepare to execute people.
" Ling Yushu's expression turned grave. "Is the annexation of land so serious?
" Shan Youxin nodded.