If I made you cannon fodder, how did you manage to achieve your goal of conquering the wolf's l

As soon as the order to build the canal was given, the area inside and outside Duanhebao became extremely busy.

As soon as the snowstorm stopped, people gathered on the wasteland upstream of the shallows. Bai Zhi and Zhao Lihua stood by the dried-up old canal, each holding a plank, assigning tasks.

Zhao Lihua trudged through the frozen mud, using a long wooden stick to measure the height of the ridges in the fields.

"This section of the field is cracked too deeply; water will easily leak in. The ridges on both sides need to be raised another half foot!" Zhao Lihua shouted to the men digging mud below. "Clear all the gravel from the bottom of the ditch, otherwise the water will swirl and damage the mud walls!"

Bai Zhi stood further upstream, carefully examining the abandoned old sluice gate.

The gate was made of thick bluestone and several sturdy ironwood logs, and wrapped with iron chains as thick as an arm. Because it had not been used for many years, the iron chains were covered with reddish-brown rust, and the cracks in the stone slabs were filled with withered weeds.

"Old Master Ma, is this wooden wheel still usable?" Bai Zhi asked the old craftsman Ma Fu, who was inspecting the waterwheel beside her.

Ma Fu tapped the spokes of the waterwheel with his short wooden mallet, listened to the sound, and then shook his head.

"It's half rotten," Ma Fu sighed. "Ma Rong used to have this waterwheel half-buried in the mud so he could put horses on it. The wood has been soaking in dirty water for years and is no longer strong enough. If a stream of water were to wash it away, it would surely fall apart."

Zhao Dahe, shirtless with a coarse burlap slung over his shoulder, was leading several young men from temporary households to carry newly cut pine logs over here.

Upon hearing Ma Fu's words, Zhao Dahe put down the timber and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Old man, we have this wood in our workshop. I've seen the design Miss Bai drew. We won't use nails; we'll just use mortise and tenon joints. I'll help you. Can we assemble this waterwheel in two days?"

Ma Fu looked at the pine logs on the ground, then at Zhao Dahe's calloused hands, and a smile appeared on his face.

"You've got some good strength, young man. Alright, as long as we have enough wood, let's get started today!"

The people in the makeshift workshop quickly got to work. The fresh scent of wood shavings mingled with the earthy smell, spreading in the cold wind.

However, when there are many people, friction is more likely to arise in the work area.

On the third day of the canal construction, a heated argument suddenly broke out in the middle of the old canal.

"Don't you know the rules, you outsider? This ridge is the old boundary line for our military households. What right do you have to dig it up?"

A former military household member from Duanhebao, gripping a shovel, angrily pointed at a new refugee across the street.

The migrant worker, not to be outdone, gripped his hoe tightly and retorted loudly, "I dug it according to the lines Miss Zhao marked! She said if this ridge is left standing, the water won't be able to pass through, and the fields below will all dry up! We've worked ourselves to the bone digging this ditch, are we just going to watch it dry up and stand there?"

"You dare to talk back? When did it become your place to meddle in this Broken River Fortress?!" The old military household was furious and made a move to swing his shovel.

Upon seeing this, several former military households and temporary residents gathered around, both sides armed with weapons, and the atmosphere immediately became tense.

"Put down what you're holding!"

A steady shout came from above the earthen slope.

Liang Shun led several Zhenbei cavalrymen down the earthen slope, separating the two groups. Xu Qingshan followed behind, his steps unhurried, his gaze sweeping over the faces of both sides.

"What's going on?" Xu Qingshan asked, looking at the former military household.

Upon seeing that it was the garrison commander, the former military household member's confidence waned slightly, but he still pointed to the leveled ridges on the ground and said, "Sir, these refugees don't know the rules and have leveled our family's former land boundaries. If the water washes it away, who will be able to tell which piece of land belongs to whom?"

Xu Qingshan didn't rush to conclusions, but instead turned to look at Zhao Lihua, who had rushed over.

Slightly out of breath from running, Zhao Lihua quickly explained, "Sir, that ridge was deliberately piled up by Ma Rong to block water when he was enclosing the horse farm. Now that we need to re-irrigate the fields, if this ridge isn't leveled, the water flow will be cut off, and at least two hundred acres downstream will go without water."

After hearing these words, Xu Qingshan walked to the leveled ridge in the field and poked at the frozen soil with his toe.

"Did you hear that?" Xu Qingshan turned around and looked at the former military household member. "That's the boundary line for Ma Rong's horse pen, not the field boundary line for you military households."

The former military household member opened his mouth, his face turning red and white in turns, unable to utter a rebuttal for a long time.

Xu Qingshan's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

"Now that the irrigation canal is open, it irrigates all the wasteland in Duanhebao. When the land was divided, it was measured and the boundaries were redrawn according to the newly established rules. The days of mutual suspicion and scheming are over in Duanhebao."

He looked at the new migrant who was arguing his case and nodded.

"You did the work according to the rules, that's right. Tonight, go to the kitchen and get two extra grain pancakes."

The refugee's eyes lit up, and he quickly thanked him, "Thank you so much, sir!"

Xu Qingshan then looked at the former military household member: "You're trying to protect your land, which is understandable, but remember, there's no distinction between old and new rules. If you resort to violence over this again, your land will be left for someone else to cultivate."

The former military household member immediately lowered his head, repeatedly agreeing, and dared not say another word.

A conflict that was on the verge of escalating was thus resolved with just a few words. After this incident, both the former military households and the newly arrived refugees finally understood that the rules of the Zhenbei Army were ironclad. If they wanted to be allocated land and have food, they had no choice but to put all their strength into working.

With this in mind, the canal construction progressed significantly faster.

On the evening of the fifth day, the silt and gravel in the old canal were finally cleared away, and the new waterwheels repaired by Ma Fu and Zhao Dahe were also set up.

Almost all the men, women, and children of Duanhebao gathered around the sluice gate.

Xu Qingshan stood on the high ground, looking down at the crowd who were ready, and raised his arm.

"Open the floodgates!"

At a command, a dozen shirtless young men worked together to turn the huge wooden winch connected by iron chains.

With a piercing metallic scraping sound, the old gate, which had been sealed for several years, was slowly pulled up.

boom--

The river water, which had been blocked for a long time, surged in through the opened gap, making a sound like muffled thunder.

The turbid river water rushed over the diversion weir and down the newly dug ditch, creating white splashes as it was propelled by the waterwheel.

The water flowed slowly along the crisscrossing furrows, seeping into the long-parched, barren fields. The soil greedily drank in the long-awaited rain, making soft, rhythmic sounds.

The old military households of Duanhebao stood on the ridge of the field, watching the originally gray and dry land gradually become moist and dark, and many of them had tears in their eyes.

An elderly man with gray hair squatted down, grabbed a handful of damp soil, and said in a trembling voice, "The water has come... this land is alive."

A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the crowd. Several men who were temporary residents hugged each other excitedly, their eyes filled with anticipation for next year's spring planting.

As the water channel opened, a light blue system notification appeared before Xu Qingshan's eyes as expected.

[Restoration of basic farmland in Duanhebao.]

The territory's food self-sufficiency capacity has increased.

However, Xu Qingshan did not relax amidst the cheers. He led Bai Zhi, Liang Shun, and several Zhenbei cavalrymen along the canal to another mechanism on the edge of the shallows.

"Everyone only sees that this irrigation canal can irrigate the fields." Xu Qingshan looked at the riverbank below, his tone becoming very cold. "But this irrigation canal has a second use."

Liang Shun asked, somewhat puzzled, "Sir, how else can this canal water be used?"

Bai Zhi walked to a protruding rock and pointed to several crevices in the riverbed below, which were covered by aquatic plants.

"What we just opened was an open sluice gate, used to draw water for irrigation," Bai Zhi explained. "But I also had a hidden sluice gate built below it."

She beckoned to two soldiers to turn a smaller winch.

With a series of clicking sounds, several heavy wooden planks slowly rose from the riverbed below, blocking the flow of water downstream.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the originally calm river began to accumulate rapidly, and the water level rose at a visible speed.

"The water level has risen now." Bai Zhi pointed to a large low-lying area on the other side of the shallows. "Look over there."

Having lost its downstream outlet, the river water, following the terrain, began to flow eastward into the low-lying area that normally appeared to be solid. Large amounts of water soaked the soil, quickly turning that area into a muddy, waterlogged mess.

Xu Qingshan had a soldier carry a heavy, dead tree and throw it forcefully into the low-lying area.

With a "plop".

The deadwood fell into the muddy water, but instead of floating, it quickly sank into the soft, mushy mud due to gravity, and soon only a small part of it was sticking out.

Liang Shun gasped as he watched this scene.

"If this were a cavalry charge..."

"If enemy heavy cavalry were to pass through here, both men and horses would get stuck and become sitting ducks," Xu Qingshan said calmly. "In peacetime, the canal is used to irrigate the fields, and in wartime, the downstream section is blocked to raise the river level and turn this area into a mud pit. This is the second use of this canal."

Liang Shun clenched his fist, his eyes filled with awe: "Your Excellency, the garrison commander is truly insightful and far-sighted; I admire you!"

Just then, the system notification updated again.

[Defense rating for riverbank breaches and shallows improved.]

Seeing the improvement in the defense rating, Xu Qingshan felt much more at ease. With this natural swamp defense line, if the Black Wind Stronghold bandits wanted to launch a frontal assault on the shallows, they would have to pay with their lives.

As everyone was testing the gate, a scout responsible for patrolling the perimeter came running over quickly.

"Sir, a mule cart has arrived outside the fort. The man is a salt merchant who says he's from Bailangji and specifically wants to see Manager Su."

Xu Qingshan's eyes flickered as he looked at Su Jinniang beside him.

"The merchant from White Wolf Market? Let him come over."

Before long, a man wearing a tattered sheepskin coat and shivering from the cold was brought before the crowd. He was driving an old mule cart loaded with several bags of coarse salt, and his eyes were filled with fear when he saw the heavily armed border soldiers around him.

"I...I'm just a salt seller," the man stammered.

Su Jinniang stepped forward and looked him up and down: "You recognize me?"

The man glanced at Su Jinniang, carefully took out a wooden plaque from his pocket, and handed it over with both hands.

"I don't recognize you. It was... a brother named Ding Wang who gave me two taels of silver and asked me to deliver this plaque to Duanhe Fort, saying that as long as I give it to Manager Su, you will understand."

Upon hearing the name "Ding Wang," Su Jinniang's gaze immediately turned serious.

Ding Wang was a survivor of the Shuntong caravan. After being rescued a few days ago, he volunteered to keep watch for news in Bailangji for the Zhenbei Army. Since he sent someone to deliver supplies, something big must have happened in Bailangji.

Su Jinniang took the wooden plaque and recognized it as an old cargo plaque used by the Shuntong caravan to seal goods after just one glance at the pattern on the front.

She flipped the wooden sign over.

On the back of the wooden plaque, a line of tiny characters was carved crookedly with the tip of a knife. The characters were very new, clearly carved not long ago.

Su Jinniang's expression changed drastically when she saw the words, and she immediately handed the wooden plaque to Xu Qingshan.

Xu Qingshan took the tag and his eyes fell on the small print.

"Wanhe will close down in three days."

These seven short words conveyed a strong sense of murderous intent and urgency.

"Wanhe Auto Dealership..." Xu Qingshan gripped the license plate tightly, his eyes flashing coldly. "It seems the leader of Black Wind Stronghold can't wait to destroy the evidence."