Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

As the car left Beijing and headed south, the road gradually changed from brick and stone to compacted dirt. On both sides, farmland stretched out in patches, and the wheat ears were turning yellow, gleaming in the sunlight with a unique brightness that came before the harvest was finished.

The car was moving slowly, and the sound of the engine spread across the fields. Occasionally, people working in the fields would look up, straighten up and watch for a while, and then bend down again once the car was far away.

The city wall of Jizhou looked grayish-white in the afternoon sunlight. It seemed newer than when I last came. The weeds at the base of the wall had been cleared, and there were traces of fresh mortar in the brick joints near the gate.

The city gate was open, and two guards stood at the entrance. One was leaning against the wall, while the other was crouching by the threshold. They both looked up at the sound. The one leaning against the wall straightened up first, his hand on the hilt of his sword. He hadn't seen the metal-clad vehicle before, but he recognized the face behind the windshield. The one crouching by the threshold stood up, took a half-step back, and disappeared into the shadows of the gate.

When the car stopped at the gate, both of them could see the markings on the license plate frame and the glass pieces embedded in the two headlight covers. After Lin Yanzhou turned off the engine, the guard leaning against the wall turned his head and shouted towards the inside of the city wall, as if calling for the people inside to come out.

Lin Yanzhou got out of the car, signaled Xiaolan and Xiaoyu to wait in the car, and then entered the city gate.

Just as I walked through the doorway, Zhou Chongyuan was already walking towards me. Today he was wearing an old cloth armor, the edges of the armor plates worn white, making short, clinking sounds as he walked.

He stopped in front of Lin Yanzhou, first looking him up and down, then glancing at the pickup truck parked outside the doorway, his gaze lingering between the sheet metal and the windshield: "Grand Preceptor, you've brought your divine weapon all this way; did you alarm anyone?"

"After leaving the city, I didn't encounter many people. The people in the city would glance at the car a few more times, but no one got too close."

"That's good." Zhou Chongyuan turned to the side, gesturing for him to come inside. "I received the letter you sent yesterday, saying it would arrive today. I checked all the farm tools in the storeroom, and all the ones you left behind last time have already been used." He walked ahead, his steps large and fast, the sound of the armor plates clashing together continuous and short.

The reservoir was three miles east of the city. Zhou Chongyuan led him along a path that ran along the irrigation canal. The canal began to extend from three miles away, with rammed earth walls on both sides covered with a layer of mortar. Its slope was gentler than that of ordinary irrigation canals, as if it had been adjusted and calculated.

Zhou Chongyuan stopped at the water inlet, squatted down, and ran his palm along the inside of the canal wall. "It cracked last winter, about this long." He gestured the distance with his hand. "I repaired it in the spring with a newly mixed mortar, which is denser than the original. After the repair, I tested it again before the flood season, and there were no leaks."

Lin Yanzhou also squatted down to examine the repaired mark. There was a slightly darker ridge at the boundary between the old and new mortar. The surface of the newly repaired mortar was smoother than the old wall, as if some kind of fine material had been added. He measured the width and thickness of the repaired section with his hand, confirming the thickness and uniformity of the new mortar layer and that there were no obvious gaps at the junction of the repaired layer and the old wall.

He stood up and walked half a mile along the irrigation ditch until he reached a sluice gate. The gate's frame was made of stone, with rough chisel marks on the surfaces of the pillars on either side. A thick wooden plank was inserted in the middle, its edges blackened from water immersion. He crouched down and peered through the gap beneath the sluice gate at the flow rate and direction of the eddies as the water passed through: "If the rainfall is normal this rainy season, will the downstream fields be able to save their harvest?"

"As long as the autumn flood doesn't come early, it should be enough." Zhou Chongyuan squatted down next to him. "The old canal that was washed away last year is no longer needed. This one is three miles longer than the old one, and the slope is gentler, so the fields along the way can be irrigated. If there isn't much rain this summer, we can store water again and save it for autumn."

As he spoke, his gaze followed the direction of the irrigation canal all the way to the edge of the field ridge in the distance, as if he were mentally recalculating the relationship between the canal's carrying capacity and the actual water demand of the crops this season.

After returning from the irrigation canal, Zhou Chongyuan took Lin Yanzhou to the warehouse in the north of the city. The warehouse was small; several bundles of firewood and a stack of empty burlap sacks were piled up at the entrance. Pushing open the wooden door, the interior became much brighter. On the shelves against the wall, several rows of farm tools—plowshares, harrows, and hoes—were neatly stacked, separated by size. The ironware was coated with anti-rust oil, giving it a matte sheen in the shadows. In the corner were several burlap sacks, about half a person's height, their openings tied tightly, each labeled with the words "Divine Fertilizer" written in Zhou Chongyuan's own handwriting.

Lin Yanzhou took out a batch of farm tool parts and several bags of fertilizer from his ring space and placed them at the warehouse door. He turned around and saw Zhou Chongyuan standing by the threshold. His gaze fell on the hand that had been suspended in the air before Lin Yanzhou took the goods. Having witnessed Lin Yanzhou's amazing abilities, he was no longer surprised and did not ask directly.

Lin Yanzhou didn't explain much, but pulled a packet of instant noodles out of the box and handed it to him: "Try this one."

Zhou Chongyuan took it, looked down at the pattern on the packaging for a while, then tore it open along the seal, pulled out the dough and squeezed it: "This dough is denser and lighter than dry food. It's eaten in a similar way to dry food, but you need to use less hot water."

He broke off a small piece, chewed it, swallowed it, and carefully wrapped the remaining half of the bread in his pocket: "What about the shelf life?"

"If sealed properly, it can last a year." Lin Yanzhou pushed the cardboard box towards him. "Distribute this batch to each sentry post first, one for each person. Let the soldiers know that this thing exists and how to use it. There are bigger operations coming up, and they need to get used to it in advance."

Zhou Chongyuan glanced at the neatly stacked flatbreads in the cardboard box, his gaze lingering on the edge of the packaging for a moment: "How big of a move is this?"

Lin Yanzhou said, "Make preparations for the eastern expedition."

Zhou Chongyuan remained silent for a moment, not immediately pressing for answers. He simply moved the box of bread into a corner of the storeroom, then dusted off the bread crumbs from his hands: "Going east requires crossing the sea. My soldiers are all landlubbers."

"Then let's practice first."

Zhou Chongyuan turned his head to look at him: "How long will it take to train? We still need a big ship."

"Once you've trained enough to board a ship, I'll give you ten large ships. Well, that will make you invincible." After saying that, Lin Yanzhou turned and walked out. As he passed the training ground, he saw a soldier squatting next to the pickup truck, tentatively reaching out to touch the metal of the front of the truck before quickly pulling his hand back, as if afraid of getting burned.

Two soldiers were squatting next to him. One was examining the tires, pressing down on the sidewall to feel the elasticity of the rubber before pressing it again, as if repeatedly checking its hardness. The other stood behind the truck bed, peering inside without reaching out, just standing there to observe the outlines of the supplies and the tarpaulins.

When Lin Yanzhou walked to the car, the soldiers were so frightened that they quickly stood up, each taking a step back to make way.

The man massaging the tires was still looking down, his gaze fixed on the edge of the wheel rim, completing the observation he hadn't finished earlier. He glanced at them as he passed by, but didn't stop. He opened the car door, got in, and started the engine.

When the engine started up again, the three soldiers standing nearby took a half step back, but no one left. The dark gray, metal monster was slowly turning around.

Zhou Chongyuan stood at the edge of the drill ground, watching the cart pass through the city gate. He didn't speak, but just watched the two tire tracks that were gradually shrinking in the sunlight as they extended towards the city gate. Then he turned his head and glanced at the half-open box of emergency rations at the warehouse entrance and the batch of agricultural supplies waiting to be distributed. He thought to himself: The Imperial Advisor is truly a god.

When Lin Yanzhou drove the car out of the city gate, he was going a little faster than when he entered the city. The wheat fields on both sides were turning in the wind, and the gleam at the tips of the wheat ears receded quickly as he drove on.

Xiaolan, sitting in the passenger seat, turned her head to look out the window: "When those soldiers saw this car, their eyes widened just like mine when I first saw it." Lin Yanzhou laughed: "You'll be surprised by many more things in the future. Take it slow, you'll get used to it."