Liu Qi was one of the civil servants selected to serve as an administrator near Saint Luo. His political achievents in Qin Territory were quite impressive, so he was promoted to be the mayor of a town near Saint Luo.
Actually, he didn’t view this as a promotion, because in Qin Territory, at least when he looked around, everyone was human with black hair; now he could only lead a group of dwarves busy in the fields.
The Great Tang Empire had many tasks to handle; war was just a small part of the nation’s operations. Most other people were working hard to develop productivity.
Liu Qi was just such a civil official: he had to oversee the farming during the spring plowing season, develop industries on regular days, manage various types of pollution, collect various taxes...
Originally, these tasks were supposed to be managed by seven or eight officials, but now personnel were insufficient, so all the responsibilities fell on his young shoulders.
The local dwarves were easy to talk to because it was the first ti they had seen such a diligent and fair official, naturally cooperating with his work.
What Liu Qi actually didn’t know was that the local dwarves had never seen an administrative official who had to ask about everything in such detail; those dwarf nobles basically knew nothing and didn’t care about anything.
When it ca ti for planting, the local landlords would organize people to work the fields, and everyone fard just to pay rent to the landlords, with no real enthusiasm.
But now, things were different; everyone watched as the Great Tang Empire’s soldiers strung up those dwarven landlords who did nothing but collect rent, and all the land beca property of the state.
Farming for the country incurred only a one-twentieth tax rent, and they enjoyed national agricultural subsidies, sothing the dwarves never dread of, but it had now beco reality.
The Great Tang Empire even provided farrs with higher-quality seeds, encouraging them to try more advanced farming and irrigation technologies to increase yield per acre.
In the past, no one was enthusiastic because no matter how much grain the land yielded, it never reached the farrs’ pockets. Things are different now; everyone farms for themselves, naturally being more careful and putting in more effort.
Now, spring has arrived, and Liu Qi’s daily concern is finding ways to let these farrs peacefully work the land and plant the appropriate crops as prescribed.
This is far more important than other tasks; the Great Tang Empire had not enacted any warti policies in the dwarf district, rely raising the priority of road construction in so areas slightly.
"Next week, I don’t care how, get a generator! The town must have electricity! Without electricity, how can I work?" Liu Qi threatened his colleague coordinating here while standing by the field ridge: "If you don’t provide the equipnt on ti, I can’t guarantee the progress of the work."
"Got it! Got it! We’re having a hard ti, too; you should understand. Everyone is waiting for equipnt, funds, manpower, resources, food seeds, and all sorts of things..." The equally young official spread his hands helplessly and replied: "I can only say I’ll try my best, I assure you."
"You assure shit; last ti you said the sa thing! I’m telling you, if you don’t bring what I want this ti, I’ll go to the city and lay at the door of Saint Luo City’s mayor’s office!" Liu Qi continued to threaten.
"Brother, don’t make it difficult for . Even if you force to death, I have no way out." The young official said miserably, thinking he should really quit and go back ho to farm. The farming conditions at ho were far better than this job.
"Do as you see fit! If things go wrong and affect His Majesty’s grand endeavor, how much is our head worth?" Liu Qi invoked His Majesty The Emperor again.
"Alright, alright! I’ll rush this matter when I return. If I can’t get the power equipnt, I’ll damn well bring a bicycle to generate electricity for you!" The young official, pushed to the brink, had no choice but to throw down harsh words before turning away.
"Hey! Hey! Don’t leave; I’ll treat you to dinner! Eat before you leave! If you don’t eat this al, I won’t feel assured!" Liu Qi chased after him, watched by several dwarf clerks standing there, exchanging glances.
This was the first ti in their lives they had seen people discussing work by the field edge, and it seed the other side was used to working this way.
But they had certainly never seen such a spectacle: in the past, if a few adults were discussing work, wouldn’t they find a good place, prepare food and drink, and arrange for the girls before proceeding?
Outsiders all believed the Great Tang Empire was mobilizing troops to the south with all its might, preparing to pressure the Allied Forces and break through their lines.
In reality, the focus of the Tang Army’s work had always been on building logistical transport lines, maintaining local public order, combating drug-related cris, and assisting local officials in improving the living standards of the local populace.
Even though Tang Army troops were advancing south, their speed was far from what the Allied Forces’ high command predicted. Despite the significant number of troops already at the border, the Tang Army had no intention of launching large-scale attacks during the planting season.
Strauss stated in his report to Marshal Tager that the best ti for an attack would be April, as his troops needed about a month to rest and replenish more heavy weaponry.
General Hog also placed the ti in his report at the end of March, suggesting that the 1st Corps had been fighting for a year and actually needed a period of rest before engaging in better combat.
Apart from them, General Feng Kezhi and Ying An’s forces had also paid a certain price during the siege of Furnace Fortress, and they too felt that the assault should be postponed as much as possible, waiting for the arrival of subsequent forces would be more effective.
In the telegram to Tang Mo, Marshal Tager similarly pointed out that, with a technological absolute advantage, cutting through the Allied Forces’ so-called fortified lines was not a difficult task; thus, he focused more on troops’ logistics and the continuity of subsequent offensives.
In short, the Great Tang Empire’s spring offensive, which the Allied Forces worried about, actually did not exist. The Great Tang Empire invested more energy into governing the dwarf district.
Historically, all wars of unification unfolded this way: there must be a clear strategy, which is to control an area once it is occupied—reckless pursuit of speed is absolutely inadvisable.
Moving like the wind might seem unstoppable, but it is very easy to lose montum after a single failure, just like Chuang Wang who once swept across the Great Ming Dynasty failed because of this.
Genuinely ambitious forces often take a steady approach, building high walls and stockpiling grain extensively. Although it appears slow, it is stable.
Tang Mo naturally understood these principles, so rather than sweeping across the Eastern Continent, he cared more about the governance efforts on the Western Continent and the progress of taking control over the dwarf district.
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