Chapter 36 Crescent Valley

Ying Yi said again: "After the county magistrate has rested, he will not stay here any longer. There are four thousand households in Ye County, and more than 20,000 people are hiding in the mountains. The county magistrate will definitely pass by. When the time comes, scholar, follow me. Go check it out.”

Sun Xiucai's eyes flashed and he said with a smile: "With the ability to hide more than 20,000 people, there must be a great treasure in the mountains."

Then they said goodbye, and Ying Yi quietly left Fangcheng Mountain alone.

Ying Yi's physical strength is unimaginable to ordinary people. With only one pair of legs, he could walk faster than a galloping horse. I walked alone in the vast wilderness, and soon returned to the vicinity of the county town.

The county town was completely white. Except for the city walls, almost everything inside was burned. Ying Yi sighed slightly and turned towards Liujiazhuang.

Liujiazhuang still looked abandoned. Ying Yi entered the village, turned left and right, and came to a dry well.

A large stone weighing several thousand kilograms rested on the dry well, with only a slight gap exposed. Ying Yi stretched out his hand and pushed the stone away. He then picked up the rope stuck at the mouth of the well and lifted a person out of the well in a few strokes.

It was the woman named Yuan.

Last night, Ying Yi escorted Zheng Yunzhi's family and a group of craftsmen to Xiaowangzhuang. When he came back, he first quietly moved the woman named Yuan out of the city, and then made her return home for the first time. No one knew that Ying Yi could be so quick.

Ying Yi disdains this woman. Speaking of which, if you don't care and let him burn to death in the city, it won't be a big deal. It's just that Ying Yi has a bottom line after all. Since Yuan Tong has accomplished what he told him in exchange, Ying Yi doesn't bother to kill this woman.

The woman surnamed Yuan was very depressed. Although Ying Yi did not deliberately abuse her, she was too busy these days, and Sun Xiucai and Er Niu were not around, so it was always difficult to have a full meal and a hungry meal.

"I don't understand what you want to do."

The woman spoke in a low voice.

Ying Yi smiled: "This has nothing to do with you. As long as Yuan Tong does what I asked you to do, you can leave."

While talking, Ying Yi took out a wooden board and wrote on the wooden board with his fingers, "Here ten days later, April 23rd of the 15th year of Chongzhen." He erected the wooden board at the entrance of the village and left Liujiazhuang with the woman surnamed Yuan.

This board was left to Yuan Tong.

Ying Yi knew that Yuan Tong would definitely come to Liujiazhuang after returning from Kaifeng. Apart from Liujiazhuang, he had nowhere to go. And the time he gave Yuan Tong was ten days, starting from today, April 23rd, to meeting here on the third day of May.

As long as Yuan Tong completed what he asked, he would return the woman named Yuan to Yuan Tong.

It was already dark before Ying Yi took the woman named Yuan back to Fangcheng Mountain.

At this time, Zheng Yunzhi had already left, and Wang Zhongguan also followed him. However, more than two hundred craftsmen are still here.

"Brother Ying, the county magistrate asked you and said he had something to discuss." Erniu said, "I want you to see him tomorrow."

Then he added: "I said that the Baihu official called Zhang Shi will come to pick you up tomorrow."

Ying Yi nodded: "I understand. This woman is temporarily under your care. Remember not to neglect her."

Erniu scratched his forehead: "Don't worry, brother Ying."

A night of silence.

The next day.

In the morning, Ying Yi organized craftsmen to help open up wasteland. More than 200 people worked together in the valley with only more than ten acres of land. Even though there was a serious shortage of tools, they were all able to manage it. At noon, Zhang Shi arrived.

"The Crescent Valley is not far from here." Zhang Shi said: "Go out from the other end of the valley and climb five hills to the right."

Ying Yi thought for a while and realized that the so-called Crescent Valley should be at the northern foot of Fangcheng Mountain. Ying Yi hasn't gotten involved yet, so no wonder he doesn't know. If there hadn't been the bad news about Xiaowangzhuang, I'm afraid Ying Yi would have gone there chasing his prey before too long.

"How big is the Crescent Valley?" Ying Yi asked, "Can more than 20,000 people be self-sufficient?"

Zhang Shi said: "Ying Baihu doesn't know that the Crescent Valley is indeed a treasure land. There are more than ten valleys, large and small, with thousands of acres in the big ones and hundreds or dozens of acres in the small ones. When connected together, it is like a valley. Crescent moon, hence the name.”

"Oh." Ying Yi nodded noncommittally: "Just wait a moment, I'll explain a few words and then leave."

Ying Yi called Er Niu and said, "I'm going to see the county magistrate right now. For the time being, you organize the craftsmen's households according to what I gave you this morning. In the past few days, you will first build houses along the cliff, and then level the land in the valley." .”

Erniu nodded: "I understand, Brother Ying."

Ying Yi knew that Erniu might not be able to hold down more than two hundred craftsmen, but now that Sun Xiucai was away, he had to leave it to him.

Zhang Shi led the way out of the small valley, climbed up the northern slope from near the salt cliff, and climbed over the mountains and ridges. It was only when it got dark that they arrived at the Crescent Valley.

Under the dim light of the sky, Ying Yi stood on the top of the mountain and saw little bits of firelight gathered into groups. There were some gaps in the middle, but when connected in series, they looked like a crescent moon. It was really beautiful.

"A veritable Crescent Valley."

Ying Yi smiled.

Zhang Shi said: "Originally, there were many wild animals here, which were treasures for us hunters. But now that people have come, the wild animals have long been driven away."

He added: "The mountain streams in half of the mountain range gather here to form lakes and pools, and there is no shortage of water sources. Farming is better than outside the mountains."

"It's just that the area is smaller." Ying Yi said: "I think the total of these dozen valleys only has a few thousand acres of land. With four thousand households, each household can't support two or three acres at most."

Zhang Shi scratched his head: "I don't know."

Ying Yi sighed secretly and said, "Let's go, get down."

Although it is a treasure land, cultivable land in the mountains is too scarce. These thousands of acres of land cannot support the self-sufficiency of more than 20,000 people. This is not the time when food production was far lower than that of Ying Yi hundreds of years later. During this period, even in peacetime, a family of five would need twenty acres of land to live a moderately comfortable life.

The construction of Crescent Valley is beginning to take shape. After all, Zheng Yunzhi started relocating people years ago. The houses are also built along the cliffs to avoid occupying too much fertile land, and the houses are very simple and small. There are also many caves that seem to have been dug by humans.

In general, land resources here are scarce, so if you can occupy less land, you can occupy less land.

In a wider cave, Ying Yi met Zheng Yunzhi.

The cave is divided into several spaces by curtains and wooden boards. The bedrooms and halls are all well-equipped despite being small. After all, Zheng Yunzhi is a very particular person.

With an oil lamp and two stone piers, Zheng Yunzhi asked Ying Yi to sit down and said, "You should have roughly seen the situation here."

Ying Yi nodded: "The area is too small."

Zheng Yunzhi sighed: "Yes. There are more than ten Chuangu, and the total area is less than 6,000 acres. Excluding the living area, the area that can be used for farming is less than 5,000 acres. It is difficult to be self-sufficient."

"Outside the mountain there is chaos and war, but inside the mountain it is narrow and cramped." Ying Yi said, "There is nowhere in the world to have the best of both worlds."

"I just hope that the thieves will be eliminated soon. Otherwise, it will be three months at most." Zheng Yunzhi said worriedly: "In three months, we will be hungry."