Chapter 1 A Bitter Smile

Clutching the imperial decree, Ye Tao stood frozen for a moment before slowly rising, offering a wry smile to his old friend Chi Yun, who had delivered the decree. Indeed, Tan Xiaopei had essentially approved their marriage and, as was customary, promoted all his titles and ranks by one level. The fact that his future father-in-law hadn't criticized his recklessness or fussed over the unconventional proposal was already quite generous. Tan Weixin was a special princess, so special that her current physical condition made basic marital activities like consummating the marriage absolutely impossible. For Ye Tao and Tan Weixin, since Tan Xiaopei had already accepted their relationship, the specific timing of the ceremony was irrelevant.

However, the appointment as Canal Governor left Ye Tao bewildered. Dongping intended to organize the waterways in a long, wide space on the Qingluo Plain, northwest of Danyang, north of Dongping's most important grain-producing area, and south of Dongping's most developed mining region, forming an efficient water transportation network. This way, once the canal system was established, both mineral and agricultural products could be transported to Danyang at a lower cost. This was a visionary plan. Because, if Dongping ever had the opportunity to unify the Central Plains in the future, Danyang, as the capital, would inevitably have to support a larger population and more diverse needs. The construction of the Danyang New District had been approved so quickly and was now nearing completion because Tan Xiaopei had been considering expanding and transforming Danyang into a more magnificent city, befitting the capital of a unified Central Plains empire, and he needed a model. And the canal would be the lifeline guaranteeing the capital's supply in the future. It would also be the main transportation force for continuously delivering stone and other building materials when establishing a new capital. Although many low- and mid-level officials believed that this motion was passed due to the increasing population of Danyang and the increasing demand for coal and other mineral products, Ye Tao knew from the information he received from Tan Weixin that it was definitely not that simple.

However, was this responsibility going to fall on him? Indeed, he could be considered the most comprehensive and most incredible architect of this era. In college, hydraulic engineering was at least an interesting course, but that didn't mean he had the ability to organize the construction of a canal. Especially when there were so many political and military affairs to handle behind the construction of the canal. If, besides him, this era truly lacked an experienced architect who could integrate various engineering projects, then the number of people whose ability to handle people-related political affairs surpassed Ye Tao's would probably be as long as the canal itself.

Could he decline? Impossible. Especially at this time, Ye Tao knew that Tan Xiaopei had him cornered. He sighed and drove to the Blood Kirin Army's camp. Now, even the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Revenue had to go to the Blood Kirin Army's camp when they encountered anything related to geography, requesting to bring out those scaled sand tables for observation. After conducting national map surveying and mapping training, the Blood Kirin Army spent a considerable amount of time enriching the original sand tables. The Blood Kirin Army's sand tables were uniformly scaled and could be pieced together to form an area roughly the size of a soccer field, representing the entire territory of Dongping and parts of the surrounding countries. Naturally, this magnificent project, which the Blood Kirin Army had created at great expense, became a tool that many Dongping courtiers needed to rely on when making decisions, but it also became a thorn in the side of other countries.

According to the memorial written by Shi Xiu that had been sent, the canal mainly involved the northwest of the Qingluo Plain, the area where the Qingshui River and the Luo River converged, and the south of the Qingluo Plain, the Xiao Ling River, which originated from Qingjing Mountain and flowed southeast into Chunnan after converging with several tributaries. Shi Xiu had formulated an extremely strange plan, connecting these three rivers west of Danyang to form a T-shaped canal system. Once completed, the three rivers that were of great significance to Dongping would be connected as a whole, allowing for the free transport of materials and personnel. In addition to guaranteeing the supply of Danyang, it would also be a channel for directly attacking Chunnan with a strong navy in the future when relations with Chunnan deteriorated.

Shi Xiu was an old water conservancy expert who had started out building river defenses. His memorial's feasibility analysis of the canal was mainly based on economic factors, based on relevant factors such as water flow and sediment, while it touched very little on construction difficulty, sequence, project management, and how the entire system could operate smoothly. Ye Tao compared the sand table and marked Shi Xiu's plan on the map, then circled the intersection of the three directions of the canal in red on the map: Here, without a doubt, a major city would emerge. This city would regulate the transportation capacity of the three canals, allowing the transactions around the three rivers to converge here. When this city developed, it would also become Danyang's most important satellite city. And when Ye Tao took a closer look at the map, he discovered that the place he had marked as a city was originally a place called Sufeng Town, and he couldn't help but be stunned.

...The Old Town District? If the canal district and trade district are built up, wouldn't this be Stormwind City? Ye Tao couldn't help but laugh. He didn't want to plagiarize *Warcraft* again, but Stormwind City would still be established because of him, and it would still be built by him. Oh well, I'll find a chance to create Darnassus sometime. Ye Tao smiled wryly, threw away the pen in his hand, and lay down on the rocking chair placed aside.

As Ye Tao prepared to continue studying the data, Chi Lei rushed into the war chess hall where the sand table was placed, and said to Ye Tao with incomparable astonishment, "What are you doing here? A bunch of people in the city are looking for you." After taking a look at the huge sand table, Chi Lei actually said with some amusement, "You wouldn't really be so serious that you've already started working, would you?"

Ye Tao said strangely, "So many complicated things, isn't it right to start preparing earlier?"

Chi Lei said both annoyed and amused, "That's right, that's right. However, don't you know what the biggest difference between a governor, a high-ranking official in charge of one area, and those city lords is? It's not that the governor's power is really much greater than the city lord's, nor is it that the governor has more military and political responsibilities than the city lord, but that the governor has to build a government office. Although His Majesty values you and trusts you, he can't possibly think that you can do so many messy things alone. Your most important job now is to set up the framework of your Canal Governor's office, and then you'll have many subordinates to help you do things."

Ye Tao nodded suddenly, as if somewhat reproachfully, and said, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Chi Lei chuckled and said, "Hurry back to Danyang. Today, you should just prepare to entertain guests at home. There are really so many people who want to go out and play with you."

"Play?" All the way back to the city in the carriage, Ye Tao was still thinking about what was so fun about the job of the annoying Canal Governor. His love for power was far less than those aristocratic children who had been pursuing power since childhood. Although many of the aristocratic children who were close to him were the rebellious type, disagreeing with the family's insistent promotion of how good it was to be an official, and how good it was to be a high-ranking official, and preferring to do what they liked. However, most of these people still wanted to prove in various ways that they had extremely high talent. They might be tired of climbing up the officialdom step by step according to the path arranged by their family, but they would never object to having a stage to show their abilities and interests. The reason why the Blood Kirin Army attracted so much interest from aristocratic children at that time, and was able to gather enough financial and material resources in a short period of time to form a cultural and capable officer class, was inseparable from the character and talents of these aristocratic children themselves. Ye Tao united those aristocratic children who were interested in military affairs through the Blood Kirin Army, and had long ago stirred the hearts of a group of aristocratic children who were not interested in military affairs, but were itching to get involved because of the Blood Kirin Army's repeated achievements.

Ye Tao, who was originally a little uneasy, didn't see a large group of people blocking the door to beg for official positions at home, but received a thick stack of visiting cards and invitation cards. Faced with this situation, Ye Tao had no choice but to set up a banquet at home and entertain everyone well. But to his surprise, at the dinner that day, although the host and guests were happy and the atmosphere was as good as any banquet that Ye Tao had convened in the past, no one explicitly proposed wanting to take on any position. Everyone congratulated Ye Tao on his appointment as Governor, wished him good political achievements during his term of office, and enthusiastically expressed their aspirations to serve Dongping's water conservancy and related undertakings... That was all. When the banquet ended, Ye Tao suddenly felt that something was wrong. In fact, it was very wrong. Logically speaking, these people who could get the news on the same day, and who were so unconstrained about running to Ye Tao's house to attend the banquet, bringing a dish or some wine as usual without a gift, had a very close relationship with him. According to usual practice, when these guys wanted him to help with something, they would never hesitate or be embarrassed, but why was the attitude so ambiguous now? Was it just because he had become a Governor? Had he become an official whose importance he hadn't even figured out yet?

With many questions, Ye Tao came to the Princess's mansion the next morning. He naturally had to ask someone who could understand him about this kind of problem that he couldn't figure out even if he racked his brains.

Tan Weixin never got up early. As long as there was nothing that needed to be busy with, she usually slept until she woke up naturally, and then lazed in bed for a while before getting up. After washing up, Tan Weixin looked at Ye Tao, who had finally been allowed into the room and was already a little impatient, and asked strangely, "What are you doing here so early? Don't you have a lot of things to do?"

Ye Tao told her about the situation yesterday in frustration, and asked, "Does being an official have this kind of effect?"

Tan Weixin frowned and looked at him as if looking at an idiot, and said, "What do you think your Canal Governor mainly does?"

"Build canals and manage waterways." Ye Tao replied.

"Is this your own understanding or did someone from the Ministry of Personnel tell you?" Tan Weixin asked with a smile.

"...This is... uh... my own understanding."

"Do you know what rank your Governor is, and how much jurisdiction you have?"

"I don't know."

"Do you know the coordination guidelines in the areas you are involved in where there are conflicts with the powers of other Governors?"

"I don't know."

"Do you know how much the Ministry of Revenue has allocated for the construction of the canal system, and which projects are these funds used to pay for? Which projects can be transferred to the local corvée system?"

"...I don't know."

"Then do you know how many ranked positions you are allowed to set up under your Governor's office, and how many people can use official titles recognized by the Ministry of Personnel and work for you with salaries paid by the imperial court?"

"...This... this..." Now Ye Tao understood what the problem was. It turned out that the various family members who came to the banquet all knew that he didn't know how many positions he could arrange at all, so they didn't want to make things difficult for him first. He had even been so presumptuous as to think that it was because he had become a high-ranking official that everyone was starting to distance themselves from him. This was a really big loss of face.

Ye Tao slipped out of Tan Weixin's living room, and he felt extremely depressed when he heard Tan Weixin's hearty laughter and that of her maids from behind him. He was now a Governor, after all!

When Ye Tao came to the Ministry of Personnel, ready to figure out all those things, it was the current Grand Tutor Huang Xuping who came to receive him.

Huang Xuping had been in the position of Grand Tutor for almost ten years. It was a bit of an overqualification for one of the current Three Dukes to explain the Governor's powers to Ye Tao, but facing Ye Tao, who was already a Governor, there was no need to be so rigid. Huang Xuping had always taken good care of Ye Tao over the years, and the reason was nothing more than his appreciation for Ye Tao's talent.

And through Huang Xuping, Ye Tao learned that there was a lot of attention paid to the position of Governor. In Dongping, although they were all called Governors, they were divided into three levels in terms of various powers. The first level of Governors were also called Theater Governors, and they were usually appointed during wartime, fully governing the military and political affairs of one area, and possessing supreme power in the area under their jurisdiction. The second level of Governors simultaneously supervised military and political affairs, but had clear definitions in terms of powers, and the size of the power depended entirely on the matters that the Governor's position was responsible for. The third level of Governors generally supervised the local area, focusing on political affairs, and limited command was only a means to ensure the smooth implementation of policies.

And the so-called Canal Governor that he was now serving as had powers that were so great that Ye Tao himself felt a little scared. Basically, as long as it was the upper and middle reaches of the Qingshui River and the Luo River, it was all within his jurisdiction. Within this scope, he could control the city lords or governors of various cities, use the corvée resources of all areas within the jurisdiction, arbitrarily mobilize the coolies who were mainly prisoners of war, and even order the troops in the jurisdiction to participate in construction or guarantee construction. Basically, except for the command after a war broke out, he had all the other powers. And with Ye Tao's current influence in the army, it was hard to say whether anyone in that area would dare to ask Ye Tao to hand over command once a war really broke out.

Is this really a responsibility that only a second-level Governor can bear? Ye Tao smiled wryly.

Wan Jia Xiong Meng

Hei Deng Xia Huo