Who says the prince is weak and can't take care of himself?

Chapter 172 I Don’t Treat You as an Outsider

Zong Sheng didn't expect this.

"Speaking of you, His Highness kept you here because you're the one he trusts the most, and that's why he entrusted Tang Ling to your care. Tang Ling, Master Tang, your life! When His Highness returns, Master Tang will beat you to death if you even cough."

Zong Sheng nodded silently and said he would take good care of Tang Ling.

Chi Yue poked Zong Sheng on the forehead and said, "Silly!" He muttered, "I hope His Highness can consider me."

Now Qi Xiao has almost given up his guard against Chi Yue, but it cannot be said that he trusts him much. He just thinks Chi Yue is an important and useful person.

Zong Sheng looked at Chi Yue and said, "I treat you well."

"What? I was sent by His Majesty. He just can't get rid of me. Besides, I'm still useful."

Zong Sheng wasn't as good at speaking as Chi Yue. He knew a lot of things but couldn't express them clearly, so he thought for a moment before saying, "I don't treat you as an outsider."

"Oh? Why can't I see that?"

"I can't put it into words." This is a feeling. Zong Sheng has been with Qi Xiao for so many years. Although he may not know Qi Xiao's thoughts clearly, he knows Qi Xiao's likes and dislikes, and knows when Qi Xiao is pretending and when he is being sincere.

Furthermore, from the first day Chi Yue arrived, Qi Xiao knew that Chi Yue and Zong Sheng were old acquaintances, and he had always kept Zong Sheng by Chi Yue's side, but he had never asked Zong Sheng to keep an eye on or monitor Chi Yue. Qi Xiao had previously asked Zong Sheng if Chi Yue could be trusted, but Qi Xiao knew the answer. During Chi Yue's time here, he had accepted all of his suggestions. If that wasn't trust, what was?

"Okay. I believe you." Chi Yue patted Zong Sheng's shoulder and pulled him up, "Come on, walk with me."

"where to?"

"Let's go for a ride around the camp and take a look at Fenglin Mountain."

"it is good."

"You're not going to be so mean as to throw me into a ravine, are you?"

"……Won't."

Chi Yue smiled, pulled him into a hidden spot behind the tent, and leaned forward to kiss Zong Sheng. It was a little sloppy, not satisfying, so he kissed him again.

Zong Sheng was stunned at first, then he stretched out his arms, hugged Chi Yue in his arms, and kissed him sincerely.

***

"One, two! One, two! One, two!"

Along with the loud shouts, Fenglin Mountain was filled with the sound of knives and axes chopping, dull and muffled, one after another, and then the huge trees collapsed with a loud bang.

Qi Xiao divided the thousand people into several groups, including those who were exploring the way, cutting wood, clearing the road, chopping wood, transporting, setting up camp, and two groups for rest, with each shift lasting two hours.

The original road in Fenglin Mountain was so narrow that only two people could walk side by side. It was winding and overgrown with weeds. The sides of the road were lush with branches and leaves. It was difficult to march on such a road, and it was impossible to transport food.

To widen the road, ideally creating a straight route, they had to cut down trees. Many of the trees in the forest were towering and had grown for decades or even centuries, so felling just one tree could take hours.

How to cut down a tree that can be hugged by three people and in which direction to fall it are not easy. It is not easy at all to build a road with wood according to Tang Ling's idea.

As soon as he entered the mountain, Qi Xiao was nearly hit by a tree. The tree was already dead, its trunk hollow, and it fell in the wrong direction. Qi Xiao was agile and dodged quickly, but some people were still injured. Fortunately, the injuries were not serious, and after a simple bandage, they were allowed to leave the mountain first.

Conception is one thing, implementation is another.

The trees in Fenglin Mountain are tall and the forest is deep. Qi Xiao can't see the sun even if he looks up. He can't help but sigh. He has to bite the bullet and do it, otherwise the food will not be transported into the mountain.

Until noon, Qi Xiao had only advanced less than a hundred meters, and the speed was very slow.

That does not work.

At noon, Qi Xiao asked everyone to stop and rest, gathered the ten centurions together, and asked for their opinions.

The centurions had no problem leading the troops, but they were completely baffled by the road-building process. After a while of whispering, one centurion said, "Your Highness, we usually use wheelbarrows to transport food from the camp to the mountain outpost. Can't we use that?"

Qi Xiao and his companions were still on the outskirts of Fenglin Mountain, where there were mountain paths and trails. The three routes he had chosen all made the most of these paths and trails, and they were passable by unicycle. However, the mountain outpost and the hot spring valley were far away, and there were no decent mountain paths. Otherwise, Qi Xiao wouldn't have had to worry about it.

Qi Xiao shook his head: "If we go a little further into the mountains, there will be no road that can be passed by cars."

"Any path that a person can pass through can also be passed by a unicycle. It shouldn't be a problem for us to open a mountain path that is wide enough for two people to pass side by side. It's easier than cutting down trees."

Qi Xiao still shook his head. "I won't hide it from you. This time, I've been ordered to come to Yuanzhou Prefecture to select elite soldiers from the Dingyuan Army and march into Fenglin Mountain. This is to prepare for a battle with the State of Qi next spring. Therefore, we'll have to spend the entire winter in the mountains. The food a wheelbarrow can carry simply isn't enough. Even if each person had a wheelbarrow, it would still take at least three trips."

The centurions were stunned. Some of them had already guessed it. When Chen Heng and Lu Xiulin were selecting elite soldiers, they didn't know what they were doing. But when Qi Xiao showed up this morning and revealed his identity, some of them guessed that a war was coming.

But, can this kid do it?

Centurion Yan Chuan looked at Qi Xiao silently. This Ninth Prince was really confusing.

He suddenly appeared early this morning, leading his men into the mountains and getting to work without a word. When the tree fell this morning, Yan Chuan was not far away, and his heart was in his throat. If the tree really killed the prince, they would all be punished. But Qi Xiao dodged it and escaped unscathed.

Qi Xiao possesses martial arts skills and doesn't seem too delicate, but he doesn't seem to be trying to win people over through trickery. What exactly is he trying to do? Just to build a plank road deep in the mountains?

Qi Xiao met Yan Chuan's gaze and asked, "What's your name?"

"Your Highness, this is Yan Chuan."

"Yan Chuan, what solution have you come up with?"

Yan Chuan thought for a moment and said, "I think Huang Dawei's proposal is feasible."

Qi Xiao had just said no, and Yan Chuan had dared to defy him directly. His audacity was astonishing, but the centurions present were surprised but not alarmed. The King of Chu was a distinguished figure, but even his status was useless in Fenglin Mountain. Who would truly fear him? It would be much better if he could just scold and beat him back, so he wouldn't have to stay in the mountains all winter to attack Qi.

Qi Xiao looked at Yan Chuan. This man seemed to be the youngest among the centurions. He deliberately provoked him, but there was no disdain in his eyes. Was he just straightforward?

"What do you think."

"To spend the winter in the mountains, we need a lot of food. It's really troublesome to transport it by wheelbarrow. Besides, winter is approaching and time is tight. So I thought, can we use wheelbarrows to transport a batch of food into the mountains first? When we reach a place where there is no road, we can dig a cellar to store it. We can transport as much as we can and store as much as we can. Then we can continue to drive along the mountain road and transport the food into the mountains one section at a time."

Qi Xiao lowered his head and remained silent for a while.

No one knew what Qi Xiao was thinking. They just felt that his face was gloomy and they wondered if he would get angry with Yan Chuan.

The person next to Yan Chuan elbowed him and whispered, "Aren't you afraid of offending him?"

Yan Chuan ignored him. If he just answered Qi Xiao's questions honestly, he would be offended. How could he entrust his life to him in the future?

"How about we set fire to the forest? That's what we do when we clear land in our hometown. Let's burn it first."

Qi Xiao looked at the man who was talking. What a stupid idea! He couldn't help but sigh, "No, not to mention that it rained a few days ago and I'm afraid it won't burn. I'm afraid that if it does, the fire will be out of control and the whole Yuanzhou Prefecture will be in trouble."

Qi Xiao left Beijing because of the Fenglin Mountain fire.

The man shrank his neck and dared not speak anymore.

"Your name is Huang Dawei?" Qi Xiao looked at the person who spoke first.

"Yes, yes, that's right."

"Take your men back to the camp now and have General Chen prepare a wheelbarrow to try and transport it once."

"Yes Yes."

"Let's level the road first. It's time to explore the way. Have the logging team stop first and choose a place on the road we just cut out to dig a cellar. Yan Chuan, pick twenty good fighters and follow me."

"As ordered."