Chapter 21: The Forty-Mile City Wall

"Changqing." Xi Bei was already mounted on her horse. "I'll go with you."

"Let's go!"

With a flick of the whip, the thousand-li steed galloped forth.

Soon, Meng Changqing began to pull away from Xi Bei.

Her brown horse was a genuine thousand-li steed, chosen for her by the Crown Prince at the Royal Stud years ago.

While her master's horse was also excellent, it could not keep pace with this one.

The dust rising in the air felt like an unsharpened blade scraping against her exposed skin.

Meng Changqing had once measured this horse's speed; at its peak, it could run about a hundred li per hour.

As she rode, she counted the numbers.

From the place where they had set up camp to the foot of the Hongjia County city wall, she counted from 1 to 1,640.

Accounting for the reduction caused by the terrain, a simple calculation revealed that the wall she intended to build would be approximately forty li in length.

Meng Changqing waited at the foot of the wall for quite a while before Xi Bei arrived.

He marveled, "Your horse is truly impressive. The Imperial family really does have the best things."

"Who is behind you?"

Xi Bei turned to look back. "A few Imperial Guards, fearing you might encounter danger. Shall we head back?"

Just as Meng Changqing was about to nod, a voice drifted down from above: "Who goes there!"

The sentries on the city wall had spotted them, and seeing them dressed in the attire of the Great Liang, they gave them a chance to answer.

"The Magistrate of Beishan County," Meng Changqing replied loudly.

"So it is the Magistrate. Does your Excellency intend to enter the city?"

"Thank you for the kind offer, but I will not enter the city." Meng Changqing coughed twice and quickly popped a medicinal pill into her mouth. "Let's head back."

Chu Mufeng had just arrived with his men, only to see them running back the way they came.

Fortunately, they slowed down on the return trip. Chu Mufeng rode closer to Meng Changqing. "Magistrate Meng, we have received orders from the Palace to ensure your safety. Please do not act alone. In the future, regardless of where you are going, please inform us."

Meng Changqing decisively admitted her mistake and promised to report her movements to them from then on.

"Lord Bai, I must visit the county yamen on the fourth. I am letting you know in advance."

Upon returning to the camp, she saw that some of the pits had already been dug over half a meter deep.

As expected, her meals had not been eaten in vain.

Furthermore, once the permafrost layer was breached, the soil beneath was much easier to dig.

Half an hour later, the first group had finished their pit.

Meng Changqing took a measuring tape to check it; the hole was two meters deep, and they had dug steps outside the square frame to facilitate passage.

This was excellent; even if the entire top were covered, there would be no risk of suffocation.

"Good, you've done a fine job," Meng Changqing praised the first group. "Go get some firewood to bake the pit, then continue digging behind it."

Wang Xun had originally been very resistant to the idea of living in a pit, but looking at the finished excavation, it didn't seem so unacceptable.

He even jumped down to test it; it wasn't as oppressive as he had imagined.

Before dinner was ready, all the pits had been excavated. Once the tent cloths were draped over them, everyone had a temporary place to stay.

Of course, Meng Changqing was not one to settle for less.

Although her Beishan County yamen was already a ground-dwelling pit, she made some improvements.

She coated the interior with a layer of mud mixed with wood ash and placed a stove in the corner with a dug-out flue.

This clearly distinguished her office from the other pits.

Even the horses had accommodations.

Chu Mufeng led the Imperial Guards to build a stable; with wooden stakes driven in and carriage boards leaned against them, it provided some shelter from the wind.

Meng Changqing ate her dinner inside her pit.

The top was covered with tent cloth, thick curtains stripped from a carriage hung at the entrance of the steps, a charcoal stove burned in the corner, and a candle lit the table.

With the porridge on the table, she no longer had to rush her meal; if she set it aside for a moment, it wouldn't immediately go cold.

The temperature inside the pit was likely around eight degrees Celsius; she could finally take off her heavy cloak and padded jacket.

With the porridge bowl in her left hand, Meng Changqing used an abacus with her right.

She was calculating how much manpower and material would be required to build this wall.

She worked vigorously with the abacus beads and barely slept that night.

The commoners, however, slept very soundly. For a long time, today had been the day they ate the most, and they were sleeping in the warmest place they had ever known.

The next day, at the first light of dawn, Meng Changqing emerged from the pit.

She gave Zuo Datou a bronze gong and instructed him to wake the people to begin digging the wall foundations.

From this day forward, the construction of the wall would proceed day and night without pause.

Meng Changqing had carried her New Year's greetings on her person for three days. Finally, on the fourth day, at the third quarter of the Mao hour, she led her group out on fast horses toward Liangzhou City.

After passing through two city gates, she stood within Liangzhou just as the bell struck the Chen hour.

Chu Mufeng called out to her, "Magistrate Meng, I am sending Wang Xun to the post station to mail some letters home."

"Please, Brother Wang, do as you wish."

Meng Changqing led Bafang, Chu Mufeng, and two other Imperial Guards directly to the prefectural yamen.

The bailiff at the yamen gate happened to be the same person who had received Meng Changqing last time. He hurried forward to take the horses. "Magistrate Meng, you have arrived quite early!"

"Have the magistrates from the other counties not arrived yet?" Meng Changqing took the opportunity to inquire.

"The magistrates from Hongjia and Quping counties have already arrived." The bailiff signaled to a colleague. "Take the horses to be fed. I will escort Magistrate Meng inside."

Meng Changqing: "Thank you both."

"You are too kind, Excellency." The bailiff, likely knowing that the Prefect was her uncle, was very talkative with her. "To clear her schedule for today, the Magistrate only returned to her residence at the Hai hour last night. She should still be eating breakfast, so please wait with the other magistrates."

"That is only right."

As they spoke, she was led to the outside of a room.

"Please, enter, Excellency."

Meng Changqing pushed the door open. Inside were two middle-aged men in official robes sitting at a round table, holding teacups. They both froze when they saw her enter.

"Junior Meng Changqing greets the two Excellencies." After bowing, she took off her heavy padded jacket to reveal the official robes underneath.

Her mother had already helped her alter the robes, and they fit perfectly this time.

"Oh! It is the young Magistrate Meng." One of the officials stood up first and walked toward her. "Since you came to the foot of my county's wall yesterday, why did you not come into the city to sit for a while?"

"You are the Magistrate of Hongjia..."

"Yes." Before Meng Changqing could finish, he said, "My surname is Hua. I was an old acquaintance of your father."

"Lord Hua." Meng Changqing bowed again.

The magistrate of Quping County also walked to Meng Changqing's side, stroking his beard. "My surname is Zeng. I have no old acquaintance with your father, but I have often heard stories of General Meng from the old days."

"Lord Zeng."

Zeng Jing smiled. "Don't just stand there; sit down and talk. And your two companions should sit as well."

The two officials led her to the round table.

"I heard from Lord Hua that you are young, but I don't actually know how old you are this year?"

"I am fourteen."

"Oh, in which month was your birthday?"

"Good heavens!" Before Meng Changqing could answer, someone entered the room with a lament. As the person entered, they began unfastening their cloak while pointing at Meng Changqing. "This little Magistrate Meng... I've been chasing after you calling your name, and you didn't even bother to wait for me!"

Chasing her? The only person traveling the same route as her was the magistrate from Yangmen County.

"Lord Mao."

Mao Chunfang waved it off. "Don't be so formal. Someone, quickly, pour me a cup of hot tea."