My reborn husband and son are thinking about how to kill me every day.

"You are the ones who put the people within a hundred miles in danger, so you are being punished by having to repair the road to make up for their losses, and also to teach you a lesson."

Ji Yunshuang said, "During your labor service, I will have people prepare three meals a day for you and provide you with a doctor to take care of your health."

If any of you fall ill with the disease, a doctor will give you medicine and take you to be isolated for treatment.

Other illnesses will also be treated by doctors. You can rest assured that my punishment of forced labor is to make you realize your mistakes, not to take your lives.”

Listening to Ji Yunshuang's words, the soldiers inexplicably felt that this was not so bad. At least they didn't have to worry about being beheaded or dying from the plague.

After they had eaten a hearty meal as arranged by Ji Yunshuang, they picked up hoes and other tools.

Only then did they belatedly realize how they had come to believe Ji Yunshuang's words and how they had obeyed her so readily.

If we had to delve into it, aside from their current predicament, it would be that Ji Yunshuang naturally exudes a sense of approachability and trustworthiness when she speaks!

This group of deserters who were found were then assigned by Ji Yunshuang to work on road repairs.

If this road is completed, it will greatly shorten the distance between Zhengcheng and Jingyangcheng, Ningcheng and other places, accelerate the operation of commerce, and improve the economy of various places.

However, she has them repair only a section of the road so far. The task of completing the entire road is still long and arduous.

Ji Yunshuang's arrangement was considered a divine achievement by the soldiers of Zhou.

By making this arrangement, she not only punished the deserters but also made use of them, turning them into servants of the Zhou Kingdom.

The key point is that the tools needed for road repair arrived at the right time. What does this mean? It means she had planned it all along!

It was planned long ago that deserters from Qi would be sent to build roads for Zhou.

When did she start planning?

Those hoes, shovels, and wheelbarrows were all new models they had never seen before; they were clearly specially made by Lord Ji for the Qi army to repair the road.

Even if we mass-produce so many tools, it would still take a lot of time!

She had foreseen today's victory and anticipated that the Qi army would have to do the hard labor for them!

What a brilliant mind!

It's so terrifying!

Originally, in the hearts of the soldiers, Ji Yunshuang was a person who was both literate and martial, unparalleled in history, and so outstanding that she could be called an emperor.

But at this moment, Ji Yunshuang was elevated to godhood in their hearts.

Ji Yunshuang was unaware that this small arrangement would elevate her status in the soldiers' hearts even further.

How could she possibly have foreseen so much in advance?

Those hoes, shovels, and other tools were all taken directly from her spatial dimension. Because they were tools used by modern people, they were different from those of this era.

All she did was ask Chen Wu to find manpower and a suitable secluded place when she went to the space to make medicine. Later, she would find time to put these tools in the secluded place arranged by Chen Wu, and have the people he arranged send them to Zheng City.

However, she did plan it when she was negotiating with General Yao: to have the Qi army do hard labor to promote the infrastructure and agricultural development of the Great Zhou.

Sending deserters to repair roads is just the first step in her plan. Afterwards, she intends to use Qi soldiers to build water conservancy projects.

However, that's a matter for later. Right now, we must pay close attention to the people along the Qi army's escape route to prevent the spread of the plague and the misfortune of innocent civilians.

Ji Yunshuang instructed Xu Xi to arrange for people to patrol the surrounding area so that people could receive medication in a timely manner, control the epidemic, and prevent it from worsening.

Xu Xi immediately made the arrangements.

Meanwhile, news also came back from the other groups of soldiers who had been sent out to track down the deserters.

Zhong Xu's soldiers were heading towards the direction of the State of Qi to investigate.

The news he brought back was also the least optimistic.

Zhong Xu bowed to Ji Yunshuang and said, "My lord, we tracked down to the border of Qi and found that many soldiers had entered Qi territory. During the pursuit of deserters, we had a conflict with the soldiers on the Qi border and informed them of the situation."

But they didn't believe us and wanted to arrest us. They outnumbered us, and to avoid unnecessary casualties, I had to abandon the pursuit of the remaining deserters.

I first led my men back to report the situation to you. Now, I have brought back my deserter! What should we do next?

Ji Yunshuang said, "Good advice is useless to those damned fools! Since they don't believe us, let them be!"

After she finished speaking, she asked, "How many deserters did you recruit along the way?"

Zhong Xu said, "There are more than 5,000 in total, of which about 2,000 are infected. They have all been given medicine to treat the epidemic as you instructed. The more than 2,000 infected soldiers are unable to walk, so they have all been settled in remote places."

As before, Ji Yunshuang assigned all the deserters who had not yet contracted the disease to repair roads.

To prevent accidents, personnel have been assigned to patrol all sections of the road under construction.

In addition, there were arrangements for the food and lodging of the deserters responsible for road construction.

While it's true that you don't need to provide the best food for deserters from enemy countries, it can't be too bad either.

Firstly, the conditions are too poor; these people might not be able to endure it for long and could die. This not only causes unnecessary losses but also easily leads to rebellious behavior among these deserters, resulting in escapes and resistance.

Therefore, in addition to ensuring they have enough food to sustain their physical labor, their working hours should not be too long. Ideally, after a long day of work, they should have some entertainment so that they don't find it too unbearable.

After careful consideration, Ji Yunshuang arranged for someone to tell stories to the soldiers who were working every evening after dinner.

The story she told was about a male-oriented online novel she found on her social media platform.

The protagonist is a cultivation failure who is looked down upon by everyone in the cultivation world. His fiancée breaks off the engagement and brings the second male lead to humiliate him.

The story revolves around a male protagonist who endures countless humiliations. Later, through a series of coincidences, he encounters a fortuitous opportunity. With his continuous efforts, his cultivation level gradually increases, allowing him to defeat all the villains and leave the second female lead filled with regret.

Ancient people who had never read "feel-good" novels could hardly resist the allure of modern online "feel-good" novels.

The soldiers of Qi no longer dared to flee; they even began to look forward to the story time that lasted for an hour after dinner every day.

Every day after hearing the story, I was so eager to hear it that I begged the storyteller to tell more.

The storyteller could only refuse, saying that the old man who wrote the book had not yet finished writing the rest of the story, and there was only a little bit left.

However, given how much everyone enjoys the book, he could go back and ask the adults if they could urge the old man to write more. If he could write more, he could tell them more stories next time.

Upon hearing this, the soldiers could only regretfully let the storyteller leave.

The storyteller was not one of Ji Yunshuang's soldiers, but rather a man named Sheng Jin whom Chen Wu had found for him from the common people.

Sheng Jin was originally a scholar who wanted to continue his studies, pass the imperial examinations, serve the court, and bring honor to his family.

Unexpectedly, the Qi army invaded, and the imperial examinations were suspended. He had no choice but to give up his studies and see if there were any other opportunities.

By chance, he met Chen Wu.

Chen Wu knew he was well-read and eloquent. Upon learning that Ji Yunshuang was looking for a storyteller, he recommended him.

Ji Yunshuang handed him the book she was going to read and let him read a passage. Seeing that he spoke well, she decided to hire him.