The people of Jiuyuan Commandery were quite at ease with Lin Yi's arrival. For one, Gu Fang was not the only general bringing his family to the frontier. For another, they had all heard at least something of Lin Yi's previous accomplishments. Leaving aside everything else, just the cement road had already brought them great benefits. Although Jiuyuan had not laid roads on a large scale, the Qin Direct Road, which Anjin had overseen the repair of using cement, had its northern terminus right at Jiuyuan. Additionally, items like horseshoes and saddles from the ironworks had been widely distributed to the Jiuyuan border troops, and the wool sweaters that arrived before the main army had already been issued to the soldiers in batches. But the most profound impact was the spread of the heated kang. The borderlands were bitterly cold; in previous winters, commoners would freeze to death. Since Lin Yi spread the method for building kangs, Song Lin immediately ordered their adoption throughout the commandery. Although the past winter had still been harsh, and some people in the commandery had passed away, not a single one died from cold or starvation.
Thus, when the officials of Jiuyuan looked at Lin Yi, it was almost as if they were gazing at a treasure basin that brought blessings. Even when Gu Fang declared that he would give Lin Yi real authority to participate in logistics coordination, no one raised any objection; on the contrary, they all expressed their support.
Treated with such warmth by the Jiuyuan officials, Lin Yi and Gu Fang even stayed for dinner at the commandery governor's residence before they could take their leave and return to Gu Fang's commandery office in the city.
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