Meanwhile, within Chang'an's Imperial Academy, the first group of rigorously selected children of nobles and commoners sat upright in the ceremonial hall, following their instructor in reciting introductory classics from the Standard Characters of Hua. Their young yet unified voices carried through the academy walls and echoed beneath Chang'an's clear autumn skies, symbolizing an entirely new, unified cultural lifeblood taking root and spreading across this land with unstoppable momentum.
While Xun Yu tended the flame of civilization at Wenyuan Pavilion, Mo Yu, master craftsman of the Directorate of Works and son of Mo Heng, Hua Country's foremost master craftsman, led tens of thousands of artisans and laborers in another equally vital "battlefield," one without gunsmoke-the construction of an Imperial Road spanning the nation.
With Chang'an as its center, the first official road, planned to run east to west and connect the major eastern coastal city of Haizhou, was under construction day and night. Under the newly issued Carriages on the Same Track Edict, the road's width, the thickness of its foundation, the dimensions of its paving stones, and even the wheel spacing of all future official vehicles were strictly prescribed, allowing not the slightest deviation.
Across the enormous construction site, work chants, the pounding of earth, the chiseling of stone, and wheels grinding over gravel mingled into a powerful symphony. Though elderly, Mo Yu refused to direct operations from the cool government offices and visited the front lines every day. He wore short work clothes covered in dust and carried a seemingly ordinary hardwood walking stick that actually concealed precision rulers and compasses.
At that moment, construction had reached a low-lying stretch of soft soil. Mo Yu crouched, scooped up a handful of dirt, rubbed it carefully between his fingers, then brought it to his nose and sniffed, his brow