"Mason?"
Wang Yue was slightly taken aback. He had thought his lord had kept him behind for some important matter, but it turned out to be to find a bricklayer. What was going on?
Does our lord intend to rely on bricklayers to build the roads?
Lin Yi nodded and said in a deep voice, "Post notices and do everything in our power to find craftsmen such as bricklayers, stonemasons, and carpenters. As long as they have real skills, I, the young master, will give them the best treatment!"
"Craftsman?"
Wang Yue was slightly taken aback. His lord actually wanted so many craftsmen. What was going on? Were craftsmen so sought after these days?
However, since it was the lord's order, Wang Yue naturally accepted it unconditionally. Since the lord needed so many masons, he would simply gather all the craftsmen from the entire Xiliang Commandery.
Seeing Wang Yue's puzzled expression, a smile flashed in Lin Yi's eyes. He wouldn't be looking for craftsmen for no reason; in fact, this was an experiment.
Reward distribution mechanism test!
According to the system's pattern, the rewards are closely related to the objectives, which is almost like a bug. If it can be exploited, it would be an absolutely fantastic opportunity.
In the future, whatever you need, you just need to choose the corresponding direction, which means you can have whatever you want.
His experiment this time focused on cement!
Cement is exactly what Lin Yi wants, and it's something that could change the course of architectural history.
It not only solidifies quickly but also has strong adhesive properties. Once solidified, it has an astonishing hardness, making it exactly what Lin Yi needs right now.
With cement and some steel reinforcement, building a bridge out of thin air is no problem, let alone constructing a road.
Unfortunately, although he knew the general method of cement production, he was completely ignorant of the specific procedures and formulas, so he could only rely on the system's rules to apply the cement formula.
Although bricklayers and cement may not seem related at the moment, they will be closely connected in the future, practically making a living from it. In this day and age, Lin Yi could only find bricklayers as a future user of cement.
Ideally, you should be able to apply a cement-like formula. If that's not possible, you'll have to use clay instead, or even something as luxurious as glutinous rice.
Anyway, this road is of great importance, so we have to pave it even if it costs money.
Therefore, Lin Yi had high expectations for these bricklayers. As for the other craftsmen, they were just doing what he could, since this major construction project needed a lot of talent, and there might be some surprises later.
Just as Wang Yue was about to leave, a question suddenly occurred to him. He said in a deep voice, "My lord, the Prince of Beining Commandery's men have entered our Xiliang Commandery, and they're doing so very conspicuously..."
"Extremely high-profile?" Lin Yi frowned. How so?
"They were beating drums and gongs all the way, shouting 'Long live the Emperor!'"
puff!
Lin Yi spat out a mouthful of tea and said irritably, "He's supposed to be the Prince of Beining Commandery, yet he's capable of such a shameless act. There's no one else like him."
The banging of gongs and drums was a bit outrageous, and they were even shouting "Long live the Emperor!"—how afraid they were of Emperor Li Anlan!
Li Sansi has absolutely no morals!
"Heh heh, Li Anlan shows no mercy to these imperial relatives. He even killed his own brother before. The Prince of Beining Commandery is just a cousin, so naturally he's worried about being feared by the emperor!" Wang Yue sneered.
His subordinates, the Net, had been gathering information about the Great Ning Dynasty, so they naturally knew why the Prince of Beining Commandery was so cowardly—it was simply because Li Anlan was too ruthless.
After Li Anlan usurped the throne, he slaughtered his brother's entire family, leaving not even a dog alive. Several members of the royal family who supported the former crown prince also disappeared from public view without a trace, and their fate was self-evident.
The Prince of Beining Commandery is considered one of the better ones here, but he doesn't want to be targeted by Li Anlan, which is why he did something so outrageous.
Lin Yi smiled and nodded, then asked, "How did the Prince of Beining Commandery make his choice? It won't be easy for me to refrain from overturning the table without paying a price."
"Don't worry, my lord, he really put in a lot of effort this time. Not only did he send 50,000 units of grain, but he also provided 50,000 units of equipment. It's just a pity that the equipment isn't very good; it's all outdated stuff they've discarded," Wang Yue chuckled and explained.
oh!
Lin Yi's eyes lit up. This guy was actually so sensible. Not only did he send provisions, but he also provided equipment for 50,000 men. He really did a great job.
Although the equipment of these 50,000 people was discarded, with the existence of Pu Yuan, a master swordsmith, he could completely turn waste into treasure. By reforging this equipment, he could surely improve it to a higher level, and he wouldn't lose out.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but laugh and say, " The Prince of Beining Commandery is truly a good person!"
"Haha, he really is a good person!"
Wang Yue couldn't help but burst into laughter. He didn't know if he was a good person or not, but he was definitely someone who had been tricked by the Crown Prince.
After a moment's thought, Lin Yi said in a deep voice, "We don't need to worry about the Prince of Beining Commandery for now. Since he's been so sensible as to send supplies, that's not bad. Let's ignore them for now and see what other motives they might have!"
Given the scale of their arrival, they couldn't possibly be here just to deliver supplies; they must have other plans.
All I need to do is remain unchanged and deal with all changes. The Prince of Beining Commandery is obviously not on my side, so I don't need to waste my energy. I just need to keep him calm.
Instead of wasting too much time on him, we should find more professional talent.
Currently, not only is this large-scale infrastructure project in need of talent, but also in the future economy, agriculture, management and other fields, a large number of talents are needed. Therefore, I am currently eager to find talented people.
"Understood!"
Wang Yue's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected that in his lord's eyes, these craftsmen were more important than the Prince of Beining Commandery. It seemed he had no choice but to work harder.
That evening, a brand new announcement swept through Xiliang Commandery, leaving everyone stunned.
They had assumed that the Crown Prince's first task after dealing with these forces would be to conscript soldiers, but they were completely baffled to find that he was looking for bricklayers.
"What's going on? The young master is searching the world for bricklayers. Does he need bricklayers for war too?"
"How would I know? Perhaps the Crown Prince needs a bricklayer."
"Damn it, don't you guys know? The young master wants to build a city in Xiliang Commandery to increase the Xiliang Commandery's defenses, so naturally he needs bricklayers."
"I see. Does that mean we'll need to conscript a large number of men?"
The people of Xiliang Commandery were immediately terrified. Building a city required a large number of laborers, and according to international practice, they would be forced to perform forced labor.
With the Crown Prince causing such a commotion, doesn't that mean there aren't many people in Xiliang Commandery who can escape this forced labor?
Hearing their words, one of the guards couldn't help but sneer, "Hmph, a bunch of ungrateful bastards. Do you know that because the young master took pity on you for the persecution you suffered at the hands of Zhuo Feifan and his men, he exempted you from this year's labor service?"
Therefore, the Crown Prince had to pay for the workers and provide them with food. The Emperor didn't give Xiliang Commandery a single penny; it was all the Crown Prince's money.
"Indeed, you should be secretly happy to have such a good prefect as the Crown Prince." Another guard couldn't help but feel indignant.