Zhao Baihui named the new city Longcheng—the site had been selected through the system at a price.
The location commanded a sufficiently grand alignment of celestial stars among the four noble constellations; from a feng shui standpoint, it was already fit to serve as an imperial capital.
A long convoy of carriages arrived—no fewer than a hundred vehicles, carrying several hundred people.
The carriages reached the site amid the clamor of the crowd. Goods were unloaded, and roughly a hundred people remained behind; the rest departed together with the carriages. For a long time to come, this convoy would shuttle back and forth between here and Taoyuan Town, hauling supplies.
Among the crowd were more than sixty Wolf Soldiers, their bodies encased in iron-plate armor, their horses draped in battle skirts. A platoon numbered thirty-odd cavalry; one platoon stayed behind while the other escorted the convoy back.
The realm was unsettled. The areas around Qingjiang Prefecture and Linjiang Prefecture were relatively calm, and people seemed to be aware that the Wolf Soldiers' main base was somewhere near Jiangxi—but one still had to guard against stray bands of wandering refugees.
Ming Cheng spent half a day comparing various references before confirming the location his master had provided. He then had Wang Changjiang—formerly known as Boss Wang—lead Taoyuan Town's most seasoned construction crew to break ground.
Ming Cheng, Ming Zhen, Ming Jing, Jin Yi, and Jin Yan—five members of the Zhao household—convened a meeting with Wang Changjiang and four other managers.
"First, put up temporary shelters so everyone has somewhere to sleep. We need to be ready for wind and rain; sick workers mean delays."
"Then build the Zhao Manor. The master and all of us will be living here eventually—three-story buildings."
"After that, construct the government offices, then the streets and residences. Mind you don't cross this line—beyond it is another zone the master has planned."
"This section is the industrial zone; this one is the livestock area."
"Take it step by step. Aim to have the main structures finished before the autumn harvest, so the master can lead everyone in relocating here. We'll handle the rest in stages."
"Recruit workers on-site. New hands can do support work; bring in their wives and children too—anyone who can be put to use, use them; those who can't, set them to clearing land for farming."
"Plant mostly sweet potatoes, with some of everything else as well, for our own meals."
"Wages for workers: eight mao to one yuan for men. Once the household registration machine arrives, those who apply for residency get an extra two mao during probation, and five mao more once they pass."
"Divide the work among yourselves—each person takes charge of one area. Finish ahead of schedule and there are bonuses; fall behind and you'll be held accountable, fined, and demoted."
…
Construction in Longcheng was pressing forward at full speed.
Back in Taoyuan Town, new plans were also taking shape.
More and more people were coming to the bank to exchange silver for banknotes, and silver was piling up like mountains in the storerooms. When you had too much of the stuff it was essentially useless—money had to flow, had to circulate, before it could do any good.
On top of that, Taoyuan Town's population had just barely broken twenty thousand, and the rate of growth that followed was far from satisfying to Zhao Baihui.
He decided to accelerate the pace of population absorption.
In his view, people of this era suffered from a profound inertia: as long as they could scrape by, they wouldn't budge an inch.
Fine. If you won't come to me, then I'll come to you.
Besides, the silver stacked in the warehouses was practically growing mold.
He used the system to spend money on selecting sites, choosing relatively prosperous locations in each of Qingjiang Prefecture's ten other counties.
Then he threw silver around with abandon—buying land, hiring workers, building, clearing fields.
He had his subordinates go to Lin Xuejin to obtain official permits, and ten teams set off for ten different locations.
He would build ten more towns, each one hiring locally, buying land, establishing villages, building schools and livestock farms, clearing land, planting crops.
You people are too lazy to move? Then I'll come to you. Once the locals see Taoyuan Town's benefits with their own eyes, I refuse to believe they won't be tempted.
With this combination of moves, there was no way he couldn't draw people in!
The figures in the imperial records were certainly falsified—actual population numbers had to be at least double what was reported.
An average of a hundred thousand people per county seemed about right. If each of his towns could absorb three thousand or more, that was sufficient.
Surely that wasn't too much to ask?
It had already been three years since Zhao Baihui arrived here. More than half of the children he had purchased or taken in were now capable of working, and the past year had produced a steady stream of graduates from the school.
Right now, Taoyuan Town's greatest abundance was talent!
One young person would lead a team as manager. From the construction crew of two thousand, he pulled out a thousand and divided them into ten teams.
Money, grain, supplies—all fully provided. Move out!
Cement, a basic steel works—these belonged to the tier of town-level technologies. They were precisely the things that would dramatically accelerate Zhao Baihui's development, and it was a pity he could only look on longingly for now.
Unless he burned through lottery draws to unlock them early.
But lottery draws were truly hard to come by.
And so many better things were still waiting for him ahead. He was already impatient to advance to the next tier.
…
Far beyond the passes, in the lands outside the Wall, the northern barbarian armies were massing.
Tribe after tribe was marshaling its finest warriors, each under the command of its own khan, all converging on a particular pass outside the Great Wall.
"Great Khan, the warriors of all the tribes are more or less assembled. This time we have gathered eighty thousand men!"
"With the ferocity of steppe warriors, even a million Han soldiers wouldn't stand before us—we'd cut them to pieces!"
"Indeed! The Han are timid and feeble. Every time we ride out to plunder, their armies turn tail and run, foolishly presenting their backsides to our arrows. Ha ha ha!"
"Great Khan, give the order! My tribe volunteers to lead the vanguard!"
The Great Khan reclined against the back of his seat, raised his bowl, and took a sip of rich, fragrant fermented milk wine. "That man surnamed Liu—he truly agreed to let us through the pass? Could this be a trap?"
"What if our warriors enter and get halfway through…"
"Great Khan, I understand your concern for our warriors' lives, but we have nothing to fear!"
"Even if it is a trap, so what? Once our advance forces are through the pass, we'll cut down anyone we see—one by one!"
The Great Khan rubbed the bowl slowly in his hands, considering for a moment. Then his eyes snapped open. "Good. Then we go through the pass!"
"If that man surnamed Liu dares to deceive me, I'll have his entire family seized and hanged from the flagpoles!"
"Pass the word: today we slaughter cattle and sheep, eat well, drink well. Tomorrow—we enter the pass!"
The next day dawned clear and bright. Eighty thousand northern barbarian troops arrived at the foot of the Great Wall.
"Reporting to the Great Khan—the pass is empty!"
"Don't let your guard down. Scout again!"
"Yes, sir!"
A moment later, the scouts returned with their report. "Great Khan, the pass is completely deserted—not a soul in sight for ten li around."
"Ha ha ha! Great Khan, did that man surnamed Liu truly let us through? Why would he do that—has he pledged allegiance to you?"
"Hmph. Whatever his reasons, since he's handed us this opportunity, we must seize it! Sound my command—the army enters the pass!"
Amid the mournful cry of horns, the barbarian army, eyes blazing with a fire that would consume all before them, crossed the Great Wall—built expressly to keep them out—without losing a single soldier.
The wealth inside the pass, the grain, the servants, the women—we have come to conquer you!