The World Online

Chapter 239- Digging the Cornerstone

Translator: TeamTWO

Editor: Nora

Gaia, first year, 9th month, 27th day, morning. Ouyang Shuo brought four Guards out of the city.

His destination was the Military Factory built in the stone caves in the western suburbs.

The Military Affairs Department was in charge of this. Three months had passed since they built this factory. It managed the production of military grain pills, military tents, and scaling ladders.

When one passed the city west gate, one would see masons working on the official path not far from the gate. The starting point of Tianhai Road wasn't the current city west gate, but the city west gate of the planned third city wall.

Although the official road wasn't like the inner city ones made from green stone, it still wasn't easy to build. Many wild grasses grew in the wilderness. The masons had to first remove these grasses and their roots from the soil, this measure prevented them from growing again.

The dirt road was made up of three main ingredients: limestone, dirt, and sand. They had to press the composite dirt to prevent growth of wild grasses and to prevent the road from becoming muddy during the rain.

The designer of Tianhai Road, Hui Tuban, specifically designed a ‘Roller’ that they had horses pull. He let the blacksmith shop produce a circular iron tube and used eight horses to pull it, which greatly reduced the manpower required.

As the official road was an important function to help military movement and transportation of resources, they couldn't make the road too narrow. They made it 20 meters wide, and it also had a good drainage system.

At the sides of the road, they also planted many trees.

Apart from that, along the way, there would be some streams from Friendship River as well as some hills. They needed to build bridges and also split mountains to open paths. The difficulty was nothing the inner city project could compare to.

Lastly, there was the important relay system, which included the relay path and the relay station.

The relay station could allow officials to stay overnight, they were a day away and 30 kilometers apart. Between the relays, there would also be simple shops to provide food and rest. Normally, there would be one shop every five kilometres.

After he exited the city, Ouyang Shuo took a left. After just 10 kilometres, he came to the rock cave where the Military Factory was located in. The cave entrance was a large steel door. Unless there was an emergency, it would remain closed. At the side was a small door that people could pass through, and it acted as the usual pathway.

In front of the cave was a restricted area warning sign, and a squad of soldiers stood guard next to it.

When he saw the level of secrecy and importance placed on this area, Ouyang Shuo nodded his head in agreement.

After he dismounted from his horse, Ouyang Shuo passed the reins to a guard and walked toward the big gate alone.

When the soldier on duty saw him, he bowed and said, “My lord!" Then, he rushed to steel gate; he wanted to open it up.

Ouyang Shuo waved him off, “There's no need. I'll just go in from the small door."

The soldier had a look of difficulty, “My lord... this...."

"Don't say anything more! I've come here without notice, so I don't want to disturb you guys."

"Yes, my lord!" The soldier didn't want to debate with him and respectfully opened the small door.

The inside of the cave wasn't as dark as he had expected. Pieces of white stone on the sides and the ceiling of the cave gave out a gentle white light.

Upon closer inspection, these actually weren't man made lights. Instead, they naturally occurred.

Ouyang Shuo knew that these small rocks were a type of fluorite, natural sources of light.

As he raised his head, he saw that the cave was over 10 meters high and 150 meters wide. The area in front of him was limitless. Such a cave wouldn't cause one to feel locked up and restricted.

Ouyang Shuo's arrival shocked the manager of the factory, a middle-aged man who looked very steady and calm. When he received the news, he rushed over, “My lord, welcome! Sorry I didn't welcome you better!"

Ouyang Shuo waved him off, “I came here without telling anyone. Just show me around!"

"Yes, my lord!" The manager nodded, as he led the way before Ouyang Shou, “The Military Factory is split into three regions, which mainly focus on the production of different resources." He pointed at the nearest region and said, “The most outer region is the one that makes the scaling ladders."

Ouyang Shuo looked toward the direction he pointed in, only to see a 10 meter path in the middle; a wooden wall boxed up the sides.

On top of the 4 meter high wooden wall, one could see set after set of scaling ladders piled up.

"How's the building progress of the scaling ladders?" Ouyang Shuo asked.

"My lord, based on the speed, we can build one everyday."

Ouyang Shuo nodded. After the scaling ladder region was the military tent region. Everyday, they could make 20 tents. Finally, it was the military grain pill region.

The ingredients for it the pills were just grain, some other secondary food products, and some seasoning. However, the process was very troublesome. On average, every pill used up three to four units of grain.

The efficiency of the military grain pill workers was quite high, and they made one thousand odd pills a day.

There was a little river stream behind the military grain pill region, and the workers' living quarters were around it.

After the tour, Ouyang Shuo left the stone cave.

When he returned, Ouyang Shuo used the trading platform to contact Cui Shouren from the Cui Chamber of Commerce.

The Dali Court gave Ouyang Shuo his marquis rank. The authorities recognized his title, which made it effective on all residents. Hence, the attitude of the Cui Chamber of Commerce had undergone a huge change.

They were only a business family, so their societal status wasn't high. To a noble like Ouyang Shuo, they naturally need to give him enough respect.

Of course, when it came to business, they would still act normally.

"Marquis!" Cui Shouren greeted first. After Ouyang Shuo instructed them, the Cui Chamber of Commerce had gathered up a bunch of grain. Purely on this point, Cui Shouren didn't dare to show any arrogance or superiority.

Ouyang Shuo nodded, “Brother Shouren, I have something to ask of the Chamber of Commerce."

"Please speak!" Merchants hated owing favours, and the Cui Chamber of Commerce owed Ouyang Shuo a big one. They were worried about how they should return it. Since Ouyang Shuo had a request, Cui Shouren was naturally delighted.

"Your Chamber of Commerce has such a good reputation in Dali. Can you help Shanhai Coty recruit a batch of talents?"

Ouyang Shuo shifted his sight onto the Cui Chamber of Commerce. Compared to the Snow-War Rose Mercenary group that only influenced player groups, the Cui Chamber of Commerce had a huge influence on NPCs.

Cui Shouren was surprised, “Can you be more specific?"

"I need many talents. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a solution. There should definitely be many talented people with nowhere to display their capabilities in Dali City. This would include officials that are unable to be greatly used, generals that are unhappy, or some artisans. Shanhai City wants to recruit all these people," Ouyang Shuo explained his thinking, “Although Shanhai City is far away, we can give them a platform to show their talents. The salary we provide also won't be lower than the imperial city."

Ouyang Shuo had confidence. Not only because of his nobility, but also because of the effect his reputation level [Patriot] would have on NPCs, especially in Dali City.

Cui Shouren understood Ouyang Shuo's meaning. If they purely relied on the Cui Chamber of Commerce or his nobility, this plan might be hard to realize. But with both, it would be highly persuasive, and it would catch the interests of many people.

Dali had such a huge talent pool. Even if only a few leaked out, it would be enough for Shanhai City to use for a very long time. This act of digging a piece of a cornerstone was a very smart idea.

"Since it's your wishes, the Cui Family will try our best to help," Cui Shouren directly agreed.

Ouyang Shuo nodded, “To put them at peace and show our sincerity, I‘m willing to give every talent a family settling down sum. As for the actual amount, I'll hand it over to the Chamber of Commerce to settle?" Based on Ouyang Shuo's thoughts, they probably wouldn't have earned too much if they were having a hard time.

"Marquis had thought over things thoroughly." Cui Shouren nodded in agreement, “Don't worry, we will treat this matter seriously. I won't let you down!"

"Thank you, sorry for the bother!" Ouyang Shuo said.

"No worries!"

Cui Shouren kept his promise. After their conversation, he immediately went to see the family head.

After listening to his report, the Cui Family head remained silent for a while. Then, he said, “The Lianzhou Lord has a long term goal, and he has planned it out very well. He has a desire for talents. Such vision and ambition, we can't miss this chance. Keep the promise!"

"Yes!"

"I allow you to use our family strength to recruit talents for the Lianzhou Lord. Apart from that, if our Cui Family disciples and children desire it, recommend them to him. At the right time, the Cui Chamber of Commerce can also consider setting up a branch in Shanhai City."

These words left Cui Shouren astonished, as he had never expected the family head would place so much importance on this matter. He had faith in the foresight of the family head and said,"Yes!"

After Cui Shouren left, the Family Head sat in the hall and muttered, “The Cui Family will restore its honor. At least, I didn't let down our ancestors."

Once the power of the Cui Chamber of Commerce started its work, it was actually quite scary.

On the Dali City roads and streets, Cui Family members swarmed out and brought letters and specially prepared gifts to every door to greet those students, officials, and generals.

These sudden visitors shocked some, while others liked it. Some of them treated these visitors calmly, and others rejected them at the door. There were many different reactions. The cooperation between the Lianzhou Lord and Cui Chamber of Commerce had a great effect. A large portion of them said that they would consider it before they gave the Cui Family a definite answer.

As for the artisans, they Cui Family easily recruited them. The main ones were the blacksmiths, tailors, and carpenter.