"Buy, buy, buy! Buy all of the lime, clay, sand, stones, and whatever Lu Ore you have and send them over! We'll give him as many people as he wants! We'll give him as much money as he wants! We have to make Wang Chong and the Wang Clan owe us a favor! "
In a small clan in the western part of the city, the forty-year-old clan head roared like thunder.
"What? Risk? Are you afraid that the mighty Wang Clan won't be able to pay up? Putting aside everything else, just think about how much each WuZi Steel sword costs. You can't even buy one even if you have the money. Are you afraid that he won't be able to pay up? "
In the largest Abyssal Sword Tower in the eastern part of the city, Tower Lord Zhao Jinling's spittle splattered everywhere as he cursed at the opposing elders. The elders' faces were red as they covered their faces and fled. "Go, go, go!
"Go, go, go. Gather all the people in our family that can be mobilized. Also, send those bastards born by the third and fourth brothers. They've been idling around all day long. Send them all out! Don't you know that the Zhou Clan in the western part of the city has already sent nine out of ten elders for fear of falling behind? If they can even send their elders, what are we waiting for! The first to move eats the meat, and the last to move eats the meat! Shit! "
In the northern part of the city, the Huang Clan's Patriarch Huang Sha had always had a fiery temper, and this time, his furious voice was so loud that it seemed like the roof of the residence would be blown away. Everyone fled in fear and trepidation.
The Zhao Clan, the Bai Clan, the Guo Clan, the Chai Clan, and the other ancient clans of the Tang dynasty also dispatched their experts. Because of the letter that Wang Chong had sent to Zhao Jingdian from Wushang, all these clans were mobilizing.
When all these families and clans were gathered together, they were like a huge machine operating together. The amount of energy they could muster was extremely shocking.
All the lime, clay, sand, stone, and lu ore was gathered like a surging flood and transported to Zhao Jingdian's hands. With a single order, Zhao Jingdian had gathered at least one hundred thousand craftsmen.
Not even Wang Chong had been able to do this when he was building the City of Steel in Wushang.
Compared to the remote and uninhabited Wushang, the capital was far more convenient.
…
Three days later, at the beginning of the road leading from the capital to the Western Regions, Zhao Jingdian, dressed in formal attire, was surrounded by countless experts from the great clans.
The plan had already begun. Everyone was looking forward to this "cement road" that they had never heard of before. They all wanted to see what was really going on.
"Get ready!"
With a grave expression, Zhao Jingdian gave the order. A moment later, several hundred craftsmen lined up on both sides of the road and began to put in lime, clay, and lu ore as they had practiced countless times. Then, they poured in sand and stone, quickly mixing them with water according to the ratio, and began to stir.
Under the curious gazes of countless people, these craftsmen first covered the long road with a thick layer of the "mud", then added a layer of gravel, stones, and steel bars that were as thick as a finger surrounded by iron wires. Finally, the last layer of mud was added.
When everything was over, a ten-inch-tall asphalt muddy road appeared in front of everyone.
"That's it?"
A disciple of the Zhang Family in the capital looked at this scene with a dumbfounded expression. He had heard people talk about the cement road countless times, and there were all sorts of stories about it.
Some said that the road would spit fire at night, some said that it had wheels and could be moved, and some said that gold and silver had been added to the road so that it would sparkle at night.
It was just that no one would have thought that this "cement road", which took a lot of time and effort and attracted the attention of countless aristocratic families in the capital, was actually so ordinary.
To think that it was just a few layers of green mud and two steel bars!
What a waste of all the aristocratic families' expectations and energy, only to get such a thing in the end. It was really too disappointing.
"Haha, of course it's not over yet. If anyone wants to back out, there's still time. Our Young Master said long ago that we won't stop anyone who wants to back out. All the money you've invested in this project will be returned to you in full. "
Zhao Jingdian heartily laughed.
In an instant, the surroundings fell into a dead silence. The experts from the various aristocratic families, who were originally full of dissatisfaction, all shut their mouths tightly as if someone had sewn them shut, unwilling to say a single word. What a joke! Whether it was lime, clay, lu ore, sand, or stone, they were all the cheapest things. Even if one invested countless manpower and resources, even if they multiplied this number by ten, it would still be a 'small sum'.
There was nothing in the world more worthwhile than spending such a small sum to establish a relationship with the Wang Clan. As for this mud … hmph, so what if it was all dirt and couldn't be used? Which clan with a bit of foundation would care about such a thing? They would just treat it as buying a ticket.
Moreover, even though they didn't feel it at the start, as long as there were tens of thousands of big families involved, it would become a major existence that no family could ignore. As for why they had gathered in the first place, that was no longer important.
If anyone backed out now, they would become the common enemy of the other clans and be ostracized by the other clans. It wouldn't matter in the short term, but if this continued, this clan would be ostracized from the other clans and would eventually decline. On the other hand, if all the clans banded together, all of them would benefit in the future.
This was why the Zhao Clan and Bai Clan, even though they knew that Wang Chong had taken their money to build the road, had still decided to intervene. The other clans relied on the Zhao Clan and Bai Clan, and the Bai Clan and Zhao Clan could borrow the strength of the other smaller clans to develop even more. At the same time, they could increase the influence of the Zhao Clan and Bai Clan in the other clans.
"Lord Zhao, there's no need to be so serious. I was just joking."
"That's right, that's right. I was just joking. How could we possibly retreat! "
"The Young Marquis's plans are flawless. He must have his reasons for his decisions. How could we possibly suspect Marquis? "
"Lord Zhao, calm your anger. I misspoke just now, misspoke. I apologize, I apologize … We'll double the amount of gold and silver for our cement road."
… …
The group of people looked embarrassed and hurriedly apologized. A few of the sharp-tongued ones wanted to slap their own mouths. They had only sought a moment of pleasure and ended up angering Lord Zhao.
"Heh, since it was a slip of the tongue, I'll pretend I never heard it."
Zhao Jingdian faintly smiled, not bothering to argue with him. Wang Chong had long ago said that too many clans had been gathered for this operation, and the more people there were, the more mouths there would be, the more difficult it would be to manage. Given his honest personality, he might not be able to control them, so he had hoped that he would be a little more forceful.
So far, the results had been pretty good.
"Elder Chen, let's begin!"
Zhao Jingdian quickly turned his head and gestured to an extremely experienced fifty-year-old foreman, his face covered in wrinkles. In the next moment, layers of lime were sprinkled on the newly built 'muddy road', rapidly absorbing the moisture in the 'muddy road'.
This was a method that these craftsmen had developed. Under normal circumstances, the mud road would take several hours to harden. Sprinkling lime powder over the road could absorb the water and speed up the hardening process. After all, so many clans couldn't just wait here for so long and do nothing.
"That's enough!"
Seeing the lime powder rapidly moisten the road, Zhao Jingdian waved his hand and stopped the crowd. Afterward, Zhao Jingdian stood at the very front of the crowd with his hands held behind his back, his eyes fixed on the asphalt road. His expression was calm, as if nothing had happened.
Since Zhao Jingdian said nothing, the others also remained silent, not daring to say anything. With the previous example, everyone knew that this young-looking Lord Zhao wasn't as easy to deal with as he appeared to be.
Time slowly passed, and even though the lime powder had been sprinkled to speed up the absorption of water, the mud road was not very easy to dry. Around an hour later, the asphalt road finally turned white and began to harden.
"It's done!"
Zhao Jingdian looked at the hardened mud road, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes.
"Everyone, after expending countless resources, manpower, and resources, we have gathered a vast amount of lime, clay, lu ore, sand, and stone. This is the cement road that Marquis spoke of."
Zhao Jingdian felt a strong sense of accomplishment as he stared at the green and white road before him. After all this time, the first cement road that Marquis had spoken of had finally appeared.
"Buzz!"
On the other side, Zhao Jingdian had barely finished speaking when the crowd immediately buzzed with chatter. Contrary to Zhao Jingdian's expectations, though no one said anything, they all stared at the green and white path with suspicion in their eyes.
"Lord Zhao, forgive me for speaking too much. This mud road … no! This old man has traveled the world and seen many things, but I truly do not understand. Just what is so good about this cement road, Lord? "
A white-bearded elder of an aristocratic family who was in his fifties or sixties walked out of the crowd hesitantly.
"In addition, if it's just to repair the road, you can just find some villagers and use some pebbles and gravel for the same effect. Moreover, wouldn't that be even more economical? "
Zhao Jingdian glanced back and immediately recognized that this was Elder Xie Gufeng of the Xie Clan. He had some influence in the great clans. As expected, Xie Gufeng's words caused a chain reaction in the crowd, and the crowd began to whisper to each other.
Although they did not dare to go too far, Zhao Jingdian could see that many people were secretly nodding their heads, clearly believing that Xie Gufeng's words were reasonable.
"Ha, Elder Xie asks a good question! Someone, bring it up! "
Zhao Jingdian faintly smiled as if he had already expected this, and he waved his hand. Soon, the wheels began to rumble, and two majestic horses pulled a huge, peculiar carriage from outside. It was strange because unlike ordinary carriages, this carriage had no roof. Instead, it was squarish, with the opening facing the sky. Moreover, this carriage was several times larger than ordinary carriages.
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