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"Everyone …"
Zhao Jingdian gave a faint smile and calmly said.
"Everyone, be at ease. This sort of thing will never happen. Before Young Master left, he said that once this cement road is finished, we only need to set up a checkpoint on it and open it to all merchants. All we need to do is collect a toll from them.
"Our Tang Dynasty is the wealthiest in the world and at its most prosperous. No one can count how many merchants there are in the world and how many people pass through it every day. Many a little makes a mickle, and our daily income will be enormous. Thus, what everyone is worried about is that our predecessors will plant trees and our descendants will enjoy the shade, that the fruits of our labor will not be plucked by others. "
In Wang Chong's previous world, building cement roads required an enormous amount of money and resources. Thus, it was customary to collect a toll after the construction was completed, and everyone accepted it.
In his other world, this was perfectly normal, but in the Tang dynasty, people clearly did not have this concept.
As expected, Zhao Jingdian's words caused everyone's eyes to brighten, their hesitation completely different from before.
"A good idea! But will they be willing to pay this fee? "
A clan expert said.
"Haha, if they can transport more things in a shorter time, and it won't be as bumpy, why wouldn't they be willing?"
Zhao Jingdian smiled. This time, he didn't even need Wang Chong's advice to know how to deal with it.
Merchants pursued profit, and as long as there was profit to be made, the merchants would naturally pay this fee. Thus, the matter that the clans were worried about would never happen. This was a win-win situation.
"In addition, I wonder if any of you have noticed …"
As Zhao Jingdian spoke, he opened his right hand and took a massive metal hammer from a nearby guard. He strode forward, and under everyone's shocked gazes, he smashed the hammer against the cement road.
Boom!
Debris flew in all directions. Zhao Jingdian's full-strength blow was only able to create a small hole in the cement road. This scene gave everyone a fright.
"Let me!"
A scar-faced clan expert charged over, took the hammer from Zhao Jingdian's hand, and swung it down.
Boom! This all-out attack only smashed another hole in the cement road. The expected explosion did not appear.
"Is … is this really made of mud? How can lime and clay be so hard? "
The scar-faced aristocratic family expert was stunned.
In truth, it wasn't just him. Everyone's attention had been focused on the carriage, the horses, and the thirty-some Wang Clan guards standing on the carriage. No one had noticed the path under their feet until Zhao Jingdian smashed down with his hammer.
"Haha, men, take out the iron hammers and let everyone try!"
Zhao Jingdian immediately gave an order, and ten-some guards carrying bundles of metal hammers walked out. Since Zhao Jingdian had spoken, they would not stand on ceremony.
"I don't believe that something made of lime and clay can be so hard!"
The clan experts took the iron hammers from the guards, walked to the cement road, and began to madly smash it down. Boomboomboom! The freshly constructed cement road began to crumble under the blows of the hammers.
Several Wang Clan experts tried to stop them, but Zhao Jingdian stopped them.
"It's fine!"
"Let them smash!"
Zhao Jingdian's expression was composed, and he exuded a convincing strength. After following Wang Chong for so long, Zhao Jingdian had unwittingly picked up forty to fifty percent of Wang Chong's self-confidence.
Zhao Jingdian and the other Wang Clan guards stood on the side, silently watching as the clan experts destroyed the cement road.
After a full hour, more and more experts from the aristocratic families joined in. More than a hundred experts from the aristocratic families worked together to completely destroy the cement road.
But even so, this only left them more and more shocked.
If this road had not been destroyed, they would have subconsciously believed that there was something strange about it. But even though they had spent a lot of time, they had been able to completely destroy it. This could only mean that this was all the work of that 'cement'.
"Impossible, impossible! To use lime, clay, and that lu ore to forge something that's as hard as rock, no, even harder than normal rock! This is simply unbelievable! "
"This is artificial rock! The Young Marquis actually managed to make artificial rock! Hurry and report this to the clan! Our Lu Clan has followed the right person this time!"
"Just how did he do it? Give me another iron hammer, I want to try again! There can't be such a hard road! "
"Hahaha, we've dug up a treasure! The Young Marquis truly is the Son of Heaven's disciple, the future Eighth Great General of the Tang Dynasty! No matter what he does, our Chen Clan only needs to follow his footsteps and give him our full support. "
… …
In the blink of an eye, the crowd had finally discovered the secret of this road. It was not because of the warhorses or carriages, but because the road was sufficiently hard. It could endure a weight that ordinary roads could not. This was the true secret.
In a flash, all their worries were gone.
Flapflap!
With this development, the situation had undergone a qualitative transformation. In front of Zhao Jingdian, the countless clans began to release messenger pigeons to their clans.
This was a major discovery. The use of these artificial rocks in the Tang Dynasty was probably not as simple as roads.
"Haha, success! Marquis's plans are truly flawless. Everything has gone according to plan. Now, we can begin the construction of the road. "
Zhao Jingdian breathed a long sigh of relief at this sight. Marquis's cement road project would take a long time and require countless resources. This was not something that the Wang Clan, the Zhao Clan, or the Bai Clan could bear alone. All the great clans of the capital had to participate.
Now that this was achieved, everything else could be unfolded.
"Write a letter for me to send to Marquis. Tell him that he can begin the next part of the project."
Zhao Jingdian glanced at the Wang Clan guard next to him and whispered.
The latter understood, nodded quickly, and left in acknowledgment.
Bang!
As night fell and the first day passed, the first cement road of the Tang Dynasty was destined to be engraved in the annals of history. In the history of the Divine Central Continent, such a thing had never appeared, and this milestone had also displayed its great power. Countless aristocratic families, large and small, had been attracted and invested their financial and material resources in it.
And Wang Chong was not stingy, opening up the tax that would be levied on the cement road once it was completed. In addition, Wang Chong had established a special 'Great Clan Road Alliance' and signed an agreement with the alliance, offering the cement formula to the alliance and sharing the profits.
The alliance was responsible for overseeing the cement formula and could not allow it to fall outside the Central Plains.
Wang Chong's' generosity 'received a warm response from the alliance. Once they obtained the formula, the great clans of the alliance began to pour in an enormous amount of manpower and resources. Lime, clay, sand, stone, aluminum, and many steel bars — millions of tons — were poured into the construction of the Silk Road from the capital to the Western Regions.
The benefits of Wang Chong's participation of the great clans also began to show. On the first day, more than eighty thousand workers were put into the construction. On the second day, this number rose to one hundred and eighty thousand, and on the third day, it reached three hundred and sixty thousand … In the end, seven to eight hundred thousand workers had gathered on the Silk Road.
Sections of greenish-white cement roads were being built on the Silk Road at an astonishing speed.
This was the result of Wang Chong opening up the cement road and having the great clans participate.
… …
"Rome wasn't built in a single day. Changing the massive empire isn't something that a single person can do, nor can it be accomplished with the strength of a single country. When all the great clans of the empire are gathered together, they are like millions of logs gathered together, hard and unbreakable. This is the roar of a slumbering empire.
"Congratulations to user for completing the second phase of the Empire's Fury mission, 'Road to Awakening'. User has been rewarded with 800 points of Destiny Energy. As the road is completed, user will receive an endless stream of rewards!
"Congratulations to user! You have obtained an additional reward of 30 points!
"Congratulations to user! You have obtained an additional reward of 40 points!
"Congratulations to user! You have obtained an additional reward of 37 points!
… …
In the distant Wushang, Wang Chong stood on the city wall, listening to the Stone of Destiny's voice cascading through his mind. In just a few short moments, Wang Chong had obtained more than one thousand points of Destiny Energy, and this number was still rising.
"Zhao Jingdian can finally stand on his own. With him handling the cement road, there's no need for me to worry about it. "
Wang Chong glanced down at the letter Zhao Jingdian had sent. With a light flick of his finger, the letter was pulverized, and countless white scraps of paper drifted down from the city wall.
"Cheng Sanyuan, write a letter for me to Zhao Jingdian. Tell him that I already know about the cement formula and that he doesn't need to worry. I have my own plans."
"Yes, your subordinate will do so!"
Cheng Sanyuan quickly left.
"Lose at the mulberry elm and gain at the east corner. For every gain, there must be a loss. If I want to build the cement road to the Western Regions as quickly as possible and participate in the Battle of Talas, I will need the help of the great clans. As for the cement formula, it's very simple. If the great clans want to steal it, they won't be able to keep it for long, so they might as well just offer it up!
"The various factions are closely related, and they will even try their best to help maintain the road, indirectly prolonging the time it takes for the cement formula to be leaked."
Holding his hands behind his back, Wang Chong watched the winds pass by, a wise and farsighted light in his eyes.
The construction of the cement road was already on the right track, and with Zhao Jingdian handling this matter, Wang Chong could stay out of it.
"Now, there's another matter."
With a thought, Wang Chong turned to another figure.
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