Every city had been built from scratch, and there were hundreds of things waiting to be done. Moreover, the construction of a fief involved many aspects, and it was far from something that Wang Chong could manage alone. At present, on Wang Chong's side, only Xu Yi-qin had the ability to manage all sorts of complicated matters in an orderly and proper manner. More importantly, war was not just a competition of strength, but also logistics.
In the future Battle of Talas, Wang Chong could not focus on so many things at once. He needed someone to share the pressure and manage the logistics.
"Mm."
Xu Yi-qin softly replied with a smile as she followed Wang Chong's footsteps.
The two of them stood side by side, a beautiful sight that attracted the gazes of countless people in the City of Steel. Xu Yi-qin followed behind Wang Chong, a smile on her lips as she curiously looked around, unaware that she and Wang Chong had become the center of attention.
… …
Time slowly passed. While Wang Chong was in Wushang handling the affairs of the City of Steel, on another front, Zhao Jingdian was also dealing with the cement road.
"Heh, ha!"
War cries resounded over the road. From the capital to the Western Regions, an unprecedented road forged from cement was being built, stretching across the earth like an awakened dragon.
Countless clans, manpower, and resources poured into this unprecedented cement road like a surging river.
Every day, dozens of li, even hundreds of li of roads were being built on this road leading to the Western Regions. The smoothness, smoothness, and hardness of the road left everyone sighing in praise.
Everyone was excited and delighted to see an unprecedented, brand new path system taking shape and expanding rapidly under their participation.
The Silk Road was the Golden Road, the most famous road in the world. Traveling between the east and the west were the most famous and wealthy merchants of the world, the merchants of jewels, agate, and spice …
If this road was completed, everyone could anticipate the enormous profits that could be made from it.
"Roll!"
The sound of wheels resounded through the void. When tens of thousands of workers joined in the construction of this road, a special carriage with a green curtain drove on the newly built cement road, looking extremely eye-catching.
However, none of the blacksmiths were paying attention to them. After working on the newly built cement road for a long time, everyone was already used to the existence of this carriage.
Every morning, it would set off from the capital and travel along the newly constructed road. Then, at noon, they began to turn back.
Day after day, it had never changed.
"Lord Zhao, how is it? Are you satisfied? "
In the spacious carriage with green curtains, a fawning voice suddenly said cautiously. While all the craftsmen were immersed in their work, not many people noticed that in a corner of the carriage, the curtains were pulled open, and two gazes were silently looking out of the carriage window.
"Yes."
Zhao Jingdian gave a slight grunt of acknowledgment, his eyes silently watching as the craftsmen poured water over and over the newly constructed cement roads.
A cement road could not be simply built. Once it was completed, it still needed to be watered and maintained. This was something that Wang Chong had repeatedly emphasized in his letters. At the same time, Zhao Jingdian attached great importance to this.
"Haha, it's fine as long as Milord is satisfied! Now that our alliance has taken over everything, we will definitely do our utmost to help Marquis complete this cement road from the capital to Wushang. In addition, our great clans also have shares in Wushang's City of Steel … right, it's shares, right? It's so strange … In short, we're all in the same boat as Marquis. We're all on the same side, so Marquis's business is our business. It's just that … "
A rather wretched clan expert next to Zhao Jingdian suddenly paused, a fawning look on his face.
"As for the construction of the road, can you discuss it with Marquis again? Don't you think we should just use the road that leads to the Western Regions? This way, we won't have to waste time and effort, and it will be beneficial to everyone. Don't you think so? "
Zhao Jingdian's brow creased as he turned to look at the clan expert, his expression turning much colder.
"Do you need me to repeat Marquis's words? No means no. There's no room for negotiation. Anyone who breaks this rule will withdraw from the alliance. Everything related to the Western Regions, including the cement roads, will have nothing to do with him. "
Zhao Jingdian's eyes were as sharp as swords. Under his intense gaze, the clan expert hurriedly lowered his head, a look of guilt on his face.
The two of them were speaking of an agreement that Wang Chong had made with the clan alliance. All new cement roads could not use the existing Silk Road, only newly excavated roads. This meant that besides buying lime, clay, aluminum, and sand, the clan alliance would also have to spend a great deal of manpower and resources to excavate new roads.
From a business perspective, this was not in line with the clan alliance's interests.
Thus, wave after wave of clan alliance experts had been trying to persuade Zhao Jingdian. Zhao Jingdian couldn't even remember how many times he had tried, and each time, he had firmly refused. Zhao Jingdian had also asked Wang Chong about this matter, and Wang Chong had held nothing back.
From the moment the cement road appeared, it had already become an unstoppable torrent. If everything went as expected, regardless of whether Wang Chong agreed or not, cement roads would become extremely popular in the Tang Dynasty due to their convenience and high capacity.
This meant that it wouldn't just be from the capital to the Western Regions, but throughout the entire Tang Dynasty, cement roads would also appear.
What Wang Chong wanted to avoid was this sort of clan alliance encroaching on existing roads, building cement roads over them, and then collecting tolls. This would cause the common people to complain, turning a project that was supposed to benefit the Tang Dynasty into a project that would suck away the wealth of the people, a project that would not benefit the empire.
This was the exact opposite of Wang Chong's original intentions.
Thus, Wang Chong would never agree, and this was what Wang Chong had repeatedly urged him to do.
No matter how much the clan alliance tried to persuade him, Zhao Jingdian would never agree.
"Lord Zhao, please forgive this one for speaking out of turn."
The clan alliance expert hurriedly changed the subject.
"At the current speed, how long do you think it will take to reach Wushang?"
Zhao Jingdian suddenly asked, not bothering to argue with them.
"This … it should take at least four or five months."
The clan expert said, but he didn't seem very enthusiastic. It was clear that Zhao Jingdian's answer was not what he had hoped for, and he had taken a blow.
"We don't have that much time. This kind of progress is too slow."
Zhao Jingdian frowned. This number was very different from what he had expected.
"Go back and tell the Alliance of Aristocratic Families that although the Young Master can't agree to use the original official road to build a cement road, if you can complete the construction within three months, the Young Master can still give you another 5% of the profits on the original basis. And if you can finish in two months, our Young Master can give you ten percent of the profits. "
Zhao Jingdian's words immediately caused the dejected clan expert's eyes to brighten and his spirits to rise in excitement.
"Is Lord Zhao speaking the truth?"
The clan expert asked, his eyes bright.
The contract Wang Chong had signed with the clan alliance was permanent. In the future, all cement roads built by the Tang Dynasty would be governed and bound by this contract. Although it was only a difference of five percent or ten percent, the profits involved were unimaginably massive.
And for the next few decades, centuries, or even millennia, this contract would be permanent.
This was the charm of the contract between Wang Chong and the clan alliance.
If Wang Chong could permanently give up ten percent of the profits, the clan alliance would go crazy. All the great clans would pay any price to complete the cement road from the capital to Wushang.
Compared to the enormous profits they could bring in in the future, the losses they had to pay now were negligible.
— — This was something that all the aristocratic families could rationally analyze.
"Our Young Master's words are worth their weight in gold. When has he ever gone back on his word?"
Zhao Jingdian indifferently asked.
"Wonderful! Milord, please wait a moment. I will return to the alliance and discuss this with the elders! The elders will definitely agree to it! "
After saying this, the aristocratic family expert suddenly opened the car door and quickly disappeared outside the door, heading towards the location of the aristocratic family alliance at lightning speed.
Bang!
As expected, Zhao Jingdian's report of Wang Chong's words quickly set off a massive uproar in the clan alliance. No one had expected Wang Chong to give up such a large share of the profits. These conditions were simply irresistible. In an instant, the aristocratic family alliance quickly responded.
Deal!!
With this new agreement, the construction of the cement road began to advance by leaps and bounds, undergoing a qualitative transformation. The speed of construction, which had already reached its peak, was immediately pushed to a new level, becoming even more frenzied. And for the sake of obtaining the share of profits from Wang Chong, the great clans put aside much of their clan's business and devoted all their resources to this project, even sending many clan experts to supervise the work.
The construction of the cement road instantly sped up several times.
… …
Putting aside Zhao Jingdian and the matter of the cement road, time flew by, and a tense atmosphere was slowly building up in a place nearby.
"Have you found anything?"
Outside the southern gate of the capital, a magnificent carriage was parked on the side of the road. Next to the carriage was a middle-aged man of around forty, his hands held behind his back and exuding an air of nobility as he silently waited. Streams of people passed by, but just by standing there, the middle-aged man exuded an aura that stood out like a crane among chickens.
Even the nobles and nobles of the capital paled in comparison to the aura exuded by this middle-aged man, like fireflies before the bright moon.
"Your Highness, we have already clearly investigated. In Qixi, it was a child called Zhang Que who was following them, but over here, it was The Eagle who was in charge. In addition, I heard that the child called Zhang Que is The Eagle's disciple. "
Beside King Song, the old butler and Lu Ting stood on the left and right respectively. The old butler bowed and his lips moved as he spoke leisurely.
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