PDLP Chapter 154 Island Acquired, Construction Underway
Chapter 154 Island Acquired, Construction Underway
"Your Majesty, I am but a commoner, how could I possibly understand such matters of state?"
Chu Chen touched his nose and said awkwardly.
"Haha, what a humble commoner you are. There are no outsiders here, so call me Uncle."
After speaking, he looked around and saw that Eunuch Wei was also smiling at Chu Chen.
"One man and one cart, killing thousands of Ganpu barbarians, accompanied by a ninth-rank official, dared to challenge the Japanese garrison. You call yourself a commoner?"
Chu Chen shook his head helplessly at Zhou Shixun's teasing questioning.
“Uncle Zhou, since the Liu family can make contact with the Japanese, there must be more than just Liu Jin.”
"If the Liu family really starts an uprising, I guarantee that the Japanese will not be able to enter our Great Xia from Linhai."
After saying this, Chu Chen consciously shut his mouth.
Zhou Shixun looked at Chu Chen and suddenly burst into laughter.
"Alright, as you say, that island belongs to you from now on. How many troops do you need? Name your name now."
The island is in hand, good heavens, this is making me make the terms.
When he fought the Japanese before, he had actually carefully observed the terrain of this coastal area.
The islands occupied by the Japanese were actually the only places that could be accessed from the coast of the Great Xia.
Other places are full of unknown waters and reefs; if you dare to go there, it will sink you.
To be honest, if I had enough time, I could have built the reinforced concrete and held the place firmly.
It would be almost impossible to transport troops from other places.
Even if there were a narrow path that could allow one person to pass through, it wouldn't take them enough time to transport their troops up.
Therefore, Chu Chen's offer to guard this place for him was a decision made after careful consideration.
"Uncle Zhou, just give me the troops of Lu Rongdong, the centurion of Linhai. Also, I want to build a sea castle, which requires a lot of manpower and resources."
"A castle at sea?" Zhou Shixun frowned slightly upon hearing Chu Chen's fantastical idea.
"That's right, you believe I can do it."
"Yes, you've never disappointed me, kid. Granted. Go down now. Someone will come to Linhai to meet with you later."
After saying that, Chu Chen waved his hand and tactfully withdrew.
Then, Chu Chen stayed in the capital for two days, met with Zhou Heng and the Empress, and presented them with some gifts.
We drove towards Linhai.
On the way, they stopped by Qingyun City and took Uncle Feng and Chu Yi with them.
How could he be without this infrastructure tycoon who had always been by his side?
Chu Yi, on the other hand, stayed by his side to run errands and such; this kid was very clever.
With Chen Qingxuan around, he wasn't worried about Qingyun City and Mashan Village at all.
Since you want the island, you have to pay a price.
It was seven days later when they returned to Linhai City.
After spending two days cuddling with Li Qinglian and the other two, they finally received the imperial edict.
Following them were dozens of officials sent by the Ministry of Works.
They are all talented individuals who have made significant contributions to infrastructure development.
Because the construction required manpower, dozens of officials arrived shortly afterward.
A total of 10,000 corvée laborers also arrived in Linhai City.
Lu Rongdong, who had been a soldier in Linhai Prefecture, officially became Chu Chen's man.
Six large ships, carrying personnel and supplies, sailed majestically toward the island.
Murong Huai was also on the ship, currently discussing the construction of the entire island with Chu Chen.
"Young Master Chu, since the Emperor has bestowed this island upon you, please name it."
Yes, this island is still an unnamed island.
What should we call it? Back on that big ship, Chu Chen picked up his binoculars and observed the entire island.
After a long while, Chu Chen looked at the few peach trees on the island, swaying in the wind.
"In that case, let's call it Peach Blossom Fairy Island."
"Wonderful! With Young Master Chu's divine skills, coupled with this beautiful island full of peach trees, this Peach Blossom Fairy Island is truly wonderful!"
Upon hearing the name Peach Blossom Fairy Island, Murong Huai immediately showered him with flattery.
His urgent dispatch wasn't just about delivering battle reports; he also managed to find out a pretty good deal about Chu Chen.
Such a powerful figure must be befriended on this island.
"Lord Murong, you flatter me."
Chu Chen smiled at Murong Huai and continued observing through his binoculars.
At this moment, Mu Xueqin, who had been silent all along, spoke up.
"You idiot, do you think the title 'Peach Blossom Fairy Island Master Mu Xueqin' sounds good?"
Damn it, I haven't even dealt with you yet, and you're already making a big deal out of it.
So he quickly said, "The name Chu Chen, the island master of Peach Blossom Fairy Island, sounds better."
"Alright, it's not finished yet. Once it's finished, everyone can come fishing, how fun will that be?"
On the island, Chu Chen entered the group of houses previously built by the Japanese alone.
Inside, they found a huge building and used it as a warehouse. With a wave of their hand, piles of cement and steel bars quickly filled the entire warehouse.
Then I went outside and looked down at the dense crowd below.
He waved his hand and took out a megaphone.
"To the officials of the Ministry of Works, to the elders and fellow villagers, and to the soldiers."
"Since His Majesty has entrusted us with the mission of protecting the coast of Linhai City of Great Xia, then we should all work together to do it well."
"Before we begin, I have an announcement to make. To all the elders and fellow villagers who have come to perform corvée labor, I thank you for participating in the construction of the Great Xia. In order to ensure that you are not taken advantage of, I have decided that each person will receive ten coins for each day of hard work."
Upon hearing that the wages were ten coins, the entire corvée labor team erupted in excitement.
He served a lifetime of corvée labor, and when had he ever received any wages?
It seems that this time the emperor is a good emperor.
Upon hearing this, Murong Huai, who was standing to the side, widened his eyes.
She whispered to Chu Chen, "Young Master Chu, there are a full ten thousand people! That's quite an expense. My Linhai is poor."
"Don't worry, I'll pay for it." Chu Chen interrupted Murong Huai's complaints with his generous attitude.
How efficient can corvée labor, essentially free labor, be?
The news of the massacre of the Japanese will surely be spread to Japan by the Liu family very soon.
Time was tight and the task was urgent, so we had to resort to unconventional methods.
Moreover, if there are 10,000 people, and each person pays ten coins a day, that's only 100,000 coins a day, or 100 taels of silver.
The thing I have plenty of right now is money.
This amount of money is nothing to Chu Chen.
It only costs 3000 taels a month.
Once these 10,000 people are truly mobilized, the construction period will only be about a month.
After calming Murong Huai down, he called out to the crowd, "Now, form teams of one hundred people each and select a leader to come and assemble."
As soon as Chu Chen finished speaking, Lü Rongdong led a hundred soldiers toward the crowd.
Let them assign their own teams; it'll take forever.
After saying that, he walked up to the Ministry of Works officials who were inside the house and said, "My lords, thank you for your hard work."
After saying that, he asked Chu Yi behind him to bring out dozens of small glass ornaments.
"It's just a small token of respect!"