"On the contrary, if everyone in Wuheng serves as the Master said, working tirelessly day and night as manual laborers with no one to plant, produce, transport, or foster life, how can Wuheng be rebuilt?"
She continued fearlessly, "The Emperor assigns all the exiles to the frontier, not only as punishnt but also in hopes of cultivating and developing this land far from the Capital City."
"Otherwise, why would the exiled criminals, apart from building the nation’s walls, also be divided into lumbering, farming, and construction? Those registered as good citizens can even trade, transport, and interact with the outside world."
Seeing her articulate argunts, Chen Bozong could not help but glance at her twice.
With even more amusent in his eyes, "Indeed, Miss Ruan is not like ordinary won, no wonder Mr. Xie cherishes you so much, even demoted here, even if you’ve divorced before, he still wishes to marry you."
"According to your view, what should I do? To comply with the Emperor’s wishes."
Ruan Mian couldn’t see through the eyes behind his smiling face, "Indeed, Wuheng City needs to be rebuilt, and we can contribute together, but the matter of building the national wall, I hope the Governor can follow the law."
"All said and done, Miss Ruan just wants to evade the hardship of building the national wall."
"Governor, you are mistaken. As a civilian woman, I think, we clearly provide greater value for rebuilding Wuheng. Why should the Governor assign us to the most useless place?"
"Value?" Chen Bozong was even more interested, "Miss Ruan, tell , what great value do you have?"
"I’m afraid the Master is mocking a civilian woman."
Ruan Mian was tired of pretending with him. Chen Bozong’s sharp eyes clearly saw their value,
But because they hadn’t given him benefits, he was picky, making things difficult for them.
So Ruan Mian directly stated, "Give three days, Master, I can complete the main city wall of Wuheng City."
"By then, you can inspect it, Master. If it’s done, let our villagers continue using their value to build Wuheng, instead of... being like exiled criminals doing so useless chores."
Three days?
Chen Bozong chuckled, just as he was about to speak, a familiar voice suddenly ca from outside.
"Mr. Chen."
Only to see Huo Zong in armor, striding in, with Xie Huai’an standing expressionless beside him.
Chen Bozong glanced, approached Ruan Mian, and faced them directly.
With displeasure on his face, Huo Zong said, "Mr. Chen, the people of Jinsha Village are registered good citizens, asking them to do the work of building the nation’s walls again makes no sense. In my view, I think it’s best..."
But before Huo Zong could finish, Chen Bozong smiled and interrupted him.
"General Huo might not know, Miss Ruan has already discussed this with . I promised her, three days, if she can build the main city wall of Wuheng City, then I will have another arrangent for the national wall."
"If it’s not well built, not capable enough, even if General Huo and Mr. Xie co to talk, there’s no room for reversal."
"After all, I am the governor of Wuheng, and the shortage of manpower for building the national wall is a fact, with countless exiles dead and wounded."
Upon hearing this, Huo Zong’s temper exploded!
"Finish the main city wall in three days? Giving her three months is more like it! Chen Bozong, I didn’t expect you could bully a weak woman so effortlessly!"
"General."
Xie Huai’an stopped his impulse, glanced at Ruan Mian.
Actually, from the mont Xie Huai’an entered, Ruan Mian hadn’t been listening to their conversation.
Focused only on Xie Huai’an, her lips couldn’t help but curve.
She suddenly realized, she truly missed him.
Having not seen each other for a while, he seed to have lost a lot of weight.
However, Chen Bozong suddenly supported her waist, slowly pushing her forward.
Xie Huai’an’s expression slightly changed, but before they could react, Huo Zong suddenly punched Chen Bozong!
"You lecherous old man, where do you think you’re putting your hands?!"
Chen Bozong indifferently dusted off his clothes, his eyes full of provocation towards Xie Huai’an.
Still saying, "The rash nature of General Huo surely brought a lot of trouble, why not learn from Mr. Xie, he hasn’t said anything yet, I think..."
Yet before he could finish, Xie Huai’an’s knife was already against his neck!
"Master!"
Ruan Mian instinctively called out to him, even Huo Zong didn’t expect Xie Huai’an to be even more impulsive than himself, seeing Chen Bozong’s pale expression, he laughed heartily.
"Indeed, I must learn well from Mr. Xie."
The color of Chen Bozong’s eyes darkened, but before he could speak any threats, Xie Huai’an suddenly smiled, indifferently withdrew the knife, and incidentally cut the belt of his cloak.
"Just joking with Mr. Chen, a generous person wouldn’t mind, would he?"
"It’s late, the night is chilly, fearing my beloved wife catches cold, I will take my leave first."
After leaving this remark, he walked out of the Governor Mansion holding Ruan Mian’s hand without looking back.
For the first ti, Huo Zong followed like a little brother behind them, laughing, "Brother-in-law truly has good skills."
That repeated call of brother-in-law hit right in Xie Huai’an’s heart.
Ruan Mian followed them to the post station, Huo Zong couldn’t wait to ask, "Miss Ruan, your three-day agreent with Chen Bozong, exactly..."
"I can do it."
This sentence was not only a response to General Huo but also said for Xie Huai’an.
She knew Xie Huai’an would worry about her too.
However, Huo Zong was astonished, "How do you plan to do it? That is the main city wall! Initially several batches of exiles, over hundreds of people, took half a year to build the outer wall of Wuheng City."
"Even if it’s just a main city wall, it’s the most complex, just transporting stones took half a month, not to ntion carrying loads, and..."
"General Huo, I already have a plan."
Ruan Mian took a pen and ink from the side, quickly wrote down so procedures, and handed them to the two to read, but Huo Zong couldn’t quite understand.
"Is the volcanic ash in here the sa material Miss Ruan used to build roads before?"
Ruan Mian nodded, bluntly, "Yes. Three days is indeed not long, but as long as everything is arranged properly, it’s possible."
"One day to find materials and organize personnel, one day to arrange procedures and mix materials; and on the last day, proceed to pour into molds."
"The materials I used for road construction last ti were like this, once solidified it can stick to large stones, then mixed with fine sand and gravel, solidified it becos sturdy material that can be poured into any mold."
"General, our villagers already have road construction experience and are familiar with the materials, such as stone blocks, volcanic ash, all are readily available, only needing transportation to the city. Maybe one more step is needed, to transport so sand and gravel from Linfen River."
Ruan Mian originally planned to use concrete for casting, but with the limited conditions today, it was impossible to quickly make concrete mixing tools.
Moreover, the height of the city wall, relying solely on pouring is too difficult, three days is clearly insufficient.
Only by using ready-made materials, during road construction, they had carved a sizeable stone mountain near the houses for stone extraction, and a road to the volcanic ash area had been created.
Using these, plus fine sand and gravel, applied to the gaps between stone blocks, it becos even more solid than the previous city wall.
At this mont, the greatest advantage of road construction becos apparent.
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