Chapter 256: Chapter 162: Li Lu Goes Out; Arranging Affairs
In the rear courtyard of the County Magistrate’s Office.
Li Lu was discussing sothing with his nephew.
When a gang mber saw Cheng Zongyang arrive, he imdiately called out, "Lord Cheng."
The uncle and nephew, who had been talking, instantly turned to look toward the entrance.
Seeing Cheng Zongyang, the two of them imdiately walked over.
"Lord Cheng," Li Xian greeted respectfully, clasping his hands.
"No need for such formality." Cheng Zongyang gave a slight nod, then looked to Li Lu. "Brother Li, have you gathered all the n?"
Li Lu smiled. "That’s right."
With that, he nodded to his nephew, who imdiately went to make arrangents.
After ushering Cheng Zongyang into the main hall to take a seat, Li Lu got down to business.
"As you requested, I found thirty-seven n. All of them have experience building houses. If each of them leads a team of laborers from the County Town, it should be enough to et the construction requirents for the village. But, Brother Cheng, how exactly do you plan to build this village?"
Hearing this, Cheng Zongyang took out the Design Map he had prepared beforehand, spread it flat on the table, and said:
"I’ve already designed the layout."
Li Lu imdiately looked at the map on the table.
Pointing to the Design Map, Cheng Zongyang began to explain it step-by-step.
"The village will cover a large area. This plan includes residential houses, which will be arranged along the periter to serve as both defensive walls and living quarters.
Further inside, there will be warehouses and cellars for storing resources, as well as a training ground for our Martial Artists.
This is a watchtower for reconnaissance, allowing us to spot anyone approaching the entrances from a high vantage point..."
Cheng Zongyang went through the plans in detail, pointing out each structure to Li Lu, explaining its purpose and the strategic function of the layout.
He even described the use of underground tunnels for escaping or hiding.
The more Li Lu listened, the more peculiar his expression beca.
After hearing the full explanation, he mulled it over for a mont before tentatively asking:
"Brother Cheng, what you’re building sounds more like a military fortress. And you plan to use bricks? Won’t that be too conspicuous?"
Cheng Zongyang smiled. "You could say that. If we want to stand against the faction that will eventually take over the County Town, we must cultivate at least thirty Entry Grade Martial Artists within the next four months.
So, I need you to procure more dicinal Materials and bring them back. The sooner, the better.
Whether we use bricks or ramd earth blocks isn’t important. What matters is that it’s sturdy and built to last."
"Brother Li, since we’re going to build it, we should take advantage of having the manpower now and finish it all at once. It will be much harder to organize everyone again later. As long as we hold this territory and maintain our strength, we won’t have to fear anyone trying to take it from us."
"Alright!" Li Lu nodded decisively, not one to dither. "I’ll set out tomorrow. Tonight, I’ll get a team ready."
"Uncle, Lord Cheng, the n have arrived," Li Xian reported, walking in through the doorway.
The two of them imdiately walked outside.
Li Lu said to Cheng Zongyang, "Ti is tight. I’ll go arrange the personnel and supplies for my trip. I’ll leave these n in your hands."
Cheng Zongyang nodded.
After Li Lu left with his nephew, Cheng Zongyang showed the Design Map to the foren and explained it to them.
Once they all agreed that it was not a problem, Cheng Zongyang said:
"To speed things up, we’ll use ramd earth blocks instead of bricks. But I have one requirent: the exterior walls must be two layers thick, while the interior walls only need one. All construction materials are to be sourced from the surrounding area. Any problems with that?"
Hearing this, the n all shook their heads and replied:
"It’s not a problem."
"We can do that."
"No problem."
"..."
Seeing their unenthusiastic responses, Cheng Zongyang continued:
"First, if you can lead your teams and complete the construction according to my Design Map before the harvest, each of you foren will receive an extra portion of food every day."
This ti, their motivation clearly increased, and they all responded with renewed assurances.
Cheng Zongyang shook his head slightly. "Secondly, once construction begins, if any of you have children, they can be prioritized to join the village for training. They will have a chance to beco Martial Artists!
When the harvest is in, your children can beco mbers of the village’s Guard Team, and the benefits are excellent."
In an instant, the look in the eyes of the thirty-odd n completely changed!
To beco a Martial Artist!
This was a chance to change their family’s fate!
It was like a scholar passing the imperial examinations—a chance to change their family’s entire fate!
"Rest assured, My Lord! As long as we’re given enough n, we’ll definitely complete the entire village before the harvest!!"
"..."
One after another, they beca incredibly excited, as if a mont’s hesitation would cost them the opportunity of a lifeti.
’Cheng Zongyang knew exactly how to motivate them.’
’Talk to the poor about money, and to the rich about relationships.’
’Moving up in social class was incredibly difficult. Now that an opportunity was right in front of them, they would fight to the death rather than miss it.’
’It was just like in his previous life. There were many ways for an ordinary person to climb the social ladder, but every path was fraught with imnse difficulty. The one exception was education; compared to other thods, it was the cheapest and simplest way.’
’Therefore, the key to motivating these n was to appeal to the interests of their families and the futures of their descendants.’
’In this world, becoming a Martial Artist or a scholar were the only two real opportunities.’
’But for commoners, in a Dynasty where advancent relied on recomndations, the Noble Families monopolized all the upward channels. It was nearly impossible for an ordinary person to change their fate through scholarship.’
’That left the path of Martial Arts as their only way out.’
Cheng Zongyang spoke slowly, "It doesn’t matter if you recomnd your own children or those of your relatives—each of you has one training slot. This is my promise to you. Oh, right."
Cheng Zongyang then added:
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