Chapter 65 Building Roads and Manufacturing Vehicles

At noon the next day, the magistrate's plaza was packed with a vast sea of people.

Liu Yang, Zhao Wuji, and their gang of villainous henchmen were all tightly bound with ropes and forced to kneel on a hastily constructed high platform, with rags stuffed into their mouths.

Below the platform stood the entire populace of Ziyang County.

On their faces was an anger suppressed for far too long, and a hatred etched deep into their bones.

"Let the trial begin!"

Zhao Yi sat in a grand master's chair and struck the gavel.

"Fellow villagers!" he stood up, facing the crushing crowd below, and roared at the top of his lungs, "This official knows you carry grievances in your hearts! You carry hatred!"

"Today, this official is handing these scoundrels over to you!"

"If you have a personal wrong, avenge it! If you have a grudge, settle it!"

The moment the words fell, the crowd instantly erupted into a frenzy!

"Smash him to death! Smash this man-eating beast to death!"

An elderly man, trembling, pulled a stone out of a basket and, mustering all his strength, hurled it fiercely at Zhao Wuji!

Bang!

The stone struck Zhao Wuji squarely on the forehead, drawing a stream of fresh blood.

This single act ignited everyone's fury!

Rotten vegetable leaves, stinking eggs, and stones rained down upon the group on the platform like a storm.

Spit flew through the air, forming a veritable stream.

"My father was forced to his death by you! Return my father's life to me!"

"My daughter was only fifteen years old! And she was ruined by you, you old beast!"

Cries of anguish and curses shook the heavens.

At that moment, a burly man squeezed his way out of the crowd, carrying a full wooden bucket from which an immediate, overpowering stench emanated.

It was nightsoil!

"I'll have you drink your fill, you corrupt official!"

The man roared, veins bulging on his arms, as he dumped the entire bucket of nightsoil straight over the head of Magistrate Liu Yang, drenching him from head to toe!

Splash!

Liu Yang was thoroughly soaked from top to bottom, yellowish-white filth streaming down his fat cheeks. He struggled desperately, but could only emit muffled, mournful whimpers.

The entire plaza plunged into a bizarre state of revelry.

Standing behind Zhao Yi and watching this horrifying scene, Zhao Changge turned pale, his stomach churning violently.

For the first time, he truly understood what it meant when people's grievances reached the heavens.

Zhao Yi, however, watched with great relish, even pulling an apple from Li Jin's hand and crunching into it noisily.

Enough was enough; it was time to wrap it up.

He stood up and pressed his hands downward.

The plaza gradually grew quiet.

"Liu Yang and Zhao Wuji have tyrannized the locals, treated human lives like grass, and committed monstrous crimes!"

"Acting by the Emperor's imperial decree and following the will of the people, this official sentences them:"

"To be executed immediately!"

"All their family property shall be confiscated! All forcefully seized farmlands shall be returned to their original owners! All contracts signed under duress are hereby declared null and void!"

"As for the remaining accomplices, they shall be sentenced to exile and hard labor according to the severity of their crimes!"

"Our upright and benevolent magistrate!"

Down below, no one knew who shouted it first, but the next moment, hundreds and thousands of commoners dropped to their knees in unison.

"Lord Zhao is a truly upright official!"

"Thank you, Lord Zhao, for delivering justice for us!"

Looking at this scene, which surged like a mountain and roared like the sea, Zhao Yi felt not a single ripple in his heart.

This was the exact effect he wanted.

He cleared his throat and spoke again, "Rise, all of you! This official has another announcement to make!"

"Starting tomorrow, this official is going to build a road! A cemented official highway running straight from our Ziyang County to the imperial capital, Luoyang! At the same time, it will be wide enough for four carriages to race side by side!"

"Once this road is built, transporting our grain and goods outward will be convenient! Outside merchants will also be willing to come in! Only then can everyone's days get better and better!"

"Building a road requires manpower! This official is now openly recruiting laborers!"

He motioned for Li Yin to unfold a massive notice.

"Anyone who comes to work, regardless of man or woman, old or young! As long as you have strength! You will be provided with a full meal every day, and you will be paid wages!"

Boom!

The crowd exploded once more.

Provided with meals?

And paid money as well?

What kind of divine official was this?

"I'll sign up! My lord, I'll sign up!"

"Count me in too! I can do physical labor! I can do anything!"

The commoners squeezed forward like madmen, and the registration desk was instantly surrounded so tightly not even water could leak through. The queue stretched out endlessly, with no end in sight.

Paying no mind to the chaos over there, Zhao Yi turned around and returned to the magistrate's backyard with Old Zhang and several craftsmen.

He took out two pre-drawn blueprints and spread them on the table.

One blueprint depicted a plow of peculiar design.

The other showed a massive wooden machine resembling a dragon's backbone.

"Old Zhang, and masters all," Zhao Yi pointed at the blueprints, "These two items are called the 'curved-shaft plow' and the 'dragon-bone waterwheel'."

"I don't care what methods you use, make them for me."

"Feel free to use any local carpenters you need."

"Whoever manages to build them first and make them usable, I will reward with ten liang of silver!"

Ten liang of silver!

The breathing of the craftsmen grew heavy.

This was equivalent to wages they couldn't earn even after working without food or drink for over half a year!

"My lord, rest assured! We guarantee the task will be completed!" Old Zhang patted his chest, his eyes shining with light.

"Good," Zhao Yi nodded. "Old Zhang, you will have overall responsibility for building the road and manufacturing these two items. Li Jin and Li Yin, you two will be his assistants; whatever he tells you to do, you do! If I catch either of you slacking off, I'll skin you alive!"

"Understood, Young General!"

The entire Ziyang County transformed into a massive construction site, brimming with boundless drive and vigor.

...

Imperial Palace, Imperial Study.

Wu Mingkong perused the report sent by Tian Yi, which detailed everything Zhao Yi had done in Ziyang County.

From feigning cooperation and luring the snake out of its hole, to delivering a thunderous blow, and finally winning over the hearts of the people.

This combination of moves had been executed as smoothly as flowing water, leaving not a single leak.

"This bastard..."

She put down the secret report, walked over to the window, and looked in the direction of Ziyang County.

"Just what kind of surprise can you possibly give me?"

...

Ziyang County.

Old Zhang truly lived up to his reputation as a top-tier craftsman.

In a mere half a day, the two "divine artifacts" were presented before Zhao Yi.

The curved-shaft plow had sleek lines, its iron plowshare gleaming with a cold light.

The dragon-bone waterwheel was an absolute behemoth, its interlocking wooden panels resembling the spine of a giant dragon.

"Young General! It's done! Both are done!" Old Zhang's face was flushed red with excitement, like a child presenting a precious treasure.

"Let's go, let's test them!"

With a wave of his hand, Zhao Yi personally led the crowd, carrying the curved-shaft plow and hoisting the dragon-bone waterwheel, marching imposingly toward the farmland outside the city.

As the news spread, countless commoners followed behind, all eager to see what these novel contraptions were all about.

Zhao Yi selected the hardest piece of farmland available.

He took off his outer robe, personally grasped the handles of the curved-shaft plow, and shouted to Li Jin, who was holding the ox by its lead, "Move!"

Li Jin cracked his whip, and the old yellow ox set its hooves in motion.

Under the gaze of everyone, that uniquely shaped curved-shaft plow effortlessly sliced open the hard earth!

The overturned soil was black and deep, rolling like a smooth wave.

When turning, Zhao Yi merely gave a gentle lift, and the plowshare shifted direction effortlessly without the slightest resistance.

Among the onlookers were veteran farmers who had tilled the land their entire lives.

They stood there dumbfounded.

"Good heavens... this... this takes so little effort!"

"Indeed! Look at how deep that soil is turned! It's easily twice as deep as our old plows!"

"If we could use this plow, we could till several more mu of land in a single day!"

The eyes of everyone present turned red with envy.

Zhao Yi dropped the plow, walked over to the riverbank, and had the people set up the dragon-bone waterwheel.

He motioned for Zhao Changge to step onto the wheel's pedals.

"Pedal!"

Zhao Changge took a deep breath and began to tread the pedals.

Creak, creak—

The massive dragon backbone began to rotate slowly.

Individual wooden panels acted like tiny hands, scooping up river water and sending it continuously along the wooden trough toward the high fields!

The sound of gushing water was, to the ears of every farmer present, no different from heavenly music.

"Miraculous! Truly miraculous!"

An old farmer dropped to his knees with a heavy thud, knocking his head hard against the ground three times in the direction of Zhao Yi.

"Lord Zhao! You are a living bodhisattva, a celestial deity descended to earth to save us suffering folk!"

News of the curved-shaft plow and the dragon-bone waterwheel sprouted wings, spreading across the entirety of Ziyang County within half a day.