"Should we kill them all?"
Wei Dahai asked tentatively.
"Huh? Killed them all?"
Li Xin glared at Wei Dahai and scolded, "What are you thinking!"
These prisoners are free labor!
It would be such a waste to kill them!
All aspects of Dongning City's construction, including city walls, residential buildings, and mining, require labor!
There's also the mining bureau to the west, which needs to mine coal and also requires labor!
Why kill them? Screen them, then take them all to the mining bureau and make them work in the coal mines!
"Your Highness is right!"
Wei Dahai quickly agreed.
"Oh, right,"
After thinking for a moment, Li Xin instructed, "These prisoners of war are different from those in Dingli County."
Prisoners don't need to be paid wages; just ensure they are provided with food every day.
In addition, those people in Dingli County also made contributions.
Instruct Zhang Cheng to compile a list of those with military merits and reduce their service period.
Other participants will have their service period reduced by several months based on their merits. Zhang Cheng is to prepare a report and submit it.
In our Dongning City, merit is rewarded and demerit is punished!
Whether you're a newcomer or a long-time member, we treat everyone equally!
After this policy was promulgated, it won the support of the people of Dingli County.
Originally, they were all bandits and thought they would be executed by the government.
Unexpectedly, His Highness Prince Xin not only spared their lives but also allowed them to atone for their crimes through meritorious service.
Such kindness moved everyone to tears.
In a short time, the bandits who surrendered gradually let go of their resentment and regarded themselves as one of the people of Dongning City.
In addition to these rewards, Li Xin decided that as long as these people met the recruitment standards of the Prince's Guard, they would be allowed to remove all service restrictions and join the Prince's Guard.
After this battle, Li Xin realized that the Prince's Guard was still too small.
Fifteen or sixteen hundred men, far fewer than the grassland bandits.
Li Xin decided to take advantage of the lull after the war to expand all the battalions of the Prince's Guard to five or six hundred men.
Tiger Warriors Battalion, Valiant Cavalry Battalion, Divine Strategist Battalion, Divine Might Battalion, Divine Martial Battalion, Divine Bravery Battalion!
With all seven battalions expanded, the total strength will reach approximately four thousand men!
However, this is far from enough!
After thinking it over, Li Xin decided to form the Shenyi Battalion and Shenyou Battalion of the infantry.
The two newly built infantry battalions were also planned to have around five or six hundred men.
In this way, the Prince's Guard will be expanded to about five thousand men.
Although the troop strength is still small, it is more than enough to protect themselves.
If we add the momentum of Dongning City's entire population being mobilized for war, we might even be able to launch a counterattack!
To significantly expand the royal guard, it was natural to recruit soldiers from the entire city of Dongning.
Anyone willing to join the Prince's Guard, who can pass the test and obey orders, will be accepted!
The generous benefits and perks of the Prince's Guard attracted the attention of the city's residents.
For a time, many young men wanted to join the Prince's Guard.
In particular, many people who had distinguished themselves in hunting teams and engineering teams wanted to join the Prince's Guard.
Soldiers who distinguished themselves in the defense of Dongning City were promoted.
After expanding the Prince's Guard, a large number of grassroots core members were needed to fill the gaps.
Subsequently, Li Xin also rewarded Wei Jun, He Chaojun, Mu Yunyan, Zhang Cheng, Liu Zheng, Wang Zhong, and others.
After the Prince's Guard was expanded, Li Xin also entrusted this matter to Wei Jun and He Chaojun.
Li Xin, on the other hand, was handling the construction issues of Dongning City.
With the bandits on the grasslands driven away, construction became the top priority.
Especially now, Dongning City is just an outline.
The northern city wall has only just had its foundation laid; it's still a long way from being completed.
After the expansion of the Prince's Guard, many people were left without a construction team.
As luck would have it, people from Dingli County also joined the construction team.
After careful consideration, Li Xin decided to temporarily abandon Dingli County, since the Prince's Guard was currently outnumbered and could not be divided into two forces.
If we are defeated one by one by the grassland bandits, then it will be a loss!
After being incorporated into the construction team, the number of personnel in the team also increased significantly.
The speed of cement firing, quarrying, brick and tile making in the entire city of Dongning has also increased significantly.
The construction team was building the city wall at a rapid pace.
During this time, Li Xin's face was also filled with a bright smile.
"At this rate, the city walls of Dongning will be fully completed before winter!"
Li Xin nodded in satisfaction.
The city wall of Dongning that he mentioned was naturally not just the section in the north.
With the expansion of the construction team and the retreat of the grassland bandits, there was ample peace and quiet, so it was natural to complete the expansion of Dongning City.
The foundations for the western city wall along the Shuibin River, the eastern city wall along the Dongshan area, and the southern city wall along the coast were all under construction.
With concrete and bricks, construction speed has become increasingly faster.
In the new Dongning City, three or four watchtowers were built on each side of the city wall, forming a tight defense system.
Once this magnificent city is built, we will no longer have to fear the grassland bandits!
While the city wall was being built, Li Xin was also thinking about other things.
With four or five thousand captured soldiers deployed to the mining bureau, the speed of mine excavation increased significantly.
In addition, three new mine excavation projects were launched.
The remaining prisoners of war were also repairing the road from the mining bureau to Dongning City.
This road will also serve as the essential route for transporting coal.
If you do a good job of preparation beforehand, things will be much easier and faster later on!
Li Xin now lives a very fulfilling life every day.
After the start of summer, another piece of good news came from the East.
An iron ore deposit has been discovered in a mountain valley in the Dongning Mountains.
Preliminary exploration has shown that the conditions are suitable for mining.
Upon receiving this news, Li Xin couldn't help but jump up.
We've got the coal!
Iron, we've got it!
Next, steel can be smelted and machinery can be produced!
The future of Dongning City will become increasingly bright!
Li Xin immediately issued an order, dispatching a group of people to the Dongning Mountains to mine iron ore.
In addition, Li Xin personally selected a location on the banks of the Shuibin River west of Dongning City as the future base for the ironworks.
During this time, Li Xin also searched for all knowledge about smelting in the field of intelligent technology.
After much deliberation, Li Xin finally chose blast furnace smelting equipment.
This set of equipment was also tested in the 1950s and 1960s, and it is easy to manufacture and operate.
After the selection was made, Li Xin officially began preparations for the establishment of the Dongning Ironworks.
A large number of people were transferred from the city to the Dongning Ironworks.
Zhang Hong, a fourth-level technician from the Ordnance Bureau, was also transferred to the Dongning Ironworks and became a member of the preparatory team, participating in the construction.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
