Ying Zheng waved his hand and prepared to let Li Si capture 30,000 laborers and prisoners.
Zhao Jun was stunned.
Wow, this guy is really generous.
"Wait, wait, my king, don't be anxious, just listen to me first."
Zhao Jun hurriedly stopped him.
She was really afraid that if she wasn't careful, Ying Zheng would kill all the young and middle-aged people in the country.
Isn't that what happened in history?
"What's wrong? Isn't this what you're anxious about?"
Ying Zheng frowned. She was clearly the one who looked anxious, but why did she tell him not to be anxious?
"I'm not in a hurry, just listen to me first."
Zhao Jun held him down and the two sat opposite each other.
"What I mean is this: first we have to lay the tracks. How do we lay the tracks? Let's not think about the people first."
"First of all, we need the skills. That's no problem. Let the Mohist craftsmen teach us, and we should all be able to do it."
"Then there's the materials. Laying the tracks requires a lot of iron. Juzi already has advanced iron smelting methods, so this shouldn't be a big problem."
"Finally, there's the line. This track will require a lot of manpower and resources. How should we build it and which road to build first? Isn't this something we need to think about carefully?"
"There has to be someone in charge, right? I can't just keep an eye on the track construction all the time, right? So who's going to be in charge of this?"
"Finally, let's talk about people. The population, especially the young and middle-aged, is so precious. We may need to repair many things in the future. We can't waste them. We can't let them die after we use them up."
"Then we can't use force to arrest them. We have to rely on recruiting workers. We can make sure that after they finish this project, they'll be willing to work on the next one, right?"
Zhao Jun spoke earnestly for a long time and listed several questions.
"What do you say, my king?"
She looked at the opposite side with sincere eyes.
"Can you please let go first?"
Ying Zheng glanced down.
Just now, in order to stop him, Zhao Jun put his hands on his cuffs.
Zhao Jun only noticed what he said and immediately pulled his hand back and smiled obediently.
"Am I a brainless person? Don't I know how valuable labor is?"
He glared at Zhao Jun.
"These 30,000 laborers can be selected from the military."
"Qin's wars have decreased in the past two years, and they should be even fewer after Qi's demise. Many soldiers are unable to go to the battlefield, and the lack of a path to advancement has already made them very uneasy."
"You know that a large part of Qin's strength comes from the system of military merit and nobility, but with fewer wars, there are still so many soldiers, and there aren't that many nobility titles to be promoted. It's hard to say what their future will be like."
Ying Zheng sighed.
"So, I decided to let these idle soldiers at home do this and give them some compensation."
"Oh~"
Zhao Junchang said "oh" to indicate that he understood.
"In that case, there's no problem. We're specifically recruiting people from within the military this time, offering normal benefits. That should be fine."
Zhao Jun thought about it and felt that this method was feasible.
"I will formulate a detailed recruitment standard later."
"Well, did you think I was too stupid before?"
He glanced at Zhao Jun with a sidelong glance and spoke in a bad tone.
Zhao Jun lowered his head and pretended not to see it.
"Besides, as you just asked, you already have a candidate in mind for this matter."
Ying Zheng began to answer the questions she had just asked one by one.
Zhao Jun looked serious.
"There are only a few people I know, so if I had to choose the right person, it would be Meng Yi."
"Although this technology was developed by the Mohist School, Juzi and his team are only focused on research and don't have the heart to care about this kind of thing."
"I figured this would require iron and coal, so Meng Yi would be a good fit. I'll just have him oversee the work, and let the workers handle the construction."
She thought about the people she knew and found that this was the only one who had the free time and was capable of doing the job.
"Well, I'll talk to Meng Yi later and let him do it."
Ying Zheng directly agreed to her suggestion, and the candidate was finalized.
"Then comes today's main point, the route. Your Majesty, you must decide which section of road we should repair first."
"Of course, I've already decided on the starting point. It's right outside Xianyang, at the university gate."
She fiddled with it for a while and took out a map from her clothes.
"Your Majesty, please take a look."
Zhao Jun unfolded the map and saw a small black dot marked on the location outside Xianyang City.
“Why do we have to start from the gate of this school?”
Ying Zheng took the map and looked at it for a while. Although he felt that there was nothing wrong with her choice of starting point, he still asked a question.
"Uh... well, I just want to build momentum for our university and do some advertising."
"Your Majesty, imagine that those students from other places are completely unaware of this thing. But once they arrive in Qin to attend university, they'll see such a rare and colossal creature. Wouldn't they immediately be filled with awe and respect for our Qin?"
Zhao Jun began to brag.
"Well, you have a point."
Ying Zheng felt very happy and nodded proudly.
He stared at the map for a while, then quickly pointed to a location.
"I think the first destination is most suitable here."
His fingertip pointed at a spot in the corner of the map.
That's Shangjun.
"You just said that this steam locomotive is not only fast, but can also carry people and goods. Shangjun is on the border of Qin State, and it is also where General Meng Tian is stationed year-round."
"Later, I plan to build a Great Wall along the entire border. If this road is opened, it will be very convenient to transport food and supplies."
Zhao Jun thought about it and it seemed to be true.
"Your Majesty, please make the decision. I have no objection. This route is very long, almost spanning half of Qin State. It will pass through many places in the middle, so we can build a few temporary stops along the way."
Zhao Jun drew it on the map with a pen.
Afterwards, the two had a detailed discussion on the specific route and terrain conditions.
"Alright, that's it for now. Your Majesty, you should talk to Meng Yi as soon as possible."
"Oh, and by the way, I'm going to sort out the recruitment details for the road construction when I get home today."
"We have to recruit workers from the army quickly, otherwise it will be too late."
After the discussion, Zhao Jun hurriedly packed up his things and prepared to leave.
She is very busy.
"Didn't you say you were not in a hurry?"
Seeing this, Ying Zheng couldn't help but hold his forehead and complain.
"Of course I'm not in a hurry for the rest of the construction, but the starting point at the university entrance needs to be completed quickly. Otherwise, my university will open soon, and if I miss this time, how will I be able to build momentum?"
"Your Majesty, I will be leaving now."
After she replied, she ran out without looking back.
Ying Zheng looked at her back and shook his head helplessly.
"This guy is really becoming more and more unruly."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
