Chapter 1 The Serenity of Ye Tao

Equally astonished at Ye Tao's composure was the ruler, Tan Xiaopei. When Ye Tao performed the kowtow ceremony towards him, when Tan Weixin symbolically introduced Ye Tao to the ruler, when echoing Tan Xiaopei's praise for his excellent performance some time ago and for the much-loved gift of the Iron-Blooded Hero Lamp that he had created, Ye Tao's demeanor was far more experienced and aloof than Tan Xiaopei had anticipated. Indeed, he was receiving what he deserved, but beyond his composure, there was something else in Ye Tao's expression. If he had to force a description, Tan Xiaopei felt that it was as if Ye Tao was still not entirely satisfied with his own performance.

"Ye Tao," Tan Xiaopei finally turned his gaze firmly towards Ye Tao after inquiring about the general progress, "did you design the overall plan for this military camp?"

Ye Tao bowed and replied, "Indeed, it was this humble one."

Tan Xiaopei nodded and continued, "I recall that initially, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Works, and the Internal Affairs Office consulted and decided to build a military camp. However, the blueprint you provided is essentially a city. Isn't the difference between the two a bit too large?"

Ye Tao was taken aback, but there was no hint of blame in Tan Xiaopei's tone, as if he merely wanted a plausible explanation. Ye Tao cleared his thoughts and spoke eloquently, "Your Majesty, it is not inappropriate to refer to this military camp as a city. According to the Dongping system, any settlement with a population of 100,000 can be called a city, and the city walls, moats, and so on required for that level can be built according to a certain system. Moreover, the reason for establishing such a system is probably not due to matters of etiquette, but rather more consideration for the high cost of building city walls and digging moats, which would unduly increase the country's economic burden. However, as long as the conditions permit, settlements, even those smaller than cities, are still encouraged to build suitable defense systems themselves. Dongping has twenty-two cities that meet the population standard, but in reality, there are forty-nine various local defense systems that meet the city standard. Given the importance of this military camp, it is naturally worthy of being built to city standards."

Tan Xiaopei glanced at the officials from the Ministry of Works. It was not surprising that Ye Tao knew these things. For him to do work that was certainly extremely unfamiliar relative to his resume, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War had to provide materials so that Ye Tao could have a general understanding of the current state of Dongping's city construction. In this era without the concept of classified information, whether it was because they valued Ye Tao as a young but extremely talented craftsman, or because Ye Tao was strongly recommended and guaranteed by Zhao Hua Princess Tan Weixin, the materials from the Ministry of Works would be opened to Ye Tao to the greatest extent.

Tan Xiaopei didn't find anything particularly special about what Ye Tao said. After all, this was the reality of the Dongping Kingdom, but Tan Xiaopei felt that it seemed that what Ye Tao wanted to say was just the beginning... Tan Xiaopei nodded and said, "Is that all you wanted to say? If you have more ideas, you can say them all at once. For the country, this is a big project after all, but it's not irreplaceable. However, being able to preside over the planning of this project must be of different significance to you, right?"

Tan Xiaopei's easygoing words made Ye Tao feel as if he were back in the company, giving presentations to the boss and clients to explain his design ideas. His eyes lit up, and he bowed and said, "I shall obey your command."

In her previous life, Tan Weixin always felt that she wasn't particularly successful, but she had many opportunities to make such presentations in the company. After all, meeting culture was already one of the basic elements of modern enterprises. Seeing Ye Tao's energetic spirit, Tan Weixin couldn't help but smile.

After straightening his body, Ye Tao said in a clear voice, "From the very beginning, I designed this so-called military camp as a city. Danyang, as the capital of Dongping, has been built for quite some time. Due to population growth, the volume of commercial traffic of all kinds is many times greater than when it was first built. In fact, it is now somewhat overwhelmed in terms of fulfilling its urban functions. Whether it's the initial design plan or the current allocation and use of space in the city, there are many problems."

As Ye Tao spoke, his gestures increased, as if he were giving a well-prepared speech, or giving a presentation at a meeting with people whose status was not so different from his own. A successful person in the modern workplace, perhaps these gestures and movements that accompany language to strengthen their persuasiveness, as well as the simplest movements of their eyes, are skills that need to be mastered, skills that are built up through repeated attempts, experiences, successes, and failures, becoming almost instinctive reflexes. And these natural movements, combined with the cadence in his tone, made what Ye Tao said more likely to influence others.

"...As of now, a city is still a relatively closed space. Because we need city walls to protect the city, and this is unlikely to change until the restrictive effect of the city walls on ourselves far outweighs their ability to hinder the enemy's attacks. Therefore, how to allocate space within the limited space of the city, how to ensure that all the city's space can play its due role, is a very serious issue. And deciding how to allocate this space largely represents the rulers' vision for the city's temperament and functions."

At this point, everyone present was shocked. The functions of the city, the temperament of the city—some of them may have vaguely realized these ideas, but they had never dared to say them in public. At most, they were only used as a reference when making certain decisions.

"For example, Yicheng, as a seaport city located at the mouth of the Luo River, is the most convenient and fastest bridge for communication between the Dongping inland and the outside world. Its function is the flow and exchange of goods, and its temperament is both pro-commerce and wealthy, and on the other hand, it is also relaxed and comfortable due to Yicheng's unique climate and geographical conditions. In terms of defense, it can be said that although it meets the standards for the city defense facilities of a large city, it only meets them, there are no highlights, and it can even be said that there are not many effective defense measures. But this does not affect Yicheng's status as an important city in Dongping, or even in the entire continent."

"But Danyang is different. Danyang is the capital of Dongping, a special city that is different from any other city." Ye Tao paused and said, "In addition to fulfilling the functions of a general city, Danyang is also an important venue for displaying all aspects of Dongping's strength to everyone. This multifaceted strength includes population, economy, military, and culture. In terms of population, Danyang City currently has a resident population of nearly 900,000, plus the merchants and travelers who come and go, as well as the employees who follow the merchants, and the diplomatic missions from various countries who come to Danyang for various reasons. At its peak, there are more than one million people who need to stay, including the scholars from all over the country who come to Danyang to take the exam. The prosperity of the population is self-evident. However, for Danyang, it is a bit too prosperous. Speaking of the economy, six of Dongping's top ten merchants have their headquarters here, and all kinds of shops and workshops are lined up one after another, which is also very excellent. In terms of culture, Danyang seems to be slightly lacking. Jiaofang (state-run brothels) and Qinglou (private brothels) can only be regarded as entertainment venues, and painting and calligraphy shops and jade shops can only be regarded as luxury consumption, and they are not very related to culture. There is much room for improvement. In terms of military affairs, Danyang City often has nearly 100,000 troops stationed there, which varies depending on the procedures for the deployment and dispatch of troops from various places. Relative to the importance of Danyang, this is not much, but if you add the people who directly and indirectly serve the army, there may be 150,000 to 200,000 people, including craftsmen who manufacture military equipment, and various personnel who prepare clothing, other equipment, and food for the army. ... I think that the construction of the military camp in the west of the city this time has many reasons, but considering the imbalance in Danyang's allocation in this regard, diverting the population of Danyang City and freeing up space so that Danyang can breathe a sigh of relief should also be one of the considerations."

Seeing Tan Xiaopei nodding in appreciation, Ye Tao smiled and continued, "If that's the case, then why not take this opportunity to reorganize Danyang City to a greater extent? A portion of the garrison can be diverted, tens of thousands of people, plus the families of the local garrison, plus a large number of service personnel who will inevitably follow, which is about 80,000 to 100,000 people. Even if it's just these 80,000 to 100,000 people, it's enough to run a city. Danyang, as the capital of Dongping, has many workshops for precision military equipment, which should also be moved there. At least, the military equipment department of my Ye family workshop is preparing to set up there. In a jurisdiction of the military and their families, the level of contact between craftsmen and apprentices and the outside world is limited, and the possibility of many unique Dongping technologies being leaked is greatly reduced. In fact, even other types of workshops, especially pottery and porcelain workshops, I think that the towering smoke from constantly burning coal kilns must not be pleasing to the eye. These workshops may not be qualified to enter the military camp, but due to the construction of the military camp, in fact, the distance between Danyang and the military camp, which is not very long, can be considered extremely safe. It is advisable to build one or two new villages and towns mainly for workshops, and relocate those unsightly workshops in the city there. And the space freed up can be used for other things. Danyang is a unique city, and she should have the ability to govern the entire surrounding space. This space includes Danyang, the military camp, and naturally the surrounding places that can be used but are now idle."

Tan Weixin nodded secretly. Ye Tao's words included ideas on urban planning, urban positioning, and urban function design that seemed to have only begun to be gradually developed until modern times. The things he hinted at, although not easy to implement, could take Danyang and its surrounding development to the next level once they were fully planned and deployed over several years, rather than the rough development of cities in this era that always blindly accumulate population and shops and workshops, but rather a more detailed, more comprehensive, and more professional development. Among everyone present, probably only she could fully understand these statements of Ye Tao, and as someone with expertise in economics, she could do more and enrich them more than Ye Tao had envisioned.

And Tan Weixin couldn't help but sigh. Her body really couldn't bear too much heavy work, and these statements of Ye Tao seemed to be easily affirmed. By the time they were implemented one by one, how tired would she be?

In any case, everyone, including her, was impressed at this moment by the theories and visions revealed in the young Ye Tao's eloquent speech. The officials of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War originally only thought that Ye Tao's design兼顾了美观与功能, and that his ideas in all aspects were very unique. At this moment, they finally understood the reason why Ye Tao made this series of designs and repeatedly argued with them and insisted on not making changes in some places they considered unnecessary. Ye Tao had a higher point of view to look at the construction of a military camp, and these were exactly what they should have done but failed to do.