Chapter 1 A Conversation in the Ancestral Graveyard

"Back then, among our four brothers, I was neither the oldest nor the most talented… I was just the luckiest. That's why I survived and became the Lord of Dongping. But if I could choose, I would rather my elder brothers and that little brother of mine had lived. I would have preferred to be an ordinary general, expanding our territory for them… But I was the only one who survived. That was the most critical and difficult time for Dongping and for my Tan family. And what ultimately allowed us to persevere was this place, Jiangshan Fort. Now, Jiangshan Fort is old after all. Since you're family now, I'll leave it to you to figure out how to renovate it… But I'll only give you a month. Just come up with a plan. As for how to implement it, how about letting your eldest brother handle that? I have other uses for you." In the Tan family cemetery behind Jiangshan Fort, standing before a moss-covered stone tablet, Tan Xiaopei said this to Ye Tao.

The Tan family rose to power through military might. The vast territory of Dongping was won by the sword. They constantly explored ways to govern the country well, and finally, in recent generations, Dongping has experienced extremely rapid development. But Tan Xiaopei did not shy away from mentioning the difficulties of the past. Tan Xiaopei always admitted that he was not a good ruler, but he truly was an excellent general in his time.

And Jiangshan Fort could be said to be the Tan family's lair. But Jiangshan Fort was truly old, not just as a military fortress, but also as the foundation of the Tan family. Although Tan Xiaopei allocated a large amount of money from the inner treasury every year to maintain Jiangshan Fort, and took the time to visit Jiangshan Fort every year to sweep the tombs of his brothers, elders, and ancestors of the Tan family, he could not change the fact that this fortress, which was already several hundred years old, was completely outdated, except for Jiangshan Village at the foot of the mountain, which served as the central management organization and demonstration area for all the farms belonging to the Tan family.

Within half a year, Jiangshan Fort hosted the weddings of three young members of the Tan family, Tan Weiming, Tan Weiran, and Tan Weixin, witnessing the continuation of the Tan family. And Tan Xiaopei had even greater expectations for Jiangshan Fort: he hoped that it could become the Tan family's eternal spiritual home, a training ground for the younger generation of the Tan family, who were destined to become emperors, to maintain the solemn, brave, and simple qualities of soldiers, a symbol of stability and security…

And now, it seemed that only Ye Tao could accomplish this.

To renovate such a massive quasi-military architectural system, to sort out how the most suitable plan could be found after hundreds of years of additions, renovations, and expansions, probably only Ye Tao could do such a thing, and only Ye Tao would argue and slam the table with Tan Xiaopei for what he believed to be the best plan. As for the cost, that was not a problem at all. In recent years, the surplus in the inner treasury had become increasingly exaggerated, and the national treasury was full, without needing subsidies from the inner treasury. Even if Ye Tao decided to level the entire mountain and rebuild it, Tan Xiaopei would not even frown. Moreover, after the decision to rebuild Jiangshan Fort, a large number of old retainers of the Tan family, and the families that had branched out from the original old retainers, expressed their willingness to donate money and goods to show their support.

"…Your Majesty, a month is definitely not enough," Ye Tao said, rolling his eyes.

"You came up with the general plan for Iron City in less than a month, right? This is just a renovation. Does it really take that long? There's a limit to how lazy you can be," Tan Xiaopei said, displeased.

Ye Tao naturally couldn't explain that the basic design of Iron City was basically plagiarized, so it didn't take much effort. He scratched his head and explained, "There are too many projects that have been added to Jiangshan Fort over time. The building materials themselves are different due to the different eras. Because of war, wind, and rain erosion, the various problems are also different, and the current conditions are also different. Putting aside everything else, the most central main fort, which was built the longest ago, already has significant problems with its foundation. There is already a clear overall tilt… To investigate all the situations clearly, to decide which parts need to be demolished and rebuilt, which parts need to be renovated and repaired, and which parts can be preserved, just these tasks alone will definitely take more than a month. Moreover, Your Majesty, it's impossible to start construction on the entire Jiangshan Fort at the same time, right? We also need to decide on the overall project plan, the construction period, and so on. Especially since what you want is not a simple renovation and reconstruction, but a Jiangshan Fort with an overall design… In addition, there are various secret passages that were dug temporarily back then. Some have already collapsed, and some no one knows the entrances and exits anymore. We only know that there is probably such a thing. And some… are said to lead to the Tan family's treasure cave… Your Majesty, these things all need to be clarified. Otherwise, if something goes wrong in the future, it will be troublesome."

Tan Xiaopei scoffed and said, "The Tan family's treasure cave… My Tan family has only just started to have a surplus of money in these years. Before, we always prioritized raising soldiers and robbing Peter to pay Paul. Where would we have anything to hide? Don't listen to old Zhongtou's nonsense. But old Zhongtou is now the person who knows Jiangshan Fort the best. All the repairs and maintenance over the years have relied on him."

Old Zhongtou was almost eighty years old this year, but he was energetic and looked no different from a person in his fifties, perhaps even better. He started as a small worker carrying soil and stone, and had worked at Jiangshan Fort for sixty years. Now he was the "engineering director" of Jiangshan Fort. When Tan Xiaopei initially proposed letting Ye Tao be in charge of the overall engineering project of Jiangshan Fort, old Zhongtou was the first to jump out and question it. But Tan Xiaopei always attached great importance to these old family members. He specially arranged for old Zhongtou to go to Yicheng, Iron City, and Danyang to see Ye Tao's architectural works in different styles. He also let old Zhongtou visit the construction sites of the projects that the Dai Construction Company was handling, to see the project management of the Dai Construction Company. He even let old Zhongtou visit the two branches of the Ye Workshop before old Zhongtou acknowledged Ye Tao's qualifications.

But when old Zhongtou and Ye Tao met, the two technical personnel quickly became close friends despite their age difference. In Jiangshan Fort, where there were problems of all sizes every day, old Zhongtou took Ye Tao all over the place and explained how he had solved the problems at the time. Old Zhongtou was certainly very impressed by Ye Tao's comprehensive knowledge and rigorous and meticulous work style. Ye Tao was also surprised that this old man had actually taught himself to use low-pressure grouting technology and a series of other methods often used in later generations to maintain historical buildings during the repair and maintenance of Jiangshan Fort. And the special cement variety developed by old Zhongtou himself, although the cost was relatively high, was more suitable for this type of repair and maintenance application than the general-purpose cement of the Ye Workshop.

"…Okay, then take a look at the situation and come up with a plan. As for whether or not you want to start construction on everything at once, what does it matter?" Tan Xiaopei sighed and said, "The inner treasury is very rich now… even richer than I expected. If starting construction on everything at once can shorten the construction period, isn't that a good thing?"

Ye Tao frowned and said with some difficulty, "This… Jiangshan Fort still needs to be used normally after all. Once construction starts on everything at once, even if the speed is fast, I'm afraid you can forget about being able to come here for vacations and recreation like you can now for a year or two, and you can also forget about being able to hold ceremonies and such… This, Her Highness Princess Xiu isn't young anymore, and aren't the weddings of the Tan family's descendants supposed to be held here?"

Tan Xiaopei frowned and said helplessly, "…Well, how about this? You come up with two plans, one for starting construction on everything at once, and one for doing it in phases and batches. Let me choose."

"Yes," Ye Tao bowed and replied, "Also, Elder Qi asked me to go to Crescent Island when I have time. Your Majesty… I hope you can give me an extra month of vacation."

"Yes, I know about this. The new warship on Crescent Island has been launched. Hehe… the Cangshui and Lanshui warships have both been overshadowed. If it weren't for the tight schedule, I would have wanted to go and see it. Also, it's time for your so-called trade fair again, right? The numbers are more frightening every year… I really don't know how so much stuff is sold. This year, I'll have Lin Chengzhe go and take a look. Also, can you spare some of those Uz steel scimitars that you ordered for me? Zhuo Mang has asked me several times, saying that those scimitars are good stuff and asked me to get some for the Imperial Guard cavalry." Tan Xiaopei nodded in agreement.

Ye Tao said with a wry smile, "Your Majesty, those are for the Yunzhou tribal cavalry. There are only four thousand of them this time, and they're still the local style. If Your Majesty wants them, you can naturally have as many as you want, but can Your Majesty wait for a while? The batch of architects that we helped the Samir family train has basically graduated, and they've already started construction on the clock tower in Dubai. My eldest brother will also be going to Dubai this time to supervise the most difficult part of the project on site. After all, my eldest brother has too much experience. The Samir family is very happy with our cooperation. Not only are they buying goods from us, but they've also established industries here. And in their region, we've also started some important cooperative projects. The Samir family has already sent troops to control all the Uz steel mining areas. Starting next month, there will be dedicated cargo ships transporting Uz steel ingots to Yicheng every month, and then we'll forge weapons according to our designs, which will be much easier to use than the local style. Moreover, the Samir family has also bought us fifty Damascus swordsmiths, forging masters, and so on… Although the cost is very high, the military technology of my Dongping will also reach a new level."

"Damascus? Are you talking about those curved swords with patterns on the blade that look like water ripples?" Tan Xiaopei said, moved. He had two Damascus blades in his private collection. One was brought by the Samir family and given to Ye Tao, then snatched by Tan Weiran, and then presented to him. And the other was presented to him last year when the Yunzhou tribe came. The beautiful patterns on the blade and the sharp and tough texture made him extremely fond of it. After all, he was a soldier at heart. "How high a price?"

"Four clock tower movements of the large kind, ten top-of-the-line Tissot pendulum clocks, ten marine chronometers, ten sextants, and ten telescopes… Twenty barrels of fierce fire oil, six crossbow cannons… If calculated according to the quoted price, in total, it's half of the Seven Seas Trading Company's profits from Nanyang last year. That's what we exchanged for Uz steel and craftsmen." There wasn't much annoyance in Ye Tao's tone. Indeed, according to the quoted price, the cost of these things was extremely terrifying. Just the clock tower movement alone, the Ye Workshop quoted a price of one million taels each when Chun Nan inquired, including the maintenance for the first year covering parts replacement, training for ten basic maintenance personnel, and on-site engineers for on-site maintenance in the second and third years… Compared to the four movements, everything else seemed less important.

But the actual cost of these things was not that terrifying. These products, produced with Ye Workshop's exclusive technology, had extremely high profit margins. Tissot Clock & Watch was one of the most profitable commercial units in Dongping.

"Worth it! …If you think it's too expensive, I'll pay for it," Tan Xiaopei said generously.

"Your Majesty, these are all jointly operated by the Seven Seas Trading Company, the Kyushu Trading Company, my Ye Workshop, and the inner treasury. In fact, I originally wanted to pay for these things myself, but everyone wouldn't let me," Ye Tao said respectfully.

"Well… then what about future production? I've also seen the Uz steel scimitars. They seem very difficult to forge."

"Your Majesty, as long as the supply of materials is guaranteed, after the craftsmen arrive this time, I will specially allocate suitable manpower to handle this matter. I will strive to start production within three months and achieve mass production within six months. I will strive to re-equip the Blood Kirin Army completely within one year."

"Blood Kirin Army… why the Blood Kirin Army again?" Tan Xiaopei asked, frowning. Unless they encountered big trouble, the Blood Kirin Army probably wouldn't have the opportunity to serve as the main combat force in the future. Prioritizing re-equipping the Blood Kirin Army obviously didn't fit his idea of quickly improving the army's combat effectiveness.

"Because," Ye Tao explained, "the Blood Kirin Army is the richest… The Blood Kirin Army's procurement team isn't even managed by the military governor himself. Isn't Your Majesty letting those donors negotiate the Blood Kirin Army's procurement matters now? In fact, those family representatives are even more exaggerated than the original military officer advisory group. Now, as long as most of the officers in the Blood Kirin Army think it's worth replacing, those procurement team representatives don't care about the money at all… They're even urging me to design light infantry armor suitable for close combat for the Blood Kirin Army. They pre-ordered 20,000 cavalry swords made of new materials just by looking at the sample materials that the workshop made. If I hadn't strongly advised against it, they probably would have even replaced the longbowmen's daggers with that material."

Too extravagant! Too wasteful! …With the Blood Kirin Army cavalry's elite bravery, replacing their weapons and further improving their combat effectiveness would be passable, but longbowmen replacing their daggers? God knows how many opportunities those guys have to draw their daggers in addition to training. In the Yunzhou campaign, in the head-on collision with the Western Ling cavalry, none of those longbowmen had the opportunity to draw their daggers, because no one could rush in front of them at all. They had heavy infantry in front of them, heavy weapon battalions behind them, and Blood Kirin Army cavalry armed to the teeth on both flanks. Even if someone was lucky enough to get in front of them, they still had the choice of short crossbows, which were very practical and powerful, before drawing their swords. In the future, when there are close combat infantry to assist the heavy infantry, it will be questionable whether these archers need to receive close combat training at all…

Tan Xiaopei shook his head and said, "Okay… I'll solve this problem. They're really too rich." Tan Xiaopei suddenly remembered that besides Jiangshan Fort, the Tan family's clan soldiers also seemed to be lagging behind the times. He immediately instructed Ye Tao to solve the equipment problems for the Tan family's clan soldiers, with generous funding, and Tan Xiaopei could naturally find suitable people to train the Tan family's clan soldiers.