Chapter 145
Da Wang, upon hearing about pollution, could only look toward the outskirts of the city.
"We need to find a secluded mountain range... this matter must be conducted in secret..." Da Wang muttered while flipping through the map.
"In the Jin Dynasty, don't the mineral veins on the fiefdoms belong to the princes?"
Da Wang turned his head and gave Bai Ze a resentful look: "No, mineral deposits belong to the state treasury, and when the time comes, Youzhou will still have to welcome the garrison stationed from Chang'an."
"... Then, if you don't want to get nothing, the miners for mining can't be ordinary commoners either, or the secret won't be kept."
Da Wang had already found a mountain range enclosed within the mountains south of Ping'an County: "If I place it here, it will indeed be hidden, and there are hardly any people nearby, but can the gold mined here be transported out?"
Bai Ze felt this wasn't a proper solution: "Even if the blueprints aren't revised for you later, truly, even if gold had to be carried out by human labor, it could still be done."
"Exactly! This could be a great mine that follows him for life; he doesn't want to remain poor while feeding some brother, so keeping it hidden is of utmost importance."
Da Wang simply chose this place: "These miners—just clear out the Youzhou prison and send them all to mine." Thinking of this, he still felt a bit regretful about having killed some of the mountain bandits at Yanque Mountain earlier.
From now on, no more killings; just assign mining work and terms according to crimes.
After placing it, success came instantly—the mountain immediately changed color on the map, turning silvery white; Da Wang hadn't even reacted when a new bubble popped up;
【Congratulations, Lord, on obtaining the Foundation of Wealth: Silver Mine;
Silver mining tools and facilities, x1 set, already placed in the warehouse; after mine construction, they can be directly extracted by 'placing on the Youzhou 3D full terrain map';
Should construction of the silver mine's supporting infrastructure begin now? Yes/No】
"Ah? Is it a silver mine?" Da Wang immediately realized—silver mine, silver!
Even if it's not gold, it's fine—silver, after all!
The content and happy Da Wang got up and ran a lap in the inner chambers: "Silver mine~ luck is good~"
Da Wang was lost in delight, already imagining himself unable to spend all the silver, lying on silver to sleep.
Bai Ze:... I thought this guy would be disappointed; I overthought it.
After Da Wang finished his celebration and returned, he clicked on mine construction with a hard-to-suppress grin.
【Should the silver mine's supporting facilities be secretly constructed? Yes (choosing secret construction will fully activate NPC technology and manpower, keeping everything confidential throughout)/No】
Da Wang directly clicked "Yes"—this wool shouldn't be snatched; public recruitment would cause a huge commotion in Youzhou. Ordinary people might not understand, but observant ones would grasp the location at a glance. Construction in deep mountains? Obviously suspicious—either a mine or a military factory. Youzhou now has many outsiders, not just wealthy merchants but also Xie Yuan and his disciples.
Clicking "Yes" triggered a new bubble;
【Construction task initiated according to the
Official subsidy: all raw materials; all tools;
On-site technical manpower: x3000 (to be reclaimed after task completion);
Logic chain supplement: none;
Estimated construction period: 15 days;
Start immediately.】
Da Wang found this kind of secret infrastructure construction very convenient—people just started on their own, no need to worry about weather. Moreover, not hiring outsiders meant even NPCs were saved—this way, he wouldn't miss Zhao Zhu Ge.
Da Wang enlarged the mine mountain and saw that, in this short time, tiny ants were already moving at the base.
Da Wang happily took out the
And told him: it's all because this king chose a good name; now we truly have a silver mine—aren't you surprised and delighted!
This silver mine is a confidential project, so naturally Zhu Ti must take full responsibility.
"Assign trustworthy soldiers to guard it, round up all those imprisoned in Youzhou jail, and send them to mine."
Zhu Ti spoke factually: "How many people are actually in that prison? This mine doesn't even list its reserves—it's apparently measured by the lord's lifespan, meaning as long as the lord lives, mining can continue indefinitely. So why not mine more? The few people in the prison are too slow."
Da Wang: "……That makes sense. But recruiting ordinary commoners—I fear leaking the news and letting Chang'an find out. Can't we just take people to the mine and never let them go home? Youzhou city now has a mixed population, and news spreads quickly."
Zhu Ti: "Besides commoners, there are slaves. Has the lord considered buying large numbers of slaves from the south? That's also a source of manpower. Our Youzhou has few locals; relocating people from elsewhere is difficult and slow, but slaves can be bought with money. Now that we have a silver mine, the silver in our hands can be put to use."
"Exactly! You discuss with He Guang, scatter the purchases, and send them to coastal Jiaodong and similar places, letting the treasure ships bring them back."
Speaking of relocating commoners, Da Wang recalled those refugees he had misled in Qingzhou—he didn't know if they would come to Youzhou.
"After the New Year, first build a refugee village north of Chi Shui Village, then some resettlement housing. Issue the order: as long as refugees come to Youzhou, we will take them in, first settle them there. Give them some rations to survive, let them reclaim land and farm; if they show no illegal or disorderly behavior for a year, grant them Youzhou household registration."
Zhu Ti agreed, reminding him this matter still needed to be reviewed by the previous dynasty. Being reminded, Da Wang—who had been letting loose for a month—had already forgotten to clock in on time for work……
After Zhu Ti left, Da Wang returned to conduct another lottery draw.
"Taking advantage of my good luck today, I'll draw them all."
He also claimed the happiness index reward, this time landing on a black square.
"Huh? Black color, not much of a feeling?"
【Congratulations, Lord, on drawing an A-grade middle-tier reward: one Beijiang Academy, whether to claim it now? Yes/No】
"An academy? What use would it be! Mengmeng, did you spy on me meeting Xie Yuan yesterday? He is the chief lecturer of the Qingyang Academy—he wouldn't come to your Beijiang Academy. The Qingyang Academy gathers talents from all over the world; who would come to study at our Youzhou academy? Me? ……How terrifying……"
Da Wang turned his pleading little eyes toward Bai Ze, who eagerly climbed up to laugh at Da Wang's joke.
"Don't refuse for nothing—more learned people mean more usable talent. Now, those from the previous dynasty who are displeasing can all be replaced—how great!" Bai Ze comforted him half-heartedly, urging him to quickly take out the academy and have a look.
Da Wang felt utterly wretched: "The previous one was a mine, and now this suddenly appears. My heart feels empty, empty~ the academy can't possibly help Youzhou in the short term."
"You also said short term—once people graduate, it will still be useful, useful in the long term. The academy is yours; you can require them to learn useful things, and it's not said that students must all study the classics and the hundred schools—only then can we have more talent."
"……Exactly, I'll be driven mad by the Ministry of Internal Affairs—still haven't figured out the night lamp, so I'll have them study something like… physics! Yes, physics."
Bai Ze reminded him: "Here, it should be called gewu."
Da Wang resolutely clicked "Claim," better than nothing.
【Beijiang Academy, Youzhou Official Academy.
Producer: Wan Jie
【60> Construction Site Selection: Mountainous terrain
【61】 】
Construction site selection: mountainous terrain.
Additional skill: Studying at the academy increases mental activity by 200%.
Bonus gift: Based on Youzhou's level of civilization, the library comes with 32 volumes of introductory texts from the Hundred Schools of Thought. (Automatically distributed to the academy library upon completion; provider: Wan Jie)
Da Wang just opened his mouth to complain: "The Hundred Schools of Thought, and only 32 books? Stingy..."
In the next moment, a side quest popped up:
【Side Quest: Establish the Beijiang Academy, invite a great scholar to preside as chief instructor, and build the Beijiang Academy into a renowned academic sanctuary of the Jin Dynasty, a hall longed for by seekers of knowledge.
Official subsidy: All raw materials; all tools and equipment;
On-site technical supervisor NPC x1 (recovered after quest completion); professional technical labor x1500 (recovered after quest completion);
Logic chain supplement: Recruit x1500 local labor from Youzhou;
Estimated construction period: 50 days;
Quest items: Work uniforms x1500; work meals x1500 x 50; labor costs x1500 x 50
Quest support: Professional academic NPCs x5 (recovered after five years, click to select subject)
Quest rewards: Construction completion reward: none.
Inviting a great scholar to preside as chief instructor reward: A-level spin wheel x1;
Recruiting one hundred effective students: B-level spin wheel x2;
Academy fame soaring (reaching fifty thousand visits): A-level spin wheel x1;
Academy reputation spreading far and wide (reaching five hundred thousand visits): A-level spin wheel x2;
Academy renowned throughout the realm (reaching five million visits): A-level spin wheel x5;
Accept quest now: Yes/No】
"Can you even play like this? Five million visits? What could an academy in a poor, remote place like Youzhou possibly do to gain such fame? Even if another Xunzi appeared, who would find it useful? Mengmeng, if you don't want to give rewards, just say so—why beat around the bush? Humph!"
Da Wang continued scrolling up, complaining line by line: "Even if every person in Youzhou lifted their ears and spoke once, it might not reach five hundred thousand! And what does this 'effective student' even mean?"
Da Wang poked with his claw and said, "Oh, there's a note! Sincere desire to learn, holding official enrollment at the Beijiang Academy?"
Da Wang's poke also brought up the enrollment requirement: ages twelve to thirty, full-time?
"Done for—Youzhou's entire prefecture probably can't scrape together a hundred literate people who want to study! At this point, they're all the main pillars of their families!" Da Wang grew more hopeless as he read; this task had a long list of rewards, just like the carrot dangling before a donkey. He thought he could only look, not obtain.
"And this first condition—having a great scholar preside? How great a scholar? Don't tell me it's someone like Xie Yuan—he already has a job! Looks like this quest will just let me skim some employment slots. Once the academy is built, I'll probably have to raise mosquitoes on the mountain!"
Bai Ze successfully made Da Wang laugh, saying, "So you still want it or not?"
Da Wang hesitated not at all and clicked: Yes!
"Of course! Another fifteen hundred households found work! I'll just treat this as a workshop—don't refuse free stuff. When it's done, I'll use it to dry sweet potatoes, which is also good." Da Wang complained with his mouth but his body was honest; his spirits revived, he bustled about the inner city, found a small hill, and placed the academy there.
At the next morning's court, the chancellor reported recent major events in Youzhou—actually, there weren't any major events, he had already handled them. It was Da Wang's turn to speak, and he bluntly threw down three bombshells in court, indicating he would start stirring things up again.
First, Youzhou will unconditionally accept refugees; any family that reclaims more than five mu of land and resides there for one year will be granted Youzhou household registration. Additionally, a temporary transfer and shelter village for refugees will be built in the northern part of Chishui Village.
Second, Da Wang deeply feels the lack of educational and cultural undertakings in Youzhou—such a Youzhou is unhealthy—and he wants to build an academy.
Third, the academy's site has been selected; construction will begin in early spring, and another notice will be issued to recruit fifteen hundred laborers.
The academy is a good thing; Da Wang has money to stir things up, and they have no objections. But regarding the first point, these old officials do have opinions.
Da Wang patiently listened to several speeches—nothing more than fears about public order, epidemics, and increasing Youzhou's financial burden.
"Are you afraid they'll be unstable factors? I've already unified management—refugees' first stop is the refugee village. Once they settle down and get household registration, moving wherever they want is none of my business. In the first year, they must stay in the unified refugee village. Doesn't that also solve the second problem? If they're together and have epidemics, it's fine—let doctors watch them, let the Youzhou Garrison watch them! I haven't let them mix with locals upon arrival! As for financial burden—does Youzhou even have finances? How much surplus did we have last year?"
Below, it was as quiet as a chicken; even Xie Xiang wanted to laugh.
Da Wang also named the official who had most actively opposed just now: "Lord Sun? Youzhou is this big with so few people—can you really finish reclaiming all the land? If the Xianbei again lead a hundred-thousand-strong army southward one day, and we don't absorb population, do you have a body-doubling technique to become one hundred? Does Youzhou currently have fifty thousand able-bodied men?"
Some officials didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble, noting that refugees mean a sudden surge in workload.
Da Wang was utterly unsparing, feeling these lazy eggs were bullying him because he's young, so he deliberately spoke harshly to intimidate them.
Seeing the situation turn bad, the chancellor and the grand tutor remained silent, and suddenly no one dared to speak. The outgoing official Sun Kai could only kneel and plead guilty: "Your servant, foolish and ignorant."
Da Wang: "Foolish and ignorant? Then read more books. How old are you? Even if the academy opens, you should go study." Developing one by one, he looks under thirty.
Sun Kai: "... Your servant knows his guilt! Your Highness, please forgive me!"
Grand Tutor:......
Noticing the grand tutor's piercing stare, Da Wang moved away nonchalantly. What are you staring at me for? I don't need to read more books—I understand all principles, truly.
Before the New Year, Da Wang's small classroom also held no classes; after the previous dynasty collapsed, Da Wang happily rode his horse out through Donghua Gate, wanting to check if his little companions by the sea were still there.
Result: He ran wildly to the seaside and discovered his people conducting feudal superstitious activities.
On the open ground beside the ferry, incense altars were set up, a crowd knelt there muttering incantations, while his friends played in the water not far out...
No need to say whom they were worshipping—Da Wang looked toward Ling Yin, and Ling Yin lowered his head to gaze at the ground...
The Eagle Riders stepped forward to disperse the crowd, and only then did Da Wang approach the gravity pillar deep in the sea, frantically waving at the humpback whale.
"It's over—this guy has no intention of leaving."
As soon as the humpback whale noticed him, it dove straight down, and when it reappeared, it had already surged far ahead.
You came, oh~
It frantically flapped its small wings against the water; Da Wang could only sweep away the sky-obscuring thing on his shoulder, stand up, and make a motion to jump down—the humpback whale immediately swam over.
Da Wang jumped, and this fellow precisely caught him with his big head.
On the dock, Da Wang's clear laughter rang out; Ling Yin shook his head, thinking if the person had left, he would surely be heartbroken here.
End of Chapter
