Chapter 26: Legend of Taibai

The king had watched enough of the bustling construction site, and in the afternoon his martial practice was absent-minded.

Chenggong mistakenly took Zhao Chuan's heavy bow, and unbelievably he pulled it back and shot it, directly smashing Zhao Chuan's exclusive straw-man target to pieces.

The king stared blankly at the smashed straw-man target, and when he turned around Zhao Chuan looked even more dazed.

"Your Highness, Your Highness!"

His Highness was also dazed.

It's you again, the city lord's heart!

Having strengthened his body to the point of incomparable strength? After coming to his senses, His Highness began to act foolish, saying, "Wow, I'm so powerful!" and praising himself.

In no time, from the front court to the inner palace, from the chancellor to the little eunuchs, everyone knew the king possessed extraordinary talent, a martial arts prodigy.

The You King's manor, occasionally shrouded in gloom, began to clear up, and suddenly there was some hope. Although Youzhou was poor and dangerous, and their king loved to squander money, yet they loved the people and had a benevolent heart; now he still had strong limbs—scratch that—now he still had the talent of a martial sage.

Even Zhao Bao was pondering: could it be that the legend behind His Highness's name is true? Born together with Taibai, he is naturally endowed with abundant martial virtue; when their Highness grows up, he might truly be able to deter the northern borders with martial force!

The laborers who received their work meals and uniforms outside the northern suburbs of the city rushed home and immediately opened them to inspect.

Qian Dayong returned home, locked the courtyard gate, immediately tore open the burlap sack, and seeing the gleaming white rice inside, he could hardly believe his eyes.

Qian Xiaomei even pinched little Bao hard, and then the brother and sister were overjoyed amidst the little brother's shrill cries.

"This is the first time I've seen such good rice..."

"Brother, rice without a bit of husk is this white!"

"How was this ground?!"

"The king is really a good person!"

Qian Dayong had already vented his feelings, seeing the excited siblings show a long‑absent relaxed smile. He then took the pure white rice to show his mother; Lady Zhang wiped a tear, steeled herself, and said, "Tonight we'll boil some porridge for everyone to taste, and save the rest to exchange for some coarse grains—such fine rice should fetch plenty of beans, so we can make it last longer." This is the wisdom of life forged by hardship.

The package of work uniforms remained unopened, the family of four gathered together, and they untied the hemp rope binding the outside.

Upon unfolding it, they discovered that the so‑called work uniform was far more than just a set of top and bottom.

Inside there was not only an outer garment, but also a set of snow‑white inner clothing, shorts, and a pair of black boots.

The outer garment matched the style of the laborers' uniforms at the construction site—a set of gray coarse cloth. The difference was that what they had seen before was gray with red trim, while the set he issued was gray with blue trim. The fabric was something they had never seen before—stiff and thick, looking very sturdy.

The inner clothing was snow‑white and silky; Lady Zhang kept feeling it, having never seen such fine innerwear, let alone worn it. The two little ones exclaimed repeatedly, having never in their lives seen such good clothing.

Qian Dayong gave it a feel, saying, "The supervisor only allows us to wear the outer garments; the inner clothing is unseen, so we'll keep it to sell for grain."

Those who shared his view were no longer a minority—they were everyone.

Those who went to work were almost the most hard‑pressed families in Youzhou City, not a single one keeping any of the clothing for themselves.

That day, along with the announcement of the You King's recruitment of laborers and the distribution of uniforms and rice, the snow‑white inner clothing also spread. The next day, the inner clothing and the white rice appeared together in the market of Youzhou, circulating.

At this time, dyeing and weaving technology was still undeveloped; aside from officials and nobles, commoners' clothing was mostly dark black‑gray or raw hemp. This silky, spotless white inner clothing instantly became a hot commodity; even in impoverished Youzhou there were families with ample food and clothing, and cloth shops bought it up to resell in the south. The garments issued by the You King's manor became famous overnight—an avenue of fame the king had not anticipated.

The northern suburbs outside the city were bustling like fire, and Xue Xiang and Xu Taifu could no longer sit still. They had not heard that the king had appointed a commoner with full authority to oversee the palace construction; they thought the matter would fizzle out, and unlike the outside, the whole palace seemed undisturbed.

After a day passed, the whole city was buzzing about the You King's grand undertaking, even the distributed work uniforms were exquisitely costly.

On the first day of official construction, the two of them went together personally to the northern suburb worksite.

At dawn, Zhao Zhuge held a simple groundbreaking ceremony before the sky had light, especially encouraging the Youzhou laborers, and then directly began assigning work. When Xue Xiang arrived, the foundations at the site had already been dug into a shape; they employed a method of simultaneous groundbreaking and parallel advancement, making the whole scene quite spectacular. Over three thousand workers were on site, yet everything was orderly—busy but not chaotic.

Xue Xiang nodded instinctively; this steward Zhao was a talent.

Moving further into the site, Xue Xiang and Xu Taifu were indeed stunned by the scale of the new palace. Anyway, it wasn't just them—whoever came would be shocked.

Seeing that the king dared to lay out such a huge project, the two ministers' first thought was, 'Where would they get the money to support it?' They hadn't seen that the palaces inside the city were all haphazardly built! In the next instant they beheld endless stacks of materials stretching out of sight.

Xu Taifu didn't know of Marquis Wei Ting; he only thought the prince had received full support from his maternal clan.

Xue Xiang knew the details of the Wei family, and that made him the most bewildered. The king……was not simple.

Going around to the back of the worksite, they faced the border line; looking afar at the Xianbei hills and pastures, Xue Xiang felt pride in the king's boldness and courage, yet also worried for his safety.

This place is really too close to the border! There isn't even a buffer; once friction or conflict erupts, the You King's manor will be on the front line.

Therefore, Xue Xiang returned and began drafting a memorial of merit for the king. Having been stationed in Youzhou for so long, this was still his first time doing such a thing.

First he spoke of how the You King's highness, on a patrol, directly confronted the northern Hu people who were southward capturing slaves, and in the king's presence slaughtered thirty innocent civilians and killed two of the palace's personal guards. The king felt grief for the nation and the people, his heart aching. He said: 'Those living outside the city are also Youzhou's subjects; I must protect them well, to share the burden for my father emperor.' Afterwards, the king decided to build a new You King's manor near the border line, to become the first line of defense for the Great Jin. The ensuing passage is all praise for the You King—so young and yet so brave, how it makes one feel ashamed!

Anyway, Xue Xiang, who has always been a pragmatist, suddenly submitted a memorial that exalted the king to the heavens.

This is also him taking precautions beforehand; if the scale of that prince's mansion were really allowed to be built by the king, once seen by the Chang'an side it would definitely be a hidden danger. Later, not only would the merit of personally guarding the borders go unrewarded, but he would also bring upon himself a bad reputation. It's better to elevate the intention of this matter, make it concrete, and publicize it so that everyone knows.