Chapter 27: Industrial Layout

"Who is first?"

Before a road paved with burning charcoal, Zhao Xu looked at the fifteen or sixteen young men.

"I..."

It was that same youth who stepped out; Zhou Yi had looked up his name, it was Xu Ke.

And his father's name was Xu Yuan.

Standing before the road of burning charcoal, he let out a loud shout to bolster his courage.

Although he displayed impressive bravery, he also understood the danger of the burning charcoal.

Gritting his teeth, he took off his straw sandals, closed his eyes, and walked across the burning charcoal.

When he reached the end of the road, he discovered that although the soles of his feet were a bit hot, they had not been burned.

"..."

Xu Ke looked at Liu Jun with a puzzled expression.

"Passed. Who is next?" Liu Jun did not explain.

Xu Ke scratched his head and stood to the side without speaking.

"He's actually fine after that? That's too amazing."

"Xu Ke is a hunter; he runs on the mountains all day, so of course he's amazing."

"..."

The group of servants knew each other well and began whispering, one after another casting looks of admiration.

"I'll go!"

"I'll go too!"

"..."

With the first person having gone, many young men plucked up the courage to take a step forward.

Xu Yuan had wanted to go second, but he didn't expect to be beaten to it, so he could only let them go first.

"Mm, good spirit. One by one." Zhao Xu's eyes crinkled into slits as he smiled.

People in an intelligence agency would certainly often carry out very dangerous missions.

Without courage, how could they shoulder such a heavy responsibility?

This was also the purpose of him setting this test.

The second youth was about the same age as Xu Ke.

Stepping ahead to reach the charcoal road first, he said to Zhao Xu, "Your Highness, this commoner is named Chai Wu."

After speaking, he also let out a loud shout and ran across the charcoal road.

Like Xu Ke, he had expected his feet to be burned, but he was stunned.

Then the third, the fourth; all those who signed up did not shrink back and all crossed the charcoal road.

"Not bad, you are all good men. From now on, you will be directly under my command and only answer to me, understand?" Zhao Xu said loudly.

"Yes, Your Highness," the sixteen young men shouted.

Zhao Xu turned to Zhou Yi.

Now that Liu Fu was serving as a tutor to the prince, he had government affairs to busy himself with every day.

He had almost become half a Steward of the prince's mansion, handling all sorts of miscellaneous matters.

"Do not mention this matter to anyone. To the outside world, just say they are personal attendants I have recruited. Also, tidy up the gatehouse in front of the East Courtyard and let them move in," Zhao Xu instructed.

Zhou Yi nodded, then asked in confusion, "Your Highness, why were they fine after stepping on this burning charcoal?"

Liu Jun smiled mysteriously, "You'll know if you try running across it with wet feet."

In fact, this kind of trick just utilized some principles of Physics.

Zhao Xu had them run to make the soles of their feet sweat.

When their sweaty feet made contact with the burning charcoal,

the evaporating sweat would form a thin layer of steam between the soles of their feet and the charcoal.

As long as one passes through quickly, it will be hot, but not enough to roast the feet.

Zhou Yi was half-doubting, and decided to try it later.

Zhou Yi led the sixteen selected men away, and returned not long after.

Besides these sixteen men, there were still many servants waiting to be assigned.

Zhao Xu gathered the remaining servants together again.

People are different; some are suited to be soldiers, some are suited for scientific research.

This is everyone's different talent.

Therefore, he did not look down on the remaining servants.

They naturally had their own uses.

Furthermore, having a technical talent like a carpenter go do intelligence work would be a waste.

"Who among you is a carpenter, who is a blacksmith? Or those with other skills, all come to the front," Zhao Xu asked.

As his voice fell,

the three hundred people were soon divided into four piles.

Among them, twenty carpenters gathered in one pile, nine blacksmiths gathered in one pile, and sixteen potters also gathered in one pile.

The remaining women did not move; after all, in ancient times, they only knew how to weave cloth.

Having figured this out, Zhao Xu had a plan in mind.

Now, he could be considered to have initially gained control of Yancheng.

Next is to build high walls and store grain extensively to deal with the impending crisis.

After all, compared to the Zhang Family, the Northern Di and Western Liang are the greatest enemies of Yan Commandery, and even Yanzhou.

His vision must be more long-term.

To protect his Yan Commandery, he must start utilizing the technology in his mind right now to seize the initiative.

"Send all the women to the Prince's Personal Army's farmland and have them do needlework every day for now," Zhao Xu said.

These women will have great use in the future, but not right now.

Then he added, "In the West Courtyard, give the carpenters, blacksmiths, and potters each a separate courtyard, and assign some guards to watch them; do not allow them to move about freely."

Upon hearing this, the craftsmen all had a look of panic in their eyes.

Zhao Xu noticed this and smiled, "Do not be nervous; it is not to imprison you, but to protect you and simultaneously keep the Prince's mansion's techniques secret. Once Yan Commandery is stable in the future, you will naturally be given greater freedom."

The craftsmen breathed a sigh of relief; they did not really care about whether they could come and go freely.

The times are difficult, and being able to live with enough food and clothing is a great stroke of luck.

With the women and craftsmen arranged, there remained nearly a hundred young, able-bodied men.

These can only serve as laborers.

He had Zhou Yi separate them into their own courtyard as well.

At the same time, he had the three Rich Clan spies live with them.

Having settled this matter, Zhao Xu let everyone return, leaving only the potters behind to take them to the middle courtyard.

"You should be able to make this thing, right?" Zhao Xu pointed to the Distiller in the room.

An old potter glanced at it, "Your Highness, what is difficult about this? Making a clay mold and firing it for one night will produce it."

Zhao Xu nodded.

In his view, the ancients' ceramic art and carpentry skills were beyond reproach; they were absolutely the best in the world.

"Hmm, I will draw a larger one for you; take a look," Zhao Xu finished speaking, squatted on the ground, and used a branch to draw a more specific Distiller on the dirt floor.

In his view, once this Distiller is made, its effect will be basically no different from a modern metal Distiller.

In the modern era, some ceramic pots are much more expensive than iron pots.

The potters looked at it carefully and discussed it for a while.

The drawing on the ground was just an enlarged version of two ceramic jars.

"Your Highness, it just takes a bit more effort; it can be made in only three days," the old potter said confidently.

Zhao Xu nodded with satisfaction, "Good. Since that is the case, all the potters are under your jurisdiction. If you need anyone, just report it to Zhou Yi. In three days, I want to see ten of these things."

The old potter calculated; there were sixteen of them in total, and if they called for some laborers later, it should be no problem, so he replied "Yes."

Zhao Xu then looked at the blacksmiths.

The Distiller is for making Silver, while the industrial foundation is steel.

In ancient times, steel was used to manufacture swords and Armor; in the modern era, it is used to manufacture firearms and cannons, and now it is used for airplanes and aircraft carriers.

Therefore, once there is Silver, the steel foundation of Yan Commandery must naturally be established.

As long as there is high-quality steel, the Armor of the Prince's Personal Army will be sturdier than the enemy's, and their swords will be sharper than the enemy's.

Only in this way can he build a tiger-and-wolf army that surpasses the enemy in both morale and equipment.