Chapter 781: Deterrence

"How is the distribution of the slaves sent back by Wang Yanzhong going?" After giving Chang Wei a sweet treat, Zhao Xu looked toward Liu Fu.

Although these slaves were handed over to the Ministry of Works, Liu Fu still had to oversee the matter.

"Replying to Your Highness, in order to prevent the Eastern Japanese young and able-bodied from gathering too much and causing chaos, I ordered the Ministry of Works to break up the young and able-bodied delivered by Wang Yanzhong and have them work mixed in with the Gaoli people, ordering them to supervise each other," Liu Fu said after pondering for a moment.

Zhao Xu nodded; the Gaoli people and the Eastern Japanese did not get along.

Liu Fu putting them together, without needing them to be supervised, they would supervise each other on their own; it was truly a brilliant move.

"Except for the young and able-bodied handed over to the Imperial Court, the Agency has auctioned off the Eastern Japanese young and able-bodied kept for ourselves during this period; it was very heated and in short supply, earning eight million taels of Silver, of which six million taels were turned over, and the rest kept for ourselves," Liu Fu added, "Most of the slaves were basically bought by the Royal Reclamation Group, and then there were the merchants running Workshops."

"Not bad. Soon another batch of young and able-bodied will arrive. Adding the young and able-bodied from Dongying and Gaoli together should temporarily alleviate the trouble of labor shortages," Zhao Xu said.

Thinking of something, he added, "Have the spoils of war transported back been counted and stored by category?"

Mentioning this, Liu Fu grinned from ear to ear.

In the past, in every war, the Silver in the treasury would flow out like water, making his heart ache terribly.

For the first time fighting a war, Silver flowed into the treasury like water, and the quantity was enormous.

Before the Great Song fell into internal chaos, the national tax for one year was only sixty million taels of Silver.

This time, Yan Wang directly seized nearly two years' worth of tax revenue.

For the first time, he felt the Silver in his hands was so abundant.

Next, this wealth would greatly promote various constructions in Jiangbei.

There would also be more Silver to lend to merchants and commoners, making private commerce more prosperous.

Jiangbei, which had been severely damaged by internal chaos, could finally see its dead wood sprout anew.

"Everything has been counted. The ready Silver and gold, jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, cloth, iron ingots, and so on have been categorized and all distributed to the corresponding warehouses."

Zhao Xu nodded slightly, "Like the young and able-bodied, another batch of spoils will arrive soon; you will have to be busy for a while longer."

"No matter how long I am busy, I am willing," Liu Fu's heart jumped violently again.

While the three were chatting about this Dongying war.

The Beitiao father and son, Ono Zhen, Zhitian Shanze, and Maoli Yousheng were brought to the Spinning Mill under the escort of Wangfu Army soldiers.

Wearing shackles, as soon as they entered the Spinning Mill, they were attracted by the roar of the machines.

And when they saw the spinning machines equipped with one hundred and twenty vertical spindles, which did not require human labor and spun yarn rapidly, everyone was stunned.

Dongying was also a place where men farmed and women wove, so they were naturally familiar with spinning and weaving.

But in the short time they stood there, the spinning machines in front of them had already spun out one hundred and twenty spindles of yarn.

Immediately, the female workers pulled off the spindles, replaced them with empty ones, and stuffed in cotton to spin again.

"These spinning machines are all driven by Steam Engines."

The person in charge of the Spinning Mill learned the purpose of the Wangfu Army soldiers and took the initiative to explain.

He even led the feudal lords to see the Workshop's Steam Engine.

How had feudal lords like Beitiao ever seen a Steam Engine? One by one, they were even more stunned than before.

They considered themselves big shots in Dongying, but now they were like country folk going to Edo.

No, it was a hundred times, a thousand times more shocking than going to Edo.

These iron boxes that ate coal had immense power, using a rod to drive wheels to rotate; it was too miraculous.

After staying in the Spinning Mill for a while, the soldiers escorted the feudal lords to the Weaving Mill.

Here, they saw the Flying Shuttle Loom again, and the sight of cloth coming off the machine like flowing water left an indelible impression on them.

Next, they were escorted to the Locomotive Workshop to see how Steam Engines were manufactured and how the Lathe turned castings into fine parts one by one.

Afterward, they went to the Steel Workshop and saw Converter Steelmaking.

Seeing flowing molten steel pour out from the huge Converter for the first time, they all opened their mouths wide, their gazes dull.

And this often drew a burst of laughter from the craftsmen.

Coming out of the Steel Workshop, they were taken to the Firearm Workshop, witnessing the Assembly Line production of muskets and Artillery.

These things made them drool while also feeling deep fear.

For the remaining time, they were taken to the Locomotive Workshop, the agricultural machinery workshop, and the engineering machinery workshop.

Seeing the Steam Locomotive speeding on the tracks, they were so frightened their faces turned pale.

During this time, agricultural machinery and engineering machinery had also made gratifying progress.

They were fortunate enough to see the first steam tractor and Steam Shovel.

These moving machines simply subverted their understanding of the world.

Until the soldiers took them out of the city and escorted them to Jinghai, the feudal lords were still like fools, silent for a long time, while their hearts surged with monstrous waves.

Boarding the Warship heading to Dongying, they were sent back to their respective fiefs.

Just as they entered Andong City, Beitiao Chuanqing suddenly said loudly, "Watanabe An, that idiot, he is going to lead Dongying into a land of no return. We cannot let him continue to act recklessly; our Beitiao family must resist."

Recovering from the shock of the Yancheng trip and being sent back to Dongying, Beitiao Chuanqing instantly understood why Yan Wang let them go to Yancheng and then sent them back.

Watanabe An's trend was gone; continuing to be loyal to him was simply foolish.

And in Dongying at this moment, whoever could obtain the support of Yan Wang would stand in an invincible position.