Chapter 282
Chapter 282 – Domestic and Research Plan
Tong took a whole minute to stare idly into a distance . His brain and mind became blank as he did not know what to think or do next .
"Why the heck did you two take the body of historical figures anyway? Does it because it is convenient?"
"We can"t reincarnate as a male, and females in this world have it hard . We can"t risk ourselves getting sold as a s.e.x slave . "
Tong and Friday stopped talking as they did not know what they should do in this situation, confused by Medusa"s action .
For an hour, they discussed the matter if they should join forces with Medusa in private .
However, a relay messenger brought them with the mysterious letter that Xun Yu mentioned in the chat .
Both Tong and Friday took the letter and read it with antic.i.p.ation .
As Li Feihong had hinted, it related to them . The letter was written in modern English instead of ancient Chinese, so the natives could not understand or decipher them .
[Tong, this is Medusa . I took over Diao Chan"s body in this world, and I"m currently working with Cao Cao .
He plans to unify the central plain and wage war against Dong Zhuo at the moment . Pretend to be my loyal subject and form an alliance with us for now so you can buy some time to expand your territories to the north .
Once you take over the northern plain, I"ll make Cao Cao join forces with you . He is a good lad, but his way of getting things done is questionable sometimes . I hope to make him submit to you in the future, but you"ll have to prove your worth and be stronger than his forces .
I also attached a note with the decree that my messenger sent to you . It"s high-level demonic curses and magic that the Soul of Sins can use . Friday can use it too if she regains her demon souls .
I heard about what you two were doing so keep at it .
Let"s meet again in the next few years . Keep cleansing your sins . ]
. . .
. . .
Julu City .
It had been many days since Te Langpu was transferred and a.s.signed as the finance minister of the Yellow Turban .
Hua s.h.i.+ used this year quota, adding Te Langpu into the clan instead of killing him to complete her quest . For the sake of the new world and their future, Hua s.h.i.+ was patient and careful with her decision . There were still times before the deadline of her mission, and she could cancel it by paying a million lifespans as a fine .
Thus, she had many options to get around with her system mission .
Te Langpu was happy about it after he found out that there were many otherworlders in this force, which ensured his safety and future more than working alone . Furthermore, Tong gave him a thousand years of lifespans as a welcome gift .
However, Tong also gave Te Langpu a few a.s.signments . He wanted Te Langpu"s gunpowder recipe, and this ex-president had to develop Julu economy by using his experiences .
…
Te Langpu was presenting Zhang Jiao and Sima Fang a new plan to improve the financial situation in the city .
In front of Zhang Jiao and Sima Fang, Te Langpu drew a new structure of a modern company system and military system, including tax management, company registration, and structures of organizations .
Te Langpu could see that Tong tried to copy the modern system and applied to the city, but many parts were still lacking even though Jia Xu improved it .
"If you see the flow chart here, this is the structure of our management system while the right is the one I proposed . As you can see the old chart on the left side, too many people hold the authority in the military which orders from the higher-up can conflict with each other . For example, if Jia Xu orders mobilization and moves all soldiers but Zhang Tong says they must not move, confusion can happen since their positions are their authority level is ambiguous . On the right side, you can see that the level of authority is clearer . At this chart, Zhang Tong is higher than Jia Xu, so if we use the previous example, Zhang Tong"s words would be final, and the confusion of orders would not happen . And …"
Two hours later .
"This is the idea of rewards and punishment system . Right now, we are holding all properties under the central government control, which is good if you consider the corruption of the n.o.bles and their behavior of over-taxing the people in their territory . But, we should not keep everything under the central management for too long . Human seeks improvement and progression in life so they will be looking for a better place to live after they obtain our salary money . If we leave them be, our trained and talented officers will be poached by other warlords with either bribery or promises of a better status or power . We can eliminate this by selling back our lands to those who have proven themselves with their achievements . It"s similar to Zhang Tong"s concession that you have been selling via auction …"
Another two hours pa.s.sed .
"The merchant organizations are still rough and unmanaged . These guys come and go, settling down wherever they want to, which isn"t organized at all . Although we are benefitting from the export of our goods, we will be in the red after we expand to their marketed territories . You see, once we take over their marketed cities, we will find that the economy of those cities won"t be at our standard because all of their financial power has already been stolen by Julu, and we will have to waste a long time trying to improve those cities . Instead, we should feed them and develop our enemy cities as well, so once we obtain the power over those cities, we can develop faster and more efficient, which we can launch surprise attacks on neighbor cities and catch our enemies off guard . To do this, we will force them to register their business with our government and bait them with a right to own land and properties in our affiliate cities . Of course, we won"t allow them to possess private troops, but we will offer our police officers as their mercenaries for hire, which will be our additional income …"
Another two hours had gone by .
Te Langpu gulped down water from the nearby jar and looked at Zhang Jiao and Sima Fang .
Zhang Jiao was sweating while he was busy jotting down the lecture . Meanwhile, Sima Fang stopped noting down the lesson and was scratching his chin, contemplating and digesting the new knowledge .
It was weird for them to have someone young enough to be their son to teach them about domestic affairs . Surprisingly, they did not show any arrogance, but they were willing to study and did not mind the age gap . Their EQ and the open-mindedness of the two even impressed the grumpy Te Langpu .
Te Langpu sighed, "I think I won"t be able to cram everything to you in a day . I"ll repeat my presentation again when we are free from our duties . Next time, I"ll go slow and focus on one matter at a time . "
He was depressed that these ancient people"s brains were not as developed as modern students . If they were employees in his former company, they would have been fired the moment that he had to come and give them a lecture . It was not his job to teach them, but they were supposed to master everything before working .
"At least both of them are elite scholars . Their adaptivity is fast . "
Te Langpu glanced around the room, waiting to answer their questions once they digested the knowledge . His eyes stopped at a boy behind Sima Fang .
Sima Fang also noticed Te Langpu"s eyes, "My apologies . This meeting should have been only for senior Zhang and me, but I took liberty taking my eldest son with me as my servant . "
The boy bowed to Te Langpu, "My name is Sima Lang . I"m sorry to intrude your meeting . "
"Oh, I don"t mind it . Actually, you"re an honorable boy . All boys at his age usually go around the neighbors and chase after girls . Coming here to a.s.sist your parents and study is admirable . Is he attending a school, senior Sima?"
The boy answered in his father stead, "My only mentor is my father, sir . "
"You have a good father . Actually, I have an idea . How about you come here with your father next time? Take a brush and scrolls with you so you can study together . "
Sima Fang turned to his father, who nodded .
"Thank you, sir!"
Te Langpu smiled, "Lord Governor, do you think I can open a betting house that you promised?"
Zhang Jiao"s face twitched . Before Te Langpu agreed to teach them about the improved economy system, Zhang Jiao promised that if Te Langpu were worthy, he would be able to obtain a private land to build his shop or his casino .
Zhang Jiao decided to ask Tong in the clan chat, which Tong answered .
Tong: Let him have it .
Tong: Actually, Mr . President . I want you to build your entertainment facility in Julu .
Tong: But I"ll limit your land to half an acre .
Te Langpu: That"s more than enough .
Te Langpu: Thanks! I"ll make Julu great again!
Tong: Stop that catchphrase, please . . .
Zhang Jiao: Err, what"s an acre?
…
…
Ye City .
Xun Yu, Jia Xu, and Li Feihong watched their subordinates mixing charcoal, saltpeter, and sulfur together, using the distribution ratio that Te Langpu used .
"Charcoal is easy to find . But this saltpeter and sulfur have to be specially mined . We won"t be able to ma.s.s-produce many of them . "
"Sulfur can be found on volcanic mountains . But I don"t know about saltpeter . "
"Te Langpu said there is a mine around Nanpi that gave him saltpeter . We should have our workers scout around mountain cliffs and caves . There"s also a report saying that a few Taoist priests gather this saltpeter as a part of their secret elixir . We should start looking for them . "
The three discussed the ma.s.s-production on this gunpowder as it would boost their military power in the next war . Since three factions suddenly proclaimed themselves as royalties, they were bound to fight each other in the future, and the Yellow Turban might be dragged into the conflict .
"It"s done . Please check it . "
The workers pa.s.sed a small bag of black gunpowder at the three . Li Feihong took a pinch of it and put it on a wooden table beside them . He then lighted a piece of paper on fire and placed the fire on the powder .
*FWOOSH*
The burnt powder flashed a white light, blinded everyone in the room for a few seconds .
After regaining their sight, Xun Yu checked the burnt powder, "Is it a success?"
Li Feihong shook his head, "I think we might have failed . They are somehow similar to flash powder, not gunpowder . "
"Flash powder? But it shows a similar effect to bullet gunpowder . "
Li Feihong shook his head again, "The real gunpowder will burn, but these powder flashes when contacted with fire . They have different characteristics . "
"Didn"t these cause explosion?"
"It does, but the efficiency of these powders are low . I don"t think we should ma.s.s-produce this to create Yuan Shao"s bombs . Instead of focusing on making these, we should begin researching about iron barrels . "
"Barrels? I"m sure you"re not thinking of those container barrels . Sir Li Feihong, what do you have in mind?"
Li Feihong drew a picture, using a brush and a blank scroll . In a few minutes, something similar to Tong"s gun barrel was drawn in the paper .
"The process of making this object will be taxing and required a lot of manpower and investment . We will have to train specialist aside from blacksmiths, and we will have to consult with Tong and Te Langpu for the tools and process since they have more knowledge on this part than I do . "
Li Feihong paused and tapped the picture twice .
"This is a new siege weapon that will make most of Sun Tzu"s tactics obsolete . Back at the land of immortals, we call this a cannon . "