What's wrong with me, a powerful minister, supporting a few female officials?

Chapter 222 Su Mo's Two Deadly Weapons Have Appeared!

Su Mo followed Nangong Sheyue out of the inner hall and into a secluded spot. Then he saw Nangong Sheyue turn around and look at him with a serious expression.

"Does Your Majesty recall that His Majesty temporarily bestowed upon you the title of Military Supervisor of the Sixth Rank?"

Su Mo was taken aback for a moment: "Yes, sir, I remember."

"Why did you suddenly bring this up, sir?"

Nangong Sheyue said calmly, "The Immortal Martial Arts Grand Trial will be held in three days."

"If nothing else happens."

"Tomorrow, the people from the Phoenix Cry Division, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the former Military Governor's Office will gather all those in charge of supervising the exam and forbid them from contacting the outside world until the Immortal Martial Arts Grand Exam is over."

"If my lord has any important matters to attend to recently, arrangements should be made as soon as possible."

Su Mo nodded: "Thank you for your guidance, sir."

He was about to tell Nangong Sheyue about the Demon-Subduing Pestle.

After a moment's hesitation, Nangong Sheyue whispered, "I have a cousin named Nangong Liyue who will be participating in this Soul-Fixing Trial."

"It's just that my offensive skills are a bit lacking, so I'm afraid it won't be easy for me to get a ranking."

Su Mo blinked and said directly, "This subordinate will remember!"

"Leave this to me!"

He knew more about backdoor deals than anyone else, and he loved using them the most!
Nangong Sheyue stared at Su Mo in astonishment, probably not expecting Su Mo to agree so readily and to be so straightforward.

The Immortal Martial Arts Grand Examination was just as important as the imperial examination for selecting officials.

Cheating in the imperial examinations was a capital offense!
Su Mo noticed that Nangong Sheyue's favorability rating above her head flashed and immediately increased by three points!
Engaging in backroom deals is the most effective way to improve favorability!

Nangong Sheyue sighed, her pretty face showing a hint of bitterness and helplessness as she explained, "My cousin is determined to serve the court, but her family doesn't agree."

"If you fail to gain a place on the list of the Immortal Martial Arts Tournament, you will have to marry someone else and form an alliance with another family."

Su Mo waved his hand and smiled, "Why should my lord explain to me?"

"You have helped me so much, my lord, I will always remember it."

Then, he changed the subject and said in a low voice, "I also have something to say."

"Last time, when I was at the Fu family mansion, I accidentally discovered a vajra, which was quite strange."

"This humble servant intends to inquire with Lord Leng whether he knows the origin of this Vajra Pestle."

"What do you think, sir?"

Nangong Sheyue frowned and thought for a moment: "Leng Baihu's realm is unfathomable, and there are few who do not know about the world's magical treasures."

Su Mo nodded.

He might be summoned tomorrow, and it would take several days in a row, so Su Mo really needed to make proper arrangements.

After Nangong Sheyue left.

Su Mo went to the central courtyard to check on the sweet potatoes. She had just come out of the greenhouse when she saw Xue Yishu leading Meng Danying in through the side door.

Meng Danying glanced at Su Mo with a hint of apprehension.

Xue Yishu excitedly walked towards Su Mo with small, quick steps: "My lord, Sister Dan Ying has agreed to help us write a story novel!"

Meng Danying seemed much more docile this time. She stepped forward and gave Su Mo a slight curtsy: "This humble woman greets Lord Su!"

Su Mo nodded.

He then said to Xue Yishu, "My uncle just came from Wu County and is currently talking to Mr. Ding in the back hall."

Xue Yishu exclaimed in surprise, "Uncle's here?"

Wang Xiuzhi treated his niece even better than his own daughter.

In the past, when her mother scolded her, she would always ask Wang Xiuzhi to intervene, which would infuriate Wang Shi.

If it weren't for Wang Xiuzhi, Xue Yishu would have been forced to marry Wang Jun, the cousin of the second branch of the Wang family.

Su Mo took Xue Yishu to see Wang Xiuzhi.

When I passed by the backyard, I saw a mess, like a battlefield, and servants were busy cleaning it up.

Xue Yishu and Meng Danying were naturally shocked.

Su Mo casually explained, "I accidentally knocked down the wall of the house while competing with my uncle in magical techniques."

Xue Yishu and Meng Danying were dumbfounded.

They all knew how formidable Wang Xiuzhi was.

Immortal cultivators who primarily cultivate their bodies face far greater difficulties in advancing than ordinary cultivators, but their strength is also far more terrifying.

Back then, Old Wang's sneak attack with a single palm strike even suppressed the demoness of the Heavenly Mother Sect, who was injured and fled in a sorry state.

Is Su Mo capable of competing with Wang Xiuzhi, a great sorcerer at the Divine Transformation Realm?

Judging from the looks of it, he's not much worse than Wang Xiuzhi!
Meng Danying was filled with lingering fear!
No wonder Father came to the Su residence in person to apologize to Su Mo!

Su Mo didn't explain further, and walked into the back room, where she found Old Wang looking at her with a strange expression.

Clearly, he had already learned quite a bit about his situation from Ding Yu.

This saves Su Mo the trouble of explaining it himself.

He immediately said, "Uncle, Mr. Ding, I have some matters to attend to at the artisan camp."

"I'm sorry I can't entertain you, Uncle. Please make yourself at home."

As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Xue Yishu: "Shu'er, go to the accounting office and withdraw a thousand taels of silver. Take your uncle around the capital and buy whatever you need."

Wang Xiuzhi was speechless again.

My niece's husband has indeed made a name for himself.

He casually offered a thousand taels of silver, which made Old Wang quite envious!

Even a great sorcerer at the Divine Realm had never had such abundant resources!
Su Mo followed, riding straight towards Lonely Peak Mountain.

First, I consulted Ding Bashi, the all-knowing expert of the craftsman's camp, to inquire about the situation.

Sure enough, Ding Bashi didn't know who in the artisan camp knew how to make paper.

Instead, he received a small surprise from Liu Siyun.

She has registered the basic information of the villagers, especially their skills.

Those with skills can earn more labor points and will be given priority in housing allocation in the future.

The villagers weren't stupid; they knew this concerned their future status in the Marquis's fiefdom, so they eagerly registered.

One of the households consisted of five men: an elderly mother, an older sister-in-law, and a child. The two brothers in the household were registered as papermaking apprentices.

Su Mo felt something was strange.

Just moments ago, Ding Yu said that he couldn't find a craftsman who knew how to make paper, but the next second, a papermaking apprentice appeared in the village.

It was as if some unseen force of fate was enveloping him.

Su Mo asked Liu Siyun to bring the two brothers over.

The two men were probably in their early thirties, looked extremely similar, were over 1.7 meters tall, and had robust physiques, which were considered rare in those days.

That's probably why Lin Moyin was chosen.

The two brothers were very respectful and somewhat uneasy when they saw Su Mo.

Su Mo sized up the two men for a moment, then said calmly, "Are you from Yi County? One of you is named Zhou Dong, and the other is named Zhou Guan?"

The elder brother, Zhou Dong, whose skin was darker, quickly and respectfully replied, "Reporting to Your Excellency, we brothers are from Yi County."

Su Mo nodded: "Your family of five fled to Shenjing during the famine?"

Zhou Dong replied respectfully, "Yes!"

Su Mo suddenly sneered: "How come, to my knowledge, Yi County has recently had a bumper harvest of rice and grain, and I have not heard of any famine?"

The two brothers visibly flinched, then Zhou Dong explained, "Sir, it's like this..."

Su Mo waved his hand again: "There's no need to explain to me."

"I have no interest in why you fled to the capital!"

"I only ask you whether you truly understand the art of papermaking!"

Judging from their expressions, they must have committed a crime and fled to the capital disguised as refugees.

But Su Mo has always been more tolerant of people with technical skills.

With Su Mo's current power, he could easily find out everything about the two of them.

Upon hearing Su Mo's words, Zhou Dong quickly replied, "Your Excellency, we used to work in the paper mill, where we were responsible for scooping and drying paper."

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "I don't know how the pulp is made."

Su Mo was somewhat surprised. This guy spoke clearly and logically, as if he'd had a few years of schooling.

He thought for a moment, then cut to the chase: "If I were to teach you the art of papermaking, would you be confident that you could produce paper?"

Zhou Dong and Zhou Guan, who hadn't spoken, exchanged a glance subconsciously.

Then Zhou Dong hesitated for a moment: "My lord, I am foolish and ignorant, I'm afraid..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Guan suddenly said in a deep voice, "We're willing to give it a try!"

Zhou Dong immediately became anxious: "Second brother! You..."

Zhou Guan looked at Zhou Dong with a serious expression: "Brother, Lord Su doesn't care about our background!"

"What adults care about is whether we can do things for them!"

Zhou Guan took a deep breath and turned his gaze to Su Mo: "Don't worry, sir. As long as you have the real papermaking technique, we brothers will definitely make paper!"

"If you can't make it, you can do whatever you want with it, sir!"

Su Mo gave Zhou Guan a deep look.

Of the two brothers, it's clear that Zhou Guan is the one who calls the shots this week.

He smiled and said, "I like smart people like you!"

"You may all step back!"

The two brothers respectfully withdrew.

Su Mo frowned.

Recall the various steps involved in papermaking.

He had come across some videos of traditional papermaking techniques before, and he never expected them to be useful here.

There are plenty of raw materials for papermaking in Gufeng Mountain.

There are large areas of bamboo, as well as mulberry trees, birch trees, and so on.

Papermaking involves numerous steps and takes a long time, especially the soaking and maceration of bamboo, which can take dozens of days.

Lime water is essential.

Su Mo then summoned Liu Siyun: "Have someone purchase some limestone; it will be of great use to me."

Upon hearing this, Liu Siyun was taken aback: "If you want limestone, why do you need to send someone to purchase it? There is plenty of limestone within your fiefdom!"

Su Mo was taken aback: "There's limestone on Lonely Peak Mountain?"

Liu Siyun wanted to laugh but dared not.

My master is too indifferent to his fiefdom; he doesn't even know the situation there.

She quickly nodded and said, "There is a lot of limestone in the mountains. The mountain people like to use limestone to bond the rocks and build stone houses, which are very sturdy."

“When the villagers dug the pits, they dug out a lot of limestone to compact the road surface. They then poured water on it and covered it with sand and gravel to compact it a second time. The resulting road would not rot for a long time.”

Su Mo was stunned for a moment.

It seems I've just remembered another way to make money?
You've made so many inventions, yet you didn't even think of cement, the most important one?

Limestone is an important raw material for cement.

By simply calcining and grinding, one can obtain the original version of traditional cement.

This cement certainly cannot compare to the high-quality cement of later generations.

However, it should be sufficient to build the Gufengshan fiefdom.

Using traditional cement methods and bamboo instead of steel bars, building a two-story house shouldn't be a problem.

If real steel bars were used in the key parts, it would be possible to build a three- or four-story building, giving the ancients a small shock!
It's not too late to think about it now.

Those geomancers at the Bureau of Geography are very hardworking.

Previously, I saw at the artisan camp that the surrounding sand table had been greatly improved. I estimate that in another three or four days, the sand table of the Lone Peak Mountain fief will be fully completed.

The greater the strength, the greater the power. Moreover, the profession of geomancer requires traveling around, crossing mountains and valleys, so it's not easy to be one if you're not skilled enough.

With the assistance of magical arts practitioners, it wouldn't be a problem to thoroughly explore the terrain of Lone Peak Mountain in three days.

Su Mo smiled at Liu Siyun: "Thanks to Siyun's reminder, I almost forgot an important matter."

"Among the households in the town, are there any skilled in charcoal making or brick firing?"

The process of burning charcoal and bricks should be the same as that of burning limestone.

Liu Siyun took out the booklet recording the situation of the villagers and looked at it: "Hmm... there are about fifty-seven or fifty-eight people who have registered this skill."

Charcoal burning and brick making are common livelihood skills, and many people know them.

Su Mo nodded: "In the next few days, I will need to supervise the Immortal Martial Arts Grand Examination."

"Go and gather all those charcoal burners and brick makers together."

"I will give you two secret techniques later."

"Have the Zhou brothers wait and test it out first. Be sure to keep it confidential. If there are any problems, I will deal with them after the Immortal Martial Arts Grand Trial!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Siyun immediately replied with a solemn expression, "This servant understands."

"I'll take my leave."

……

Next, Su Mo stayed at the Artisan Battalion's official residence.

After much thought and half a day, I finally managed to organize the two secret methods for papermaking and cement making.

Although it's uncertain whether it will succeed, as long as it's tested and improved upon based on specific circumstances, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Just as he put down his brush, dried the ink, and put away the book recording the secret methods.

Yin Rou suddenly came to report.

"Teacher, a mountain woman in a simple dress and a simple hairpin has come to the outside of the artisan camp. She calls herself Bai and wants to see you, sir."

Su Mo was stunned.

Bai Shi, the white snake spirit from the mountains.

Why does she suddenly want to see me?

"Let her in!"

Yin Rou responded and left. Before long, she led the White Snake Spirit to the government office.

The white snake spirit seemed a little reserved. Upon seeing Su Mo, she immediately knelt down and said, "This servant, Bai Shi, greets Your Excellency."

"Get up." Su Mo looked at the white snake spirit, whose attire was exactly the same as before, especially her snake waist, which was so small it was breathtaking, as if it would break at any moment.

"What business do you have with me?"

The white snake spirit said, "My lord, the mountain people know that Lonely Peak Mountain has become your fiefdom, and we have seen you carrying out large-scale construction in the mountain. Therefore, we beg you to let us become your household as well."

Su Mo was slightly stunned.

He had always intended to subdue the mountain people.

After all, the vast territory of Lone Peak Mountain only has a little over a thousand people, and manpower is very scarce.

Unexpectedly, the mountain people came to my door without my permission.

However, Su Mo still frowned: "Why don't they explain to Liu Siyun and instead ask you to speak to me?"

The White Snake Spirit explained, "Lord Liu is very powerful, and the mountain people are afraid of him."

Su Mo's face instantly darkened.

Does this imply that they are easy to bully?
He snorted: "I have already entrusted the matter of the fiefdom entirely to Siyun."

“Go back and tell those mountain people that if they want to submit to my fiefdom, they should go to Siyun and honestly follow Siyun’s instructions to register them.”

"Once registered as a resident of the fiefdom, you must abide by the rules of the fiefdom. Those who violate these rules will be expelled from the fiefdom at best, and executed at worst!"

The white snake spirit's pretty face instantly showed a look of fear.

Su Mo then coldly added, "If you are unwilling to become my subject, I will not force you."

"You can leave your fiefdom within three days."

He paused, then added, "Of course, people can leave, but everything on Lonely Peak Mountain belongs to me, and you cannot take even a single thing with you!"

The white snake spirit stared at Su Mo in disbelief.

No valuables are allowed to be taken away; only people may leave Lonely Peak Mountain.
Isn't this forcing people to die?

How could those mountain people think that Lord Su was easier to talk to than Lord Liu?

　I went to Hainan Island yesterday for a classmate reunion and didn't have time to write. This chapter was written in a spare moment to catch up on yesterday's work. I should be able to go home tonight.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)