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

Chapter 310 An irresistible temptation for the Empress!

Of course, Su Mo wasn't the only one living in the inner city of Wulongtan.

Many master craftsmen and technical experts in the workshops possessed a great deal of technical secrets, so they certainly couldn't travel around and had to live within the walled city.

In this era, bricklayers were actually considered master craftsmen.

Niu Er quickly called over the several bricklayers who were sleeping soundly, and then, following Su Mo's instructions, ordered a cement slab of various sizes.

Of course, Su Mo didn't let this guy sit idle either—there's no rule that a bricklayer has to do all the work.

Mixing materials and cement also requires human labor, doesn't it?
After working for almost half an hour, the cement slabs were finally finished, neatly arranged and waiting to harden.

Su Mo tipped the plasterer a few pieces of silver.

After the plasterer respectfully expressed his gratitude and took his leave, the guard came to report again.

The first few farmers to become residents of Gufeng Mountain Village, who were also responsible for looking after the sweet potatoes, were already waiting to be summoned outside the workshop.

Leng Liuxi asked Su Mo to call the person in.

He first looked the anxious farmer up and down, and found him to be an honest and simple person.

She asked them a few questions and found that they were indeed from farming families, and they spoke fluently and knowledgeably about growing crops, especially sweet potatoes. She was very satisfied.

He then took out a token from his sleeve and handed it to Su Mo: "You can use this token to send the person to Xuanwu Gate!"

"Anwu will personally escort them to the palace at that time!"

Su Mo took it and saw that it was the Phoenix Cry Secret Order that he had once obtained, but which was eventually taken back by the Empress.

Several farmers' expressions changed drastically upon hearing Leng Liuxi's words.

Some of the younger ones even knelt on the ground, their legs weak, and kept kowtowing to Su Mo with mournful faces!

Su Mo looked at them, both amused and exasperated: "Don't panic!"

"I'm not asking you to be castrated and enter the palace as eunuchs, I'm just asking you to go into the palace to take care of Sweet Potato."

The farmers breathed a slight sigh of relief, but their faces were still filled with extreme surprise and doubt.

I had absolutely no idea what had happened.

To plant sweet potatoes inside the palace?
Do they grow sweet potatoes in the royal palace?
Su Mo reached into his pocket and found he had no loose silver; he had given it all to the bricklayers earlier. He subconsciously looked at Leng Liuxi and asked, "Does Your Excellency have any silver?"

The Empress covered her mouth and chuckled: "Does Su Lang think I'm the kind of person who carries money with me everywhere I go?"

Su Mo sighed in frustration: "It doesn't seem like it!"

In the end, he could only take out a few gold beans and hand them to the farmers: "Take these gold beans!"

"You must do your best to plant the sweet potatoes well, and the master will reward you handsomely afterwards!"

The farmer stared in disbelief at the golden beans in his hand.

Such a large golden bean must be worth two or three taels of silver.

Su Mo ignored the farmers and turned to Leng Liuxi: "The New Year is coming soon, why don't we let them go after the New Year?"

Leng Liuxi shook her head resolutely: "No!"

"This matter concerns the fate of the nation and its people; it cannot be treated lightly. This matter cannot be delayed in the slightest!"

She added, "Not only are they going to the palace, but Jiang Laoshi must also go with them!"

Farmers grow sweet potatoes near hot springs, which is quite different from growing them in greenhouses.

Jiang Laoshi is a master at growing sweet potatoes in greenhouses, so how could the Empress let him go?

Su Mo hesitated for a moment before asking, "Would it be convenient for them to enter the inner palace?"

It would be better not to actually kill them in order to keep them in the palace growing sweet potatoes.

Upon hearing Su Mo's words, the Empress's face showed a slight hesitation.

Su Mo's heart skipped a beat!

Could the Empress really be that ruthless?
In fact, the Empress really did have this plan!
If Su Mo hadn't just told the farmers that they weren't to be castrated, the Empress would have at most allowed Jiang Laoshi to keep that troublesome root.

She thought for a moment and finally said, "I will set up a small gate in the Imperial Garden for entry and exit, which will be separated by a wall."

"Once the palace eunuchs have learned how to grow sweet potatoes, they will be allowed to leave."

Su Mo breathed a sigh of relief and immediately called Niu Er in again.

He pointed to the still bewildered farmers and said, "You shall lead twenty guards to escort them to the Xuanwu Gate of the inner city. Be careful on the way and do not cause any trouble."

"Once you reach Xuanwu Gate, find a eunuch named An Wu and hand the person over to him!"

Niu Er stared at Su Mo in surprise, his eyes wide: "Master, it's the middle of the night, how can I possibly enter the city?"

"I'll wait outside the city gates until they open."

Su Mo snorted: "Take it!"

"This token allows entry and exit to both the inner and outer cities of the capital!"

Niu Er stared blankly at the Phoenix Cry Token that Su Mo handed him: "Can this token be used to enter the inner city?"

Su Mo said irritably, "Just go when I tell you to, stop talking nonsense!"

He didn't say anything; he used to be able to use this token to enter the harem on his own.

I was afraid that if I told Niu Er, he would be scared.

Niu Er hesitated for a long time: "Master, could you... let my elder brother go? I... I've never been inside the inner city before, and I'm a little scared!"

What he said was the truth.

Previously, they were just ordinary farmers in Niujiazhai. Even if they had practiced martial arts and rebelled, their knowledge and experience were limited.

Even though they came to Shenjing and followed Su Mo for a while, gaining a lot of experience, it's impossible for them to change immediately.

Su Mo was furious.

She glared at him fiercely: "You don't dare, but Niu Da does?"

"How can anyone harm their own brother like this!"

"If you keep nagging, I'll send you back to Changping County to sell salt!"

Niu Er gave a sharp military salute: "This subordinate is off right now!!!"

He had just turned to go out and summon the guards when he stopped, his sun-darkened cheeks flushing slightly: "Master... um... um..."

Su Mo snorted: "Speak if you have something to say, otherwise... keep it to yourself!"

Niu Er became coy, making Su Mo almost want to vomit: "I've fallen for a weaver from the textile workshop... and we've set our wedding date for the beginning of the year."

"Master, could you... could you come and have some food and drink, and do me a favor?"

Su Mo was speechless.

No wonder this guy is so afraid of being sent back to Changping.

Unexpectedly, this seemingly honest and simple guy had already hooked up with a female worker from the textile factory after only a month in Gufeng Mountain.

It's as if he's never seen a woman before; he can't look away once he sees one!

How embarrassing!
However, the five Niu brothers were indeed useful and loyal to me. They even did a business that could cost me my head back then in Xianyan Mountain.

He could be considered a close confidant.

Therefore, Su Mo nodded: "We'll see if I have time then."

"However, even if I am unable to go in person, I will certainly send a congratulatory gift."

Niu Er quickly replied with a smile, "Thank you in advance, sir!"

"I'm off!"

Niu Er led twenty elite guards to escort the farmers to the capital the following night.

Leng Liuxi suddenly asked, "How many guards does Su Lang have in his fiefdom?"

"I see that my lord needs to be protected in many places. Would three hundred private soldiers be enough?"

Su Mo was startled and quickly glanced at the top of the Empress's head!

My favorability rating hasn't changed!

He hesitated for a moment, then finally answered honestly, "Two hundred guards undergoing full-time training."

"In addition, there are 300 joint defense team members, which should be barely enough."

Leng Liuxi frowned slightly: "A joint defense team member?"

Su Mo explained, "Like the militia and the baojia, they usually farm and work normally, but are occasionally called up for training. When working, they are responsible for patrolling and monitoring, and if they find any problems, they need to report them in time."

After pausing, Su Mo added, "If there is a real shortage of manpower, we can summon them to perform tasks as if they were on leave for personal protection."

Leng Liuxi nodded gently: "I see."

"These joint defense team members are similar to secret guards."

She frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Three hundred private soldiers are still too few."

"Su Lang can assemble five hundred soldiers and train them well, lest something unexpected happen to the fiefdom."

Su Mo was taken aback upon hearing this.

He thought the Empress was wary of him because of the large number of guards protecting Lonely Peak Mountain.

Unexpectedly, the Empress was worried that she didn't have enough manpower, so she added two hundred more soldiers to her quota.

It seems I was judging a gentleman by my own petty standards.

Su Mo hesitated for a moment: "This humble servant is not familiar with the art of training soldiers. Could you please ask Princess Baicheng to send some generals over to provide some guidance?"

Leng Liuxi chuckled lightly: "I don't believe that my husband doesn't know how to train soldiers."

"However, whether Leng Li can send someone over depends on your abilities, young master."

"My lord, you can talk to her yourself. I don't care about this!"

Su Mo said awkwardly, "This subordinate truly doesn't understand!"

Leng Liuxi rolled her eyes at Su Mo: "Let's go, let's go see the young master's new residence!"

With that, he strode out of the cement workshop.

As soon as she stepped out of the workshop, she became curious again and pointed to the bungalows built for the master craftsmen and key personnel nearby: "I have seen that the houses in Su Lang's fiefdom are all strange in style."

"Could it be that the houses in your dream hometown all look like this?" Su Mo hummed in agreement and casually replied, "More or less."

"The buildings there are mostly designed with practicality in mind."

“Uh…” Leng Liuxi suddenly remembered something, “Su Lang said that his hometown has more than 100 million people.”

"How much land and how many houses would be needed to house such a large family?"

Su Mo thought for a moment: "The place is probably not as good as His Majesty's Great Wu."

Leng Liuxi was taken aback: "Not as good as Da Wu?"

"How can so many people live here?"

Although the territory of the Great Wu is vast, spanning tens of thousands of miles, it has hundreds of millions of subjects, many of whom have no roof over their heads.

Leng Liuxi really couldn't believe it.

How could a place, or rather a country, that is not as great as Dawu be able to house hundreds of millions of its subjects?
Su Mo explained, "The houses there are generally small. A house that is less than 100 square meters... less than one-fifth of an acre can house several people."

"In addition, houses are built high up. It is common to see hundreds of people living in a house that occupies less than half an acre."

Leng Liuxi was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Su Mo in disbelief: "A house of less than half an acre, housing hundreds of people?"

"How can anyone move in here?"

Su Mo smiled and said, "Just build the house taller, add more floors."

"Several hundred people is considered a small number."

"Some super buildings house tens of thousands of people."

Even the supreme Empress of the Great Wu was completely dumbfounded at this moment.

She could hardly imagine what it would be like to live in a tiny house with hundreds of people, let alone tens of thousands!

In some of the counties under Dawu, the population is only tens of thousands!

A house that houses the entire population of a county?

The Empress said she couldn't even imagine it!

There are houses in Dawu that house hundreds of people.

But those were large mansions covering tens or even hundreds of acres!

She took a deep breath: "How tall could the houses in Su Lang's hometown be? How could they accommodate such unimaginable people?"

Su Mo is quite familiar with this one, after all, I've seen plenty of world records online.

"The tallest buildings can reach nearly three hundred feet in height and have more than a hundred stories, all reaching above the clouds."

The Empress stared at Su Mo in astonishment: "A building three hundred feet tall?"

"How can it be built?"

"Aren't the buildings above the clouds the abodes of immortals?"

She took another breath, her phoenix eyes gleaming: "Is this the origin of the Jade Palace in the heavens?"

"Such towering mansions that reach into the sky, there are twelve of them in Su Lang's hometown?"

Su Mo chuckled: "Twelve seats?"

"I estimate there are at least 120!"

"But that's not some immortal's abode. It's just a bit high up, and it's only below the clouds. It's still far from the real sky!"

Leng Liuxi frowned slightly: "Has Su Lang ever been to the real heavens?"

Su Mo casually hummed in agreement: "I guess so... never mind, I won't say anything more."

He suddenly stopped.

Leng Liuxi was taken aback: "Why is Su Lang no longer speaking?"

Su Mo looked at the Empress speechlessly: "The more you talk about it, the more confusing it becomes. Anyway, there's no way in this world that one could fly above the clouds."

"Uh... Your Excellency is a True Person of the Heavenly Infant Realm! Could Your Excellency ride the clouds and fly above the clouds?"

Su Mo suddenly realized that he was in a world of cultivation.

Last time when I was in Wanghai County, I saw the Empress flying over the sea ship.

The Empress can really fly; she might even be able to take me with her!

Moreover, he possessed the supernatural power to summon wind and rain.

It seems that riding the clouds and mist is indeed possible.

The Empress looked at Su Mo with annoyance: "Su Lang, don't joke around!"

"Although a Celestial Infant Realm cultivator can learn the art of levitation, they can only reach a height of about a hundred feet, and it consumes a great deal of magical power, making it difficult to sustain!"

"Of course, if one can subdue a flying monster, one can ride on it and fly thousands of feet high."

"However, it was extremely cold and difficult to breathe, so it was impossible to stay there for long."

Su Mo smiled and said, "That's because the air temperature is extremely low at high altitudes, and the atmosphere is thin with insufficient oxygen concentration, making it difficult to breathe smoothly."

He secretly thought that the Empress must have some kind of monster mount that could fly high into the sky, and he wished he could ride it someday.

The Empress's eyes suddenly lit up: "Su Lang has indeed been to the Cloud Peak!"

"Is the oxygen we breathe every day the one you speak of, my lord?"

Su Mo was surprised that the Empress had caught on to his words, so he shook his head and said, "How could this humble servant have actually gone to the top of the clouds? I just took a plane to that high place."

The Empress hurriedly asked, "An airplane?"

"What kind of magical treasure is that that can carry people to the top of the clouds?"

Su Mo was at a loss for words.

I shouldn't have been so blinded by greed and confessed to the Empress in the first place!
His eyes darted around, and he suddenly said, "This humble servant doesn't understand those things either. They were developed by professionals. What this humble servant has learned is sow... pig farming techniques."

"I've suddenly thought of another way to make a lot of money!"

"Real big money!"

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the Empress abruptly stopped in her tracks, especially upon hearing the words "real big money," her beautiful eyes practically lit up: "What's the connection?"

Su Mo chuckled: "Real estate!"

The Empress repeated suspiciously, "Real estate?"

Su Mo nodded emphatically: "The reason why the buildings there can be built so tall is because of reinforced concrete!"

"Even if the cement I make is of poor quality, and it's not good to use steel bars as the entire framework, using steel bars in key areas and supplementing the rest with bamboo shouldn't be a big problem for building a four- or five-story house!"

In Su Mo's view, his cement would be fine for building houses, and the shelf life was set at over fifty years.

As long as the materials used are practical, the quality might even be better than houses built in later generations.

I'm not a heartless developer!

"House prices in the capital are extremely high. If houses in the same area could be built taller and accommodate more people, wouldn't that indirectly increase the value of the houses several times over?"

Su Mo deeply resented the housing prices in Shenjing.

The bookstore and clothing store alone occupy several hundred square meters, and the annual rent alone would be several hundred taels of silver!
Many government officials, even high-ranking ones, cannot afford to buy houses and have to rent them!

If you can build high-rise buildings, that's a real windfall!
Leng Liuxi frowned slightly: "How tall is the house that Su Lang mentioned?"

Su Mo immediately replied, "About four zhang."

Leng Liuxi pondered for a moment: "This must exceed the regulations of the imperial court."

Su Mo smiled and said, "That depends on His Majesty."

"Like the etiquette and regulations of merchants..."

The empress still showed hesitation.

Building regulations, especially height, are not just a matter of etiquette.

As the old saying goes, the higher the building, the greater its military value!
Moreover, being located on a high building, one can have a panoramic view of the city, including the layout of the streets, the movement of troops, and so on. In fact, there are probably not many secrets within the imperial city.

However, the enormous profits that Su Mo mentioned were indeed incredibly enviable to the Empress!

She knew perfectly well how much wealth it contained!

Even in the outer city of Shenjing, a dilapidated thatched hut can sell for hundreds of taels of silver, not to mention houses near or even inside the inner city!

If Su Mo's suggestion is corrected, lifting height restrictions will definitely allow more people in the capital, and even officials, to own their own homes.

The people naturally became even more loyal to him.

At the same time, the imperial court can also obtain extremely large amounts of money!

Is this the win-win situation that Su Mo mentioned before?

Seeing the Empress's hesitation, Su Mo knew her concerns and added with a quick glance, "However, cement production cannot keep up with the current demand."

"Even if I were to accept tens of thousands more refugees and have them all make cement, it would still barely be enough for Lone Peak Mountain's own needs!"

The Empress thought to herself, "Does making cement require so many refugees?"

Su Mo nodded and said, "Indeed, this is quite manpower-intensive."

“My fief is not large. I originally wished to ask Your Majesty for permission to build a three- or even four-story building so that more refugees could live there.”

He paused slightly, then added, "There are indeed many concerns about building such a residence within the imperial city."

"Why doesn't Your Majesty find a suitable place outside the city to set up a pilot project, build some cement houses, and observe the reaction of your subjects?"

The Empress squinted at Su Mo: "Pilot program?"

"Would the court officials agree to such a change in regulations?"

Su Mo replied without hesitation, "The court officials will certainly not object!"

The Empress paused for a moment, then suddenly chuckled: "That's right!"

"Many court officials were transferred from other places to the capital, but they have no money to buy houses. This pilot program will definitely lower the housing prices in the capital. Even if Xiao Yuan and others disagree, they probably won't dare to speak out against it."

She gave Su Mo a deep look: "I really can't refuse Su Lang's suggestion!"

"If you let your son go into business, I'm afraid he'll earn all the money in the world."

(End of this chapter)