In the Three Kingdoms period, the opening scene features the killing of Huang Gai, shocking Zhou Yu!

(Bonus chapter for The Legend of the Sword and Wind of Western Chu, thank you so much! ＼＼٩( 'ω' )و //／／)

"No, I'm not going! Ye City is too cold! It's all sand!"

"I want to be in Xuchang!"

"Not going?"

Cao Cao's face darkened.

"It's okay if you don't go."

Then the marriage is off.

"I will speak to the Emperor later and tell him that you have disobeyed the imperial decree and have been exiled to Jiaozhou."

Jiaozhou?

That's even further, and you'll have to endure miasma.

"I'll go... I'll go, okay?"

"That's right."

"Set off immediately, don't miss the auspicious time."

……

At the entrance of the Zhao residence,

Zhao Yu also wanted to sneak in and grab some valuables, like hot pot base or something.

They were stopped by two gatekeepers. (Cao Jie and Sun Shangxiang returned earlier.)

"Husband, where are we going?"

Cao Jie stood on the steps, holding a roll of account books in his hand.

"Go home and tidy up the account books!"

"No."

Cao Jie pointed outside.

"Shangxiang and I have discussed it. In order to help you develop your ability to live independently, you don't need to bring too much luggage, and the carriage has been prepared in advance."

"So fast?"

Zhao Yu was dumbfounded.

Sun Shangxiang had a package in her hand.

He shoved it directly into Zhao Yu's arms.

"Here are a few changes of clothes. The dry rations are in the car. It's cold in Yecheng, so I specially packed two fur coats for you."

Zhao Yu, clutching the package, was so moved he almost cried.

"Shangxiang still loves me the most. Unlike some people, she won't even let me into her house."

Not moved yet,

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Sun Shangxiang waved her hand,

"I won't let you in either. Get out of here! Didn't the Prime Minister say that the main structure is almost finished?"

"You'd better finish this within two months. If you don't, you can expect me to lead my female soldiers to Ye City and hang you on the Bronze Sparrow Terrace to dry in the wind!"

"Wait, aren't you going?"

Zhao Yu discovered the blind spot.

Cao Jie covered his mouth and chuckled.

"We plan to stay in Xuchang to prepare the dowry and also coordinate the relocation of the Zhao family and the Prime Minister's residence. Father has wanted to return to Yecheng for a long time, but it's all because of you that he's been stuck here for the past few years."

"Besides, the conditions at Tongquetai are harsh. My husband, you're a man, so go ahead and make sure it's beautifully renovated before we go there."

"This isn't scouting ahead, this is exile!"

"I want to ride in that carriage with shock absorbers!"

"That one is broken."

"There's another military vehicle over there. That one's durable. Let's take that one and hit the road!"

"I don't want to live anymore!"

……

Five days later,

Ye City.

The temperature here is indeed harsher than in Xuchang, but it's still bearable.

What is most unacceptable is that

When Zhao Yu got off the carriage, he felt like his bones were about to fall apart.

"vomit……"

Zhao Yu, holding onto the wheel, dry heaved for a while.

"How come I never noticed this road condition before!"

"I want to build roads! I want to build highways!"

"General Zhao...?"

Zhao Yu looked up and saw a young man with messy hair like a bird's nest, his face covered in grease, and snot running down his face from the cold.

He was also holding a roll of blueprints in his hands.

"Your humble servant...Ma Jun, courtesy name De...Deheng, has heard...hears that the General has come...to supervise the construction..."

Yecheng construction site.

In the distance, a tall platform stands against the sky.

Although it was majestic, it was surrounded by scaffolding and piles of rocks.

It seems like a long way from a "grand wedding".

Zhao Yu sniffed.

Looking at this tragic scene,

My heart sank.

"Is this where I might live in the future? Syrian style?"

Ma Jun looked bewildered:

"What...where is Syria?"

Never mind that.

Zhao Yu looked at the steps and felt his calves cramping.

How many steps are there?

"Three... three hundred and sixty levels."

"Am I going to have to climb up this to sleep every day from now on?"

"Yes...yes."

Zhao Yu was furious.

For the sake of a happy life in the future (and to be lazy), I must make drastic changes!

"change!"

Zhao Yu snatched the charcoal pencil from Ma Jun's hand.

"Change...change where?"

"Completely changed!!! 1"

Zhao Yu frantically doodled on the picture.

"First, this staircase is reserved for those talented individuals who want to flatter the Prime Minister or cultivate their minds in the future!"

Zhao Yu pointed to the side of the platform.

"See that? They've dug a vertical shaft for me over there."

"A vertical shaft?"

"Yes, I want to install a ladder to the sky!"

"It's the same principle as the drawbridge over the moat. They add a counterweight on one side, and there's a small shed outside! Like drawing water, they just hoist people up! Do you understand? That's called an 'elevator'!"

"And is the floor paved with bricks now?"

"No."

"That's fine. Lay ceramic pipes under the house for me, at least four times. Set up a fire pit outside so I can boil water all day long, and let the steam drift in. Seal the top with mud so the steam won't seep up. I want to make sure I don't have to use a stove on the platform in the dead of winter."

"Understand?"

"Will this... work?"

"Can't you make it?"

Zhao Yu threatened,

"I've explained it in such detail, you must be very capable to have reached this position."

"I'll give you a month. If you can't finish it, I'll tell the Prime Minister that you delayed the project, preventing me from getting married."

"We'll see if the Prime Minister will exile you to Jiaozhou and you'll never be able to come back."

Ma Jun shuddered.

His eyes lit up instantly.

"I...I can do it! Give me a month! If I...I can't finish it, I'll...I'll bring my head upon myself!"

There's nothing else I need to change; I'll just let things take their course.

……

Ma Jun truly deserves to be called a great inventor of the Three Kingdoms period.

It's actually not that difficult.

In less than seven days,

The first finished underfloor heating house is almost complete.

Zhao Yu was even planning to have all the craftsmen move in tonight.

Someone below shouted that a group of craftsmen from Xuchang had arrived.

Zhao Yu reluctantly climbed down from the platform and led Ma Jun to greet them.

The head craftsman, a royal craftsman, was named Lu Ban... no, Gongshu Mu. It is said that his ancestors were related to Lu Ban.

"General Zhao, His Majesty was overjoyed to hear that you have come to oversee the Bronze Sparrow Terrace."

"I'm really worried about you. This Bronze Sparrow Terrace is the face of the Han Dynasty. We can't let the Prime Minister do all the work."

"So they sent fifty of us to assist you. His Majesty said this was a special permission from him, and that the Bronze Sparrow Terrace must be imbued with the imperial grandeur."

Zhao Yu looked at the fifty people.

What assistance?

Isn't this just an attempt to ride the wave of popularity?

Liu Xie, that rascal, not only wanted to leave his name in the "Jian'an Grand Ceremony".

They didn't even spare the Bronze Sparrow Terrace.

He was afraid that future generations would not know that he had contributed to the construction of this platform.

"Alright."

"Since they're here, let's get to work. Ma Jun, arrange their food and lodging."

Ma Jun looked distressed and tugged at Zhao Yu's sleeve:

"General... this... this can't be arranged. The main structure is finished... all that's left is the finer work. With these big shots coming, where... where are our people supposed to stand?"

indeed.

The original craftsmen were all recruited from the common people. Although they were highly skilled, they were of low social status.

When the royal craftsmen arrived, they looked at the laborers in their tattered cotton-padded coats with utter contempt. Before work even began, the two groups were already glaring at each other.