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

Forced by Zhao Yu's tyranny, or perhaps to make a name for themselves,

Within a few days,

Directly in front of the Bronze Sparrow Terrace

The envisioned "Jian'an Hero Tower," standing at a height of nine zhang nine chi (approximately 33 meters),

It now has a base.

These days there's no concrete.

Just laying the foundation and quarrying huge stones,

That exhausted the fifty royal craftsmen and hundreds of laborers.

I just don't know why.

It always feels like something's missing.

"here,"

Zhao Yu pointed to the ground outside the platform.

"It's terrible. How can we hold military parades or rallies here if it's all mud? Pave it with bricks! Harden it completely! I want to turn it into 'Bronze Sparrow Square'."

Upon hearing this, Ma Jun knew he was about to fall.

"General, laying bricks is easy, but we don't have enough manpower."

The tower repair team has already...drawn...drawn all their personnel.

"Then let's..."

"Snapped!"

A crisp crack of a whip interrupted Zhao Yu's words.

Immediately following was a scream.

"ah--!"

Zhao Yu frowned.

Looking in the direction of the sound.

On the stone transport road not far away, a foreman wearing a sheepskin coat could be seen.

He was waving the whip in his hand.

They whipped an old migrant worker who had fallen to the ground.

The old migrant worker was carrying a stone slab on his back.

He slipped and fell because of the slippery road, and a stone got stuck on his leg, so he couldn't get up for a while.

"You worthless bastard! Playing dead, huh?!"

The foreman was cursing.

Another lash came down.

"If you delay the construction, I'll stuff you into the tower's foundation!"

The surrounding migrant workers stared blankly at them.

A hint of anger flashed in a few eyes.

But more than anything, there is numbness and fear.

With head down,

They quickened their pace.

He was terrified that the whip would fall on him.

Zhao Yu watched this scene unfold.

The anger in my heart suddenly shot up to the top of my head.

"General, please...please don't act rashly."

Ma Jun noticed that Zhao Yu's expression was off.

"This is the usual practice."

That was the steward of the Chen family of Yecheng…

The person mainly in charge of this area, as the saying goes, "Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake..."

"Standard practice?"

Screw the conventions.

Although Zhao Yu was lazy, he would rather lie down than sit.

But this is a matter of principle.

He moved with lightning speed, and in a few steps he was behind the foreman.

The overseer was beating the foreman with great enthusiasm.

They need to whip it again.

"You don't want to live anymore, huh! I'll teach you..."

"Bang!"

Using the momentum from his run-up, Zhao Yu leaped into the air and executed a standard "knight's flying kick".

The kick landed squarely on the foreman's lower back.

"Awooo—!"

The foreman, weighing 200 pounds, was sent flying.

He rolled around in the mud three times.

Finally, with a "thud," it crashed into the base of the unfinished stone tablet.

Zhao Yu landed.

Wherever you go, you'll find elderly migrant workers.

Remove the stone slab that was pressing on his legs.

"Grandpa, are you alright?"

The elderly migrant worker was trembling with fear.

He immediately knelt down.

"My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me! This old man will get up and get to work right away..."

Zhao Yu felt as if he had been pricked by a needle.

Turn around,

Looking at the supervisor who looked like a worm wriggling on the ground.

Zhao Yu walked over,

I stepped on his face.

"I'm asking you, who gave you the right to hit someone?"

"He...he's slacking off!"

The foreman was unconvinced and stammered as he spoke.

"These bastards won't work unless they're beaten!"

"be lazy?"

Zhao Yu was so angry that he laughed instead.

Call the old migrant worker over.

They were lucky they hadn't seen it before.

But seeing it today, they still dare to do it.

Isn't that just courting death?

Zhao Yu tried his best to keep his voice calm:

"Old man, let me ask you, how many hours do you work each day?"

The old migrant worker, trembling, stretched out his cracked, calloused hand and gestured.

"Reporting to...Reporting to my lord, aside from eating and sleeping...it takes about seven hours."

Seven hours. Fourteen hours.

In the dead of winter, in order to meet the deadline,

They were doing the most strenuous heavy physical labor.

I forcefully suppressed the turmoil in my heart.

"Is there any pay?"

"Wages...wages? This is corvée labor, sir. Providing...providing two meals a day is already an act of imperial grace..."

No wages.

He got beaten up.

Zhao Yu closed his eyes.

He knew this was ancient times, and he shouldn't have so many other feelings.

This was the norm in feudal society.

But some things are ingrained in your bones, and you just can't stand them.

"What boundless imperial grace!"

He suddenly increased the pressure on his feet.

"Did your mother give birth to you so you could bully ordinary people?"

"They are human beings! They are the builders of this Bronze Sparrow Terrace!"

Without them, you parasites wouldn't even have a doghouse to live in!

What right do you have to treat them like livestock?

Zhao Yusong spread his legs.

It rubbed itself on the ground in disgust.

"roll.

Don't let me see you in Yecheng again.

Otherwise, I'll build you up inside that tower, making you regret ever being born.

The foreman scrambled away, not daring to utter a single harsh word.

"Ma Jun!"

"exist!"

"Pass on my orders!"

"First, from this day forward, I will not concern myself with anyone else, but within my jurisdiction, all corporal punishment is abolished! Anyone who dares to use the whip again will suffer the same fate as the one just witnessed!"

"Secondly, all the craftsmen and laborers who participated in the construction of the Bronze Sparrow Terrace and the Hero's Tower, even those who were serving corvée labor, will be paid their wages!"

Boom! The crowd erupted.

Pay wages?

Do they even get paid for performing corvée labor?

This is absolutely incredible!

Ma Jun pulled Zhao Yu back.

"General... there's no... no budget for that! The Prime Minister's residence only... only provides meals, not money!"

"No budget?"

He touched the bulging money pouch in his pocket—it was the secret stash of money Cao Jie had given him before he left.

To be more precise,

That was part of the "dowry" sent by Sun Quan.

"Who said there's no budget?"

Zhao Yu tossed the money bag in his hand.

"We have plenty of money!"

"This is a 'dowry' sent by Sun Quan of Eastern Wu. He originally intended to corrupt me."

Now is the perfect time; take from the enemy and use for the benefit of the people!

Sun Quan, Sun Quan, the money you sent me, I'll use to win over the hearts of the people.

This is what we call "borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha".

"Pass down the order!"

Zhao Yu continued to shout,

"Thirty coins per day! Paid daily! No delays!"

Thirty coins!

That's enough to support the whole family.

Where do migrant workers who perform corvée labor receive such treatment?

Being able to return safely is already a good thing.

Someone kowtowed.

Some people wept bitterly.

"Wait, it's not over yet."

Zhao Yu waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"Thirdly, that... seven hours is too long. It's freezing cold, who will do the work for me if I'm exhausted?"

"change!"

"We'll implement a three-shift system!"

Someone asked,

"What...what is three-shift work?"

"It means dividing the day into three parts, each consisting of four hours (8 hours)!"

"Each group works only four hours. After they finish, they go back to rest, sleep, or even just go for a walk. Then the next group comes in! The work doesn't stop, and the fire mustn't be turned off!"

"this……"