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

Previously, it wasn't a group of people who followed Ding Yi to "play in the mud" and repair the road on the Imperial Street.

Another group went directly to the northern suburbs to acquire land.

The road has been paved and passed inspection.

Ding Yi was a little uneasy, after all, enclosing 3,000 mu of land was no small matter.

After finishing his business here and seeing Ma Chao off, he hurried to the northern suburbs.

On the way, he had already mentally prepared himself for the saying, "It's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings."

He even brought the token with him.

They asked Cao Cao for several hundred fierce-looking Tiger Guards, preparing to carry out a "violent demolition" if necessary.

But reality taught him a harsh lesson: you're overthinking it; Zhao Yu and Cao Cao's names are more powerful than an imperial edict.

When he was repairing the road,

Those small aristocratic families and landlords occupying the northern suburbs saw that it was Prime Minister Cao's seal.

When Ding Yi arrived, he saw the imposing banners of the Tiger Guards behind him.

Their attitude changed drastically, becoming so enthusiastic that it gave Ding Yi goosebumps.

It turned into a massive groveling and fawning scene.

"Oh, Chief Engineer Ding! You've finally arrived!"

Several landlords, accompanied by their servants, bowed and scraped as they came forward to greet them.

"Look at these weeds in the field! We didn't sleep last night, the whole family worked through the night to pull them all out! Not a single root was left!"

"And those few abandoned graves over there? The day you finished repairing the road, we hired a Taoist priest and moved them in a grand ceremony! They're definitely not in your way or blocking your feng shui!"

"If you think we've done something wrong, just let us know! We'll send someone to move it back right away!"

There is absolutely no need for forced demolition.

In Ye City, Cao Cao was the god.

Heaven wants this land, who dares to say no?

Moreover, I've heard that this is an industry spearheaded by Zhao Yu, the supervising engineer.

That's the God of Wealth who can turn stones into gold.

If you work for him, even a little soup that slips through your fingers will be enough to live on for three years.

Who would dare to act recklessly? That would be throwing money away!

Now that the ground is leveled, the most crucial step is recruiting workers.

Building factories, firing kilns, and grinding powder all require a massive workforce.

Burning cement and making steel are, after all, physically demanding jobs.

Moreover, burning cement and smelting steel are truly heavy physical labor jobs, which are both dirty and tiring.

It was in the middle of nowhere, quite a distance from the city.

The people of Ye City lived relatively well, unlike the refugees who would work for a meal if given one.

Ding Yi was genuinely unsure of himself, fearing that he wouldn't be able to recruit enough people and that this would delay the project.

To be on the safe side, he also prepared a backup plan.

Marketing campaigns such as "Working here means getting a hot pot as a gift" and "One person gets a job and the whole family is honored" are used.

Can……

After he erected the wooden sign with the job posting at the city gate.

The wooden sign had only two lines of large characters written on it:

[By order of the Prime Minister, Marquis Zhao Yu is overseeing the construction.]

[A factory is being built in the northern suburbs; workers are being recruited, with meals and lodging provided, and a daily wage of thirty cents.]

That's because there are only two lines of text.

The entire slums and refugee camps of Ye City, and even the surrounding farmers, were in an uproar.

"It's Lord Zhao! It really is that Lord Zhao?"

An old stonemason who was missing a front tooth

I squeezed my way to the front, risking my life.

Grabbing Ding Yi's sleeve, he asked,

"My lord! Is that the same Lord Zhao, the one who paid the laborers when the Bronze Sparrow Terrace was being built, gave them meat, and made us work only four hours a day (in three shifts), and who made us go to sleep on time, or else he'd fine us?"

Ding Yi was stunned for a moment, not expecting his elder brother's reputation among the common people to be so terrifying.

He then adjusted his rattan helmet, straightened his chest, and answered loudly:

"Genuine, guaranteed!"

"This recruitment will follow Lord Zhao's established practice!"

"Meals provided! Money paid! Three shifts!"

"If anyone dares to let you work yourself to death on the construction site, or dares to withhold a single penny from your pay, I, Ding Yi, will be the first to object!"

"Whoosh—!"

The crowd erupted.

In the Han Dynasty, performing forced labor was synonymous with suffering.

Only Zhao Yu, when he took over the repair of Tongquetai, managed to turn the forced labor into "paid work".

At first, people didn't believe it and thought it was a scam.

In the end, getting into Zhao Yu's construction team was even harder than passing the imperial examination!

Working for Lord Zhao, my back no longer aches, my legs no longer hurt, and when I came back, my waist pockets were bulging, and I had even gained two pounds!

This is genuine word-of-mouth reputation, a legend passed down by word of mouth.

Everyone initially thought it was just a flash in the pan, but it turned out that things unfolded exactly as predicted.

"I want to sign up!"

"Pick me! I'm strong! I used to work as a bricklayer for Lord Zhao! I know the rules of the three-shift system! I fall asleep incredibly fast! I can fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow!"

"Chief Engineer Ding, choose me! I don't want money! Just let me get into the factory and let me eat one of those big pot stews again!"

Several middle-aged women squeezed in, waving spoons:

"Lord Ding, are you still hiring cooks? Even Lord Zhao praised the 'stew' we made at Tongquetai back then! He said it tasted just like home!"

Ding Yi's heart melted as she looked at this group of fanatical "Zhao Yu followers".

It turns out that the older brother had planned it all along.

He was not only repairing buildings, but also repairing people's hearts.

They enshrined the working class of the Han Dynasty in the Jian'an Constitution very early on.

"I'll take them all, as many as you want."

Three thousand acres of land, enough to accommodate as many people as you want!

"Money is just a number."

"We'll show the Prime Minister what the speed of the Zhao family army really means!"

……

And so it was. Ye City, in the northern suburbs.

The original desolate wilderness underwent a dramatic transformation in just half a month.

To anyone in Yecheng, it was like watching a magic trick they couldn't understand.

The recruited workers leveled the wasteland like ants.

Then, using a type of red brick, they built square houses.

There are no carved beams and painted rafters, no flying eaves and brackets, and no regard for feng shui.

There were only straight walls and towering, terrifyingly tall chimneys.

On the open ground, a fire burns day and night.

Cao Cao also attached great importance to the development of this industrial zone.

This was his "second arsenal," on which he had placed high hopes.

Previously, Zhao Yu was far away at the Ice Crystal Pavilion, so it was fine since he couldn't interfere.

This time, since the project is starting right at my doorstep, I naturally have to keep an eye on it myself.

After all, Ding Yi had made grand promises: "An iron torrent."

In order to keep an eye on the early completion of this batch of "weapons".

Cao Cao specially sent Xu Chu to act as the "supervisor".

this day,

Xu Chu, carrying the long-dulled broadsword upside down, ran excitedly to find Ding Yi.

"Ding Caizi! Chief Engineer Ding!"

"I heard the stove has been lit?"

"Where's my knife? The Prime Minister said you can produce that 'ice crystal steel' here that can cut through iron like mud!"

"Get me one quick! I've wanted to replace this crappy knife for ages! It's a struggle even to chop off a head!"

Ding Yi was directing the workers to pour limestone into the rotary kiln.

Hearing this, he awkwardly wiped away his sweat.

Well… Boss Cao did approve the land for steelmaking, but the eldest brother (Zhao Yu) gave him a strict order: