Dual Transmigration: Starting from being captured and brought to the Hehuan Sect!

"yes!

Both mines have sections of mountain roads that are too steep for oxcarts to climb, so the stones have to be carried by people, which is very inefficient.

There is also the water source. The nearest stream to the limestone mine is halfway up the mountain. It takes people half an hour to climb back and forth every day to fetch water. Once the kiln is lit, the water consumption will increase several times. The water source needs to be planned in advance.

In addition, manpower is tight. Most of the people recently recruited have been assigned to Zhang Tie's team to build barracks, and the mine is still short of thirty or forty laborers.

Lin Mo took the booklet and flipped through a few pages. Although the handwriting was ugly, the questions were listed in a clear and organized manner.

He returned the booklet to Liu Si:

"If the oxcart can't get up the road, we'll use a pulley system and a winch to hoist it down from the top of the mountain. I'll give you the equipment tomorrow."

For water, build a reservoir halfway up the mountain and pipe it down; that's faster than carrying it by hand. If all else fails, use a water pump!

Manpower is needed; a new batch of refugees will arrive tomorrow, and they will be given priority to the mines.

Keep an eye on things, and report any problems to me immediately.

Develop good habits: all construction progress, material consumption, and personnel attendance must be recorded. This will become Lianhai County's primary industrial data.

Lin Mo returned the booklet to Liu Si, then changed the subject.

"Your spouse has been gone for quite some time now, hasn't she? It's time to start thinking about your personal life."

Women from the refugee community should be proactive if suitable opportunities arise.

Liu Si was stunned for a moment, and then his old face, roughened by the sea breeze, blushed slightly, a rare occurrence.

He rubbed his hands together, chuckled twice, and nodded in agreement:

"Yes, sir."

Who doesn't want a warm home with a wife and kids?

Liu Si had been a bachelor for most of his life and thought that was how it would be. He never expected that the new master would not only provide him with food and pay, but also care about his personal life.

Lin Mo nodded without saying anything more.

Compared to Zhang Tie and Wang Laonian, who both have families and responsibilities, Liu Si is a bachelor who lives alone. As long as Lianhai County hasn't developed yet, it's not a problem. But once the port opens for trade and the mines produce iron, people will naturally set their sights on his capable henchmen. They'll offer him money and women, and use any means necessary.

With family members tied to this place, even if someone has wicked thoughts, they'd have to think twice.

"How's it going on your end?"

Lin Mo turned to Wang Laonian.

This tall, thin man was usually the quietest, but he was very efficient when it came to work. Lin Mo assigned him the task of constructing the early railway line.

Lianhai County has a very weak foundation, so everything has to be built from scratch. Transportation is the biggest bottleneck. It relies on ships at sea and can only rely on railways on land.

He planned three lines:

The first route is the ore transport line from the limestone mine to the workshop area. Although the drop from the mine to the foot of the mountain can be solved by a slide, there are still several miles from the foot of the mountain to the lime kiln, and relying solely on oxcarts is too inefficient.

The second route is from the iron ore mine to the smelter, which will be used as soon as the mine is opened.

The third line is a freight line from the port to the county's storage area. In the future, when the port's throughput increases, without railways and relying solely on manual labor, the cargo will block the entire road.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, the roadbed leading to the limestone mine has been cleared. All the weeds and rocks have been removed, and the foundation is being compacted."

According to the drawings you provided, the specifications and spacing of the sleepers are all marked. Once the foundation is compacted, we can begin laying the sleepers and rails.

Old Wang paused for a moment,

"This is the manpower..."

"If there's really not enough, we'll draw some people from the guard to fill in, and then replace them when the new refugees arrive."

Lin Mo waved his hand.

"A shortage of manpower is inevitable in the early stages of infrastructure construction. Just grit your teeth and overcome it. As the number of displaced people increases, things will naturally get better."

"Yes, sir!"

Old Wang clasped his hands in agreement.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Tie strode to Lin Mo's side, holding the walkie-talkie that Lin Mo had given him earlier.

He leaned close to Lin Mo's ear and whispered:

"My lord, the guards at the city gate just reported that Commander Sun Can has entered the city with thirteen cavalrymen and is heading straight for our county government office."

Lin Mo nodded.

The other party, Wang, is the son-in-law of a wealthy man, and Zheng San is his superior.

He killed his father-in-law yesterday, and today his son-in-law comes knocking on his door. Looks like he's henpecked.

However, since the other side only brought thirteen people, things are much easier. We can just leave them all behind if we disagree!

"Let's go and meet this Commander Sun."

Lin Mo straightened his collar and, leading Zhang Tie and two guards, walked leisurely toward the front courtyard of the county government office.

As they passed through the moon gate, they could see a group of soldiers in armor standing in the open space in front of the county government's main hall. The man in the lead was tall and strong, with a square face and a broad forehead. He had a standard military knife at his waist, and his armor was a grade better than the soldiers behind him. His breastplate was polished to a shine. He was Sun Can, the commander of the Western Thousand-Household Garrison.

Thirteen guards stood in a row behind him, each holding a sword hilt, their eyes scanning the dilapidated county government office with hostility.

When Sun Can saw Lin Mo come out from the back hall, he skipped even the basic greeting and blurted out:

"Magistrate Lin, I have received intelligence that there are many suspicious circumstances surrounding the plague outbreak at the residence of the wealthy Wang in Hezhou Prefecture."

My father-in-law and his entire family of 108 people died suddenly, murdered by evildoers! Today, I have brought a military doctor with me to personally examine the bodies.

Lin Mo sneered inwardly.

A tip? Your tip is that Zheng San and his gang didn't go back to report, and you're feeling uneasy.

Sun Can never mentioned Zheng San's matter, which shows that he dared not admit in front of so many people that he had sent people to pretend to be pirates to attack the county government.

Both sides have billboards that can't be put on the table, so let's see who loses their temper first.

Lin Mo stepped aside to make way for him, his expression so indifferent that it revealed no emotion whatsoever.

"The matter of the plague is of great importance. Since Commander Sun has brought a military doctor, he can serve as a witness for this county. Please."

Sun Can snorted coldly, waved his hand, and led his men straight towards the Prince's Mansion in the west of the city.

The seal on the gate of Wang Yuanwai's manor was still affixed, and two guards stood outside. Only when Lin Mo personally led his men over did they tear off the seal and push open the gate.

Everything in the courtyard remained exactly as it was on the night of the incident; the corpses lay scattered and stiff, and a faint smell of bitter almonds lingered in the air.

The military doctor was an old man with a white beard. He squatted down tremblingly, carrying a medicine box, and used a silver needle to probe the throat. He then used a silver knife to cut open the stomach sac to take a sample. He stirred the sample a few times with the silver needle. The needle tip did not turn black, thus ruling out arsenic and several common poisons.

He examined his eyelids and nail color, his brows furrowing more and more as he checked.

He had spent most of his life as a military doctor and had seen more dead people than living ones, but he had never seen the state of death of the corpse in front of him before.

The deceased's face was peaceful, with no signs of struggle, suggesting that he was not strangled or constricted.

There were no knife or sword wounds on his body, and he did not die from violence.

The pupils didn't constrict like pinpoints, so it wasn't due to being poisoned by datura or anything like that.

Everyone seems to be doing the same thing before they die: looking up.

The bizarre way he died sent chills down his spine. He instinctively looked up at the sky, and after confirming that there was nothing there, he stood up and whispered a few words in Sun Can's ear.

Sun Can's face visibly darkened. He abruptly turned to stare at Lin Mo, his tone no longer the sarcastic interrogation of before, but a blatant threat:

"These people did not die from the plague at all, but were poisoned."

Lin Mo, explain to me clearly how so many people died.

If you can't explain yourself, I'll take you back to the military camp today and subject you to severe torture!