Chapter 306: Joint Investigation
Chapter 306 -175: Joint Investigation
The Love Lock on my chest suddenly emanated a wave of warmth.
Zhao Zun instinctively lowered his head, only to see the circular Jade Pendant glowing softly, particularly striking under the shadow of the corrugated metal shelter.
Zhao Zun curled his lips into a slight smile.
The Love Lock hadn’t glowed for many days, and now it did. Was it because Han Lei was thinking of him too?
Zhao Zun’s slender fingers involuntarily caressed the pendant, its smooth and warm surface akin to the adorable and sweet face of that girl.
“Prince, are you thinking of the Princess Consort again?” Ma Zi happened to come up to the watchtower, smiling knowingly as he saw the situation.
Zhao Zun didn’t deny it, pressing the pendant gently into his palm.
It had been a month since Han Lei left Canzhou.
Xiao Zhengfei and the others had sent word by carrier pigeon upon reaching the Capital City, assuring that Han Lei was safe and no traces of the other seven dead soldiers were found there.
As long as the girl was safe, that was enough, but where was Han Lei now? Were they coming back soon?
“How goes the construction of the Prince Mansion in Qingshui County?” Zhao Zun suddenly inquired.
Ma Zi quickly answered, “Reporting to the Prince, we just received a carrier pigeon message from Sun Wenyuan saying the beams and columns of the main hall have been erected, and the craftsmen are carving the gallery eaves. At this rate, it will be completed by September.”
Zhao Zun nodded slightly, his gaze directed towards the Capital City.
Where the white clouds hung low, was the official road leading to the Capital. He imagined Han Lei returning, riding her sidecar motorcycle.
That girl would surely still be dressed in her neat casual athletic wear, and upon seeing him, she would flash that sweet yet sincere smile.
“Send a letter to Sun Wenyuan,” he instructed, caressing the Jade Pendant, “tell Sun Wenyuan to speed up. Inform him that this Prince is in a hurry to marry.”
“Hehe, understood! I’ll send the message right away,” Ma Zi responded crisply, displaying an expression of understanding, as he descended the watchtower to deliver the message.
As Zhao Zun’s most trusted aide, they understood what Zhao Zun was thinking, knowing that merely changing the title of Princess Consort wasn’t sufficient.
Only by holding an actual wedding would the Princess Consort truly be unable to escape.
Zhao Zun smiled lightly, standing with his hands behind his back, looking towards the distant fortress.
Now the fortress was completed, and the Prince Mansion was about to be finished, only waiting for the east wind.
For over a month, Yong’an City had transformed completely from a military stronghold.
The three-tiered artillery tower extended serrated into the distance, the moat surrounding the city was two zhang deep, and the gray-blue concrete walls shimmered with a metallic luster under the scorching sun.
Hundreds of craftsmen and tens of thousands of soldiers wore straw hats, lined up like a dragon, bustling under the scorching sun.
The deafening shouts and the clanging of metal tools interlaced as they proceeded with the final finishing work.
The Beiguan Fortress was primarily built to resist foreign invaders, hence it needed to be constructed first.
Once the fortresses in Beiguan Yong’an City and Ling’an City were fully completed, the craftsmen of the fourth and fifth construction teams would head to the passes in each county of Canzhou.
The construction teams would recruit laborers locally to build fortresses, in case the court ever sent troops to suppress Canzhou.
By then, all of Canzhou would be the first to become independent from the Da Jing Dynasty, closing its doors to develop itself and grow stronger.
Right under where Zhao Zun stood on the watchtower, a fleet of three-wheeled vehicles shuttled back and forth, transporting coal from the Yinshan Coal Mine to Yong’an City.
The Yin Mountain’s coal mine, rich in resources, had already adjusted its operating hours due to the hot weather, resting during the day and mining at night.
When Han Lei left Beiguan, she left enough vehicles here.
Zhao Zun and the trusted aides from Fufeng County all knew how to ride these three-wheeled vehicles.
They set up a transport team in Yong’an City, teaching the transport team personnel how to drive the vehicles, enabling them to transport the coal mined at night into Yong’an City during the day.
Zhao Zun cordoned off a large area of wasteland in Yong’an City to establish the bee-hive coal factory Han Lei had mentioned.
When Big Fatty arrived in Beiguan, Zhao Zun left him at the bee-hive coal factory to study the furnace according to the blueprint Han Lei provided.
When Big Fatty came to Beiguan, Han Lei was afraid of scaring him, so she didn’t purchase a finished bee-hive coal stove as a sample from the system, only giving him the blueprint to research independently.
In truth, the technology for the bee-hive coal stove wasn’t complex, much like building a stove. It was merely unfamiliar in this era, coupled with outdated tools, that made it seem a bit challenging.
Especially the fire door for controlling the heat size—enough to occupy Big Fatty for a while.
Zhao Zun had already planned it out, Big Fatty only needed to overcome the technological hurdle of the bee-hive coal stove.
The mass production process would be handed over to Zhang Shiyang and the craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry.