Chapter 113: 113. Progress

chapter 113: 113. progress jia xu assured lie fan that it could be done, but he needed time as their reach in jing province and yang province were very small with the concentration on yang and qing province right now. lie fan told him that he had given him 1 and a half years to do it, as more than that would set back some of their navy plans. jia xu promised to not pass the deadline, jia xu and xun you can see that lie fan has an ambitious plan for their future navy. xun you promised to help, using his old contacts in luoyang to bring some shipwrights from there. lie fan agrees for him to do so, but under the condition that no one will know of this. lie fan: "then it's just that for now, this plan is to be kept secret from everyone. as for the resources needed to poach those shipwrights, jia xu you can take them from the serenity inn and dragon's fang tavern." jia xu: "yes my lord, but what if madam yu knows about this?" lie fan: "if she knows i will be the one who handles her, rest easy and just do it silently. by the way, jia xu i hope that you and chen deng can send the reports on our progress on the weaponry i gave to you last year." xun you: "weaponry my lord?" jia xu: "yes master xun you, before you agree to serve our lord, he gave to me and chen deng some schematics of advanced weaponry and saddle, i will show it to you when the reports come in." lie fan: "ah right, jia xu include xun you in this group. he is an expert on military things and maybe can give a new perspective." jia xu heeds lie fan's order and xun you is grateful to lie fam as he is trusted to be included in this top-secret project. he can see that lie fan truly likes to prepare for the future, he doesn't know how many steps he will take to his enemies in the future. jia xu and xun you then leave lie fan's office, it can be said that they are in a peaceful time but their work is increasing day by day but they never complain as this shows them that they have chosen the right path. lie fan stopped working and went back to the quarters where he stayed in the governor's castle, lie fan stayed here until his wedding was held because he was barred from meeting his future wives so why not just stay here until the wedding is held. lie fan changed to more common clothing if he ever decided to get down from his carriage, he and the others could hide themselves in the crowd. the night market project is very important to his economic plan for the future, if the trial in xiapi is a success then he can implement this in all of xu province which will make more money circulate in the market. lie fan left his quarters, accompanied by his bodyguards who also had changed their clothes, boarded his carriage, and drove towards his residence to meet up with mi zhu and wang lang. lie fan waited inside his carriage in front of his residence, now it was already 6 pm, and lie fan saw that the streets needed more light, they needed more lanterns or torches now that the night market would be held. lie fan ordered he, yi, telling him to go to the city guards' hq and told them to put more torches and or lanterns on the streets. they can buy or borrow he doesn't care, he wants at least people can be safe when they walk away from the night market back to their home. he yi rides his horse and goes towards the city guards hq, lie fan waited for 30 minutes before mi zhu and wang lang finally come. mi zhu and wang lang boarded his carriage, and together they go towards the market area. in the market, people are captivated by the night market. it can be said to be more crowded than in the morning, people can see new types of attractions and entertainment, and lie fan has sent some of the peddlers under his merchant caravan to sell new things. mask, cotton candy, and night market games from his past life. this is a chance for him to also collect money, and this also helps people to be attracted to visit the night market again in the future and be happy to spend his money. he only needs fireworks which can become his main attraction, if his people manage to make the gunpowder then everything is perfect for the night market, as for opposition to people stuck in their old ways he gives them some time to change or he will help them change personally. wang lang: "how do you think my lord? the night market now is full of people! from the number of people here now, looks like everyone is intrigued by our announcement and decided to come by!" mi zhu: "new types of attractions and snacks are also emerging, like this cotton candy my lord. i have tried some and this can become a very popular product! the main ingredient is sugar, and i have seen how they made it, it's very easy and simple." lie fan: "really? then in the future, if night markets can continue, i will bring my wives to try some. wang lang, the number of people is important but whether are they willing to spend money is more important. if they only visit and don't buy anything, we will receive less tax or commissions which means the amount of money circulating will not be as much as we want." wang lang listened to lie fan's words and give a shy smile, he doesn't understand the core purpose of this project which is making money. he only used the number of people and immediately determined that their project was a success. lie fan ordered his driver to circle the area, he wanted to see if there was any trouble. he sees his soldiers patrolling the area, which assures him of the security in the market. he wants to be the only controller of this big cake, he will eliminate thugs or mafia that dare to take a bite of this. after spending some time, lie fan decided to leave as there was nothing he needed to see anymore. mi zhu and wang lang get off from his carriage, as they have decided to stay in the night market until its closing time. lie fan returns to his quarters in the governor's room, cleans himself up, and takes a rest for today. the next morning, he woke up and after doing his morning routine he went to his office. lie fan sat down and began to read some of the reports on his desk when jia xu entered his office, jia xu gave him a scroll and when he opened it he saw that it was a report progress of some of the weaponry he had given to jia xu and chen deng. jia xu: "my lord as you can see in the report, the arched saddle and the chu-ko-nu have been successfully made. now it has entered the trial, our craftsmen are testing it to see if it's practical and if there is anything they need to change." lie fan: "good, if the trial period is over and the results are great, immediately order it to be mass-produced. they can improve the combat capability of our cavalries and archers, hmm? the gunpowder still needs some more time huh." jia xu: "yes my lord, we need more time as it's not easy to make it. we have invited some alchemists to help us produce it and we are a step closer every day to finding the right combination to create it, the schematics only tell us the ingredients, and no specific amount is told." lie fan: "it's okay, continue to experiment and find the right combination. are the ballista and counterweight trebuchet in progress? how long do i need to wait before i see it?" jia xu: "yes my lord, maybe in 3 to 4 months you can see the final product. the craftsmen said that they need to assemble each part delicately to ensure that it can work when they tested." lie fan: "good, the ballista can be put in our ships in the future improving its combat capability. let them also try putting it on the ships we have, and see if our ships can hold the weight." jia xu nodded and remembered it, he thought that lie fan's idea of putting ballistas on the ships was a good one as then their ship had its own weapon to attack or defend. after giving his reports, jia xu left lie fan's office to send lie fan's ideas to the craftsmen. lie fan sighs after jia xu leaves his office, he truly needs an advisor that was an expert on this. he then remembered liu ye, the genius engineer advisor under cao cao. he began to try to remember where liu ye was born, he was also part of the imperial family as he is a direct descendant of emperor guangwu via emperor guangwu's seventh son liu yan. as he can't remember, lie fan opened the book of knowledge and searched for liu ye's birthplace. it was recorded that he was born in shou county yang province in 167, his age is 19 years old this year and is fit to serve as an advisor to him. lie fan then closed the book of knowledge and put it back in his inventory, he rose from his seat and alongside his bodyguards left the governor's castle and went towards the army camp. there he met with chao bo who was the sub-leader of oriole, he wanted to send chao bo to meet with liu ye and his family. chao bo: "my lord! you come here looking for me, is there anything i can do for you?" lie fan: "chao bo, i have a mission for you, this mission requires your hidden identity. i want you to go to shou county in yang province and search for a young man named liu ye from the liu family. i want to invite you to come and serve as one of my advisors if he gives a condition, as long as it's doable you can do it." chao bo: "yes my lord! does master jia xu know about this?" lie fan: "no he doesn't know about this for now, i will tell him when the time is right don't worry. being some orioles alongside you as well, if he can relocate his family to xiapi even better!" chao bo: "yes my lord! i will go to shou county tonight after i informed the others that i have some personal assignment given by my lord so they will not search for me!" lie fan: "good! be careful on the way there chao bo, i don't want to lose you or trade your life so i can get liu ye." chao bo was touched by lie fan's words, he promised to do it carefully and not risk his life. lie fan and chao bo talk for a while, lie fan then takes his leave and returns to his quarters in the governor's castle. a month passed by in the blink of an eye, the night market project was successful and lie fan allowed it to be held every day for opposition lie fan coerced them to agree. lie fan now feels nervous, as in 3 days it will be his wedding to ying yue which is his first marriage in 2 lifetime. [at: sorry that the update is not on time! i was busy doing many things today and just got home then remembered that i haven't updated yet sorry!] ________________________ name: lie fan title: yellow heaven subjugator age: 18 years old (186 ad) level: 14 next level: 412.000 renown: 185 cultivation: yin yang separation (level 1) sp: 711.700 attribute points str: 567 vit: 267 agi: 273 int: 294 chr: 93 wis: 249 will: 197 atr points: 0