Da Zaojun

Chapter 212 Major Infrastructure Project

After Song Wuji defeated the Five Evil Gods, the Five Evil Gods realized that they could not resist alone, so they gathered other evil gods and demons.

Knowing that Song Wuji was proficient in true fire, he was determined to find demons and evil gods who were not afraid of true fire to help him.

In his early years, he was the Five-Power God, a wanted figure in the Three Realms and Six Paths, and also knew many wanted demons.

After the great changes in the world, these wanted demons went their own way and established their own demon kingdoms. For a time, few were willing to help them, as taking down such a tough nut to crack would not necessarily bring them any benefits.

However, they encountered setbacks several times.

Meanwhile, Song Wuji had already begun the second phase of land reclamation and large-scale infrastructure construction.

Furthermore, without Song Wuji needing to explore personally, Chen Xiu and others led troops to clear out various villages and also discovered two ninth-grade secret realms.

One of the secret realms is related to snake demons [The Snake Catcher's Tale]. It is rich in venomous snakes and has some snake catchers, but the overall secret realm is not large and revolves around a mountain of venomous snakes.

This secret realm is disgusting. The venomous snakes are mostly mountain snakes and five-step snakes, which are highly venomous and ordinary antidotes are useless. When we were pulled out of the secret realm, the bite sites were ulcerated and swollen.

However, within five steps, there will surely be an antidote, and inside there is a snake medicine specifically for treating snake venom.

After the secret realm was breached, the secret realm token still ended up in the Lotus Platform of Humanity's Great Prosperity Realm.

This secret realm is suitable for medical research, but its core is not snakes and snake venom; the principles it demonstrates are not simple.

After being transformed into a law token, the law it represents is [Imperial Tribute]. The Imperial Tribute token actually represents "privilege". This token can label certain products as "tribute", causing their quality to change in a better direction, but the output may be lower and more people will be needed to take care of them.

Since ancient times, being designated as a tribute item has brought only unbearable suffering to the local people, not joy.

Song Wuji naturally wouldn't use this token.

The second secret realm is [Wolves in Arms], which is the secret realm where the wolf demon mother and son, who were previously under the tiger demon's command, were located. In this secret realm, the wolf mother had her front leg broken by a hunter's trap, and raised her son, who became the wolf king. He possessed cunning wisdom and used lies and rumors to make the hunters afraid to hunt, leading to the entire village being overrun by the wolf pack.

Even in the real world, the presence of the wolf demon turned the town into a ghost realm.

This secret realm is gloomy and terrifying, even more despairing than the Soul-Calling Secret Realm that Song Wuji experienced before.

It is said that beasts are capable of many tricks, but in this secret realm, the roles of hunter and prey are reversed several times. The villain, Langbei, cultivates the evil within his humanity and, guided by evil thoughts, causes the entire village to self-destruct, and the hunter is also brutally killed by Langbei.

However, the decree represented by this secret realm token is a decree of [education].

The teachings and regulations were not merely about reading and writing, but also about "changing the customs and morals of the people."

This token can consume luck to perform educational techniques on the people of the secret realm. When combined with the household decree, it enables the people of the secret realm to participate in the "ritual." Otherwise, the people of the secret realm can only rely on their own cultivation to grow, which is slower.

The snake catcher said that the secret realm also had the potential for a venomous snake breeding industry. However, the output of the wolf-and-jackal secret realm was much scarcer, with only materials from wolves. After the wolf pack was wiped out, only a mountain forest remained.

However, the fact that this secret realm can give wolves such cunning wisdom is quite extraordinary. The animals in it are all very intelligent, and their wisdom is more easily enlightened. Perhaps a school can be established in this secret realm in the future.

Fortunately, Song Wuji did not have to fight in either of these two secret realms. Although he lost some manpower, he gained valuable experience. It is foreseeable that in the future, teams specifically designed to explore secret realms will be formed, which are the so-called elite combat forces.

……

"These are the dogs and hawks you trained?"

Chen Xiu's eighth-rank demon-hunting archery has an added characteristic of searching mountains and caves, allowing him to steal sheep along the way, and also "lead a yellow dog on the left and hold a hawk on the right".

The "mountain-chasing dog" and "mountain-sitting eagle" being trained at this time are actually a wolf beast and a snow-white owl from the secret realm who are in cahoots.

However, judging from its imposing presence, it is also of the ninth rank.

"How about that? Isn't it impressive?"

Chen Xiu said, “Training these hounds is actually cheaper than training people. Moreover, these hounds all have demon-hunting characteristics. Once the number reaches a certain level, just a few demon-hunting archers can train dozens of such mountain-driving dogs and a good number of mountain eagles.”

"The Mountain Eagle can see the movements of demons, the Mountain Dog can surround and trap demons, and the Demon-Hunting Archer or Demon-Hunting Bowman only needs to deliver a fatal blow."

Song Wuji thought it sounded good, but right now, there was only one eighth-rank demon-hunting archer in the city, Chen Xiu. The number of ninth-rank demon-hunting archers and ninth-rank warriors was gradually increasing. Including other people of various professions who had reached a certain rank, there were almost three hundred ninth-rank experts in Taichang City. There were also thousands of those who had not reached a certain rank but could break through to the ninth rank at any time, but were just lacking the necessary materials.

Song Wuji said, "Your focus should still be on training the soldiers. There were only two hundred before, but now we want to expand to five hundred. In the future, there may be a thousand regular soldiers. I will have the craftsmen make the best weapons and armor for these people, and I hope you can pay attention to it."

Chen Xiu was surprised: "Where did the food come from? Where did the people come from? Those weapons and armor cannot be made in a short time. Even if the Tiger Fang Kingdom's secret realm were to produce at full capacity, there would still be few qualified blacksmiths and coppersmiths. Weapons of very poor quality would not be made for long. A ninth-grade bronze craftsman would need more than a month to forge a set of ninth-grade bronze armor, and at least three days to forge a ninth-grade weapon."

Song Wuji said, "Meaningless repetitive work can be given to mediocre apprentices, and the master can just master the key parts."

“That way you’ll never be able to train someone who can stand on his own,” Chen Xiu said. “In the Tiger Kingdom, there are currently 50 Tiger Slaves who know how to make bronze, four Rank 9 bronze craftsmen, and more than 20 second-rate blacksmith apprentices… They can only forge about five or six Rank 9 weapons a day, and forging armor would take at least half a month.”

"As for forging eighth-grade divine weapons, forget about it. We don't have any eighth-grade blacksmiths to perform the rituals. Much of the inherited knowledge is passed down from one person to another. The only ones who have eighth-grade rituals are those who build houses and city walls, and they were brought out from the vegetarian monks' secret realm." "For high-end weapons, come to me!" Song Wuji said, "When I have time, I will help you forge some weapons. Just prepare the materials."

Although Song Wuji is the Kitchen God, he also possesses the ability to refine magical artifacts, so forging divine weapons is not out of the question. Previously, in the illusion of the White Tiger Military Academy, Song Wuji had mastered some techniques for forging divine weapons. The Star Lord said that Song Wuji had already learned the [White Tiger Military Academy Divine Ghost Forging] martial arts hammer technique specifically for forging divine weapons.

Thinking of this, Song Wuji had a sudden inspiration: "That's right! The Tiger Fang Secret Realm has a close relationship with the White Tiger Star Lord. If we want to obtain the inheritance rituals related to blacksmithing and weapon forging, we can worship the Western White Tiger Star Lord!"

Even the [White Tiger Supervising Soldiers and Ghostly Forging] technique could be written down by Song Wuji and passed on to blacksmiths and weapon makers. Even if they couldn't master its essence and spirit in a short time, they would accumulate enough experience over time and eventually achieve a higher level.

Song Wuji immediately wrote down the secret manual: "Actually, it doesn't necessarily require specialized blacksmiths to learn it. Martial artists can also practice blacksmithing! Find a bronze craftsman and recruit apprentices in the city. This [White Tiger Supervisor of Soldiers and Ghostly Forging] technique can be taught to blacksmiths for free. When demons come, these blacksmiths can each have a big hammer and smash the skulls of these demons."

Chen Xiu immediately looked at the cultivation technique written by Song Wuji and exclaimed in amazement, "Just how many good things have you hidden away? Whether it's martial arts techniques, magic manuals, or supernatural abilities, is there anything I can learn?"

Song Wuji did have the cultivation method for the Fire Talisman Golden Elixir, but the Iron Pillar Palace had said that it was not allowed to be passed on to outsiders. As for the Three Treasures Golden Elixir cultivation method, Song Wuji also mastered it by accident.

As for supernatural powers, all of them were obtained through refinement, but with careful understanding, they can be broken down into some easy-to-learn spells.

However, some magical abilities and supernatural powers are unique to one's own combat system. These magical powers and treasures must be kept secret so that others have never seen or heard of them. Only then can one take them by surprise and win the battle. If they were all spread, it would be a disadvantage.

Although Song Wuji is willing to develop his skills, he may have to wait until his cultivation level is higher before passing on his supernatural abilities. Furthermore, he will not easily pass on some martial arts techniques, such as the White Tiger Instant Kill Slash and the other two styles, to others before they are phased out by his own family.

"Go to the secret realms more often. There may be spells or cultivation techniques in the treasure chests there. My supernatural powers and methods cannot be easily passed on unless you are willing to bow and kowtow three times and venerate me as your ancestor."

"That's it."

"If you have the energy to learn magic, you should learn some formations from Lin Fajing. Arranging troops and setting up formations is the right way."

Song Wuji righteously rejected Chen Xiu's proposal.

After sending him away, Lü Han returned shortly afterward, carrying with him all the government affairs that had been piling up for some time.

"Now, many people are starting to talk about marriage. The most important issue in marriage is housing. Although the outer city is under construction, the pace is too slow. Otherwise, it would be difficult to solve this problem."

“The disaster victims have always lived in communal beds and sheds, but now that the weather is getting hotter, that’s no longer possible.”

"In addition, several large clans that moved out to build villages also suffered from the demonic calamity. Although the Five Gods did not go for them, but went straight for Taichang City, they still suffered considerable losses. They hope to receive more support."

Song Wuji felt a headache listening to these government affairs. On the one hand, he felt that the population was too small and wanted to increase it. On the other hand, the population was now crammed into one city, making it too crowded.

"Instructor Lü, what do you suggest we do?"

“We can’t wait for us to plan and build for them; we have to directly grant them land for residential construction so they can build on their own.”

Lu Han suggested, "When the city wall was being built, brick kilns were constructed, but the bricks and stones were all enormous. In addition, the Hu Fang Kingdom also cut down a lot of timber. I suggest that we first grant a group of people land for building houses, and let them use their work points to exchange for these bricks and timber. We will just provide the blueprints, and let them build the rest themselves."

"In addition, those who cut down trees and quarry stones can be allowed to receive one out of every ten trees they cut, and one out of every ten stones they quarry, so that people with leisure time can participate in the large-scale infrastructure project."

Lu Han's suggestion was very practical, and Song Wuji nodded: "Let's do it that way! But be careful not to let them work for us during the day and for their own family at night. If they work around the clock like that, I'm afraid there will be problems."

“Then that’s settled. Starting today, everyone who participates in building the city wall can receive a large blue brick after finishing their work each day.” Song Wuji thought for a moment and said, “Let’s build the city wall first! Let’s concentrate our efforts on big things. But we can certainly allocate residential land in advance. Anyway, it’s already planned. Go find Lin Fajing. He promised to set up a feng shui formation here to gather vitality.”

Song Wuji continued, "Open another kiln and fire some smaller bricks. Collect more clay for future use. Each large blue brick weighs several hundred pounds and is not something an ordinary person can move. This large-scale infrastructure project is not just about this city wall and the residential buildings. There will also be official roads. Before, the official roads were just loess and lime roads, and the laws were not strong enough. In the future, we can build official roads like we built the Great Wall to suppress all evil forces."

“Villages and towns should also be established around each secret realm.”

"The population relocating from the secret realm also needs housing."

Song Wuji added, "If you want to do a good job, you must first have the right tools. Those who refine weapons and armor should also make sure that the tools and equipment are complete. Otherwise, relying solely on manual labor will be too costly."

“These are already being done,” Lu Han said. “But these tools are not just for blacksmiths, but also for carpenters. The carpenters in this vegetarian monk’s secret realm have already made many tools, more than the carpenters here.”

"Then promote him! Give him an important position."

Song Wuji quickly reviewed various government affairs, examined solutions, and then made decisions. For anything he didn't understand, he would ask Lü Han, and then inquire: "How is the education work going, Instructor Lü? Is the vegetarian retreat in the secret realm on track?"

"It's difficult. The ignorance of the people cannot be changed in a short time. Even if they are given land, they are still used to going to temples to worship. Many people even shave their heads to become monks. They either practice in temples or at home."

"Our anti-Buddhist campaign seems to have triggered a series of reactions. The celestial phenomena in the secret realm of the monks' almsgiving are becoming increasingly abnormal, and a plague is gradually spreading."

Song Wuji said, "Then let's move some of the people from the secret realm out, and let our Five Elements Minister of Agriculture go in, or make use of the toilet rats in the Cangzhong Secret Realm. Anyway, they have strong survival ability and reproduce quickly."

“Those who are disobedient will be sent to the Tiger Kingdom to mine, replacing the tiger slaves who have become free.”

"If there is a drought, I have a Water and Fire Banana Leaf Fan here. I only used the fire attribute before, but I can also use the water attribute, which is enough to bring down rain."

(End of this chapter)