IDWBE -Chapter 47 If You Want to Get Rich, Build Roads First

Of course, these people were also quite good at digging kilns and firing bricks.

All they wanted was to endure this so-called “labor reform period,” something they had never even heard of before, so that they could finish it as soon as possible and return home.

As for escaping—where could they run?

When they were just reaching the age of dreaming about “a good man should roam the world,” their parents had already told them that they were neither registered as civilian households, military households, nor artisan households. They had no household registration slips.

Without household registration, there were no travel permits. No matter how vast the world was, there was nowhere for them to go.

They were people of Sanhe in life, and ghosts of Sanhe in death.

No matter how fierce or arrogant they had been before, now that they had been caught—and even their family backgrounds had been thoroughly investigated by the prince’s guards—it was better to behave obediently.

Most importantly, here they could eat their fill.

There was simply no need to run.

The two palace guards watching them were practically just for show.

“If you want to get rich, you still have to build roads,” Lin Yi said as he came down from the riverbank, shaking the mud off his shoes. “If the roads aren’t open, people can’t come in, and even if you have good goods, they can’t go out. Then you’ll be poor for a lifetime, with no chance of turning things around.”

“Your Highness speaks wisely,” Bian Jing said with a flattering smile, “but the cost would be enormous.”

“No matter what, we must build them,” Lin Yi said without hesitation. “Start from Baiyun City and gradually extend outward. Didn’t you say lime and clay work well together? Then use lime-clay to pave the roads.”

This was essentially the simplest, most primitive way of making cement.

“Yes, Your Highness’s method is ingenious; it will save a great deal of money,” Bian Jing nodded. “But where in the city should we start?”

“In the city?” Lin Yi snorted. “Are you crazy, or do you think I’m crazy?”

“Then what does Your Highness mean?” Bian Jing asked, puzzled.

“Of course we start from my residence,” Lin Yi said matter-of-factly.

The city’s layout was chaotic, with illegal structures everywhere and narrow streets. There was no point in repairing it. To widen the roads would mean demolition.

And that raised a question: Who would pay the compensation?

Even if he had the money, he wouldn’t spend it—let alone now, when he had none.

“I understand,” Bian Jing said. “Then we’ll start from Your Highness’s residence, pass through the city, and connect to the northern highway.”

Lin Yi shook his head and sighed. “You still don’t understand. That old city—let it be abandoned. In the future, I will build a new city along the road by my residence.”

After thinking it over, Bian Jing nodded. “Your Highness’s idea is excellent.”

Lin Yi continued, “The new road will bypass the old city. In the future, anyone who isn’t a fool will build houses along the new road. The new city will naturally gather people.”

Then he turned to Xie Zan. “Lord Xie, I have something to discuss with you.”

Xie Zan bowed. “Your subordinate is here. Please give your orders.”

“Starting immediately,” Lin Yi said, “you and the other elders should discuss how to conduct a census of household registrations, compile them into records, and organize them into maps. Don’t let petty criminals mix in. My life is quite valuable.”

Xie Zan and the others froze for a moment, then exchanged glances.

Finally Xie Zan bowed again. “Your subordinate accepts the order. We can organize one hundred households into a unit and appoint a headman… but the household certificates—”

Lin Yi smiled. “Issue each household a wooden token with a special mark as identification. Whether other places recognize it is none of my concern. In Sanhe, as long as I recognize it, that’s enough.”

“Your Highness is wise,” Xie Zan said, unable to find any argument against it.

Lin Yi continued, “Also arrange for people to measure the farmland. Announce that no one may arbitrarily clear land, occupy fields, or build houses, to prevent lawless people from seizing my private property. From now on, any transaction of land or houses not stamped with the Prince of He’s seal—I will not recognize.”

“Your Highness, this may…” Xie Zan and the others were stunned.

“What are you afraid of?” Lin Yi said indifferently. “Public resentment? Just go ahead and measure the land. As for transactions, if you can’t control them, I won’t blame you.”

Sanhe was sparsely populated, with land in abundance. For now, he had no need to make detailed land plans.

He was simply asserting his presence—letting everyone know who the true master of Baiyun City and king of Sanhe was.

“Your Highness is wise,” everyone said in unison.

Under Lin Yi’s repeated urging, the craftsmen building the Prince of He’s residence worked day and night. By the end of the month, they finally completed a main hall atop a platform over three meters high.

Two side rooms were still being walled up.

The main hall was empty, with no carvings or decorations. The walls were whitewashed with lime, and the floor was paved with stone slabs.

The most impressive part was the surrounding wall. Painted red with a mixture of rust and other pigments, it enclosed six hundred mu of land.

From the outside, it looked exactly like the residence of imperial nobility.

Lin Yi looked at the grand red-lacquered gate and couldn’t help laughing bitterly.

The phrase “gilded on the outside, rotten on the inside” fit perfectly.

Still, it was far better than the shabby house at the military command office where he had lived before.

The road extending from the residence had already been built for about three li. Many residents of Baiyun City would travel far just to see the novelty.

Often, before the cement had dried, they would step on it, leaving footprints everywhere. Because of this, Bian Jing had to assign people to guard the road.

By the time the road bypassed Baiyun City and stretched toward Baiyun Mountain, it was already late October.

Meanwhile, sixteen large rooms of the Prince of He’s residence had been completed.

Lin Yi moved in with the household and instructed Bian Jing to rebuild the military command office, a school, and the medical clinic he had promised Hu Shilu.

The eight old men wept with joy.

As the weather gradually turned colder, there was still no news from Shen Chu, who had gone to search for sea bandits.

Lin Yi asked several times a day whether Shen Chu had returned.

Mingyue comforted him. “Your Highness, rest assured. Commander Shen is a seventh-rank martial artist. Few people in Sanhe are his match.”

Lin Yi laughed. “So that means there are still people who could beat him so badly he wouldn’t recognize his own parents. But he probably won’t be that unlucky.”

Since moving into the new residence, he felt refreshed and in high spirits.

Whenever possible, he tried to think positively.

Stretching lazily, he walked along the stone path to the backyard, where Wang Qingbang was raising carrier pigeons for him.

Considering the inconvenience of correspondence with Ankang in the future, Lin Yi had brought more than thirty pigeons before coming to Sanhe. But because of the long journey and poor care, seven or eight had died.

Unexpectedly, Wang Qingbang—once a Minister of Personnel—turned out to be highly skilled at raising pigeons.

After taking over, he had restored them to excellent condition.

“This commoner greets Your Highness,” Wang Qingbang said, about to kneel.

“We’ve been together so long—you already know my temperament. There’s no need for such formality,” Lin Yi said, quickly helping him up with a smile. “It’s really unnecessary.”

“Your Highness shows me great favor. I cannot neglect proper etiquette,” Wang Qingbang replied.

“Hey, what’s wrong with your eye?” Lin Yi asked in alarm, noticing that Wang Qingbang’s shriveled left eye was red and swollen.

“It’s nothing serious,” Wang Qingbang said with a smile. “Doctor Hu examined it this morning—said it was some kind of insect bite.”

After speaking, he whistled. A flock of pigeons descended from the sky, scrambling to land on his outstretched arms.

Lin Yi stared in amazement.