Chapter 1336: Building Walls

Chapter 1322: Building Walls

This intelligence was invaluable to the current Yao Kingdom, especially to King Yao, who was struggling to figure out how to deal with Qingyang.

Fan Shuang didn't doubt the veracity of this news. Firstly, it made perfect sense. Otherwise, how could He Lingchuan, a newcomer to a foreign land, have quickly established himself and developed so rapidly within just two years without strong external support? Secondly, the information wasn't hard to verify; they only needed to send someone to Bladeport to inquire. Unlike other small nations on the Blinggold Plains, the Yao Kingdom also had merchant caravans traveling worldwide.

He Lingchuan, seeing that the time was right, changed the subject again. “By the way,” he said, “my caravan is returning in seven days. This time, there are many empty carts, so we can conveniently transport some bamboo cloth back.”

Bamboo cloth wasn't valuable; it could only be transported as an afterthought.

Fan Shuang readily agreed to such a minor matter, promising delivery within four days.

He Lingchuan rubbed his hands again. “Speaking of which,” he began, “the bamboo cloth sample you gave me last time had a Yao royal crest on it. At the time, I thought it looked familiar but couldn't recall where I'd seen it. It wasn't until I returned to the Yangshan Archipelago that I remembered—”

“Oh?” Fan Shuang picked up a piece of braised lamb and casually asked, “Where did you see it?”

“More than two years ago, I had just purchased the Yangshan Archipelago and began exploring the nearby waters. My subordinates salvaged some shipwreck remains from the bay, among which was a set of exquisite armor, seemingly for ceremonial use or worn only for important occasions. This very crest was engraved on that armor.”

Armor with the Yao royal crest? Fan Shuang finally paid attention. “Did you bring the armor with you?” he asked.

“I did,” He Lingchuan replied. He took out the complete set of armor from his storage ring and placed it on a nearby chair. Then he pointed to the crest on one of the plates. “I wasn't mistaken, was I?”

Fan Shuang examined it closely and nodded after a while. “It is indeed the royal crest,” he confirmed. “Strange, how did it end up in the waters around Yangshan?”

“The waters off the Yangshan Archipelago are prone to hurricanes and sea monsters, and in the past, there was a persistent malevolent aura, leading to countless shipwrecks,” He Lingchuan explained. “Among the wrecks we've uncovered are even ancient vessels from five or six hundred years ago.”

The underwater conditions in the Yangshan waters are exceptionally complex. Even with the assistance of the Yin Viper, the salvage operation for shipwrecks around the archipelago hasn't concluded yet.

Fan Shuang said gravely, “May I take this armor back to present to the royal family?”

“Of course,” He Lingchuan replied. Why else would he have specifically brought this armor across the vast ocean? He reached to the side, and a beautifully crafted box appeared on the floor, startling Fan Shuang. “When my subordinates discovered the armor, it was already inside this box,” he explained.

They later discovered that the box lid also bore the royal crest.

Fan Shuang quickly summoned his attendants, who carried away the armor and the box. Only then did he raise a toast to He Lingchuan in gratitude, after which they discussed bilateral trade, occasionally interspersed with interesting anecdotes about Lingxu City.

He Lingchuan casually asked, “I remember a Huang... Huang someone, who was often with you in Lingxu City. Was he also a Yao person?”

“Good memory. Huang Shen.”

“Oh, right. How is he doing lately? Has he returned to the Yao Kingdom as well?”

“He's still in Lingxu City.”

He Lingchuan uttered a prolonged sound of surprise. “How could he remain in Lingxu?”

The incident at the Heavenly Palace that year led Lingxu City to expel a large number of foreigners within just four months. He Lingchuan heard that Lingxu Imperial Academy suddenly lost 20% of its population. Not only students, but even foreign teachers were driven out of Lingxu City.

“Firstly, he is a Yao national,” Fan Shuang said with a smile. “Lingxu City expelled outsiders, but that didn't include us Yao people. The normal lives of most Yao people in Lingxu City were not significantly affected.”

He Lingchuan looked enlightened. It seemed Beiga still granted some preferential treatment to its allies.

“Secondly,” Fan Shuang continued, “Huang Shen studied palace construction in Lingxu City and had participated in numerous building projects before. That's why Lingxu City kept him to build city walls.”

“City walls?” He Lingchuan sighed at length. “I recall back then, Lingxu City had no need for city walls.”

At least not before he left.

He remembered the first time he gazed upon Lingxu City; Bai Ziqi, who was beside him, had said that Lingxu City didn't need city walls.

Because enemies couldn't reach it at all.

He Lingchuan had done a lot of business with Beiga over the past two years, and had continuously sent many people to Lingxu City to gather various information. He naturally knew that Lingxu City had officially started its wall-building project half a year after the Heavenly Palace incident.

The reason for the long delay in starting construction was due to incessant arguments within the Lingxu Royal Court. One faction believed that building walls would show weakness to the enemy, making the world think Beiga was no longer strong and confident. The other faction argued that with the increasingly severe war situation, building practical walls was necessary to intercept such attacks and enhance the sense of security for Lingxu's people.

This matter sparked a vigorous debate in Lingxu City, with its intensity even surpassing the public's attention on the war against Mou.

How could a local war thousands of miles away be more important than the safety of Lingxu citizens themselves?

Now that Lingxu City had walls, it indicated that the pragmatic faction had ultimately won the argument.

“Indeed, Lingxu City never had walls before,” Fan Shuang chuckled. “I heard that if Lingxu City was going to build walls, they intended to construct the greatest city walls in the world.”

“The greatest in the world?” He Lingchuan mused. “Even if you adorn a fig leaf and draw maps on it, does it stop being a fig leaf? So, how long will this wall take to build?”

“A month or so ago, Huang Shen complained in a letter that just as the foundations for the city walls were almost laid, the authorities suddenly changed their minds, wanting to solve the internal flooding problem at the same time, so everything had to be redesigned!”

“Lingxu City also has internal flooding?”

“Over the past three hundred years, the eastern and southern parts have flooded a few times,” Fan Shuang replied. “This time, they're reportedly addressing it concurrently.”

He Lingchuan chuckled, “Won't that make the project even larger?”

“And then,” Fan Shuang continued, “the city walls will incorporate at least dozens of formations to ensure they can withstand artillery fire and internal sabotage. Beyond sturdiness, they must also be aesthetically pleasing. On the inner side of the walls, master craftsmen are carving bas-reliefs of 108 divine statues, each over five *zhang* in height. The walls will have internal layers, checkpoints, and defensive stone formations. The top of the wall must be wide enough for five carriages to drive abreast, facilitating the transport of troops, provisions, and so on.”

Wine loosens the tongue, and many words lead to slips. Fan Shuang had drunk a good deal, and his tongue was loosened. “He uses too many technical terms; I can't remember them all,” he confessed. “But from what I understand, this wall will take a very, very long time to build.”

He Lingchuan toasted him again. “Lingxu City hasn't undertaken a project of this scale in a long time, has it?”

“Haha, indeed!” Fan Shuang replied. Lingxu City had been relying on the ancient foundations left by the Immortal Sect, and its expansion had stopped two hundred years ago. In other words, Lingxu City's outline was largely the same as it is now two centuries ago; since then, they had only carried out renovations and maintenance on the existing structures, without undertaking any new, colossal projects.

“Even minor adjustments cost mountains of silver,” Fan Shuang said, rubbing his fingertips together. “But Beiga isn't short on money. Plenty for everyone to earn, you know.”