Chapter 203: Chapter 203

After she finished speaking, Commander Qian let out a cold laugh.

"Pei Shu’er, don’t push your luck. Reducing your sentence by ten years is already the most benevolent thing we could do."

General Zhao didn’t say much more, as it was indeed a generous reward.

"However, Mrs. Pei raised a valid point. For the materials this time, let’s use green bricks or stones. We can’t use rammed earth anymore."

Commander Qian was now worried that General Zhao might give the oversight job to Pei Shu’er, so he quickly spoke up.

"General, regarding the construction supervision of the city wall, why not let me handle it? Before being assigned to the frontier, I also worked at the Ministry of Industry."

Tang Zan said, "This city wall design was drawn by Pei Shu’er, so why not..."

As soon as he said this, all the commanders present opposed it.

"Ha, there’s no such precedent for letting a woman supervise. It’s never happened in the past dynasties."

"Talking strategy on paper is easy, but actual operation is difficult. Just because she draws well doesn’t mean she can build well."

Almost every commander present was against it.

Seeing this, General Zhao found it difficult to go against the collective opinion.

"Since that’s the case, Commander Qian, you shall supervise."

Commander Qian looked at Pei Shu’er triumphantly.

Pei Shu’er’s expression remained unchanged, maintaining her calm demeanor.

Tang Zan frowned and was about to speak when he saw Pei Shu’er glance at him and gently shake her head.

Tang Zan remained silent, respecting Pei Shu’er’s decision.

Yan Huan Yu felt resentment. Clearly, the blueprint was created by Pei Shu’er, yet it was ultimately snatched away by others.

However, with little influence, he was unable to change the situation.

Pei Shu’er smiled and said, "There are many key points in this city wall drawing that haven’t been mentioned. I wonder if Commander Qian would like to hear them?"

Upon hearing this, Commander Qian frowned, thinking that Pei Shu’er still wanted to seize the task.

"I’ve worked at the Ministry of Industry for so long, and you’re a convict, yet you want to teach me how to do my job?"

Pei Shu’er smiled and said nothing more.

She had kindly reminded them, so even if General Zhao was blamed later, it wouldn’t fall on her.

When the meeting ended, Commander Qian also spoke to General Zhao.

"General, I would like to start construction today."

After saying this, Commander Qian looked at Pei Shu’er with malice in his eyes.

"I just hope the people from the Deserted Mountain are ready, or else don’t blame me for being rude."

Pei Shu’er remained silent, but as everyone began to leave, she also headed outside.

She needed to quickly gather people from the Deserted Mountain.

In addition, General Zhao previously mentioned that the Deserted Mountain’s convicts must come, so both men and women were required.

Otherwise, if Commander Qian found out the women from the Deserted Mountain hadn’t come, who knows how he would torment them.

Tang Zan said, "I’ll escort you back."

Pei Shu’er was about to refuse, when she saw a few Dazi wandering outside the military camp.

Recalling her terrible fate after being captured by the enemy’s camp, her face changed, and she quickly nodded.

She didn’t want to encounter a certain death scenario at all.

The two of them rode horses back to the Deserted Mountain.

Over the past few days, Pei Shu’er had informed everyone at the Deserted Mountain early on to go to the Gulan Military Camp to build the city wall.

Everyone was always prepared and, after Pei Shu’er returned to call them, they packed their bags and were ready.

Then they lined up and left the Deserted Mountain with Pei Shu’er and the others.

Before leaving, Pei Shu’er instructed the people in the back of the mountain to take care of the Deserted Mountain and wait for their return.

Upon arriving at the Gulan Military Camp, the order they received was to keep out.

However, Pei Shu’er saw that the people from Yuhua Valley had already entered.

Commander Qian was also seen from afar approaching the convicts inside the military camp.

If she didn’t enter soon, the Deserted Mountain would be in trouble again.

Pei Shu’er tried to bribe the gatekeeper with silver coins to let them in, but he was unmoved.

He acted as if money was mere dirt to him.

Tang Zan coldly drew his Blood Red Sword, his eyes full of murderous intent, pressing the sword against the gatekeeper’s neck.

"So, will you let us in or not?"

Perhaps Lin Zhi’s reputation in the military camp was too fearsome, and the gatekeeper was trembling in fear at his gaze, shivering continuously.

However, he thought Lin Zhi wouldn’t dare act, after all, they all belonged to the same camp.

But Tang Zan’s sword cut toward the gatekeeper, and soon his neck was slashed open, blood flowing from the gash.

The gatekeeper’s face finally changed.

He realized that Lin Zhi was crazy enough to really take his life.

"Let them in, let them in, open the gate for them."

The people from the Deserted Mountain entered smoothly, and Pei Shu’er happened to see Commander Qian and others approaching.

Seeing them inside, he seemed slightly surprised, then glared harshly at the gatekeeper.

Pei Shu’er understood that this was a trick orchestrated by Commander Qian.

The purpose was to prevent them from entering and use it as a pretext to punish them.

Fortunately, Tang Zan was there. Otherwise, with her nature, she might have thought of using wit, which would have unnecessarily wasted a lot of time and eventually resulted in being scolded.

During the lineup, the people from the Deserted Mountain stood particularly well.

Even if Commander Qian wanted to cause trouble, he couldn’t find a single excuse, so he had to hold back.

After Commander Qian’s intimidation, the convicts realized that this rotund commander was not easy to deal with, and they gave up any thoughts of causing trouble.

Two hours later, Commander Qian finally finished speaking with lingering satisfaction and addressed everyone, "Now, this city wall shall start being constructed from here." Check latest chapters at novel-fire.ɴet

"Let’s first construct a brick kiln. Since the people from the Deserted Mountain can build it, they will take on the task."

The people from the Deserted Mountain had no objections, as they were indeed the only ones capable of building brick kilns.

They moved their numb feet and began gathering materials locally to build the first brick kiln, aiming to first produce a batch of quality bricks before building a proper brick kiln with them.

Commander Qian looked at the people from the Deserted Mountain and, frowning, said, "So many people gathering around one brick kiln; the efficiency is too low."

Tang Zan replied with a cold laugh, "Commander Qian, instead of saying that, why don’t you assign other convicts to tasks? This afternoon, only the people from the Deserted Mountain have been busy."

Pei Shu’er also felt that Commander Qian’s efficiency was too low. Even if the people from the Deserted Mountain could build brick kilns, the other convicts could always carry stones and serve dirt.

But there was none of that. Commander Qian simply refused to comply; he was deliberately trying to make things difficult for the people from the Deserted Mountain.

He didn’t even care about efficiency.

The people from the Deserted Mountain had to follow Commander Qian’s orders, building more brick kilns. The efficiency increased, but only they were doing the brick firing.

The other convicts watched indifferently.

And because there wasn’t enough manpower, several brick kilns were left unused.

Once the people from the third room finished firing the bricks, they would have to start building the city wall.

Pei Shu’er said, "Commander Qian, I’m afraid it’s inappropriate. These are just red bricks, and they’re not up to standard."

Commander Qian lashed his whip with a gleam of excitement in his eyes.

"Bring them here, arrest these Deserted Mountain convicts who are delaying work!"