Chapter 57: Master Craftsman
It is still chilly in Luoyang in March.
There was an unremovable chill inside and outside the city. In addition to the influence of the weather, there was also the increasingly fierce conflict and struggle between the Ten Attendants and General He Jin.
It makes people panic.
Just after the Spring Festival, General He Jin moved Empress Dowager Dong to Hejian on the grounds that "Empress Dowager Dong was originally a concubine of a vassal state and it was not appropriate for her to live in the palace for a long time". At the same time, he sent imperial guards to surround the residence of General Dong Chong.
Dong Chong committed suicide in the back hall.
In February, He Jin secretly sent someone to poison Empress Dowager Dong to death at Hejian Post Station.
Without the support of Empress Dowager Dong, the Ten Eunuchs wanted to get rid of General He Jin in order to control Emperor Shao of Han and Empress He and preserve their wealth and glory.
Similarly, in order to completely kill the eunuchs, He Jin, under the ulterior motive of Yuan Shao, summoned heroes from all over the country, led the troops into the capital, and killed all the eunuchs.
From then on, the prelude to the rise of the princes began.
…
Luoyang, Chunxiang Restaurant.
Qin Mo, in his capacity as the governor of Liaodong, hosted a banquet for Du Ming, the chief architect of the Ministry of Works.
The Shaofu was similar to the Ministry of Works in later generations. The Chief Engineer was in charge of the civil engineering construction of palaces, ancestral temples, mausoleums, etc., and he had tens of thousands of skilled craftsmen under him.
If the Black Water Tribe wants to grow and develop, the first thing it needs to do is to bid farewell to its backward fishing and hunting lifestyle and turn to an agricultural civilization; and to develop agriculture, the first thing it needs to do is to create a safe place to live.
That is to build a city.
In order to build a city, in addition to building materials such as wood, stone, bricks and tiles, a group of skilled craftsmen are also needed.
The duty of the Shaofu is to build cities and palaces. It is no exaggeration to say that all the craftsmen needed by the Black Water Tribe can be found in the Shaofu, and they are all the elites among the elites.
It depends on how Qin Mo operates.
"Lord Qin, just tell me how many craftsmen you need." Du Ming thought Qin Mo wanted to renovate his house in Luoyang.
The political situation is in chaos right now. Du Ming, as the Chief Architect with a rank of two thousand stones, is second only to the Nine Ministers and equivalent to a provincial governor, but he is still worried all day long.
It is natural to try one's best to show goodwill to a provincial governor like Qin Mo who holds military power.
"I want two thousand people." Qin Mo lion opened his mouth.
He didn't say that these people would never come back after being taken away, otherwise, Du Ming would not even talk about it. Anyway, Dong Zhuo's rebellion was about to break out, and it would be a mess by then.
Who has time to take care of this?
Du Ming's face froze, and he was a little unhappy. "Master Qin, are you kidding?"
"Lord Du, why don't you take a look at my sincerity first." Qin Mo said as he took out three items: a storage bag, a handwritten copy of "Taiping Qingling Dao", and a bottle of Blood Explosion Pill.
When he took up the position the year before, Qin Mo had already paid in full for the Blood Explosion Pill that he had promised to Zhang Rang, thus settling the cause and effect between the two.
He would not do anything to take advantage of someone's misfortune or to betray his friend.
This bottle of Blood Explosion Pill is the only one left, and I have nowhere to use it, so I might as well trade it.
"What are these?" Du Ming was just a mortal and didn't know what they were.
Qin Mo introduced: "This is called a storage bag. It has its own space inside, and you can store and retrieve items at will."
"Is this the dimensional space that you aliens are talking about?" Du Ming asked in surprise.
"That's right!" Qin Mo nodded, "The most important thing is that this storage bag can also be used by adults." The storage bag is only related to a wisp of thought. With Qin Mo's assistance, it is not difficult to do.
"Really?" Du Ming's eyes sparkled.
If it was really so magical, he could have deposited his gold and silver in it just in case. Thinking further, even if it was something belonging to an official, he could have taken it away openly.
It’s a treasure.
"Close your eyes, sir." Qin Mo didn't waste any more words. Seeing is believing.
Du Ming suppressed his excitement and did as he was told.
Qin Mo put his hands together and pointed, locking onto Du Ming's soul with his consciousness. He used a secret technique to extract a wisp of Du Ming's thoughts and then bound them to the storage bag. It was done. "It's done."
"This...is it done now?" Du Ming was full of disbelief.
"You can try it, sir." Qin Mo said with a smile.
Du Ming was skeptical and tried to put the Blood Explosion Pill into his storage bag. Sure enough, it disappeared. After a thought, it appeared on the table again.
He wanted to try again, but was stopped by Qin Mo, who said, "My lord, you have not yet cultivated the great way of the soul, and your soul is fragile. You should not use it frequently. It is best not to use it more than three times a day."
"No wonder I feel a little dizzy." Du Ming was still excited.
Qin Mo added: "This volume of 'Taiping Qingling Dao' is the Dao technique practiced by Immortal Yu Ji. Although you do not have the aptitude to practice, you can pass it on to your descendants. There will be a day when your family will be revived."
"Taiping Dao?" Du Ming's face changed drastically. Thinking of Qin Mo's previous identity, he became even more uncertain and almost got up and left.
Qin Mo was stunned, then smiled bitterly, he had forgotten about this. If he had known this earlier, he would have copied the "Dunjia Heavenly Book".
"Your Excellency has misunderstood." Qin Mo had to patiently explain, "This Taoist technique has nothing to do with Zhang Jiao of the Yellow Turbans. It's just that both of them learned from the Nanhua Immortal."
"Besides, the Yellow Turbans have become a thing of the past, and you don't want to publicize it, my lord. Do you have any concerns?" Qin Mo said.
"so……"
Du Ming's expression relaxed a little, and after thinking about it, he realized that he was just being too sensitive.
There are also rumors in the court that the "Taiping Yaoshu" practiced by the bandit Zhang Jiao was obtained by Huangfu Song and presented to Your Majesty, but in the end nothing happened, right?
Thinking of this, my heart was burning with excitement.
Qin Mo finally picked up the pill and said, "When you are old and weak and have little energy, you can take this pill. It will definitely have a miraculous effect."
Du Ming was well-informed and whispered, "Is this the elixir that the master gave to Zhang Rang, the elixir that can restore youth?"
"That's right." Qin Mo nodded, "Is my sincerity sufficient?"
Du Ming's face was uncertain. Mobilizing two thousand craftsmen at once was risky even for him as a master craftsman. He might even have to make arrangements with everyone.
But Qin Mo's sincerity...
After a long while, Du Ming gritted his teeth, picked up the storage bag, put the Taoist magic and elixir into it, carefully put it in his arms, clasped his fists and said, " Since Lord Qin has asked, I will take a risk."
Qin Mo sneered.
He was not a fool. He had investigated in advance. Those craftsmen who were registered under the name of the Shaofu had been craftsmen for generations, the so-called artisan households, with a low status, and were at the disposal of Du Ming.
Besides, the political situation is chaotic right now, which is a good opportunity to fish in troubled waters.
Precisely because this matter was extremely practical, Qin Mo spent a huge price to get Du Ming: "I wonder if it would be convenient for you to purchase these supplies for me? I want to transport them all away." As he said that, he handed over a list of supplies.
In addition to regular food such as flour and rice, there are also military supplies such as tents, bows and crossbows.
"I'll pay the price." Qin Mo added.
When Du Ming heard Qin Mo was going to pay, he glanced at it casually and said domineeringly: "No problem, leave it to me." The Shaofu was in charge of money and materials, so this little thing was really nothing.
But asking Qin Mo to go purchasing is as difficult as ascending to heaven.
You can't go back to Liaodong to collect supplies and then go through a lot of trouble to transport them to Luoyang, right?
"Then I'll have to trouble you, sir." Qin Mo clasped his fists.
"Okay, okay." After this contact, Du Ming was no longer willing to look down on Qin Mo.
This person is so mysterious.
"Ten days, are they enough?" According to the course of history, He Jin was about to be killed by the Ten Eunuchs. Qin Mo was worried about chaos in Luoyang, so naturally the sooner the better.
"Lord Qin is in a hurry?" Du Ming frowned.
"Yes." Qin Mo's attitude was very firm. This signal must be received by Du Ming.
"Okay then, ten days is ten days." Du Ming agreed with gritted teeth.
After the business was settled, the two began to drink together and did not stop until late at night before they said goodbye and left.
Before leaving, Qin Mo said calmly : "My lord, let me remind you that I can take back the things I gave you, so please don't go back on your word." As he spoke, he stretched out his palm, and a ball of dancing flame appeared.
Qin Mo had personally experienced the character of the Eastern Han bureaucrats, so a warning was still necessary.
Du Ming's face twitched, he clasped his fists, and said solemnly: "I will not break my promise."
He also needs to have the courage...
