After a small episode passed, the empress and everyone soon came to the Ministry of Industry to embezzle the money originally used to purchase the so-called Longquan Spirit Stone and set up a camp for a group of laborers.

The laborers' tents were still rudimentary, except for a few changes of clothes and a large bedding shared by several people, except for long tables, benches, braziers, and the like.

Basically, there are no extra utensils except for things related to food and clothing.

Conditions are still quite rudimentary.

After all, the imperial court conscripted labor to let the people come to work, not to let them come and enjoy life, so it was naturally impossible for them to live like the inn outside.

Even if Lu Chen wanted to help them, he would not put the cart before the horse, but just make up for the treatment that the imperial court should give them, at least they would have to earn from their work.

So don't expect the tent to be any better.

But even so, the labor camp at this time is still the same as before.

If you look a little closely, you will find that the tent here is exceptionally strong, and no matter how the cold wind howls outside, there is not a trace of swaying, and compared with the camp tent that was blown down immediately when the wind was a little stronger, and the wind leaked everywhere, it was completely different.

And the inside of the camp tent was clean and tidy, and there was no bad smell from the camps that had been used for an unknown amount of time.

The clothes are washed every three days, and the bedding is no longer a thin layer, at least not like before, and can only rely on these old men to hold each other for warmth.

After coming to the camp, the empress walked directly to a bench, not disliking that this was a place for the laborers to eat and rest, and regardless of whether the surroundings were dirty or not, she sat down directly with her clothes.

"Lu Qing, and all of you, you all sit down too."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lu Chen nodded and sat directly at the head of the empress.

Naturally, no one dared to sit opposite the empress in another place, so Zhang Xuan and Wang Qi honestly found some benches nearby with Zhao Dahu and dozens of others who were assigned to this tent, and sat behind Lu Chen in turn.

Thousands of laborers, naturally, could not all be crammed into one tent.

After worshipping the empress, except for the current laborers in this tent, the other laborers went their own way.

"Tell me, how did you do that?"

The empress looked at the people behind Lu Chen, and a gentle smile was on her face.

"Why did you do nine hours a day before, and according to the original schedule, it would take a few days to complete, and Lu Qing's new charter reduced the working hours by half, it stands to reason that the progress of the project should be greatly affected, and even overdue, why did you finish it ahead of schedule?"

Lu Chen also turned sideways and looked at Zhao Dahu and the others, with obvious doubts and inquiries in his eyes.

He was also a little confused.

Sufficient food and normal work and rest, after the physical recovery and gratitude to him, the work efficiency will be improved, but according to their previous performance, or according to the previous human limit of the laborers, no matter how much they break out, it should not be so outrageous.

It was completed several days ahead of schedule.

Under the inquiring gaze of Lu Chen and the empress, the people did not speak immediately, but collectively looked at the nearest worker to Lu Chen, Zhao Dahu from Taihe County, where Lu Chen's fief was located.

Obviously, Zhao Dahu's position among them is not just that of an ordinary laborer.

At least at the level of a group leader.

Being watched by so many people, Zhao Dahu suddenly felt a little nervous.

After a while, he took a deep breath, and then said slowly: "Back to Your Majesty, the reason why we were able to complete it so quickly is actually all due to Lord Lu. ”

As he spoke, he was obviously illiterate, but he clearly said the regulations in the new charter formulated by Lu Chen, one after another, and while talking about the benefits of these regulations to them, his words were full of gratitude.

Ever since Lu Chen left Wuji Palace that day, almost all the laborers have begun to work desperately, even if those mediocre officials and evil officials don't supervise them much, none of them are lazy, not even a little slack.

Everyone wanted to work hard to repay Lu Chen's great kindness to them.

Even if it weren't for Lu Chen's strict rule that the working hours should not exceed four and a half hours, those little officials would inexplicably actively drive them out of the construction site as soon as they arrived, not letting them work, and they wouldn't even want to leave the construction site until they couldn't move.

No matter what, Lu Xianggong can't be held accountable for not completing the project on time, and a rare good official like Lu Xianggong deserves to be his duke Wandai and become a knight.

As long as Lu Xianggong is promoted and has always been in a high position, it will definitely benefit ordinary people like them.

All they can do for Lu Xianggong is to work hard and complete it as soon as possible.

So, with this in mind, almost everyone can't wait to go to work every day, even if there is no supervision, they will arrive at the construction site early, eat and toilet time as short as possible, and cherish every minute and every second of work.

Their abundant physical strength supports their high-intensity work, and almost all of them are pushing their limits every time they go to work.

Especially the craftsmen.

Lu Chen attaches great importance to the skilled labor, excellent to the craftsmen, in addition to the same basic treatment as ordinary farmers, but also pay additional wages to the workers, and also set up a reward and punishment system and performance system, the better the craftsman's craftsmanship, the more exquisite the things made, the more quantity, the more money he gets.

As a result, the craftsmen soon became more laborious than ordinary laborers.

All the people who were conscripted to labor worked together, and the construction of Wuji Palace soon came to an end.

After listening to Zhao Dahu's story, the empress gradually showed a look of clarity on her face after thinking about it for a while.

And she finally understood how clever Lu Chen's new set of regulations, which was extremely unscrupulous and naïve in the eyes of many people.

In fact, the reason is very simple.

If you want a horse to run, you can't let it go without grazing.

This truth is a matter of course for most monks, after all, if they don't give them benefits, why should these powerful beings work hard for your old Jiang family?

But not necessarily for the common people who are forced to work, or who are essentially prostituted laborers by the imperial court.

In the concept of many Great Xia courtiers, the common people should obey labor and work for the court without compensation.

Through the system of servitude, the imperial court was able to save a large amount of financial expenditure every year, and in any case, the laborers did not need to be paid for their work, but only needed to provide them with some rations.

But the empress was keenly aware that this was ostensibly an expense saving and had obvious benefits for the imperial court, but in the long run, it was not necessarily.

To achieve something, you have to give something.

On the surface, the imperial court did save a sum of money, but in fact, it was overdrawing the people's power as the foundation of a country, and the money and grain saved on the surface not only did not necessarily fall into the treasury, but may even be used to cause civil unrest due to excessive squeezing of the people's power, and then it was necessary to spend more money and grain to send troops to suppress it, and the gains outweighed the losses.

However, Lu Chen did the opposite of ordinary officials, not focusing on superficial interests, but focusing on the long-term.

Treat the people with kindness, give them the treatment they deserve, eliminate the dissatisfaction and resentment of the people, and at the same time, arouse their enthusiasm and let them spontaneously work for the court.

In this way, both the court and the people benefit, and those whose interests are damaged have become moths harmful to the country.

In an instant, the empress figured out the powerful relationship between this, and suddenly, the gaze that looked at Lu Chen became more and more reverent.

Break the routine, take a long-term view, and make many miraculous achievements

This is a real talent for the country

The most precious thing is that he is so faithful!

Lu Chen didn't pay much attention to the empress's increasingly strange eyes, and he didn't know what mess she was making up in her mind at this time.

Because the doubts in his heart have not been solved.

Lu Chen looked at Zhao Dahu and asked word by word, "Is that all?" ”

Being stared at by Lu Chen, Zhao Dahu was stunned at first, and after reacting, he hesitated for a moment, and then smiled bitterly.

"Lord Lu really knows everything, and he can't hide anything from you."

After a pause, he suddenly sighed lightly and said slowly: "As you expected, Lord Lu, there is actually another reason why we completed it so quickly. ”

(End of chapter)