A few days later, Dong Zhuo was buried.
However, he was buried in a cemetery; Lu Ming's decree forbade burial in the ground…
Furthermore, he had trained Taoist priests preach, mainly in villages and remote areas, to spread Lu Ming's own glorious achievements and provide spiritual solace to the poor.
Legends of demons and monsters were very popular…
And as seen from the Yu Ji incident, the people were very receptive to this.
Lu Ming had received news a few days earlier that Sun Ce in Jiangdong had died suddenly from an assassination attempt.
Before this, he had killed Yu Ji, a highly respected figure in the region.
Yu Ji was praised highly even by Jiangdong officials, who seemed to follow his lead blindly.
This instilled fear in Sun Ce, a fear of being overthrown, so he found a pretext to kill him.
If you can't beat them, join them—that's a very practical approach.
If it were someone else, they would probably just feel a sense of unease and need to strengthen their security. However, Lu Ming was different. He saw some things that he could use to his advantage.
With Dong Zhuo's burial, Li Ru and his men officially led their troops on a campaign to deal with the Wuhuan and Xianbei.
Even Li Ru, the cunning strategist, couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat after speaking with Jia Xu. It seemed his thoughts and intentions couldn't escape the Prime Minister's eyes.
Jia Xu's persuasion convinced Li Ru to willingly serve Lu Ming.
A month later, the road from Chang'an to Tianshui Xiliang was basically completed.
This road used local dirt roads.
In an era without heavy trucks, simple cement roads were sufficient, making construction quite convenient.
Furthermore, building kilns was not difficult, and they could be connected to boilers via special pipes. Adding fuel to the boilers eliminated the hassle of individual operations, greatly improving efficiency.
Leaving Chang'an, Lu Ming took Dong Bai, Diao Chan, and Zhu Rong with him this time.
This trip was to select a suitable location and inspect the reservoir construction.
The reservoir's construction required reinforced concrete, which involved specialized knowledge.
Without reinforced concrete,
it would be easily excavated, and if the accumulated water was sufficient, it could cause a flood.
That's what water attacks are like; Cao Cao used a water siege to besiege Xiapi.
Zhu Rong, riding her warhorse, occasionally touched her lower abdomen, sighing slightly.
Lu Ming rode alongside her, watching the southern beauty's movements, and couldn't help but smile. "Don't sigh. You'll have children eventually.
You are my wife. After you marry me, I will treat you equally.
When we have time, I'll take you back to the south for a visit."
*Kiss!*
"Thank you, my husband!"
Zhu Rong boldly kissed Lu Ming on the cheek, etiquette being superfluous to her.
If you like someone, act bravely; what's the point of being coy?
It must be said that Zhu Rong's boldness was quite refreshing to Lu Ming. Every woman had distinct characteristics, and that was what he liked.
Lu Ming knew why Zhu Rong was sighing; it was because Yang Yuhuan and her three sisters, including their mother, were all pregnant.
They had all become pregnant by Lu Ming. Any woman of childbearing age could become pregnant after being with Lu Ming for a month.
Therefore, Yang Yuhuan and the others becoming pregnant was not surprising. Even mature women like Grandmother Jia could become pregnant; they were so young, it was nothing difficult for them.
Diao Chan followed behind with a smile, also riding a horse.
She had been brought along purely to be his concubine.
Lu Ming didn't know how beautiful the Four Beauties were, but he knew enough about Diao Chan and Yang Yuhuan.
Yang Yuhuan possessed a voluptuous, sensual beauty…
Diao Chan, on the other hand, exuded a pure yet alluring charm, a natural, captivating seduction—a seductive temptress!
After traveling for several days, they finally arrived at the reservoir construction site.
The person in charge here was none other than Deng Ai, a future general and Lu Ming's adopted son.
Even disregarding Deng Ai's future achievements, consideration had to be given to his mother, Hu Zhen.
Lu Ming always promoted loyal and capable subordinates.
Because of the good food and clothing, Deng Ai had grown quite robust.
He approached with a group of minor officials, bowing to Lu Ming, "Your subordinate Deng Ai greets Your Highness and the Princesses!"
Zhu Rong and the others simply nodded, accepting the greeting with a sense of entitlement, their veils covering their faces.
Dong Bai, however, was somewhat embarrassed. She was Lu Ming's niece, yet she had been raped by him and made a princess—it was utterly shameful.
But whenever she went to the girls' academy and saw her classmates admiring their uncle Lu Ming, she felt a sense of pride, a wife's vanity stemming from her husband's abilities!
"Alright, Judge, let's go check out the construction site.
Zhu Rong, you take the men and set up camp. Take a rest first."
After giving these instructions, Lu Ming took Deng Ai to the construction site. He wanted to take care of business first, then enjoy himself.
Upon arriving at the construction site, they saw a young man directing the work, treating the workers like an army.
Lu Ming watched from the sidelines and noticed that the young man had organized the workers into small teams, assigning tasks in an orderly manner.
Such methods weren't exactly amazing; it was something only someone from a military background could do.
"Who is that?"
Lu Ming put his hands behind his back, glanced at the map, and saw no danger. Deng Ai, usually stern and unsmiling, broke into a rare smile and produced a small booklet.
"This is Jiang Wei, Jiang Boyue of Tianshui. I discovered a prodigy while building roads in Tianshui. He seemed promising, so I recommended him to the academy. He's here for his practical training now."
Practical training was something only universities and vocational schools in later generations had, and Lu Ming had brought it along.
His practical training emphasized efficiency. Learning is endless; traveling ten thousand miles is worse than reading ten thousand books.
Only by applying what he learned could he achieve results.
He didn't need those who only spouted empty literary nonsense, nor did he need those bureaucrats.
What he needed were efficient people. He was long-lived; living for thousands of years wouldn't be a problem.
Although he would pass the throne to his daughter, he still needed to manage his kingdom well. After unifying the land, it would become an empire.
Generation after generation, serving him.
His daughter's daughter was still his daughter—that was his ultimate goal!