Chapter 1 Tan's

The Tan family members who returned to Jiangshan Stronghold seemed like completely different people. Ye Tao finally understood this point. He arrived at Jiangshan Stronghold five days before the wedding, received etiquette training, understood the entire wedding ceremony, and then... the wedding arrived. On the wedding day, he was drunkenly tossed into the bridal chamber by Tan Weiming, Tan Weiran, and many old retainers of the Tan family at Jiangshan Stronghold. The overwhelming smell of alcohol made Tan Weixin, who preferred tranquility, not even dare to touch him, so Sophie and Tan Weixin's two maids, Sisi and Qiao'er, had to clean him up.

In the days that followed, besides being dragged around by Old Zhongtou to see the entire Jiangshan Stronghold, he was pulled around by Tan Weiming and Tan Weiran to hunt in the surrounding forests or to visit the Tan family's old folks at the farms down the mountain.

These days were not much different from his busy days in Danyang. The change was perhaps only in the occasions when Ye Tao and Tan Weixin had those secret, small conversations, which were no longer in the room high up, with the light, wind, and temperature just right, in the afternoon that was beginning to become scorching, but in those nights, in their bedroom.

Ye Tao contributed almost nothing to the entire elaborate preparation for the wedding, but he made their bridal chamber very comfortable. The double-layered calfskin waterbed had an excellent feel, and lying on it allowed one to fall asleep quickly without any pressure. The newlyweds tacitly avoided mentioning the issue of whether or not to consummate the marriage. They had long understood that if there were no major medical breakthroughs in this time and space, relying on the Shengji San (Life-Generating Powder) and other medicinal materials for slow conditioning, there would be no possibility of that for several years. In the evening, they would lie together, Ye Tao liked to hold Tan Weixin from behind, and Tan Weixin liked to rest on Ye Tao's arm, curled up in his embrace. They both liked this position, from the original time and space, except that then this position occurred after passionate moments, but now it had become their closest way of being with each other. Tan Weixin would certainly not provoke Ye Tao's desires to cause herself trouble, and Ye Tao would not make any moves to incite Tan Weixin's emotions. And this plainness allowed them to appreciate each other's cherishment of them even more.

Tan Weixin had been dealing with the gifts almost all these days. Her family did not prepare any particularly valuable gifts for her, because that was how the Tan family was. Whatever they had, she would definitely have a share, and whatever she needed, her father and younger siblings would definitely do their best to get it for her. On the contrary, gifts from other people gave her a headache. She had never liked jewelry and the like, and only a few people chose these kinds of things. For example, the representatives of the Yunzhou tribes sent nearly half a ton of gold and jewelry. When this gift arrived, it really made many people gasp in shock. But the Tan family was already very used to it. They sent the same thing when the Crown Prince got married, and the same when Tan Weiran got married, making the Tan family always unconsciously guess how much gold and jewelry they had hoarded whenever they mentioned the Yunzhou tribes.

Most of what was sent were calligraphy and paintings by famous artists, or rare medicinal materials, and teas of special varieties. Old Master Qi sent twenty-four kinds of incense, a total of one hundred and twenty *jin* (approximately 60 kg), which was a rather shocking gesture. When it was sent, two people carried an inconspicuous box, but the value of the one hundred and twenty *jin* of incense inside was worth more than the same weight in gold. Old Master Qi's generosity was understandable. The in-depth cooperation with Ye Tao and Ye's Workshop could be said to be the most important and wisest decision he had made in recent years. The Tian Suo (Sky Shuttle) clock was now the most precious gift in the world. After the Sammier family intentionally lowered their profit margin, it almost completely cleared out the clock and watch industry in Frank and Zurich. Moreover, those highly precise marine chronometers and nautical supplies gave the Seven Seas Trading Company and the Sammier family an advantage in navigation that others did not have, not to mention the crossbows, fierce fire oil, and Mars bullets, which made the Seven Seas Trading Company invincible in Nanyang. They not only did not fear pirates, but they could also pounce on some countries' privateer fleets without hesitation and take a bite. The Seven Seas Trading Company had a share of Ye Tao's, and it would be a joke to use the Tian Suo clock, a gift that Old Master Qi used to smooth things over, as a wedding gift for Ye Tao and Tan Weixin. After thinking about it, Old Master Qi sent this gift. He didn't think it was a heavy gift, but he felt it was too light, not at all worthy of Ye Tao's current status, especially given how close the old and young men were...

Other more special gifts came from Sammier and Muhammad. As an important member of the Seven Seas Trading Company and as a link between the Sammier family and other Hu (non-Han) merchants, Muhammad had been very successful in recent years. He sent five pairs of peacocks, one of which was the extremely rare white peacock. Since sea transport was prone to problems, the feathers of one pair of peacocks were badly damaged. Thus, Muhammad suggested roasting this pair of peacocks of poor quality and eating them—to be made into gilded roasted peacock, the most popular dish at grand banquets in the Frankish Kingdom...

The Sammier family, represented by Asad, sent something that Ye Tao would definitely like: artisans and books. Among them were watchmakers forced into bankruptcy, as well as various architects, decorative painters, miniature painters, various common and uncommon craftsmen captured from rival families and countries, and even a few Egyptian monks who made mummies... A total of more than three hundred people, with their families, from nineteen countries and regions, speaking at least seven different languages... They also brought various books and drawings that these people refused to let go of even when they were captured. Some of these people had been detained by the Sammier family for many years and they didn't know what to do with them. But this gift did make Ye Tao's eyes light up, and he praised the Sammier family as truly good friends. And to live up to Ye Tao's praise, Asad also generously offered to send a few translators to be at Ye Tao's disposal until the language problem was no longer a problem.

Compared to the various rare medicinal materials that filled several rooms and could never be eaten, Tan Weixin was more than happy to deal with these more troublesome gifts. She lit a furnace of incense, summoned servants one by one in the refreshing scent, and ordered all kinds of things, from arranging the food and lodging for the artisans and their families who had just landed at Yicheng Port to finding someone to feed the peacocks. Even racking her brains to recall what peacocks ate was a very pleasant experience. As for roasting peacocks, let the Frankish nobles who had too much money and nothing to do take care of that.

A few days after Ye Tao and Tan Weixin's wedding, Tan Xiaopei, Zhuo Xiu, Tan Weiming, Tan Weiran, and Tan Weishi all returned to Danyang. As for Tan Wei's other member, Tan Weizai, he didn't come at all. Tan Weizai, who had the blood of the Chun Nan royal family, was noble, but he had always been under the care of his mother, Consort Lian Chang Ling, who was disliked by Tan Weixin's brothers and sisters... Thus, whether it was Tan Xiaopei or Tan Weixin, after politely inviting Consort Lian Chang Ling and being婉拒 (politely declined), they had no other thoughts at all.

Ye Lao Geng didn't stay in Jiangshan Stronghold for long either. Although this noble in-law was very respectful to Ye Lao Geng, not only did they not care about Ye Lao Geng's carpenter background, but they also treated him like an ordinary person and visited him often. When Tan Xiaopei had to return to Danyang because of pressing state affairs, he enthusiastically told Ye Lao Geng to feel free to do as he pleased. But although Ye Lao Geng didn't have state affairs to worry about, he had extremely complex management work at Ye's Workshop to do. The arrival of a large number of smelting and ordnance artisans, the placement of a large number of personnel, the construction of factories, the installation of equipment, the organization of raw materials, and even the most troublesome problem of resolving language communication... Thinking of these things gave Ye Lao Geng a headache. And at this time, he realized how useful Qian Shun, the one with the worst skills, was. Although that guy was mediocre in terms of skill, he really had a knack for management. But Qian Shun was now having a great time in Yunzhou. Guan Haishan left with Asad after the wedding and must be on the ship to Dubai now. Suo Yong was in charge of Ye's Workshop in Danyang, and only Zhao Dazhu, whose skills were unmatched but who lacked a sense of management, was left in charge of Ye's Workshop headquarters in Yicheng... This was a real disaster. In addition to this, Ye Lao Geng had another thing to do when he rushed back to Yicheng, which was to arrange a much lower-key wedding with Dai Yuege: Ye Tao and Dai Qiuyan's wedding.

Ye Tao, who was left in Jiangshan Stronghold, naturally had a lot of research to do, perhaps too much. He soon discovered that it was completely impossible to figure out the structure of Jiangshan Stronghold, even for Old Zhongtou, who was as familiar with Jiangshan Stronghold as anyone, could not figure out the location of those intricate secret passages and the so-called treasure caves. In fact, there were many buildings in the entire Jiangshan Stronghold system that didn't even have decent drawings.

In this situation, Ye Tao finally decided not to save money for the Neifu (Imperial Household Department). He decided to completely demolish all the "dangerous buildings" in the Jiangshan Stronghold system, and basically rebuild the entire Jiangshan Stronghold fortress system, except for the Tan clan's ancestral hall, cemetery on the top of the mountain, and the villa on the mountainside.

In Ye Tao's preliminary design, the main fort of Jiangshan Stronghold and the slightly narrow gate would be demolished and replaced by a huge drawbridge and towering, imposing stone towers on both sides of the drawbridge. Along the gate to both sides, a curved city wall would be formed on the mountainside, with independent stone-built defensive towers every so often. And behind this circle of city walls and defensive towers was the defensive core of the Jiangshan Stronghold fortress. Behind the drawbridge, about three hundred steps behind the original main fort, a new main fort would be built. The new main fort would be one story higher than the original main fort, with the top two floors being open-air stepped, used to deploy long-range projection weapons. Giant trebuchets would be the main equipment for now. But Ye Tao left a margin in the design, so that when conditions allowed, cannons could be built, and Jiangshan Stronghold could be quickly re-equipped. The command post of Jiangshan Stronghold would be located in the main fort, but there would be two watchtowers and communication towers on each side of the main fort, used to quickly communicate with the defensive forces on the city wall. And behind the main fort, there would be a separate, even taller lookout tower, with an eagle station at the top. In the space between the main fort and the city wall, there was also a lot of space to set up many military-related buildings, such as armories, and to build some warehouses to store defensive materials.

Because this adjustment of the defense of Jiangshan Stronghold actually reduced the total defensive area of Jiangshan Stronghold, concentrating the limited forces in the main defensive circle, Jiangshan Stronghold also had to provide a lot of space in the defensive circle for non-combatants to enter and take shelter, and also needed to have sufficient storage space to store food, drinking water, and all kinds of other things. Ye Tao turned his attention to the mountain, making full use of the several caves that had already been excavated, and digging some additional rock caves to solve this problem.

The part outside the defensive circle will undergo even greater changes, where it will be used as a living area in peacetime. From the foot of the mountain to the height of the city wall on the mountainside, two residential areas would be placed in front of the castle, two on both sides, and one behind the mountain. Each residential area would have different types of buildings, such as independent courtyards, detached villas, and collective dormitories, surrounding a small lookout tower. The top of the lookout tower would have a rocking bell for alarms, and there would also be cellars underneath for hiding. If possible, Ye Tao even wanted each residential area to have its own independent defense system. This way, it could be used as a supplement to the defense of the main fort. These additional residential areas could be used as residences for the Tan family's retainers and clan soldiers' families, and also as barracks. As for the training of the Tan clan soldiers, it had always been carried out in the back mountain, where there were quite complete barracks and other conditions, so Ye Tao didn't have to worry about that.

Since it was going to be rebuilt, it might as well be thorough. Ye Tao decided to separate the water supply and drainage. The water supply needed power, and in this regard, Ye Tao did not completely rely on the rudimentary steam engine technology of Ye's Workshop, but set his sights on the very mature Dutch windmills. Those beautiful big guys were good at doing that. Ye Tao even added a sand filtration pond to the central water supply system. Naturally, the original deep wells in various places were also fully utilized, and installing a set of plunger-type water lifters on all the deep wells would greatly improve work efficiency. As for the construction of sewage discharge pipes, toilets, and the like, from a peacetime perspective, it would naturally be conducive to the environmental hygiene of the entire Jiangshan Stronghold. And once war broke out, maintaining cleanliness would actually be very conducive to long-term perseverance. After all, no one would have much morale if they were surrounded by urine and feces.

Ye Tao spent two days with Old Zhongtou's help building two versions of the model of Jiangshan Stronghold. Old Zhongtou's scalp tingled at Ye Tao's such a rapid yet bold idea. If Ye Tao's plan was approved, the entire project would probably not be completed for two or three years. After all, the construction requirements of a fortress were different from those of civil buildings. Ye Tao and Dai's Construction Company had built so many things over the years, but Iron City had only just been completed and put into use at the beginning of the year. This was the difference. Cement and bricks could be manufactured, but stone could only be transported from suitable producing areas and then processed. But Old Zhongtou decided to support Ye Tao's plan after fighting for a few days. On the one hand, Ye Tao's plan was not only very thorough and reliable, but also fully considered the needs of fortress maintenance and the installation of newer long-range projection weapons in the future. Old Zhongtou knew that he was getting so old that it would not be easy to find someone who could be as resourceful and able to repair things as he was after he died, so it was better to solve the problem once and for all. Naturally, there was also another reason, and that was that Ye Tao's plan was really quite mighty and beautiful.

How could it not be beautiful? The new main fort almost completely copied Helm's Deep, only enlarged several times to make room for the installation of large projection weapons.

Ye Tao didn't have to be involved in every detail of construction now. Even with relatively simple design drawings, he could gather a more qualified team of architects and engineers to perfect the entire design for him, to consider how to build and how to construct in the most scientific and reasonable way. As for the interior decoration style, lighting arrangement, furniture, and other supplies, Ye's Workshop had the most complete team to provide a comprehensive solution. Thinking that he could do this in this time and space, Ye Tao was extremely proud.

The letter sent to Yicheng requesting Ye's Workshop and Dai's Construction Company to send a team of architects and engineers to Jiangshan Stronghold was soon replied to. Dai Yuege, whose appetite had been spoiled by one influential, historically significant construction project after another in recent years, was no longer interested in ordinary construction projects, even if they earned more money, because he was no longer short of money. However, Dai Yuege was eager for this major project to strengthen relations with the Tan family. Given Tan Xiaopei's personality and the Tan family's consistent style, he would definitely come to Jiangshan Stronghold to pay respects to his ancestors after he became emperor in the future. And for a builder, that was probably the pinnacle that could be reached.

Along with Dai Yuege's reply came a urging from Qi Zhentao. Even Tan Weixin was very interested in the things mentioned in Qi Zhentao's letter.

This time, the merchant ship to Yicheng not only brought artisans, steel ingots, and a considerable amount of other materials, but also a large number of strange things collected by the Seven Seas Trading Company and the Sammier family in Nanyang. Some were things whose uses had already been discovered, such as spices, and some were things whose uses were unknown or even whose names were unknown. Considering the need for various tests and attempts, there were even a considerable number of each item. The artisans had already tried smelting those ores, while the identification and classification of those plants was an even bigger problem. And Qi Zhentao asked Ye Tao if he wanted to take a look...

Yes! Of course! How many good things were hidden in the vast tropical rainforest? If some of them could be used, Ye Tao could use the increasingly large power of the Seven Seas Trading Company in Nanyang to collect and even cultivate them. And some of them could even bring about extraordinary technological innovations, such as: rubber.