Iron Dynasty

In the early morning, Xiao Ming was awakened by Xiao Yi’s crying.

The little fellow was now over a year old and could walk by himself. Although he still couldn’t speak, he could utter a few simple words.

“You naughty boy, see, you’ve woken your imperial father,” Fei Yuer had already gotten up and was gently chiding Xiao Yi with a touch of indulgence.

Stretching, Xiao Ming got out of bed. With a fatherly smile on his face, he walked over to Xiao Yi.

Despite being an emperor, an emperor was also human, with his own emotions and desires. It was just that sometimes, they were better at hiding them than ordinary people.

Whenever he was in the bedchamber, Xiao Ming would shed his disguise and become a true father. Xiao Yi was his son, and he would impart all that he could teach him, so that his son would not be swayed by this barbaric and ignorant era.

“What’s wrong? Come, let imperial father hold you.”

Xiao Ming picked up Xiao Yi, who was sitting on the ground crying. It was then that he noticed Xiao Yi was tightly clutching a piece of candy in his hand.

Fei Yuer looked particularly happy at this moment. This scene was truly a family. She said, “It’s Lu Luo. She brought a handful of candy yesterday when she came, and Xiao Yi loved it after eating it. He started crying for candy as soon as he woke up this morning.”

Xiao Ming couldn’t help but smile upon hearing this. He said, “He should eat less of this candy, otherwise he’ll be calling about toothaches every three days like Lu Luo.”

“Indeed. Your Majesty specifically warned about this. Lu Luo can’t resist, but we can’t let her lead Yi’er astray,” Fei Yuer said with a smile.

Xiao Yi lay on Xiao Ming’s shoulder. Taking advantage of their conversation, he picked up the candy in his hand and licked it.

Xiao Ming chuckled mischievously and took the candy from Xiao Yi’s hand. The little fellow was first stunned, then burst into tears.

Fei Yuer helplessly shook her head. While feeling bad for Xiao Yi, she also knew she couldn’t spoil him. She didn’t want to spoil Xiao Yi into becoming the next former crown prince.

The two understood each other. After coaxing Xiao Yi for a while, the little fellow, after his crying fit, actually fell asleep on Xiao Ming’s body.

At this point, Xiao Ming placed Xiao Yi on the bed, and taking the candy, he and Fei Yuer left the bedchamber.

Playing with the round, pale yellow, translucent candy in his hand, Xiao Ming suddenly recalled the penny hard candies of his childhood.

He never expected that in the blink of an eye, Qingzhou Province could also produce this kind of candy.

“How is this candy selling in Qingzhou Province now?” Xiao Ming asked. Although he had spread the method, he had never paid attention to candy production. After all, compared to matters of state, this was merely a triviality.

“Lu Luo says this candy is very popular in Qingzhou Province. Eight candy workshops have been built. Now, this candy is not only sold in Qingzhou province but also in other prefectures and counties, and even in the Prince of Chu’s feudal state. It has indeed made these merchants a lot of silver.”

Xiao Ming nodded. The ultimate manifestation of industry was to make materials abundant. And he was also using the technology and materials at hand to increase the quantity of goods for the Great Yu Empire as much as possible.

This way, not only would the common people’s clothing, food, housing, and transportation become abundant, but the emergence of candy workshops would also provide job opportunities for some common people entering Qingzhou Province.

After chatting a few words with Fei Yuer, Xiao Ming had breakfast and then left the temporary palace, heading south of the city.

Unbeknownst to him, the construction of the imperial palace in the south of the city had also been ongoing for almost two years. At the current pace, it would be ready for occupancy in another month.

Today, he was going to see if the imperial palace was prepared.

Leaving the temporary palace, Qian Dafu was already waiting at the gate. He boarded the carriage, and under the protection of guards, they traveled all the way to the imperial palace in Qingzhou Province.

Actually, for Xiao Ming, the ideal capital was still Youzhou, but considering the development of Qingzhou Province, he still built the imperial palace here.

The reason was simple: many merchants in the Great Yu Empire came here precisely because it was the capital. If he moved to Youzhou, merchants would surely relocate en masse, which would definitely deal a major blow to the still-developing Qingzhou Province.

Therefore, he would not move the capital to Youzhou until Qingzhou Province’s industry and commerce were mature. Only then would he establish his imperial palace in Youzhou, and at the same time, due to the capital effect, Youzhou’s industry and commerce would also develop.

Twenty minutes later, the carriage stopped in the south of the city. The first thing Xiao Ming saw upon descending from the carriage was the red walls of the outer palace.

This city wall was five hundred meters long from east to west and one thousand meters long from north to south, enclosing the entire imperial city. Symbolic cannons had already been placed on the city wall.

Caressing the surface of the city wall, Xiao Ming could feel the grains of sand on it. The outer palace wall was built of red bricks, plastered with a layer of cement on the outside, and finally painted red. These grains of sand were precisely the texture of cement.

Walking through the palace gate, one entered the imperial city.

There was still a space between the outer palace and the imperial palace, and many courtyards had been built within this distance, numbering at least over a hundred from south to north, and west to east.

These courtyards would be the official residences of the capital’s officials. From now on, officials would work under Xiao Ming’s watchful eye.

After walking two hundred meters, they reached the imperial palace. At this point, before Xiao Ming lay a stone bridge. The top of each pillar on the stone bridge was sculpted with a qilin, and its surface was paved with bluestone slabs.

Beyond the stone bridge was a spacious square. At the end of the square, a building with red tiles and yellow walls rose from the ground, which was the Zhengda Guangming Hall, where imperial court sessions would be held in the future.

At this time, Fei Ji was in the Zhengda Guangming Hall, directing eunuchs and palace maids in arranging the hall.

“Your Majesty, the imperial palace will be ready in about ten days. Then Your Majesty and the Empress will no longer have to squeeze into the temporary palace,” Fei Ji said with a smile.

Xiao Ming glanced at the Zhengda Guangming Hall and nodded in satisfaction. Now, everything needed inside was complete, and the dragon throne was also set high above.

“Elder Fei has gone to great lengths. The arrangement of this imperial palace still requires Elder Fei’s personal attention,” Xiao Ming said with a smile. Traditionally, the arrangement of the Great Yu Empire’s imperial palace had strict rules.

Now, only Fei Ji was proficient in this, so he had Fei Ji preside over it, to avoid being criticized later. He saw no need to be innovative on trivial matters.

“This is my duty as your humble servant,” Fei Ji bowed.

Xiao Ming showed a slight smile. As he walked towards the inner palace with Fei Ji, he asked, “Oh, by the way, have you conveyed the Great Yu Empire’s household registration system reforms to the other prefectures and counties?”

“Reporting to Your Majesty, it has already been conveyed. From now on, the common people of the Great Yu Empire only need to hold their household registration to freely settle in any prefecture or county within the Great Yu Empire,” Fei Ji said.

After a pause, he said, “Ever since this decree was issued, quite a number of common people from outside have entered Qingzhou Province. Now, the workshops will not have trouble recruiting people.”

“That is precisely my purpose. If people are tied down to one place, the Great Yu Empire’s industry and commerce cannot develop.”