After recruiting Zhang Tang, Lu Ming left for the weapon manufacturing plant.
This was a military-controlled area used for manufacturing weapons.
Unlike ordinary armories, this was a system-built structure!
The weapons research institute was located outside Tao County, and this was the newly constructed facility.
Given Didao's size, at least two facilities could be omitted. A third could be built once the population stabilized at over a million.
The weapon manufacturing plant could produce many unimaginably powerful weapons. A siege tower as tall as a city wall could be used for direct fire against enemy troops, and it also had reduced stamina consumption.
The same archer could fire three to five shots per minute.
But from the siege tower, it could fire at least six shots per minute – that's the difference.
Even in open field battles, archer suppression, occupying a high ground, had a significantly different strategic impact.
Siege engines, specifically designed to attack city gates, were similar to ancient battering rams. However, unlike battering rams, these siege engines were equipped with pendulums, allowing them to ram in place without needing to move back and forth.
The tower ships, specifically designed for naval warfare, could remain stable even in turbulent rivers, preventing them from being swept away. They also featured parapets specifically for archers, making them ideal for naval combat.
Besides siege warfare, they could also produce a large amount of logistical equipment.
The most famous example is the wooden ox and flowing horse, essentially a wheelbarrow and storage device, allowing the army to carry more food and preventing it from mold and rotting due to rain.
Didao was located near the Western Qiang, bordered by the Yuezhi and various Western Regions kingdoms; maintaining a necessary military force was crucial.
Furthermore, given Lu Ming's disloyalty, his plan was to lure Dong Zhuo to Luoyang after Emperor Ling's death, allowing him to do what history had dictated.
He himself would then take advantage of the chaos to plunder, all of which required military support.
Only the army was crucial; everything else was secondary.
The second building was a hospital, not only to fulfill Hua Tuo's promise.
This hospital was also very suitable for Hua Tuo. Besides treating the wounded civilians and soldiers, it could also prevent the spread of disease, which was particularly beneficial for population stability.
Training doctors would also be much simpler; medical care and food were both tools for attracting and stabilizing the Western Qiang.
Zhang Tang took the five hundred gold coins given to him by Lu Ming and returned home. He gave the money to his elderly mother, Wang Shi, saying, "Mother, please find a place to hide this money for me!"
Tang's mother was over forty years old, but her face was already covered with wrinkles, and her hair was all white.
Although the Zhang family was not poor, and had once been an official family,
Zhang Tang's father was known for his integrity and never accepted bribes.
Therefore, despite once holding the position of Assistant Magistrate of Chang'an with a salary of eight hundred shi (a unit of grain), the Zhang family could only barely make ends meet with that meager salary.
Especially after Tang's father passed away from illness two years ago, the family's last savings were exhausted.
The Han Dynasty tradition emphasized treating the deceased as if they were still alive.
This meant that the deceased should receive the same treatment in the afterlife as they did in life. Their food, clothing, and daily necessities should all be provided in their tombs.
Failure to do so would be considered unfilial.
Therefore, when Emperor Wen of Han decreed in his will that lavish burials were forbidden, the whole country was moved, considering him a wise ruler. Even the princes and ministers jointly submitted a memorial requesting the establishment of a temple for the late emperor and his posthumous title of Emperor Taizong.
However, although the late emperor led the way in changing customs, it was easier said than done.
The deeply ingrained belief in lavish burials influenced everyone.
When princes were buried, they were dressed in jade burial suits, their coffins were made of yellow lacquer, and their tombs were grand and imposing, no different from their palaces in life. Each tomb chamber was filled with their personal belongings, jewels, and gold artifacts.
Even the deaths of high-ranking officials and nobles were not exempt. Their tombs were excavated, and vast amounts of wealth were piled up inside. If the official was military, chariots, horses, swords, armor, and bows and arrows were buried with them; if civil official, their books, official documents, favorite ancient texts, and large quantities of silk, copper coins, and various exquisite lacquerware and bronzeware were buried with them.
Families like the Zhang family, though not as wealthy as the powerful feudal lords and high-ranking officials, could not afford to demean their ancestors.
They would at least obtain dozens of ordinary lacquerware pieces, their beloved books and scrolls were a must, and to avoid appearing shabby and to uphold the family's reputation, gold artifacts were essential in the tomb.
When Zhang Tang's father was buried, he was taken with him gold artifacts worth over a hundred taels of gold.
To obtain this gold, Zhang Tang's mother even had to sell some of her land and houses.
This is why, although currency was the primary form of trade, gold still circulated.
In this day and age, anyone with a modicum of wealth will try their best to collect gold to be buried with at their death.
Therefore, Zhang's mother aged rapidly in the past two years, partly due to the grief of losing her husband, and partly because raising gold for his burial had exhausted her resources.
Even her eyesight began to deteriorate.
When Zhang Tang opened the box, the gleaming gold immediately dazzled Zhang's mother's eyes. Although her eyesight was poor, she could still barely recognize the gold.
After touching the gold to confirm its value, she was shocked. "My son, where did all this gold come from?"
She had borrowed money everywhere, even selling land, to pay for her husband's burial, barely managing to obtain less than a hundred taels of gold. Now, this box contained four or five hundred gold ingots. She panicked immediately. "My son, you mustn't tarnish the reputation of the Zhang family! Remember when your father was alive? He was penniless, working hard for over twenty years to build the Zhang family's current standing!"
Zhang Tang knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Mother, please allow me to explain. This gold is not ill-gotten gains. It is a reward from Governor Lu Ming of Liangzhou, a token of my gratitude."
He then recounted how he had been summoned by Lu Ming that day and entrusted with an important task.
Of course, he didn't mention the subsequent establishment and promotion of Legalist doctrines.
Although Zhang Tang was a follower, a status bestowed upon him by the system, he was still a flesh-and-blood human being, not just a collection of data, and therefore possessed ambition and aspirations.
Having heard of Lu Ming's status as governor and his marriage to the Princess, he was now considered part of the imperial family.
Years ago, the Zhang family could still reside in Chang'an, but they later offended powerful nobles and were driven out, forced to come to Didao; otherwise, their lives would have been in danger.
Zhang's mother's face immediately shifted from anger to joy. She helped Zhang Tang up, saying, "My son, now that you are valued by the imperial family, you must work diligently and not be careless, lest you fail to repay the governor's great kindness." She added, "This must be because your father's spirit in heaven is protecting you, ensuring you receive such a noble assistance. Tomorrow, my son, come with me to offer incense to your father and pray that he will watch over you from heaven!"
"Yes!" Zhang Tang bowed, "Mother's teachings, I will remember them well!"