Chapter 85: Planning and Development

In the online game "Empire's Rise," the roles of inns and markets for players went without saying. Focusing solely on the matter of villagers working for wandering players, this approach not only allowed the villagers to improve their skills and levels but also earned profits for the wandering players—truly a win-win for leveling up and making money. The issue of curing ailments resonated deeply with many players, who listened intently.

Li Zhan then replied:

"The necessary buildings I mentioned earlier already include the inn and the market, which will be completed before nightfall today. As for villagers working for players, if any job vacancies arise in the town and there aren’t enough villagers, arrangements will naturally be made."

The players were visibly thrilled with this satisfactory answer. Previously, when gathered in the official county town with too many players, villagers under players’ command couldn’t find any jobs and spent their days following players around, performing tasks like clearing battlefields or luring monsters. Now, with Yanhuang Village in its early days of industry, numerous jobs would surely open up. With Mayor Li Zhan at the helm, there was no worry that villagers would lack opportunities for work.

Yao Daoming then asked several targeted questions, each answered by Li Zhan, leaving the wandering players thoroughly satisfied. After Yao Daoming returned to the player group, Li Zhan addressed a few more supplementary questions. With no further doubts, everyone expressed their gratitude to Li Zhan, gathered their villagers, and dispersed in different directions.

Back at the village center, Zheng Jun led five builders—three of whom were newly recruited villagers—to construct wooden houses. With ample manpower and all six possessing intermediate construction skills, wooden houses rose swiftly, each taking only three to five minutes. The dyeing shed was rebuilt on its original foundation, now larger and sturdier. Yuan Yan was teaching a group of newly recruited female villagers, skilled in intermediate farming and weaving, the art of clothing production. Meanwhile, four craftsmen had joined the carpenter’s workshop, currently collaborating to carry a loom into the dyeing shed.

The remaining villagers were assigned tasks based on their skills by Zheng Jun. However, since farming, weaving, and logging were common skills, about one hundred of the 150-plus recruited villagers shared these abilities. With so many, assignments overlapped—two farmers per field, over fifty lumberjacks for a single logging site (ideally thirty), and so forth.

Li Zhan surveyed the busy scene and found it a bit cramped but had no choice but to ease it gradually. Looking at the wooden palisades surrounding the village, it was clear the space was too small and would soon need to be dismantled.

He called Zheng Jun over and instructed the five builders to continue erecting wooden houses according to the planned design. Then he said:

“Zheng Jun, our next step is to expand the village’s boundaries. We’ll remove the wooden palisades and build stone ramparts instead. These have a durability of 1,500 and can be upgraded to stone walls or fortified city walls. Take a few villagers and mark boundaries three thousand paces east, south, and west from the village hall. We’ll use these markers as the limits for the new stone ramparts.”

Zheng Jun acknowledged and gathered several villagers to relay the task before heading out in the three directions.

Li Zhan then summoned a builder and said:

“I want to complete the market and the inn before nightfall. This task is yours—find four villagers to help you.”

The builder asked for the specific locations of the market and inn, then set about organizing the team.

Next, Li Zhan assembled over sixty lumberjacks and farmers, dividing them into two groups. One group would pave stone roads: from the tribal hall, they would pave five hundred paces south to create a plaza, which would serve as the intersection point for several stone roads. From this plaza, roads would extend east, west, and south, reaching the boundary markers Zheng Jun had set for the stone ramparts. These intersections would become the sites for three stone gates. Since these roads would be the main arteries of the village, Li Zhan planned for them to be broad enough for eighteen people to walk side by side—about nine meters wide—straight and flat. Any fields, houses, or trees along the way would be removed or relocated to make way for the roads.

The second group was in charge of various construction projects: barracks, plow fields, a shipyard, and a joint workshop. One new barracks and one new plow field were added to allow more wandering players to train their skills—each military building could accommodate twenty trainees simultaneously—and to help the village accumulate gold quickly. The new shipyard, built on the banks of the Han River, served as a civilian dock for mooring both foreign vessels and the village’s fishing boats. The original shipyard, located in the bay, was now reserved for military use only, responsible for producing and docking warships. The entire bay was designated as the village’s naval base, with all other ships forbidden entry. The joint workshop also had to be completed before nightfall; once finished, Old Tang could safely produce leather armor there, and the variety of military and civilian weaponry manufactured would greatly increase.

After issuing these orders, nearly all villagers in the town were assigned tasks. Li Zhan’s gaze landed on the wooden palisades. To dismantle them, he would need the villagers under the wandering players’ command—an excellent opportunity to gauge their work efficiency.

Exiting the east gate and traveling southeast for over three hundred meters, the scene opened onto a wasteland where the eastern hills met the southern forest—a dense leveling and spawn point near Yanhuang Village. Over a hundred wandering players gathered there, gleefully battling packs of gray wolves, wild boars, and hunting dogs. Because the monsters were plentiful, every player had their fill of combat, shouting excitedly amid the fray. Behind each player trailed their villagers, who promptly rushed forward after each monster’s defeat to strip hides and gather dropped items. Their swift, practiced movements showed they were well accustomed to this routine.

Li Zhan watched for a while before several nearby wandering players approached him eagerly:

“Mayor Li, what brings you here? Is there something you need?”

“Mayor Li, are you here to level up? Our group has a spot open, you’re welcome to join!”

And so on.

Li Zhan smiled and said:

“Leveling up can wait. Right now, there’s a pressing task: the village’s wooden palisades need to be dismantled. It’s a time-consuming job, and since none of the villagers can leave their posts, I’d like to hire some of your villagers to come help.”