Chương 524: Groundbreaking Ceremony

He stood up and pointed to the marks on the ground: "Look, the fire burned from the inside out, not from the outside in. It's obvious someone deliberately set it on fire!"

Just then, Lu Bing arrived with the Imperial Guards.

He received orders from Liu Ce to secretly investigate the sabotage activities of the aristocratic families, and had been loitering around the area for the past few days.

"Old Song," Lu Bing said, picking up a shard of pottery from the ground, "you're right, this wasn't an accident, it was arson. Someone hid kerosene in the limestone, lit the coal, and once the kerosene burned, the whole warehouse caught fire."

He pointed to a charred fragment of a pottery jar on the ground, the edges of which still bore traces of oil.

"This is a jar for storing kerosene. Someone sneaked into the warehouse at night, poured kerosene on it, and then set it on fire. The method was very professional; it wasn't like that of an ordinary petty thief."

Song Yingxing's face turned ashen: "These people are despicable! How dare they sabotage a key national project! If there's no cement, how can we repair the roads? How can the First Five-Year Plan proceed?"

"This is just the beginning." Lu Bing's expression was also grave, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"As far as I know, an accident also occurred yesterday at the iron smelting base in the north. A blast furnace suddenly collapsed, killing three craftsmen and injuring more than a dozen others."

How could the blast furnace collapse for no reason? At first, we thought it was an accident, but our investigation revealed that someone had deliberately loosened the blast furnace's foundation and sawed off half of the supporting pillars.

"What?!" Song Yingxing exclaimed in shock, his voice rising eight octaves.

"They actually dared to sabotage the iron smelting base!"

"They're afraid," Lu Bing said, his tone heavy.

"They know that once a large number of cement plants and iron smelting bases are built, the new policy will gain a firm foothold, and the foundation of the aristocratic families will be completely shaken."

Then they'll have no chance to turn things around. Therefore, they'll stop at nothing to sabotage our construction. Even if it's like an egg hitting a rock, they'll still try. They're making a death throes.

Just then, a member of the Imperial Guard rushed over and handed Lu Bing a secret letter.

After reading the secret letter, Lu Bing sneered, "Just as I expected. These acts of sabotage were all planned by the aristocratic alliance. They have secretly gathered a group of assassins, all desperate criminals, to sabotage key national projects. They even boasted that they would assassinate His Majesty, saying something like, 'Kill the emperor, and everything will be back to normal.'"

Song Yingxing exclaimed in shock, "What? They're trying to assassinate His Majesty! The groundbreaking ceremony is in three days! Tens of thousands of people will be there. With so many people watching, what if His Majesty has to be there in person? Should we have him not show up and have someone else do it?"

"Don't worry." Lu Bing's eyes turned cold, his voice carrying a reassuring confidence.

"I've laid a trap. If they dare to come, I'll make sure they don't leave alive. One comes, one is killed; two come, two are killed."

He paused, then continued, "Old Song, the safety of the cement plant and the iron smelting base is entrusted to you. I will send the Imperial Guards to protect them secretly, keeping a 24-hour watch."

At the same time, you must strengthen internal security, guarding against any further incidents. The workers must be thoroughly investigated to see if there are any moles. Organize the workers into a factory security team, patrolling day and night.

"Good!" Song Yingxing nodded heavily, his eyes blazing with fury.

"I'll risk my old life to ensure the cement plant and iron smelting base maintain normal production! Those bastards, I'll never forgive them! His Majesty entrusted me with such an important task; I cannot let him down!"

That night, he personally led a patrol, carrying a sword at his waist, though he didn't know how to use it, but it gave him courage.

He strengthened security in the warehouses and production workshops, dug trenches around them, and set up roadblocks.

He also mobilized all the workers and formed a factory protection team. When the workers heard that someone was deliberately sabotaging the cement factory, they were all indignant and patted their chests, saying that they were willing to patrol day and night to protect the factory.

"These damned aristocratic families don't want us to live a good life, but we'll show them!" a young worker shouted, clenching his fist so tightly it cracked.

"The cement factory is our livelihood. Anyone who dares to take it away will face our wrath! My father was driven to his death by them, and I have an irreconcilable hatred for them!"

Under Li Jing's arrangement, a group of soldiers also came to the cement factory to assist in the defense and set up sentry posts around the area.

With the workers' concerted efforts, the cement plant quickly resumed production.

The workers worked in three shifts, the machines kept running, and truckloads of limestone were poured into the furnace.

Three days later, cement began to flow continuously from the production line.

The bluish-gray powder, packed in burlap sacks, was piled up like a small mountain.

...

March 20th, the first year of Shenwu.

West of Luoyang City, on the banks of the Luo River.

The place was packed with people, and colorful flags were fluttering in the breeze.

The place was bustling with noise, like a pot of porridge that had boiled over.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the first national-level trunk road in the Han Dynasty, the Luoyang-Chang'an "expressway", will be held here.

Tens of thousands of people spontaneously came to the scene, wanting to witness this historic moment with their own eyes.

There were elderly people leaning on canes, women carrying children, and young people riding horses from dozens of miles away.

They crowded to the side of the road, craning their necks and standing on tiptoe, afraid of missing anything.

Liu Ce, dressed in military attire and riding a black horse, arrived at the construction site with his civil and military officials.

Standing on the high viewing platform, looking at the dense crowd below, he was filled with emotion.

This main road, which is over 900 miles long, will be entirely paved with cement.

Once completed, the journey from Luoyang to Chang'an will only take one day, something that was unthinkable before.

This is not only a vital transportation route, but also a road of hope.

It will connect the Central Plains with Guanzhong, drive economic development along the route, and elevate the national strength of the Han Dynasty to a new level.

People along the route can find work nearby, do business, or transport agricultural products to more distant places to sell.

The auspicious time has arrived.

Xun Yu stepped forward and announced loudly, "The groundbreaking ceremony for the main road from Luoyang to Chang'an of the Great Han Dynasty now begins!"

The cannons roared and the drums beat loudly, causing ripples to spread across the Luo River.

Liu Ce picked up a shovel with a red ribbon tied to it and walked to the foundation stone.

Just then, hundreds of masked men suddenly rushed out of the crowd, wielding sharp blades, and pounced towards the viewing platform.

They moved simultaneously from different directions, coordinating seamlessly, clearly indicating they had undergone meticulous training.

They were agile and quick, like a pack of hungry wolves.

"Protect His Majesty!"

Zhao Yun shouted, drew his sword, the blade flashed in the sunlight, and stood in front of Liu Ce.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei also drew their weapons and formed a circle.