Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

The brutal deaths of fellow laborers left everyone in the prison camp in a state of unease, fearing they would be the next to be beaten to death.

Ruan Chengtu lay on a makeshift straw bed made of broken wooden planks, recalling the scene of the laborer being beaten to death, and curled up, trembling.

Before we knew it, it was already dark.

Even though he was terrified, he was exhausted after a day of hard labor and gradually fell asleep.

But just as he closed his eyes, seemingly only a moment later, a stern shout rang in his ears.

"Everyone's up, why are you still sleeping? What's there to sleep for!"

Ruan Chengtu suddenly opened his eyes and saw a fierce-looking Chu army officer holding a leather whip, striking the laborer.

Inside the barracks, heart-wrenching cries echoed everywhere.

Ruan Chengtu glanced outside the door and saw that the sky was already beginning to brighten.

Judging by the time, it's just past the hour of Mao (5-7 AM).

I didn't expect to have to go back to work so soon.

To avoid being whipped, Ruan Chengtu quickly dressed despite his aching body.

Then, under the supervision of officers and overseers, they left the barracks.

Outside the barracks, a dense crowd had already gathered, each person standing there with sleepy eyes and blank expressions.

At that moment, a stern-faced officer came up to them.

He merely glanced around casually before stating directly, "Today, some of you will accompany me to construct the harbor fortress. The Duke of Zhenguo has given us fifteen days."

If you don't finish within fifteen days, you and your families will be thrown into the sea to feed the fish. Do you all understand?

"I understand..."

"louder!"

"I understand!"

The workers immediately responded loudly.

After all, the body of the laborer who was beaten to death yesterday was still hanging on the central railing...

The fortress project has officially started, and Ruan Chengtu and his team's goal today is to lay a solid foundation.

It has to be said that these Li people are naturally lazy. They work very hard for you at first, but after only an hour, they start to think about slacking off again.

They listlessly chiseled the foundation, stopping their work to chat and pass the time when the supervisor wasn't looking.

As a result, when the supervisor returned from his inspection tour and saw how slow the project was progressing, he was furious.

They immediately grabbed two lazy laborers and made them eat two peanuts in front of everyone.

The effect was absolutely fantastic. Seeing such a wonderful scene, no one dared to slack off anymore, and they worked with almost all their might.

That night, after returning to the labor camp, Ruan Chengtu was so exhausted that he collapsed onto the boat without even taking off his shoes.

"Everyone get up!"

Just as he was about to close his eyes and rest for a while, the officer's shouts rang out from outside the door again.

"Get up and get dressed. We're going to the forest farm to cut timber so we can prepare the materials for tomorrow morning. Hurry up, do you hear me? Don't make me rush you!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately erupted in commotion.

"We've worked all day, we're just too exhausted to continue!"

"Exactly, are you guys planning to work us to death?"

"No way! I'd rather die than go!"

Seeing how united these laborers were, the officer grinned.

The next moment, a group of soldiers armed with rifles entered the cell, grabbed the two most disruptive guys on the spot, and cracked their heads open.

As it turns out, the same old methods, though outdated, proved to be surprisingly effective.

Watching their two companions, whose brains were splattering everywhere, the group of laborers, exhausted from a long day's work, no longer felt pain in their feet or backs, and their spirits lifted.

Without needing the officers to repeat themselves, each person went to their respective camps to assemble, and then proceeded in an orderly fashion towards the forest farm...

When Ruan Chengtu returned to his cell, he felt dizzy and lightheaded, as if he were floating.

At this moment, the voices of the people around him seemed to be coming from the distant horizon.

This feeling reminded him of the glorious moment when he did eight hardware re-softening processes in one night...

However, those wonderful days seem to be gone forever.

All Ruan Chengtu wants to do right now is get a good night's sleep; he doesn't want to do or think about anything.

Just as he closed his eyes to rest, the sharp sound of the brass whistle rang out again.

"Get up, all of you! Get up! No sleeping!"

Ruan Chengtu was completely numb. He struggled to open his eyes and saw a supervisor arrogantly issuing today's tasks.

"The Duke of Zhenguo is very dissatisfied with the current progress of the fortress construction and has ordered us to complete the fortress construction within the stipulated time, no matter the cost."

The Duke of Zhenguo said that he entrusted this arduous yet glorious task to you, which is a sign of his trust in you. He believes that you will certainly not let the Duke of Zhenguo down.

We will definitely complete the fortress construction on time, so how can you lie here like this? To repay the Duke of Zhenguo's kindness, we must be fully focused and complete this task!

Alright, that's all I have to say. Get up and get to work!

Ruan Chengtu found it utterly absurd.

He turned himself into the murderer of forced labor and torture, and yet he expects everyone to be grateful?

What kind of logic is this?!

However, his mind was in complete disarray, and he could only vaguely follow everyone out of the labor camp.

This time, however, no one objected.

After all, if you dare to resist, they really can make you lose your life.

The saying goes, "It's better to live a wretched life than to die a good death." The Li Kingdom doesn't have much of the Confucian morality and benevolence; it only believes in the supremacy of the strong and that the weak deserve to be exploited and oppressed.

It wasn't until evening that Ruan Chengtu finally returned to his cell in the prison camp.

He was exhausted, hungry, and sleepy. He hadn't slept for two days and one night, and he didn't even have the strength to speak.

"time to eat!"

With a loud shout, several members of the local expatriate auxiliary force, in pairs, carried a wooden bucket to the front of the prison cell.

Upon opening, it revealed a full bucket of mixed grain rice.

Ruan Chengtu and the other laborers, who had originally planned to go to sleep, suddenly jumped out of bed and rushed to the gatehouse when they heard the word "eat".

Seeing this, the officer stubbed out his cigarette and then ordered the two auxiliary soldiers, "Open the door and let them get their own food."

The moment the door opened, the laborers, whose eyes were already glowing with hunger, immediately began scrambling for the meager rations they had.

"Mine, this is mine!"

"Get out of my way! Don't try to take it from me!"

"That's my food!"

Soon, these people were fighting each other for a bite more food.

The rice bucket was overturned by someone, and the mixed grains were scattered all over the ground.

But this caused countless people to lie on the ground and scramble for it.

This scene truly shocked the two overseas Chinese.

Are these Li people in front of me really the same natives who used to bully me? How did they become like this?

The Chu army officer remained calm, took out a cigarette, lit a match, and said to the two men, "Remember this."

From now on, meals will be delivered like this at mealtimes. Don't be afraid if anything happens; the Great Chu Navy is your backing. If they dare to cause trouble, we'll wipe them out.

"No need to report to them. Just don't treat them like human beings. Think about what your compatriots have suffered."

After saying that, he exhaled a smoke ring, turned around, and walked away gracefully.