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

Under the reprimand of the Chu army for its unsustainable, exploitative practices, the fortress was finally completed on the thirteenth day, two days ahead of the planned fifteen days.

Such work efficiency was truly unbelievable, even to the Empress who was used to seeing all sorts of things.

The cost was merely the deaths of two thousand laborers, making it a profitable deal no matter how you look at it.

On the day the work was completed, Ruan Chengtu was exhausted, like a dog, and went back to the labor camp and fell asleep immediately.

At this moment, half of the beds in his cell were empty; the people there were either dead or crippled.

As for how to dispose of the corpses, the Chu army, adhering to the principles of thrift and environmental protection, simply threw them into the sea to feed the sharks.

"Now, things should be peaceful, right?"

Before closing his eyes, Ruan Chengtu thought to himself that now that the fortress project was complete, he should be able to rest for a few days to catch his breath, right?

However, Ruan Chengtu, who had no idea of ​​the true value of the words "ox and horse," was completely unaware of the profound truth that "once an ox or horse, always an ox or horse."

Just as he felt as if he had just fallen asleep, a piercing crack of a whip rang in his ears.

He was jolted awake and before he could even see what was happening, he was roughly pulled out of bed.

Then, he was forced out of the cell by his head and kicked out of the cell door. He was completely dazed throughout the whole process.

It was nearly dusk when one of the overseas Chinese supervisors cleared his throat, took out a booklet, opened it, and began to read aloud.

"Thank you all for your hard work during this time. The project has been completed ahead of schedule, and the Duke of Zhenguo is very satisfied with your work efficiency."

Therefore, to thank everyone for their efforts during this period, the Duke of Zhenguo has decided to pardon your sins. From now on, you are all free!

"Ow ooh..."

Upon hearing this, the laborers, who had been listless, instantly became excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood, and they all shouted at the top of their lungs.

Ruan Chengtu's eyes were red, and he was almost ready to prostrate himself in worship.

Can I finally be free?

Although they lost everything on the island of San Ye, once they returned to Le State, with the Nguyen family's background, they would soon be able to regain their wealth and status.

Looking at the excited, monkey-like laborers in front of him, the overseas Chinese reciting the booklet let out a disdainful snort.

"Silence! The Duke of Zhenguo's instructions are not finished yet. Let me finish reading them!"

The scene fell silent instantly.

The overseer turned to the next page and began reading again.

“Our Great Chu has always been fair and just, and will not treat the people of friendly neighboring countries unfairly. You have worked for thirteen days, so naturally we should pay you wages.”

Upon hearing that they would receive money, the laborers once again beamed with joy.

They thought that their exhaustion these days was just a punishment from the Chu army, but it turned out that the two sides were just employers and employees.

"Long live the Great Chu! Long live the Great Chu!"

Someone in the crowd shouted and knelt down like a pillar pushing a mountain.

"Long live the Great Chu! Long live His Majesty!"

Immediately afterwards, all the laborers, including Ruan Chengtu, knelt down and began to kowtow.

They completely forgot about the thousands of comrades who had been tortured to death by the Chu army in order to meet the project's deadline.

The overseer rolled his eyes at them and turned to the next page.

"The wages are 20 coins per person per day, and 260 coins per person for thirteen days."

"However, the accommodation, food, sanitation, and security expenses incurred during your work period must be deducted from your wages."

"The daily food cost for the labor camp is 640 taels of silver, which is equivalent to 640,000 copper coins per day. The security management fee is 80 taels per day, which is equivalent to 80,000 copper coins per day."

In addition, the accommodation fee is thirty coins per person per bed per day, totaling five thousand beds, or one hundred and fifty thousand coins per day, and there is also…

The foreman was still reading aloud word by word, but Ruan Chengtu felt a buzzing in his ears and could no longer hear a single word; he was completely dumbfounded.

The other laborers were also dumbfounded.

"Alright, after the calculation, each of you owes the Duke of Zhenguo seventy-six taels of silver. Let's settle the accounts now."

The scene fell silent, with only a few crows cawing mockingly in the air.

Ruan Chengtu was now extremely angry and wanted to curse.

That's despicable, absolutely despicable.

Putting aside where these fees came from, this was the first time he had ever heard of someone working as a laborer who not only didn't earn a penny but also ended up owing money.

This is absolutely outrageous. Even Buddha would be furious if he heard it, let alone a human being.

Finally, one of the laborers couldn't hold back any longer and protested: "I don't accept this. How can we be paid to work? Aren't they treating us like idiots?"

Another person mustered up the courage to speak up: "Seventy-six taels of silver? I couldn't earn that much in ten years. Isn't this trying to force us to our deaths?"

Their words were instantly echoed by the other laborers.

Immediately, complaints and grumbling filled the labor camp.

Upon seeing this, the soldiers of the auxiliary defense battalion immediately raised their rifles and aimed at the scene, ready to pull the trigger without hesitation should anyone dare to do anything out of line.

boom--

Suddenly, a Chu army officer fired a shot into the air, instantly silencing the labor camp.

"What's all this noise about? If you keep making noise, just drag her out and shoot her. Go ahead and keep causing trouble if you dare!"

The officer glanced around the room and then said to the overseer, "Ignore them, just do your job."

"Yes."

The foreman responded and then addressed everyone, "Every single account here is recorded in a ledger, which will be compiled and presented to His Majesty for review in the future."

So no matter how much trouble you cause, just pay this money first.

The homes of the laborers had long been destroyed by the Chu army, and now they had no decent dwellings, so how could they possibly repay such a huge debt?

Moreover, the debt was so inexplicable that it caught them completely off guard.

At this point, Ruan Chengtu finally spoke up: "But what if we are penniless now and simply cannot afford to pay?"

The overseer looked thoughtfully at the officer.

Seeing the officer nod, he slowly replied, "Don't worry if you can't pay. You can find another way to repay your debt."

Then, the foreman ordered someone to bring a wooden box.

Upon opening them, they were all identical contracts of servitude.

The overseer casually picked up a document: "See this? This is a contract of servitude! As long as you sign this contract, agreeing to be slaves and servants of the Three-Page Island residents..."

"You can pay off your debts in just ten years. How about that? Isn't that merciful? Hurry up and come over to sign."

Upon hearing that he would have to become a servant to someone, especially one of the Chu people who had oppressed him in the past?

Many people are quite resistant to this.

But if they don't sign a contract of servitude, they'll never be able to escape this debt.

"How to do?"

For a moment, the laborers exchanged glances, trying to find a suitable solution.

But if these indigenous people, whose average level of education is so low that they didn't even finish prenatal education, could come up with a solution, they wouldn't be doing manual labor.

"Are you going to sign or not?!"

Seeing that the laborers did not respond for a long time, the officer lost his temper and pulled out his pistol, pointing it at them.

"Sign or you'll all be shot!"

"I sign!"

Under the threat of death, someone finally couldn't hold back and stepped forward to press their fingerprint on their indenture.

The others had no choice but to do as they were told.

From this moment on, these cattle and horses were absolutely unable to turn the tide.

Meanwhile, with the fortress completed and their maritime resources replenished, Shen Lian and Jiang Mengxuan once again boarded the Po Jun and headed towards the port of Li Kingdom.

On the South China Sea, storms are brewing.