DLERB -Chapter 133 Father Emperor, This Is Called a Steam Engine! It Can Crush Ten-Thousand-Jin Refined Iron Into a Cake!

Inside the imperial study.

Ying Ziye’s words were like a stone thrown into a calm pond.

Fill the… fish pond?

Meng Tian and Wang Jian exchanged a glance.

Both of their faces were filled with confusion.

Fusu also frowned.

He could understand building a city from Xiongnu corpses, but he could not comprehend how one could “fill” an endless sea.

That was not something human power could reach.

“Ninth Prince.”

Meng Tian stepped forward and cupped his fists.

“On the sea, storms are unpredictable, and there are also giant beasts that swallow ships whole.”

“Since ancient times, it has been a forbidden zone for mankind.”

“My Great Qin’s elite warriors are tigers on land—but once they enter water…”

He did not finish the sentence.

But the meaning was clear.

They would be sending themselves to their deaths.

Wang Jian also spoke, his voice heavy.

“Your Majesty, Ninth Prince. Warfare is a matter of national survival—of life and death. It must not be taken lightly.”

“We have full confidence in conquering the grasslands.”

“But conquering the sea… this has never been done before. Your Majesty, please reconsider!”

The old general’s words represented the thoughts of all military officers.

It was fear of the unknown.

Primitive awe toward nature itself.

Ying Ziye swung his legs, looking at the group of generals who had just been full of heroic ambition moments ago.

He suddenly laughed.

“Oh.”

“So you’re afraid of water?”

His voice was soft and childish—but it pierced everyone’s ears like a needle.

Meng Tian’s face instantly turned red.

“Ninth Prince! This minister does not mean that!”

“If you’re afraid of water, just say so.”

Ying Ziye jumped down from the map and walked up to Meng Tian.

On his tiptoes, he reached out and patted Meng Tian’s heavy armor.

“Uncle Meng Tian, don’t be afraid.”

“It won’t wet your pants.”

Then he turned and ran toward Ying Zheng, grabbing his father’s leg.

“Father Emperor!”

“They’re too timid. They don’t dare to play with water.”

“Take them to see something fun. Give them some courage!”

Ying Zheng looked down at his acting-cute son.

He smiled.

That smile was full of indulgence and understanding.

“Alright.”

Ying Zheng picked up Ying Ziye and strode out of the hall.

“Prepare the carriage!”

“To the Mohist Workshop!”

South of Xianyang City

A massive workshop surrounded tightly by imperial guards.

This place had once been a secret Mohist stronghold. Now it belonged to one person alone.

Ying Ziye.

As Ying Zheng’s group approached, a wave of scorching heat hit them head-on.

Accompanied by deafening clang sounds.

And countless craftsmen shouting at the top of their lungs.

Entering the workshop—

Everyone was stunned by what they saw.

This was not a workshop.

It looked more like the nest of a monster.

Huge interlocking bronze gears filled every corner.

Thick leather belts connected them, spinning wildly.

In the center of the workshop stood a colossal machine forged from brass and refined iron.

Three zhang tall, it crouched there like a ferocious steel beast.

In its belly was a massive furnace blazing with fire, illuminating the entire space in flickering light.

A thick chimney extended from its head into the roof, continuously spewing black smoke.

Dozens of bare-chested Mohist craftsmen surrounded the monster.

Their faces were a mixture of fear and fanatic excitement.

“Clan Leader Gongshu! It… it can’t breathe anymore!” one craftsman shouted trembling.

An old man with white hair and beard—Gongshu Chou, current head of the Gongshu clan—stared intently at a violently moving iron rod on the machine.

“Add water! Quickly, add water to the Heart of the Fire Dragon!”

“And more black stone!”

The craftsmen frantically poured buckets of water into the machine and shoveled baskets of black stone into its gaping furnace mouth.

“ROAR—”

The steel monster let out a deep, muffled roar.

A giant mechanical arm connected to it suddenly lifted.

At its end was a massive hammer weighing ten thousand jin.

“Father Emperor, is it fun to watch?”

Ying Ziye’s voice whispered beside Ying Zheng’s ear.

Ying Zheng did not answer.

His hand tightly gripped the Tai’a sword at his waist.

He could feel it.

That steel monster radiated a pure, domineering, and completely alien force.

“Ziye, what is this thing?”

“I call it the Heart of the Fire Dragon,” Ying Ziye replied.

He jumped down from his father’s arms and walked toward the machine.

“Lift it.”

He called out.

Several imperial guards struggled to carry a house-sized slab of refined steel and placed it beneath the hammer.

It was top-grade material used for forging generals’ armor.

Ordinary weapons could not even leave a mark on it.

Ying Ziye waved at Gongshu Chou.

The old man understood and roared.

“Drop it!”

BOOM!!!

A thunderous explosion.

The earth trembled.

The ten-thousand-jin hammer fell with overwhelming force.

No sparks flew.

Only a terrifying, ear-splitting impact.

The massive slab of refined steel… was flattened like dough.

It was instantly smashed flat.

Turned into a thin iron cake.

“Hiss—”

Meng Tian, Wang Ben, and the others all sharply inhaled a breath.

They stared at that twisted iron disc.

That terrifying impact felt as if it had struck their own chests.

Wang Jian’s throat moved slightly.

Just moments ago, he had been bathed in the golden rain and his strength had surged. He believed he could now punch through ten oxen.

But he knew—

He absolutely could not produce this kind of result.

The old general was unconvinced.

Blood surged through him.

With a roar, he stepped out from the ranks.

“Let this old man try!”

He rushed beneath a slightly smaller hammer.

That hammer was rising and falling in a rhythmic cycle.

Wang Jian gathered all his strength, his muscles bulging, veins like coiling dragons.

“Break!”

He crossed his arms and raised them to meet the descending hammer head-on, trying to block it with his strengthened body!

Bang!

A dull impact.

Wang Jian’s body was sent flying backward like he had been struck by a siege ram.

“Step! Step! Step!”

He staggered back more than ten steps, each step leaving a deep footprint in the hardened ground.

Finally, he fell heavily onto his backside.

He shook his numb arm.

The entire arm had gone completely numb.

Sitting on the ground, Wang Jian stared blankly at the hammer that continued its tireless up-and-down motion.

He had lost.

Lost to a pile of steel that did not think.

The entire workshop fell into deathly silence.

Only the steel monster’s rhythmic clang—clang—clang echoed through the space.

As if mocking the weakness of mortals.

Ying Ziye clapped his hands.

“Do you understand now?”

“This is the ‘fun thing’ I was talking about.”

He had people bring over a huge wooden model.

It was a ship.

A completely strange ship.

It had no sails, but on both sides were enormous wheel-like paddles.

On its deck stood a chimney identical to the one on the steel machine.

“This,”

Ying Ziye pointed at the strange ship,

“is the body of that Fire Dragon.”

Then he pointed at the roaring machine.

“And that is its heart.”

“As long as you feed it enough black stone and water, it can carry this ship across the sea—no sails, no rowers—and run faster than the fastest horse.”

“Storms?”

He smiled.

“It can smash through storms.”

“Sea beasts?”

“It can grind their bones into dust.”

Meng Tian, Wang Jian, Fusu…

Everyone stared blankly at the model ship, then at the terrifying steam engine.

A completely unprecedented thought exploded in their minds.

At that moment—

Ying Ziye threw down another huge sheepskin scroll.

Rustle.

It spread across the ground.

A map they had never seen before.

Great Qin’s territory only occupied a tiny corner of it.

Beyond it lay an endless blue ocean.

And on the far side of the sea—

Countless lands far larger than all of Great Qin combined.

Ying Ziye stepped onto the map with his small feet.

He pointed to a distant western landmass.

“This is called ‘Da Ma’.”

“The people there build houses with gold and pave roads with gemstones.”

“Their soldiers wear clothes made of feathers, and they don’t even know what iron is.”

He looked up at the stunned crowd.

“They are the fat sheep waiting on the other side of the fish pond.”

“We sail there on these iron-armored ships.”

“Take all their gold, and bring it back to build Father Emperor a palace a hundred times larger than Xianyang Palace!”

Golden houses…

Gemstone roads…

These words ignited greed like a sudden blaze in everyone’s hearts.

Ying Zheng had remained silent all this time.

He stepped forward.

One step at a time.

He walked up to the massive world map.

He looked at the tiny territory of Great Qin.

Then at the vast oceans and unknown lands beyond.

His body trembled slightly.

Not from fear.

But from excitement.

An unprecedented excitement rising from the depths of his soul.

Clang!

The Tai’a sword was drawn.

Its dragon-like cry rang out.

Ying Zheng raised the sword and pointed it heavily at the land called “Da Ma” on the map.

His voice was no longer calm.

It was filled with burning madness and ambition.

“I will not only fill this fish pond!”

His sword swept across the entire ocean, across all unknown lands.

“I will turn every place where humans can stand into Great Qin’s pasture!”

“Pass down my decree!”

Ying Zheng’s voice thundered through the workshop, overpowering even the roar of the steel monster.

“Summon all craftsmen of the empire! Empty the national treasury!”

“Build for me a thousand of these iron beasts!”

“I want the Black Water Dragon Banner of Great Qin planted on every corner of this world!”