Li An stood outside the gates of the Ministry of Works’ Armory Bureau, completely stunned.
He looked at the bustling, fiery scene inside the courtyard and felt his blood pressure rising again.
More than a dozen furnaces burned fiercely, lighting up half the sky with a red glow.
Dozens of craftsmen stood in neat rows, each performing their assigned task.
Some selected materials, some tended the fires, some hammered, and some quenched the metal.
It looked like… like an assembly line?
Wasn’t this already the embryonic form of an industrial revolution?
It was far more exaggerated than what he had seen that night!
Originally, Li An still harbored a sliver of hope, thinking that Zhang Tiezhu was just messing around a little—at most showing the faintest sprout of modern industrial thinking.
But who the hell knew that in just a few days, that little sprout had grown so vigorously?
In his previous life, he had studied history.
He knew how the Industrial Revolution had transformed Britain from a small island nation into the empire on which the sun never set.
He knew how assembly-line production had multiplied productivity dozens of times.
But the problem was…
This was Great Qi in ancient times!
A feudal society!
How the hell did such an awesome assembly line suddenly appear?
And it was created by Zhang Tiezhu—the blacksmith he himself had assigned here?
This was absurd!
“Young Master… are you alright?” Hongmei asked softly from the side.
“No.”
Li An held his forehead.
“This official is not alright.”
“Very not alright.”
He took a deep breath and ultimately decided not to reveal his presence yet.
After all, charging in now wouldn’t help.
What was done was done. It couldn’t be undone.
He could only wait and see how far these people would take things.
…
Inside the courtyard.
Jin Daya stood with his hands on his hips, looking immensely proud as he inspected the scene.
“Good! Keep it up!”
he shouted loudly.
“If tonight’s output breaks two hundred units, everyone gets a reward of two taels of silver!”
Hearing this, the craftsmen worked even harder.
The clanging of hammers rose and fell in rhythm, as orderly as a symphony.
Zhang Tiezhu squeezed out of the crowd, his face covered in sweat and grease, yet smiling brightly.
“Lord Jin!”
He ran toward Jin Daya.
“Today’s output is twenty percent higher than yesterday’s!”
“At this rate, within a month we’ll clear all the backlogged orders!”
Jin Daya’s smile widened even further.
“Excellent!”
“You’ve worked hard, Brother Tiezhu!”
He patted Zhang Tiezhu’s shoulder and lowered his voice.
“Once this batch is shipped out, I’ll allocate another fifty thousand taels to you.”
“We’ll buy the land next door and expand the workshop!”
Zhang Tiezhu was so moved his eyes grew moist.
“Lord Jin, you… you’ve been so good to our Ministry of Works!”
“What do you mean ‘our Ministry of Works’?”
Jin Daya waved his hand.
“We’re all Lord Li’s men!”
“We’re just carrying out Lord Li’s instructions!”
“When Lord Li returns to office, all this merit will belong to him!”
Zhang Tiezhu nodded repeatedly.
“Right, right! It’s all Lord Li’s merit!”
“We’re just running errands for him!”
Outside the gate, Li An’s mouth twitched.
Merit?
I don’t want merit!
I want you all to screw this up!
But instead of messing it up, you’ve made it flourish!
This is bad.
If the Ministry of Works increases production, the frontier army will have sufficient weapons.
If the frontier army has equipment, their combat strength will rise.
If their combat strength rises, Northern Yan won’t be able to invade.
If Northern Yan can’t invade, Great Qi won’t fall.
If Great Qi doesn’t fall, he can’t complete his mission!
The more Li An thought about it, the more irritated he became, feeling dizzy.
Just then, a commotion arose in the courtyard.
“Make way! This official is going in!”
A sharp voice came from behind the crowd.
Li An looked closely and saw several elderly officials in court robes pushing their way in.
The one in front he recognized—Vice Minister Zhou of the Ministry of Works.
An old die-hard conservative, a staunch defender of rigid classical orthodoxy—one of the loudest critics of Li An in court.
“Lord Zhou is here!”
someone whispered.
The atmosphere instantly grew tense.
Though the craftsmen didn’t stop working, they were clearly sneaking glances over.
Jin Daya, however, showed no sign of panic.
He straightened his collar and went forward with a smile.
“Ah, Lord Zhou!”
“So late and you’re still making inspections?”
“You truly work hard!”
Vice Minister Zhou’s face was ashen.
“Jin Daya!”
He pointed at the scene around him and shouted angrily,
“What are you doing?”
“The Ministry of Works is a government office, not your private workshop!”
“Who allowed you to alter the production process?”
“Who allowed you to set up your own reward and punishment system?”
“This is against regulations!”
Jin Daya chuckled.
“Please calm down, Lord Zhou.”
As he spoke, he gave a subtle signal to a servant nearby.
“Rules are dead; people are alive.”
“Aren’t we just trying to increase output and supply weapons to the frontier army?”
“It’s all for the good of Great Qi!”
Vice Minister Zhou snorted coldly.
“For the good of Great Qi?”
“Do you think I don’t know what you’re up to?”
“You’re sidelining me!”
“You want to turn the Ministry of Works into your own one-man domain!”
“I’m telling you—no way!”
He waved to the officials behind him.
“Men! Tear down all this messy nonsense!”
“Restore the Ministry of Works to its former system!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the officials stepped forward.
But before they could act, the sound of synchronized footsteps echoed.
More than thirty burly men surrounded the courtyard from all directions.
Each had a saber at his waist, faces fierce.
At the front was Zhao Dadan.
He held a gleaming broadsword in one hand and looked at Vice Minister Zhou with a grin.
“Lord Zhou, what are you trying to do?”
Vice Minister Zhou’s face changed instantly.
“You… what are you planning?”
“This is the Ministry of Works!”
“You dare use force in a government office?”
Zhao Dadan grinned, baring his teeth.
“You misunderstand, Lord Zhou.”
“We brothers from the Mutual Trade Supervisorate were ordered here to protect the Ministry of Works.”
“Lately the capital hasn’t been peaceful. Some petty troublemakers keep trying to stir things up.”
“We’re just here to guard the place.”
He paused, lowering his voice.
“Of course, if someone tries to tear things down…”
“We won’t be polite.”
Hearing the threat, Vice Minister Zhou pointed at them, trembling.
“You… you…”
“This is lawlessness!”
“I’ll file a complaint before the Emperor!”
Jin Daya strolled over calmly.
“Lord Zhou, why be so angry?”
he said with a smile.
“We’re reasonable people.”
“How about this—you and the other officials go rest in the tea room.”
“Have some tea, some refreshments.”
“The dirty, exhausting work here—leave it to us rough men.”
“When production increases, you’ll get your share of the credit too.”
“Isn’t that a win-win?”
Vice Minister Zhou widened his eyes disdainfully.
“You… you’re trying to bribe me?”
“No, no, what bribery?”
Jin Daya waved his hands.
“This is called… cooperation for mutual benefit!”
“You’re a respected senior of the Ministry.”
“We newcomers just want to learn from you.”
“Consider it mentoring the younger generation.”
He gave another signal.
A servant immediately brought over a tray.
On it sat an exquisite brocade box.
Jin Daya personally opened it, revealing a stack of silver banknotes.
“A small token of respect.”
“A bit of sincerity from us juniors.”
“Please don’t refuse.”
Vice Minister Zhou stared at the banknotes, eyes nearly popping out.
At least… five thousand taels?
No—judging by the thickness… ten thousand?!
He swallowed.
A fierce internal struggle began.
On one hand, accepting this would be corruption, a stain on his integrity.
On the other…
Ten thousand taels!
He’d been an official his whole life. Sure, he skimmed small amounts now and then—but expenses were high. He had never saved this much!
And besides…
Jin Daya wasn’t wrong.
He’d get credit and money.
He wouldn’t have to do a thing—just turn a blind eye.
This deal… didn’t seem bad?
Vice Minister Zhou’s lips trembled.
Finally, he let out a long sigh.
“Very well… very well…”
“I’m old. I can’t manage so much anymore.”
“You… take care of yourselves.”
With that, he reached out and took the brocade box.
Jin Daya beamed.
“Lord Zhou is wise!”
“Escort Lord Zhou to the tea room!”
“Serve the best tea and snacks!”
Vice Minister Zhou was escorted away by servants.
After a few steps, he paused and glanced back.
In the courtyard, the craftsmen were still working feverishly.
The rhythmic hammering sounded so piercing.
But he said nothing.
He merely sighed and continued walking.
…
Li An saw everything.
His face was no longer pale—it was black.
What the hell kind of move was that?
Using silver to buy off officials?
Wasn’t that just bribery?
Bribery and corruption were serious crimes!
And yet… Vice Minister Zhou actually accepted it.
And accepted it with complete peace of mind.
Li An suddenly felt an absurd sense of irony.
He had racked his brains trying to ruin the nation, yet his subordinates used “money” to solve every obstacle.
Rules. Regulations. Stubborn old conservatives…
In front of silver, they were nothing but clouds drifting by.
Was this the power of capital?
And Jin Daya and the other four troublemakers had figured it out on their own?
He hadn’t given them a single instruction!
Terrifying.
Just then, Zhang Tiezhu’s voice rang out again.
“Brothers! The first batch of standardized pieces is out!”
Everyone’s attention was drawn over.
Zhang Tiezhu emerged from the warehouse holding a saber.
The blade looked utterly ordinary—no patterns, no decorations.
Just a plain, black iron saber.
But Zhang Tiezhu treated it like a treasure.
“See this?”
he said excitedly.
“From material selection to finished product, this saber only took two hours!”
“In the past, forging one saber took ten days to half a month!”
“Now it’s two hours per saber! And the quality is far better than before!”
The craftsmen gasped in amazement.
“Don’t believe me? I’ll show you!”
Zhang Tiezhu turned and spotted a wooden railing nearby.
He raised the saber and slashed down hard.
Clang!
The wooden railing was cleanly cut into two!
The cut surface was smooth as a mirror!
“Good!”
The craftsmen erupted in cheers.
“Brother Tiezhu is mighty!”
Zhang Tiezhu laughed proudly.
“This is what a real weapon should be!”
“Those dragon-and-phoenix-engraved things before were just artworks!”
“On the battlefield, standardized pieces like this are the best!”
“Uniform length! Uniform weight! Uniform sharpness!”
“Soldiers can use them immediately—no need to adjust!”
Jin Daya nodded repeatedly from the side.
“Well said!”
“This is exactly the effect Lord Li wanted!”
“Lord Li said long ago—war relies on efficiency, not flashy decorations!”
“Our Ministry of Works must provide the frontier army with the most practical weapons!”
Outside the gate, Li An nearly coughed up blood.
The effect Lord Li wanted?
When did I ever want this effect?
What I wanted was for you to mess things up!
To plunge the Ministry into chaos!
To leave the frontier army without weapons!
But instead of failing, you’ve created ‘standardized production’!
You’ve created ‘piece-rate wages’!
You’ve created ‘assembly-line operations’!
At this rate, is Great Qi going to launch an Industrial Revolution too?!
Li An felt his worldview collapsing.
He hadn’t taught them anything!
He had merely placed a few people into the Ministry!
How did this happen?
Were the ancient people in this world all geniuses?
Or was the Great Qi he transmigrated into secretly some kind of high-martial world?
No, this was clearly an ordinary feudal society!
The more he thought, the more his head hurt.
Just then, Hongmei quietly leaned closer.
“Young Master, shall we keep watching?”
“No.”
Li An waved weakly, utterly deflated.
“I can’t watch anymore.”
“Let’s go back.”
He turned and walked away, his steps slightly unsteady.
Hongmei hurried after him, carefully supporting him.
“Young Master…”
“Don’t speak.”
Li An took a deep breath.
“Let this official be alone.”
…
Back at the Zhuangyuan Residence.
Li An collapsed onto his bed, unable to calm down for a long time.
The scenes he had just witnessed replayed in his mind.
Assembly-line operations.
Piece-rate wages.
Standardized production.
Silver bullets buying off officials.
These people…
They were born capitalists!
How were they so naturally good at this?
Ding!
The system notification sounded.
Li An weakly opened the system panel.
【Detected significant increase in production efficiency at the Ministry of Works Armory Bureau…】
【Civilian Potential: +5,832】
【National Strength Growth: +3,217】
【Projected National Fortune Rebound in three days: +20,000 ~ +40,000】
Li An stared at the numbers, feeling utterly miserable.
Three days later?
National fortune rebound?
Twenty to forty thousand?
Didn’t that mean all his recent “nation-ruining” efforts would soon be wiped out?
Maybe even reversed into growth?
“No…”
He was speechless.
“I just want to ruin a country properly…”
“Why is it so hard…”
…
The next day.
A teahouse in the capital.
Hongmei sat alone at a corner table, but her ears were tuned to the surrounding conversations.
This was the task Li An had given her—to gather as much civilian intelligence as possible.
Today, the teahouse was particularly lively.
“Have you heard? The Ministry of Works has been buzzing lately!”
A scholarly-looking young man lowered his voice.
“Buzzing? How so?”
“Apparently they’ve been burning furnaces all night, flames shooting into the sky!”
“Some say they’re rushing to forge weapons. Others say they’re refining pills!”
“Either way, it’s so noisy the neighbors can’t sleep!”
Hongmei’s ears perked up.
Flames shooting into the sky?
That was exactly what they had seen last night.
“There’s something even stranger!”
another person chimed in.
“They say a batch of newcomers arrived at the Ministry. All rough types.”
“The leader’s called Zhang Tiezhu—a blacksmith by trade.”
“And there’s Jin Daya, some former gang boss.”
“They broke all the old rules and started this ‘assembly line’ and ‘piece-rate wages’…”
“The old officials are furious, but they can’t do anything!”
“Why not?”
“Because the Mutual Trade Supervisorate is backing them! A bunch of burly men guarding the place—who dares mess with them?”
Hongmei silently memorized the information.
It seemed the Ministry’s transformation had become a hot topic across the capital.
“Speaking of which, do you know who’s backing all this?”
an old man said mysteriously.
“Who?”
“Who else? That Lord Li who’s under house arrest!”
“Li An? Wasn’t he suspended?”
“Suspended, yes—but his people are still around!”
The old man lowered his voice.
“Think about it. Jin Daya, Zhang Tiezhu, Liu Banxian, Zhao Dadan…”
“Who promoted them?”
“Wasn’t it all Li An?”
“What they’re doing now is obviously building merit for Lord Li!”
“When he returns to office, all the credit will be his!”
“Ah, truly a master strategist!”
Everyone nodded.
“As expected of a Zhuangyuan—he has methods!”
“On the surface he’s reflecting behind closed doors, but secretly he’s arranged all Six Ministries!”
“What’s that saying? Strategizing within the tent, deciding victory a thousand miles away!”
Hongmei’s lips twitched slightly.
Strategizing?
Deciding victory a thousand miles away?
If Young Master heard this, he’d probably vomit blood.
He clearly wanted them to mess things up.
Instead, they’d created such a grand spectacle.
Now the whole capital was praising Lord Li’s brilliance…
Young Master would probably be furious.
She stood, paid the bill, and quietly left.
…
Back at the Zhuangyuan Residence.
Li An lay on his bed in a daze.
Hongmei pushed the door open.
“Young Master.”
“Mm?”
Li An responded weakly.
“What did you find out?”
“The Ministry’s affairs have spread throughout the entire capital.”
Hongmei reported truthfully.
“Everyone says it’s bustling and blazing with activity.”
“They also say… it’s all your achievement.”
At those words, Li An suddenly sprang upright as inspiration struck.
“You said… blazing with activity?”
“Yes.”
Hongmei nodded.
“Flames shooting into the sky, burning all night.”
Li An nearly jumped up in excitement.
“Isn’t that… a fire?!”
Hongmei: “…”
“Young Master, I don’t think that’s what they meant…”
“How not?”
Li An paced back and forth excitedly.
“Blazing with activity! Flames shooting into the sky! Burning all night!”
“Doesn’t that mean the Ministry caught fire?”
“This is great! Great! Hongmei, you don’t understand—this can work!”
“If the Ministry burns down, they can’t forge weapons!”
“If the frontier army has no weapons, they can’t fight!”
“If they can’t fight, Northern Yan can invade!”
“Hahahaha…”
He laughed toward the sky and immediately ordered,
“Hongmei! Go! Send word to the Blackwater Terrace. Have them arrange men… to launch a night raid on the Ministry and set a big fire!”
…
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