My Imperial Advisor is ChatGPT

In early autumn in Xianyang, the sky is high and the clouds are light.

However, inside the royal steelworks on the banks of the Wei River, the sky was stained a chaotic gray by thick black smoke. The enormous blast furnaces resembled an erupting volcano, ceaselessly spewing molten iron and pungent sulfurous fumes day and night.

Ying Zheng stood on the viewing platform in front of the blast furnace, holding a piece of freshly cooled coke in his hand, his brows slightly furrowed. This thing was black and light, its surface covered with honeycomb-like pores; it didn't look like any divine object at all, but rather like burnt charcoal.

"Little G, can this stuff really be used to forge iron harder than wootz steel?"

He asked himself. Although he had verified the accuracy of that voice from the future countless times, his suspicious nature as an emperor made him scrutinize everything that had not yet yielded results.

[Your Majesty, please trust chemistry. Coke has three times the calorific value of charcoal, and its hardness and porosity allow it to support the heavy layers of ore inside the blast furnace, ensuring breathability. This is the cornerstone of large-scale industrial steelmaking. Without it, your ironclad cavalry would only be wearing flimsy iron armor and crashing into walls.]

Ying Zheng casually tossed the coke back into the basket and patted the black ash off his hands.

"Let's begin."

At a command, Zhao Gao, who had been waiting for a long time—now looking more like an old miner covered in grease than a palace attendant—waved his command flag and roared in a hoarse voice, "Open the furnace! Tap out the steel!"

This time, what flowed out was no longer red-hot molten iron, but a fluid with a dazzling white light. That was a sign that the temperature had reached its extreme.

Standing by the furnace, Zhang Liang was wearing sunglasses (made of crystal) and holding a long iron ladle, stirring the molten steel with extreme precision. He wasn't cooking; he was "stirring steel."

"Add ferrosilicon! Deoxidize!" Zhang Liang shouted.

Several Mohist disciples quickly poured packets of powder into the molten steel.

"Add manganese! Remove sulfur!"

As various auxiliary materials were added, the color of the molten steel began to change subtly. The violent boiling gradually subsided, and it became like a bottomless pool of liquid mercury.

Xiang Yu, who had been standing guard like a doorman, began to breathe heavily.

He stared intently at the molten steel, as if it were his long-lost brother. Ever since he broke his sword in the Western Regions, this Hegemon of Western Chu had developed a "fear of insufficient firepower." He hung the broken sword by his bedside and cursed that damned Ironhead from Kucha every night before going to sleep.

"Will this steel be up to par?" Xiang Yu couldn't help but ask Zhang Liang beside him.

Zhang Liang glanced at him, his tone indifferent: "According to this formula, the carbon content is controlled at around 0.8%. Its hardness is five times that of bronze, and its toughness is ten times that of pig iron. As long as you don't use it to cut diamonds, there's nothing in this world it can't cut."

Xiang Yu grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth.

"Okay. I want a heavy one. The heavier the better."

……

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the East China Sea, at Langya Terrace.

The night was as dark as ink, and the waves crashing against the rocks drowned out all the subtle sounds.

The dilapidated Japanese wooden ship, like a withered leaf, silently slid into the shadows surrounding the shipyard. The short leader on the bow—a man named "Inukai" (perhaps a fierce name in the context of the time)—was greedily gazing at the brightly lit, massive dock ahead.

The "First Emperor" is moored there.

Although it was night, the shipyard was still working overtime. The distinctive deep rumble of the steam engine could be felt on the ground even several miles away.

"Gods..." The one-eyed sailor behind Inukai trembled with fear. "Is there a thunder beast locked up in there? The sound is like thunder."

"Baka!" Inukai cursed under his breath, slapping his subordinate on the back of the head. "What Thunder Beast! That's the Qin people's secret weapon! Master Xu Fu said that whoever can steal the blueprints for this thing will be the next Great General!"

He waved his hand, and five "ninjas" (though perhaps scouts would be a more appropriate term at this point) dressed in black bodysuits and carrying short swords, with reed tubes in their mouths, slid into the icy sea like water ghosts.

Their objective was clear: infiltrate the shipyard, steal the blueprints, or... steal the smoking fuel.

In their minds, the reason why the Qin people's ships could move must be because they burned some kind of divine wood.

The five ninjas swam extremely fast and silently climbed onto the dock's pier.

There were mountains of coal piled up there.

A ninja approached, picked up a dark lump of coal, smelled it, and then licked it with his tongue.

"Bitter. Astringent. Is this the wood of the gods?" he muttered to himself.

The other ninja was more direct. He figured that since this thing could make a ship move, it must contain enormous energy. So, he tried taking a bite.

"Crunch."

With a crisp sound, half of the ninja's tooth broke.

"Hard! So hard! Harder than a rock!" The ninja covered his mouth, tears streaming down his face from the pain.

"Idiot! This is for burning, not for eating!" the lead ninja yelled. "Quick, put it in a bag! Take it back for the founder to study!"

Several people hurriedly began filling cloth bags with coal.

Just then, a series of heavy footsteps approached, accompanied by a lazy yawn.

"Who's stealing coal there?"

Hu Hai, dressed in a crisp white naval uniform (though two buttons were fastened incorrectly), emerged from the shadows carrying a bright kerosene lamp.

He originally came to the ship to check if any rats had damaged the wiring, but instead he encountered several large two-legged rats.

The bright light instantly illuminated the faces of the ninjas.

They awkwardly clutched their coal sacks, their mouths covered in soot, staring at the elegantly dressed boy carrying a "little sun" (a type of portable heater).

"A ghost!"

A ninja was blinded by the bright light, screamed in fright, drew his short sword, and rushed over.

Hu Hai was startled and instinctively threw the gas lamp in his hand over.

"then!"

"Snapped!"

The gas lamp smashed into the ninja's face, shattering the glass dome and splashing scalding kerosene all over his face, instantly igniting a fire.

"ah--!"

The ninja turned into a human torch and screamed as he rolled into the sea.

Seeing this, the remaining four ninjas not only did not run away, but instead became ferocious and surrounded Hu Hai, brandishing their short swords.

"Dare to harm my Yamato warrior! Die, die!"

As Hu Hai retreated, he shouted, "Help! Thief! Someone's stealing coal!"

But the shipyard is too big, and the guards are patrolling the perimeter, so they can't get here in a short time.

With the blade closing in, Hu Hai had nowhere to retreat and his back slammed into something cold and hard.

Those were the enormous iron paddle wheels of the "First Emperor".

Hu Hai had a sudden inspiration.

He leaped onto the ship's side, rushed into the wheelhouse, and pulled down the red emergency start valve.

Although the boiler is not fully preheated, the residual steam pressure inside is still sufficient.

"Ughhhhhh!!!"

A deafening whistle suddenly blared.

The sound echoed through the enclosed dock, sounding like a dragon roaring in their ears. The four ninjas were too close; the sound waves ruptured their eardrums, causing them to roll on the ground, clutching their ears.

Immediately afterwards, the huge paddlewheel started moving.

"Clang!"

The iron blades turned, and although the boat didn't move (because it was tied to a cable), the resulting waves crashed down like a waterfall, directly slamming the ninjas into the water.

"Capture them alive! Don't let them escape!"

Upon hearing the news, Qin sailors rushed over with fishing nets and harpoons, scooping the soaking wet men out of the water like fish.

……

Xianyang, Qilin Hall.

Ying Zheng looked at the few short, dark-skinned, and toothless prisoners kneeling before him, his brows furrowing into a deep frown.

"These are... the barbarians from overseas?"

Ying Zheng covered his nose with a silk handkerchief. The fishy smell and the sour stench of the people who had never bathed were really challenging his bottom line of health preservation.

"Your Majesty, that's right," Meng Tian, ​​who was in charge of escorting them, said, suppressing a laugh. "They were stealing coal at Langya Terrace when Prince Huhai knocked them unconscious with a steam whistle. After interrogation, they said they were sent by Xu Fu."

"Xu Fu..."

Upon hearing this name, a cold glint flashed in Ying Zheng's eyes.

"That old swindler is living quite well on the island, keeping so many...water rats."

He walked up to the leader, Inukai, and used his toe to lift his chin.

"I've heard you're trying to steal my technology?"

Although Inukai was tied up, his eyes remained fierce, and he mumbled something incomprehensible to everyone.

"What did he say?" Ying Zheng asked.

A translator nearby, who understood a bit of the local Dongyi dialect, said, "Your Majesty, he said... he said they are the Yamato people, descendants of the sun. Although you have captured him, their spirit is immortal. He also said... that black stone is too hard; it will break your teeth too."

"Black stone?" Ying Zheng was taken aback, then realized that it referred to coal.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Ying Zheng couldn't help but burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears almost streamed down his face.

"Is this what you call spirit? Eating coal like it's food?"

"Little G," Ying Zheng chuckled to himself, "Are these guys a little out of their minds?"

Your Majesty, this is a classic case of "culture shock" combined with "cognitive discontinuity."

At their stage of civilization, they couldn't comprehend the concept of fossil fuels. They believed power came from some mysterious totem, which is why they consumed coal.

However, this kind of fanaticism and madness, if not curbed, will become a problem in the future.

Ying Zheng stopped laughing, his eyes gradually turning cold.

"The spirit is immortal, right?"

"Very well. I enjoy dealing with all sorts of dissent."

"Zhao Gao!"

"This servant is here." Zhao Gao crawled out from behind the pillar.

"These people are yours. Take them to the 'biological laboratory' in the Epang Palace."

"Isn't Xia Wuqie currently researching the distribution of... pain receptors in the human body? And that 'conditioned reflex' too?"

"Let them serve as...assistants to the cadaver teacher. Or simply as teaching aids."

"I want to see if their spirit can remain as hard as a lump of coal when the scalpel cuts through their flesh."

……

Even after dealing with these water rats, Ying Zheng's mood was not completely calm.

Xu Fu's provocation made him realize that the East Sea was not a desolate wasteland. That old swindler had not only established himself there, but had even built a primitive regime that coveted the Qin Dynasty.

"How can I allow someone else to snore beside my bed?"

Ying Zheng looked eastward.

"Is Hu Hai's ship finished?"

"Your Majesty, the 'First Emperor' has completed its final tests. The other two ships, the 'Great Qin' and the 'Shenzhou,' have also been launched," Meng Tian replied. "With just one order, the fleet can set sail."

"No rush," Ying Zheng waved his hand.

"If we're going to fight, we have to fight it well. Having ships alone isn't enough; we also need... a powerful weapon to keep the situation under control."

Just then, heavy footsteps came from outside the hall.

With each step, the gold bricks on the ground seemed to tremble slightly.

Xiang Yu strode in.

He wore no armor, only a thin samurai uniform, revealing his well-built muscles. But what he carried sent a chill down the spines of all the officials.

That was a knife.

A massive horse-slaying sword, six feet long and as wide as a door panel, entirely black as ink, with only the blade gleaming with a bright, cold light.

The back of the blade is as thick as a wall, and four large characters are engraved on it using the gold inlay technique: Daqin Heavy Industry.

Xiang Yu walked to the center of the hall and slammed his sword on the ground with one hand.

"when--!"

With a loud crash, the hard gold brick was actually cracked by the impact of the blade's tail.

"Your Majesty," Xiang Yu said, clasping his hands in a fist salute, his voice booming like a bell, "the sword is ready."

Ying Zheng looked at the weapon, which was full of violent aesthetics, with admiration in his eyes.

"Is this the steel that Zhang Liang forged?"

"Yes." Xiang Yu stroked the blade, his eyes as tender as if he were touching a lover. "It has an extremely high carbon content, but the blade uses the 'cladding steel method,' making it hard on the outside and soft on the inside. I just tested it; with one strike, it cut through the three layers of iron armor that the Shaofu used to test the blade, along with the wooden stake inside."

"and……"

Xiang Yu suddenly pulled out a fragment of a Woolstone scimitar he had brought back from Kucha.

"I tried this one too."

He placed the fragment on the ground, picked up the new knife, and let it fall by relying solely on the weight of the blade itself.

"Click."

The Wootz steel, known for its ability to cut through iron like mud, was sliced ​​in two by this massive black blade as easily as cutting tofu, with a smooth cut and not a trace of dullness.

"Good!" Ying Zheng slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

"This is the sword I requested! This is the industrial power of the Great Qin!"

"Xiang Ji, this sword, I bestow upon it the name 'Breaking the Formation'."

"Take this and go to the Western Regions. Go and tell Modu that from now on, his patterned steel will only be used by my soldiers to peel apples."

When Xiang Yu mentioned "breaking the formation," his eyes blazed with fighting spirit.

"Your Majesty, I have another request."

"speak."

"I've heard that some petty thieves have come from the east to steal coal?" Xiang Yu licked his lips. "My sword has only just been sharpened; it hasn't seen blood yet. Could I... take a stroll to the east first, before heading west?"

Ying Zheng was taken aback for a moment, then understood what Xiang Yu meant.

This fierce tiger wanted to use Xu Fu as a practice subject.

"Granted."

Ying Zheng walked to the map, waved his hand, and drew a red line that stretched from east to west.

"Xiang Ji, I'll give you three months."

"You take the newly formed 'Marine Corps' and ride in Hu Hai's steamship to flatten that island called 'Fusang' for me. Bring back that old bastard Xu Fu."

"Then, taking the gold and craftsmen they had plundered from the East Sea, they turned west and headed straight for Dayuan."

"I want the whole world to know."

"Neither the waves of the East Sea nor the sands of the Western Regions can stop the sword of the Great Qin!"

Xiang Yu kept his promise, shouldered his long sword, turned and strode away.

His silhouette was like a moving mountain, so imposing it was hard to breathe.

Deep within the Shaofu (Imperial Household Department), Zhang Liang looked at the test data of the "Breaking Formation" sword that had just been delivered, pushed up his crystal glasses, and a complex smile appeared on his lips.

"Violence...can sometimes be a form of aesthetics."

"Ying Zheng, you have won. You have not only conquered people, but you have also conquered... iron."

As the steamship's whistle rang out once more at Langya Terrace, the first cross-sea expedition of the Great Qin Dynasty officially began.

This time, it's not about seeking immortality, but about—destroying a nation.