I started on a deserted island and encountered Ying Zheng, who insisted I was an immortal.

Zhang Ying stared at the square "Fully Automatic Mahjong Machine" icon on the system panel, which was flashing an eerie green light. Her fingertip hovered in mid-air, unable to press it.

Industrial machine tools can manufacture guns and cannons, and smelting technology can cast iron armor.

What can this mahjong machine do?

How to teach Qin Shi Huang to fight to the bitter end?

Or should we let Li Si and Meng Tian clash head-on at the foot of the Great Wall?

"gentlemen?"

Seeing Zhang Ying staring blankly into the void, Ying Zheng assumed that the immortal was undergoing some kind of sacred "divine connection," so he quickly lowered his voice and waved to Wang Ben, who was picking his teeth, to shut up.

"fine."

Zhang Ying came to her senses and had a thought.

"Clang!"

A heavy solid wood square table appeared out of nowhere in the center of the living room.

The tabletop was covered with green velvet, and there were four drawers around it, with a round turntable in the center.

It has a simple and elegant design and is well-made.

Most importantly, this thing actually has a built-in battery, so it doesn't need to be plugged in.

"assassin!"

Meng Tian reacted the fastest, grabbing the stool from under his buttocks and about to smash it onto the table.

"stop!"

Zhang Ying stopped the brute, "This is... a magical artifact."

"A magical artifact?"

Ying Zheng's eyes widened instantly.

He pushed Meng Tian aside and circled the mahjong machine three times.

He reached out and touched the delicate velvet, then tapped the hard wooden frame.

"This object is square, which subtly reflects the principle of a round heaven and a square earth."

Ying Zheng, his face solemn, pointed to the central disc. "Could this be... the altar for predicting the fate of the nation?"

Zhang Ying's lips twitched.

This reading comprehension ability is perfect.

"More or less."

Zhang Ying was too lazy to explain and pressed the start button.

"Splash—"

Suddenly, a series of rapid impacts came from inside the table, like a thousand horses galloping or countless metals clashing.

The central disc slowly rose and then quickly fell back down.

The once empty table was suddenly covered with two neat rows of mahjong tiles.

"witchcraft!"

Li Si was so frightened that he fell to the ground with a thud, his face deathly pale. "There's someone in under the table! A ghost!"

Wang Ben even pulled out the butcher knife from his waist (the one he used to cut meat earlier), staring intently at the table that automatically dispensed cards, his entire body tense.

"Stay calm."

Zhang Ying pulled out a chair, sat down, grabbed a deck of cards, and skillfully arranged them.

"This is called the Battle of Fangcheng."

He slammed a "Nine of Bamboo" on the table.

"Do you want to learn?"

"The Battle of Fangcheng...?"

Ying Zheng pondered these four words.

His eyes flashed with a sharp light.

Fangcheng means city.

The term "battle" refers to an attack or conquest.

This is no game.

This is clearly a military strategy taught by immortals! It is the supreme path to ruling over all people and conquering cities and territories!

"study!"

Ying Zheng lifted his robe and sat down opposite Zhang Ying with an air of authority. "Please enlighten me, sir!"

Half an hour later.

The living room was filled with smoke.

Zhang Ying had a cigarette in her mouth, Ying Zheng had a cigarette in his mouth (given by Zhang Ying), and Li Si and Meng Tian sat on the other two sides, staring nervously at the cards in their hands.

"bump!"

Ying Zheng slammed two "two-of-a-kind" cards onto the table, causing the teacups to tremble violently.

He snatched the "two of bamboo" card from in front of Meng Tian, ​​his face filled with an arrogant look of looking down on the world.

"Meng Tian, ​​I've broken your horse's leg!"

Looking at his dismantled hand, Meng Tian felt like crying.

That's his general!

How could Your Majesty break the leg of your own general's horse?

"Your Majesty... those are two legs," Zhang Ying corrected, "not horse legs."

"If I say it's a horse's leg, then it's a horse's leg!"

Ying Zheng exuded domineering aura and casually played a "blank card".

"This is flawless, a gift from me!"

"I won."

Zhang Ying pushed over the cards in front of her.

All of them are the same color.

"Give me the money."

Zhang Ying stretched out her hand and laid it out in front of Ying Zheng.

The entire room fell silent.

Ying Zheng looked at Zhang Ying's neatly arranged "circles" and then at his own messy "wan" and "tiao" in his hand.

The domineering aura on his face froze.

"I……"

Ying Zheng touched his pocket.

Empty.

He gave his jade pendant to Zhang Ying as a lighter, his dragon robe is still on the ship, and he doesn't even have a copper coin in the work pants he's wearing.

"No money?"

Zhang Ying raised an eyebrow. "Why play mahjong if you don't have money? This is gambling... this is a game of chance, understand?"

"I have it!"

Ying Zheng blushed and grabbed Li Si, who was standing next to him.

"Li Si! Put this into the accounts!"

"I owe you, sir... one thousand taels of gold!"

Li Si hurriedly pulled out his precious notebook, just about to start writing.

"Gold is out of the question."

Zhang Ying waved her hand, "That stuff isn't even worth as much as potatoes on this island."

He pointed to the newly reclaimed wasteland outside the window.

"If I lose one game, I'll dig an acre of land tomorrow."

"Double the payout if you fire a cannon."

"Self-drawn, all three parties pay out".

Ying Zheng was stunned.

Dig?

Why would the mighty First Emperor be sent to dig the earth?

"What? Can't you play?" Zhang Ying looked at him with a half-smile. "If you can't play, then get off the table and let Wang Ben take your place."

Wang Ben immediately rubbed his hands together, looking eager to try.

"Who says I can't take a joke!"

Ying Zheng slammed his fist on the table, his hair standing on end in fury.

"Let's dig!"

"I am the Son of Heaven, possessing the entire world; why would I fear losing a few acres of land?"

Shuffle the cards!

"Splash—"

The mahjong machine started running again.

That night.

The small building on the deserted island was brightly lit.

"Damn it! My Great Qin cavalry, who dares to stand in their way?"

"Eat! Li Si, hand over your provisions!"

"Hu...you won?"

With trembling hands, Meng Tian pushed over the cards in front of him.

He dared not look at Ying Zheng's expression.

He actually won the game against His Majesty.

This is a tyrant!

"Meng Tian!!!"

Ying Zheng's eyes turned red as he looked at the terrible hand in front of Meng Tian.

"That's utter nonsense! You dare to lie about my Grand Four Joys with such nonsense?"

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty knows your crime..." Meng Tian wanted to kneel, but his legs were blocked by the table, so he could only shrink his neck and endure the scolding.

"Make a note of this for me!"

Ying Zheng pointed at Li Si, "Meng Tian, ​​go and collect manure tomorrow! Fill the pigsty!"

"promise……"

They fought until dawn.

The rooster crows.

Zhang Ying yawned and pushed aside the mountain of chips (represented by potato chunks) piled up in front of her.

"Alright, let's call it a day."

"I'm not leaving!"

Ying Zheng's eyes were bloodshot, his hair was disheveled, and two buttons on his work pants had popped open.

But he was as excited as a drug addict who had just taken drugs.

"One more round!"

"I sense it!"

"This time, I will definitely play Thirteen Orphans!"

Zhang Ying looked at this emperor who had completely become a gambler, speechless with emotion.

If the historians saw this...

It could probably bite the pen barrel off.

"That's all."

Zhang Ying pointed out the window, "It's dawn, time to get to work."

"Your Majesty, you owe me 45 acres of potatoes that haven't been dug up."

"Li Si owes me thirty baskets of pig feed."

"Meng Tian..." Zhang Ying glanced at the honest-looking military officer, "You won, you get a day off today."

"Thank you, Mr. Xie!" Meng Tian was overjoyed.

Ying Zheng gripped the edge of the table tightly, his knuckles turning white.

Lost.

We lost completely.

Not only did they lose land and face, they also lost to their own subjects.

This sense of humiliation was even stronger than when he was a hostage in the State of Zhao.

"gentlemen."

Ying Zheng took a deep breath and slowly stood up.

Although he lost everything except his underwear, the emperor's dignity could not be lost.

"Today's defeat is not a fault of the battle."

"It's because I... had bad luck."

He turned around, his back to Zhang Ying, leaving everyone with a desolate and resolute silhouette.

"Meng Yi".

"Your subject is here."

"Bring me my hoe."

"His Majesty?"

"I'm going to dig potatoes!"

Ying Zheng gritted his teeth, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"I will reclaim the lost empire..."

"I dug it up myself!"

……

The sun was blazing overhead.

The sea breeze is hot and dry.

Ying Zheng, shirtless, brandished his high-carbon steel entrenching tool and unleashed a furious barrage of attacks in the field.

Dirt splashed everywhere.

Sweat streamed down his strong back and into the soil beneath his feet.

"Hey! Ha!"

Ying Zheng would roar every time he dug.

It was as if what was buried in the soil wasn't potatoes, but Zhang Ying's smug face.

"Your Majesty, please rest for a while."

Li Si was carrying a large bamboo basket filled with freshly cut pig feed, and he was panting heavily.

"What rest?!"

Without turning his head, Ying Zheng declared, "I owe forty-five mu! Forty-five mu!"

"If we don't finish digging, we won't have dinner tonight!"

"Not having food to eat is a small matter; I can't afford to lose face like this!"

As they were talking.

Suddenly, a desolate horn sounded from the distant sea.

"Waaah—"

That was the rallying cry for the Qin navy.

Ying Zheng paused.

He straightened up, wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, and squinted at the sea.

Dozens of enormous ships were slowly adjusting their sails, seemingly preparing to set sail.

"What happened?"

Ying Zheng frowned. "Without my order, who dares to move the warships?"

Meng Tian also threw down the large dung ladle in his hand (he was carrying dung), his face solemn.

"Your Majesty, that is... a signal to prepare for war."

"Preparing for war?"

Ying Zheng's heart sank.

What enemy could there be on this deserted island?

Could it be...?

"Report—!!!"

A messenger stumbled over from the other side of the beach, his face filled with terror.

"Your Majesty! Minister! Something terrible has happened!"

"There are so many strange ships coming from the sea!"

"Strange ship?"

Ying Zheng slammed the entrenching tool into the ground, emanating a chilling aura of killing intent.

The gambler who had just lost so much disappeared in an instant.

Instead, the First Emperor, who swept across the land, took his place.

"What kind of demon dares to offend my Great Qin?"

The messenger swallowed hard, pointed to the distant horizon, his voice trembling.

"I...I don't know."

"Those boats... had no sails, no oars."

"It's...it's still emitting black smoke!"

Chapter 81

Chapter 90 That's... my 100,000 mahjong partners?

Black smoke?

No sails, no oars?

Ying Zheng's heart skipped a beat.

This description sounds a bit like the "tractor" Zhang Ying mentioned.

Could it be that someone from the same clan as the immortals has arrived?

"Walk!"

Ying Zheng pulled the entrenching tool stuck in the ground and strode towards the beach. "Come with me and take a look!"

Li Si threw down his pig feed basket, Meng Tian threw down his manure scoop, and Wang Ben followed closely behind, carrying a pig-slaughtering knife.

The three thousand Qin soldiers who were carrying bricks also sensed the change in atmosphere.

No military orders are required.

They quickly assembled, and although they were carrying bricks and shovels, their fierce and menacing aura instantly coalesced into a cloud.

Zhang Ying stood on the second-floor balcony, holding a pair of binoculars in her hand.

In the lens.

Several black dots did indeed appear on the sea surface.

As the distance closes.

The black dots gradually became clearer.

That's not some strange ship.

Those were several wooden sailboats flying skull and crossbones flags...

The sail was tattered, and for some reason, several burning braziers were tied to the mast, emitting thick black smoke. It looked like some kind of primitive signal, or simply... a fire?

"pirate?"

Zhang Ying frowned.

This sea area is so remote that even birds wouldn't bother with pirates.

Moreover, judging from the ship's design, it's neither Chinese nor Western; it resembles neither a traditional Chinese Fujian ship nor a Western galleon.

It's more like...

A pile of garbage pieced together from various broken wooden planks.

"Prepare for battle!"

On the beach, Meng Tian roared angrily.

Three thousand Qin soldiers quickly formed ranks.

They crouched down in the front row and used their entrenching tools as shields.

They stood in the back row and picked up stones and bricks from the ground.

Although there were no bows and crossbows, and no long spears.

But when this group of people stood there, they formed an insurmountable wall of steel.

Ying Zheng stood at the front of the formation.

The sea breeze ruffled his mud-covered engineer uniform.

He squinted, watching the wrecked ships getting closer and closer.

There was no fear in his eyes.

The only thing that made him irritable was that his enthusiasm for digging potatoes was being disrupted.

"Shout out."

Ying Zheng coldly ordered, "Ask who is so blind as to trespass on my...vegetable garden."

Li Si stepped forward, focusing his energy in his dantian.

"Who goes there!"

"This is the Qin Dynasty... the Qin Dynasty's agricultural office on this deserted island!"

"Retreat immediately! Or face death!"

This nonsensical shout, coupled with Li Si's shrill voice, sounded particularly eerie in the sea breeze.

The people on the opposite boat were clearly also bewildered.

A while later.

A series of strange, incoherent noises came from the largest, most dilapidated ship at the front.

Followed by.

An arrow pierced the air.

It's soft and fluffy.

He fell into the sea with a "plop" when he was still dozens of meters away from the beach.

Ying Zheng smiled.

I laughed out of anger.

"this one?"

He picked up the arrow that had been washed ashore by the waves.

The arrow shaft was bent, the arrowhead was rusted, and the feathers were all gone.

This kind of garbage is not even as good as the worst training arrows from the Qin Dynasty.

"Meng Tian".

Ying Zheng casually snapped the arrow in half. "Destroy them."

"I have to go back to dig potatoes; I don't have time to play with these beggars."

"promise!"

Meng Tian's eyes flashed with a fierce light.

Since we have no weapons, we'll use our fists!

"All troops, listen to my command!"

"Get in the water!"

"Tear the boat apart!"

"roar--!!!"

Three thousand Qin soldiers, like tigers descending from the mountain, dropped the bricks in their hands and roared as they charged into the sea.

Are they landlubbers?

No.

These past few days, in order to improve their meals while slacking off, everyone has become incredibly agile.

Tens of meters of seawater were swum across in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Ying watched from upstairs, dumbfounded.

Is this the pinnacle of combat power in the era of cold weapons?

There were no tactics.

There was no cover.

It's all reckless.

The people on those pirate ships had clearly never seen anything like it before.

Shouldn't most people be so scared they'd wet their pants at the sight of a pirate flag?

Why are these people so excited, like they've seen a naked girl?

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Qin soldiers climbed onto the ship's side.

An entrenching tool is swung.

Screams echoed throughout the room.

This is not a fight at all.

This is a one-sided massacre.

The rusty knives and broken swords in the hands of those pirates were as fragile as noodles in front of an entrenching tool.

With one shovel strike, the man and the knife flew through the air.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

The battle is over.

The five pirate ships were forcibly dismantled into wooden planks.

Hundreds of pirates were dragged onto the beach like dead dogs and made to kneel in a row.

Ying Zheng walked over slowly, his hands behind his back.

He kicked the one-eyed man kneeling at the front.

"Were you the one who shot the arrow just now?"

The one-eyed dragon trembled, babbling incomprehensible bird language.

"Can't understand."

Ying Zheng waved his hand impatiently, "Bury it."

"etc!"

Zhang Ying jumped down from the building (the second floor wasn't high, he simply climbed over the railing), "Leave someone alive."

He walked up to the one-eyed man.

I took a closer look at the person's clothes.

He wore tattered linen, adorned with bone ornaments, and had dark, rough skin.

They don't seem to be from the Central Plains.

They don't seem to be Xiongnu people either.

"Where are you from?" Zhang Ying asked tentatively in English.

The one-eyed man looked completely bewildered.

"Baka yarou?"

The one-eyed man was still bewildered.

Zhang Ying scratched her head.

We don't speak the language.

Sudden.

The one-eyed dragon saw the jade pendant hanging from Ying Zheng's waist (the one that was used as a lighter before).

His eyes widened suddenly.

Pointing at the jade pendant, he made "Aba aba" sounds and then kowtowed frantically.

"God...God..."

He actually blurted out a broken Central Plains pronunciation.

"god?"

Ying Zheng raised an eyebrow. "You do have some sense."

"I am the First Emperor, and my divine power is unparalleled."

The one-eyed dragon ignored him, instead pointing to the jade pendant and then to the depths of the distant sea.

He gestured a circle with his hand.

Then he made a kneeling gesture.

"What do you mean?" Li Si leaned closer. "He's saying... there's a god over there?"

Zhang Ying's heart skipped a beat.

He recalled the "basic industrial machine tool blueprints" that the system had released.

There are no iron ore deposits on this island.

There are no coal mines.

What good are blueprints alone?

But these pirates...

Although their ship was damaged, the iron on the arrowhead, though rusted, was indeed iron.

Moreover, among the bone ornaments they wore, there were some glittering stones mixed in.

That is……

Hematite raw material!

"His Majesty."

Zhang Ying pointed at the group of pirates, a capitalist smile playing on her lips.

"It seems our miners have arrived."

"Miners?" Ying Zheng asked, puzzled.

"This group must have a mine in their hideout."

Zhang Ying patted Ying Zheng on the shoulder, "Would you like to upgrade your Qin sword?"

"Would you like to equip your Qin cavalry with stainless steel armor?"

Ying Zheng's breathing quickened instantly.

Stainless steel!

That magical iron that can cut rocks like tofu!

"think!"

"Then don't bury it."

Zhang Ying pointed to the hundreds of pirates.

"Tie them up."

"Whether it's mining or being a sparring partner."

"These are all valuable... consumables."

Ying Zheng looked at the group of trembling pirates.

Suddenly I find them much more agreeable.

These are not pirates.

This is clearly a mahjong partner delivered right to my doorstep?

Oh no, I mean mining partners.

"Meng Tian!"

"exist!"

"Take these people away!"

"Keep a close watch on them!"

"If even one of them escapes, I will hold you accountable!"

"besides……"

Ying Zheng glanced at the one-eyed man.

"Find out where their hideout is."

"My Great Qin Navy is in dire need of a training ground."

After dealing with the pirates.

Ying Zheng glanced at the sky.

The sun had not yet set.

He picked up the entrenching tool from the ground and sighed.

"Keep digging."

"Let's get those two acres done before dark."

"Otherwise, that swindler will nag me again tonight."

Li Si and Meng Tian exchanged a glance.

His eyes were filled with bitterness.

Who would have thought.

The Qin emperor and his ministers had just wiped out a pirate fleet.

Turn your head around.

They also had to work hard in the fields, sweating profusely, just for a few pounds of potatoes.

Damn it...

What a fulfilling life!

Zhang Ying looked at the fields that were bustling with activity again.

The system beep sounded again.

【Ding! 】

[The host has successfully captured 300 "Junior Laborers".]

[Hidden quest triggered: Resource Plunder.]

[Mission Objective: Locate the pirate lair and seize the hematite vein.]

[Mission Reward: Small Steam Engine Prototype ×1]

Steam engine?

Zhang Ying dropped the cigarette in her hand.

The key to the Industrial Revolution!

He looked at Ying Zheng, who was digging the soil with great effort.

His eyes became incredibly intense.

Old Zhao, oh Old Zhao.

It seems our cooperation is about to enter the next phase.

From agricultural civilization.

Jump directly to...

Steampunk Qin Dynasty!