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

The last piece of braised pork delivered by the imperial kitchen ended up in Wang Ben's stomach.

He let out a burp.

His mouth was dripping with oil.

The soft, savory, and salty flavor he had never experienced before made the ruthless Marquis of Tongwu look like a satisfied fool.

Inside the main hall, civil and military officials sat slumped on the ground, completely lacking any decorum.

etiquette?

Screw etiquette.

Compared to absolute deliciousness and the satisfaction of "carbohydrates," Zhou rituals are utterly worthless.

"Are you full?"

Ying Zheng put down his chopsticks.

The bowl in front of him was cleaner than his face.

"I'm...I'm full..."

The courtiers responded with hums and groans.

"Get to work when you're full."

Ying Zheng stood up, and his languid demeanor vanished instantly, replaced by a chillingly decisive and efficient manner.

"Zhang Ying".

"exist."

Zhang Ying was picking her teeth while leaning against the dragon throne, holding a half-empty bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) in her hand.

"The Academy of Sciences is now open for business."

"You'll teach the first lesson."

Zhang Ying almost poked her gums with the toothpick in her hand.

"Now?"

He pointed to the sky outside.

The moon is hanging high in the treetops.

"The Qin Dynasty doesn't have a 996 work schedule, but these people owe me half a year's worth of work."

Ying Zheng straightened his cuffs. "I will not only make them return their salaries for the past six months, but I will also teach them how to use these lumps of iron."

Zhang Ying was helpless.

He really wanted to sleep.

But this old Zhao (Ying Zheng) is now as excited as a startup boss who's been injected with chicken blood.

"Alright."

Zhang Ying stretched and took out two black cubes from her pocket.

Walkie-talkie.

Motorola military version.

Drop-resistant, waterproof, and has a strong signal.

"Li Si".

"Your subject is here!"

Li Si now treats Zhang Ying with even greater respect than he would his own father.

After all, this person holds the power to blow up the Xianyang Palace.

"Take this."

Zhang Ying tossed one of the walkie-talkies to Li Si.

"Go outside the palace."

"Run to the big crater that was just blown up."

Li Si held the black box, looking completely bewildered.

But he didn't dare ask.

I jogged out of the main hall.

Zhang Ying pressed the side button on another walkie-talkie.

"Sizzle—"

The sound of electricity filled the hall.

Everyone perked up their ears.

"Old Li, can you hear me?"

Zhang Ying spoke to the black box.

Three seconds later.

The black box in Li Si's hand suddenly exploded.

"Old Li, can you hear me?"

The sound is clear.

Loud and clear.

Just like Zhang Ying whispering in Li Si's ear.

"A ghost...a ghost!!!"

A mournful scream came from outside the hall from Li Si.

Immediately following was a flurry of footsteps. Li Si stumbled and scrambled into the main hall, the walkie-talkie in his hand like a hot potato, unsure whether to throw it away or keep it.

"Imperial Advisor! Imperial Advisor, save me!"

"There's someone in this box! A ghost is sealed inside!"

Li Si was ashen-faced and trembling all over.

The officials inside the hall were so frightened that they huddled together in fear.

Transmitting a message over a thousand miles?

Soul-stealing?

This Zhang Ying is indeed a demon!

"Promising."

Ying Zheng snatched the walkie-talkie from Li Si's hand.

He pressed the button.

"Feed".

Ying Zheng's voice immediately came from the box in Zhang Ying's hand.

"Has my voice also been sealed?"

Ying Zheng shook the black box in his hand, looking at Li Si with a mocking gaze.

Li Si was stunned.

He looked at Ying Zheng, then at the black box.

My mind is in a mess.

"This is called radio."

Zhang Ying walked down the steps, helped Li Si up, and casually patted the dust off his knees.

"Not ghosts or gods."

"It's a wave."

"A wave that cannot be seen or touched, but which certainly exists."

"Just like ripples appear on the surface of water when the wind blows, sound can also become ripples in the air. This box catches them and then releases them."

The entire room fell silent.

Nobody could understand it.

What wave?

What kind of pattern?

This is even more difficult to understand than the I Ching.

"It's okay if you don't understand."

Zhang Ying pointed to the tank outside the hall.

"In the future, when we fight wars..."

"Wang Ben was driving that iron chariot at the front line."

"His Majesty can sit in the Xianyang Palace, holding this box, and tell Wang Ben where to fire."

"That's what you call—"

"To strategize within the command tent and win battles a thousand miles away."

Wang Ben's eyes lit up instantly.

It's frighteningly bright.

As a military commander, he knew all too well what this meant.

Orders must be obeyed without question.

Like an arm controlling its fingers.

This is the ultimate dream of all commanders.

"A divine artifact..."

Wang Ben's hands trembled as he reached for the walkie-talkie.

"want to?"

Zhang Ying tossed the walkie-talkie aside.

"Dream on."

"This thing is just a brick when it runs out of power."

"and."

Zhang Ying looked around, her gaze settling on the civil officials dressed in Confucian robes, their faces aloof and arrogant.

"To create this thing."

"It's useless for you to just memorize those few quotes from 'Confucius'."

He snapped his fingers.

Outside the door, a group of people dressed in rags and covered in grease were escorted in by the Imperial Guards.

Those were craftsmen who had been urgently summoned from the Shaofu workshop.

There were blacksmiths, carpenters, and a few descendants of the Mohist school.

They knelt on the ground, trembling, thinking they had committed some capital crime.

"Stand up."

Zhang Ying walked over and pulled up an old blacksmith whose hands were covered in calluses.

"Starting today."

"You don't need to kneel anymore."

"You are the first researchers of the Academy of Sciences."

"Salary doubled."

"status……"

Zhang Ying glanced at Ying Zheng.

Ying Zheng nodded slightly.

"Her status is equivalent to that of a high-ranking doctor."

boom!

The civil service was in an uproar.

"No! Absolutely not, Your Majesty!"

An old man with a white beard rushed out; he was the Vice Minister of Rites.

"Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—this is the law of our ancestors!"

"These people with strange skills and gimmicks may have some use, but how can they be considered equals to the scholar-officials?"

"This is a disruption of the established order! This is the destruction of the nation!"

The old man was heartbroken and banged his head on the ground repeatedly.

Other civil officials echoed this sentiment.

In their eyes, allowing these sweaty craftsmen into their home was an insult to their years of hard work and study.

Zhang Ying smiled.

His laughter was cold.

He drew the flintlock pistol from his waist.

"Bang!"

The gun was pointed at the ceiling.

A loud bang.

The glazed tiles were shattered all over the ground.

The hall fell silent instantly.

"The fundamental principles of morality and ethics?"

Zhang Ying blew away the gunpowder smoke from the muzzle of her gun.

"Can your established social order guarantee a yield of a thousand catties per mu in the Qin Dynasty?"

"Do you think your rigid social norms can make the Xiongnu cavalry kneel down and call you 'father'?"

"Can your principles and laws illuminate this darkness as brightly as day?"

Three questions in a row.

Every question was like a slap in the face to these pedantic scholars.

"Times have changed, sir."

Zhang Ying walked up to the Vice Minister of Rites and patted his cheek with the hot barrel of her gun.

"The Great Qin Dynasty of the future."

"Truth is in the hands of those who have a wrench."

"You disagree?"

"Hold it in."

Ying Zheng sat on the high platform, watching this scene, a cruel smile curving his lips.

He had long disliked these guys who only knew classical Chinese.

"Issue my decree."

Ying Zheng's voice drowned out the generator.

Effective immediately.

"Reform of the imperial examination system".

"Policy essays will not be tested."

"Taking a math test."

"Physics exam."

"The chemistry exam."

"Whoever can calculate the parabola of the cannonball, I will make him a general."

"Whoever can forge steel of even higher strength will be made Minister of the Imperial Secretariat."

"As for the Book of Poetry and the Book of Documents..."

Ying Zheng waved his hand.

"It's too stiff even to use for wiping your butt."

"Dismiss the court."

"The craftsman stays."

"Everyone else, get out."

Chapter 89

Chapter 89 The Ancestors Are All in the Pot

The nights at Xianyang Palace are destined to be sleepless.

The civil officials were driven out like stray dogs.

Inside the main hall, only Ying Zheng, Zhang Ying, Li Si, Wang Ben, and the thirty-odd still-shaken craftsmen remained.

The atmosphere was somewhat eerie.

The craftsmen huddled together, staring at the steel behemoths they had never seen before, their eyes filled with both fear and fervor.

That's an instinctive desire for technology.

"We're out of copper."

Zhang Ying is checking the generator's wiring.

He threw a piece of charred cable on the ground.

"I overloaded myself just now to show off... to demonstrate a miracle."

"Half of the wiring is burned out."

"We need to extend the power grid across the entire Xianyang Palace, and even the entire city of Xianyang."

"Copper is needed."

"A massive amount of copper."

Zhang Ying stretched out her hands and made a huge circle.

In this era, copper is money.

It is a Qin Banliang.

It is the lifeblood of the nation.

Li Si wore a bitter expression.

"Grand Preceptor, all the copper coins in the national treasury... are here."

He pointed to the boxes of spoils in the corner that hadn't yet been stored.

"If we melt it all down to make thread..."

"Those people from the Ministry of Revenue will be hanging themselves at the palace gate tomorrow."

Although the Qin Dynasty had conquered the six states, the country's treasury was not actually abundant due to years of war and the construction of the Great Wall.

Copper is a strategic material.

It's needed for making weapons, and it's needed for minting coins.

Where is there any extra cable to use for pulling?

"Who said we needed money?"

Zhang Ying straightened up and looked over the threshold of the main hall to both sides of the square.

There.

Two rows of huge bronze chimes are neatly arranged.

There are also those giant bronze tripods used for sacrificial rites.

Each one weighs a thousand pounds.

Exquisitely crafted.

The patterns are intricate.

That was a symbol of the rites and music of the Qin Dynasty.

It is a totem of power.

"Isn't that already there?"

Zhang Ying pointed to the largest one, the "Qin Gong Ding".

"High-purity bronze".

"Few impurities"

"Once melted and drawn, its conductivity is absolutely top-notch."

Li Si looked in the direction he was pointing.

My legs went weak.

He almost knelt down before Zhang Ying.

"The...the Imperial Preceptor..."

"Those are ritual vessels used in sacrifices!"

"That's for our ancestors to hear!"

"It melted?"

"If the Imperial Clan Court finds out about this, it might trigger a mutiny!"

In this era, ritual objects were more precious than human life.

Destroying ritual objects is tantamount to treason.

Not to mention melting down things left by our ancestors to make "electrical wires".

This is practically digging up ancestral graves.

"Li Si".

Ying Zheng spoke.

He fiddled with the golden apple in his hand, his tone as casual as if he were just saying that the weather was nice today.

Have you ever heard the sound of chime bells?

"I've heard of it..."

"Does it sound good?"

"Solemn...so solemn and dignified."

"fart."

Ying Zheng smashed the golden apple onto the table.

"Dull".

"lifeless."

"Just like the old system of the Qin Dynasty."

He stood up, walked to Zhang Ying's side, and looked at the huge bronze vessels outside the hall.

"If our ancestors knew, their tripods would become a light that illuminates all ages."

"It can be turned into a cannon that blows open the gates of the Xiongnu."

"They'll be happy."

Ying Zheng turned around and looked at the group of craftsmen.

"Did you hear that?"

"move."

"Move everything out."

"They set up the stove right here in the square."

"Melt it tonight."

"I want to see with my own eyes the rubble of the old era transformed into the lifeblood of the new era."

The craftsmen looked at each other in bewilderment.

No one dared to make a move.

This is insane.

That's a vital national asset!

"What are you standing there for!"

Wang Ben became anxious.

His mind is now filled with that walkie-talkie that could "win battles from afar".

If melting down these scraps of metal could create such a divine artifact.

Let alone chime bells.

You could even throw him into the furnace and melt him down.

"The Imperial Guards!"

Wang Ben roared.

"Remove your armor!"

"Move the tripod!"

Hundreds of fierce imperial guards charged forward.

They don't care about any etiquette or ancestors.

They only listen to His Majesty.

They only listened to the general who could lead them to victory.

"Clang—"

The first giant cauldron was overturned.

The dull thud echoed through the city of Xianyang in the dead of night.

It sounded like a death knell.

A death knell tolled for the old era.

Then came the second bite, and the third bite.

Those chime bells, which symbolized rank and authority, were roughly torn off their frames and thrown into the makeshift blast furnace.

Flames rose.

The red light illuminated Ying Zheng's cold and stern face.

"They've gone mad...they've all gone mad..."

The old ministers who had been watching from the shadows collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down their faces.

"The Qin Dynasty... is doomed to perish because of such atrocities!"

And in the center of the square.

Zhang Ying was holding a sketch and directing the Mohist craftsmen.

"Make it even hotter!"

"Add coal!"

"Was that coal shoveled by that eunuch? Why is the heat so weak?"

"Turn the blower up to full blast!"

The molten copper melted.

The golden-red liquid flowed in the groove.

It looks like flowing lava.

That is the unleashed productivity.

"Is the wire drawing die ready?"

Zhang Ying shouted.

"alright!"

An old Mohist disciple's face was flushed, and his eyes gleamed with fanaticism.

He spent his whole life forging iron.

But never before have I felt like I'm creating a miracle.

"pull!"

As the winch rotates.

The first rough, still-hot copper wire was pulled out.

Although it is not uniform.

Although there was no insulation (it could only be wrapped in oil-soaked linen).

But those are electrical wires.

It is the lifeblood of industrial civilization.

Ying Zheng stepped forward.

Ignoring the scalding temperature, he reached out and touched the copper wire.

It's too hot to handle.

But it brings peace of mind.

"Is this the future?"

Ying Zheng asked.

"This is just the beginning."

Zhang Ying wiped the black ash off her face.

"I've got this."

"I can build a telegraph machine."

"That way, we can build an electric motor."

"That will make your Qin Dynasty run faster than anyone else."

Ying Zheng smiled.

In the firelight, his smile appeared both ferocious and captivating.

"it is good."

"Then let's start this fire."

"Burn it up even brighter."

"Burn all that rotten stuff clean."

Just then.

A rapid sound of horses' hooves broke the noise in the square.

A fast horse burst through the palace gate.

The knight on horseback was covered in blood, with a wolf-tooth arrow stuck in his back.

"Report—!!!"

The knight tumbled off his horse.

Wang Ben rushed over and helped the knight up.

"Urgent report from the border!"

The knight pulled a blood-stained bamboo slip from his robes.

"The Xiongnu...the Xiongnu are knocking on the gate!"

"Two hundred thousand cavalry...have already captured Jiuyuan County!"

"General Meng Tian... requests reinforcements!"

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence.

Only the fire inside the blast furnace was still crackling.

Two hundred thousand.

This was almost all of the Xiongnu's wealth.

Maodun Chanyu.

That ruthless man who killed his father and established himself as emperor.

coming.

Ying Zheng accepted the bamboo slips.

I didn't even look at it.

It was thrown directly into the scalding molten copper in front of it.

The bamboo slips turned to ashes in an instant.

"Two hundred thousand?"

Ying Zheng straightened his collar.

He turned to look at the tank that was already fully fueled.

Then he looked at Zhang Ying, who was loading ammunition into the tank.

"gentlemen."

"Looks like our pig farm..."

"We're opening ahead of schedule."

Chapter 90

Chapter 90 Xianyang Drift King

Jiuyuan County has fallen.

The news spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of Xianyang City within half an hour.

Panic is spreading.

The Huns were a nightmare.

They come and go like the wind, killing without hesitation.

In the past, with the Great Wall blocking the way and Meng Tian guarding the area, everyone could sleep peacefully.

Now?

Two hundred thousand troops are pressing in.

Xianyang is in grave danger!

But there was not a trace of panic in Xianyang Palace Square.

The only sound was the roar of the engine.

"Boom!"

The main battle tank codenamed "Shihuang No. 1" (actually a modified Type 59 tank by Zhang Ying) is warming up.

Black smoke was emitted from the exhaust pipe.

The ground shook violently.

Wang Ben sat in the driver's seat.

He was wearing that somewhat comical tank helmet, and his palms were sweaty.

This thing is much harder to tame than a wild horse.

It's all joysticks.

It's all instrument panels.

"The one on the left is the clutch! The one on the right is the accelerator!"

Zhang Ying stood on the turret, holding a pointer in her hand, tapping Wang Ben's helmet.

"Don't step on the wrong one!"

"If we step on the wrong step, we'll all hit a wall!"

"Okay, okay!"

Wang Ben gritted his teeth.

He was a dignified Marquis of Tongwu; what kind of horse hadn't he ridden?

Can you really be stumped by this lump of iron?

"Get going!"

Zhang Ying gave the order.

Wang Ben stomped down hard.

"boom--!!!"

The tank suddenly lurched forward.

It looked like a startled rhinoceros.

It crashed directly into the white marble railing at the edge of the square.

"Brake! Brake! You reckless idiot!"

Zhang Ying turned green with fright.

"Which one... is the brake?!"

Wang Ben panicked.

He stomped around wildly.

As a result, I stepped on the gas pedal all the way down.

"Bang--!!!"

A loud bang.

The white marble railing, carved with exquisite cloud and dragon patterns, was smashed to pieces like tofu dregs.

Tank tracks rolled over gravel.

Half of his body was suspended in mid-air.

Below are steps that are tens of meters high.

"stop--!!!"

Ying Zheng stood on the high platform, his eyelids twitching wildly.

If it falls...

My Great Qin Dynasty is finished.

Fortunately.

At the last moment, Wang Ben finally guessed the right brake.

The tank barely stopped at the edge.

The tracks were still spinning, sending up a shower of sparks.

"Get down."

Zhang Ying jumped down from the turret and pulled the still-shaken Wang Ben out of the cockpit.

"You're not driving."

"This is murder."

"I...I'm just not used to it..."

Wang Ben's face turned bright red.

This is more shameful than losing a battle.

"Watch closely."

Zhang Ying climbed into the cockpit.

Skillfully shifting gears.

Release the clutch.

Add oil.

The originally cumbersome steel behemoth suddenly became agile in his hands.

Reverse.

Turn around.

Turn around on the spot.

"Sizzle sizzle—"

The tracks screeched violently against the bluestone slabs.

The tank drew a perfect circle in the center of the square.

drift.

Tank drifting.

This scene, which only exists in Hollywood blockbusters, is now actually playing out in Xianyang Palace, which is two thousand years ago.

"Holy crap..."

Wang Ben was dumbfounded.

Li Si was dumbfounded.

Even Ying Zheng was dumbfounded.

You can play with this iron lump like that?

"That's technology."

Zhang Ying brought the tank to a stop, poked her head out of the hatch, and gave Wang Ben the middle finger (although Wang Ben couldn't understand it, he could feel the contempt in it).

"To defeat the Xiongnu..."

"Having a car alone is not enough."

"You also need to have brains."

at this time.

The sky was beginning to lighten with the first light of dawn.

The morning light illuminated the pile of molten copper in the square, which had not yet completely cooled.

It also illuminated Ying Zheng's murderous face.

"Wang Ben".

"Your subordinate is here!"

"I'll give you three days."

"Learn to drive this thing."

"I can't learn it."

"You'll bring your head to me."

Ying Zheng's voice was beyond question.

"promise!"

Wang Ben responded loudly.

He looked at the tank, his eyes no longer filled with fear, but with a desire to conquer.

That's a man's instinct towards machines.

"Li Si".

"Your subject is here."

"Send a telegram."

Ying Zheng looked north.

Tell Meng Tian.

"Don't hold on too tightly."

"Let the Xiongnu in."

"Put it into the Hetao Plain."

Li Si was startled.

"Your Majesty, this...this is inviting a wolf into the house!"

The Hetao Plain is flat and level, making it ideal for cavalry to roam.

If we let them in, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Inviting a wolf into the house?"

Ying Zheng sneered.

He patted the tank's armor plates.

It emitted a dull echo.

"No."

"This is called closing the door to beat the dog."

"Cavalry is invincible on the plains."

"But in the face of tanks."

"They are just moving targets."

Ying Zheng turned around.

The black cloak fluttered in the morning breeze.

"Zhang Ying".

"exist."

"Prepare ammunition."

"I want Maodun to know."

"Times have changed."

"grown ups."

The image freezes.

The rising sun rises from the east.

Golden sunlight shone on the black tank, its cannon barrel pointing straight north.

Ying Zheng stood beside the turret, his hand resting on the cold steel.

that moment.

He was the First Emperor.

He was also the commander of the first mechanized legion on this planet.

In the far north.

Modu Chanyu, mounted on his horse, looked at the distant border of the Qin Dynasty with a cruel smile on his face.

He didn't know.

The gates of hell.

It has already been opened to him.