Isolated town in northern border region

On the day the allied forces of Jing, Yan, and Shu set up camp on the border of Chu, Xiao Lie was watching the last steam-powered war chariot roll off the assembly line outside Youzhou City.

The tracks left two parallel deep marks as they rolled over the mud, and the chimney on the roof was spewing white smoke, like an iron beast confirming that it was ready to take its first step.

The message was delivered personally by Zhou Xun. He rode back from outside the city, and as he dismounted, he clutched a secret report that had just been sent back urgently from the border.

"Your Highness, the allied forces of the three kingdoms have completed their encirclement along the border. Jing Kingdom is in the center, Yan Kingdom is in the east, and Shu Kingdom is in the west. The three armies are stationed in three large camps, totaling more than 200,000 men."

Xiao Lie didn't reply immediately. He bent down and patted the side of the chariot, the metal shell making a dull echo.

Two hundred thousand people.

Zhou Xun said.

"They haven't moved yet, as if they're waiting for something."

Xiao Lie straightened up.

"They are waiting for the technology."

He glanced at the chariot.

"Wait until their own men are fully equipped with grenades, muskets, and artillery before making a move."

Zhou Xun remained silent for a moment.

"So what do we do?"

Xiao Lie turned and walked towards the city gate.

"Make them wait."

His voice was low, as if he were saying something that didn't need further confirmation.

"They can wait, and so can we."

For the next six months, the factories in Chu operated day and night.

The blast furnace glowed brightly all night, and the sound of hammers striking steel billets continued from dawn until late at night.

Factories in Beijiang, Bingzhou, and Qingzhou were operating at full capacity. Musket barrels rolled off the forging press like water, grenade casings hissed in the cooling pool, steam tank parts were assembled on the assembly line, and tracks were connected section by section to form a complete closed loop.

The mine's transport teams lined up in long queues, working day and night to transport ore and coal to the furnaces at the foot of the mountain.

The railway has increased its carrying capacity, and the newly laid tracks have been extended to mining areas that were not previously covered.

The supplies in the military depot were piled up to the roof, and rows of gunpowder barrels were neatly stacked, marked with dates and batches in red paint, waiting to be delivered to the troops stationed in various states.

Many young people from the local area also brought their own dry food to sign up for the army, and there were often lines of dozens of people in front of the recruitment office.

A young man who came from Yongzhou to join the army said something during the registration process.

"I heard that there are 200,000 troops stationed on the border. If they attack, I have to defend my land."

The officer in charge of registration looked up at him.

"OK."

After pressing his fingerprint, the young man went to collect a set of military uniform. After changing, he stood in front of the bronze mirror for a while, glanced at the number on his shoulder, and then turned and ran towards the assembly point.

Meanwhile, in the camp of the Three Kingdoms Allied Forces, Jiang Min was directing the unloading of a batch of newly arrived equipment.

The technical blueprints she brought back from the State of Chu are being disassembled one by one and distributed to the artisans of the State of Jing and the factories of the States of Yan and Shu.

The barrels of muskets, the fuses of grenades, the barrels of cannons, the tracks and transmission systems of steam-powered warships—each process was trial-produced in its own workshop, and then assembled into a complete weapon under Jiang Min's coordination.

Once, when Yan Ji walked into the workshop, he saw the muskets being assembled and muttered something under his breath.

"This stuff is enough to keep Xiao Lie busy for a while."

Jiang Min was inspecting the rifling of a gun barrel without looking up.

"Enough for him to drink a lot, but not enough to kill him."

"Xiao Lie only has ruthless thoughts on his mind. If we don't eliminate him as soon as possible, we will definitely lose!"

She put down the gun barrel and glanced at Yan Ji.

"He has more than that. He's already made everything we can make."

"What we can't make, he has."

Yan Ji did not respond.

He stood at the workshop entrance for a while watching the iron parts being assembled, then turned and walked out.

Jiang Min continued to examine the rifling of the gun barrel without looking up. Her fingertips slowly traced the rifling, as if she were measuring a draft that she hadn't fully laid out, one stroke missing before it could be finalized.

During the ongoing standoff, neither side of the border army moved.

Both sides were constantly reinforcing their defenses. On the Chu army's side, musketeers took turns on duty on the city walls, grenades were distributed to small squads, and steam-powered vehicles were on standby in the passages inside the city walls, their metal bodies polished to a gleaming shine.

On the side of the Three Kingdoms allied forces, new tents continued to expand outwards from the existing camps, and cannons began to be arranged along the battle line, with their muzzles all pointing towards the Chu Kingdom.

A veteran of the Chu state, who had been stationed on the border for three months, squatted at his post, looking at the rising smoke in the distance, and said to his comrade next to him.

"Smoke is billowing from their place every day."

His comrade chimed in.

"The smoke means they're still alive."

The veteran remained silent for a while.

"Then let them take the risk. Let them take the risk until they don't want to anymore."

The sentries on both sides stood guard across the invisible line, neither speaking first nor taking a step back.

The wind blew across the open space between them, mixing the smoke from the chimneys on both sides together and then dispersing it again, like an unannounced division of the land.

His comrade didn't speak, but simply handed him the water pouch. When he reached out, half of an old scar was visible on his wrist, like a crack that hadn't completely dried, waiting for the battle to truly begin before deciding which direction it should extend.

While the border remained silent, the seven states of Chen were quietly being incorporated into the territory of the Great Chu.

Xiao Lie did not rush to send officials to take over, but instead first sent veteran craftsmen and agricultural technicians from the northern frontier to various prefectures and counties in batches.

Some people brought blueprints for new farm implements, some brought fertilizer user manuals, and some brought cement formulas and tools for building irrigation ditches.

Wherever they went, they stayed and explained the purpose of those things in a way that the people of Chen could understand.

An old farmer outside Wuzhou City squatted on the edge of a field, looking at the lines on the blueprints. After a while, he asked the craftsman next to him.

"Can this stuff really give me an extra 20%?"

The craftsman nodded.

"It's not just 20%, if you use it for two consecutive years, it can double."

The old farmer remained silent for a while, then took the blueprints, rolled them up, and put them in his pocket.

"Then I'll give it a try."

His granary was indeed full by the autumn harvest the following year.

After the news spread, people from several neighboring villages began to inquire about the whereabouts of the blueprints.

After listening to this on the field, someone went home and started leveling the open space behind the house where firewood was piled up.

The schools in the old territory of Chen State have also reopened. The first batch of students have brand-new textbooks on their desks, with the words "Great Chu" printed on the cover.

When the children opened their textbooks, the smell of ink from the paper had not yet dissipated. One little girl slowly traced the characters "Da Chu" with her finger, then looked up at the window—she had never seen such new paper before.

Two months later, Xiao Lie presented a new reform proposal to Congress.

He stood in the center of the council chamber, his voice steady but clear.

"Starting this year, community self-governing associations will be established in each state, county, and town."

"The self-governing association is composed of representatives elected by the people and is responsible for local road repairs, water supply, schooling, and mediating neighborhood disputes."

"The government is only responsible for supervision and providing resources; specific matters are decided by the self-governing association itself."

The room fell silent for a moment. Xie Anlan was the first to speak.

"Your Highness, this method is unprecedented."

Xiao Lie looked at him.

"Just because it's unprecedented, doesn't mean we can't try it?"

Xie Anlan remained silent for a while.

"That's not what I meant! I'm just worried that the people don't know how to govern themselves!"

Xiao Lie said.

"If you don't know how, learn it; once you learn, you'll know how!"

No one raised any further objections.

After the draft was passed, the first batch of autonomous associations were established in several pilot villages and towns in northern Xinjiang, and representatives were elected by the people at all levels.

In a village called Liushutun, the villagers gathered under the big locust tree at the village entrance to elect their first representative, a farmer in his forties who was usually quiet but fair in his dealings.

The first thing he did after being elected was to lead the villagers in repairing a section of dirt road that had been washed away by rain.

After the repairs were completed, someone asked him about it.

"Now that the road is repaired, whose credit is it?"

He squatted by the roadside, looking at the newly paved road surface, and said...

"It's everyone's share! Whoever leaves, it's their share!"

No one refuted.

When ditches were being built in various villages and towns, some people stopped and took a look in the nearby fields.

The man who was digging the ditch looked up and asked him what he was looking at. The man replied...

"These jobs used to be corvée labor assigned by higher authorities, but now that I'm doing them for myself, I feel more at ease."

He didn't say much, but simply walked back to his own land along the ridge.

Several children were dipping their feet into the newly built irrigation ditch by the roadside to test the water. The water wasn't deep, just above their ankles. They ran around splashing in the water for a while, laughing and giggling, before being called back by the adults.

The person who called them stood by the canal for a long time. The canal, which flowed along the ridges of the fields, was extending forward along the terrain. Damp soil still seeped between the newly laid bricks on the canal wall. The straight or curved lines connected several pieces of land that were originally unconnected into one, like the first line drawn on an unfinished map. It was waiting for the downstream canal to be opened so that it would eventually flow to which ridge of the field.

The aristocratic families reacted faster than Xiao Lie had anticipated.

Rumors began to circulate in various states that Xiao Lie intended to abolish all the privileges of aristocratic families;

Someone anonymously published an article in the newspaper, using euphemistic language but with a clear target, accusing Xiao Lie of "using the people as a blade to cut the flesh of the scholar-officials";

Some people are secretly colluding with old forces in various states who are unwilling to relinquish their land, attempting to create resistance at the local level.

After learning of this news in Jing, Jiang Min had copies of the rumors and anonymous articles compiled into a book, added his own annotations, and sent it to the courts of Yan and Shu.

She wrote in the attached letter.

"Xiao Lie is using the people's hands to tear down the walls of powerful families."

"After the walls of Chu are torn down, you can figure out who's next."

After reading the letter, Yan Ji remained silent all night. At dawn, he said something to his personal guards.

"Pass down the order: all Chu merchant caravans within the territory of Yan shall be subject to an additional 30% tariff."

Yang Wei made similar arrangements.

When the news reached the State of Chu, Xiao Lie was reading a report on the operation of the self-governing association.

After reading the secret report, he didn't say much. He folded the paper and put it in the drawer, then picked up the report again and continued reading.

Xu De sat beside him preparing the medicine and glanced at him.

"Those powerful families are causing trouble again."

Xiao Lie did not look up.

"Let them make a scene."

Xu De asked again.

"Aren't you afraid they'll make a big fuss?"

Xiao Lie put the report down.

"It's good that this has become a big deal!"

"The bigger the commotion they make, the stronger their reason to take action becomes."

He said this calmly, as if he were talking about something he had calculated many times before.

Two weeks later, Zhou Xun led an inspection team out of Beijing again.

This time, his mission was not to investigate a case, but to investigate the old debts accumulated by the powerful families.

From north to south, the archives of each prefecture and county were opened one by one, and those files that had been piled up at the bottom of boxes for many years were brought out.

Some were found to have forcibly seized farmland, some were found to have driven tenants to their deaths, some were found to have hoarded goods during famine years, and some were found to have colluded with bandits.

Wherever Zhou Xun went, he would compile the verified case files into a book and post it on the notice board at the city gate.

When the first notice was posted at the gate of Yongzhou City, crowds of onlookers filled an entire street.

Those who could read read aloud, while those who couldn't stand by and listen. When a certain name was read, someone in the crowd whispered something.

"My father was driven to his death by his family."

The person next to him chimed in.

"Then you can sue now."

He didn't move, but just stood in the crowd listening to the names on the notice being read out. Then he turned and left, clutching the hem of his clothes. Half an hour later, he returned, clutching an incomplete petition he had written himself, the edges of which were still curled.

When he handed the complaint to Zhou Xun's inspection team's door, his hand was still trembling. He stood at the door for a long time until someone took the paper before he turned and walked away.

He didn't look back at the door, but walked a short distance in the direction he came from, his steps more steady than when he came, as if he had finally unfolded something that had been folded up for a long time.

The second and third batches of notices were posted one after another, involving more and more prominent families.

Some people proactively approached the inspection team to confess their crimes and beg for leniency, some returned their land deeds from years ago to the original farmers overnight, and some posted notices at their doors declaring, "From now on, I will stay home and reflect on my mistakes, and not concern myself with worldly affairs."

However, some stubbornly refused to admit it. Zhou Xun didn't waste any words and directly compiled the chain of evidence into a book, sending the witnesses and physical evidence to the National Assembly for trial.

In cases where judgments are handed down, those whose properties are to be confiscated will have their properties confiscated, those whose properties are to be exiled will be exiled, and those whose properties are to be executed will be executed.

A saying began to circulate among the people.

"This time, Your Highness is really going to make a move."

Someone responded.

"He should have acted long ago! Those powerful families have been suppressing us for so many years!"

The other voice was silent for a moment.

"They did take action, but what happened afterward?"

"What if another group of government officials arrives?"

There was no answer, but the farmers whose land deeds had been returned stood at the edge of their fields, looking at the newly turned soil. The wind blew from the fields, carrying a fresh dampness, as if something was cracking a thin fissure in the long-frozen earth, waiting for seeds to fall into it.

Some people had already squatted down and used their hands to break up the clods of soil, revealing a darker layer of soil underneath.

Xiao Lie did not stop. The border trade market reopened at the end of the year, nearly doubling in size compared to before.

Cloth, ironware, tea, leather goods, and rubber products from northern Xinjiang were transported to the border along official roads and railways, while cattle, sheep, and horses from the grasslands poured in from the other side.

The notice board at the border market was written in both the Great Chu script and the steppe script side by side.

"Those who hold deposit certificates from Beijiang Bank can enjoy priority trading rights in the border market."

After the news spread, herders from the grasslands lined up at the entrance of the trade market with their livestock, while others loaded their furs, which they had saved up for months, onto their carts to exchange for iron pots and salt.

A merchant who had come from northern Xinjiang stood behind his stall, watching the herders and caravans exchanging goods, and said something to the person next to him.

"In the past, when people from both sides met here, they would touch their knives; now they touch their account books."

The person next to him was looking down at a newly acquired booklet. The paper was stamped with the red seal of the Northern Xinjiang Bank. The edges were a little curled, but the writing was still very clear.

He didn't answer, but simply closed the booklet and put it in his pocket. He then turned and glanced at the iron pots and bags of salt piled up on the stall. The rims of the iron pots gleamed darkly in the sunlight, as if they had just seeped through the cracks of the border crossing, waiting for someone to reach out and measure their depth.

In the distance, a train is passing along the tracks on the other side of the boundary, white smoke trailing a slanted arc along the roof, as if it is delivering a load of freshly counted goods to the next platform that has not yet been fully marked.