My brother entrusted his child to me, and I livestreamed raising the baby, making the Empress cry wi

Shu Jingwei toyed with the wine glass in her hand; the wine clung to the glass with a thin layer of amber color, slowly dripping down.

The prototype for that new iron forging was left behind by Ye Fan.

At that time, Ye Fan still held an official position. One day, he pushed a stack of densely written drawings in front of her, saying that it was an improved method of iron forging.

She glanced at it and found the words gave her a headache, so she casually tossed it to her people to work on themselves.

Her team later pieced together a feasible forging scheme from those prototypes.

The main improvement in the forging method was in the procedures and steps.

The ore is largely the same as before.

The only difference is the proportions, and the smelting temperature and timing are slightly different.

As for forging? Ye Fan also has a new method, which is much more convenient than before.

Since the plan was finalized, the casting of the new iron has become much easier and faster than that of ordinary ironware.

Now that things have stabilized, we can produce a batch in about half a month.

One batch consists of hundreds of sets.

But she definitely couldn't say that.

Not only can't you say it, you have to exaggerate how precious it is.

These are all methods that Ye Fan taught her back then—

First, they hype things up to whet people's appetites, then they set up barriers, and finally, they ruthlessly rip off those aristocratic families.

She put down her wine glass and tapped the rim of the glass twice with her fingertips.

"but……"

She abruptly changed the subject, raising her voice slightly as she scanned the faces of the crowd.

"I am not such a stingy person."

She smiled, a smile that conveyed relief and magnanimity.

"All of you ministers are my most trusted and capable advisors."

"How about this—"

She paused, as if hesitating and thinking.

"If any of my beloved ministers desires it, I can reluctantly cede some to them."

When she said the word "endure the pain," she even furrowed her brow slightly, as if she were truly heartbroken.

These words immediately caused an uproar in the hall.

"I wish to have it!"

"I want it too!"

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that you bestow upon me new iron swords and armor!"

Shu Jingwei raised her hand and gently pressed it down, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"My dear ministers, please don't be impatient," she said with a smile like a fox eyeing a flock of chickens.

"This new iron was not easy to forge, so it cannot be given away for free."

She paused, leaned back on the dragon throne, and spoke thoughtfully.

"How about this—"

Her gaze fell on the armor and swords in the hall, the dark metal gleaming coldly in the candlelight.

"One suit of armor, 500,000 taels of silver. One sword, 200,000 taels of silver."

She turned her gaze back, slowly scanning the faces of the ministers, and her tone became exceptionally sincere.

"This is the price of minerals; I will not profit a single penny from you."

The clamor in the hall abruptly ceased.

Two hundred thousand taels, five hundred thousand taels...

Although the wealthy families present were all rolling in money, this figure still made them feel a sharp pang of pain.

But then I thought, if I could bring the actual object back and have my own craftsmen disassemble and study it, I might be able to unlock its secrets.

At that time, will there still be any worry about not having new iron available?

Consider this money as your initial investment.

The heads of several powerful families exchanged glances and almost simultaneously gritted their teeth.

The head of the Langya Wang clan spoke first, "I require five suits of armor, five swords, and five knives."

That one sentence was worth four and a half million taels of silver!

Shu Jingwei's eyes lit up instantly.

"Okay! No problem!"

She slapped the armrest of the dragon throne, her palm striking the wood with a dull thud.

With the Wang family taking the lead, other aristocratic families were not to be outdone. The Chen family ordered three sets of armor and four swords, the Li family ordered four sets of armor and six swords, and the Zhou family ordered two sets of armor and ten swords…

The numbers kept increasing, and the chief eunuch was writing furiously on his abacus, the beads clicking away.

Shu Jingwei sat upright on the dragon throne, looking at the ever-growing pile of silver notes on the table, unable to suppress the smile on her face.

In just a short time, her private treasury and the national treasury were filled with tens of millions of taels of silver.

This is just the beginning.

In the future, when they need to equip themselves with guards or replace them, that will be the case.

Shouldn't we keep coming back to buy?

and--

The smile on her lips deepened.

Without Ye Fan's method, they certainly wouldn't have been able to figure it out.

This business is incredibly profitable.

"Good, good, good," she said three times, raising her wine cup and gesturing towards the assembled officials.

"Your loyalty is indeed commendable. If you ever need anything in the future, please come to me anytime, and I will never hesitate to help you."

She downed the glass of wine in one gulp, the amber liquid sliding down her throat, hot and spicy.

She felt that this was probably the most enjoyable drink she had had in a while.

---

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away from the capital.

Cangzhou City.

The night is already deep.

The newly installed torches on the city wall crackled and popped, the scent of pine resin carried far on the night wind, mingling with the damp smell of soil and wild grass in the wilderness.

Wang Meng stood in front of the garrison headquarters in the city, watching as the last imperial flag was torn down from the flagpole and replaced with his own Ye Lin flag.

Their night raid on the garrison encountered virtually no resistance.

The other side realized they couldn't beat them in one go and immediately surrendered.

Apart from those elite warriors who were willing to die for Shu Jingwei, no one was willing to risk their lives for that woman.

He scoffed inwardly, thinking, "That's how it should be."

If it weren't for Lord Ye, that woman would never have even gotten close to that position in her entire life.

The image of the woman he had seen following Lord Ye years ago involuntarily flashed into his mind—

Arrogant and haughty, with a haughty look in his eyes, he always looked down on people with a condescending disdain.

No one knows what kind of seductive tricks she used to bewitch Lord Ye and get him to help her ascend the throne.

You can fool Lord Ye, but you can't fool the people of the world.

What she did after Lord Ye disappeared—

Slaughtering meritorious officials, engaging in extravagant construction projects, and imposing exorbitant taxes...

Which of these things isn't a standard feature of a tyrannical ruler?

If Lord Ye knew this from beyond the grave, he would probably be so angry he'd come back to life.

Wang Meng shook his head, trying to clear these chaotic thoughts from his mind.

Turning to his adjutant, he instructed, "Gather and settle the surrendered soldiers, and confiscate all their weapons. The defense of Cangzhou City is to be handed over immediately, and our flag is to be raised on the city walls. And—"

"Make sure the brothers get some rest after they've settled in. They're exhausted from marching day and night these past few days."

"Yes!" The lieutenant accepted the order and left.

The soldiers dispersed in an orderly fashion, taking over the city gates, granaries, and armories with practiced and swift movements.

Some of the people along the way, who had been awakened, peeked out from under their doors, their eyes filled with fear and unease.

After clearly seeing who was leading the troops—

"It's General Wang Meng!"

The remaining people wept with joy.

Cangzhou is not far from Fangzhou. The people who are still in the city are either the elderly, the weak, the sick and disabled who have no way to leave, or they want to stay and take care of their parents.

When everyone saw that Wang Meng had led his troops to take over Cangzhou, they were eager to set off firecrackers in celebration.

Wang Meng sat down on the steps of the garrison office, took a big gulp of water from his waist pouch.

The night wind blew in from the other side of the city wall, carrying the scent of soil and wild grass from the wilderness.

He looked up at the sky.

The sky was still bright, and the huge light screen was suspended above the dome. No matter how many times you look at it, you can't help but feel awe.

On the sky, Lin Ye was following a white iron pillar robot, passing through rows and rows of bookshelves that were almost touching the ceiling, heading in a certain direction.

Wang Meng squinted and took another sip of water.

It's unknown what other divine objects Lin Xianren will display next.

Finally, Lin Ye stopped walking on the sky.

Wang Meng stared intently. Was it the Industrial Technology History Area?