Above the mage!

Chapter 616 The Great Revitalization of the Northwest (Part 3)

What the breathing furnace will face is not the malice of a single individual, but the rejection reaction of the entire dynastic system:

Any change that exceeds the capacity of the system will become a "virus" for the dynasty, leading to its own "purging".

Of course, Gao De did not discuss such details with Eli.

He simply explained to the other party what kind of turmoil the dynasty would bring to those who would be replaced and lose their livelihoods once the breathing furnace was implemented.

After hearing what Gao De said, Eli's body trembled slightly.

He is not a fool.

The reason he didn't realize that the Gas Stove would be unacceptable to the Plantagenet Dynasty was because he was obsessed with making a comeback through the Gas Stove.

Eli's limited perspective led him to view the gas stove merely as a practical tool to replace cheap labor.

He never imagined that this "invention" would bring about such changes to the lower classes of this dynasty and even the entire world.

Even if limited to this, Gaode's reminders still apply.

The portion of the workforce that the gas furnace can replace is enormous.

Businessmen pursue profit.

People who eat barley can be replaced by a gas furnace that is extremely inexpensive to build, runs on phlogiston, and does not require rest.

They don't care about social stability; they'll flock to it and lay off farmers and workers without hesitation to buy large quantities of gas furnaces.

The unrest caused by the widespread deployment of gas furnaces will certainly require people to take responsibility.

Without a doubt, he, with no connections, will become the first scapegoat to quell public anger.

If God knew what Eli was thinking, he would surely tell him that even with his connections, he couldn't escape this fate.

His past life, a certain Shang-surname predecessor who initiated a revolution, is a very typical example.

In any case, Eli had already realized what the breathing furnace would bring him.

His expression shifted several times before finally settling into dejection.

This was a despondency I had never felt before, not even when my father's friends had forced him to buy something.

This is because all hope has been shattered, and the "gas furnace" project is no longer viable, meaning that his chance to make a comeback has vanished.

Eli had high hopes for this project, but now that Gaode has brought him to his senses, even with his strong will, it's inevitable that he'll feel frustrated and dejected for a while.

His shoulders slumped slightly, and the light in his eyes gradually dimmed.

“The Golden Plantagenet Dynasty can’t accommodate the Breathing Furnace, but there’s always a place in this world that can.” God looked at Eli’s appearance, a faint smile playing on his lips, breaking the silence.

Eli visibly froze for a moment, then abruptly looked up at Gao De.

Gao De didn't keep him in suspense any longer. "In the Golden Flower Dynasty, and even in most kingdoms of this plane, this roaring breathing furnace is destined to be nothing more than a shooting star."

"Although it is dazzling, it will eventually be swallowed by the darkness of the old system and will not be able to illuminate this era."

Because the foundation of these countries is rigid hierarchy and hereditary power, they fear change as if it were a monstrous flood.

"The only place that can accept it is a newly born land, a land that is already undergoing change."

"You mean—" Upon hearing God's words, Eli's pupils contracted slightly, his breathing became rapid, and he opened his mouth, his voice trembling, almost squeezed out from between his teeth: "The Holy Empire?!"

Gao De paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.

This was something he hadn't expected.

Eli was right.

Although the Holy Empire has reached an unprecedented level of power, what is incredible about this country is that it is still in a state of constant change.

This is a progressive empire that values ​​only talent and worth, and they are not afraid of this "transformation" that could very well disrupt social stability.

The Holy Empire was able to grow from a barbarian tribe into one of the most powerful empires in the current mage plane, if not the most powerful, precisely because it constantly broke the old order.

In the Holy Empire, as long as your invention can create value and enhance the empire's strength, it will be strongly supported regardless of whether it will impact the existing social structure.

For the Holy Empire, change was not a threat, but rather nourishment for growth.

Before Gao De could say anything, Eli shook his head repeatedly, "Impossible, absolutely impossible! This is treason! The Holy Empire is the mortal enemy of the Plantagenet Dynasty!"

Although the Holy Empire and the Plantagenet Dynasty had never officially gone to war, or even declared war, the people of both countries—not just adults, but even three-year-olds—knew that a war between them was inevitable. "You're quick to react. Yes, the Holy Empire can indeed tolerate it, but that's not what I'm referring to," God interrupted Eli.

Eli froze, the struggle and resistance on his face instantly turning into utter confusion: "Huh? What's that?"

He simply couldn't imagine where, apart from that mortal enemy empire whose creed was "change," such a machine that could potentially bring turmoil could be accepted.

"Anyway, it's not the Holy Empire, but before that, I'd like to meet Jabil, the inventor of the breathing furnace."

With a smile, Gao De took out the Sea Sentinel badge that represented his identity from his pocket and showed it to Eli. "I am the military magistrate of the dynasty. Why would I encourage you to collude with the Holy Empire?"

This badge serves both as proof of identity and as a way to allay Eli's concerns.

Indeed, upon seeing Gao De's military mage badge, Eli's expression immediately became solemn, his respect for Gao De increased, and his wariness decreased.

In the Golden Flower Dynasty, military mages are the backbone of protecting the people.

They were different from those aloof, detached academic mages, and also different from nobles.

Military mages spend years on the front lines fighting against leyline creatures that could threaten the people. They enjoy extremely high prestige among the people and are almost a symbol of protection, just like soldiers.

People always have an instinctive trust in soldiers.

So Eli hesitated for only a moment before nodding in agreement: "Alright, Master, I'll take you to see him. However, Jabil is aloof and not good at socializing, so please bear with him."

Jaber's residence was even more remote than Eli's abandoned old house.

It is hidden in a narrow alley deep in the working-class district; it is a low, two-story building.

The exterior walls are mottled and peeling, revealing the dark red bricks and stones underneath.

The wooden gate was rotten and was barely held together by a thick hemp rope.

The windows on the first floor were boarded up, leaving only a narrow gap through which one could vaguely see the flickering flames inside.

“This place was originally abandoned, but Jaber liked the quietness of it, so he chose it and converted it into a workshop and living quarters himself,” Eli explained as he untied the rope and pushed open the creaking wooden door.

The first floor of the building had indeed been converted into a cramped workshop, with several dilapidated cast iron furnaces placed against the wall.

A small mountain of phlogiston ash was piled up beside the furnace, and wrenches, hammers, and unfinished mechanical parts of various sizes were scattered on the ground.

Only a narrow passage remained in the middle, allowing only one person to pass sideways.

A few dim oil lamps hung from the rafters, their flickering flames casting long shadows of the two men onto the grease-stained walls.

“Jaber should be doing research upstairs at this time. He’s a madman; he’ll never come downstairs unless he’s starving,” Eli explained as he led God toward the stairs leading deeper into the first floor.

It was a staircase built of rough wood, the treads worn smooth and shiny from being walked on, creaking and screeching with every step, as if it might collapse at any moment.

The stairwell reeked of a strong musty smell mixed with a faint sulfur odor. Tiny water droplets condensed on the walls, making them damp, clearly due to a lack of sunlight and ventilation.

The second floor was even smaller than the first floor, and was divided into two rooms by a tattered linen curtain.

The outer room was empty, containing only a hard bed covered with straw and a wooden table with a missing leg; it was clearly Jabir's bedroom.

Eli lifted the linen curtain and pushed open the inner door, releasing an even stronger smell of metallic shavings.

“Jaber, I’ve brought a guest to see you.” Eli’s voice was very soft, as if he didn’t want to disturb the person inside.

There were no lights in the room, only a few small skylights letting in a faint glimmer of light, barely illuminating the interior.

The room was in disarray, with piles of draft paper covered in runes and disassembled mechanical parts on the floor.

In the center of the room, a figure was squatting in front of a dilapidated wooden table, with his back to the door, intently fiddling with a pile of brass parts.

He was a man who looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. He was excessively thin, with slightly hunched shoulders, as if from long hours of desk work.

She was wearing a faded gray linen robe, the cuffs and hem stained with oil and unknown paint, and her hair was a messy tangled mess.

It was covered with tiny iron filings, clearly indicating that it hadn't been cleaned in a long time.

Upon hearing the sound, the man did not turn around immediately, but simply mumbled a "hmm" from his throat.

His fingers continued to assemble the parts rapidly, his fingertips incredibly nimble, as if those cold brass parts were an extension of his body.

He was muttering to himself, speaking at an astonishing speed: "The angle of the guide tube is wrong, the magic loss is over 30%... We must use titanium-silver alloy, but titanium-silver is too expensive... Perhaps we can use bronze mixed with pyrite to see if we can simulate the guiding effect..."

His voice was hoarse and dry, as if he had been dehydrated for a long time, or as if he had not had a normal conversation with anyone for a long time. He spoke very quickly, with a kind of obsessiveness as if he were immersed in his own world.

(End of this chapter)