On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

Half a month later, in the main hall of the Yanjing headquarters.

The solemnity remains, but it cannot hide the post-war desolation.

The white silk ribbons on the coiled dragon pillars were still there, and the golden bricks on the ground were as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the sparse figures of people.

Lin Zhen sat in the main seat, his dark dragon-patterned uniform covering his injuries. His face was still pale, but his eyes were as deep as the abyss.

Your Highness, Xiao Hanzhou, Mao Mengji, Chu Xiling, Cheng Xuan and officials from various departments stood in silence.

"Your Highness," Xiao Hanzhou said in a steady voice, holding the file. "Although our army was victorious in the battles of Broken Soul Valley and Black Wind Pass, we suffered heavy casualties. The cost of providing relief and reconstruction is enormous, and the treasury is almost empty."

"Increase commercial taxes by 30%." An official from the Ministry of Revenue suggested.

"No!" Xiao Hanzhou flatly rejected it. "Northern Yan has just been pacified, people's livelihood is in decline, and trade routes are just opening up. Raising taxes would be like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, and it might cause unrest among the people."

"Then how to fill the deficit?" the official looked troubled.

"Increase revenue and reduce expenditure..." Lin Zhen said calmly, "Orders to lay off 30% of redundant officials, reduce palace expenses by 50%, and suspend non-emergency projects... Also, open up the 'Northern Yan Coal' and 'Hematite Ore' franchises, inviting Shanxi and Anhui merchants to bid. The highest bidder will receive 70% of the proceeds, which will go to the treasury, and 30% will be used to provide relief to the families of fallen soldiers."

"Your Highness is wise!" Xiao Hanzhou bowed.

"How is the new policy being implemented?" Lin Zhen glanced at the representatives of the chiefs (the chief himself had been asked to return to the tribe to take charge).

The Vulture Tribe envoy hurried forward and said, "Your Highness, Chief Wulianghetai has already counted 37,000 people, 800 miles of pasture, and 200,000 cattle and sheep as ordered. He has compiled a list and reported it to the officials, who have already settled in."

The envoys from the Snow Wolf and Wind Falcon tribes also hurriedly submitted their reports, with detailed data and respectful attitudes.

"How are the remnants of the White Deer, Goshawk and Fire Fox tribes being resettled?" Lin Zhen asked.

"Your Highness," Xiao Hanzhou said, "The remaining 50,000 people from the three tribes have been dispersed and settled in the vicinity of Yanjing. They have been granted land tax exemption for three years and are under the jurisdiction of officials. However, there are still small groups of remnants of bandits roaming the Yin Mountains, colluding with the remnants of Helian Bao and Gu Beichen, harassing caravans and looting villages."

"Mao Mengji."

"The general is here!"

"You are to lead the Jingbian Camp to eliminate the banditry in Yinshan. Anyone found collaborating with or aiding the bandits will be killed without mercy and their heads will be hung at the gate of the camp."

"I obey your command!" A fierce light flashed in Mao Mengji's eyes.

"Also..." Lin Zhen's voice turned cold, "I hereby order all tribes to conceal their population, illegally expand pastures, or resist officials. Once verified, they will be regarded as traitors and their entire clan will be exterminated and their heads will be hung. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"We obey your command!" The envoys were silent and responded repeatedly.

......

Deeper in the West Mountain, at the foot of the rarely visited "Broken Dragon Cliff".

The huge natural cave was artificially excavated and expanded to form a huge underground workshop deep in the mountain.

The rock wall is inlaid with dense fluorite, emitting a cold green light, which mixed with the jumping light of whale oil torches, illuminating this isolated "abyss".

Air circulation relies on hidden ventilation ducts, carrying the chill of the mountain breeze and a subtle hint of sulfur.

Chu Xiling had a bandage on her left arm, a thick leather apron over her indigo work clothes, and special glass goggles and a medicine-soaked mask on her face. Her cold eyes were as sharp as an eagle in the dim light.

She stood on a high platform, overlooking the busy scene below that was like an ant nest.

At the bottom layer, a huge waterwheel rumbles under the drive of an underground river, driving heavy stone hammers to repeatedly hammer the ore.

In the pickling pool, thick white mist rises. Craftsmen wearing thick leather aprons and covering their faces with wet cloths carefully throw the crushed ore into the pool.

On the middle floor, several specially made sealed kilns with double-layer ceramic walls and circulating water cooling systems are in operation, and the furnace temperature is monitored by precision copper thermometers.

There are distillation towers everywhere, ceramic pipes are winding, and condensers are dripping with purified liquid.

The most core area is the "synthesis area" which is far away from other workshops and buried deep in an independent cave.

The heavy lead door is closed tightly, and there are sand pools and water tanks outside the door.

Inside, the craftsman operates a special ceramic reactor with a copper stirring paddle and an ice-water interlayer, carefully adding raw materials through the observation hole, his movements gentle and careful as if walking on thin ice.

All craftsmen are strictly prohibited from bringing metal objects. The ground is covered with static-conducting copper mesh. Those entering must be barefoot, wear cotton clothes, and use wooden tools.

"Sir Chu, the concentration in the No. 3 pickling tank is abnormal, and the precipitated crystals are light yellow." A craftsman presented a sample in his hand.

Chu Xiling took it, examined it carefully under the glass mirror, and touched it lightly with a silver needle: "Impurities, pyrite residue, adjust the acid ratio and filter again."

"Yes……"

"Sir! The temperature in the third synthesis area is fluctuating abnormally. Cooling water has been injected according to the plan." Another craftsman reported urgently.

"Stop the furnace and check the interlayer water channel. Do not restart it until the cause is determined!" Chu Xiling said calmly.

"Yes……"

"Stabilizer, how about the test of diatomaceous earth adsorption effect?" She turned to the assistant beside her.

"Your Excellency, in the impact test, sample one had an adsorption rate of 70% and an explosion rate of 50%. Sample two had an adsorption rate of 85% and an explosion rate of 30%, which is still too high." The assistant said in a serious voice.

"Keep trying, using clay from different origins, different particle sizes, and different proportions..." Chu Xiling's eyes were calm. "Record every data point."

There is no smoke of gunpowder here, but it is more dangerous than a battlefield.

Every move he made was on the brink of destruction. But Chu Xiling's cold face was filled with complete concentration and determination.

The sword is forged in the abyss, just to master the power to burn the sky.

......

Deep in the Yin Mountains lies Ghost Crying Ridge, a treacherous terrain permeated with miasma year-round and with jagged rocks resembling ghost claws.

In a hidden valley, the remaining yurts are dilapidated and the campfire is weak.

Helian Bao's one arm was wounded, his eyes were bloodshot, and his violent anger had not subsided.

Gu Beichen's purple robe was stained with dust, and a corner of his bronze mask was broken, revealing half of his pale and sinister face, but the depths of his eyes were still as cold as an abyss.

Less than a thousand defeated soldiers gathered around, all of them pale and thin, with frightened eyes.

"There's only enough food for three days." A guard whispered.

"The checkpoints at the foot of the mountain are getting tighter and tighter, and the caravans are cut off from making purchases and can't get in." said another person.

"The killer Mao Mengji is staring at us like a wolf outside. What should we do?" someone said in a trembling voice.

"What are you afraid of!" Helian Bao stood up suddenly, waving his one arm. "I still have my sword and my horse. I'll charge out and carve a bloody path!"

"Charge out?" Gu Beichen's voice was icy. "There are layers of checkpoints at the foot of the mountain, and the Jinwu Guards are heavily guarding it. Are we going to charge out and die with our muskets arrayed?"

"Then...what should we do? Wait to die?" Helian Bao roared.

"Wait..." Gu Beichen's eyes were deep, "Wait for an opportunity, wait for Lin Zhen to relax... wait for variables..."

He walked to the corner and saw an old man in a black robe (the only remaining elder of Zoroastrianism) carving complex symbols on a stone slab in the shadows.

"Has the message been spread?" Gu Beichen asked in a low voice.

The old man nodded, his voice hoarse: "The Night Owl has been released. There will be a response from Black Water Marsh in three days."

Gu Beichen raised his lips in a cold arc: "Lin Zhen, do you think you have won? The game has just begun..."