Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

Jingyue County.

The Jingle County of today is not the Jingle of later generations, but the Loufan County as remembered by Li Chengqian.

Before Li Chengqian implemented his new policies in Bingzhou, although the population was dwindling due to the early Tang Dynasty and there was more land than people, people here had been allocated some land.

However, the real fertile land was all controlled by the families of the original magistrate and assistant magistrate of Loufan County.

Many of them worked as tenant farmers in both companies.

Until two months ago.

With the cooperation of Wang Qingyun and the two thousand elite soldiers mobilized by Hou Junji, they used swift and decisive methods to storm into Jingyue County that very day, carrying out the information provided by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The county magistrate and the county assistant magistrate were of different families, regardless of age, gender, or whether they were legitimate or illegitimate.

They were all arrested and taken to Taiyuan Prefecture.

The entire situation in Jingyue County was instantly transformed.

"Your Highness, please look. This is the steel mill's mine. Because Your Highness gave us such an accurate location, we found it very quickly and started mining. Now, there are more than five thousand strong men working in this mine alone."

The newly appointed magistrate was named Hu Ma. He was not from a prestigious family, but he was literate.

Furthermore, before the former magistrate was dismissed, he served as a constable in the county government for more than ten years.

At this moment, she followed Li Chengqian with a mixture of nervousness and excitement, earnestly introducing him to the current situation of the Jingyue County Steel Plant.

"This is an iron mine. About seven or eight miles west of here, there is a small coal mine. The coking plant that Your Highness had built is over there."

"The coke refined over there will be transported by transport teams along the newly paved official road leading here to the steel mill..."

Hu Ma wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Fortunately, he wasn't stupid. Such a large industry located in Jingyue County was bound to be a place that His Highness the Crown Prince would focus on in the future.

After he was appointed county magistrate in a daze, one of the key things he focused on cooperating with and understanding was this matter.

It is the steel plant that has already been initially established.

"Hehe, Magistrate Hu, don't be nervous. I know your background very well, and I am also well aware of the shortcomings in the handling of cases and disputes that have recently occurred in the Jingle County government."

"I don't mean to criticize you. I allow you to make some minor mistakes when you first take office. As long as you can correct them afterward and act clearly in the future, then you are a promising talent..."

Li Chengqian chuckled and patted the other man's muscular shoulder, speaking casually.

however.

Despite receiving such encouragement, Hu Ma dared not show any joy, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

He nodded repeatedly in thanks.

At this moment, Changsun Wuji was eager to see the inside of the steel plant. After explaining to Li Chengqian about some recent events in Jingle County, he...

They couldn't wait to get into the carriage.

Heading towards the steel mill.

Although it is called a factory, it does not actually resemble the towering industrial behemoth of the previous life at all.

It was a world surrounded by a high wall about four or five meters high, strictly guarded by the local garrison commander dispatched by Hou Junji, with numerous sentry posts.

Smoke billows.

On some areas where the concrete has not yet been fully cemented, there is black ash everywhere.

"Your humble servant Leng Yi greets Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Li Chengqian nodded slightly.

"Since Elder Mo has gone to Yanmen Pass to oversee the construction of the wool processing plant, will you be in charge of providing technical guidance here?"

"It is indeed your humble servant!"

Li Chengqian nodded.

At that moment, Leng Yi led the group on a serious tour of the steel plant.

"Your Highness, this is the raw material area. The iron ore and limestone mined from the mines, as well as the coke delivered from the coking plant, are all transported here, where they are crushed and ground by specialists."

"Regarding the steam engine Your Highness mentioned, we have no clue yet, so we mainly rely on manpower here, using levers and heavy hammers for processing..."

"This is the iron smelting area, with a total of fifty blast furnaces. Originally, seventy were built, but after inspection, twenty were found to have construction defects and were at risk of collapse, so they were demolished and rebuilt."

"At the latest, we should be able to add another fifty blast furnaces by next month."

Beside him, he could see towering iron smelting furnaces that looked like chimneys.

Ladders were also erected around the furnace, allowing ironworkers to feed raw materials into it.

Changsun Wuji had never heard of such an iron-smelting furnace before, and upon hearing this, he couldn't help but interrupt Leng Yi's introduction with some impatience.

"What is the output of such an iron smelting furnace?"

Seeing his own Crown Prince nod, Leng Yi smiled slightly.

"Your Excellency, this is only an initial blast furnace. We will study and build larger steelmaking furnaces in the future. However, even though it is only an initial one, this furnace can produce two thousand catties of molten iron per day."

"hiss!!!"

Li Chengqian looked at Changsun Wuji, who was gasping in shock.

But he shook his head inwardly.

Based solely on the understanding of this era, a furnace producing 2,000 catties a day would be an absolutely terrifying output, not to mention that the wrought iron produced here has a higher content of wrought iron.

However, such production volume would be considered in a later era, not even considering full industrialization.

In the early stages of industrialization alone, it was simply not enough.

"This, this is truly terrifying! One furnace produces two thousand catties a day, and with fifty furnaces here, that's a hundred thousand catties a day!!!"

At this moment, Changsun Wuji finally understood.

Why was His Highness the King of Yue so confident when he so easily announced the production of 100,000 pieces of refined iron armor per month?

He turned his head stiffly.

Looking at his own nephew, the crown prince, he suddenly felt even more uneasy.

His Highness the Crown Prince now controls more than just one region.

The profitable businesses under his control are even more terrifying.

Not long ago, they said they also had a gold mine. Now, they also own an ironworks that can produce 100,000 pieces of refined iron armor per month.

"Gudong..."

Changsun Wuji swallowed hard.

She noticed the half-smile in her nephew's eyes as he turned to look at her.

My heart instantly tightened.

After returning, I must make my brother-in-law, Emperor Li Er, truly work hard. The ruler of a country is preoccupied with his princess's candy shop and pastry shop in Chang'an all day long.

This is utterly absurd!

If they knew that His Highness the Crown Prince already possessed such terrifying power.

Your Majesty... are you able to sleep?!

Li Chengqian turned his head away, no longer offering any further encouragement to his uncle.

His gaze turned to Leng Yi beside him.

"Take me to see what's going on at the forging plant."

"Yes! Your Highness, please follow me..."

We followed a cement road, passing through three checkpoints before entering a new factory area.

Amidst the clanging and clattering of metal, some heavy, some light, Leng Yi led Li Chengqian and the others to the forging plant located next to the ironworks.

At this moment, Li Tai and Li Ke had already been watching for quite some time.

"Brother, this production line is truly amazing. Some craftsmen specialize in forging one item, resulting in not only a high yield rate and incredibly fast production speed, but also making it much easier for apprentices to learn."

Li Tai said excitedly.

Li Chengqian nodded slightly, but there was little satisfaction in his eyes.

As far as the eye could see, a huge factory was shrouded in sweltering heat.

Amidst the clanging and banging sounds, thousands of craftsmen, along with their apprentices, were busily forging fine iron armor plates, arrowheads, longswords, and lances.

"Your Highness, the water-powered forging hammer has begun to be built along the Fen River west of Jingle County. If the trial goes smoothly, the forging hammer's power will make forging weapons and armor more than ten times faster."

Li Chengqian nodded.

"It's alright, I can wait. The Turks are currently engaged in fierce fighting, which is the best time for my Bingzhou soldiers to upgrade their weapons and armor. You just need to expand production step by step."

As he spoke, Li Chengqian added, "Make sure to ensure the treatment and food of these craftsmen. They are not only doing physical labor, but also skilled workers, which are rare in our Great Tang Dynasty. Each one of them is a treasure."

Leng Yi bowed respectfully: "This humble official understands."

"Now take me to the storeroom."

Jingle Steel Plant, Armor Warehouse.

With the heavy gate slowly raised amidst the clanging of chains, the gate was lifted.

Leng Yi led Li Chengqian and the others into the building.

The sight of rows of cold armor, neatly arranged on shelves and standing like menacing soldiers, made Changsun Wuji, who was walking in quickly behind him, swallow hard.

With a "thud," a heavy wooden box was lifted by Li Tai.

They revealed a number of standard and finely crafted horizontal swords.

With a hiss, the sword was drawn from its sheath.

The cold, icy light reflected in pairs of astonished eyes.

Changsun Wuji was not a civil official who was completely ignorant of martial arts. He stepped forward, picked up a horizontal sword, and suddenly slashed down at a table next to him.

"Crack!"

Looking at the table with a corner cut off in an instant, and feeling the heaviness coming from the tiger's mouth.

Changsun Wuji instinctively exclaimed, "What a fine blade!"

"Uncle, you can take another look at these armors. Because they are easier to produce on an assembly line. These are all chainmails, but you can rest assured about the materials used."

Changsun Wuji nodded.

They were too busy to answer Li Chengqian, their excited figures inspecting the area where the armor was displayed.

"Fine armor, all fine armor... If my Great Tang had 50,000 elite warriors equipped with such armor, let alone powerful clans, even the Turks and Goguryeo would have to submit to my Great Tang!"

Changsun Wuji's excited eyes were bloodshot.

Beside them, the three brothers, Li Chengqian, Li Tai, and Li Ke, exchanged glances, and smiles appeared on their lips.

In this way, the matter was already more than half accomplished.

With so much armor and weapons, plus this emperor's brother-in-law who has become completely hawkish.

The days of the five prominent families and seven noble clans are finally over...

Changsun Wuji completely lost the idea of ​​carefully examining the new policies and reforms in Bingzhou. After asking Li Chengqian for a group of people to escort the batch of supplies, he...

They didn't want to stay in Bingzhou any longer.

Return to Chang'an!

This is what Changsun Wuji is most anxious about at this moment.

Li Chengqian did not try to persuade him to stay, and promised to arrange for his two cousins, Changsun Chong and Changsun Huan, to study at the new school in Bingzhou.

He could only watch helplessly as his uncle set off directly from Jingyue County back to Chang'an.

"Brother, now that I think about it, those five clans and seven noble families are completely out of the energy to carry out any impeachment. With this batch of soldiers and armor, their heads are not as precious as before."

Li Tai said with a malicious grin.

Li Ke, on the other hand, looked at the warehouse, which was now almost half empty, and felt somewhat disappointed.

"This batch of armor was originally intended to equip the garrison at Yanmen Pass. Now it seems that the weapons traded to the Turks will need to be sourced from the old stock in other county warehouses."

Li Chengqian smiled faintly.

"They're just a bunch of barbarians. What do they know about iron smelting? What products from the Central Plains are considered priceless treasures by them?"

The three brothers all thought of those three items at the same time, and by now they were practically being spread around by the Embroidered Uniform Guard in secret.

It became the "Long-bodied Celestial Treasure" Glazed Venerable.

The Central Plains could be so fiercely fought to the death over the phrase "By the mandate of Heaven, may your life be long and prosperous," that the world was plunged into chaos.

How bad could a place like the Turkic steppe, which is even more savage and has an equally strong belief in the Eternal Heaven, be?

Turks.

"kill!!!"

Amidst the deafening shouts of battle, the wind blew the pastures this way and that. On a vast open field, there stood Ashina Dubi, the Khan of the Western Turks, Ashina Dili, the son of the Khan of the Western Turks, and Ashina Shibobi, the Khan of the Tuli Khans, who had received a large number of weapons from the Tang Dynasty.

The three parties then engaged in an unprecedentedly brutal battle on the grassland.

Even though Jieli's forces were weakened, they still had a force of over 70,000.

Ashina Dili led 20,000 elite cavalry.

The Khan of Tuli, Ashina Shibobi, numbered 30,000.

The latter two, especially Tuli Khan, had practically given up all their resources.

The despicable Tang people demanded payment in cash on delivery.

In order to acquire this batch of armor and arrows.

He has almost emptied his coffers of all the gold, silver and jewels, and sold 20,000 head of cattle and sheep.

His eyes were bloodshot; having risked everything, he was now completely blinded by rage.

"Kill! All of you, charge with me, the Great Khan! We are all eagles blessed by the Eternal Heaven! We are invincible!"

the other side.

Ashina Dili also charged ahead. The Turks were barbaric, but they had to admit that they deserved the title of brave and skilled warriors.

only.....

"Tsk tsk tsk, keep fighting, keep fighting until your Turkic tribes are completely weakened. That will be the day we conquer the vast Turkic territories for His Highness the Crown Prince..."

Cheng Chumo hid under a patch of grass.

He held in his hand a cylindrical object, a treasure personally given to him by His Highness the Crown Prince.

Looking at the magnified image, it became exceptionally clear.

He was making loud, cheerful noises.

A fierce battle raged, with Tuli's elite troops gaining the upper hand with the help of Tang Dynasty weapons, and Jieli's forces being forced to retreat westward.

It's temporarily come to an end.

only.

They had secretly agreed with Tuli to join forces against Ashina Dili of Jieli.

Looking at Tuli's side, almost one out of every two people was wearing iron armor.

His eyes, however, turned gloomy and cold.

"Great Khan, it seems that Tuli has indeed, as those Tang people said, surrendered to the Tang Dynasty!"

Ashina gritted his teeth.

"Despicable Tang people! They want to watch us kill each other and drain the blood of the Turkic men!"

however.

The war has reached an irreconcilable point.

If Ashina Dieli didn't want to lose his entire fortune and slink back to the Western Turkic Khaganate, becoming the son of a Khan who was destined to have no place in that position...

We absolutely cannot be eliminated in this competition.

"Go! Contact those Tang people for me. I want their armor and weapons too!"