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At the Marquis of Wuding's residence, a banquet was in full swing.

Sixty-eight-year-old Guo Ying had a ruddy complexion, and her hand trembled slightly as she raised her wine glass, whether from old age or resentment, it was hard to tell.

"Gentlemen!" His voice was loud, but tinged with drunkenness. "Back then, when we followed the founding emperor to conquer the world, we fought for it with real swords and spears! Now look what's happened, not a single one of the seven seats in the cabinet is from our Huaixi region!"

The generals present echoed his sentiments.

Xu Zengshou, the Vice Commander-in-Chief, slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "Your Excellency is right! His Majesty has forgotten his roots! If it weren't for the men of Huaixi fighting on the battlefield, where would the Ming Dynasty be?"

Guo Ying took a big gulp of wine, a fierce glint flashing in his cloudy old eyes: "I followed the founding emperor in raising an army when I was sixteen, and have fought in more than a hundred battles, large and small, leaving me covered in scars. Now that Your Majesty has ascended the throne, you have allowed those weak scholars to control the government. This is going to chill the hearts of us old ministers!"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, his voice growing louder and louder: "His Majesty has been misled by those scholars! If the founding emperor were still alive, he would never have treated us old brothers like this!"

As soon as this statement came out, everyone in the audience was shocked.

Several more level-headed generals quickly advised, "My lord, be careful what you say! What if these words reach His Majesty's ears?"

"What's there to be afraid of!" Guo Ying waved his hand, his eyes glazed with drunkenness. "I'm just telling the truth! Your Majesty has forgotten the fundamentals!"

"My lord, His Majesty has never been close to us nobles, so the current situation is not surprising."

"Oh dear! How did things get to this point?"

The next morning at Qianqing Palace.

Song Zhong, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, respectfully presented a secret report: "Your Majesty, the remarks made at the Marquis of Wuding's residence last night are all here."

Su Ning took the secret report, read it carefully, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"Guo Ying, the older she gets, the more temper she has."

Ma He asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, is it alright?"

"No need." Su Ning casually placed the secret report on the table. "It's just an old general grumbling. If I can't even tolerate this much, what kind of emperor am I?"

"..."

"However, this Xu Zengshou is a bit too restless. I remember that he had a secret connection with the rebel Zhu Di. I ordered him to be demoted to a commoner and sent back to his hometown of Fengyang to farm."

"Yes! Your Majesty."

He stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the distant, imposing palaces of the Forbidden City.

"Send word that he has safely entered the palace."

Half an hour later, at the Five Military Commands' Office.

Ping An stood respectfully before Su Ning, listening to the emperor's instructions.

"Ping An, the Ming army is now riddled with problems, it's time for a thorough overhaul." Su Ning said solemnly, "I have three things for you to do."

"Your Majesty, please make it clear."

"First, the private armies of each vassal king must be completely reorganized and assimilated, and there must be no more vassal kings holding military power and acting independently."

"Second, we will rigorously investigate corruption within the military, especially cases of receiving salaries without working and exploiting soldiers. Every case discovered will be severely punished without exception!"

"Third," Su Ning paused, "we will fully implement the military supervision system, dividing the Ming army into garrison troops and field troops. Garrison troops will be responsible for defense, while field troops will be dedicated to combat."

Ping An pondered for a moment, then asked, "Your Majesty, who should be the supervising officer?"

“Continue to select from the new-style schools,” Su Ning said decisively. “They must understand military affairs, but even more importantly, they must understand the new policies. In addition, I want you to gradually reduce the differences between military households and farmers, merchants, and artisans. Under the new education system, everyone should be equal, and there should be no more distinctions of rank.”

Ping An looked troubled: "Your Majesty, these reforms will inevitably affect the interests of many people, especially those hereditary military households."

“That’s why I’ve put you in charge.” Su Ning’s eyes were sharp. “You’ve followed the founding emperor for many years and are most loyal to the Ming Dynasty. Remember, reform is imperative. No matter what obstacles you encounter, you must persevere.”

"Yes! Your Majesty."

Several months later, the troops were mustered at the drill ground.

Ping An stood on the reviewing stand, looking at the soldiers lined up neatly below, his heart filled with emotion.

After several months of reorganization, the army has taken on a completely new look.

The phenomenon of drawing salaries without working has been curbed, and the treatment of soldiers has also been improved.

More importantly, the newly implemented military supervision system began to take effect, separating the military and the government and creating checks and balances between them.

“General,” a newly appointed military supervisor stepped forward to report, “this is the training situation of each garrison this month. According to the new regulations, all soldiers must learn to read and write, and also understand the key points of the new policies.”

Ping An took the report and nodded in satisfaction: "Well done. Remember, we must not only train soldiers who are good at fighting, but also cultivate soldiers who understand reason."

At this moment, a bodyguard walked over quickly and whispered, "General, Marquis Wuding is causing trouble outside the drill ground again."

Ping An frowned: "What is it?"

"My lord says our new regulations have disgraced the dignity of military officers and insists on seeing you to discuss this."

Ping An sighed: "Please come into the tent, Lord Marquis, for a chat."

"Yes! General."

Inside the Chinese army's tent.

Guo Ying stormed in, furious, and before Ping An could speak, she shouted, "Ping An! What do you mean by this? Making soldiers read and write? What new policies are they going to learn? Are you trying to turn all our soldiers into scholars?"

Ping An calmly invited Guo Ying to sit down and personally poured him a cup of tea.

"My lord, please calm your anger. His Majesty has said that future wars will rely not only on bravery but also on wisdom. Soldiers who are literate and reasonable will be able to better understand military orders and adapt to changing circumstances on the battlefield."

"Nonsense!" Guo Ying slammed his fist on the table. "I'm illiterate, but I still won the battle!"

“Times have changed,” Ping An explained patiently. “Nowadays, firearms are advancing rapidly, and tactics are constantly being innovated. If we don’t keep up, we will fall behind. Does Your Excellency want our Ming army to lag behind others?”

Guo Ying was momentarily speechless, but still unconvinced: "What about the military supervisor system? Letting civil officials interfere is just undermining our military power!" "The military supervisor system was already implemented during the Hongwu era! Now it's just being rolled out nationwide. Besides, the military supervisor system isn't meant to undermine the military, but rather to assist them," Ping An said solemnly. "Separating military and civil affairs, with mutual supervision, is the only way to prevent corruption and improve efficiency. My lord, all of this is for the future of the Ming Dynasty."

Guo Ying remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh: "Enough, enough. I understand less and less about the affairs of you young people."

"My lord, His Majesty has already treated this old minister very well, so we should support His Majesty's decrees."

"Okay! I understand."

He stood up and walked unsteadily out of the tent, his back view appearing particularly lonely.

Ping An watched the old general's departing figure, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He knew that the road to reform was never smooth, but these growing pains were necessary for the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty.

Inside the Qianqing Palace, Su Ning listened to Ping An's report and nodded in satisfaction.

“You did a great job. Don’t be too harsh on Guo Ying. These veterans have made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty, and it’s inevitable that they feel a sense of loss as they see the times change.”

"Your Majesty is wise," Ping An said, bowing. "However, the reforms have indeed affected the interests of many, and I am concerned."

“Don’t worry,” Su Ning interrupted him. “As long as the direction is right, we must keep going. Remember, we not only need to build a powerful army, but also an army with a soul.”

He walked to the map and pointed to the vast territory: "The future Ming Dynasty needs new-style soldiers who can both defend the country and understand the new policies. We must continue down this path."

Outside the window, the setting sun bathed the glazed tiles of the Forbidden City in a golden hue.

Amidst this golden light, a profound transformation is quietly taking place within the Ming army.

……

As early winter approached, a light snow began to fall in Nanjing, covering the golden roofs and vermilion walls of the Forbidden City with a layer of pure white.

However, beneath this tranquility, a force powerful enough to change the times is surging within the "Royal Trading Company" in a corner of the imperial city.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" A young eunuch, disregarding etiquette, rushed into the Qianqing Palace, his face flushed with excitement. "The head steward of the Royal Merchant Guild requests an audience! He says... it's done!"

Su Ning, who was reviewing memorials, paused, and a small blot of ink spread on the rice paper.

He immediately realized what was happening and jumped to his feet: "Summon them quickly!"

A moment later, Wu Zheng, the chief steward of the Royal Trading Company, almost staggered in.

This old eunuch, who was over fifty years old, was acting like a child at this moment. His official hat was askew, his robe was stained with oil, but his eyes were frighteningly bright.

He held tightly in his hands an object covered with yellow silk, followed by several equally excited craftsmen and imperial guards.

"Your Majesty! Heaven bless the Ming Dynasty! Heaven bless the Ming Dynasty!" Wu Zheng's voice trembled as he knelt down with a thud, raising the object high with both hands. "Your subjects... have not failed in their mission! Following the blueprints in the 'Heavenly Book' bestowed by Your Majesty, this... this 'internal combustion engine' is complete!"

Su Ning took a deep breath, suppressing the overwhelming joy in her heart, and quickly stepped forward to help Wu Zheng up, uncovering the yellow silk.

Beneath the yellow silk lies a complex and exquisitely crafted object made of metal.

Despite its small size, it is full of the power and geometric beauty unique to the industrial age.

Cylinder, piston, connecting rod, crankshaft...

Although it is somewhat rough, it already has the core form of an internal combustion engine, and the surface still has the residual heat and smell of engine oil from the recent tuning.

"Good! Good! Good!" Su Ning said three times, his fingers lightly tracing the cool metal surface, his eyes gleaming with an unprecedented light. "Tell me in detail!"

Wu Zheng, struggling to calm his breathing, began to report in detail: "Your Majesty, the principle behind this device is entirely due to Your Majesty's guidance. Following the instructions in the 'Heavenly Book,' we conducted repeated experiments and finally overcame the two major challenges of cylinder sealing and ignition. Instead of using the 'rubber' Your Majesty mentioned, we used refined steel combined with oil-impregnated cork, nested in multiple layers, to solve the airtightness problem. As for the ignition device, we drew inspiration from the flintlock pistol, making improvements to precisely ignite the fuel-air mixture within the cylinder..."

He pointed to several parts on the machine, listing them off as if they were his own treasures: "This is the carburetor, which atomizes the kerosene and mixes it with the air; this is the flywheel, which ensures smooth operation... Half an hour ago, this machine successfully ran continuously for a quarter of an hour, and its output power far exceeded that of ten strong horses! And as long as fuel is continuously supplied, it will never tire!"

Although the eunuchs and palace maids standing around couldn't understand these technical terms, the phrase "far exceeding ten strong horses" made their eyes widen, and their gazes toward the iron lump were immediately filled with awe.

As Su Ning listened to the report, the earth-shattering changes that this thing would bring were already forming in his mind.

His original plan was indeed to first develop the relatively simple steam engine, but the ideal sealing material...

Rubber originated in the Americas, and its distant source cannot quench our immediate thirst.

Left with no other choice, he had to rely on the knowledge he had acquired before his transmigration to retrieve more complex technical blueprints and explanations of the internal combustion engine from the spatial world, which he called the "Ancient Heavenly Craftsmanship Manual," and handed it over to the Royal Trading Company, which had gathered the top craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty.

The main reason was that the Industrial Revolution was too significant and not understood by people of that era, so it was temporarily handed over to the Royal Trading Company.

He had no hope of short-term success; he only wanted to sow the seeds.

Unexpectedly, the skilled craftsmen of this era, with their amazing spirit of research and craftsmanship, combined with the forward-thinking direction he provided, actually turned theory into reality!

"All the craftsmen involved in this project will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver and ten bolts of silk! Wu Daban, you deserve the greatest credit. Furthermore, the Tiangong Academy will be established immediately, and you will serve as its first director! You will be in charge of developing various advanced mechanical equipment." Su Ning immediately issued the order, his voice filled with unwavering determination. "The creation of this device is more valuable to our Great Ming than ten thousand soldiers! By imperial decree, this machine shall be named 'Tiangong Type I'! From this day forward, the Tiangong Academy shall be designated as a forbidden garden, with additional imperial guards stationed there, and all its expenses shall be given priority!"

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your divine grace!" Wu Zheng and the craftsmen behind him knelt down again, their voices choked with emotion.

They knew better than anyone what the iron weapon in their hands meant.

Suning bent down and gazed once more at the rough yet significant prototype, as if he could hear a new era roaring within it.

He whispered to Wu Zheng:
"Although this machine currently only powers itself, its potential is limitless. Consider this: if this machine were to power vehicles, there would be no need for oxen or horses, and it could travel a thousand miles a day; if it were to power boats, there would be no need for sails, and it could travel upstream; if it were to power machine tools, the power of craftsmen could be increased a hundredfold! It can be used for farmland irrigation, mine drainage, workshop weaving... wherever power is needed!"

Wu Zheng listened with great excitement, his beard trembling with emotion: "Your Majesty is wise! We will do our utmost to improve the technology and reduce the cost, so that this 'Heavenly Machine' can benefit the people as soon as possible and make our Great Ming Dynasty strong!"

"Good!" Su Ning straightened up, his gaze piercing through the palace and looking towards the distant future. "This will be the true beginning of industry for our Great Ming! From now on, human power will be finite, but the power of machinery will be infinite!"

Outside the palace, the snow fell silently.

Inside the palace, a spark called the "Industrial Revolution" has been quietly ignited in the heart of the Ming Dynasty. Though its light is faint, it is destined to spread like wildfire, illuminating a brand new era.

Of course, Suning also knows that there is still a long way to go, and it doesn't know if it will be able to complete the industrial revolution in its lifetime.

...(End of chapter)