Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 236 Research Base, Rakshasa Turmoil

"Thirty years?"

Zhou Ming shook his head, although he knew this was a speculation based on the current situation, and that the time would be shortened once he obtained the classics from Qin and Shuiyue Cave.

But it's still too long to get this result.

"We can first transform some of the results and then manufacture other items according to demand."

Ai suggested.

"That's a good idea. So, what kind of creation do you think the organization needs most right now?"

Xiao Ai pondered for a moment and said, "Armor!"

"Armor? Indeed..."

Zhou Ming nodded.

Among all kinds of weapons and equipment, the ones that increase combat power the most are not sharp blades such as swords, spears, and halberds, but armor used for defense!
After all, you can only produce something if you're alive.

On the battlefield, armor can withstand countless attacks, both overt and covert, and is the guarantee of survival.

In this world where martial arts are prevalent, it is almost impossible to completely ban all kinds of weapons.

But armor is the only item subject to extremely strict laws.

In the Tang Dynasty, possessing armor was a crime.

In the State of Song, possessing even one suit of armor would result in exile for two thousand li, while possessing three suits would lead to immediate execution.

In the Ming Dynasty, unauthorized possession of armor was punishable by caning and exile to the frontier. Even owning a vest or other individual armor piece was considered a crime.

In the Qing Dynasty, which was closed off from the world, not to mention armor, even ordinary swords and other weapons were not allowed to be privately possessed.

Only in the Qin state were there no relevant laws.

However, this was also due to the special circumstances of the Qin state. It had been in constant warfare for hundreds of years, and basically every slightly wealthy family had armor stored in their home.

Under such circumstances, enacting relevant laws would be impossible to advance.

However, the Qin state also stipulated that armor could be used to offset punishment for violating some minor laws.

This method is used to reclaim armor widely distributed among the people.

Furthermore, all of the above laws are limited to only one or two pieces of armor. If more than that is worn, such as five or ten pieces, the death penalty is certain.

If there were more, fifty or sixty, or even a hundred, then even kings, generals, princes, and imperial grandsons would surely die.

In addition, there are different regulations regarding the materials used for armor.

Ordinary leather armor will be punished less severely, while iron armor will be punished more severely.

However, if it is a special battle armor made of refined steel, even just one piece, let alone many, is a capital offense!

Shen Wansan's wealth and connections were immense. One of his subordinates, Wan Da, wore a suit of armor made of special fine steel.

However, they only dared to forge a half-body armor, and even that half-body armor was incomplete.

Is it possible that with his wealth, he couldn't create a full suit of armor?

impossible!
That's really just because they're afraid!
If that thing were to be found, or even a whisper of it were to leak out, the entire family of Wan would be sentenced to nine generations of kin, and no one would dare to utter a single word.

In this world where martial arts are prevalent, a grandmaster can shatter ordinary steel with a single palm strike, but for refined steel, it would require considerable effort.

If any grandmaster-level expert possessed such a full-body armor forged from refined steel, they could easily take on ten opponents single-handedly once donned it.

If he were to charge into enemy lines, he would be invincible; as long as he had the strength, even a hundred thousand or a million soldiers would be slaughtered.

One can imagine how terrifying such a suit of armor must be.

No dynasty would allow such armor to appear among the common people.

Because that means that any grandmaster could suddenly possess the destructive power of a great grandmaster... at least for the military.

No dynasty would allow such a threat to exist.

Every dynasty would closely monitor any relevant information it came into contact with.

After all, the amount of high-quality steel needed to make a complete set of full-body armor is considerable.

Even the finest steel required for a dagger often takes a blacksmith a considerable amount of time to refine.

Not to mention a set of armor.

Therefore, during the preparation process, various clues can easily be leaked.

However, this was not a problem for Zhou Ming at all.

After learning about various schools of mechanical arts, he created many machine tools and factories in his personal space and improved steel forging technology.

Ai's appearance further propelled technological innovation within her personal space.

The so-called hundred-times-forged refined steel was piled up in his personal space, filling an entire warehouse. In just over ten minutes, he could directly use this stored refined steel to forge a complete suit of armor.

However, this type of armor has two major flaws.

One is the weight. The full-body armor, made entirely of refined steel, can weigh several hundred kilograms. Only a master of external martial arts can wear this armor to charge into battle.

Most grandmasters can only achieve this by consuming their true energy to enhance their overall strength.

Therefore, their consumption of true qi is enormous, and their endurance is far inferior to that of a master of external cultivation.

The second drawback is that it's not easy to wear.

It's practically impossible for one person to wear a full-body suit like this; it requires the cooperation of others. Moreover, wearing it would inevitably greatly reduce flexibility.

We can defeat the enemy, but we certainly can't catch up.

However, these two problems were not problems at all for Zhou Ming.

He could easily project the armor onto other people.

It ensures both defensive capabilities and flexibility.

"In that case, once a batch of armor is manufactured, it can be used through the Heavenly Secret Plate projection... Hmm, while ordinary projection is convenient, its power is too weak. Overlay projection is better; it can be directly overlaid on the clothes of organization members and still ensure a certain level of defense..."

Zhou Ming pondered, "An ordinary innate martial artist, with the support of such a set of armor, can fight against a grandmaster. A grandmaster can also basically improve their combat power."

However, with only the level of refined steel (hundred-forged), it's practically impossible to challenge a Grandmaster. Unless, of course, enough of the War God's technology is analyzed to create the corresponding armor.

If this matter is handled well, the combat effectiveness of the entire organization can be boosted to a whole new level.

Grandmaster-level experts are quite rare and difficult to find.

Among the hidden forces left behind by the former Prince of Nanping, there were over a hundred innate masters, but only twenty or thirty grandmasters.

That's roughly one-fifth of the total.

But this is the Prince of Nanping, a powerful prince with fiefdoms in the Ming Dynasty. He has resources and a legacy, and his carefully cultivated subordinates are all selected from countless orphans.

The number of people he abandoned is probably countless. If this were the martial arts world, even among martial artists from sects, the ratio between those with innate talent and those who are grandmasters would be far lower than this.

Not to mention casual shoppers.

It's considered good if one out of a hundred innate masters becomes a grandmaster.

However, if Zhou Ming's plan is completed, then Xiantian can temporarily unleash the combat power of a Grandmaster.

The organization has hundreds of Innate Realm experts, which is equivalent to hundreds of Grandmasters!

Those grandmasters will also see their strength increase significantly!

What terrifying power!
Destroying ten or twenty Princes of Nanping would be a piece of cake!
"This is a good goal, let's list it out too."

Zhou Ming said, "However, the armor of the various countries in Kyushu, even their so-called full-body armor, cannot actually cover the whole body, and it is not the same as our needs."

The so-called full-body armor in various countries actually has defects at every joint.

But that's because they can't solve this flaw; otherwise, it would just be a solid block of iron, completely immobile.

However, since Zhou Ming has the ability to project, he can completely ignore this flaw and create a full-body armor that is truly seamless!

"In this way, all the armor designs of the various countries in Kyushu can only be used as references. We must develop our own full-body armor."

Even further, based on this, we can develop some more variations.

Furthermore, how to apply the research results on the War Demon God to armor is also a crucial issue…

Ai, who was listening nearby, said, "Based on the current needs, there is a severe shortage of manpower. We must recruit more mechanics, but this is not a good solution. We should establish a mechanics training institution to train our own mechanics."

Zhou Ming couldn't help but laugh: "Sure enough, the more desires you have, the more ideas you have. The more ideas you have, the more things you have to do... Let's take it slow."

The Loulan base is not yet completed, but its future role is already largely set – focusing on the research of machinery and the training of machinery engineers.

Once all the ancient texts from Shuiyue Cave in Qin arrive, there will likely be further research and revival of these ancient technologies.

In other words, a research base.

The capital of the Ming Dynasty.

"I feel like the martial arts world has been much calmer lately..."

Hua Manlou fiddled with the flowers and plants in his hands and said with a smile, "After thinking about it, it's not that the martial arts world has become peaceful, but rather that my life has become peaceful."

Zhou Ming nodded: "Yes, the martial arts world has never been peaceful, but the guy around us... Lu Xiaofeng has indeed been much quieter these past few months, we haven't heard much from him."

Hua Manlou said, "I ran into Li Tanhua before, and I heard that he went to the Northwest after that."

"The Northwest? He really did run into trouble."

"Oh? Why?"

Zhou Ming laughed and said, "Just this year, right after the Lantern Festival, the leader of the Rakshasa Sect in the Western Regions, 'Jade Rakshasa,' gathered the elite leaders of the entire Rakshasa Sect for a grand meeting."

But no one expected that during this meeting, a master from the Black Tiger Hall would secretly infiltrate, poison, and attack, causing the sect leader, Jade Rakshasa, to suffer serious injuries.

He succumbed to his injuries shortly afterward.

"Rakshasa Cult? Black Tiger Hall?"

Hua Manlou shook his head: "This martial world has never been peaceful. These two families have been fighting for many years and are evenly matched. Now that Yu Luosha is dead, it may become the best opportunity for the Black Tiger Hall to destroy the Luosha Sect!"

The area due west of the Yuan Dynasty and northwest of the Ming Dynasty is where the Western Regions are located, as described by the people of the countries east of Kyushu.

Due to years of war, many martial artists who fled from the Central Plains to the Western Regions used their martial arts skills to unleash abilities that the people of the Western Regions could not understand, and were called 'demons'.

The group formed by these Central Plains martial artists in the Western Regions was therefore known as the 'Demon Cult'.

Under this general term are the individual forces of various powerful figures in the Western Regions.

Yu Luosha's Rakshasa Sect is a powerful force in the Western Regions!
They controlled all routes between the Yuan Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, and the Western Regions. Any caravan passing through this area had to pay tribute to the Rakshasa religion.

Therefore, the Rakshasa religion can be said to be extremely wealthy.

But their ambitions clearly extend beyond that; they have been trying to move eastward.

Moreover, the two countries to the east of the Rakshasa religion, the Yuan Dynasty, had a huge gap between rich and poor.

Because the Yuan Dynasty implemented a 'tax farming system', which meant that taxes from each region were directly handed over to the local officials. As long as the annual tax revenue target was met, the royal family would not interfere with anything else.

This system was a great boon to local powerful families, but for ordinary people, it was a hellish rule.

A local tyrant who monopolizes the tax revenue of a region is practically a mini-emperor, and the kind of mini-emperor who doesn't have to worry about the people's hearts at all. He can act recklessly, arbitrarily plunder the people's wealth, and issue all sorts of nonsensical laws.

This resulted in the Yuan Dynasty's economy being extremely poor. While its level of poverty couldn't be compared to that of the Western Regions, it wasn't far off.

Therefore, the Rakshasa Cult's only target has always been the Ming Dynasty.

However, in the Northwest, there have always been martial arts forces resisting the evil cult.

At the same time as the Rakshasa Cult was rising, the Black Tiger Hall was also established and developed in the northwest of the Ming Dynasty, becoming the biggest enemy of the Rakshasa Cult's eastward expansion.

Unexpectedly, after so many years of conflict, the final result was the death of Yu Luosha, the leader of the Rakshasa Sect.

In fact, it was Black Tiger Gang who poisoned and ambushed him, killing him in a sneak attack.

Under normal circumstances, the Rakshasa Cult would definitely retaliate fiercely.

But right now, there is something even more important to do.

That's the candidate for the new leader!
"The members of the Demonic Sect are generally unruly and unwilling to submit to anyone else. With Jade Rakshasa dead, I'm afraid there won't be anyone in the Rakshasa Sect who can subdue the others."

“That’s right. But I’ve heard that Jade Rakshasa once created a Rakshasa Token as a symbol of status, and when the Rakshasa Cult was founded, it was declared that whoever possessed the Rakshasa Token would become the leader of the Rakshasa Cult!”

"Rakshasa brand?"

Hua Manlou pondered for a moment: "I've also heard this rumor. It's said that Yu Luosha once spent a huge sum of money to build a Luosha army of three thousand men, and the Luosha token was the symbol of command for this Luosha army!"

"Oh? Is that so? No wonder so many people in the Northwest are fighting over the Rakshasa Token."

Zhou Ming suddenly realized: "I was saying that without sufficient strength, even if you get the token, you probably won't become the leader. I never imagined there was such a hidden story behind this token!"

A force of three thousand elite soldiers.

Even if there aren't many experts among them, if one could command such an army, one would indeed be qualified to become the leader of the Rakshasa Cult.

Hua Manlou became puzzled: "A struggle? In the Northwest? Even if Yu Luosha is dead, the Rakshasa Token should still be within the Rakshasa Cult, right? How could someone be fighting over it, and not in the Western Regions, but in the Northwest?"

Zhou Ming laughed and said, "Your news is not timely. Before that, Yu Luosha never expected to die suddenly, so she always entrusted the Luosha Token to her son for safekeeping."

But his son, Yu Tianbao, was utterly useless and a compulsive gambler. While his father was critically wounded and dying, he wasn't in the Western Regions, but instead went to the 'Silver Hook Gambling House' in the northwest of the Ming Dynasty and gambled to his heart's content.

Hua Manlou was taken aback: "Don't tell me he gambled away the Rakshasa card."

Zhou Ming nodded: "You guessed right."

(End of this chapter)