In the seventeenth year of the Kaihuang era, I wrote my will in the examination hall.

Yang Yan spoke faster and faster, his mind gradually transforming the vision of modern industrialization transforming agriculture into a language that this era could understand.

"Since your high-quality steel, refined in your blast furnace, can be used to make woks, machetes for cleaving mountains, plows for deep cultivation, and armor for self-defense?"

"If your windmill were placed on a turbulent current, it could drive a watermill to pound rice, or a water-powered bellows to smelt iron, or even pull a heavy mill to grind ore! This would save not only manpower, but also the very foundation of the nation's economy!"

Each rhetorical question was like a heavy hammer blow, shattering Yang Jun's preconceived notions about Lingnan.

Yang Jun's mouth dropped open. The gears and levers in his mind, which were originally designed just for "fun," miraculously overlapped with the scene Yang Yan was describing.

"If it's modified, it should be possible, so what?" Yang Jun muttered to himself, his eyes beginning to focus.

"If it could really be like that!" Yang Yan grabbed his wrist tightly. "Third Uncle, just imagine that scene!"

"When the barren lands of Lingnan were transformed into vast fertile fields, and rice was piled up like mountains, the people no longer had to worry about famine."

"When those unruly Li and Liao people saw the 'divine artifact' you created operate on its own, as if witnessing a miracle, they laid down their weapons, left the deep mountains, and knelt at your feet. They no longer regarded you as the court's lackeys, but revered you as the reincarnation of Shennong, the savior of suffering!"

"The sixty prefectures of Lingnan will no longer be a burden on the imperial court, nor a prison for exiled criminals, but will become the largest granary and the most solid source of soldiers for the Sui Dynasty!"

Yang Yan's voice was deep and seductive, like a devil's whisper in your ear, yet it also painted a vision of paradise.

"When this tangible and unparalleled achievement, enough to change the fate of the nation and completely win over the South, is presented to our Imperial Grandfather, will he still think you are 'wasting your time on trivial pursuits'?"

"No!"

Yang Yan suddenly waved his sleeve, his imposing aura unstoppable: "He will be shocked! He will marvel! He will regret his past blindness, almost burying a sage who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Mozi!"

"By then, you won't be that useless prince who's been living a life of debauchery in the palace, waiting to be deposed!"

"You are a wise king who expanded the territory of the Sui Dynasty and educated the people! You are truly the man destined by Heaven to expand the territory of the Yang family's empire!"

Yang Jun felt a surge of heat rise from his dantian, rushing straight to the top of his head, burning his face and ears red, and making his whole body tremble.

"The Wise King... the Mandate of Heaven..."

Yang Jun's breathing became extremely heavy, his chest heaving violently, and his peach blossom eyes, which had originally carried a hint of frivolity and drunkenness, were now frighteningly bright.

He seemed to see the scene: in the towering mountains of Lingnan, huge waterwheels turned day and night, making thunderous noises; blast furnaces spewed flames, illuminating the night sky of Baiyue; countless people who had no worries about food and clothing bowed and worshipped his statue, shouting "Long live the Emperor!"

Isn't this a million times better than being a prince in this cage who only knows how to eat, drink, and wait to die?

Isn't this even more thrilling than building a water-spraying dragon?

"Yan...Yan'er..."

Yang Jun grabbed Yang Yan's arm tightly with his other hand, his nails almost digging into his flesh. His voice trembled as if he was about to cry, yet it also carried an unprecedented firmness and fervor.

"You're right...you're absolutely right! I want to be that wise king! I want history to have its own volume!"

He turned his head sharply to look at the still-spinning windmill, his eyes no longer showing any regret, only an eagerness to dismantle it all and take it away.

"Take this windmill apart! Take it all away!"

"And all those blueprints, those scrap metals, those unfinished models in the warehouse... take them all to Lingnan!"

"The emperor is far away there, and my father can't control me!"

He seemed to have made a desperate decision, gripping the railing tightly with both hands, his gaze passing over the high walls of the palace, his expression becoming more resolute than ever before.

"Yan'er, you must help your third uncle! This time, on our trip to Lingnan, I'm not afraid of miasma or barbarians! Let's join forces and create some earth-shattering achievements! Whether I can gain the Emperor's favor and surpass your father and second uncle in the history books depends entirely on this opportunity!"

Yang Yan quietly looked at the King of Qin before him.

Just moments ago he was as dejected as a scoundrel whose bones had been removed, but now he's been fired up by his own "pie-in-the-sky" rhetoric, wishing he could sprout wings and fly to Lingnan to work on steelmaking.

The last trace of doubt in Yang Yan's heart vanished with the evening breeze.

This isn't some profound politician at all; he's just a tech geek desperately seeking recognition, possessing cutting-edge technology but with nowhere to use it!

If that's the case, then things will be much easier.

Yang Yan slowly stood up, straightened his clothes, and gave a bright, warm smile, nodding emphatically.

"Uncle, rest assured, your nephew will do everything in his power to help you achieve unparalleled success!"

Now that the strategic alliance had been formed, Yang Yan's mind began to wander, and his gaze involuntarily drifted to the corner of the yellowed blueprint peeking out from Yang Jun's sleeve.

Since that so-called fragment of the Mozi inspired Yang Jun to create a wind-powered waterwheel, it might also contain principles about pulley systems, levers, or even more advanced machinery.

In this era of knowledge monopoly, this is priceless.

"By the way, Third Imperial Uncle." Yang Yan rubbed his hands together, trying to make his tone sound casual.

"That ancient book fragment you mentioned, given to me by the Taoist priest... I'm quite interested in it. Could I borrow it for a few days? Or perhaps I could make a copy?"

Yang Jun, who was still immersed in the dream of becoming the "King of Lingnan", was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on when he heard these words. His heroic ambition instantly disappeared and was replaced by a kind of vigilance called "miser".

He instinctively covered his cuff, shaking his head vigorously like a rattle-drum, and immediately tried to shoo him away: "That won't do! That's a fragment of a celestial book obtained by chance, it's my lifeblood! This secret technique is meant to be passed down to my descendants, to bring glory to my lineage! What if you clumsily damage it?"

As Yang Jun spoke, he gave a perfunctory yawn and shoved Yang Yan toward the door.

"Alright, alright, we've talked enough today, and the alcohol's kicking in. It's getting late, you should head back. Don't keep me from sleeping! Go, go, go!"

Looking at Yang Jun, who had just been all lovey-dovey with his uncle, but turned hostile as soon as books were mentioned, Yang Yan couldn't help but chuckle.

He didn't insist.

After all, this was ancient times, and such unique copies involving core skills were often regarded as the foundation of a family's livelihood, with the principle of "passing it down to sons but not daughters, and to family members but not outsiders."

It is already a huge breakthrough that Yang Jun is willing to use his technology in the construction of Lingnan. If we push too hard all at once, it will not be good.

"In that case, I will not take what others cherish. Uncle, please rest early."

Yang Yan bowed respectfully and withdrew from the waterside pavilion.