Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

red.

A blinding red.

The molten iron rushed down the refractory brick grooves, like a fire dragon that had been imprisoned for thousands of years finally breaking free of its seal, roaring and tumbling, distorting the air along its path.

"Sizzle sizzle—"

The molten iron flowed into the prepared sand mold, instantly sending up plumes of white smoke and sparks as tall as a person. The scene was so spectacular it was breathtaking, a thousand times more dazzling than the fireworks set off in the palace on New Year's Eve.

Duan Lun slumped to the ground, a hole burned into the hem of his official robe by a flying spark, but he felt nothing.

He stared intently at the molten iron gushing out like a fool, his lips trembling like withered leaves in the wind, his hands gesturing wildly in the air as if calculating something.

"One thousand catties...two thousand catties...five thousand catties..."

As molten iron filled each mold, Duan Lun's voice grew increasingly shrill, eventually turning into a piercing scream.

"Ten thousand catties! It's still flowing! It's still flowing!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, did you see that?!"

Duan Lun suddenly turned around, grabbed Li Shimin's leg, his face covered in snot and tears, from fright and shock.

"This one batch! Just this one batch of molten iron yielded a full 30,000 jin!"

"Three thousand blacksmiths in the Ministry of Works, working day and night, swinging their hammers with all their might, could only forge this little bit in a whole year... a whole year!"

"Your Highness, this isn't iron smelting! This is clearly printing money! It's a magic trick!"

Thirty thousand catties.

This number struck Li Shimin like a heavy hammer blow.

He stared at the rows of iron ingots cooling and gradually turning blackish-gray, his breathing becoming heavy as a bull's, his eyes bloodshot, a mixture of extreme greed and ecstasy.

If he didn't have to worry about being scalded to death, he would love to jump right into that pool of molten iron and swim, letting the metallic aura permeate every inch of his skin.

"These all belong to me..."

Li Shimin muttered to himself, his voice trembling, "With this iron, my Xuanjia Army will be more than three thousand! I want to expand the army! I want thirty thousand! Three hundred thousand!"

"From now on, if anyone dares to mention the word 'iron shortage' to me again, I will smash him to death with an iron ingot!"

He turned his head sharply and looked at the boy standing by the blast furnace, wiping his sweat with a towel.

At this moment, in Li Shimin's eyes, Li Chengqian's undergarment, stained black with coal dust, was more dazzling than the dragon robe; and his dirty little face was more endearing than Guanyin Bodhisattva.

"Chengqian! My dear eldest son!"

Li Shimin rushed over, unconcerned about the dirt, and embraced Li Chengqian, exclaiming, "Can we make ten more of these furnaces? No, a hundred! I want to cover the Turkic grasslands with steel!"

"Stop! Stop! Father, you're strangling me!"

Li Chengqian struggled to break free from his father's suffocating embrace and disgustedly dusted himself off.

"A hundred? Do you think this is like building blocks? This thing burns coal and eats ore. You'd better find me all the ore first."

He rolled his eyes at Duan Lun and pointed to the cooled iron ingots on the ground.

"Minister Duan, stop counting. Go and take a look at one."

Duan Lun scrambled over, not caring that his hands were burning, and picked up a piece of iron ingot.

It feels heavy and has a dense texture.

He pulled a small hammer from his pocket and struck the iron ingot hard.

"when--!"

The sound was crisp and melodious, with a long echo.

Duan Lun's expression changed.

He's an expert; he could tell just by listening to it that the purity of this iron was shockingly high!

"No impurities...almost no impurities!"

Duan Lun looked up in horror, "No need for a hundred refinements? Directly forged into steel? This...this doesn't make sense!"

"What is common sense? Can you eat it?"

Li Chengqian scoffed, "Alright, stop staring blankly at that iron ingot. This is nothing! Smelting steel is just the first step; turning it into deadly weapons, that's the real skill."

"Come on, let me take you to see the workshop next door."

"Let me show you what a production line is."

……

The factory next door is even noisier than the blast furnace area.

Before even entering, a series of loud "bang bang bang" noises made my eardrums ache, as if countless giants were raging inside, smashing the walls.

Li Shimin and Duan Lun covered their ears and walked in, only to be instantly stunned by the sight before them.

A rushing waterway ran through the house, and a huge waterwheel spun rapidly under the impact of the water flow.

The waterwheel drives a series of thick connecting rods, which in turn connect to rows of giant iron hammers weighing hundreds of kilograms each.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The hammer was lifted high by the machine and then slammed down with the force of gravity.

Below, craftsmen simply use tongs to hold the red-hot steel billets and quickly flip them under the hammer.

With each hammer blow, sparks fly, and the steel billet deforms, stretches, and folds at a speed visible to the naked eye.

No need for slamming a sledgehammer while sweating profusely, no need for strong men exhausted to the point of vomiting blood.

This water-powered forging hammer is like a tireless steel giant; one strike is equivalent to a hundred blows from an old blacksmith!

"This...this is a waterwheel?"

Duan Lun stared in disbelief. "But the water-powered bellows in the ancient books are only used for blowing air. Your Highness is using them for forging? That force... it must be immense!"

"efficiency."

Li Chengqian walked up to a forging hammer and shouted (if he didn't shout, no one could hear him), "This is the magic of industry! As long as the water flows, the hammer will never stop! Twelve hours a day, it can work tirelessly to the very end!"

"How long did it take the Ministry of Works to manufacture a Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) in the past? A month?"

Li Chengqian held up one finger. "Here, just one day!"

At that moment, a craftsman finished forging a knife.

He placed the longsword, still glowing with a dark red fire, into the oil tank.

"Sizzle—"

Quenching complete.

The craftsman used pliers to pick up the long knife and respectfully handed it to Li Chengqian.

It was a standard Tang Dynasty horizontal sword.

The blade is straight, three feet long, and two fingers wide. After being hammered hundreds of times by a water-powered forging hammer, the blade surface displays a fine cloud-like pattern, resembling flowing water. It gleams coldly and exudes a chilling aura.

Li Chengqian gripped the hilt of the knife and flicked his wrist slightly.

"Buzz—"

The blade trembled, emitting a clear sound like a dragon's roar.

"A fine knife!"

Li Shimin's eyes widened. As a sword enthusiast, he immediately recognized the extraordinary nature of this blade. "The quality, the resilience—it's even better than the Emperor's Sword at my waist!"

"Whether a knife is good or not can't be determined by just looking at it; you have to try it."

Li Chengqian, carrying a knife, turned and walked out of the noisy workshop into the open space outside.

Yuchi Gong was standing guard at the door, idly drawing circles on the ground with his famous weapon—a water-polished bamboo-jointed steel whip.

Upon seeing Li Chengqian emerge, Yuchi Gong quickly went to greet him: "Your Highness, are you alright? There was such a commotion inside just now; I thought the earth had turned upside down."

"Uncle Jingde, you've come at the perfect time."

Li Chengqian handed over the newly forged, unsharpened sword in his hand.

"This knife is for you."

"Give it to me?"

Yuchi Gong was taken aback. He took the knife, examined it, and pursed his lips. "Your Highness, this knife looks quite gleaming, but it's too thin. I, Old Hei, wield a whip, and this thing feels like a toothpick in my hand. It's not handy at all."

Don't be so quick to criticize.

Li Chengqian took a few steps back, crossed his arms, and a wicked smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"This sword is called 'Formation Breaker,' and it was specially made for the Great Snow Dragon Riders."

"Since you think it's thin, let's test its hardness."

Li Chengqian pointed to the thick steel whip in Yuchi Gong's hand, and then to the horizontal sword in his hand.

"Uncle Jingde, use all your strength, take your whip, and smash this knife."

"What?"

Yuchi Gong's eyes widened in disbelief. "Your Highness, are you kidding me? This whip of mine is made of fine iron, weighing forty-eight jin! One strike of this whip could shatter a stone, and you expect me to smash this 'thin sheet of iron'?"

"If you break it, it's on me."

Li Chengqian raised an eyebrow. "If this knife breaks, I'll buy you ten new ones. But if your whip breaks..."

"Hey! How is that possible!"

Yuchi Gong's stubbornness flared up. He had never been inferior to anyone when it came to weapons in his entire life.

"Your Highness, you said it yourself! Don't cry if you break it!"

Yuchi Gong planted his sword in the ground, spat twice into his palm, and rubbed it.

Then, he took a deep breath, his muscles bulging, and raised the thick steel whip high, whistling through the air, and slammed it down hard on the seemingly fragile horizontal sword!

"Cut it off right now!!!"

Li Shimin and Duan Lun instinctively closed their eyes, unable to bear watching that fine sword turn into scrap metal.

"when--!!!"

A deafening clang of metal clashing echoed through the valley, sending sparks flying up to waist height.

Followed by.

"Snap!"

A crisp snapping sound rang out.

Half of the dark, lumpy iron flew out in a whirl and crashed heavily into the ground.

The scene fell silent instantly.

Yuchi Gong remained frozen in place, still in the posture of wielding his whip. The water-polished bamboo-jointed steel whip in his hand, which had accompanied him on the battlefield for many years, was now…

Only half of it remained.

And the horizontal sword stuck in the ground.

It still stood upright, the blade trembling slightly, gleaming with a cold, sharp light in the sunlight.

Unharmed.

Not even a single breach was breached.