Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

The city walls of Zhenbei City grew increasingly high, the cement roads continued to extend, and the water network project progressed steadily.

Behind these grand projects, a more fundamental and dynamic change is quietly taking place on the land of the Cold Abyss, eventually converging into a visible torrent—the rise of workshops.

In the past, Hanyuan's manufacturing industry was mainly concentrated in the "Industrial Construction Bureau" and its affiliated workshops, which mainly produced military equipment, tools, and a small amount of civilian ironware. The scale was limited, and most of them were directly controlled by the government.

With the population boom, the surge in construction demand, and the increasing activity of commercial activities, especially the new technologies and materials constantly being introduced by the "Gewu Institute," the single, state-run manufacturing system could no longer meet the demand.

Market demand was like the strongest east wind. And Xiao Chen's timely policies paved the way for this favorable wind.

He issued new "Order for the Construction of Workshops" and "Regulations for the Management of Crafts".

The core points are: encouraging private capital, individual artisans, and even skilled migrants to establish various workshops.

The government provided technical support, prioritized the supply of raw materials, and reduced or exempted some of the initial taxes.

Workshops must register and accept industry guidance and quality inspections from the "Craftsmanship Bureau" under the "Industry and Manufacturing Bureau," and their products must meet certain standards.

At the same time, the government guarantees their freedom of operation, protects their patents, and is responsible for mediating commercial disputes and cracking down on vicious competition.

This decree was like a timely rain falling on parched land.

The first to take action were the migrants who already possessed skills and the artisans from various places who had been attracted there.

Carpenters, blacksmiths, bricklayers, leatherworkers, weavers, potters... They either brought their families or partnered with others to choose sites, build houses, and acquire tools in the "workshop area" planned in the new town of Zhenbei, on the outskirts of the old town of Hanyuan, and even in newly attached areas such as Heishan Town and Qinghe Town, and put up their own signs.

"Zhang's Blacksmith Shop" no longer just makes simple farm tools. It has begun to try to produce more labor-saving and durable plowshares, sickles, and hoes according to the optimized drawings published by the "Craftsmanship Bureau". It even undertakes the customization of metal parts for small water-powered machinery.

In addition to making furniture, "Li Carpenter's Workshop" began to mass-produce doors and windows, formwork, and improved wheelbarrow and handcart frames for construction, and business was booming.

Under the guidance of the artisans of the Imperial Academy of Natural History, the "Wang Kiln" improved its kilns and recipes, resulting in higher quality and greater output of bricks and tiles. In addition to supplying government projects, it also began to sell to the general public.

The biggest change was in textiles. The northern border did not produce cotton or mulberry trees, and cloth had previously relied on imports. However, among the large number of refugees were weavers who had fled from the Jiangnan and Central Plains regions, bringing with them their skills.

Wild hemp and wool are available around the Cold Abyss.

With the encouragement of the government and the support of a small number of loans, several small "spinning workshops" and "weaving workshops" gradually emerged.

Although the scale was small and the products were rough, it did, after all, start the local textile industry from scratch.

The prototype of the "water-powered spinning machine" being researched by the "Crafts Department" of the Gewu Institute has attracted the attention of many discerning businessmen who see its enormous potential.

Food processing, brewing, oil pressing, leather making, soap making... all kinds of workshops closely related to people's livelihoods sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

The planned "workshop area" in Zhenbei New Town was quickly filled, and land prices began to rise.

In order to improve efficiency and expand production, many workshop owners began to employ idle laborers among the displaced people, and the early "employment" relationship began to emerge.

Government-run workshops are also undergoing changes.

The Ironworks, Ordnance Department, and Stone and Clay Factory under the Industrial Construction Department continued to expand in scale and innovate in technology. However, they no longer took on all the work. Instead, they gradually shifted to the research and development and production of core, cutting-edge, and military products, as well as providing key technical support and standard setting for civilian workshops.

For example, the ironworks focused on smelting high-quality steel and experimenting with new alloys, and outsourced some of the production orders for ordinary ironware to reputable and qualified private blacksmith shops.

The Ordnance Department firmly controls the manufacturing of core weaponry, but outsources some aspects such as the ordinary forging of swords and the production of leather armor.

This has not only improved overall efficiency, but also driven the development of related industrial chains in the private sector.

The "Craftsmanship Bureau" has become exceptionally busy.

They are responsible not only for registering and technically evaluating newly established workshops, but also for organizing industry exchanges, promoting the latest practical achievements of the Gewu Institute, mediating disputes between workshops, and cracking down on shoddy workmanship and the use of inferior materials.

A group of talented individuals discovered among the refugees, skilled in arithmetic and management, were recruited and became the earliest "economic and technical bureaucrats" in Hanyuan.

Walking through the "Workshop District" of Zhenbei New Town, the air is filled with the complex smells of wood, metal, coal, leather, and dye, and the sounds of sawing, forging, looming, and shouting fill the air, creating a lively atmosphere.

Ox-carts and wheelbarrows loaded with raw materials or finished products shuttled along the wide streets.

At the dock, furs from the grasslands, medicinal herbs from the Northern Yan, and tea bricks from the south were unloaded, while locally produced ironware, tools, bricks, tiles, "stone mud," and even a small amount of rough cloth and felt were loaded onto ships and transported away.

The proliferation of workshops not only provided numerous jobs, absorbed surplus labor, and stabilized society, but also transformed natural resources into various commodities at an unprecedented speed, greatly enriching the supply of goods, reducing the cost of living, and promoting commercial prosperity.

Tax revenues also increased accordingly, providing more abundant funds for various construction projects in Hanyuan.

More importantly, it has fostered a new and vibrant economic ecosystem.

Technology spreads, competes, and improves here; capital gathers, flows, and multiplies here; and human intelligence and labor value are released and manifested here like never before.

This spontaneous creativity and productivity, originating from the people, combined with the grand projects and military construction led by the government, formed the most fundamental and enduring driving force for the rise of Hanyuan.

As Xiao Chen walked through the bustling workshop area, looking at the faces full of vitality from their busy work and smelling the unique aroma that represented productivity and wealth, he felt a sense of satisfaction.

Strong cities, powerful weapons, and abundant granaries are the bones and muscles of a strong nation, while these ubiquitous workshops are its flowing blood and inexhaustible vitality.

The foundation of Hanyuan is becoming increasingly solid and unshakeable amidst the clanging and vibrant sounds of the workshops.