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

The top floor of the Gewu Building at the Jingxi Academy of Sciences.

Standing in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, Xiao Chen looked down at the bustling steel base and arsenal below the mountain.

The faint roar of the steam engine could be heard; it was Zhao Tie's latest improved "high-pressure steam engine" used to drive large machine tools.

On a long table were various weapon parts: the firing mechanism, barrel, and stock of a flintlock musket; the breechblock and sights of a cannon; and various wrenches, screws, and pins.

These parts may look similar at first glance, but upon closer inspection, they are all different.

Some screws have coarse threads, while others have fine threads; some pins have slightly larger diameters, while others have slightly smaller diameters.

Zhao Tie was sweating profusely as he tried to install a breechblock onto the body of another cannon, but he couldn't get it to fit.

"His Majesty,"

Zhao Tie wiped his sweat, somewhat annoyed. "It's those old fogies in the Ministry of Works again, dragging their feet! The blueprints are exactly the same, but the finished product just won't assemble! If a part of this cannon is broken, we have to go back to the original factory to find the original craftsman to repair it. If we go somewhere else, we have to rebuild it! If the breechblock is damaged on the battlefield, are we supposed to carry the cannon all the way back to Beijing to repair it?"

Xiao Chen picked up the hammer of a flintlock pistol and examined it carefully: "Zhao Tie, this isn't just slacking off; it's a habit of craftsmen since ancient times. They're used to 'handmade,' used to 'good enough,' and used to 'masters passing down their skills to apprentices, each generation doing something different.'"

"But what I want is a 'standard'."

Xiao Chen put down the hammer, his gaze sharp. "It's 'swap'."

"exchange?"

"right."

Xiao Chen picked up two seemingly identical screws. "The angle, depth, and spacing of the threads on these two screws must be exactly the same. The error cannot exceed one-tenth the thickness of a human hair."

"What I want you to make is not one or two exquisite pieces, but tens of thousands upon tens of thousands of identical weapons!"

"From now on, if any Yuanfeng rifle is damaged, we can simply replace it with any available part and it will continue firing!"

"Any general's cannon can find a universal breechblock and sight, anywhere!"

"This is true industrialization! This is the standardized era I want to establish!"

Zhao Tie was stunned. This concept was too advanced for him, but also too tempting.

Without relying on specific craftsmen or lengthy repairs, frontline combat effectiveness will increase exponentially!

"Your Majesty, this...this is too difficult! How do you measure the thread? How do you control the angle? How can a craftsman's hand be so steady?"

"That's why I'm reforming weights and measures, issuing new currency, and forcing everyone to adapt to this 'standard' world." Xiao Chen waved his hand, "Mo Qi!"

"Your subject is here!"

"Draft an edict and issue it throughout the country."

First, effective immediately, abolish the old, chaotic system of weights and measures. Implement the "New System of Great Xia":

Measurement: The standard is the Ministry of Works' construction foot, one foot is equal to thirty-two centimeters (approximately).

Quantity: Based on the Ministry of Works' grain measure, one liter equals one thousand milliliters.

The standard for weight is the tael (or 600 grams) of the Ministry of Works. One jin (斤) is equal to sixteen liang (两).

All government transactions, taxes, and construction projects must use the new system. Those who violate this will be punished for fraud!

Second, the currency system was reformed, and the "Da Xia Bao Chao" (new banknotes) was issued.

The old Ming Dynasty banknotes, due to excessive issuance and devaluation, must be exchanged for new banknotes at a ratio of one to ten within three months, effective immediately. Any banknotes not exchanged within this period will be invalid.

The new banknotes were backed by ample reserves, pegged to silver, and stamped with the Ministry of Works' seal for anti-counterfeiting purposes. Anyone refusing to accept the new banknotes or privately raising prices would be severely punished!

Third, the Ordnance Standardization Order was promulgated.

All ordnance production must be carried out in accordance with the "standard drawings" and "tolerance ranges" issued by the Ministry of Industry.

The Ministry of Works established the "Bureau of Weights and Measures" to manufacture high-precision prototypes for distribution to various provinces. Any products from the arsenal that failed random inspections would result in the factory manager being beheaded and the craftsmen being exiled!

The imperial decree caused a stir throughout the court and the country.

Merchants cheered, finally having a standardized ruler and scales made doing business much easier! But the loss from exchanging old banknotes also pained them.

The craftsmen complained that the standards were too strict, and even the slightest deviation would be a capital offense! But Zhao Tie immediately announced that the Academy of Sciences would design and manufacture a large number of "standardized machine tools" and "measuring tools" (vernier calipers, thread gauges, etc.), and as long as they operated the machines, everyone could produce qualified parts.

The most profound changes occurred on the arms production line.

At the Cizhou Arsenal, massive steam-powered machine tools were cutting gun barrels.

The inner diameter and rifling of each gun barrel are precisely controlled by machines.

The screws are also produced by specialized thread rolling machines, ensuring that the specifications of each screw are completely consistent.

Zhao Tie personally demonstrated: He picked up a firing mechanism from a pile of parts, installed it on any Yuanfeng gun, and with a "click," it fit perfectly! He then picked up a breechblock, switched it on another cannon, and it fit just as snugly!

"It's a success! Your Majesty! It really works!" Zhao Tie exclaimed excitedly, his words tumbling out incoherently.

Xiao Chen looked at the identical gun parts on the assembly line, as if he were looking at rows of neatly arranged soldiers.

He knew that only after taking this step would the industry of Great Xia truly get on the right track.

Standardization is the cornerstone of the Industrial Revolution, the prerequisite for assembly line production, and the guarantee for the massive war machine of the future.

"Not enough."

Xiao Chen said to Zhao Tie, "My next step is for you to research 'standardized ammunition.' The caliber, propellant charge, and projectile weight of the bullets must be absolutely uniform. Only in this way can we guarantee the stability of range and accuracy."

"Furthermore, I require you to design a 'universal chassis' that allows artillery and carriages to share wheels and bearings, thereby reducing logistical burdens."

"Furthermore, inform Xu Guangqi to revise the mathematics textbooks, adding more geometry, trigonometry, and calculus. The next generation of engineers I want to cultivate are not just accountants who can only use an abacus!"

Orders were issued one after another.

The mint in the capital began printing new versions of the "Great Xia Treasure Notes" day and night, featuring complex steel stamps for anti-counterfeiting.

The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works began posting notices about the new weights and measures throughout the country and sent special commissioners to the countryside to correct old customs among the people using standard rulers and scales.

In the various camps of the Divine Martial Army, the soldiers received brand-new Yuanfeng guns with completely interchangeable parts.

To their delight, they discovered that even if a gun broke, it could be repaired simply by replacing a part, and they no longer had to worry about not being able to find a specific craftsman.

A standardized era officially descended upon the land of Great Xia, with the roar of steam engines, the circulation of new banknotes, and the measurement of every inch of land by a unified standard of weights and measures.

Xiao Chen stood on the high ground, looking down at the orderly factory and the roaring machines below the mountain.

He knew that when standardization permeated every pore of the empire, when every part, every copper coin, and every foot of cloth followed the same rules, the power of this empire would no longer be a simple addition, but rather—a multiplication.

His army will become the world's first truly "standardized army".

This is the true capital to sweep across the land.