I started on a deserted island and encountered Ying Zheng, who insisted I was an immortal.

The sea breeze is salty and fishy.

The one-eyed man knelt in the sandpit, his head covered in blood from hitting it.

In front of him was a piece of parchment with several crooked circles drawn on it.

Zhang Ying squatted down in front of him, holding a twig in her hand, and pointed to one of the circles painted red.

The one-eyed man was bewildered.

Zhang Ying changed the word, "Iron?"

Still feeling lost.

Zhang Ying sighed, took out a rusty key from her pocket, waved it in front of the one-eyed man, and pointed to the red circle.

The one-eyed man finally understood.

He nodded frantically, making "aba aba" sounds, gesturing with his hands to resemble a mountain, and then made a digging motion.

"Alright."

Zhang Ying threw away the branch, stood up, and patted the sand off her hands.

"Location confirmed."

"About half a day's flight from here, there is an island rich in iron ore."

Ying Zheng stood to the side, still holding the mud-covered entrenching tool in his hand.

Upon hearing the words "rich iron ore," his eyes, which had been slightly squinted by the sea breeze, snapped open.

No translation is needed.

No explanation is needed.

This is an instinct ingrained in the bones of emperors—the absolute desire to possess strategic resources.

"Meng Tian".

Ying Zheng's voice was not loud, but it carried a chilling aura.

"Your subject is here!"

Meng Tian was shirtless, his muscular body still covered with sawdust from the dismantling of the ship.

"Send word to the navy."

Ying Zheng raised his hand and pointed in the direction drawn by the one-eyed dragon.

"Weigh anchor."

"Destination: North. Full speed ahead."

"I will move that island, soil and stones, all back to Great Qin!"

Meng Tian was taken aback and subconsciously glanced at Zhang Ying.

"Your Majesty, what about our potatoes...?"

"Dig my ass!"

Ying Zheng kicked Meng Tian in the buttocks.

"With iron and steel, why would I need to dig potatoes myself?"

"Capture several thousand savages and dig them up!"

"This is called..." Ying Zheng hesitated, then turned to look at Zhang Ying.

Zhang Ying exhaled a smoke ring and added quietly, "This is called optimal allocation of labor."

"right!"

Ying Zheng laughed heartily, "Optimal allocation of labor!"

"Set off!"

……

The Qin Dynasty's warships.

Majestic as a mountain.

Despite being damaged in the storm and having holes in their canvas, these dozens of giant ships, lined up in a row on the sea, still exuded an aura of overwhelming power.

Zhang Ying stood on the flagship's deck.

This was his first time boarding a Qin Dynasty warship.

The wooden structure, with mortise and tenon joints, is huge and heavy.

The deck was filled with elite Qin soldiers, clad in armor and armed with weapons.

Although the armor was somewhat rusted, and although his face looked pale from long-term malnutrition (he had been eating better these past few days and his complexion had improved slightly).

But that murderous aura couldn't be hidden.

"What do you think of my navy, sir?"

Ying Zheng changed back into a black robe (though it was a bit dirty), and stood at the bow of the ship, full of vigor and ambition.

In his hand was no longer an entrenching tool, but the Qin King's sword, a symbol of imperial power.

Zhang Ying raised her binoculars and scanned the area.

"The boat is nice."

"It's just a bit slow."

"If we installed a steam engine, the speed would be ten times faster."

Ying Zheng tightened his grip on the sword.

"ten times?"

"Yes, ten times."

Zhang Ying put down her binoculars and pointed to the deck beneath her feet.

"We can also replace this wood with steel plates."

"At that time, let alone crashing into these dilapidated pirate ships, even if we crash into an iceberg, it will be the iceberg that breaks."

Ying Zheng was breathing rapidly.

He turned around and stared intently at Zhang Ying.

"gentlemen."

"Where can I get a steam engine?"

Zhang Ying pointed to a dark island that was gradually emerging on the horizon.

"Right there."

"Take it, and you'll have it."

……

Pirate Island.

It was less a pirate den and more a primitive tribe.

The island is small, with jagged rocks.

Dozens of dilapidated wooden rafts and fishing boats were moored on the shore.

A group of barely clothed savages were dancing around a campfire, which was surrounded by piles of dark red stones.

Hematite.

Open-air.

You don't even need to dig deep; you can pick it up by simply bending over.

Zhang Ying looked at the red stones scattered on the ground and almost drooled.

This is not a mine.

This is clearly the ticket to the Industrial Revolution.

"Enemy attack—!!!"

A mournful bugle call rang out on the island.

The savages spotted the approaching massive fleet.

In a panic, they grabbed bone clubs, stone axes, and several rusty iron knives and rushed toward the beach.

It let out a defiant howl.

Ying Zheng stood atop a tall warship, looking down at the swarm of ants.

There was not a trace of pity in his eyes.

Only contempt.

"This is the...enemy you were talking about, sir?"

Ying Zheng sneered and drew his sword.

"Meng Tian".

"Your subject is here!"

"Let's teach them a lesson."

"promise!"

Meng Tian turned around and waved to the archers behind him.

"put!"

"collapse--!!!"

The bowstring vibrated.

Although there weren't many arrows, most of them were wooden training arrows.

But even with thousands of arrows leaving the bow at the same time, the sound of them piercing the air was still like a swarm of locusts, obscuring the sky and the sun.

"Puff puff puff—"

Blood blossoms instantly bloomed on the beach.

The howls of the savages stopped abruptly.

Their prized animal hide shields were as flimsy as paper in front of the Qin crossbows.

A volley of arrows.

Half of the beachhead has been cleared.

"Log in!"

Meng Tian gave the order.

Dozens of small boats were launched.

Three thousand elite Qin soldiers, armed with entrenching tools, rushed ashore like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey.

No suspense.

This is a revolutionary, dimensional-reducing attack.

The sharp edge of the entrenching tool slices through bone and smashes skulls.

The Qin army's three-man battle formations were perfectly coordinated, advancing like a meat grinder.

Zhang Ying didn't even have time to disembark.

The battle was over.

Half an hour later.

Ying Zheng stood on a huge piece of hematite, at the highest point of the island.

Thousands of trembling prisoners knelt at his feet.

The air was filled with the smell of blood, and... the aroma of roasted meat?

Zhang Ying went over to take a look.

Good guy.

Several Qin soldiers were using entrenching tools as iron plates to fry sea fish over a fire.

"gentlemen."

Ying Zheng pointed to the red stones covering the mountains and plains, his heroic spirit soaring to the heavens.

"Is this enough to build that... steam engine?"

Zhang Ying picked up a piece of ore and weighed it in her hand.

It has an extremely high iron content.

Top-grade rich mineral deposit.

【Ding! 】

[Mission Complete: Resource Looting.]

[Reward: 1 small steam engine prototype.]

[A large quantity of high-quality iron ore has been detected, triggering the follow-up quest: Steel Torrent.]

[Mission Objective: Build the first blast furnace and produce the first batch of molten steel.]

[Reward: Flintlock blueprint x1.]

The system's notification sounds were like heavenly music.

Zhang Ying smiled.

He laughed even more wildly than Qin Shi Huang.

That's enough.

Zhang Ying threw the ore to Ying Zheng.

"More than enough to build steam engines."

"And I can also give it to your Great Qin..."

"Get a new set of braces."

Ying Zheng caught the ore. Although he didn't quite understand what "steel teeth" meant, he understood the words "enough".

He turned and looked at the group of prisoners.

His eyes became exceptionally kind.

It's like an old farmer looking at the livestock in his pen.

"Li Si".

"Your subject is here."

"Let's count the number of people."

"Those who are strong and able-bodied are assigned to mining teams, working in shifts of twelve hours a day."

"The rest will be sent to a deserted island to dig potatoes."

"Tell them."

Ying Zheng paused, a cruel smile appearing on his face.

"We haven't been able to meet our targets."

"Just throw them into the sea to feed the fish."

"promise!"

Li Si pulled out his notebook and started taking notes very quickly.

Zhang Ying shook her head as she watched this scene.

This is the face of a capitalist.

He's even more authentic than him.

"By the way, sir."

Ying Zheng suddenly remembered something, moved closer to Zhang Ying, and rubbed his hands together.

His original imperial majesty collapsed instantly, and he transformed into a fawning figure.

"We have the iron, and we have the people."

"That fully automatic mahjong machine..."

"Could we build a few more?"

"I think Meng Tian has terrible luck and is not worthy to fight me."

"I would like to have a friendly spar with the chief of this island."

Zhang Ying glanced at the savage chieftain who was bound like a dumpling and whose face was full of terror.

He glanced at Ying Zheng again.

His mouth twitched.

Playing mahjong with savages?

What do we get if we win?

Bone necklace?

Or is it the skull?

"OK."

Zhang Ying nodded helplessly.

"Just get this pile of ore back for me."

"Don't even mention mahjong machines."

"I'd even build you a mahjong parlor."

"It's a deal!"

Ying Zheng was overjoyed.

Turning to the Qin army who were cleaning up the battlefield, he roared:

"Stop eating!"

"Move all these stones onto the ship for me!"

"Not a single piece can be left out!"

"Anyone who dares to slack off will be stuffed into a mahjong machine and used as dice!"

sunset.

The fleet, laden with cargo, returned so deep that the waterline was noticeably higher.

Zhang Ying stood at the stern, watching the mining island gradually disappear into the distance.

A delicate mechanical device, no bigger than the palm of his hand, appeared out of thin air in his hand.

Brass color.

Gear meshing.

This is the steam engine.

Although it was just a prototype at model size.

But this heart.

The first roar is about to resound in this space and time two thousand years ago.

Chapter 82

Chapter 82 The Engineer's Shovel God of War Sweeps Through Primitive Tribes

It was late at night when we returned to the deserted island.

The beach was brightly lit.

Several thousand newly captured "labor dispatch workers" were strung together with ropes and, under the friendly greeting of Qin soldiers' whips, were carrying baskets of hematite ore ashore.

Ying Zheng did not go to sleep.

He squatted in front of Zhang Ying's small building, staring intently at the "small steam engine prototype" that had just been taken out of the system space.

This thing isn't very big.

It's about the size of a watermelon.

Cylinder, connecting rod, and flywheel cast in brass.

The craftsmanship was so exquisite that even the most skilled artisans of the Qin Dynasty would be ashamed and commit suicide upon seeing it.

"This... is this a divine artifact?"

Ying Zheng extended a finger and carefully poked the cold flywheel.

There was no movement.

It neither emits light nor smoke.

It looks like a slightly more refined copper lump.

"Move!"

Ying Zheng grew anxious. "What about my ten times the ship's speed? What about my ability to smash through icebergs?"

Zhang Ying, with a cigarette dangling from her lips and a wrench in her hand, was adding water to the prototype.

"What's the rush?"

"How can we move without fire?"

Zhang Ying pointed to the combustion chamber below.

"ignition."

Li Si immediately came over, holding a tinderbox in his hand, and carefully stuffed it in.

Dry wood ignites a raging fire.

The flames licked the bottom of the boiler.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Ying Zheng's legs went numb from squatting.

Just as he began to suspect that Zhang Ying was trying to fool him.

"puff--"

A soft sound.

A plume of white steam was ejected from the valve on top of the prototype.

Followed by.

"Clang!"

The connecting rod moved slightly.

"Clang, clang."

The flywheel began to turn slowly.

The speed is getting faster and faster.

"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—"

The once lifeless lump of copper seemed to suddenly come to life.

The wind generated by the spinning flywheel ruffled Ying Zheng's beard.

The powerful, rhythmic mechanical sounds were both jarring and captivating in the silent, deserted island night.

Ying Zheng was stunned.

Meng Tian was stunned.

Li Si dropped the tinder in his hand to the ground, catching fire to the corner of his robe without even noticing.

"this……"

Meng Tian swallowed hard and pointed at the wildly spinning flywheel.

"There's... a cow locked up inside?"

This power.

It doesn't need to be pushed or pulled by horses.

Can it move on its own just by burning some firewood?

And judging by that rotation speed, even ten oxen couldn't pull it out!

"This is the conversion of thermal energy into mechanical energy."

Zhang Ying clapped her hands, looking completely calm.

"As long as there is fuel and water."

"It can keep moving."

Tireless, undeterred by heat or cold.

Ying Zheng suddenly stood up.

He circled the small machine, his eyes burning with the fervor of someone gazing at a stunning beauty.

"Tired without end..."

"Keep moving..."

Ying Zheng muttered to himself.

As an emperor, he knew all too well what this meant.

Why did the Qin Dynasty suffer countless deaths and injuries while building the Great Wall?

Because human power has its limits!

People get tired, get hungry, and die.

But this thing...

As long as you feed it wood and give it water, it can work!

"teacher!"

Ying Zheng grabbed Zhang Ying's wrist with astonishing strength.

"Could this thing... be made larger?"

"Size large enough to move a boulder weighing tens of thousands of kilograms?"

"Big enough to flatten mountains?"

Zhang Ying's wrist ached from being squeezed, so she shook off Ying Zheng's hand.

"Of course."

"But this is just a prototype."

"To build something big, you have to make steel first."

Zhang Ying pointed to the mountain of hematite piled up on the beach.

"Ordinary bronze and pig iron cannot withstand the high pressure of steam."

"It will explode."

"fry?"

Ying Zheng shrank his neck.

"Just like that air valve that sprayed air, what if it exploded..."

Zhang Ying made an explosion gesture.

"Bang."

"Within a radius of ten zhang, people and animals cannot be distinguished."

Ying Zheng gasped.

But the fervor in his eyes did not diminish; on the contrary, it intensified.

The greater the power.

The stronger this item is!

"Refine!"

Ying Zheng waved his hand decisively.

"I'll do exactly as the master instructs!"

"Give us people, give us money... uh, give us mines!"

"I will immediately order those savages to smash the stones!"

The next morning.

The deserted island was transformed into a massive construction site.

Zhang Ying drew a blueprint for a simple blast furnace.

It doesn't need to be too complicated.

Traditional steelmaking methods.

The blast furnace was built using refractory bricks (I had also gotten some refractory clay while firing red bricks).

Crush the hematite and mix it with charcoal (there are many trees on the island, so burn them fresh).

Limestone was then used as a flux.

The biggest challenge is blowing air.

There is no electric blower.

Zhang Ying turned her gaze to the thousands of prisoners.

"Make a few large bellows."

Zhang Ying gestured to Meng Tian, ​​indicating the famous one, "The giant kind, the kind that takes four people to pull."

"Continue in a row."

"Let them take turns pulling."

"The wind must not stop."

Meng Tian nodded vigorously.

He excels at arranging these kinds of physically demanding tasks.

then.

A strange sight appeared on the deserted island.

A three-story red brick blast furnace rose from the ground.

Next to it are a dozen or so huge wooden bellows.

Hundreds of savage prisoners, driven by whips, shouted slogans and desperately pulled the bellows lever.

"Huffing and puffing—"

The wind howled like thunder.

The flames inside the blast furnace were blown white by the wind.

Temperatures are soaring.

Ying Zheng personally stood under the blast furnace to supervise the construction.

His face was covered in coal dust, revealing only a pair of frighteningly bright eyes.

Holding a roasted potato in his hand, he ate it while shouting:

"Pull! Pull harder, all of you!"

"Anyone who slacks off won't get dinner tonight!"

Li Si was also busy on the side.

He held a fan and kept fanning Ying Zheng, while also recording various data about the blast furnace (although he didn't understand why he needed to record how many baskets of charcoal had been added).

"Sir, is it cooked enough?"

Ying Zheng looked at the billowing black smoke rising from the blast furnace and felt somewhat worried.

Zhang Ying, wearing a pair of homemade sunglasses (made from smoked glass), observed the color of the flames.

"That's about it."

"Prepare to tap the iron."

Meng Tian roared, "Open the furnace!"

Two Qin soldiers used long iron hooks to pry open the taphole at the bottom of the blast furnace.

"Splash—"

A golden-red fire dragon roared and charged out.

That's molten iron.

Scalding hot, viscous, and radiating destructive heat.

It flowed along the pre-dug sand trough, scorching and distorting the surrounding air.

The entire room fell silent.

Whether they were Qin soldiers or prisoners of war.

Everyone was stunned by this spectacular scene.

In the Qin Dynasty, iron smelting was both a secret and a miracle.

But no one has ever seen molten iron that is so clear and at such a high temperature.

The color was a pure, alluring red.

Ying Zheng stared intently at the fire dragon.

Tears welled up again.

"Gold..."

"This is real gold!"

Molten iron flows into the mold.

cool down.

solidification.

It turned into pieces of grayish-black iron ingots.

Zhang Ying walked over and, after the temperature had dropped, tapped it with a hammer.

"when--"

The sound was crisp and clear.

It wasn't the dull cracking sound of pig iron.

"The carbon content is a bit high, so it needs to be stir-fried."

Zhang Ying frowned. "But it's barely enough to make gun barrels."

"barrel?"

Ying Zheng keenly grasped this new term.

"A spear? A long spear?"

"Not that kind of gun."

Zhang Ying smiled mysteriously.

He pulled a blueprint from his pocket—a flintlock musket blueprint.

"His Majesty."

"Would you like your soldiers to take the enemy's head from three hundred paces away?"

Ying Zheng was stunned.

Although the Qin crossbow was powerful, its effective range was only 150 paces.

Three hundred steps?

That's a distance even a sharpshooter can't reach!

"think!"

Ying Zheng answered without hesitation.

Zhang Ying slapped the blueprints onto the still-hot iron ingots that had just come out of the furnace.

"Then don't let the bellows stop."

"This is the first batch of steel."

"I want to create...the truth."