Warhammer, I really didn't intend to form a second empire!

Is it better than the Empire's agricultural facilities?

When he arrived at the surface of the third planet, Sergei was already waiting at the entrance to the underground facility.

The entrance is located behind a cluster of blue and white buildings, covered by an alloy panel disguised as the exterior wall of an ordinary warehouse. If it weren't for the Ironborn accidentally discovering the abnormal spatial density below during a structural scan, no one would have noticed it at all.

Zhao Zheng followed Sergei through the entrance and walked about three kilometers down a sloping passage before the view suddenly opened up before them.

It was a huge underground space with a dome about seventy meters high and an area at least the size of dozens of football fields.

Inside the space are hundreds of sets of metal frame structures, each with rows of cultivation tanks and nutrient solution delivery pipes suspended on it. The cultivation tanks are filled with a kind of translucent gel-like medium.

Zhao Zheng slowed down and walked to the nearest set of frames. He carefully examined the gel-like medium in the cultivation tanks and reached out to touch the edge.

His psionic energy detected an extremely regular micro-pulse the moment it touched the gel. There was a stable active system inside the medium, operating continuously at a very low frequency, like simulating the microbial cycle in natural soil.

He straightened up and his gaze swept across the entire space.

The spacing and angles between the frames are precisely designed to ensure that each cultivation trough receives sufficient light, while rows of lighting units emitting soft light are installed above the system, seemingly simulating the day cycle of stars.

This is not just an agricultural production system, but a complete and highly self-consistent artificial ecosystem.

If Zhao Zheng's judgment is correct, this system is extremely efficient. Even with minimal maintenance resources, it can operate continuously for a very long time and produce a stable supply of food and nutrients.

Moreover, this self-sustaining agricultural system alone is probably enough to feed billions of people.

"Pack up all the technical data of this facility and take it with you, leaving the main equipment in its original place. Take it back and study it carefully."

With this, the Qin Dynasty will no longer need to worry about any food problems.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the Empire isn't actually worried about these issues. But are the things grown in the Empire's agricultural world even edible? The main goal is simply to have enough to eat.

When Zhao Zheng wanted to improve his meals, he had to pay attention to what his men were eating, otherwise he wouldn't dare to be so extravagant.

After all, it's not you who's fighting on the front lines, so there's always a strange sense of guilt about enjoying yourself in the rear.

But now, with these machines, as long as they can be successfully replicated, a major problem in the river center area will be solved, and Zhao Zheng can then secretly give them some extra training without feeling guilty.

Who said this battle was boring? This war is fantastic!

I pray that I will encounter another spoiled brat like this in the future.

Chapter Fifty is simple; I'll just go and behead the green-skinned warlord.

The agricultural self-circulation system brought back from the J-20 star system underwent its first round of complete reverse engineering analysis in the laboratory of the Qiankun Star Central Research Institute, which took about two months in total.

Zhao Zheng did not urge Zhang Heng and Zu Chongzhi's team to speed up the process, because he knew that this level of technology could not be reproduced in a short time by urging them.

He chose to keep the experimental team's pace steady, reviewing progress reports weekly and occasionally visiting the lab in person when key milestones were reached.

The principle behind that system is very complex; the gel-like medium in the cultivation tank is essentially a precisely designed biomimetic material.

Its microstructure can simulate the root environment and microbial activities in natural soil under the stimulation of electromagnetic fields at specific frequencies, allowing crops to grow rapidly without relying on external soil.

Moreover, its nutrient solution circulation system reduces the need for external input by recovering evaporated water and plant metabolites, requiring only minimal replenishment to maintain operation.

In his report, Jia Sixie summarized the core value of the system in a simple and straightforward statement.

"It can be understood as a highly condensed and standardized agricultural production module that can adapt to a variety of application scenarios, from colonies to ship resupply."

After reading the description, Zhao Zheng added a brief instruction at the end of the report.

"Prioritize extracting core technologies, establishing production lines, and selecting several sites suitable for the first batch of pilot transformations from Daqin's existing agricultural sites."

Shortly after the order was issued, the first batch of simplified replica units began to be assembled and tested in the underground test workshop of Chiyang City.

Zu Chongzhi and his engineering team gradually adjusted some parameters during the assembly process to make the specifications of those modules compatible with Daqin's existing energy interfaces and transportation systems.

The test results came out in the third week after the first batch of replica units went into operation. The growth cycle of grain crops was shortened by two-thirds compared with natural planting, water consumption was reduced by more than 50%, the recycling rate of nutrient solution was maintained at more than 90%, and almost no human intervention was required.

This is a miracle. If this technology can be extended to the Empire, then agricultural planets will no longer be the only planets producing food, and there will be no need to worry about warp travel delaying food transport.

These devices alone are enough to save all of humanity in the galaxy from hunger.

After reviewing the test report, Zhao Zheng approved the application to transport the first batch of replica units to the river center area for installation.

Out of self-interest, he did not report the technology and construction techniques of these devices to the Empire, because these were one of the important assets he would later use to exploit the Empire.

Meanwhile, another project is also progressing in parallel.

The final design of those Ironborn, no, it should be said that the final design of the Great Qin Ironborn has been initially finalized in the weapons factory.

Over the past few months, Zhao Zheng has been adjusting the design scheme of the Ironborn based on feedback data from actual combat tests. After combining the experience of the Martian "technicians", he finally finalized two new schemes.

The first type is the standard Ironborn, which uses living metal and adamantite alloy as its skeleton, and a simplified version of the Xuanwu heavy armor as its outer shell, covering the entire mechanical body, along with standardized lightweight firepower modules and loyalty protocols.

Their role is similar to that of SCVs; they "work" during peacetime and change their equipment during wartime before rushing onto the battlefield to engage in combat.

The second model is the Heavy Steel Ironborn, which uses more materials for its frame and armor, with a significant increase in the thickness of the adamantite plates. The outer armor is equipped with an additional reactive armor module, as well as an independent energy unit and a higher-power weapon mounting interface.

Zhao Zheng simply used Wuqi as a guinea pig. He was a master at breaching city walls and attacking fortifications. When combined with the Golia mech and the aerial formation, he was an excellent force for rapid advances on the ground battlefield.

After confirming the mass production plans for the two Ironborn weapons at the weapons factory, Zhao Zheng handed over the production line planning diagram to Kong Ming, who was responsible for coordinating with the scheduling department of the Qiankun Star Foundry and the Ironborn dedicated production line.

Meanwhile, another more crucial technological achievement was also made within a similar timeframe.

Zhang Heng and Zu Chongzhi's team made some new progress in studying the data layer of the ancestral core, extracting a complete architectural blueprint for a planetary energy system, as well as a technical document on the manufacturing process of a certain high-density energy storage medium.

The blueprint for that planetary-level energy system was enormous, containing some structural concepts that Zhao Zheng had never seen before.

In his interpretation report, Zhang Heng described it as a design concept based on large-scale energy cycles, which achieves a stable energy supply on a planetary scale through the comprehensive scheduling of geothermal, solar and certain nuclear fusion catalytic reactions.

Zhao Zheng instructed Zhang Heng to archive the blueprint separately and not to put it into actual engineering for the time being. Instead, he prioritized incorporating the manufacturing process of the high-density energy storage medium into the standardized production process of the casting world.

The mass production plan for the energy storage medium was initially designed and put into operation on the newly built experimental production line on Qiankun Star within the next two weeks.

The first batch of finished products demonstrated performance far exceeding Zhao Zheng's expectations in testing, with energy density increased by about an order of magnitude while maintaining a similar size and weight to existing energy storage units.

In addition, a batch of speedboats had their STCs cracked and were adapted and modified by Isaac before being put into production, providing the Qin ground forces with blitzkrieg capabilities.

The advantage of multi-threaded development is that you can get a glimpse of everything, and then systematically integrate it later to achieve breakthrough development.

The Qin Empire's logistics system underwent a gradual adjustment over the next few months.

The newly cracked technologies and newly developed equipment are being gradually integrated into the existing logistics system, and the equipment systems of the Space Marines and their "good brothers" support forces are also being continuously iterated.

Meanwhile, on the Empire's side, after attending the return ceremony prepared by Terra, Russ had come to a clearer understanding of the Empire's current situation and the Emperor's positioning of him and the Sixth Legion.

So, after speaking with Macardo and then with Horus, who had taken some time off from the front lines of the expedition, Horus requested permission from the Emperor to begin the Great Expedition immediately.

The Emperor also lacked emotional intelligence. Even though Ruth hadn't learned anything yet, he was still able to entrust Ruth with leading a legion.

Just then, a group of orcs occupied the Firewheel sector, so he let Russ go there.

A barbarian with no battlefield experience led a pack of bloodthirsty, slaughterful wolf cubs whose fighting methods were extremely biased towards close combat.

According to the standards of the Great Qin Dynasty, the orcs in the Firewheel Sector were a medium-sized orc empire, with a completed war monument and a sizable fleet confirmed by reconnaissance.

However, for the empire, this orcish empire was definitely not one that could be easily conquered.

Not everyone can be as good at targeting orcs as the Second Legion, nor can everyone have the firepower and melee capabilities of the Dragon Emperor Legion.

Not to mention the current Russ and the Sixth Legion.

Zhao Zheng clearly remembers that the war lasted for five years, with one-third of the Space Wolves killed and the fleet suffering outrageous losses.

When news of Russ leading his army to conquer the Firewheel Sector reached Qiankun Star, Zhao Zheng was on the bridge of the Lishan Ship reviewing the latest batch of mass production reports for energy storage media.

Russ received the mission before Zhao Zheng set off for the J-20, and his departure now is just for preparation.

"Did Ruth go to the Fire Wheel sector?"

Zhao Zheng asked Kongming, who was working nearby.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the Space Wolves' fleet set sail from Fenris three weeks ago, heading towards the Firewheel Sector along the Imperial standard route. They are currently in the middle of their journey and have not yet made contact with the Orcs."

Zhao Zheng tapped his fingers twice on the edge of the armrest, the fingertips making a slight knocking sound as they touched the metal.

He had seen the reconnaissance data of the Orc Empire in the Firewheel Sector and knew very well what the scale of the Greenskins there meant.

For a legion that has just returned and whose strength has not yet been fully developed, an enemy of this size is definitely not a battle suitable for practice.

"How is Ruth now?"

"According to intelligence from the Empire, His Highness Ruth met with His Highness Horus before departing."

"His Highness Horus imparted to him some basic principles and command experience regarding interstellar warfare."

"The Space Wolves' fleet is also equipped with standard tactical manuals and navigators provided by the Empire, and a batch of new cruisers have also been provided by the Martian side. However, judging from the current progress, His Highness Ruth seems to prefer to deal with the current enemy in the way Fenris does."

“Fenris’s way…”

Zhao Zheng's tone carried a hint of helpless confirmation.

Fenris's method was to board, assault, engage in close combat, and retaliate in kind.

This model might work in ground warfare, but in space warfare, going up against a war behemoth is suicide.

This battle was won purely by the lives of the Space Wolves.

"Have Uncle Bao lead a mixed squadron over there. The squadron should be mainly composed of Ironborn and auxiliary troops, with 5,000 Space Marines from the Legion as tactical coordination units. Bring plenty of heavy firepower, including Odin, Thor, and Goliath mechs, and don't forget the tanks and speedboats as well."

“If he needs support, he will ask. With his personality, if we rush in to help him fight, it will only hurt his pride.”

"Deploy the fleet in the gray area outside the Firewheel sector and keep it concealed. We'll enter when he needs help and asks for it."

Qin Qiong accepted the order and left.

Zhao Zheng stopped paying attention to the specific battle situation on Rus's side. He had done what he could, and the rest was up to Rus to experience.

The fourth industrial revolution within the Qin Empire was quite fierce.

The influx of new technologies, the improvement of production efficiency, and the gradual integration with the Daqin technology system...

These factors combined to trigger a series of chain reactions across the Qin Dynasty's territory.

The Forging World is already operational at the intersection of the River Heart region and the Qiankun Star route.

Isaac and Albert, along with their respective teams of engineers, worked day and night to transform those large industrial facilities from blueprints into actual production lines.

While those creator priests and sages were rapidly absorbing the imperial standard technology system, they were also actively integrating the Qin Dynasty's own technological accumulation into the new production lines.

The agricultural self-circulation system that Zu Chongzhi's team successfully analyzed has completed its fifth round of iterative testing at the experimental station in the orbit of Qiankun Star.

The latest version of the system further reduces energy consumption and improves the stability of the planting cycle by 30%.

In his report, Jia Sixie described the progress in an optimistic tone: "There will absolutely never be a famine in the Great Qin Dynasty again."

After reviewing the report, Zhao Zheng approved the first large-scale deployment plan that same day, allocating the first batch of 3,000 agricultural modules to the mining world, which was the most water-scarce region in the river center.

Ironborn's production lines are also undergoing continuous expansion.

The Ironborn-specific production line underground in Chiyang City on Qiankun Star has undergone four rounds of expansion, with monthly output steadily increasing from the initial 10,000 units to more than 30,000 units.

The ratio of the standard and heavy armor Ironborn was gradually adjusted based on feedback data during this process, with more and more heavy armor Ironborn being assigned to the edge defenses of the River Heart region and planetary assault missions.

The Ironborn have taken on a large number of patrol and guard duties that were originally supposed to be performed by the auxiliary army in the Qin's defense lines and mining world.

They are tireless, uncomplaining, unafraid of casualties, and require no psychological recovery after the war.

This feature allows frontline commanders more freedom to allocate human resources, concentrating human soldiers in positions that require more judgment and flexibility.

While compiling the comprehensive assessment report for the third quarter of the Great Qin Dynasty, Kongming noticed a set of data: due to the full intervention of the Ironborn, the manpower demand of each planet in the River Heart region decreased by about 30%, while the output efficiency in the same region increased by nearly 100%.

At the end of his report, he summarized this change with a simple statement: "The deployment of the Iron Barbarians is fundamentally changing the resource conversion efficiency of the Great Qin."

The situation in the river center area is also stabilizing.

Those peripheral star systems that once required large troop deployments to maintain order have now been largely brought under routine surveillance thanks to the continuous coverage of the Ironborn patrol formations.

Production at some mines reached an all-time high at the end of the third quarter, and the first batch of products from those foundries were delivered in the same month and deployed to the rear fleet of the Imperial Dragon Legion.

As Zhao Zheng gazed at the star map that shifted from gray to green and then from green to pale gold on the bridge of the Lishan, his fingers, gripping the data tablet, paused slightly.

This star map has been unfolding before his eyes for so many years, from the initial dim single point to gradually connecting into lines, spreading into a surface, and now the entire area shows a stable operating trend.

He has seen many updates here, and each one is more comprehensive than the last.

Zhao Zheng's gaze lingered on the pale golden area in the river for a moment, then he looked up at Kong Ming, who was recording data on the side of the main control panel.

"Send orders to all marshals and legion commanders, instructing all expeditionary formations to end their rest period and re-enter the combat readiness sequence."

"The river center area has stabilized, and it's time for us to resume the Great Expedition."