Chapter 1241 - 306: War Smoke

Chapter 1241: Chapter 306: War Smoke

"So, this is the Wang River."

The Fifth Prince Ji Chengmin stood by the Wang River, gazing into the distance.

Although the rainy and flood seasons hadn’t arrived yet, the Wang River’s waters remained majestic. In the past, the Yan people, the wild people, and the Chu people fought two major battles around this river.

If you count the time when prisoners were killed, the Wang River had been stained with blood three times in recent years.

However, nowadays, the vegetation and grasses on both banks are lush. Unless you deliberately dig through the muddy, soft ground to search for some broken blades and white bones, it’s truly hard to recall the brutality of those past battles.

Ji Chengmin let out a long breath;

The Yan Emperor did not like to leave the capital. Since ascending the throne, his imperial carriage has almost never left the city. Among the princes, other than the Eldest Prince who was always raised in the army, and Xiaoliuzi who roamed about freely, taking on errands and enjoying the scenery, the rest of the princes rarely had the chance to go out and see the world.

Ji Chengmin, who liked carpentry, was even less inclined to leave home. This was the first time he’d traveled so far in his life.

"The rushing Wang River flows north, its waves erase the heroes."

Ji Chengmin turned around, looked at Lord Pingye standing behind him, and smiled;

"I have always heard that Lord Pingye is not only a genius in military matters but also a marvel in poetry and lyrics."

"Poetry is just a minor art, something to cultivate the mind or enjoy at leisure, no need to pursue it excessively, just like the Qian State. Even with the first rank in culture, it couldn’t stop the iron hooves’ step with its splendid morality and literature."

"What Lord Pingye says is true. Fundamentally, the strength of the military should be the nation’s priority. Without wings, everything is fragile. I have learned a lesson."

"What are you talking about, Your Highness? In my view, what Your Highness is researching is also of great use to the nation."

This was not Lord Zheng flattering. In fact, Lord Zheng had no need to re-flatter a prince. He was already tied to Xiaoliuzi, and stepping on multiple boats now would be foolish, not wise.

The fact is, the drawings Ji Chengmin brought to Jin land this time had been seen by Lord Zheng and also by the blind man. Although San’er and the people from the Tianji Pavilion weren’t there, based on some experiences from later generations, they could discern some progressive factors in Ji Chengmin’s drawings.

Making a Gundam was a joke, but some of Ji Chengmin’s designs and ideas were indeed ahead of this era. His designs extended beyond carpentry into forging and boilers as well.

The impression that he only liked carpentry was left because, after all, he was living in the prince’s residence. It wasn’t like he could set up boilers and start experimenting there, right?

A prince,

starting to forge something with a clattering sound every day in his own residence in the capital,

What would that imply?

That he was preparing a rebellion so much that his brain was filled with molten iron?

Among these, what intrigued the blind man most was that in some drawings, there appeared patterns similar to Western formations.

Snow Sea Pass also had its own large foundry. For one, Snow Sea Pass had a constant demand for armor and weapons. For another, development and construction, as well as the production of many workshops, relied on its support.

San’er discovered early on that whether it was the craftsmen from Yan State or those from Jin land, when making furnaces, they often deliberately carved some patterns on the inside and outside of the furnaces and inlaid some special materials within the patterns. Although not considered precious, they were rare, such as a powdered stone locally known as Gray Crystal, which could only be found within the Skybreak Mountains.

Xue Three had once brought the blind man to probe the patterns on the foundry furnaces with mental power. The feedback from the blind man was that when these furnaces encountered high temperatures, there would be a very faint energy fluctuation on the patterns, which indeed helped improve the refining success rate to some extent.

Within Snow Sea Pass, there were Yan craftsmen and Jin craftsmen that Xiaoliuzi had helped gather. Comparisons showed that the Yan craftsmen’s refining and forging techniques were noticeably superior to those of Jin land craftsmen.

This illustrates the concept of "losing the east and gaining the west." The Yan, established in the eastern gate, had been fighting with the barbarians since its founding. The barbarians, situated between two great civilizations of the East and West, unintentionally assumed the role akin to that of "Arab merchants" familiar to Lord Zheng from another space-time.

The Yan people favored Black Armor, not just out of reverence for the color black; there were deeper meanings involved.

Elite soldiers, combined with sturdy armor and sharp blades, had been sweeping victories for the Yan cavalry these past few years, and there were objective factors contributing to this.

Snow Sea Pass had the foundation laid down by San’er, and with the inclusion of the Tianji Pavilion folks, it was still difficult to establish a fully self-sufficient supply of military equipment in a short period. Each year, when receiving money and grain from the court, a significant portion also included military supplies.

Lord Zheng was also a perfectionist,

imagining that his cavalry in the future would be fully armored, not in leather but in sturdy armor and heavy crossbows. This naturally meant incredibly high costs, but dreams must exist.

If it weren’t for Ji Chengmin’s inconvenient status,

Lord Zheng really wanted to knock him out with a brick and take him back to Snow Sea Pass. Wasn’t he fond of staying at home? They could let him enjoy being a techie for life.

Of course, this was just a thought.

Meanwhile,

Ji Chengmin, buoyed by Lord Zheng’s praise, felt quite pleased. He knew very well that while there were people in Yan who could win Lord Pingye’s favor, he clearly wasn’t among them.