In the Weiyang Palace in Chang'an, Liu Xun stood before the 'Complete Map of the Great Han Dynasty', which covered an entire wall. Outlined in golden lines, the map spanned three continents and two oceans, appearing majestic and imposing. However, to Liu Xun, this 'time-travelling actor' radiated a decaying, crumbling glow.
The territory of the Han Dynasty had expanded too rapidly for an agricultural civilisation.
'Your Majesty, this is a battle report from Xinfeng Province in the Americas from six months ago. Please take a look,' said Gongshu Qi, handing over a roll of yellowed parchment. His voice was tinged with helplessness.
Six months ago, Zhou Meng had been surrounded by natives and Western exiles in the American jungle who had requested the allocation of 'Gewu Fire Oil'. Now, Zhou Meng was probably cultivating potatoes in South America, or perhaps he had already become fertiliser for the jungle.
[System Logic Warning]: The Empire's 'nerve endings' are failing. An urgent order from Chang'an would take 45 days to reach the Gold Mountain Guard in Australia, and 120 days to reach the Americas.
Political consequences: Due to the prolonged lack of feedback from the central government, border generals have begun to show signs of separatism, with some declaring that generals in the field may disobey the emperor's orders.
Liu Xun slammed the parchment on the table, his eyes turning cold. 'I've conquered the world, yet I must rule it like a blind man! The Han Dynasty's territory is now like a giant piece of fat meat, but its backbone — communication and supplies — is extremely fragile!' The scarcity of information and resources is causing Liu Xun a great deal of trouble.
Top-grade iron ore from Australia is piled up like mountains, yet it can only be transported to Chang'an in small quantities using outdated wooden sailing ships. As a result, 30% is lost en route. Meanwhile, soldiers in the Western Regions wear the finest iron armour from the Han Dynasty, yet because logistical supply convoys cannot keep up, they are forced to slaughter their warhorses for food.
'Your Majesty, our horses have reached their limit.' Zhou Meng, who had just been recalled from the Western Regions, knelt on one knee. 'From Yumen Pass to the Caspian Sea, the roadside is piled high with horse bones. The blood of the Han dynasty is being drained along this long supply line.'
Liu Xun stood by the window, looking at the tranquil farmland outside Chang'an. He knew that if he pressed the button, the two-thousand-year-old Han Dynasty policy of 'emphasising agriculture and suppressing commerce' and 'pastoral life' would vanish completely, replaced by the steel torrent of industrial civilisation. 'Acting skills can only make me a great emperor, but it is only "electricity" and "fire" that can make me...' 'An eternal ruler.'
Liu Xun activated 'Top-Tier Performance: The Prometheus of the Era', his voice echoing in his mind: 'System, activate the long-dormant "Level Two Industrialisation Module". I don't need poetry or painting; I want the sound of gears meshing to echo in every corner of the Earth!"
That night, all the exotic flowers and rare herbs in the rear garden of the Weiyang Palace were destroyed. Under the heavy guard of armoured soldiers, a massive, circular container made entirely of fine steel was hoisted into place. It was the 'Great Han No. 1 High-Pressure Steam Boiler', personally designed by Liu Xun and secretly crafted by Gongshu Qi.
'Your Majesty, can this thing really travel a thousand miles a day?' Gongshu Qi looked at the 'iron lump' constantly spewing out white steam, his eyes filled with anticipation and fear.
"It can travel more than a thousand miles a day." Liu Xun personally threw a shovelful of top-grade Australian coal into the furnace, the flames reddening his cheeks. 'It can brand the will of the Han Dynasty into every pore of the earth like a branding iron.' As the pressure gauge inside the boiler pounded wildly, the system's interface turned from blue to gold.
[System Main Quest Update]
Leap of Civilisation: The Industrial Revolution.
First Stage Objective: Construct the experimental railway between Chang'an and Luoyang and popularise the 'wired telegraph'.
Current technological bonuses: 'Fundamentals of Mechanics', 'Elementary Thermodynamics'.
Liu Xun's note read: 'Don't mention ancestral laws to me. In the roar of the steam engine, all obstacles will be reduced to dust.' He turned to the officials who were still dreaming, revealing a ferocious and fanatical smile. 'Gentlemen, dawn has broken! From this day forward, I will determine the pace of the Han Dynasty!'
The winter rain in Chang'an was cold, but it could not dispel the sweltering heat coming from the rear garden of Weiyang Palace. Liu Xun stood before a massive, unfinished steel cauldron; a nine-coloured divine light radiated from the system panel in his mind.
With the final letter of submission from the far west, delivered across thousands of miles by the Dragon Scale Guards, placed on the table in the main hall, the Great Han Empire had finally completed the unification of the last 1% of the known world, in both fact and name.
[System Global Announcement]: 'Epic Achievement: Unification of the Four Seas, Ruler of the Universe' has been achieved!
Current status: All major global civilisation nodes (the Central Plains, the Western Regions, the Americas, Australia and Southeast Asia) have been incorporated into the administrative, trade and military systems of the Great Han.
Achievement reward: Draw 'Cross-Dimensional Technology Blind Box' x1. Additional bonus: 'National Cohesion' has broken through the critical point; all craftsmen's comprehension has increased by 30%.
Liu Xun let out a long sigh and pressed heavily on the shimmering, metallic blind box in his mind: 'Stop giving me those fancy gene potions! Give me a monster that can outrun time!'
The blind box exploded. There was no blinding light, only a massive stream of information filled with the sounds of pistons moving and high-pressure steam hissing. This instantly flooded Liu Xun's mind. The core reward was the 'Watt-Liu Xun Improved High-Pressure Double-Action Steam Engine Complete Principle Analysis Diagram'.
Technical details: Includes: Centrifugal Speed Regulator, Condenser Separation Technology, High-Strength Sealing Linkage Structure.
System evaluation: This technology is approximately 1,800 years ahead of the current era. It is not an illusion, but the ultimate manifestation of physical laws.
Liu Xun suddenly opened his eyes. It seemed to pierce through the metal lump before him, revealing every microscopic detail of the conversion of heat energy into kinetic energy. He no longer needed to explore slowly; the system had thrown the 'answer' directly in his face.
The following morning at court, disregarding etiquette, Liu Xun ordered a huge, smoothed obsidian slab to be brought in. Holding a specially made piece of chalk, he frantically sketched complex geometric shapes and force arrows in front of the Confucian scholars, who were expounding Confucian theories about the interaction between heaven and man. 'Your Majesty, what kind of heretical script is this?' an elderly official from the Ministry of Rites asked tremblingly.
'This is the skeleton I drew for the Han dynasty!' Liu Xun replied, not turning his head, the tip of his brush scraping harshly on the stone slab. 'From today onwards, in addition to the Analects, I want all the academies in the land to study this force analysis. Whoever can build a functioning piston will be awarded the title of Marquis of Guannei!"
Gongshu Qi, holding the diagram, trembled like a withered leaf in the wind. As the top Han Dynasty expert in physics, he could immediately see the diagram's destructive power: 'Your Majesty, once this gas chamber explodes, everything within a hundred feet will be reduced to dust...'
'Then forge it with the hardest steel from Australia!' Liu Xun patted Gongshu Qi on the shoulder, his voice deep and domineering. 'Gongshu, I want to confine the wind within an iron can.' Let it pull my carts and sail my boats. Even if it's a fire dragon, it'll have to cower before the iron hammer of the Han!"
Just as the first laboratory-scale, high-pressure steam engine successfully completed its trial run with a deep, powerful 'whoosh', a strange red pattern suddenly appeared on the system panel: '[System Warning].' 'The technological leap is too large, causing violent fluctuations in causality. Western "sages" have sensed the shift in the centre of civilisation, and their "biochemical laboratories" have entered an overload state.'
Liu Xun's note: 'Let it run. Wherever my steam locomotives go, my iron hooves will follow. Miracles? Before a pressure of 50 kilograms per square centimetre, miracles are nothing but bubbles!'
In Chang'an, incense wafted through the air and the ethereal melody of a zither drifted from the Weiyang Palace. High on his throne, Liu Xun sat with glazed eyes, surrounded by piles of elixirs and talismans. To outsiders, this conqueror of the land had succumbed to the same fate as emperors throughout history, driven by a thirst for immortality and an obsession with the ways of the immortals. However, behind this grand spectacle of 'seeking immortality', a dark net was quietly being cast to gather the most talented individuals in the land.
'I dreamt that atop Mount Tai, an immortal rode a giant bronze bird. Its roar was like thunder and its wings were motionless, yet it took flight on its own,' said Liu Xun, reclining on his dragon throne and addressing the scholars and sorcerers kneeling before him. He began his masterful performance as a 'foolish ruler thirsting for immortality'. His hollow eyes were tinged with fanaticism and trembled as he pointed into empty space. 'Issue my decree: I seek not elixirs of immortality, but 'immortal mechanisms'. Anyone among the common people who can construct 'ladders that cannot be climbed' or 'winds that cannot be blown' will be made an immortal messenger. If a direct descendant of the Mohist school is found, he will be granted land and made a king!"
[System Real-Time Monitoring]
Public opinion: 90% of civil servants believe that His Majesty has 'gone mad'.
- Hidden Effect: [Search the Mountains and Seas Order] evades political resistance from conservative forces under the guise of immortality.
Three days later, deep in the Zhongnan Mountains, a middle-aged man (Liu Xun in disguise) wearing a tattered Taoist robe appeared before a secluded blacksmith's shop, calling himself a 'wandering Taoist'.
Inside, a one-armed old man stared blankly at an extremely complex set of gears. The meshing mechanism bore a striking resemblance to the drive shaft of the 'high-pressure steam engine' rewarded by the system.'Old man, could this magical artefact possibly bring withered trees back to life?' Liu Xun leaned forward, his tone slick and conning.
'Magical my foot!' the old man retorted, fiddling with the gears in his withered fingers without looking up. 'This is the "Non-Aggression" wheel passed down from our ancestors. It has insufficient power; ultimately, it's just an inanimate object.'
Liu Xun's pupils constricted. The system immediately scanned the old man's biometrics:
[System Determination] Target: Mo Li, 14th-generation direct descendant of the Mo family. Skills: 'Divine-level Mechanical Arts' and 'Metal Smelting Expertise'.
Current dilemma: constrained by power source (insufficient energy density), unable to achieve large-scale mechanisation.
Liu Xun's nonchalant smile vanished. He walked over to the old man, picked up a piece of charcoal and casually drew a perfect linkage mechanism on the ground.
'If we forcefully propel it with the energies of water and fire, will this wheel turn?' A sharp light flashed in the old man Mo Li's cloudy eyes. He stared intently at the diagram on the ground, breathing rapidly. 'The energies of water and fire... borrowing the power of creation? This is stealing the secrets of heaven!'
'I am not here to seek immortality,' said Liu Xun, regaining his imperial majesty. His voice was deep and powerful. 'I am here to create a divine kingdom of steel in the mortal realm, stronger than that of the immortals.' He pulled a stack of fragments from a 'Steam Engine Analysis Diagram' — a 'bible' capable of driving any craftsman mad — from his robes.
'Mo Li, your ancestors spoke of "universal love and non-aggression", but without absolute force, your love is but dust.' Liu Xun stared into the old man's eyes. 'Come back to Chang'an with me. I will give you the finest steel and an era in which you can perform 'miracles'."
The old man knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down his face. The Mo family had been oppressed by the Han dynasty for two hundred years, and now he had finally found someone who understood 'machines'.
Just as Liu Xun returned to Chang'an with Mo Li and the other top craftsmen he had recruited, the first star lit up on the system panel.
[System Notification]: The core research team, the 'Mo Family Mechanical Engineering Corps', has been established.
Industrial Enlightenment Progress: +10%.
Current status: The rear garden of Weiyang Palace has been converted into the 'First Secret Research Institute of the Han Dynasty'.
[System notification] The core research team 'Mo Family Mechanical Engineering Corps' has been established. Industrial enlightenment progress: +10%. Current status: The rear garden of Weiyang Palace has been expanded to become the 'First Secret Research Institute of the Han Dynasty'.
Host's note: seeking immortality is merely a mask; investigating things is the true essence. When the 'Qilin' sounds its whistle, I will make those Confucian scholars, spouting empty rhetoric, kneel before the railway tracks in repentance!
The remnants of the Mohist school and skilled craftsmen from the foot of Zhongnan Mountain travelled in carriages shrouded in black cloth. They gathered under the cover of night on high ground called 'Longshouyuan' on the outskirts of Chang'an. This site, formerly a royal hunting lodge, was now protected by three lines of armoured guards. Anyone trespassing within a ten-mile radius would be executed.
Liu Xun stood on the edge of the Longshouyuan cliff. As the first high-pressure boiler landed, the long-dormant system interface in his mind burst forth with a dazzling purple-gold light. A voice said, 'System, activate Gewu Laboratory - Version 1.0. Coverage area: entire Longshouyuan.'
[System Command]: 'National Fortune Value' consumed 1,500,000 points.
The laboratory is loading…
Core modules include: 'High-Precision Machine Tool (Prototype),' 'Chemical Extraction Vessel,' and 'Material Pressure Testing Platform.'
Special bonuses: 'Inspiration Frequency' increased by 200%; 'Experimental Fault Tolerance Protection' is activated.
Liu Xun closed his eyes and sensed a qualitative change taking place beneath his feet. The system wasn't creating ultramodern machines out of thin air; rather, it was evolving the blacksmith's forge, waterwheel and stone platform of Dragon Head Plain through microscopic restructuring into a physically logical industrial machine.
Liu Xun changed into a sharp black outfit and entered the core building, the 'Heavenly Crafts Hall'. Inside, Mo Li and a group of top craftsmen were gathered around a 'steel monster' that continuously emitted white steam; their faces were filled with awe and fervour.
'Gentlemen,' echoed Liu Xun's voice in the empty laboratory. 'From this day forward, there will be no more "craftsmen", only "scientists". This is not a workshop, but the Imperial Academy of the Great Han Dynasty.'
He inscribed the Academy's motto on the plaque above the main gate himself: 'Investigate things to acquire knowledge; seek truth from facts.' While Mo Li was increasing the boiler pressure to three atmospheres according to Liu Xun's blueprints, an accident occurred. Due to the insufficient toughness of the local pig iron, a rivet on one corner of the boiler flew off with a deafening roar and scalding steam engulfed the laboratory. Had the system not activated its protection mechanism at that critical moment to guide the release of pressure, half of the Heavenly Crafts Hall would have been razed to the ground.
The deafening roar accompanied by scalding steam engulfed the laboratory. Had the protection mechanism not activated at that critical moment to guide the pressure release, half of the Heavenly Crafts Hall would have been razed to the ground.
As the smoke cleared, the craftsmen, covered in soot and filled with fear of the unknown, walked confidently towards the ruins. Meanwhile, Liu Xun strode towards them. He picked up the twisted rivet and, instead of getting angry, burst into laughter.
'See that? That's the power of 'Qi'! It can kill and overturn mountains and seas. Mo Li, pig iron can't withstand this power. We need the harder, tougher 'mysterious iron' and 'black stone' that can withstand higher temperatures.'
Liu Xun activated his 'Ultimate Performance: Omniscient and Omnipotent Prophet'. He ordered his men to bring out a huge world map and heavily circled several key locations in red.
Bingzhou (Shanxi): Sea of Black Stone (high-quality coking coal);
Southern Islands (Australia): Summit of Laterite (high-grade iron ore);
Shendu (India): Source of manganese ore.
"By imperial decree, establish the 'Royal Geological Exploration Team' to follow the maps and find these treasures. The Han Dynasty has a huge appetite — these are the empire's food supplies!"
Once the Academy of Sciences was up and running, the progress bar on the system panel finally moved from 0 to 1.
[System Prompt]:
Royal Academy of Sciences of the Han Dynasty officially established.
Industrial Enlightenment progress: 15%
Unlocked rewards: Open-hearth steelmaking technology parameters and a centrifugal water pump structural diagram.
Hidden Foreshadowing: Due to large-scale mining, local ley line fluctuations have been triggered. The Western 'Sage' has detected the coordinates of the energy eruption in the East.
Liu Xun stood on the highest point of the Longshou Plain and looked down at the experimental workshop, from which wisps of black smoke were beginning to rise. A ferocious and fanatical smile spread across his face.
'Where the black smoke rises lies my territory. Sage, you'd better pray that your miracles can withstand the Han Dynasty's steel torrent.'
In the dead of night on Longshou Plain, the Great Han Royal Academy of Sciences' Heavenly Craft Hall was brightly lit, the air thick with the pungent smell of coke and metallic acid fumes produced by high pressure.
At the centre of the hall stood a colossal structure, around two zhang tall and cast entirely from refined steel. Countless crisscrossing copper pipes, like veins, encased it. This was the core of the 'Great Han No. 1 High-Pressure Double-Action Steam Engine', a project that Liu Xun and Mo Li had spent three months and hundreds of steel plates creating.
'Your Majesty, the pressure has reached the critical point! The water meter needle has entered the red zone!' Mo Li's face was covered in sweat and his voice was hoarse. Despite being a descendant of the Mohist school, his hand, which was gripping the valve, trembled violently. In his eyes, the coke burning in the furnace was not just fuel, but a forbidden power capable of slaying gods.
Meanwhile, Liu Xun, expressionless, donned a black leather suit. His eyes were deep and unfathomable, like black holes swallowing light. He said two words: 'Open the valve.'
'Hiss—!'
As the valve opened, a stream of extremely compressed white mist rushed into the cylinder, causing the previously lifeless connecting rod to shudder violently.
Then, after a piercing screech, the heavy flywheel began to rotate slowly but surely:
'Clang!' Clang! Clang! Clang!'
This was the sound of pistons striking the air and gears meshing wildly. The entire floor of the Heavenly Crafts Hall shook with this immense, rhythmic vibration. Dust fell from the ceiling as if the earth itself was trembling in fear.
[System Real-Time Monitoring]
Speed: 450 RPM; power: 120 horsepower.
Judgment: Primary industrial power source successfully developed.
Impact on civilisation: The Han Empire officially bids farewell to the era of horsepower and water power.
The surrounding white-haired old craftsmen were completely devastated when they saw the 'monster' that could operate wildly on its own, generating overwhelming power without any animal pulling.
'Thor... Thor has been captured and placed in an iron pot!'
'His Majesty can enslave the power of heavenly thunder! This is a true dragon descending to earth!' Hundreds of the Han Empire's finest craftsmen knelt beside the scorching boiler, kowtowing frantically to the machine spewing white steam. Their eyes were filled with awe of the unknown, as well as an almost religious fervour for Liu Xun. In their value system, only gods could produce such power, which transcended the limits of the human body.
Liu Xun strode onto the high platform and stood beside the roaring flywheel. His figure was stretched out long and thin in the flickering flames, like a demon god controlling the future. "Stand up!" His voice, drowning out the howling steam, reverberated throughout the hall. Pointing at the machine, his eyes were as sharp as knives. 'There is no Thor here, only the "physics" created by the clash of water and fire! From this day forward, I will not lead you to capture some ethereal god, but to grasp the laws of this world!" This machine is worth a thousand Ferghana horses and is capable of pulling a ten-thousand-pound wheel. I will ensure that no mountain or river is insurmountable for the Han Dynasty!'
Just as the entire hall was immersed in this epoch-making celebration, a strange, purplish-red dot suddenly appeared on the system map in Liu Xun's mind: '[System Warning]: 'An abnormal energy field has been detected intruding into the restricted area of the Academy of Sciences.' Identification code: Saint's Disciple – Shadow.'
Objective: The entire floor of the Heavenly Crafts Hall shook with this immense, rhythmic vibration. Dust fell from the ceiling as if the earth itself was trembling in fear.
[System Real-Time Monitoring]
Speed: 450 RPM; power: 120 horsepower.
Judgment: Primary industrial power source successfully developed.
Impact on civilisation: The Han Empire officially bids farewell to the era of horsepower and water power.
The surrounding white-haired old craftsmen were completely devastated when they saw the 'monster' that could operate wildly on its own, generating overwhelming power without any animal pulling.
'Thor... Thor has been captured and placed in an iron pot!'
'His Majesty can enslave the power of heavenly thunder! This is a true dragon descending to Earth!' Hundreds of the Han Empire's finest craftsmen knelt beside the scorching boiler, kowtowing frantically to the machine spewing white steam. Their eyes were filled with awe of the unknown, as well as an almost religious fervour for Liu Xun. In their value system, only gods could produce such power, which transcended the limits of the human body.
Liu Xun strode onto the high platform and stood beside the roaring flywheel. His figure was stretched out long and thin in the flickering flames, like a demon god controlling the future. "Stand up!" His voice, drowning out the howling steam, reverberated throughout the hall. Pointing at the machine, his eyes were as sharp as knives. 'There is no Thor here, only the "physics" created by the clash of water and fire! From this day forward, I will not lead you to capture some ethereal god, but to grasp the laws of this world! This machine is worth a thousand Ferghana horses and is capable of pulling a ten-thousand-pound wheel. I will ensure that no mountain or river is insurmountable for the Han Dynasty!'
Just as the entire hall was immersed in this epoch-making celebration, a strange, purplish-red dot suddenly appeared on the system map in Liu Xun's mind: '[System Warning]: 'An abnormal energy field has been detected intruding into the restricted area of the Academy of Sciences.' Identification code: Saint's Disciple – Shadow.'
Objective: Destroy the core of the first steam engine and prevent the leap in civilisation.
Current status: The enemy has infiltrated the base of the boiler and is carrying a 'high-energy flint' remnant from a prehistoric civilisation.
A sinister smile crept across Liu Xun's lips. He had anticipated that the 'Sage' wouldn't stand idly by, but he hadn't expected them to arrive so quickly. Nor had he anticipated their daring to play 'infiltration' in front of the 'Lord of Investigation'.
'Gongshu Qi, take your men and guard the gate,' said Liu Xun in a low voice, slowly stroking the miniature electric crossbow at his waist. 'I want to dismantle that charlatan's henchmen personally before this mighty machine.'