White World, Star Luo Imperial City.
Star Luo Imperial Palace.
"Killing is not the end; it is merely a means to an end."
"These words are truly well said!"
"To be able to clearly distinguish between the end and the means."
"To not be controlled by emotions, and to understand human nature and utilize it rationally."
"Such a person is already more than capable of being the leader of a faction, or even the ruler of a nation!"
Hearing Tang Chuan's words in the comparison video,
Dai Tianfeng could not help but look on with a complex expression, sighing with deep emotion.
"This Tang Chuan is simply excessively outstanding. Whether it is his appearance, cultivation talent and brilliance, or his wisdom, strategy, and even military tactics, everything is undoubtedly top-tier!"
"Why is such a Qilin of a son the offspring of that hypocritical, shameless, and irresponsible Tang Hao?"
"If only he were my, Dai Tianfeng's, son!"
"If that were the case, my Star Luo Empire would surely unify the continent!!"
The comparison video continued to play.
[After Xue Ke's imperial decree was released, temporarily appeasing the nobles within the Heaven Dou Empire,]
[Tang Chuan had already begun to vigorously implement the Fubing System and launch reforms within the territories directly under the royal family.]
[Measuring land, registering households, selecting Fubing soldiers, distributing farming tools and seeds, designating training grounds...]
[A series of tasks progressed simultaneously with extremely high efficiency.]
[The commoners who were granted land, after their initial panic and disbelief, erupted with an unprecedented enthusiasm.]
[They finally had land of their own. Although it was only the right to Cultivate, they only needed to pay a tenth of their harvest, rather than having almost more than half of it taken away from them.]
[And as long as they farmed diligently, trained hard, and performed meritorious deeds on the battlefield, this land could truly belong to them.]
[Their descendants might also shed their status as "muddy-legged peasants" and become respected military nobles!]
[In just one short month,]
[over fifty thousand land-granted households were registered within the territories directly under the royal family, from which the first batch of Fubing, totaling over a hundred thousand soldiers, was selected.]
[Originally, according to the regulations of the Fubing System,]
[each household only needed to provide one adult male to serve as a Fubing soldier.]
[But to change their destiny, these commoner families pushed themselves to the absolute limit!]
[Essentially, they only left behind their youngest and underage children.]
[All other adult males were registered as Fubing, ready to fight on the battlefield for a chance to stand out and make a name for themselves!]
[In their spare time from working in the fields, these Fubing began to receive basic formation and discipline training.]
[Although they could not yet be considered elites,]
[their high-spirited energy and valiant, striving will were already completely different from the low-level peasant conscripts pressed into service like common draftees across the various nations of the Douluo Continent.]
[And over at Blue Silver City, production progress was also advancing rapidly.]
[With nearly five hundred direct and branch Disciples skilled in forging transferred from the Clear Sky Sect, along with thousands of elite blacksmiths from the Blacksmith Association personally led by Lou Gao, joining the firearms workshop after learning the craft of forging firearms,]
[amidst the day-and-night roaring of countless steam engines,]
[huge iron hammers driven by steam power forged gun barrels, cannon barrels, and various rough-processed shrapnel, grenade shells, and artillery shell prototypes at a speed and force unattainable by human strength.]
[Immediately following that, blacksmiths processed and forged them into complete firearms and artillery shells.]
[On the assembly line, shrapnel grenades were skillfully assembled, inspected, and boxed one by one.]
[After undergoing dozens of processes, flintlock muskets were polished to a bright shine, emitting a scent of mixed machine oil and steel.]
[Cast-iron cannons were hoisted onto their carriages, their dark, gaping muzzles seeming capable of swallowing all light.]
[To ensure the absolute confidentiality of the firearms, Tang Chuan deployed multiple defensive lines around Blue Silver City.]
[Titled Douluo from the Qingdi Sect took turns keeping watch, and scouts from the Speed Clan were scattered across every major transport route within a hundred-mile radius.]
[Any suspicious person approaching would be detected and intercepted in advance.]
[Every batch of firearms leaving the warehouse had detailed serial numbers and tracking records, ensuring that not a single flintlock musket, shrapnel grenade, or cannon leaked out of Blue Silver City.]
[Under such highly efficient operations,]
[within just over a month,]
[the warehouses of Blue Silver City had stockpiled enough flintlock muskets to arm over a hundred thousand men, over a hundred thousand shrapnel grenades, and more than three hundred artillery pieces of various models.]
[These weapons were transported in batches to secret warehouses within the Qingdi Sect for storage, waiting for the day in the future when they would unleash a roar on the battlefield that would shock the continent.]
[Standing on a training ground within the territories directly under the royal family,]
[watching the new Fubing army drilling in formations under the scorching sun in the distance, and receiving the latest report on firearm production capacity from Blue Silver City, a satisfied smile finally appeared at the corner of Tang Chuan's mouth.]
[With the help of this World's extraordinary Materials, the steam engine was easily built.]
[Various firearms were already being continuously manufactured in an assembly-line fashion within the workshop, with production capacity rising day by day.]
[Coupled with the implementation of the Fubing System,]
[the power of the Qingdi Sect and the Heaven Dou Empire was growing at a rapid pace.]
[Before long, those enemies who dared to stand in their way,]
[whether they were the corrupt nobles or the ambitious Spirit Empire, would all be crushed by this rising power!]
[This was the power of technology, the power of the continent's myriad people!!]
[In the blink of an eye, another half a year passed.]
[Over this past half-year, the military power of the Heaven Dou Empire underwent earth-shaking changes.]
[Under Tang Chuan's direction,]
[the Fubing System was fully rolled out across the territories directly under the royal family. The Land Grant Decree benefited over a million commoner families, and the total number of registered Fubing had broken through the three million mark.]
[And with the enthusiastic training attitude of these Fubing, along with their desire to stand out,]
[combined with the Qingdi Sect's ability to provide large quantities of elite weapons and armor to arm these Fubing,]
[the combat power of the legions formed by the half of the well-trained elite Fubing had already completely caught up to the top-tier elite legions of the two great Empires.]
[There was no helping it!]
[For ordinary people, weapons and armor were of paramount importance.]
[Generally speaking, forging weapons and armor—especially armor—was not that easy.]
[Even for an elite blacksmith, forging a single suit of armor would take at least several months, if not more than half a year.]
[Yet for the Qingdi Sect, which possessed steam engines,]
[they were able to forge vast quantities of elite weapons and armor at a terrifying speed to arm the Fubing army.]
[This was something that neither the Star Luo Empire nor the Spirit Empire could possibly achieve!]
[On this day, inside the Bright Light Hall of the Heaven Dou Imperial City,]
[Xue Ke was bent over her desk reviewing memorials when an intelligence official hurriedly entered the hall, knelt on one knee, and presented a secret letter.]
["Your Majesty, scouts lurking within the borders of the Spirit Empire have sent back an urgent report—there are unusual movements in the Spirit Empire!"]
[Hearing this, Xue Ke knit her delicate brows slightly. She took the secret letter and quickly scanned it, her exquisite, noble, and beautiful face gradually turning solemn.]
[The letter described the Spirit Empire's recent military movements in detail.]
[The armies that originally took turns going to Spirit City for intensive training before being scattered across various kingdoms and duchies were now massing toward multiple border passes of the Spirit Empire.]
[Spirit City's Spirit Master legion had also begun frequent movements, and the whereabouts of several Spirit Hall Titled Douluo had become secretive and suspicious.]
[All signs indicated that the Spirit Empire was very likely about to launch a large-scale war!]
[Xue Ke put down the secret letter and took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.]
[After contemplating for a moment, Xue Ke was just about to send someone to pass the message to Tang Chuan.]
[Outside the hall, a guard announced once again.]
["Your Majesty! An envoy from the Star Luo Empire requests an audience, bearing a personal letter from His Majesty Dai Tianfeng!"]
["The Star Luo Empire?"]
[Xue Ke was slightly taken aback, then said, "Bring it in."]
[Soon, the guard presented with both hands a letter sealed with the wax of the Star Luo Empire's royal family.]
[Xue Ke broke the wax seal, unfolded the letter, and her gaze swept quickly across it.]
[The handwriting on the letter was bold and powerful, exuding a decisiveness and majesty belonging to an emperor.]
[The writer was indeed the current Emperor of the Star Luo Empire—Dai Tianfeng.]
[In the letter, Dai Tianfeng, in an extremely sincere tone, first analyzed the current situation of the continent.]
[He clearly pointed out that the establishment of the Spirit Empire marked that the Spirit Hall's ambition was no longer concealed, and that its launch of a war to unify the continent was only a matter of time.]
[Then, Dai Tianfeng shifted the topic and proposed a suggestion.]
[He hoped that the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire could cast aside their past grievances, form an alliance, and jointly confront the threat of the Spirit Empire.]
[At the end of the letter, Dai Tianfeng wrote:]
["If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. Although Star Luo and Heaven Dou were once enemies, when facing a common threat to our survival, past grievances can be temporarily set aside."]
["It is my hope that Your Majesty Xue Ke will keep the common people of the continent in mind and join hands in this righteous cause."]
(End of Chapter)
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