At dawn, the winds of Guanzhong carried a nauseating, bloody stench. The fire at the Du family's villa was still burning when Liu Xun appeared, dressed in a close-fitting black outfit over a simple hemp jacket — a garment typically worn by commoners. Instead of returning to Weiyang Palace, he led a squad of the Hidden Dragon Guards directly into Wannian County, the hardest-hit area in Guanzhong and the epicentre of land annexation. The guards dismounted with ghostly speed. Inside the Wannian County government hall, Magistrate Wang Youde held several thick ledgers nervously. He had been terrified upon hearing that the Du family's property had been confiscated overnight. However, these ledgers had been meticulously 'polished' overnight by a dozen experienced accountants, and he believed them to be flawless. 'Your Majesty,' said Wang Youde, wiping cold sweat from his brow; his smile was more of a grimace. 'Wannian County has suffered disasters for years, leaving its people homeless. Most of these fields were cultivated by local gentry out of gratitude for the land — there was absolutely no forced buying or selling!'
Liu Xun sat on the main throne, not bothering to look through the account books, but slowly activating the system's auxiliary functions:
[System Command] — Activate 'Eye of Insight: Advanced Audit Mode'.
[Scanning Objects]: Wannian County Land Scale Map, Actual Inventory of Changping Granary, Population Tax.
Logical Comparison: Number of curved ploughs issued vs. actual cultivated area report.
Detection results: 300% overstated disaster situation, 120,000 mu of hidden farmland, 80% shortage of Changping granary. In Liu Xun's view, a blood-red percentage appeared above Wang Youde's head: 'Corruption level: 98%'.
Lord Wang, are you saying that this account is accurate?' Liu Xun casually pulled out one of the ledgers and pointed to a loan record, his tone as cold as ice. 'Last year's grain, you lent it to the tenant farmers at three times the market price, yet the interest is listed as "a reward"? With this compound interest, thirty percent of Wannian County's land ended up in the Du family's pockets. And what about you?"
'Your Majesty, this is all done according to the law!' Wang Youde shrieked.
"The law? I am the law!' Liu Xun abruptly threw the ledger at Wang Youde's face, instantly switching his demeanour from that of a scholar investigating accounts to that of a judge from hell.
Liu Xun did not hold court in the county office. Instead, he ordered his men to bring Wang Youde and several other powerful local gentry, who had not yet escaped, to the edge of Wannian County's largest irrigated field. Originally intended as a demonstration field for curved plough cultivation, this field was now filled with tenant farmers who had been forcibly summoned. Standing atop the ridge of the field, Liu Xun held a stack of blood-stained contracts in his hand. In a voice booming like thunder, he asked, "Did someone tell you that using the curved plough would bring about natural disasters and that if you owed grain to powerful families, your descendants would become slaves?" The people cowered, watching the group of sword-wielding soldiers, none of them daring to speak.
'Lord Wang, tell me, whose land is this?' Liu Xun suddenly kicked Wang Youde to the ground. Wang Youde tried to argue, 'Your Majesty, all land sales are governed by contracts. This humble subject...'
'Contracts?' Liu Xun sneered. He turned to the commander of the Hidden Dragon Guard and ordered him to burn the contracts in front of the people.
A brazier of charcoal blazed in the field and the contracts and IOUs, stained with the blood and sweat of tenant farmers, turned to ash in the fire.
'
'The Du family colluded with the government, damaged farm tools and hid land. According to the laws of the Han dynasty, they and their entire clan should be executed!" Liu Xun pointed to several thick wooden stakes that had been erected nearby, which were originally used for drying crops but were now serving as instruments of torture.
'Since you like the land so much, I'll let you hang on it for as long as you like.' The Hidden Dragon Guards moved swiftly and decisively. Amidst the vast expanse of fertile fields and under the watchful gaze of thousands of tenant farmers, Wang Youde and three notorious local bullies were suddenly hoisted high into the air by thick hemp ropes around their necks. They struggled and kicked at first, then fell into a deathly silence.
There were no formalities or trial procedures here, only the bloody, violent aesthetics of an 'actor emperor'. Liu Xun wanted to use this primal and shocking method to tear down the authority of powerful clans at the grassroots level. 'From today onwards, this land will be divided according to the number of people!' Pointing to the corpses hanging in mid-air, he shouted at the stunned crowd, 'Anyone who damages the ploughs in the fields will be hung alongside the county magistrate! I'll give you seeds and farming tools. Remember this: the Han dynasty belongs to the Liu family, not the Du family or the Wang family!"
[System Notification]
[Wannian County] Public loyalty has instantly surpassed 95 points (die-hard loyalty). The will to resist is collapsing across the entire territory.[National Fortune Value] has experienced explosive growth, unlocking the next-stage reward: [Simplified Formula for High Phosphorus and Potassium Compound Fertiliser].
The people knelt in the mud, wailing loudly. They gazed at the corrupt official who was hanging in the field. No longer was he a gruesome corpse; now he was an unyielding boundary marker, erected for them by the Han emperor.
Liu Xun turned to look at the fluctuating numbers on the system panel, a weary glint of malice in his eyes. 'Next stop, which one?' He mounted his horse, his black cloak unfurling like a hawk's wings. This 'bloody audit' had only just begun.
The corpses in the fields of Wannian County were still warm when Liu Xun turned his horse, his gaze falling upon the ragged, vacant-eyed refugees on the Guanzhong Plain. These were people who had lost their homes and land due to annexation by powerful clans — the most unstable element of the late dynasty. But to Liu Xun, they were the most valuable 'industrial population prototypes' and 'steel reserves' of this era. The stench of the refugee camp outside Chang'an was overwhelming. Dressed in coarse linen splattered with blood, Liu Xun walked straight into the muddy shantytown. The commander of the Hidden Dragon Guard followed closely behind him, his hand on his crossbow and his expression cold and stern.
'I give you land, I give you ploughs, and I give you a full stomach,' said Liu Xun, standing on an abandoned stone millstone. His voice boomed like a bell, shattering the deathly silence of the camp. 'But I don't want you to be serfs who only know how to bury your heads in work. I want you to be the backbone of the Han dynasty!' The refugees raised their heads blankly, some still clutching a lump of clay.
[System Command]: Activate 'System Blueprint – Great Han Agricultural Reclamation Corps'.
Core Logic: Military and political integration, land reclamation, and border defence.
System bonus: collective honour increased by 40%; organisational discipline automatically corrected.
Instructor Resources: Unlocks real-time projection of 'System Virtual Retired Instructor' (visible only to the host and trainees).
'From today onwards, the refugees from Wannian, Changling and Baling counties will be organised into the "Great Han First Agricultural Reclamation Corps"!' Liu Xun waved his hand and the Hidden Dragon Guards quickly dispersed to begin counting heads according to the modern company, platoon and squad organisation provided by the system.
The elderly, the weak, women and children will be assigned to the logistics camp, where they will be responsible for breeding, weaving and producing fertiliser. The able-bodied will be assigned to the combat camp, where they will wield ploughs in their left hands and crossbows in their right. Liu Xun extracted the first batch of rewards from the system space: 'coarse cloth camouflage dye' and 'standard wooden training rifles'. He knew that this semi-military management system was the only way to quickly transform a disorganised group into a fighting force.
'Ding! System instructors have been loaded.' In a dimension unseen by the refugees, stern, resolute figures appeared at the front of the formation. These instructors didn't preach Confucian classics; they only taught discipline, obedience and efficiency.
'Stand up straight! Are you starving, or are you just too weak to stand?' Liu Xun stepped in personally, activating his 'iron-blooded instructor' mode. His performance was both ruthless and persuasive. He walked up to a thin boy and abruptly slammed the broken bowl out of his hand.
'In the Great Han Agricultural Reclamation Corps, if you want to eat, you must first learn to stand up straight! You are not fleeing famine; you are protecting this spring's crops for the Great Han Dynasty!' "
With this first command, tens of thousands of refugees, aided by the system, began unprecedented mechanised movements which were initially chaotic. However, within three hours, the previously scattered camp had transformed into a chillingly solemn atmosphere under the almost 'brainwashing' corrections of the system instructors.
This scene plunged the remaining members of the aristocratic families, who were secretly observing from afar, into despair. They had discovered that the tenant farmers, who had previously been docile, now had a sharpness to their eyes after only one day under Liu Xun's command. 'With this army, Guanzhong will no longer have to worry about manpower,' the Hidden Dragon Guard commander murmured in praise. Looking at the well-formed formation, Liu Xun's eyes were deep as he said, "This army is not only a source of soldiers, but also the first batch of 'organised industrial workers' for the Han Dynasty. They are accustomed to obeying orders and to standardised operations. Once this season's crops are ripe, they can seamlessly transition into the assembly line of the Imperial Academy of Natural Resources.' 'Issue my decree: the land cultivated by the agricultural reclamation corps will be exempt from taxes and grain for three years!' The surplus grain produced will be purchased by the state at a premium!" Liu Xun jumped off the stone mill. On the 'National Fortune Value' panel of the system interface, he saw that the 'Social Stability' column was changing from red to dark green. 'Aren't those powerful families, like the Du family, trying to manipulate grain prices?' Liu Xun mounted his black horse, revealing a devilish smile reminiscent of a movie star. 'Once my agricultural reclamation corps starts harvesting, I'll make sure they can't buy a single grain of old rice with their money!' At that very moment, outside Chang'an City, tens of thousands of people shouted in unison: 'We swear to be loyal to the Han Dynasty to the death! We swear to be loyal to His Majesty to the death!' Their roar shook the heavens, announcing that Liu Xun was solving the last problem of the old Han Dynasty era — the issue of displaced people — in the most hardcore and violent way.
In the middle of spring, the Wei River roared. On the riverbank outside Wannian County, a magnificent structure of wood and stone rose from the ground, resembling a colossal beast half-submerged in the water. A dozen enormous wooden blades extended from its back, emitting a deep, rhythmic rumble as they turned in the rushing water. This was the 'Great Han No. 1 Water-Powered Mechanical Hub', which had been personally designed by Liu Xun and completed by craftsmen from the Imperial Academy of Natural Resources working day and night. 'Your Majesty, can this thing really withstand a hundred oxen?' The Grand Minister of Agriculture rubbed his hands together, staring incredulously at the enormous waterwheel, which was slowly turning and looking somewhat sluggish. The riverbank was already piled high with unhulled grain, delivered by the agricultural reclamation corps. People pointed and whispered; some said the emperor was building a 'Dragon King Temple to Suppress the Water', while others said it was a 'water-absorbing demon' from the Western Regions.
Liu Xun stood on the second-floor terrace of the watermill, having changed into a neat, dark blue work uniform. Ignoring the noise below, he closed his eyes slightly and sank his consciousness into the system interface.
[System Command]: 'Initiate Mechanical Dynamics Simulation'.
[Current components]: 'Vertical Shaft Waterwheel', 'Large Main Gear', 'Variable Speed Linkage Shaft'.
[Detected Leakage]: 'Transmission ratio deviation of 4.2%, insufficient lubrication'.
[System correction]: 'Next-generation involute gear machining logic loaded.'
'My lords, do you find it slow?' Liu Xun sneered. This was the 'actor's' mockery before the miracle was revealed. He suddenly pulled the thick iron rod beside him, which connected the waterwheel to the internal millstones. The impact force of the water flow was instantly transmitted and the previously stationary internal gears began to mesh. These were iron-wood composite gears, improved by Liu Xun using the 'Elementary Industrial Encyclopedia', with the curvature of each tooth precisely calculated using physics.
"Look! It's moving! The millstones inside are flying!" The onlookers exclaimed in surprise.
Inside the mill, three sets of differently sized gears were cascaded, transforming the waterwheel's originally heavy and sluggish rotation into the frenzied rotation of ten huge internal millstones.
Liu Xun grabbed a bushel of millet and poured it down the funnel. In just a few moments, pure white, fine flour as smooth as snow gushed from the outlet like a waterfall — more than ten times faster than a donkey pulling a millstone. 'This isn't slow; this is "a heavy sword without an edge",' said Liu Xun, grabbing a handful of flour and casually tossing it into the air. His eyes gleamed with an arrogance that transcended time. 'As long as the Wei River doesn't dry up, the Han Dynasty's food supply will never run out. Grand Minister of Agriculture, tell me, isn't this 'indulging in trivial pursuits and neglecting one's duties'?" The Grand Minister of Agriculture fell to his knees with a thud, staring at the endless stream of flour and tears streaming down his face. 'Your Majesty, this is a miracle, a miracle that will benefit all generations!' Just as everyone was immersed in awe at the 'water-powered mill', Liu Xun gave a cold laugh. He wanted to demonstrate far more than that. He turned another gear set and, with a piercing metallic scraping sound, activated the belt drive on the other side of the mill, connecting it to the small workshop next door.
'Clang!' Clang! Clang!' Aided by the immense force of the Wei River and driven by levers, the massive water-powered forging hammer slammed into the red-hot iron block.
Each blow carried the force of ten strong men combined. Amidst flying sparks, the steel billet, which would normally require days of repeated forging, took shape in just a quarter of an hour.
This was Liu Xun's true intention: to utilise the guise of grain processing to establish the Han Dynasty's first 'heavy industry power source'.
'Your Majesty, can this forging hammer make swords?' a trembling voice asked. The speaker was a brigadier general selected from the agricultural reclamation corps.
'Swords?' Liu Xun stood with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering in the damp air of the Wei River. 'With this water-powered forging press, I can equip my entire agricultural reclamation corps with high-quality steel armour within a month! The Kushan iron plates are like paper before me!'
[System Notification]: 'Industrial Civilization Progress' advancement value surged by 2,000 points.
Currently unlocked: Intermediate Mechanical Transmission Principle and Basic Smelting Technology for Bearing Steel.
Several spies from powerful clans were ashen-faced behind the crowd. They had originally planned to cause unrest by monopolising mill labour in Chang'an and raising flour prices. However, Liu Xun's single mill could now replace half of the donkey mills in Guanzhong. Not only had he built mills, he had also announced that all members of the Great Han Agricultural Reclamation Corps could use the water mills free of charge, needing only to pay a 10% "mechanical maintenance fee". This would cut off the powerful clans' source of income.
Standing on the second floor, Liu Xun used the system skill "Eye of Insight" to precisely lock onto the spies' positions, then activated "Top-Tier Performance: Disdain', slowly making a 'decapitation' gesture towards them.
'Go and tell your master that the gears of the Great Han have already started turning. Anyone who wants to stand in their way had better have bones harder than this hammer.' In Liu Xun's hands, the Wei River was no longer just the mother river nourishing Guanzhong; it had become a wildly spinning war engine.
The roar of the Wei River faded into the distance, but the sound of meshing gears seemed to have seeped into Liu Xun's very bones. He knew that, although water-powered machinery could free up manpower, without real steel, the industrialisation of the Han dynasty would be nothing more than a sophisticated model built on sand. The iron bearings in the water mills and the ploughshares held by the agricultural reclamation corps were mostly made of brittle, easily broken pig iron or inferior wrought iron. To truly etch the character 'Han' onto the world map in this era, he needed steel capable of cleaving any shield and withstanding immense pressure. A hundred miles southwest of Chang'an, in a deep valley nestled in the foothills of the Qinling Mountains and shrouded in mist all day long, Liu Xun found the perfect location for an arsenal: it was backed by a high-quality coal mine and flanked by a tributary of an underground river. It was also surrounded by sheer cliffs, forming a natural forbidden zone that would prevent any spying.
Riding a black horse, surrounded by a squad of fully armed Hidden Dragon Guards with wolf-like eyes, Liu Xun slowly entered the deep valley he named 'Dragon's Breath Valley'.
[System Command]: Initiate the first stage of the 'Blast Furnace Ironmaking' side quest.
Quest Objective: Construct a blast furnace capable of producing a thousand catties of refined steel per day.
Current resources: Refractory clay (collected), coke (refined) and a blast system (ready).
System warning: This action will consume a significant amount of 'National Fortune Points', but will unlock 'Modern Alloy Technology' upon completion.
'Your Majesty, the foundation has been laid according to your design,' reported the Hidden Dragon Guard commander in charge of construction, in a low voice. He gazed at the colossal building rising from the ground in the centre of the valley, his eyes filled with awe. The towering cylindrical structure was three zhang high and reinforced with layers of refractory bricks and yellow mud. Unlike any known Han Dynasty building, it lacked ornate carvings and possessed only a primitive, industrial aesthetic.
'Let's begin.' Liu Xun stood on the command platform in front of the blast furnace, initiating 'Top Performance: Iron-Blooded Craftsman.' He removed his outer robe to reveal a back as hard as refined iron and took the blazing torch himself. As he threw the torch into the furnace, the mountain of coke ignited. This coke, improved and desulfurised by Liu Xun, produced temperatures far higher than charcoal. "Pull the bellows!" At Liu Xun's command, the massive wooden connecting rods to the underground river's hydraulic hub began to throb wildly. This was the 'high-pressure blast system', which had been successfully tested on the Wei River. Now, it roared like a behemoth, forcibly pumping large quantities of air into the furnace. "Whoosh—! Whoosh!" The flames inside the furnace instantly turned from red to orange and finally transformed into an almost transparent incandescent white. At that moment, the essence of human civilisation's evolution was reflected in Liu Xun's eyes. Through the 'thermodynamic window' in the system, he could clearly see the changes inside the blast furnace: the iron ore was gradually stripped of impurities at high temperatures and turned into molten iron. 'This is fire! This is the fire that will be reborn as the Han Dynasty!" His voice remained clearly audible amidst the rumbling thunder. Dozens of top blacksmiths, gathered from all over the Han Dynasty, stared in disbelief before the furnace.
Their ancestral iron-smelting methods involved days and nights of labour in a clay furnace to produce a small, uneven 'iron mound', whereas this young emperor appeared to be attempting to smelt iron simply by placing rocks and charcoal in a large jar. 'Your Majesty, this fire is too intense! It might even melt the stone walls!' cried out the old blacksmith, Zhang, in a trembling voice. Liu Xun didn't speak. Instead, he picked up a long iron rod and his demeanour instantly changed to that of a 'ruthless arbiter'. He forcefully pierced the taphole at the bottom of the blast furnace, crying, 'Behold, this is the golden age I have bestowed upon you!'
The next second, a crimson torrent radiating terrifying heat erupted from the pre-dug refractory sand trough, carving a blinding arc of light across the dark valley like lava. Reflected in the molten iron, Liu Xun's elongated shadow resembled a god forging the universe. "Iron... it's coming out!" 'Living iron!' The blacksmiths fell to their knees, frantically kowtowing to the flowing molten iron. This was no longer ordinary iron, but a flowing sceptre in Liu Xun's hand.
'Chang Hui, the reins are in your hands now.' Liu Xun walked over to Chang Hui, the veteran general who had remained silent until now. He had taken over command of the defence of this forbidden area.
'In Dragon's Breath Valley, anyone who enters by mistake, anyone who spies, and anyone who colludes with outsiders to leak secrets will be killed. Their entire family will be exterminated.' Liu Xun's voice was casual, yet it sent a chill down Chang Hui's spine.
He walked to the pile of cooled steel ingots beside the blast furnace, picked up a hastily made rough casting and swung it down fiercely at a bronze pillar as thick as a bowl.
'Crack!' The bronze pillar snapped in two, but the steel ingot's edge remained undamaged.'With this steel, I can build larger cannons, faster crossbows and stronger armour,' thought Liu Xun, staring at the cold, menacing light. 'The next step is to transform this steel into a "gift of death" that will make the Kushans and the Romans tremble.'
Above the valley, a solitary moon hung obliquely. Deep within the earth's crust, the Han Dynasty's first industrial heart began its ceaseless day and night of flames from the blast furnace. This was not only the arsenal of the Han Dynasty, but also the iron-blooded cradle that Liu Xun would use to destroy the old world order.