Chapter 101: The Joint Industrial Park

Finally, Zhao Xinglong looked at the various items collected by Feng Yucai during the later battlefield cleanup—shell casings, flying needles, and the like—and said, “Minister Feng, do you really believe that the few dozen men Zhang Desen brought could have accomplished all this? Would they act against Daxing? What purpose could there be in forming such a force? If they could incinerate over a hundred thousand troops of Liaogu, how many men do they actually have?”

To elaborate, the 300,000-strong army of Liaogu had about 50,000 soldiers annihilated by Feng Yucai. Although Zhang Desen’s numbers were smaller, during the chaotic retreat, he casually set fire to several military camps. Coupled with Zhao Chengming’s burning of Liaogu’s grain depots and Zhou Yongli’s cover for Zhang Desen’s forces as they torched several Liaogu barracks, the dry conditions led to uncontrollable infernos.

Moreover, nearly all of Liaogu’s generals, except for Wan Gu and a few others, were killed, leaving their army leaderless. Few were left to combat the fires, and the dry vegetation surrounding each camp caused the flames to spread further. As a result, the retreating army of 300,000 was reduced to barely over 100,000 men.

Before Feng Yucai could respond, Chancellor Zhang Chengwei stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, I assure you, they bear no ill will toward Daxing.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xinglong’s expression soured slightly but he replied, “Oh? Minister, what do you mean? Is it not at your instruction that your noble son secretly formed such a force?”

The atmosphere instantly grew tense. Having previously been stirred by Crown Prince Zhao Degou, Zhao Xinglong harbored resentment toward Zhang Chengwei and Feng Yucai, now united because of Zhang Desen. Discovering this formidable force suddenly made him wary.

Yet Zhang Chengwei answered calmly and respectfully, “Your Majesty, in my view, if they truly intended harm to Daxing, they would not have bothered repelling the Liaogu invasion—such actions would be redundant. Therefore, they must be loyal to Daxing.”

At this, Crown Prince Zhao Degou interjected, “If they are loyal to Daxing, why then form a private army? That clearly indicates ill intent.”

He then turned to Zhao Xinglong and said, “Father, we cannot let this continue unchecked; otherwise, it will become a future threat.”

Second Prince Zhao Guangzhou, however, countered, “Hold on, elder brother. Every powerful household has its own retinue forces. If I recall correctly, your retinue numbers nearly 30,000—more than even the Imperial Guards—and they reside within the Crown Prince’s Mansion in the city. Pray tell, elder brother, what purpose do you have for so many retainers? In resisting Liaogu’s southern advance, Father’s Imperial Guards were deployed—where were your retinue then?”

This left Zhao Degou and others in an awkward silence. Zhao Xinglong then slammed his hand on the dragon-etched desk, halting all further discussion.

He then raised his voice and asked, “Ministers, what are your thoughts on this matter?”

General Feng Yucai said, “Your Majesty, you may issue an edict to reward Zhang Desen and his men. This would not only demonstrate Your Majesty’s fairness in rewarding merit according to the facts but also show the realm your earnest desire for talent, encouraging more aspiring individuals to serve the state.”

Zhao Xinglong nodded and asked, “What do you all think?”

The ministers exchanged glances and unanimously replied, “We concur.”

At that moment, Minister Qian suddenly stepped forward and said, “I think it’s unnecessary. Chancellor Zhang should explain when this retinue was trained. Is it possible he intended to keep these men ready for rebellion?”

Everyone, including Zhao Xinglong, was taken aback. Zhao Xinglong asked, “Minister, why do you say that? How do you know? Do you have any proof?”

Minister Qian replied, “Of course, I know.”

To be honest, not only Zhao Xinglong but also the other ministers attending the banquet were bewildered. Yet considering that Chancellor Zhang and Minister Qian were sworn enemies, many suspected Qian was deliberately forcing Zhang into a predicament, hoping to trap him and bring him down.

Before Zhang Chengwei could respond, General Feng Yucai spoke up, “Nonsense, Minister Qian, you are unworthy of your generous salary!”

Qian flared with anger and retorted, “I, Qian Qiu, only seek to serve the Emperor by uncovering the truth. You rely on someone else’s retinue to defend against foreign enemies, clearly lacking military acumen, undeserving of your reputation. And now you try to obstruct me from assisting the Emperor? Prove you have full command of the battlefield first!”

Feng Yucai’s temper rose further as he shouted, “I admit the enemy helped me, and I was caught off guard, unable to personally capture Wan Lu’s head. My skills may be lacking, but that doesn’t negate my loyalty to the nation, nor justify dismissing me as worthless. If we talk of worthlessness, your son Qian Gao seems never to have set foot in Shu Chuan, merely disturbing locals and indulging in pleasures. As for my son Feng Qiwei, your strategist Wu Dong has taken the blows meant for him—do you think I don’t know?”

Qian was momentarily stunned, caught off guard. But realizing he must suppress Feng Yucai, he said, “You’re talking nonsense...”

At that, Zhao Xinglong could no longer tolerate the bickering. “Enough! Stop this quarrel at once!”

The ministers were shocked and quickly knelt, begging pardon and awaiting the Emperor’s decree.

Zhao Xinglong said, “I summoned you to resolve issues, not to worsen them.”

He continued, “Returning to the matter at hand, I want to locate this group as soon as possible, regardless of their numbers. I will adopt General Feng Yucai’s suggestion...”

Feng Yucai immediately responded, “Thank you, Your Majesty!”

Zhao Xinglong added, “Minister Qian, General Feng is a respected pillar of the military and the nation. How can you speak so of him?”

Qian stammered, “Yes, yes!”

The Emperor went on, “As for Qian Gao’s affairs, I will investigate personally. Minister Zhang, I will find time to question you privately. Regarding the rewards, let Minister Feng draft a memorial, as he is most familiar with this retinue.”

The ministers chorused, “Yes, Your Majesty!”

Qian, sweating profusely, inwardly blamed the unreliability of his son. Zhang Chengwei pondered how to manage relationships moving forward. Feng Yucai seemed to have an idea and planned to speak privately with Zhang Chengwei. Meanwhile, the victory banquet continued.

...

Meanwhile, deep beneath the ocean in the capital city of Atlantis of the West Sea Empire, Atlantean ruler Hipe Ter listened intently to a report from fleet commander Ge Jin Gulo. Months prior, the fleet had engaged in battle against the terrifying Ormei Empire forces on the Pacific’s western coast and in space.

Hipe Ter asked, “Commander, based on your report, was the failure months ago primarily due to solar flares?”

Ge Jin Gulo answered, “Yes, mostly solar flares, plus they had a massive satellite aiding their navigation.”

Hipe Ter inquired, “Was the enemy’s number large?”

Ge Jin Gulo replied, “Not really, but having lingered underwater too long, we failed to notice that surface civilizations have begun exploiting space. If left unchecked, this will be a serious threat.”

Hipe Ter questioned, “Could it be that most of their people have gone to space?”

Ge Jin Gulo responded, “If that were true, they wouldn’t have constructed such a large space station near Earth.”

Hipe Ter said, “Furthermore, you mentioned our seasoned flight captain and his squadron were outmaneuvered by a single enemy craft, unable to shoot it down?”

Ge Jin Gulo replied, “Yes, Eugene Cole hopes for another chance to redeem himself and return to the battlefield soon.”

Hipe Ter asked, “Do you think now is the right moment to reengage on the surface?”

Ge Jin Gulo answered, “Your Majesty, most surface civilizations have regressed to the cold weapon era, with few advanced societies. If we fail to act now, prolonged contact among surface civilizations will spell trouble.”

Hipe Ter said, “Very well. Arrange for me to meet Jeff Cole first. Also, convene a meeting on the counterattack. Have Eugene Cole brought to me at once.”

Ge Jin Gulo replied, “Yes, Your Majesty!”

Then Hipe Ter burst out in rage, “Those damned Gomar people! They urged me to send troops into battle but refused to provide support. I must have the Foreign Ministry investigate this.”

...

At the same time, within the Liu family estate in the Western Capital, Zhang Desen and others were organizing production matters. In recent times, while training special forces, Zhang Desen had also employed simulators brought back from the lunar Tycho crater base. After much effort, they successfully trained the first batch of pilots capable of operating the enormous space transports left by the ancient superhumans.

Thus, they could begin steadily transporting larger machinery to gradually expand production.

Primarily, they focused on importing machines from the first Industrial Revolution era, preparing for the future. Following Zhang Desen’s advice, the Liu family expanded their lands south of the Qiantang River, planning to establish an industrial park akin to a modern society.

Of course, humanity in this universe remained in ancient times. The Western Capital’s scale was comparable to Hangzhou during the Song dynasty’s Lin’an period in Zhang Desen’s original universe—not a modern metropolis.

Consequently, the southern bank of the Qiantang River was largely wilderness, ideal for setting up production bases with easy access to the river’s outlet to the sea, facilitating transportation and future foreign trade.

Zhang Desen’s vision extended further. As more machinery was transported from the Tycho crater, production would scale up considerably. He even planned to leverage this advantage to establish a modern farm in Yizhou of this universe.

Upon hearing Zhang Desen’s plans, Master Liu immediately sensed the commercial opportunity, swiftly organizing skilled craftsmen to study the data brought from the Tycho crater base, accelerating production efforts. The previously acquired flying shuttles and Jenny spinning machines had already demonstrated significant results.

Naturally, Zhang Desen would receive a share of the profits. Presently, Zhang Desen and his group endeavored to restore modern civilization for Earth’s humans in this universe, unwilling to disappoint the ancient superhumans who had left these technologies behind.

Additionally, Zhang Desen suggested reserving several large open spaces for constructing bigger, more advanced airports. After all, more sophisticated aircraft manufacturing equipment would eventually arrive, not just continued efforts to replicate the current “Red Baron” and “Camel” planes.

They also built a shipyard and brought down equipment for producing coal-fired steamships. As human civilization in this universe was almost entirely ancient, the advantages of coal-powered steamers were clear. This would help quickly accumulate funds and restore modern civilization on this Earth.

The newly established industrial park’s location reminded Zhang Desen of the Zhongxing Overpass area in his original universe’s Hangzhou. After considering the current universe’s conditions, he decided to name it the United Industrial Park. Due to the revolutionary production technologies, the market soon opened up rapidly.

As Zhang Desen and his team busily organized and improved all these, Zhang Chengwei suddenly brought news.