36: Chapter 36 Desire to Form Three Thousand Ironclad Pagodas

The First Emperor pulled out the taia sword hanging from his waist.

"You mustn't."

He Zhi hurriedly stopped him.

"Why?"

The First Emperor smiled and said, "The taia sword was forged by the two master swordsmiths, Ou Yezi and Gan Jiang. Surely you aren't afraid that my taia sword will damage this steel saber?"

"No."

He Zhi shook his head and said, "I am afraid the steel saber will damage the taia sword."

"In this world, there is only one taia sword, but steel sabers can be mass-produced."

"One furnace of steel can forge several thousand steel sabers."

"Young Master Fusu intends to have the hundred thousand soldiers of Xianyang City use steel sabers."

"Afterward, Young Master Fusu will also have the two hundred thousand soldiers of Guanzhong use steel sabers."

Hearing this, the First Emperor's face suddenly stiffened, looking extremely displeased.

He felt that the taia sword in his hand was suddenly no longer desirable.

Originally, the taia sword was the number one famous sword in the world.

Now, any random Qin Army sidearm could outperform his taia sword.

From a weapon of slaughter to a piece of handicraft—imagine the psychological shadow on Zheng Geer!

Ying Zheng took a sharp bronze sword and handed it to He Zhi.

He Zhi gripped the bronze sword and held it before Ying Zheng.

Ying Zheng gripped the heavy steel saber and swung it downward, easily snapping the bronze sword in He Zhi's hand.

"This..."

Ying Zheng's eyes suddenly narrowed; it was far too easy, leaving him in disbelief.

Now he believed what He Zhi had said earlier: if the taia sword went head-to-head with the steel saber, it would definitely be the taia sword that broke.

There was only one taia sword in the world, but one furnace of steel could forge several thousand steel sabers.

Ying Zheng was glad he hadn't tested the taia sword against the steel saber, otherwise the taia sword would surely have been broken.

Ying Zheng looked at the taia sword at his waist again and suddenly felt it wasn't so great anymore.

"I am taking this steel saber," the First Emperor declared.

Ying Zheng instructed He Zhi, "Find a way to produce more steel sabers and equip the Shadow Guards of the Black Ice Platform with them."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

He Zhi also liked the steel saber very much.

Its production cost was low.

In terms of hardness and sharpness, it could challenge any famous sword forged by the world's master swordsmiths.

Even more terrifyingly, one furnace of steel could produce thousands of steel sabers!

This was too frightening!

The master swordsmiths of the world, who had spent decades refining swords, were easily surpassed by the open-hearth steelmaking method.

"Young Master Fusu is truly remarkable."

He Zhi praised from the bottom of his heart.

Hearing He Zhi praise Zhao Fusu, a clear smile appeared on the First Emperor's face.

Compared to the old Fusu, the First Emperor was much more satisfied with Zhao Fusu's current performance.

The steel sabers forged by Zhao Fusu would surely be recorded in history and revered for generations.

The Qin Army's combat power was already strong; equipped with steel sabers, they would be like tigers with wings, and their combat power would become even stronger!

The First Emperor felt a sense of anticipation for the future of Great Qin.

In Zhao Fusu's hands, the future of Great Qin might be completely bright.

The First Emperor's eyes were full of expectation, wondering what Zhao Fusu would transform Great Qin into.

On Zhao Fusu's side, he was looking at the items he had obtained through check-ins over the past seven days.

The books included: "Visual Guide to Understanding Automobile Principles", "Detailed Explanation of Mingguang Armor Forging", "Detailed Explanation of Iron Pagoda Forging", "Detailed Explanation of Steamboat Forging", "Detailed Explanation of Train Track Forging", "Detailed Explanation of Train Steam Locomotive Forging", and "Detailed Explanation of Cement Production".

"mingguang armor!"

"Iron Pagoda!"

Zhao Fusu's eyes narrowed slightly.

The armor worn by the Qin Army infantry was leather armor, made from rhinoceros hide, which was not only sturdy but also very flexible.

But compared to leather armor, mingguang armor had even stronger defensive capabilities!

On the soldier's chest and back, there were circular or oval metal plates, mostly made of metals like copper or iron, polished to a high shine like mirrors. On the battlefield, they could reflect sunlight, emitting a dazzling "bright light" while protecting the soldier's chest and back.

Below the circular armor, chainmail or lamellar armor was woven, with an armored skirt attached below that.

The Iron Pagoda was heavy armored cavalry, with both man and horse covered in iron armor, and helmets that also covered the neck and shoulders, looking like small moving iron towers from a distance.

The drawback of the Iron Pagoda was its slow movement speed, but against infantry, it was a strike from a higher dimension.

Zhao Fusu planned to form an Iron Pagoda unit of three thousand men.

Not only could they be used as a surprise force at this stage.

In the future, once he forged the Equality Device, the Iron Pagoda would carry it into battle.

That would be the ancient version of a tank!

There would be no need to dodge at all; just holding the Equality Device and advancing forward.

Infantry would follow the Iron Pagoda carrying the Equality Device, performing infantry-tank coordination.

If the enemy launched long-range attacks, the infantry could hide behind the Iron Pagoda to avoid the rain of arrows.

However, whether it was mingguang armor or the Iron Pagoda, a large amount of money would need to be invested.

In the Great Qin Empire, even the common people couldn't eat their fill right now, so they couldn't afford to maintain the Iron Pagoda at all.

He still had to work hard on the economy!

Zhao Fusu thought to himself.

War is just burning money.

Zhao Fusu was calculating the money he had on hand.

Li Si had sent him a thousand gold, which also allowed him to have money to reward Cui Wenzi.

The fastest way to get money was still fundraising.

In his past life, fundraising could easily become illegal fundraising.

But in the Great Qin Empire, he had the final say.

Using Fusu's name, he should be able to raise quite a bit of money.

He could also raise more money through national bonds.

While fundraising was easy, paying it back was not.

He would have to pay interest.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to raise funds on a large scale.

But the larger the scale of fundraising, the more interest he would have to pay.

If he made a loss, forget the interest, he wouldn't even be able to pay back the principal.

Then the people of Great Qin would surely tear him into pieces.

Zhao Fusu thought about how to conduct a business that only made profits without losses.

He was the one setting the rules in the Great Qin Empire; if he wanted to run a guaranteed-profit business, it wouldn't be too difficult.

Zhao Fusu had many ways to make money in his mind.

But he didn't mess around blindly.

The current Great Qin Empire was a powder keg; peasant uprisings could break out at any moment.

Commerce only does well when the people are well-fed.

If the people can't even eat their fill and have no money to spend, commerce won't get anywhere.

"Lord Leader."

While Zhao Fusu was thinking, Deputy General Pang walked in, cupped his fists, and said to him, "Prime Minister Li Si and Premier Feng Quji request an audience."

"Oh?"

Zhao Fusu was curious.

Both Li Si and Feng Quji were quite reliable.

Without much interference from him, Li Si and Feng Quji could handle the administrative affairs of the Great Qin Empire in an orderly fashion.

With military power in his own hands, Zhao Fusu wasn't worried at all about Li Si and Feng Quji causing trouble.

Now that he had even developed steel, he was even less afraid of them doing anything.

Over the past week, he had been staying at the Forging Workshop. Although Li Si and Feng Quji would send people to ask for his opinion, they had never both come in person like this.

He was curious about what major event Li Si and Feng Quji had encountered that they needed to come and discuss with him together.