Chu Chaofeng was also feeling troubled. The scouts he had sent out brought back battle reports of the clashes between the Taiping Army of Liangzhou and Prince Wu of Jizhou. It was said that the Taiping Army hadn’t suffered a single casualty—instead, they had used sorcery, causing the troops of Jizhou to collapse instantly.
Chu Chaofeng knew his hopes had been shattered.
Now, only two paths lay before him: either march south to attack Youzhou or surrender directly to the Taiping Army.
Fang Zhiyi was equally frustrated. The only cannons they had were taken by Wang Erxi to Jizhou. Given their current production capacity, it would be difficult to manufacture a new batch of cannons in a short time.
As for firearms… Fang Zhiyi glanced at the crooked iron pipes lying nearby and shook his head with a sigh.
The path of industrialization was not an easy one.
City after city in Jizhou fell, with the Taiping Army crushing through them effortlessly. Later, they didn’t even need to fire their cannons—the cities would open their gates and surrender as soon as the Taiping Army lined up outside.
Prince Wu was exhausted from fleeing. The Taiping Army followed him relentlessly, never in a hurry, as if they had nothing else to do.
Finally, he snapped. Prince Wu charged alone into the Taiping Army’s camp, grabbing Wang Erxi by the collar and shaking him. “What do you want? Huh? What do you want?”
Wang Erxi calmly removed his hands and stared at him in silence, making Prince Wu uneasy.
“What do you people even want?”
“Run,” Wang Erxi said.
“What?” Prince Wu didn’t understand.
“Run,” Wang Erxi repeated seriously.
Prince Wu frowned. “You want me to run?”
“Yes. The Great Celestial Master said, ‘You run, I chase.’”
“I demand to see your Great Celestial Master!” Prince Wu was losing his mind.
The banners of Jizhou were replaced with those of the Taiping Army, and news of Prince Wu’s capture spread across the land, drawing the attention of warlords to the once-obscure Liangzhou.
Looking at the disheveled Prince Wu before him, Fang Zhiyi could tell how rough his recent days had been. According to Wang Erxi’s report, he had chased Prince Wu relentlessly—setting up cannons the moment the prince entered a city.
“Fang—no, Great Celestial Master, just tell me, how do you want me to die?” Prince Wu’s face pleaded for death.
Fang Zhiyi remained silent, deep in thought.
Prince Wu suddenly sprang up, startling the guards who immediately drew their swords. Ignoring them, he shouted, “Fang! Let me tell you, push me too far and I’ll do anything!”
Fang Zhiyi slowly turned to him. “Really?” There was a hint of excitement in his eyes.
The next day, Prince Wu stood dumbfounded by the roadside, dressed in a Taiping Army uniform, holding a brush and a bamboo slip, watching a group of commoners enthusiastically mixing grayish-white mud.
“Supervisor Wu, does this hardness look right?” someone called.
Snapping out of his daze, Prince Wu walked over, inspecting the mixture. He tentatively stepped on it, his face lighting up with amazement. “Incredible!”
“Then it’s settled. Mark me down for a day’s work.”
“Supervisor Wu, mine’s done too!”
“And mine!”
Prince Wu was swamped with work.
At the statewide assembly, Fang Zhiyi raised his voice in a rallying cry: “To prosper, first build roads!”
The crowd echoed his words.
“Road construction is now our top priority. Selling sugar? Dirt roads are too slow. Transporting salt? Mountain paths are too dangerous. Even if we mobilize troops to Yongzhou, paved roads will save time. So, what we need now is roads! That concludes my speech. Next, the newly appointed Minister of Agriculture will speak.”
Amid applause, a frail scholar hesitantly took the stage. “Under the Great Celestial Master’s guidance, I’ve successfully improved the second-generation rice seeds. Results will be visible next month—I estimate yields will double.”
The hall fell into stunned silence.
“What?”
“Double? So a hundred catties becomes two hundred?”
“But he already improved it once before.”
“This kid’s really something.”
“Didn’t you hear him say it was the Great Celestial Master’s guidance?”
“Wow… the Great Celestial Master truly is remarkable. When will he guide me too?”
“Silence!” Fang Zhiyi stood, and the murmurs ceased.
“Next, our newly appointed head of commerce will speak.”
A woman stepped onto the stage, causing an uproar.
“A woman?”
“Is this a joke?”
“A female official?”
“The Great Celestial Master’s schools admit girls too. Are you discriminating?”
“No, no, no! Don’t twist my words!”
The woman cleared her throat and slammed her fist on the table. “Shut up!”
Her booming voice silenced the hall.
“Ahem. The Taiping Granary project proposed by the Great Celestial Master is nearing completion. Next, we’ll need the Agriculture Ministry’s cooperation.” She glanced at the young scholar nearby. “In recent internal meetings, we’ve decided to establish Taiping Markets along major trade routes in Liangzhou and Jizhou. These markets will be under Taiping Army protection, with low taxes and free trade for merchants.”
The crowd buzzed again, but no objections arose.
After all, even allowing merchants to hold office had been the Great Celestial Master’s idea.
“Now, the newly appointed Minister of Taxation will speak.”
A middle-aged man nervously took the stage, stammering until the audience burst into laughter.
Finally, red-faced, he announced, “The land tax will be set at one-thirtieth, with exemptions for refugees and slaves.”
Thunderous applause followed.
This was direct relief for the common people, and most present understood its significance.
“Lastly, a statewide campaign to eradicate feudal superstitions will commence, with all materials prepared by the Great Celestial Master!”
The first statewide assembly concluded, leaving the elected representatives abuzz with discussion.
“Meetings like this should happen more often. The Great Celestial Master is truly wise!”
“More often? It takes over a month just to travel here.”
“You’re from Wuwei, right? I hear road construction is progressing quickly there. It won’t take so long in the future.”
“Still, it’s not so bad now. Bandits in Liangzhou have been wiped out, so the journey isn’t as exhausting.”
Prince Wu, who had been listening the whole time, couldn’t close his gaping mouth. He finally realized one thing: with the Taiping Army and Fang Zhiyi around, he would never unite the realm. These common people genuinely stood with the Taiping cause!
Though he still glared at Wang Erxi with resentment, Prince Wu had to admit that supervising road construction was oddly satisfying. Fang Zhiyi even paid him a monthly salary—not in heavy copper coins or silver, but in strange, lightweight sheets they called “paper.” Prince Wu treasured them, carefully storing them at home.
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
[Dao Companion Rental System]. By renting himself out as a temporary dao companion to daughters of destiny, Qin Hao could obtain generous rewards. His service philosophy was simple: play the role of the devoted lover, resolve their troubles, depart without a trace once the matter was settled, and absolutely avoid entangling karma. However, those daughters of destiny didn't see it that way. That night, all the major powers across the Three Realms and Nine Heavens jointly besieged the Qin Clan, plunging it into an unprecedented crisis. "It's Su Qingyue! The peerless sword immortal who attained the Dao and became an Immortal Emperor in a thousand years, the one who severed the River of Time with a single sword strike! When... when did our Qin Clan make an enemy of her?" Qin Hao stepped forward, clearing his throat lightly: "Ahem, Ancestors, don't panic. She's here for me. To be honest... she's my ex-girlfriend." From another direction, the newly ascended Empress of the Demon Realm arrived with ten thousand demons pressing on the border: "Qin Hao! Today, the entire Qin Clan shall be buried with you!" Hearing this, the Qin Clan ancestors all turned their eyes sharply towards Qin Hao. Qin Hao scratched his head somewhat sheepishly: "The Demon Empress... she's also my ex-girlfriend." Before the Qin ancestors could process this, an aloof figure traversed the River of Time: "The Qin Clan deserves annihilation!" Recognizing the newcomer, the Qin ancestors paled in terror: "It's her! Liu Ruyan, the Extinction Empress who ventured alone into the alien realm and suppressed it for an entire epoch! Didn't she vanish into the River of Time long ago? Why would she cross it just to target our clan?" Qin Hao scratched his head again, looking even more embarrassed: "My fault, my fault. She's an ex-girlfriend too." Watching countless celestial maidens descend, the Qin Clan ancestors were utterly astounded: "You scoundrel! Just... just how many women have you gotten involved with over the years?"
host is extracting the Celestial Bone of the Destiny's Female Lead! The Destiny's Great Villain System has successfully bound!] Mo Tianxiao: "Destiny's Great Villain? Me?" Looking at the radiant Celestial Bone in his hand and the beautiful woman lying on the bed, Mo Tianxiao felt somewhat confused. How could he, a law-abiding citizen, become a villain? Mo Tianxiao: "Fine, villain it is then. With the system here, even a Chosen One isn't unbeatable." [Ding! Detected 18,653 Chosen Ones in this world. Please seize the destiny of all protagonists to become the true Destiny's Great Villain!] Mo Tianxiao: "Seize how many?! What kind of lousy great villain is this? I'm a perfectly good citizen!"
