Chapter 1353

But before it even moved twice, it collapsed in place; they'd just been boasting that Lin Cheng had cut corners, and Emperor Tianwu XXII suddenly felt his intelligence had been ground into the dirt by these idiotic Ministry of Works fools.

"They're nothing but a bunch of useless wastes!"

"Jian'er, throw all these Ministry of Works wastes into the Celestial Prison! Investigate how much imperial funding they've embezzled over the years—execute those who deserve it, exile those sentenced to seventeen years, and leave not a single one unpunished!"

Below, a crowd of Ministry of Works craftsmen knelt and begged for mercy, but Emperor Tianwu XXII didn't even glance at them.

"Hmph!"

Emperor Tianwu XXII let out a cold snort, rose, and left the training ground.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

On the face of the Second Imperial Prince Li Jian appeared a smile—his father had clearly handed the Ministry of Works over to him, and he could reorganize it however he pleased.

With the Ministry's resources, he would vigorously develop the myriad applications of the magic-crystal internal combustion engine; then, not only would Lin Cheng gain great fame, the Ministry of Works would regain its proper function, and his own reputation would soar as well.

As long as he brought benefits to the empire's people, he wanted to see how the third prince could compete with him.

"Your Highness, spare our lives!"

"Yes, please give us one more chance!"

"Your Highness, we have elderly parents above and young children below—we pledge our loyalty to you, spare our lives!"

"Enough noise!"

His reverie shattered, Li Jian's face darkened with rage; he pointed at them furiously, signaling them to be silent.

"Guards, throw these wastes into the Celestial Prison! Have the Censorate investigate the entire Ministry of Works—these wastes surely embezzled heavily from every project the empire entrusted to them."

"I will restructure the entire Ministry of Works!"

"Yes!"

At these words, several leading craftsmen of the Ministry of Works turned pale with terror; but the Imperial City Guard stood right beside them—they could not escape, and could only obediently follow them away.

"Issue a proclamation in my name: invite all renowned craftsmen across the empire to join the Ministry of Works. Announce that the newly promoted eighth-rank forge-master Lin Cheng Tute is now Deputy Minister."

"Yes!" Servant Guo Qing immediately went to carry out the order.

All former officials and craftsmen of the imperial Ministry of Works were thrown into the Celestial Prison; investigations later revealed that numerous individuals had committed massive embezzlement and bribed superiors, grave offenses that disgraced the empire. News of the Ministry's restructuring spread rapidly throughout the imperial capital, sending the two great crafting families into panic, fearing they would be dragged into the scandal. Most craftsmen within the Ministry had originally come from the families of the empire's two veteran eighth-rank forge-masters: the Gongshu and the Changsun.

For nearly a century, the Ministry had been entirely controlled by these two families—even imperial edicts could be half-heartedly executed. As a result, the Ministry of Works became the empire's largest financial drain while producing the least results; the two veteran eighth-rank forge-masters' families grew ever more powerful, eventually monopolizing all forging industries within the capital and repeatedly suppressing outsider craftsmen.

Now, with the imperial Ministry of Works being restructured and openly recruiting skilled craftsmen from across the land—and with the newly promoted eighth-rank forge-master Lin Cheng Tute joining as Deputy Minister—nearly every outsider craftsman in the capital cheered and rushed to apply.

As for the two great crafting families, they received a stern warning from the Emperor: if they continued like this, their fate would mirror that of the former Tute family—but now, Lin Cheng Tute, the scion of the Tute family, had returned with overwhelming strength; if they did nothing, they too would soon fall into obscurity, as the Tute family once had.

Though the two veteran eighth-rank forge-masters were furious that the Emperor and Second Prince Li Jian compared them to a brash newcomer, when they finally saw the magic-crystal internal combustion engine and Lin Cheng's mechanical steed, they were awestruck; upon learning Lin Cheng could also craft the legendary sentient weapons, they fell completely silent.

They were not those petty upstarts obsessed with power struggles—when it was time to yield, they yielded; moreover, in the forging arts, mastery alone determined respect.

After extensive study, the mechanical steed's exterior and components were fully understood—except for its principles and the more complex magic-crystal internal combustion engine, its form was nearly perfect, impossible to improve further.

With a sigh of defeat, they harbored many questions and hoped to study the mechanical wolf in depth with Lin Cheng—but the Second Prince refused.

The Ministry of Works had already proven a cautionary tale—he was no fool to let the two great families taint it again; he would build a completely independent imperial Ministry of Works, under his own control, with Lin Cheng at its head, and no other power allowed to intrude.