Chapter 633

Such a huge contrast made the faces of the Second Imperial Prince, Li Li Jian, and Emperor Emperor Tianwu the Twenty-Second very ugly. They knew that the Empire's Ministry of Works had gradually declined over the years, sometimes having no sense of presence and not being able to play much of a role, but they never thought that with Lin Cheng already having a finished product, they couldn't even copy it and had self-righteously made modifications.

Even if you changed the color of the mechanical wolf mount, Emperor Tianwu the Twenty-Second would have tolerated it.

But it had paralyzed on the spot before it could even move twice, and beforehand they had boasted about Lin Cheng cutting corners and such. Emperor Emperor Tianwu XXII suddenly felt that his intelligence was being rubbed into the ground by these idiots in the Ministry of Works.

"They are simply a bunch of trash!"

"Li Jian'er, throw all this trash from the Ministry of Works into the dungeon. Investigate exactly how much imperial funding they have spent over these years. Those who deserve to be beheaded, behead them; those who deserve to be exiled, exile them. Don't let a single one go!"

The group of craftsmen from the Ministry of Works below knelt and begged for mercy, yet Emperor Emperor Tianwu XXII didn't even look at them.

"Hmph!"

Emperor Emperor Tianwu XXII snorted coldly and left the drill ground.

"As you command, Father Emperor."

A smile appeared on the face of the Second Imperial Prince Li Li Jian; it was clear that his father was handing the Ministry of Works over to him, and it didn't matter how he reorganized it.

By utilizing the power of the Ministry of Works to vigorously develop the various uses of the magic crystal internal combustion engine, not only would Lin Cheng become famous, and the Ministry of Works restore its proper function, but his own reputation would also soar.

As long as he benefited the people of the empire, he wanted to see how the third one would compete with him.

"Your Highness, spare our lives."

"Indeed, please give us another chance, Your Highness."

"Your Highness, I have elderly parents and young children; we are willing to follow your lead, please spare our lives."

"Noisy!"

His reverie interrupted, Li Li Jian also showed an expression of annoyance and anger, pointing angrily at the crowd, signaling them to shut up.

"Someone, throw these idiots into the dungeon, and have the Supervisory Department investigate the entire Ministry of Works. These idiots haven't skimmed little from the projects the empire handed to the Ministry of Works in the past."

"This Prince will reorganize the entire Ministry of Works!"

"Yes!"

Once these words were spoken, several leading craftsmen of the Ministry of Works turned pale with terror. But the Imperial City Guard was right beside them, and they couldn't escape at all, so they could only obediently follow them.

"Send out the notice: in this Prince's name, invite all kinds of famous craftsmen of the empire to join the Ministry of Works, and say that the newly promoted eight-tier blacksmith Lin Cheng is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works."

"Yes!" The steward Guo Qing immediately went to carry it out.

The original officials and craftsmen of the Imperial Ministry of Works were all thrown into the dungeon, and later it was discovered that so-and-so had engaged in massive corruption, as well as bribing superiors and other serious matters that disgraced the empire. The news of the Ministry of Works' reorganization quickly spread throughout the Imperial Capital, causing the two major craftsman families in the capital to panic, fearing that the Ministry of Works' affairs would implicate them. Most of the craftsmen within the Ministry of Works came from the families of the empire's two old eight-tier blacksmiths, the Gongshu family and the Zhangsun family.

It could be said that for the past hundred years, the Ministry of Works had been entirely controlled by these two families. Even if the Emperor issued an order, they could completely go through the motions without putting in any effort. Precisely because of this, the Imperial Ministry of Works became the department that received the most funding from the empire every year, yet produced the least results, to the extent that the families of the original two old eight-tier blacksmiths grew increasingly massive, even once monopolizing all the forging industries in the Imperial Capital, and the suppression of outside craftsmen was a frequent occurrence.

Now it was better; the Imperial Ministry of Works was reorganized, widely recruiting skilled craftsmen from all over the world, and even had the newly promoted eight-tier blacksmith Lin Cheng Tute joining as Vice Minister. Almost every outside craftsman in the Imperial Capital cheered and eagerly headed over.

As for the two major craftsman families, they received a serious warning from the Emperor: if they continued like this, the former Tute family would be their fate. But now, the descendant of the Tute family, Lin Cheng Tute, had returned strongly; if they didn't do something, they would soon decline just like the former Tute family.

Although the two veteran eight-tier blacksmiths were extremely unhappy that His Majesty and the Second Imperial Prince Li Li Jian compared them to a newly promoted greenhorn, when they received the magic crystal internal combustion engine and the mechanical mount crafted by Lin Cheng, they were immediately awestruck. Upon learning that Lin Cheng could also craft the legendary spirit weapons that possessed self-awareness, they fell completely silent.

They were not the juniors below who only knew how to fight for power and profit all day; when it was time to admit defeat, they had to admit defeat. Moreover, the blacksmith industry had always been one where the capable are the teachers, and forging techniques have the final say.

After studying the mechanical mount for a long time, apart from the principles and the more complex magic crystal internal combustion engine, they had figured out the other shapes and parts. This mechanical mount of this size was almost perfect, and it was difficult to make further improvements.

While sighing and admitting defeat, they also had many doubts in their hearts, hoping to conduct in-depth research on the mechanical wolf with Lin Cheng, but they were rejected by the Second Imperial Prince.

There was already a precedent for the Ministry of Works' affairs; he wasn't stupid enough to let the two major families meddle in the Ministry of Works again. He wanted to establish an Imperial Ministry of Works completely under his own control, with Lin Cheng at the head, and would not allow any other forces to meddle.