Chapter 320: The Completion of Small Naihe

Xu Jia fired a shot from the flintlock at himself to test its power.

Even Huoyun Xieshen could catch bullets; now that he was in the God Immortal Realm, there was no reason he could not.

After sensing it carefully, he realized that a single flintlock could threaten a Human Immortal, but not an Earth Immortal. However, if one were willing to sacrifice a hundred or so people, they could trade them for an Earth Immortal True Person, and bombarding a Blessed Land with cannons could level it. As for the God Immortal Realm, this weapon could not kill those in it; if one were killed by it, it would be a means to escape a tribulation, shedding the physical body to ascend.

Xu Jia nodded: "What is the purpose of that gold-inlaid silver pattern on the outside?"

"Gold and silver objects are very conductive to Dharma nature. We discovered that if one wants to refine them into a Magic Tool, it requires manual forging to imbue the steel with spiritual will. When a blacksmith forges with total focus, their intent is hidden within, much like those legendary swords passed down through generations. Generally, those cast directly from molten steel in one piece lack this intent, so they need to be reprocessed to be refined into Tiangang Magic Tools. Thus, we use the gold-inlaid silver technique to draw Talismans on the surface to increase their Dharma nature."

Xu Jia thought to himself: How is it that they can successfully refine any random pistol over in America? Could it be because its power is common knowledge, thus giving it the function of a "suppressing vessel"?

And is the understanding of flintlocks here insufficient?

"Is this process complicated?"

"It is not too complicated; it just adds some cost. The original blast furnace steelmaking has already greatly reduced costs."

"Then do not refine them into Magic Tools for now. To be honest, as long as the bullets and gunpowder are imbued with the Tiangang Thunder Law, they will be just as effective against demons and evil spirits when fired," Xu Jia said. "Can you produce five hundred by the start of spring?"

"Yes!"

"Then try adding rifling to the barrels and prepare more bullets—at least ten thousand rounds per gun. By the start of spring, these five hundred flintlocks must be ready for operation."

Xu Jia was about to start a land movement to strike at local tyrants and redistribute land. The entire Jiangnan West Circuit was to be brought under his command during this movement. Five hundred flintlocks were a solid foundation; as the saying goes: "With a gun in hand, follow me."

Upon arriving at each place, he would use courtesy before force. Jinchan Duobao would lead the way with money, offering to buy their land at the price they used to harvest it from the commoners. If they refused and resisted, he would collect evidence of their oppression of the people and drag them out for public denunciation.

This set of tactics did not need to be complex; he just had to copy the homework. Why do it at the start of spring? Because spring is when farming begins, the weather is not as cold, and there will be a large number of disaster victims fleeing here again.

……

"Alright, I will go back now and tell them to work day and night in three shifts."

Xu Jia said: "Take care to give the workers and craftsmen better treatment."

"They have already been given much more. Even those who only have a rough grasp of blacksmithing get twelve hundred coins a month, and those who can forge weapons get up to thirty-six hundred coins a month. Those willing to take on apprentices get a six-hundred-wen subsidy per apprentice each month. Aside from not giving them much wine, their daily meals consist of four dishes and one soup, three meals and two snacks—a plate of snacks in the morning and a plate of snacks in the afternoon..."

Xu Jia nodded; this was definitely high-end treatment: "But do not let them rely on their seniority to bully others or rank themselves by tenure. You must promote young people; talented young people must be heavily utilized. Pay attention to fresh blood, and properly arrange for the old masters who have reached a certain age."

"That is natural. Actually, it mainly relies on the Divine Abilities of your subordinates, Huo Tong Er Sheng Ying and Yujiao'er Xun Taizi, to keep the steel furnaces running. Ultimately, this is the key. Although many have learned the Zhurong Fire Qi Curse and the Snow Mountain Curse—one for forging and one for quenching—they can only be used to forge traditional cold weapons and cannot be used to mass-produce these types of fire weapons." The craftsmen had all entered the Dao, but they were all "miscellaneous cultivators" who had not attained the true lineage; they only cultivated techniques and rarely attained the Law. They were like those widowed or solitary shamans and witches, such as the disciples of the incense halls, except they had one extra skill.

They had not attained the path of tempering the body and refining the nature, only the skill of a single craft.

"Then we must achieve a technological breakthrough. It would be best if we could refine steel even without Huo Tong Er and Xun Taizi."

Returning the flintlock to him, Xu Jia did not give any further instructions.

After this group left, Jinchan Duobao came to report: "Overseas merchants have brought over many more merchants. Having seen our sturdy ships and powerful cannons, and after we took a few islands, they want to defect and come to pay respects to the teacher first."

"Do they all have ships?"

"There are over forty in total now. Between immigration, grain transport, and trade, the docks cannot even hold them all. Some places are even afraid of us coming ashore."

Xu Jia nodded upon hearing this: "If those overseas can be of one mind, there is no fear that business will not succeed. As for them wanting to see me, forget it. I have been cultivating Pure Yang recently and see few people to avoid distracting thoughts; I am only cultivating a single mind to prevent regression. If they offer treasures, you may accept them. If they need guns and cannons, they can have some, just don't let them defect to the enemy. Form an alliance and give them a certain degree of autonomy, but do not go too far. You have your own discretion in this regard."

"I will not. They all have Jinchan following them; I naturally have full supervision," Jinchan smiled. "It is just that the production of silk, porcelain, and tea must be expanded. The scale of the tea gardens, mulberry forests, and porcelain factories needs to continue to expand, or we should establish branch factories. What do you think? I must ask for your instructions."

"Build branch factories," Xu Jia said. "Try to develop industries as much as possible, convert the non-agricultural population into an industrial population, expand production, and dump the goods. Now that the steel technology has been conquered, the next step is to build steel warships. Once the steel warships are built, long-distance trade that does not follow the ocean currents can begin. Our goods will then be hard to make a splash in the global market."

Jinchan understood: "I will talk more with these maritime merchants and local merchants. Even merchants from other regions will be gradually absorbed. I will grasp the economic work and drive development."

After Jinchan left, another half-month passed, and Shunji Xiao Longwang arrived with a golden Jade Bridge: "Sect Master, Small Naihe has been refined."

Shunji Xiao Longwang followed the method Xu Jia gave him, holding Dharma Assemblies on the bridge at the four directions. Xu Mu presided over several sessions, and the nuns of Jinshan Temple held a Water and Land Dharma Assembly; now, having just passed twenty-four times, this treasure was completed.

This bridge was in the shape of an arched bridge, with the characters "Naihe" on the front and "Impermanence" on the back.

The bridge body was made of jade, with gold-inlaid railings, and each railing was carved with a "lion."

Sensing the Dharma Power and Dao essence within, which connected to the Taiyin above and the Underworld below, Xu Jia knew that this object connected heaven and earth and was enough to send that six-bearded golden sturgeon from Dongting to the East Sea, so he said: "Good, I will go there myself."

"Does it not need to be spring?"

"Spring is already rainy; if I borrow the water's momentum, I fear it will be another downpour. Now that I am heading to Dongting to manifest the Law, with the power of a God Immortal, I no longer need to borrow external objects."

(End of chapter)