Chapter 315

Hebei Circuit, Xingzhou.

In the area where the official iron workshop is located, the furnace fires burn all day, and black smoke swirls.

The clanging of hammer strikes and the hiss of the bellows intertwine, forming a noisy, lively scene.

This is one of the important military equipment and agricultural implement manufacturing bases in the north of Great Chen.

At this moment.

Inside the workshop courtyard, over a hundred shirtless artisans drenched in sweat are bustling around dozens of iron-smelting furnaces and forging stations of various sizes.

The air is filled with a distinctive smell of coal smoke, sweat, and metal.

The foreman, Old Zhou, has a loud voice, often shouting to urge progress.

"Hurry up! The batch of waist knives and plowshares is being urged urgently by both the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household!"

"Don't slack off! If we delay the schedule none of us will get any good rewards!"

The artisans dare not be lax, and their movements become a bit faster.

But human strength sometimes runs out.

The bellows need to be tread by human power, the iron billets need repeated forging to remove impurities, and every step relies on the artisans' strength and experience.

The improvement in efficiency seems to have reached a bottleneck.

Old Zhou watches the busy scene before him, but his brow does not relax.

He knows that even if the artisans exert themselves fully, completing this large order on schedule would be extremely difficult.

At that moment, an indescribable feeling quietly enveloped the entire workshop courtyard.

It was neither a sound nor a smell, but rather a kind of... change in atmosphere.

It seemed as if an invisible, gentle yet mighty force, like a spring warm current, silently permeated every person and every tool here.

Old Zhou only felt his spirit lift slightly; the fatigue from days of supervision seemed to lessen a bit, and his thoughts became clearer.

He didn't think much of it, just assuming he had caught his breath.

However, what happened next left him and all the artisans stunned.

The few strong men responsible for treading the bellows suddenly felt their feet much lighter.

That bellows, which originally required all their strength to maintain sufficient airflow,

now seemed to become "obedient," needing only seventy or eighty percent of the previous effort to produce a stronger, steadier airflow!

The flames in the furnace visibly turned brighter and whiter, more vigorous, and the temperature suddenly rose!

The artisans in charge of forging, lifting their heavy hammers, felt their arms no longer so sore and heavy.

With one strike, sparks flew, and the red-hot iron billet seemed to become a bit more "pliable."

Impurities were stripped away more quickly under the rhythmic strikes, and the nascent shape of the ironware became neat and solid at a visible pace.

Even those laborers in charge of moving iron materials and cleaning coal slag felt their burdens lighten, their steps quicken, and their work become much more efficient.

The workshop's efficiency, unnoticed, suddenly jumped up a level!

"Strange... strange thing..."

A young artisan stopped his hammer, looking at the waist knife rapidly taking shape in his hand, and muttered to himself.

"Why is today's iron so easy to work?"

Beside him, an old master wiped his sweat, his cloudy eyes full of astonishment.

"Yeah, the furnace fire is blazing strangely... I, an old man, have worked forty years and never seen such a steady and fierce fire..."

Old Zhou also noticed this abnormal change.

He quickly walked to a smelting furnace, reached out to feel the scorching heat wave, and glanced at the forging platform nearby where the astonishingly efficient scene unfolded.

This is not an isolated case!

The whole workshop is undergoing change!

"Could it be... the ancestral master has manifested?" some artisans whispered, filled with awe.

"Nonsense!" Old Zhou snapped, but his heart was pounding.

This is certainly not ordinary!

He suddenly recalled that a few days ago, the prefectural office had sent someone to deliver an imperial edict saying that His Majesty was paying attention to workshop production everywhere, and there might be... "heavenly assistance"?

At the time he thought it was just encouraging words from superiors and didn't think much of it.

Could this... be the so-called "heavenly assistance"?

Old Zhou dared not delay, immediately ordering someone to strictly record today's time and output for each process.

The result was shocking.

The time to forge a qualified waist knife was shortened by nearly thirty percent!

The efficiency of refining a furnace of wrought iron increased by nearly forty percent!

The workshop's total daily output is expected to exceed normal levels by more than one third!

When the news spread, the entire Xingzhou workshop was in an uproar.

The artisans chattered, both startled and delighted.

Although they didn't understand the cause, the increase in efficiency was real and tangible.

This meant they could not only finish the order on time, but perhaps also earn some extra reward money.

At the same time, inside the Hall of Martial Virtue in the imperial city of Bian Liang.

Chen Wen slowly opened his eyes, with fine beads of sweat on his forehead.

He had just remotely activated the effect of 【Broad Bestowal 8x】, targeting directly the official workshop in Xingzhou, Hebei Circuit.

It covered over a hundred artisans and dozens of furnaces, lasting nearly an hour.

This was a considerable burden on his spirit.

But feeling the extremely subtle, almost imperceptible ripple of the Fortune Momentum qi vortex within his body, he was filled more with realization.

Indeed, even when used for production and construction, this kind of super-normal acceleration will still stir Fortune Momentum, requiring a small 'cost'.

However, compared to the previous broader bestowal on the Tongji Canal, this consumption seems somewhat smaller.

Perhaps it is related to the 'importance' or 'scale' of the covered target?

The specific pattern still needs more trials to be figured out.

The eunuch gently presented a bowl of warm ginseng tea.

Chen Wen took it, sipping slowly, restoring his expended spirit.

He was weighing.

Using his ability to accelerate production will certainly consume Fortune Momentum and may cause some 'discord'.

But now, the False Song's economic offensive is fierce; Great Chen urgently needs to boost its own production capacity, stabilize the market, and consolidate internal affairs.

The Ministry of Works' new technology research and development requires time.

Then, during this interim period, appropriately and selectively using his ability to accelerate at certain critical nodes to respond to crises might be worthwhile.

After all, if the internal economy collapses and popular sentiment scatters, the blow to Fortune Momentum would likely be greater.

The 'degree' in this matter requires his careful grasp.

"Convey my oral order to Zhang Cheng," Chen Wen set down his teacup and told the eunuch, "The Hebei Xingzhou Workshop may see increased production recently; have him monitor the follow‑up effects, arrange output properly, and avoid causing backlog or impacting market prices."

He needs to observe whether the 'gain' from this acceleration or the possible 'cost' it might trigger is heavier or lighter.

"As you command." The eunuch bowed and withdrew.

Chen Wen closed his eyes again, sinking his mind into his body.

The thick Fortune Momentum qi vortex slowly circulated; that slight consumption just now seemed to be slowly replenished by the vigorous vitality brought by the dynasty's normal operation.

He seemed to see that, in the Xingzhou Workshop a thousand li away, the furnace blazed fiercely, the artisans full of vigor, and fine iron pieces were rapidly taking shape.

These iron implements will partly become sharp weapons to arm Great Chen's army; the rest will turn into sturdy farming tools, opening up more fertile fields.

And this is the cornerstone of the dynasty's flourishing fortune.

Although using the ability incurs a cost, if employed properly, accelerating the forging of this cornerstone may yield long‑term benefits far outweighing that tiny consumption.

The key lies in——balance.

Chen Wen's lips curled up slightly.

His contest with the false dynasty reflected in the mirror and its hidden masterminds is everywhere.

Moreover, the furnace fire and the sound of hammering iron in this workshop are also an important note in this grand war.