"Grand Commandant, look at this!"

A Mohist craftsman came running excitedly, holding a dusty gray stone in his hands.

The wicked man, who was checking the progress at the gunpowder workshop, turned around upon hearing this and asked, "What is it?"

"Feel it," the craftsman said, handing over the stone. "This is what we made using the method you described, improved with a mixture of clay, sand, and lime."

The wicked man took the stone. He noticed that it was rough on the outside but unusually hard to the touch. He tapped it lightly, and it made a crisp sound.

"Hmm, not bad." He nodded. "Much better than the previous ones. But..."

"But what?"

"But it's not strong enough," the wicked man mused. "At this strength, it can only build a two- or three-story house at most. If we want to build something taller, we'll have to make improvements."

The craftsman immediately deflated: "This is the eighth time we've improved it, and it's still not good enough?"

"Eight times?" The wicked man laughed. "Do you know how many times I improved gunpowder when I was researching it?"

How many times?

"Countless!" The wicked man patted him on the shoulder. "Go, let the sorcerers ponder it some more. Remember, they should start with the ratio of lime to clay..."

Before he could finish speaking, a commotion broke out outside.

"Grand Commandant! Something terrible has happened!" Zhang Erhe rushed over in a panic. "Warehouse number three has collapsed!"

"What!" The wicked husband's face changed drastically. "Is he alright?"

"Thank goodness, everyone's escaped," Zhang Erhe said, panting. "It's just the gunpowder in the warehouse..."

Without saying a word, the wicked man took off running towards warehouse number three.

Upon arriving at the scene, they found that the warehouse, built with rammed earth, had collapsed more than halfway. Bricks were scattered all over the ground, and several craftsmen were frantically trying to salvage the gunpowder inside.

"Don't move!" the wicked man shouted, stopping everyone. "Let's move the gunpowder elsewhere for now."

After the gunpowder was placed in place, he carefully inspected the collapsed warehouse. He squatted down and touched the broken walls, his brows gradually furrowing.

"Grand Commandant, how is it?" A sorcerer approached.

"It still won't work," the wicked man shook his head. "The mortar you mixed isn't strong enough. At this rate, not only will we be unable to store gunpowder, we won't even be able to build a decent house."

"Well..." the craftsmen exchanged bewildered glances, "Should we stop?"

"Stop?" the wicked man sneered. "Not only can we not stop, we must speed things up! Just think about it, how vast will Qin's territory be after the King finishes conquering Chu? How many people will die from exhaustion just building houses with rammed earth? And if there's even a slight rain or snowstorm, won't they all collapse?"

Seeing that everyone seemed thoughtful, he added, "Besides, with this thing, we can not only build houses, but also bridges and roads. Then, with roads connecting all directions, people can live in peace and prosperity. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"So what should we do?"

"Let's split up!" the wicked man said decisively. "You sorcerers will specialize in researching the formulas, while the Mohists will be responsible for the experiments, striving to achieve the best results! Also..."

He turned to Zhang Erhe: "Go, send men to ramp up limestone mining. You know, that white ore. The one outside Xianyang is enough. Mine a lot of it and send it over continuously!"

"How many manpower would that take?" Zhang Erhe asked hesitantly.

"You think I haven't thought of that?" the wicked man said confidently. "Aren't those Zhao prisoners just sitting around doing nothing? Let them do some work!"

After saying that, he immediately set about making arrangements. Soon, the mines in Beishan and Xishan became bustling with activity.

Thousands of Zhao prisoners were sent in batches to various mountainous areas to quarry limestone under the supervision of the Qin army. The sounds of chiseling and shouts echoed through the mountains, and horse-drawn carts carrying stones came and went in an endless stream.

"Reporting to the Grand Commandant!" a minor official rushed in. "The prisoners over on the north mountain say the rock is too hard to break..."

"Nonsense!" the wicked husband snapped. "Of course it's hard. Go, have the Mohist craftsmen improve their tools, and teach them some techniques while you're at it."

"And Xishan..."

What happened to Xishan?

"They said the mountain road was too narrow for the carriages to make their way up..."

The wicked man thought for a moment: "Let them build the road first! Just use the existing mortar to fill in the surface. Once we figure out a new formula, we can repave it completely!"

Thus, quarrying, transportation, and experimentation were carried out simultaneously.

The Mo family craftsmen in the workshop were also busy, trying out new proportions every day.

"Grand Commandant, look at this." A young craftsman held up a sample. "We mixed it in a three-to-one ratio, and it seems stronger than before."

The wicked man took it and examined it: "Hmm, it's a bit hard. But..." He casually snapped it in two, "It's still not hard enough."

"What should the ratio be?" the craftsman asked, looking troubled.

"You lot are just blindly experimenting," the wicked husband shook his head. "You have to know the right timing. Come, come, let me explain..."

Just as he was about to say something, Zhao Gao came again, carrying bamboo slips.

"Grand Commandant, this is today's..."

"Shut up!" the wicked man glared. "Can't you see I'm teaching them?"

Zhao Gao shrank back and obediently stepped aside. The craftsmen, however, became interested and gathered around.

"Think about it," the wicked man said, pacing back and forth. "Right now, our Qin state uses rammed earth walls. They're sturdy, but they're not suitable for building tall structures."

"Why?"

"Because the higher the rammed earth wall, the less stable it becomes!" the wicked man explained. "Look at Xianyang Palace, how many feet tall is it at its highest? If only we had stronger materials..."

His eyes lit up: "Then we can build skyscrapers ten or twenty feet tall! We can even build towers that pierce the clouds!"

The craftsmen were dumbfounded: "This...how is this possible?"

"What's impossible?" the wicked husband exclaimed, growing more and more excited. "Not just houses, bridges can be built longer and higher. Bridges across rivers, bridges across valleys—we can build wherever we want!"

"The dam will never again be easily washed away by rain!"

"And the city walls!" he continued. "Building walls with this material would be even stronger than rammed earth. Even current gunpowder... couldn't break them!"

The crowd was filled with enthusiasm and became even more motivated.

Zhao Gao, listening from the side, curled his lip in disapproval: "Grand Commandant... aren't you just bragging? First you said gunpowder was indestructible, then you said this thing could withstand gunpowder... so you're saying both the spear and the shield are from your hands?"

"I'm bragging?" The wicked husband turned and glared at him. "Just you wait! In less than three months, I'll show you what a miracle is!"

Just then, another minor official ran up to deliver the news.

"Grand Commandant! A large mine has been discovered in the North Mountain, filled with top-quality limestone!!"

"Good!" the wicked man exclaimed excitedly. "Send the order down to concentrate manpower to mine this mine. Hurry!"

"But..." the official hesitated, "the craftsmen say they don't have enough tools..."

"Idiot!" the wicked husband snapped. "Let the Mohists improve it. If that doesn't work, call the artisans from the Qi state's armory and have them forge new tools!"