Chapter 40
When Tang Pu returned, he was still covered in the frost and snow of the northern frontier.
It was a smell that was a mixture of ice, rust, and horse blood.
It was a crisp, clean taste that gave him a sense of satisfaction.
He rode his horse through the bustling yet suffocating streets of the capital, a fire burning within him. That fire, which had traveled from the Great Wall in the north all the way back to the capital, had not been extinguished but had instead grown ever stronger.
He won.
No, they won.
He and his strategist, Cui Yunshu.
When he saw those soldiers, frozen like purple eggplants, burst into earth-shattering cheers after putting on thick cotton clothes and drinking strong liquor; when the white-haired, ruthless General of the North, holding his hand and saying with tears streaming down his face, "The great kindness of Prince An will be unforgettable for the 100,000 soldiers of the Northern Frontier"... Tang Pu knew that it was all worth it.
He knew this wasn't his achievement.
It's hers.
He was the chief strategist who always sat in the dimly lit private room, sipping herbal tea, and speaking in the calmest tone about the most earth-shattering plans.
The God of Wealth has shown his divine powers.
This is the new name the soldiers of the North gave to the Cui family.
Tang Pu felt that this title was too insignificant.
God of Wealth?
She was clearly a deity descended to earth. Her calculations were flawless, and she could turn lead into gold.
He now had only one thought, an incredibly clear and urgent thought—
He was going to see her.
He was going to ask her what the next step of their "great undertaking" should be [1-1].
Logistics are secured, and the morale of the Northern army is now entirely in our hands. Next, shouldn't we... forge that truly invincible navy that belongs to us?
He could almost see the magnificent sight of that enormous fleet of countless "divine ships," their banners obscuring the sun, riding the wind and waves, heading straight for the enemy's capital.
His blood was scalding hot.
...
Cui Yunshu's blood is cold.
She sat in the private room on the top floor of the Cloud Pavilion, looking at the letter of loyalty written in blood by dozens of generals from the Northern Frontier, and felt as if she were holding a red-hot iron.
It's too hot to handle.
You can't shake them off.
She now understands a little why those unfortunate people in ancient times who were forced to wear yellow robes eventually gave in, albeit reluctantly.
Because when your "allies" and "subordinates" are more enthusiastic, more fanatical, and more convinced that you are the chosen one than you are, then saying "no" is not humility, but hypocrisy, betrayal, and a crime deserving of death.
She was placed on a stake from which she could not be removed, a stake known as the "Chief Strategist."
Tang Pu was the one who worked the hardest to add fuel to the fire.
Therefore, Cui Yunshu was not surprised at all when Tang Pu rushed in with that familiar, forceful aura that seemed to want to smash the door apart.
She just felt tired.
I'm mentally exhausted.
“Yuanzhi,” she said, not even bothering to stand up, but simply raising her eyelids and pointing to the chair opposite her, “Sit.”
Tang Pu did not sit down.
He paced back and forth in the private room like a lion surveying its territory, his fierce aura, brought back from the North and mixed with success and fervor, almost bursting the elegant room apart.
"Master Strategist!" He finally stopped, his eyes fixed intently on her. "The matter in the North is settled! I've come to ask you, what should we do next?!"
Looking at his face, which seemed to scream "Give me a new task," Cui Yunshu felt only a line of blood-red words flash across the already numb wasteland in her heart.
They ran away.
I'm running away!
Build a ship, the biggest, fastest, and strongest ship in the world! Then take my whole family, all my gold, and run off to the ends of the earth, never to return!
This is my "great cause"!
However, she couldn't say a single word of these things.
She could only maintain that inscrutable, damned expression on her face, as if she had already seen through the past and the future.
She slowly stood up.
She walked to the table with the map spread out, stretched out her slender finger, and gently touched the azure area that connected the capital city with the sea.
"Logistics is just the foundation."
Her voice was ethereal and otherworldly, as if it came from a very distant place.
"Next, it's time to forge our... 'sharp blade'."
Sharp blade.
Tang Pu's breath hitched.
He understood!
The strategist was referring to the navy! The fleet! The sharpest weapon in their "great cause"!
"Please give me your instructions, sir!" He knelt on one knee, his voice trembling with excitement.
“I need a ship,” Cui Yunshu said succinctly. “Not the merchant ships currently in the Royal Shipping Company. I need a completely new flagship, capable of traversing the four seas and fearless of any storm.”
“Flagship…” Tang Pu murmured, repeating the word, his eyes blazing with light.
“But,” he then frowned, “the best shipwrights in the Great Qin are all in the government-run shipyards. If we were to build such a… ‘flagship’ in a grand manner, it would probably immediately arouse His Majesty’s suspicion.”
“Therefore, we cannot approach the people at the government-run shipyard,” Cui Yunshu said.
"Then who else can we ask?" Tang Pu asked, somewhat troubled. "Most craftsmen in the countryside have mediocre skills. They can manage to build small boats for inland waterways, but to build the kind of flagship you're talking about... I'm afraid..."
He suddenly thought of something, and his eyes lit up!
"There's someone!" he exclaimed, slapping his thigh. "There's someone who might be able to!"
"who?"
“Lu Cheng!” Tang Pu’s voice carried a hint of awe. “He was known as ‘Master Lu.’ He was once the chief craftsman of the government-run shipyard, and half of the best ships in the Qin Dynasty were made by him! But…”
"Just what?"
"But many years ago, he was dismissed from his post because of an old case. It is said that his only son died in a shipwreck on a ship that he had personally supervised the construction of, and his body was never recovered. Since then, he has vowed never to build a ship or a plank again in his life. His temperament has become extremely strange, and he has lived in seclusion by the East China Sea, refusing to see anyone. My father sent people to invite him several times, but he remained unmoved, even when offered a title or a noble rank."
He has a strange temper.
His skills were superb.
He vowed never to build ships again.
He had a grudge against the government.
As Cui Yunshu listened, her eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Perfect.
This is simply... a perfect chief technology officer tailor-made for her!
A top talent who can keep secrets and cannot be easily bought off!
"Where is he?" she asked.
"In the East China Sea, in a dilapidated fishing village called 'Wangya Village'," Tang Pu hesitated, "but strategist, this man is unyielding, I'm afraid we..."
“Take me to see him,” Cui Yunshu interrupted him.
Her tone left no room for argument.
...
East China Sea.
Wangya Village.
This place, just like its name, exudes an aura of despair.
The sea breeze was salty, damp, and cold, like a rusty, dull knife scraping at your bones. The sky was gray, the sea was gray, and even the seashells washed ashore looked like the pale fingernails of a dead man.
Cui Yunshu and Tang Pu stood in this gray expanse.
Before them stood a dilapidated house built of rocks and thatch, so run-down it looked as if a strong wind could blow it away at any moment.
Inside the house, there came a series of clanging and banging sounds, like wood being struck.
Tang Pu stepped forward, took a deep breath, and said loudly, "This junior, Tang Pu, the Prince of An, requests an audience with Master Lu!"
The knocking stopped.
From inside the room came an old, hoarse voice, like two stones rubbing together.
"roll."
There is only one word.
Tang Pu's face flushed red instantly. He was, after all, a prince and a hero of the northern border; he had never been treated like this before.
"Master!" he shouted again, suppressing his anger, "We've come with sincerity! As long as you're willing to come out of seclusion, we'll give you whatever you want—money, status, anything!"
"I said, get out!" The voice inside the house sounded impatient. "If you don't get out, don't blame this old man for being impolite!"
"you……"
Tang Pu's fiery temper was about to explode.
Cui Yunshu reached out and gently pressed her hand against his.
She said nothing, but pulled out a scroll made of fine parchment from the huge painting tube that her personal guards always carried behind her.
She walked to the dilapidated wooden door and slowly unfurled the scroll.
It was an enormous, structurally complex blueprint of a ship.
Then, she just stood there quietly.
He remained silent.
The silence in the room lasted for a long time.
Tang Pu wondered if the people inside had fallen asleep.
Just as he was about to speak again.
With a creak, a sound was heard.
The dilapidated wooden door was pulled open from the inside.
An old man with gray hair, a deeply lined face, sunken eyes, and dressed in patched burlap clothes came out. In his hand, he held a worn-out chisel, and his cloudy eyes were filled with impatience and disgust.
He is Master Lu.
He didn't even glance at Tang Pu; his gaze fell directly on Cui Yunshu... and the blueprint in her hand.
Just one glance.
His cloudy eyes, like a dry pile of firewood tossed with a spark, suddenly lit up.
His impatience froze.
He walked over slowly, step by step.
His gaze was fixed intently on the blueprint, unable to look away even for a moment.
What is that?
On the side of the ship, there are clearly defined lines separating the compartments like a honeycomb... are they watertight compartments?!
And what about the stern? Unlike traditional tail fins, it has a more flexible rudder!
And those masts… Good heavens, not just one! Three! Four! And what’s hanging on them aren’t soft sails, but… rigid sails that can rotate?!
this……
That's impossible!
This overturned all the knowledge he had built up over decades!
Master Lu's breathing became rapid.
He trembled as he reached out to touch the blueprint, but stopped in mid-air, as if it were some divine object that would shatter at the slightest touch.
He looked up, and the disgust and impatience in his cloudy eyes had vanished without a trace. In their place was shock, confusion, ecstasy, and a frenzied, almost manic fervor, as if he had witnessed a miracle!
"This...this drawing...who drew it?" His voice was hoarse, like someone pulling a broken bellows.
Cui Yunshu looked at him, but still didn't say anything.
"It's you?!" Master Lu's gaze was fixed on her face.
Cui Yunshu finally nodded gently.
“Sorcery…this is sorcery…” Master Lu muttered to himself. Suddenly, as if he had gone mad, he snatched the drawing, spread it on the beach, and lay down on it, stroking every line with his rough, calloused hands over and over again.
"No...no...the keel joints here could be reinforced with mortise and tenon joints...no, it would be better to reinforce them with iron nails...and here, the thickness of the bulkhead in this watertight compartment...Oh my god, oh my god! So that's how it is! So that's how it is!!"
He was like a madman who had gone mad, crying and laughing, muttering all sorts of shipbuilding terms that Tang Pu couldn't understand at all.
for a long time.
He suddenly raised his head, like a dying beast, and grabbed Cui Yunshu's arm with such force that he almost crushed her bones.
His eyes were blood red.
"Girl!" he roared, "You're going to build this ship?!"
Despite the pain, Cui Yunshu calmly nodded again.
"I'll do it with you!!"
Master Lu's voice seemed to explode from his chest, carrying a resolute madness that could roar a hole in the sky.
"I don't want money! I don't want any damn status! I just want... I just want you to let me, with my own hands! To build this divine ship myself!!"
"I'd rather die on this ship!!"
Two streams of murky, scalding tears flowed from his bloodshot eyes.
That was the most devout, yet most humble, prayer of a top craftsman who, upon seeing the supreme "Tao" he had pursued his entire life.
Tang Pu stood aside, completely dumbfounded by the surreal scene before him.
He looked at the grandmaster who had been disdainful of him just a moment ago, but now he was like a child, tugging at Cui Yunshu's clothes and pleading bitterly.
He glanced at Cui Yunshu again.
Looking at her face, which remained calm and serene throughout.
He suddenly realized that what was inside his "chief strategist's" head might... not belong to this world.
Looking at the seemingly insane old man before her, Cui Yunshu felt a tiny sprout of hope finally emerge from the cold, weary wasteland in her heart.
Her flagship.
Her true Noah's Ark, the one that could take her away from all of this.
Finally, construction is about to begin.
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