On the outskirts of the imperial capital of the Kingdom of Qixia, General Wu Fanghai gently put down the information in his hand, sighed, and asked Shu Bennan next to him, "How long will it take for the Zhang family to resume production?"
"It is said that it will take five days at the earliest."
"Can the interrogation yield any useful information?"
Shu Bennan pulled out another piece of information: "Yes, it was interrogated by Zhou Jue himself. It was planned by a man named Zhuang Yunwen, who came from the country of Canglan. He wanted to get the smelting technology from the Zhang family.
Fortunately, the technology was not leaked."
Wu Fanghai breathed a sigh of relief: "What about the losses?"
"Half of the smelting equipment was severely damaged, and more than a hundred craftsmen were killed or injured, accounting for almost one-tenth of the core craftsmen. Zhang Shengde and Zhang Shengye were seriously injured. Now they are all supported by Zhang Hao and Zhang Han."
Wu Fanghai thought for a while, took a deep breath, and said in a serious tone: "You tell Zhang Hao, military orders are like mountains, sixty days is sixty days, no matter what changes they encounter.
However, in my own name, I would like to send ten ‘spiritual pills’ to the Zhang family and wish Zhang Shengde a speedy recovery.”
"Shen Yang Dan?" Shu Bennan was surprised, "Commander, the Soul Nourishing Pill was given to you by His Majesty. It is used to condition the Marshal's body and stabilize his soul. Now Zhang Shengde has just broken through the Nascent Soul stage and does not even have a soul. This Soul Nourishing Pill
...a bit...wasteful..."
"Go if you are told to go, why is there all this nonsense!" Wu Fanghai's temper was a bit hot.
But after losing his temper, Wu Fanghai sighed again: "If you want the horse to run fast, you need the horse to eat well. The Zhang family deserves the ten nourishing pills."
"But Commander, what should you do?"
"Haha, I still have a lot of elixirs on me."
Shu Bennan thought for a while and said: "Then three pills for the Zhang family are enough. This nourishing pill is more precious than the Wushou Pill."
"Oh... let's take three."
After Shu Bennan left, Wu Fanghai looked to the east, sighed leisurely, and said to himself in words that only he could hear:
Attacking the Zhang family is a proactive attack by the country of Canglan. Does this mean that the eastern countries will no longer passively defend?
Or is it that our great progress in black iron technology has aroused their vigilance?
If the Eastern countries take the initiative to attack...
Thinking of this, Wu Fanghai immediately ordered the entire army to enter a state of emergency preparation for war. At the same time, he notified the emperor of his analysis and also informed the allies of the Kingdom of Jinyang.
…………
One day had passed. Zhang Hao stood on a mine and quietly watched the craftsmen busy below.
The smelting base was almost completely destroyed, most of the smelting equipment could not be restored, and the burnt smell still lingered in the air.
The flowing molten iron took away the lives of dozens of craftsmen and left dozens of craftsmen disabled. Attacks even caused the death and injury of many craftsmen.
The Zhang family's production suffered serious damage.
The steam turbine collapsed, the rotor was damaged, and the steam pipeline was twisted; the pulley blocks were scattered on the ground; the industrial system that was crazily established in the previous month suffered an almost devastating blow.
His father Zhang Shengde was seriously injured, and his second uncle Zhang Shengye was still recuperating. Now the only person in the Zhang family who can make the decision is Zhang Hao.
The craftsmen cleaned up the mess with anger and sadness.
"Master." A middle-aged man came over and interrupted Zhang Hao's thoughts.
Zhang Hao looked around and saw that this man was called 'Wang Dake', a middle-aged man who looked very responsible; but it was this responsible man who organized the shipbuilding craftsmen and their families to protect half of the country with crude weapons.
A production base. If it weren't for Wang Dake, the Zhang family's technology would have been leaked.
However, the craftsmen also paid the price of more than 30 deaths and more than 200 injuries, most of which were serious injuries.
Some craftsmen who were only at the fifth or sixth level of the Qi Refining Stage and armed with crude weapons fought head-on with some extremely vicious and well-prepared warriors. They fought to the death and refused to retreat. Their courage was impressive.
Zhang Hao promoted Wang Dake to be the person in charge of shipbuilding craftsmen. He was responsible for treating the injured and comforting the families of the deceased.
Zhang Hao looked at Wang Dake and sighed leisurely: "How is it?"
"37 people died, 76 were seriously injured and disabled, 105 people were seriously injured and could recover, and 33 people were not seriously injured. Of the remaining 544 people who participated in the battle, almost everyone was injured."
Zhang Hao took a deep breath and said, "All those who participated in the war, regardless of injury or death, will receive 3 Peiyuan Pills each; those who died will receive it from their immediate family members or spouses.
Those with minor injuries will receive two more Peiyuan Pills; those with moderate injuries will receive 5 pills; those with serious injuries will receive 10 pills; those with disabilities... 20 pills!
Those who die, immediate family members or spouses can receive one Foundation-Building Pill. Those who do not want the Foundation-Building Pill can exchange it for 50 Peiyuan Pills.
If someone does not want the Yuan-Pui Dan but needs spiritual stones, the calculation will be based on 30 spiritual stones per Yuan-Pui Dan.
In addition, tell everyone that there is no need to worry about the lives of the disabled or the family members of those who died in the war, the Zhang family will shoulder the full responsibility and will never let anyone be wronged."
"Thank you, thank you, Master. On behalf of everyone, I would like to thank the Master for his kindness!" Wang Dake bowed to the ground.
Zhang Hao helped Wang Dake up and said, "I should thank you. If you hadn't appeared, the consequences would have been disastrous. Ordinarily, you could have just stood aside this time, so why did you take action?"
Wang Da looked at Zhang Hao and said seriously: "Master, as craftsmen, we, like ordinary farmers, are at the bottom of society.
We don't earn much and get little respect.
But the young master did not hesitate to give us a box of Peiyuan Pill to treat our illnesses. That was the first time I saw Peiyuan Pill.
We don’t understand any big principles, but we know what it means to be grateful.”
Zhang Hao looked at Wang Dake's eyes and suddenly felt a little worried. He patted Wang Dake on the shoulder and said, "Wang Dake, go ahead and do your work first. There are more important things waiting for you in the future."
After Wang Dake left, Zhang Hao said to Huang Mingshan next to him: "Calculate all the casualties and injuries of the craftsmen, and the compensation standard will be as mentioned just now.
Also, those steam turbines, fans, smelting furnaces, etc., will be restored if they can be restored, and new ones will be built if they cannot be restored. We will strive to resume production as soon as possible."
Zhang Hao looked at it for a long time, making sure that everything was arranged, and then came to the living room of the residential area.
The city lord Liu Jingming has left, but Feng Dongyuan stayed, and Zhou Jue was also there.
Zhang Hao went up to thank him; at this moment, Zhang Hao was the acting head of the Zhang family.
Zhou Jue smiled and thanked him.
Feng Dongyuan's face no longer looked so disgusting, and he comforted Zhang Hao for a few words. After making sure that there was no problem, he got up and left, escorting all the prisoners away.
"That's right!" Feng Dongyuan stopped when he reached the door, "That Qian Mingjue ran away and is still missing."
Zhang Hao smiled: "It's just a little mouse, don't worry."
After Feng Dongyuan left, Zhang Hao looked at Zhou Jue and became a little wary.
This time the matter has been clearly investigated, and the person in charge of the interrogation is Zhou Jue. Zhuang Yunwen's mouth was so tight that Zhou Jue pried it open, revealing countless shocking information.
Zhuang Yunwen turned out to be a spy for the Country of Canglan, and had been lurking for more than ten years. He colluded with several families and trading houses, and used these firms, families, etc., to bring in some masters from the Country of Canglan piecemeal.
Qian Mingjue was pushed to the front by Zhuang Yunwen, attracting everyone's attention, while Zhuang Yunwen secretly gathered his strength and prepared to give the Zhang family a direct attack.
Those who attacked the Zhang family this time included experts from the Canglan Country, as well as contributions from various families and trading firms.
However, although Zhang Shengde had just become a Nascent Soul, he had a strong foundation and was not injured at all during the catastrophe. This was beyond Zhuang Yunwen's expectations. Coupled with the outburst of Wang Dake and other shipbuilders, the plan ultimately failed.
But according to Zhuang Yunwen's account, these families and trading houses did not know that they were from the country of Canglan, they only thought that they were from the country of Jinyang.
This Zhuang Yunwen is definitely a senior spy. Zhou Jue can even pry open his mouth. Zhang Hao is curious but also wary.
Facing Zhang Hao's gaze, Zhou Jue smiled freely: "Why, is there something on me?"
Zhang Hao shook his head: "I'm curious. Zhuang Yunwen must be a dead soldier. How did you pry open his mouth? I think he is in a normal state of mind. He shouldn't have been tortured?"