In the seventeenth year of the Kaihuang era, I wrote my will in the examination hall.

Chapter 81 Rebuilding Lingnan

"Then let's make it smaller! Simpler!"

Yang Yan suddenly waved his hand, cutting off Yang Jun's concerns.

"Who says it has to be refined copper? Wouldn't hard jujube wood work? It might not last as long, but it's cheaper! We can just replace it when it breaks!"

"Who says it has to be ironwood? Wouldn't local elm wood coated with tung oil work?"

"Moreover, the current high price is due to the fact that only a few craftsmen in your household are making it. If the imperial court were to establish workshops, standardize the designs, divide the processes, and assign specific tasks, mass-producing it like minting coins or making armor, wouldn't the cost naturally decrease?"

"Third Uncle, think about it. Even if a village only has one waterwheel like this, all the old, weak, women, and children in the village won't have to carry water bucket by bucket from the river anymore! They can then free up their hands to cultivate more wasteland and weave more cloth!"

"This is what we call—liberating productive forces!"

Liberate...productive forces?

"This is an attempt to use nature's artistry to replace human labor, saving the people from toil and increasing the world's production!"

"I see! What you said... seems to make some sense."

Yang Jun muttered to himself, but then shrank back.

"However... as you know, I am a prince, and engaging in these things is simply neglecting my duties. You saw the beating Father gave me today. If I dare to continue doing these things on a large scale, and even extend them to the common people... Father might really chop off my head!"

That deep-seated fear of Yang Jian cannot be eliminated in a few words.

"That's because he doesn't understand!"

The windmill's huge blades whistled overhead, cutting through the biting autumn wind and producing a deep, powerful hum.

Yang Yan looked at his third uncle, who looked aggrieved and seemed not to have quite grasped the situation, and sighed inwardly. This third uncle was technically superb, but his political awareness was definitely negative.

He took a step closer, his gaze sharp, staring directly into Yang Jun's evasive eyes.

"Third Uncle, don't you understand yet? What Grandfather is angry about is never what you did, but rather... who exactly did you do this for!"

Yang Jun was stunned. He subconsciously wanted to refute, but Yang Yan's next words blocked his throat.

"In the eyes of my grandfather, what was the ultimate result of your use of resources from Bingzhou and even the Ministry of Works to spend huge sums of money to create such miraculous machinery? Was it to make the flowers and plants in this garden bloom more brightly? Or was it to make that plate of cabbage taste crisper?"

Yang Yan pointed to the bronze gears that were still drawing water, his voice heavy with sorrow: "This is using the blood and sweat of the people to satisfy your own selfish desires!"

"It's because you're proclaiming to the world that the Prince of Qin of the Sui Dynasty is a playboy who only knows how to enjoy himself and is oblivious to the suffering of the common people!"

"You must understand that my grandfather also fought his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. He founded the country on this foundation, and what he hated most was extravagance. How could he not be angry? The reason he didn't demolish this garden is because he was mindful of family ties!"

Yang Jun's face turned deathly pale, his body swayed, and he stammered, his eyes filled with fear and confusion: "Then... what should I do? I also want to contribute to the country, but this is all I know..."

Seeing the once spirited prince now looking like a stray dog, Yang Yan knew that the time was right.

Now is the time for him to reshape the worldview of this "Chief Engineer of the Sui Dynasty".

"That's enough! All these things you've made are treasures, they're auspicious omens!"

Yang Yan suddenly grabbed Yang Jun's shoulders with such force that Yang Jun had to raise his head to meet his gaze.

"Third Uncle, you must prove it to him! Prove it to our Imperial Grandfather, prove it to all the officials in the court! What you have learned is not some strange skill or trick, but a great path that can strengthen the country, enrich the people, and shake the world!"

"Think of Zichan casting the tripod of punishment during the Spring and Autumn Period. Although it violated the rites and laws, it pioneered the rule of law. Think of Du Shi in the Eastern Han Dynasty who created the water-powered raft. It required little effort but yielded great results, and the people benefited from it. He thus became famous in history."

Yang Jun gave a bitter laugh and said dejectedly, "Yan'er, you don't need to comfort me. Although they are capable officials, they are ultimately just subjects. I am a prince, and too many people are watching me. The slightest mistake would be overstepping my bounds, or being distracted by trivial matters and losing my ambition..."

Yang Yan took a deep breath; he had to take drastic measures.

"Third Imperial Uncle! Why is your vision so narrow? Let's not even talk about those ministers, let's talk about something bigger! Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng, aside from his military achievements in unifying the six kingdoms, what is the greatest achievement he left to posterity?"

Yang Jun instinctively replied, "Standardize the written language, standardize the gauge of carts, and unify weights and measures..."

"What about Gongshu Ban (Lu Ban)?"

"These tools, such as saws, drills, and planes, have benefited craftsmen of later generations."

"And what about you? And what about King Yang Jun of Qin?"

Yang Yan's voice suddenly rose: "Me?" Yang Jun pointed to his own nose, looking completely bewildered.

"Yes! It's you! A hundred years from now, when future generations turn the pages of history and evaluate you, what do you hope they will think of? The Prince of Qin, 'the third son of Emperor Wen of Sui, who loved luxury, was skilled in cunning, and accomplished nothing in his life'?"

Yang Yan's gaze was sharp as a knife, piercing through Yang Jun's last psychological defenses.

"To put it bluntly, there have been countless emperors throughout history, like fish crossing a river. Our great-grandfather ended centuries of chaos and rebuilt China, so he is undoubtedly a great emperor for all time, his name etched in history. But what about us? If we follow the rules, we'll just be a cold, lifeless name on the imperial family's genealogy!"

"Third Uncle, I'm putting my words here today. If you wish to live up to your talents, redeem yourself from your past transgressions, achieve unparalleled merit, and become a wise and virtuous king, this is the only path you can take!"

Yang Jun's breathing became rapid. He stared intently at Yang Yan, his throat dry: "Which...which road?"

Yang Yan slowly uttered two words, each carrying the weight of a thousand pounds: "Rebuild Lingnan!"

The light in Yang Jun's eyes dimmed instantly, replaced by deep fear.

"Lingnan?" He jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, waving his hands repeatedly.

"Yan'er, although we're going there, it's a place of exile! A desolate and ghostly realm! Miasma roams everywhere, poisonous insects abound, and the people are poorly clothed and starving. And those Li Liao people, fierce and savage, kill and rob at the drop of a hat! How can we rebuild? We're barely managing to save our own lives!"

In the eyes of the Guanzhong aristocracy, Lingnan was practically hell.

"For ordinary people, going there would be a nine-out-of-ten chance of death. Even the large army sent by the imperial court might be wiped out."

Yang Yan didn't refute him, but instead went along with his words, but then changed his tone, his voice filled with a fanatical seduction: "But you're different! Third Uncle, you are the chosen one, you hold the key to unlocking the treasure trove of Lingnan!"

He pulled Yang Jun to the edge of the waterside pavilion, pointing south as if it were not a desolate wasteland, but a promised land overflowing with gold.

"Third Uncle, are you afraid of miasma? That's caused by stagnant water! You have this wind-powered waterwheel. If you use the power of the wind to drive a larger waterwheel, pumping the swamp water into the rivers day and night, creating fertile fields, how can this miasma-ridden land not be transformed into a land of fish and rice?"

"The Li and Liao people rebelled. Why did they rebel? Because they were hungry! Because they were poor! Because slash-and-burn agriculture couldn't support their families!"