To the First Emperor of Qin: The state has decreed this!

Chapter 351: Sending troops to the north?

However, just as everyone was getting excited, Zhang Fan waved his hand, interrupting them.

"Alright, don't get too excited yet, this isn't enough."

Zhang Fan pointed to the white cast iron cutting head on the machine tool and said, "This thing is hard enough, but its drawback is that it is too brittle. If it encounters a hard object or cuts too deep, it will shatter instantly."

It's suitable for emergency use, but it cannot support long-term, high-intensity assembly line operations.

Upon hearing this, Mo Feng and the others stopped smiling and exchanged bewildered glances: "Immortal Master, what should we do?"

Zhang Fan didn't keep them in suspense and explained the second solution given by the experts:

"The material that can cut steel for a long time is a metal called 'tungsten carbide alloy'. As long as a heavy, dark brown ore is found, crushed and smelted together with steel, a blade that is not easy to dull can be forged."

Zhang Fan dusted off his hands: "This kind of ore is buried in the mountains and forests of southern Qin. I will immediately go to the palace to ask His Majesty for permission to send people to search for it!"

Upon hearing this, the Mohist disciples were once again invigorated.

They might have had doubts before, but now the scene of machine tools cutting steel is right before their eyes.

Once the right ore is found and qualified cutting heads are manufactured, the potential of machine tools can be fully realized.

The Mohists developed a large number of mechanical, gear transmission, and repeating crossbow designs that were previously impossible to achieve due to the limitations of precision and efficiency in manual polishing.

Now that we have this machine tool, all those machines can be mass-produced and tested on a large scale, or even mass-produced.

Seeing the Mohist disciples beginning to conceive their designs, Zhang Fan nodded, instructed them to continue carving the molds, and then turned and walked out of the Institute of Gewu.

……

After leaving the city, Zhang Fan got into a carriage and headed back to Zhangtai Palace.

Inside the main hall.

Ying Zheng looked at Zhang Fan, who had returned, and asked, "Zhang Fan, didn't you go back to discuss countermeasures? You have results so quickly?"

"Your Majesty, it's done."

Zhang Fan stepped forward and said, "In my opinion, in the face of the Xiongnu's harassment, we should not rebuild the Great Wall, but instead take this opportunity to directly send troops to the north and recover the Gobi Desert."

"Send troops to the north?"

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng frowned and pointed out the problem: "Zhang Fan, the Xiongnu are mostly cavalry, and they move extremely fast. Our Qin army is mostly infantry. On the grasslands, we can't even catch up with them. How can we send troops?"

Zhang Fan remained confident in the face of criticism.

"Your Majesty, infantrymen certainly cannot catch up with cavalry. But in war, it is not always necessary to chase after them."

Zhang Fan laid out the machine tool and mass production plan in detail:

"I have already manufactured machine tools at the Institute of Natural History. As soon as the materials arrive, starting next month, Great Qin will no longer rely on blacksmiths to forge iron by hand, but will instead use machines for assembly line production."

"By then, ordinary soldiers of the Qin Dynasty will be able to wear sturdy steel armor. We will be able to manufacture repeating crossbows with a range exceeding that of the Xiongnu's bows and arrows."

"More importantly!"

Zhang Fan lowered his voice, "My superior has ordered the development of a firearm called 'gun'."

"That is a weapon that can penetrate leather armor from a hundred paces away, without the need for a bowstring, using only gunpowder."

Zhang Fan looked directly at Ying Zheng and said, "Your Majesty, once the arsenal begins operation, Qin will possess an absolute advantage in weaponry. At that time, we will not need to pursue the Xiongnu."

"We only need to array our army, advance steadily, and utilize a large number of metal weapons and firearms to annihilate all the Xiongnu cavalry!"

Ying Zheng had naturally seen the gun Zhang Fan mentioned; it was the pistol that had been shown before.

Recalling the power of that weapon when it was fired, Ying Zheng's eyes burned with excitement.

But he did not agree immediately. Instead, he calmed himself down and asked, "Even if we have the advantage in weaponry, we still need to persuade the court officials."

Only when everyone is of one mind can the Qin Dynasty send out its troops!

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fan immediately felt a headache coming on.

He could already foresee that once this matter was discussed in the imperial court, it would inevitably attract a lot of opposition.

Those civil officials would certainly come up with all sorts of reasons to obstruct it.

Seeing Zhang Fan's reaction, Ying Zheng continued, analyzing the current state of Qin's national strength:

"The Qin Dynasty had only recently unified the world, and the years of war had severely damaged the lives of its people. After the founding of the nation, the burden of corvée labor on the people was extremely heavy due to the construction of roads and various large-scale projects. The people were exhausted and needed time to recover!"

"Furthermore, although we now have the potatoes you brought, large-scale autumn harvesting will still take some time! At present, the national treasury is empty, and the grain reserves in various places can barely maintain daily expenses and the consumption of the existing troops stationed there."

Ying Zheng paused for a moment, his voice becoming low: "If we were to launch a large-scale northern expedition at this time, the provisions and supplies for hundreds of thousands of troops, as well as the laborers needed for transportation along the way, would be an enormous burden on the Qin Dynasty."

The court officials will surely use the excuse that the nation is weak and needs to recuperate to do everything in their power to oppose the military expedition!

Hearing so many questions, Zhang Fan felt a pang of distress. The army hadn't moved an army, but supplies were the first thing they needed; this was indeed an unavoidable problem.

Seeing Zhang Fan's troubled expression, Ying Zheng smiled slightly, a rare occurrence for him.

He stood up and walked towards the world map hanging on the wall.

Ying Zheng raised his hand, his finger sweeping across the northern borders of the map, and murmured, "Unify the world, achieve universal harmony!"

Then, Ying Zheng turned to Zhang Fan and said, "Zhang Fan, I'm itching to get involved too. Do your best to resolve these issues regarding supplies and military equipment. If you can handle even a little bit, I can put aside the matters of the court!"

Hearing Ying Zheng's domineering speech, Zhang Fan's eyes lit up.

With the emperor personally overseeing the situation, he had no worries.

Zhang Fan immediately bowed and accepted the order.

After Zhang Fan left, the hall fell silent.

Ying Zheng stood with his hands behind his back in front of the map, gazing at the northern territory, his eyes flashing with fervor.

A moment later, he immediately issued an order:

"Send word to summon Wang Ben to see me!"

……

The next day, just as dawn broke.

A gentle morning breeze swept through the streets of Xianyang.

Horse-drawn carriages were parked outside the imperial city.

The court officials, dressed in their court robes, dismounted from their carriages and walked up the steps toward Zhangtai Palace.

The old aristocratic civil officials, led by Zong Yu, came together.

Zong Yu lowered his voice and spoke with several officials around him.

They checked the contents of the memorial to be submitted, confirming each item of impeachment.

Rumors circulated in the palace yesterday that His Majesty intended to wage war against the north. Zong Yu and others discussed the matter overnight and decided to launch an attack at today's court meeting to prevent the decision to send troops and suppress Zhang Fan.

The morning bell rang.

Officials entered Zhangtai Palace according to their official rank and lined up on both sides.

Before Zhang Fan could even mention the specifics of the Northern Expedition, Zong Yu, holding bamboo slips in both hands, strode out of the ranks of civil officials and arrived at the center of the main hall.

"His Majesty!"

Zong Yu spoke loudly, breaking the silence of the court, "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present! I wish to impeach Zhang Fan!"

Ying Zheng sat above, looking at Zong Yu, and said in a calm tone, "Speak."