"Chu Chen!"
"Your Majesty, your subject is here."
Chu Chen hurriedly suppressed his triumphant expression and turned to reply respectfully.
The Empress, suppressing her curiosity, smiled and said, "It seems Zhao Weihai underestimated you. I never expected you to actually forge ten thousand sets of wrought iron weapons after the renovation."
"Your Majesty, this is what your subject should do. As the saying goes, 'Be diligent in your duties.'"
Chu Chen smiled, glancing pointedly at the Ministry of Revenue, making the Minister of Revenue look utterly bewildered.
"Well said, 'Be diligent in your duties.' All my ministers should learn from Chu Chen."
The Empress was very pleased with Chu Chen's attitude and admonished the other officials.
"Your subjects obey your decree!"
The ministers cupped their hands in resignation, their minds filled with curiosity about how Chu Chen had achieved this.
But the Empress would not allow Chu Chen to explain publicly this time. She waved her hand and said, "If there is nothing else, let us adjourn."
"We respectfully see off Your Majesty!"
After the court adjourned, Chu Chen was about to leave when he was stopped by a middle-aged eunuch who had been waiting nearby.
"Huh? Eunuch Wei?"
Chu Chen was surprised to see that the person who stopped him was Eunuch Wei Ronghua, whom he had previously promoted and transferred to Qingming Palace.
"Oh my, it is indeed our fortune that Lord Chu remembers us. However, there is no need for 'Eunuch Wei,' Lord Chu can just call me Little Wei."
Eunuch Wei said fearfully, still treating Chu Chen as he had in the past as Eunuch Chu.
"Ah, but I am now only a minor official of the sixth rank. How can I call you 'Little Wei'? That is not proper."
Chu Chen shook his head and replied.
"No, please don't! I am just Little Wei. Lord Chu can always call me that. I will never forget that day; it was Lord Chu who promoted me."
Eunuch Wei's eyes welled up with tears as he said excitedly, "Life at the bottom of the palace is very difficult. Eunuchs like me who haven't risen are like weeds by the roadside, even if we are nominally heads of a department."
"Now, thanks to you, I serve Princess Xin Yue, and my treatment is excellent. I no longer have to worry about being bullied or executed by my masters."
"Therefore, you are my great benefactor, Lord Chu. Please, just call me Little Wei."
Eunuch Wei wiped away a few tears that had escaped.
"Uh, alright then." Chu Chen sighed, feeling empathy. He had also been a low-ranking eunuch for a period and, through life simulations, knew how tragic the precarious lives of low-ranking eunuchs were.
"Oh, right, Little Wei, did you stop me for something?"
"Look, I almost forgot. His Majesty sent me to wait for you here, saying he has something for you to do in the Imperial Study."
Eunuch Wei said this with a smile, cupping his hands, "I must congratulate Lord Chu in advance. Lord Chu, you still enjoy the Emperor's favor as much as ever!"
Chu Chen nodded, guessing why the Empress had summoned him, and smiled, "So that's it. Please lead the way, Little Wei."
"Please!" "Please!"
The two politely made their way to the Imperial Study. This scene was witnessed by a few ministers who had not yet left, and they were astonished.
"His Majesty dares to summon Chu Chen to the palace? Could it be that there is a connection between them..."
"Are you crazy? Don't you want to live? How dare you discuss such things in the palace?"
Chu Chen was unaware of the whispers of his colleagues behind him. As he re-entered the inner palace, the familiar sights filled him with emotion.
Once upon a time, he too could come and go freely in such a place, albeit as a fake eunuch.
"Please wait a moment, Lord Chu, I..."
"No need. Chu Chen, you can come in directly."
Before Eunuch Wei could finish speaking, the Empress, hearing the commotion outside, called out.
"Yes!"
Chu Chen nodded to Eunuch Wei and strode in.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
"You are dismissed."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Chu Chen rose and looked at the Empress. She showed no signs of anger, so he smiled and said, "May I ask why Your Majesty summoned your subject?"
"Hmph, you are as eloquent as ever in pleasing me!"
The Empress snorted, but she was not truly angry. Instead, she smiled and said, "Chu Chen, you have done well during this period, and you have rendered another great service to me."
"This is what your subject should do..."
Before Chu Chen could finish his pleasantries, the Empress waved her hand to interrupt him, "No need for those useless words. I summoned you not only to praise you but also because I need you to forge the remaining twenty thousand sets of new weapons for me, and to explain how you managed to do it."
"The remaining twenty thousand sets? This, your subject will need two months to forge. Your Majesty, what do you think?"
Chu Chen looked cautiously at the Empress, fearing she might demand it within a month, which would be very troublesome.
"Naturally. I will give you three months of ample time."
The Empress generously waved her hand, granting an extra month.
Chu Chen patted his chest and confidently said, "Then I have no problem. I will definitely forge the remaining weapons for the Imperial Guard within the deadline."
He then continued, "As for the method for accelerating forging, it is actually very simple. Does Your Majesty remember playing with mud as a child?"
"No," the Empress was taken aback and shook her head.
"What a pity. Mud is a good toy for children."
Chu Chen smiled and said, "This method is somewhat similar to playing with mud, or one could say it's similar to movable type printing."
"I want to hear the specifics," the Empress said with a hint of dissatisfaction.
"Yes, yes."
"To be specific, first, create a wooden box with a base and a lid. The length and width should be twice the width and one-third longer than the weapon to be forged. Then, fill it with clay used for pottery, flatten it, and press the weapon into it."
"This will leave an imprint. Then, create a bottleneck-sized opening in the middle of the box. Pour the forged wrought iron, melted into liquid, through the opening."
"After it cools, a new weapon can be made. This method eliminates the step of the craftsman manually hammering the wrought iron into the shape of a weapon, greatly saving time."
"Since this is also very simple, even an apprentice craftsman who has only been learning for a few days can help with this step, further saving the time and tasks of the master craftsmen, and accelerating the overall forging speed."
"Combined with the previous steel-making method, it saves the two most cumbersome steps of forging. The craftsmen only need to take the finished product for polishing, sharpening, and making the scabbard."
Chu Chen explained his forging method and process, which was ten times faster than before, in one breath.
The Empress listened, finding the simplicity of the method incredible.
"Does this method have a name?"
"The method has no name, but the box can be called a 'mold.' This mold can also be used in most manufacturing and forging industries."
It can also be used elsewhere? Does this not mean that the overall manufacturing speed of Yun Yue Kingdom can be greatly increased?
The Empress was overjoyed. "Chu Chen, I promote you to Minister of the Armaments Department! From now on, all weapon forging will be under your jurisdiction!"