Steam trains in ancient times (13): The Desperate Daughter of the World

Blood covered the dragon throne, and red and white liquid flowed out of the Regent’s skull onto the ground.

The eunuchs nearby let out heart-wrenching screams, and the ministers below were all so frightened that their legs became paralyzed.

Everyone looked at Si Qi in horror as he killed the emperor with just a single move of his finger from a distance. They were so horrified that they couldn’t even make a loud sound.

All the ministers who were stared at by Si Qi knelt on the ground with guilt. If Si Qi raised his hand inadvertently, they would not be able to control their fear and screamed out, shouting “Spare me, spare me”.

Seeing them screaming miserably, Si Qi looked indifferent and said, “If you had known this would happen, you wouldn’t have done it in the first place.”

Chu Feng had given them a chance before, but the result was not satisfactory. No one was optimistic about Chu Feng and was willing to swear to defend the orthodoxy of the Chu State for him.

Those who would think so would have been imprisoned by the Regent and his ministers on various charges. Of course, those who remained were all members of the Fourth Prince’s party.

Now, the only regent who could compete with Chu Feng for the throne was dead, and his death was so legitimate, without any chance of fighting back.

No matter how powerful these ministers were in the court, it was impossible for them to temporarily select a new prince at this time to compete with the Crown Prince who was about to inherit the throne and had just won the war and was in great power.

It was not that no one tried to argue, saying that Crown Prince Chu Feng disregarded the relationship between brothers and brutally killed the Regent without reason, and his brutality was outrageous.

As a result, just after he finished speaking, Si Qi pointed at his forehead from a distance, and a black hole with blood gushing out appeared on his forehead. He fell to the ground and died with his eyes closed before he could even scream.

This way of death was so bizarre that the ministers around were all frightened and silent, and no one dared to say anything nonsense.

Not to mention whether they could win an argument with their words against His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who had been justified and blameless from beginning to end, even Si Qi, who stood aside with a calm expression, could make them so frightened that they dared not even breathe a word.

Soon, the corpse of the regent who had usurped the throne was carried away, and the blood-stained dragon throne was carefully wiped clean by the eunuchs.

Chu Feng sat nonchalantly on the dragon throne that was covered in blood not long ago, looking at the ministers below who were sweating profusely and had fainted, and he emphasized a few things.

First, he inquired about the burial arrangements of the late emperor and confirmed that the Fourth Prince did not rush through his father’s funeral. Only then did his expression calm down a little.

The second was to bring to light the matter of the fourth prince colluding with important ministers to rebel, and let the ministers summarize the various heinous acts committed by the fourth prince during this period and submit them in a memorial. He believed they must know how to describe it.

Finally, amid the worried looks on everyone’s faces, Chu Feng appointed Si Qi as the Prime Minister of Chu State and announced that he would inherit the throne in three days.

Before leaving the court, he looked meaningfully at all the people in the court who were potential dangers, and said: “I will settle accounts with you one by one. Before that, you all serve me well. If you can atone for your sins, who knows, the disaster may not affect your family, and it can be resolved with just one of your lives.”

Many ministers were moved to tears by Chu Feng’s words and fell to their knees with sorrowful expressions of regret.

After leaving the palace, Si Qi said to Chu Feng, who was in a bad mood, “Your Highness, I will always be by your side, to help you govern the country and bring you peace and prosperity.”

Chu Feng heard this and turned his head to look at the young man beside him. His serious expression gradually became gentle: “My dear, I feel much more at ease with your words.”

Next, they had a lot to do.

–

The new emperor ascended the throne and issued a general amnesty. The fact that the regent took advantage of the emperor’s absence to resist the foreign enemies and assassinated him quickly spread throughout the state of Chu along with the news of his ascension.

The Daughter of the World covered her face, listening to the diners in front of her talking loudly and insulting the Fourth Prince. She collapsed on the table and cried helplessly in emotional breakdown.

She knew that if the man stayed there, he would definitely not get any good results. She just thought that since she couldn’t take him away, she would just let him stay in the safest place to be protected. With the gunpowder and many soldiers she left in the palace, it would not be a one-sided attack without any ability to fight back.

But who would have thought that just after their first meeting, Si Qi pointed a finger at the powerful Regent from a distance, and he died in unclear circumstances without any chance for resistance.

Even after his death, he could not get a decent reputation after his death. No matter how Chu Feng accused him of crimes, he could not refute them. He was forever nailed to the pillar of shame in history and was cursed by people for generations to come.

“Why…” The Daughter of the World covered her face and sobbed, unable to speak, “Why did he have to be killed by you… Why…”

The loyal maidservant beside her wiped her tears and asked her, “My queen, where are we going next?”

The Daughter of the World sobbed a few times, her eyes red as she said angrily: “Leave Chu State and go to other countries! I don’t believe that what Si Qi can do, I, Zhao Er, can’t do!”

She wanted to lead the enemy’s army to destroy the Chu palace and make sure that the villain who killed her husband died without a burial place!!

Unfortunately, the next second after he finished speaking, the guard noticed that something was wrong around him, and quickly picked up the long sword in his hand and whispered to the daughter of the World: “My Queen, there are pursuers!”

Zhao Er’s frightened expression suddenly froze, and she was filled with fear. She quickly pulled the veil on her face and hurriedly left the restaurant through the back door.

A moment later, countless soldiers with knives rushed in, blocked the place, and carefully checked everyone present.

After a while, they learned that a masked woman had just escaped from the back door, and quickly sent a group of people to chase her.

This pursuit lasted for several months.

A few months later, Si Qi flipped through the books in his hand, checking the paper quality, ink stains, punctuation marks, etc., and nodded, “Not bad, let’s print it like this.”

The director of the book factory wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, nodded and agreed, but his tone was quite bitter: “Prime Minister, printing is of course no problem, but you may need to send more soldiers to protect the factory…”

Si Qi raised his eyebrows: “Are you in trouble?”

The factory manager nodded and said helplessly: “If I wasn’t lucky, you would have only seen my corpse today.”

Si Qi hesitated for a moment.

He knew that standardizing punctuation marks and selling the valuable books in the hands of the powerful to the common people at low prices would be tantamount to infringing on their authority and making their lofty status no longer so unshakable.

But he didn’t expect that even though they knew that his attitude was firm and could not be argued with, they still came to grab him from the tiger’s mouth and sought his own death.

It was obvious that they could have survived if they had just been obedient, so why did they choose to rebel against Si Qi just for the sake of her past glory and status? Wouldn’t it be a question of whether they could even survive?

After all, Si Qi had talked about this with Chu Feng. Chu Feng thought about it for a long time and gave him a “it’s okay to do it” reply.

Even the emperor, who was in power, had decided to take a risk and teach the people to understand reason and learn to read and write. What qualifications do these parasites who were hogging power and refusing to let go have to oppose his policies?

Si Qi nodded slightly, telling the factory director to go about his work without worry, and that he would send someone to protect the safety of everyone in the factory.

After going out, before he took two steps, he noticed an unfriendly gaze coming from somewhere. Si Qi raised his hand and pointed, and a group of guards appeared from nowhere and quickly rushed over there.

After a while, screams were heard from the corner. The guards brought the half-dead man to Si Qi and interrogated him, finding out that he was a killer sent by a big family.

Si Qi looked indifferent, glanced at the man and left, leaving only one emotionless sentence: “Deal with it.”

The next second, there was another corpse in the world.

Putting the book he had just printed in his arms, Si Qi came to the palace and met the emperor who was reviewing memorials.

When the emperor saw Si Qi coming, he put down the memorial in his hand and said with an amiable face, “My dear minister, what brings you here?”

Si Qi walked forward and placed the square, flat book with no visible holes on Chu Feng’s desk.

Chu Feng picked it up and was immediately amazed: “It is just as you said, the strokes are clear and the spacing is uniform, as if it was printed neatly! How long will it take to publish a book like this?”

Si Qi: “Your Majesty, with the current scale of the printing factory, we can produce 400 copies a day.”

Chu Feng was stunned for a moment and asked, “How many people are there in the factory?”

Si Qi recalled: “Including the six indispensable technical employees, there are still ten people who perform repetitive tasks.”

Of course, if Si Qi found time to manufacture an automated lathe, he probably wouldn’t need even one person to produce thousands or even tens of thousands of such books in a day.

“Only sixteen people…” Chu Feng said in a complicated tone: “No wonder those traitors are so panicked.”

The knowledge that was once so precious was now printed in such simple and clear text with punctuation that one could understand it without a teacher’s guidance. Moreover, the price was so low that even people from poor families could afford to buy one or two copies.

If the printing factory were larger, it wouldn’t be long before everyone in the State of Chu would have a copy of this book, and the impact would be explosive.

By then, the knowledge and cultural level of the people of Chu would advance by leaps and bounds within a few years, and all kinds of talents would emerge continuously. Those officials who had nothing to do with party disputes, had a clean background and were loyal to the emperor would be gradually promoted and enter the court one after another.

The Emperor of Chu no longer had to be constrained by those treacherous ministers, and no longer had to be restricted in doing anything.

He felt excited just thinking about it.

Si Qi heard the unfinished meaning in Chu Feng’s words and asked with concern: “Have those ministers caused trouble for Your Majesty again? Do you need me to deal with them?”

Chu Feng shook his head: “People who can take over their jobs have not been trained yet, so let’s keep them for a while.”

Si Qi nodded to show that he understood: “By the way, Your Majesty, in addition to the printing factory, I have also produced a textile machine that can improve efficiency a hundred times. However, before this machine is put on the market, the Ministry of Revenue needs to find major merchants to sign contracts to avoid vicious competition in the future.”

Chu Feng wondered, “After books, is it now weaving? You just casually created something so terrifying and amazing… What are the specific contents of the contract?”

Si Qi gave an example: “Big stores with strong financial resources maliciously lowered their prices to engage in price wars with other stores, and laid off old employees on a large scale because of the emergence of textile machines, etc.”

These are all social phenomena caused by the emergence of the Jenny spinning machine in history, or conflicts and disputes that were bound to break out after similar products enter the market.

Every time Si Qi launched a new policy, he would directly resolve the various conflicts that this policy would cause before they arise.

Many people only realized after a long time that if they had not followed Si Qi’s instructions, the hidden dangers that would have arisen would have been huge.

Si Qi not only formulated so many excellent policies, but also calculated what these policies would lead to in the next few years or even decades.

While they admired him, many people couldn’t help but sigh that Si Qi was so smart that he was almost a demon. There was nothing in the world that he couldn’t do.

The more you got to know him, the more terrifying he became.

Chu Feng would think more than once, if he had not met Si Qi, whether he could have turned the tide and regained his father’s trust in the fight for the throne. Whether he could have avoided the assassination of Zhao Er and returned alive from the battlefield. And whether he could have completely mastered the government in just a few months, and orderly controlled all the civil and military officials in the court, forcing them to bite their teeth and listen to him.

Si Qi placed the finished design of the Jenny spinning machine on the table. This was, to some extent, an important high-tech core secret. After Chu Feng put it away, he asked curiously, “Why did you think of designing this thing?”

During this time, Si Qi had been busy helping him handle government affairs and balance the situation, occasionally creating some new things to promote development in all aspects of the country.

Basically, they were all big things like setting up a printing factory. In comparison, textile fabrics were too insignificant to mention. At first glance, there was really nothing worth wasting Si Qi’s energy on.

Si Qi: “Your Majesty, do you think that if we intend to attack our neighboring countries, can they stop us?”

Chu Feng answered without hesitation: “Of course not!”

Si Qi nodded and said, “When I build a huge steel ship for you and bring all the territory on the other side of the sea under your banner, your territory will expand a thousand times more than it is now, and you will need countless capable people to serve you.”

Chu Feng suddenly realized: “That’s why you are so eager to cultivate a large number of talents.”

“That’s one thing. Another thing is that the current ministers are really not worthy of being appointed.” Si Qi said helplessly: “If they realize that the talents of the people are no less than theirs, Your Majesty will have plenty of candidates to appoint. These guys who are doing nothing will work hard to help Your Majesty solve problems.”

Chu Feng nodded: “Indeed. But…what does this have to do with your making of a loom?”

Si Qi: “Your Majesty, if I were a woman…”

Chu Feng’s expression tensed, and he straightened his back subconsciously. He held his breath and listened to Si Qi’s next words.

“Will you still use me?”

Chu Feng was stunned for a moment, then said decisively: “Of course!”

Si Qi nodded and said, “So, Your Majesty, whether a person is talented or intelligent has nothing to do with gender.”

Chu Feng thought for a moment and nodded seriously: “My dear minister, what you said is very true. Women can also have great talents.”

Si Qi: “Then, the question is back. At a time when Your Majesty is in great need of talent, if you only use men and discard those smart women, wouldn’t that be a pity?”

Chu Feng looked at Si Qi in astonishment and was speechless for a long time.

After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice: “My dear, do you mean to allow women to be officials?”

Chu Feng had been with Si Qi for so long that his thinking had been trained to be very sharp and clear by Si Qi, so when Si Qi just mentioned something, Chu Feng directly guessed Si Qi’s ultimate goal. He was greatly shocked by this unprecedented and even shocking statement.

Si Qi said slowly, “Your Majesty, if women are as talented as men, why not? Just because they are women, even if they have talents like mine, should they only be able to do things like take care of their husbands and children for the rest of their lives and be restricted by their families? I don’t understand why it is like this.”

Chu Feng was silent.

After a long pause, he said, “So, you thought of a loom?”

Si Qi felt relieved to see that Chu Feng did not get angry and rebuke him or refute him, but was even willing to be patient and ask him questions.

“I want women to be respected by society.”

The first step of his plan was to allow women to earn as much as men through textile production.

Only when women have a certain voice in society can subsequent things be better promoted.

Chu Feng rubbed his forehead with some effort, as if he had already foreseen how much blood and gore these things would cause in the court in the future.

He said, “Okay. Just go ahead and do it. Whether you succeed or not, I won’t blame you.”

Si Qi stared at Chu Feng steadily. After a long while, until Chu Feng’s face was about to get hot, he slowly raised the corners of his lips and chuckled, “It is my good fortune to meet such a wise ruler as Your Majesty.”

Chu Feng covered his face with his hands and said in a somewhat unclear voice: “My dear minister, you are joking. In this world, nothing can be difficult for you. If you are interested, you can be the prime minister, not to mention the prime minister, you can even be the ruler of a country. It is my good fortune to be able to have you stay in Chu and be my prime minister.”

Si Qi said in a relaxed tone: “But I don’t want to go to other countries. I just want to be with Your Majesty and spend my life with you.”

“?!!”

Chu Feng raised his head in disbelief and looked at Si Qi in astonishment.

Si Qi responded, chuckled, and waved his hands, saying, “That’s not what I meant. I just… just said what I felt.”

Chu Feng’s ears turned red, he turned his head away and said in a hoarse voice: “My dear, please don’t tease me.”

Si Qi laughed softly: “Hahahaha…”

Chu Feng in this life was just too adorable.

He was so shy, and he had not taken a concubine or an empress at the age of twenty. If no one urged him, he didn’t know when he would consider the matter of the harem.

In his previous life, Chu Feng was also like him, remaining single until old age. Could it be that the two brothers were really so unlucky in love?

Si Qi smiled and said, “Your Majesty, you should consider the issue of offspring.”

Chu Feng: “…………”

Chu Feng lowered his eyes and said calmly, “I’m busy with government affairs right now, please wait a little longer.”

Si Qi nodded and praised: “Your Majesty is indeed diligent in government and loves the people.”

“My dear, what about you?” Chu Feng asked him, “Have you ever met the woman of your dreams?”

Si Qi pondered for a moment and said, “I am busy with official duties and have no time for other things. If I can’t be with her day and night, wouldn’t it be a shame for her kindness to me? Besides, I want to find someone who can talk to me and make me feel comfortable with her.”

Chu Feng couldn’t tell whether he was relieved or jealous, and said jealousy: “Chat with you? It’s not easy to find a woman like that.”

In such a large Chu State, he was probably the only one who could accept Si Qi’s ideas time and time again, and support and understand him wholeheartedly.

Constantly learning the knowledge that Si Qi knew and trying his best to understand Si Qi’s inner thoughts was actually no easier for him as an emperor than governing the court.

But he still enjoyed it.

“Yeah.” Si Qi smiled and said without much concern: “It’s fate if we can meet, and it’s not forced if we can’t meet.”

The meaning behind this sentence made Chu Feng’s eyes light up, and he subconsciously wanted to take the opportunity to add fuel to the fire and say a good word.

But when the words came to his lips, looking at the young man’s clear and bright eyes, Chu Feng hesitated for a moment, and still advised with a heart-wrenching heart: “A man’s life can only be complete if he gets married and starts a career.”

Si Qi: “Perhaps, but Your Majesty is older than me and has not yet married, so I am not in a hurry.”

Chu Feng raised his eyebrows: “Does it mean that if I never take a concubine in my lifetime, you have a reason not to marry in your lifetime?”

Si Qi smiled and said, “That’s a really good reason.”

Chu Feng laughed helplessly.

He couldn’t tell whether he was feeling sad or happy.

–

Seven years later.

The square was paved with blue-gray bricks of uniform size, and people were walking around with relaxed smiles on their faces after getting off work.

The daughter of the world, who had fled all the way and finally sneaked into the capital, looked at the scene in front of her blankly and helplessly, feeling upset.

It was as if she had inadvertently returned to the modern world, surrounded by people from the future wearing casual clothes.

Her reserved ancient costume, which strictly covered her body and face, made people around her look at her with a bit of doubt in their eyes.

This situation, which was completely different from the past, made her feel complicated, as if she had thousands of words to say.

Standing next to her was a prince of a certain country who had just suffered a national disaster not long ago. At this moment, he was gritting his teeth as he looked at the bulletin board in front of him which was covered with all kinds of newspapers and announcements.

In the newspapers, the Chu government once again announced the conquest of a new country, expanding the territory of Chu.

This kind of national event was no longer new to the people of Chu. It was not even the headline of today’s newspaper, but only occupied a small corner.

What people were more concerned about was that Lord Si designed a new dress for his sister Si Peihuan a few days ago, which made her look beautiful and nice after she put it on.

When they  walked into the clothing store, it was full of girls buying new clothes.

The women around were walking on the streets with their arms and legs exposed. There was no shame or shyness on their faces, only confidence and joy.

None of the men or older women nearby showed any disgust or rejection. Occasionally, they would show admiration and genuine respect.

——What exactly happened?

The daughter of this world, who had been hunted down all these years and could not escape Si Qi’s shadow no matter where she escaped to, was about to collapse.

After entering the State of Chu, everything she saw and heard along the way were things she had never dared to imagine.

As a modern person who traveled from the future, seeing those things that once appeared in her memory reappear one after another before her eyes, her shocked and exaggerated reaction was even worse than that of the ancient people who had long been accustomed to it.

She knew Si Qi was very capable, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to develop the steam engine so quickly, and he wouldn’t have pushed her into such a desperate situation, causing her to almost die several times.

But she still didn’t expect that Si Qi’s ability was not just to help the King of Chu assist the government and create some small inventions. He had already changed the world! !

Look at that huge steel ship that occupies half of the plate and comes with a photo… Was this something that could appear in this era? After Si Qi conquered this continent, would he conquer other places next?

How far would he go before he stopped… When would she be able to relax and breathe a sigh of relief in her life!

Zhao Er pulled the veil on her face sadly, covering her face more concealable.

A girl passing by saw this and couldn’t help but come over and asked her concernedly, “Are you okay?”

Zhao Er asked in a harsh tone: “…What do you mean?”

The girl said worriedly, “I mean, why are you dressed like this? Are you locked up by your family so you don’t know what’s going on outside? Nowadays, men and women are equal, so don’t listen to the people around you and think that you are a man’s appendage… If your personal freedom is forcibly restricted and you are required to wear this kind of clothes and stay at home, you can go to the government to sue them!”

Zhao Er gave a distracted smile: “This kind of clothes? Gender equality? Haha, hahaha…”

The more she spoke, the more upset she felt, so upset that she was about to cry.

At first, she wore light clothes and tried her best to let people know that women can decide their own clothes and choose their own lives. But in the end, everyone regarded her as an alien, saying that she was frivolous and behaved improperly.

Why was it that after Si Qi came and praised a certain piece of clothing, everyone would be obsessed with following Si Qi’s preferences and wear those simple and good-looking clothes without any scruples…

It was so unfair…

When the young girl saw Zhao Err crying, her eyes and eyebrows showed even more pain. Just as she was about to say something, the prince of the Mie Kingdom turned around after hearing Zhao Er’s cry and saw the interaction between the two women. He frowned and said in a disgusted tone: “Get out! You lowly and shameless woman!”

The girl was scolded for no apparent reason, and her mind was completely confused. After she came to her senses, her face turned red with anger, and she pointed at the prince and scolded him: “Who do you think has no sense of shame? Great, you think you are great just because you are a man, don’t you? No wonder she is dressed like this in such hot weather, and she doesn’t even dare to show her face outside. It’s all because of you! Come on, everyone! There is a feudal man here cursing!”

Upon hearing this, the crowd gathered around to protect the scolded girl. The prince looked at the Chu people who had caused the destruction of his country with hatred, and a raging rage surged in his heart.

Just as he was about to draw his weapon to teach the people around him a lesson, Zhao Er grabbed him tightly and begged, “No, hurry up, the police will definitely be here soon. If they find me, I’m done for!!”

“What is the police?” The prince asked subconsciously. Seeing Zhao Er’s red eyes from crying, he could only grit his teeth unwillingly, nodded firmly, and then rushed out of the crowd with Zhao Er.

The people around hurriedly shouted: “Stop him! This man is bullying a woman! We must not let him go!!”

“What? Another guy like this shows up? I’m going to scold him to death!”

“What a poor girl… Men like this should go to school and learn some basic ideological education! Cleanse their stubborn brains!”

Zhao Er became more and more upset as she listened. She and the prince fled back to the inn, crying until her throat was hoarse and lying on the bed in the inn. She found that even the bed was made of sponge springs, and she couldn’t help crying even louder.