CHAPTER 331: CHAPTER 150: HAS IT ARRIVED?

On the way back to Jinling City from the Imperial City, Chen Jian continuously received news from the Mechanical God Sect, the Holy Blood Temple, and the Ring Chamber of Commerce about that whale catfish monster.

It was indeed moving south, and at a considerable speed.

Chen Jian’s team’s small unit, unburdened by supplies, could cover three to four hundred kilometers a day, and the monster nearly paralleled their pace.

When the team reached Quan City, the monster attacked Langya.

Upon arriving in Zhuolu, the monster attacked Salt Ditch.

Returning to Jinling City, someone witnessed the monster land at the Yangtze River Estuary.

Afterwards, it completely vanished from human sight.

According to estimates of the whale catfish’s speed on land, it could likely reach Jinling in four to five days.

But whether it would launch a direct attack or wait for a larger beast tide to gather before making a move was beyond Chen Jian’s ability to speculate.

All he could do was one thing.

Prepare to withstand any impact.

Aren’t you planning to sneak into the house?

I’ll give you the chance.

The materials seized from Huadu are about to arrive, and by then, I’ll have the swarm robots operate the cannons for simultaneous bombardment from dozens of guns; even without using nuclear bombs, it will be enough to cause you trouble!

Therefore, Chen Jian was not overly concerned about the threat from this monster.

Quite the opposite, he was secretly hoping it would come sooner.

With a deadly weapon in hand, murderous intent rises.

With dozens of nuclear bombs at his disposal, he couldn’t help but be wild.

In fact, after arriving in Jinling City, he even took a stroll around the city and had a "close conversation between allies" with Zhang Tao.

The other party was clearly already fully aware of the events happening in the north and was showing even greater respect towards the team.

When Chen Jian proposed that the Mechanical God Sect should prepare enough grain reserves to handle the upcoming population migration, the other party readily agreed.

This immediately alleviated the grain crisis faced by the Huaxia Army.

But Chen Jian knew that this was nothing more than a temporary measure.

"...This Zhang Tao is not so simple."

On the way out of Jinling City’s gates, Chen Jian remarked:

"He is still a Saint of the Mechanical God Sect, but he seems to have forgotten why he is in this position."

"I haven’t seen him initiate any meaningful reforms, but he is making decisive moves in terms of personnel appointments."

"To achieve this level, one must either be a mediocre talent or a true hero."

"Clearly, he can’t be a mediocre talent..."

As his voice faded, He Shuo, who had already returned to Jinling City and was now beside him, nodded in agreement:

"Yes, this guy can’t be said to be problematic, but he’s not easy to control either."

"He’s vigorously promoting his own forces to high positions. Who knows if he truly wants to purify the Mechanical God Sect or if he’s planning some sort of restoration movement."

"We must remain vigilant towards him at all times, but fortunately, our deterrence account still has a sufficient balance."

"In the short term, he doesn’t dare to act rashly, nor does he have the capability to do so."

"During this peaceful development period, we can bind both parties’ interests through multiple collaborations, effectively eliminating the possibility of his defection from the source."

"Agreed."

Chen Jian nodded and then asked:

"What’s your plan?"

"Start with trade routes—actually, severing them is quite simple, the simplest being to take the upper-class route."

"Whatever the upper class needs, we provide."

"This way, we can gain widespread support in Jinling City and even in the power core of the Mechanical God Sect."

He Shuo paused, then continued:

"However, this route has too many side effects."

"My thinking is to take the people’s route."

"Divide the religious aristocracy and the common populace, which is not only beneficial for later clearing out the sect’s toxins but also helpful for us to truly grasp the most foundational and basic productivity."

"But doing so presents a difficulty; we must allow ordinary people to have the ability to resist the privileged class."

"Distribute guns?"

Chen Jian furrowed his brow and followed He Shuo’s words.

"Simply distributing guns isn’t feasible; we must ensure that our own armed forces are sufficient to deal with the potential threats brought by weapon diffusion."

"The measurement of this technological disparity must be cautious."

"I’m not talking about the current technological disparity of our existing weapons, but the disparity of the weapons we can produce."

"After all, consumables can’t be used as a trump card."

"No matter how mighty a tank is, it can’t refuel on the move."

"As soon as it stops, a few militia with firecrackers can capture a tank."

"You understand what I mean, right?"

"Understood."

He Shuo nodded and immediately said:

"So, the initial plan is to first supply them with secondary weapons."

"The steel mill is already completed, and according to Fu Xi’s schedule, the equipment for the coking plant is expected to finish production by tomorrow and be fully assembled the day after."

"I want to use 011’s production capacity for two days to create a simple production line."

"What kind of production line? A matchlock production line?"

Chen Jian asked with curiosity.

"...There’s no need for such a large technological disparity."

He Shuo shook his head with a chuckle and answered:

"I want to make a batch of pipe guns."

"...Sten?"

"Yes, just refer to the Sten design."

"Use stamped parts where applicable, the bolt can be 3D printed directly, and the barrel can be made with the most ordinary deep drilling process; the equipment isn’t complicated either."