Chapter 297
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Chapter 297: Promotion
As a 4-star man-made wonder, a 20% increase in development speed could only be described as subtle, but once the effect range was added, it truly became overwhelmingly powerful!
It instantly encompassed all the cities under his command.
If he were to adjust the position of this ‘Xu Cauldron’ again, with the ‘Xu Cauldron’ as the center, the covered range could probably become even larger.
Luo Ji would probably wake up smiling these days.
At the same time, he couldn’t help but fantasize, if he could collect a complete set of the Nine Tripod Cauldrons, how overwhelmingly powerful would their effect be?
With this thought, while ordering people to retrieve all the bronze artifacts, Luo Ji also summoned Zhou Yi.
As soon as Zhou Yi arrived, Luo Ji waved to him and pointed at the ‘Xu Cauldron’ placed there.
“Zhou Yi, do you know about this bronze cauldron?”
Glancing at the Xu Cauldron, Zhou Yi’s eyes showed a complex expression.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, if this subordinate is not mistaken, this should be the Xu Cauldron that was placed in the Great Zhou Imperial Palace.”
“Oh? You recognize this Xu Cauldron?”
A hint of surprise flashed across Luo Ji’s face.
“Yes, not only this subordinate, but any ordinary citizen of the former Great Zhou would probably recognize this cauldron.”
Zhou Yi replied.
Hearing this, Luo Ji became interested.
“Tell me more.”
“As far as this subordinate knows, it took a full 10 years to cast this Xu Cauldron. During these ten years, that Zhou Dongnan summoned all the highly skilled artisans from across the Great Zhou territory to the Imperial Palace, solely for the purpose of casting this Xu Cauldron.”
“I heard that this Xu Cauldron was cast over a thousand times, but each time it was completed, Zhou Dongnan would order the artisans to melt it down and recasting it, until it was finally completed a few months ago. For this, Zhou Dongnan was overjoyed and even celebrated it nationwide.”
When Zhou Yi mentioned “celebrated nationwide,” a hint of sarcasm clearly flashed in his eyes.
Evidently, in his opinion, spending so much manpower and resources to cast such an object was utterly foolish.
Let alone Zhou Yi, even Luo Ji initially hadn’t noticed that this item was actually a man-made wonder, and furthermore, one of the Nine Tripod Cauldrons, the Xu Cauldron!
“Your Majesty, please forgive this subordinate’s lack of discernment, but what is special about this bronze cauldron?”
By this point, Luo Ji’s smile was almost reaching his ears, making it impossible for Zhou Yi not to notice.
Leaving Zhou Dongnan aside for the moment, Luo Ji was undoubtedly a diligent and benevolent emperor in Zhou Yi’s eyes.
Even Luo Ji held such affection for this bronze cauldron, which forced him to re-examine it.
Upon closer inspection, the patterns on the bronze cauldron were indeed exquisitely detailed, and its magnificent and grand shape couldn’t help but evoke admiration.
However, remembering that Zhou Dongnan had spent nearly 10 years and enormous resources to create it, Zhou Yi’s gaze towards the bronze cauldron inevitably carried a hint of prejudice and complexity.
“While it was indeed unwise to spend so much manpower and resources to create it, it cannot be denied that this is a treasure.”
As he spoke, Luo Ji secretly rejoiced, fortunate that he hadn’t, in a moment of madness, decided to build a Great Wall, or else he would probably also have ended up exhausting his people and resources, leading to widespread resentment.
Looking at the still bewildered Zhou Yi, Luo Ji pondered for a moment.
After slightly modifying the story of the ‘Nine Tripod Cauldrons,’ he recounted it to Zhou Yi.
All he needed was for Zhou Yi to know that this Xu Cauldron was a divine artifact that suppressed the nation’s destiny and could bring prosperity to his civilization.
Ancient people were often quite receptive to such narratives.
As it turned out, he was indeed correct.
After hearing Luo Ji’s story of the ‘Nine Tripod Cauldrons,’ Zhou Yi’s gaze towards the Xu Cauldron indeed became much more solemn.
“Getting back to the main topic, as I mentioned before, there should be nine cauldrons in total.”
“Besides this Xu Cauldron, do you have any leads on the whereabouts of the other eight bronze cauldrons?”
This was the key, Luo Ji wanted to know this!
But Zhou Yi’s answer left him slightly disappointed.
Zhou Yi shook his head.
“This subordinate only knows about this Xu Cauldron. However, Your Majesty can try to gather the artisans who cast the Xu Cauldron for Zhou Dongnan and ask them. Perhaps you can get some useful information.”
“Very well, I’ll leave this matter to you. I will write a written order and have the Mirror Division send people to assist you.”
“Yes, your subordinate obeys!”
After Zhou Yi bowed and left, the plan to inspect the military camp was directly postponed.
Luo Ji decided to prioritize reviewing the transported bronze artifacts one by one, to avoid carelessly overlooking any good items.
At the same time, he also reviewed a report on the organized spoils of war.
Although Zhou Dongnan was a warmonger, as a player, having developed to this stage, his territory’s resources were undoubtedly abundant.
Needless to say, there were various crops.
Luo Ji also discovered domestic pigs and water buffalo, as well as farming horses suitable for transportation and agriculture.
This wave was undoubtedly a huge boon for the advancement of agriculture within his territory.
In terms of daily life, he also found linen and silk resources.
Luo Ji wasn’t surprised by this, unlike him, who had just stepped into the Bronze Age, Zhou Dongnan was, after all, a proper Bronze Age player, and with a modern mind, it would be strange if he didn’t have these things.
However, in terms of cultural development, Luo Ji was somewhat surprised and a little speechless.
Zhou Dongnan had unexpectedly managed to produce the four treasures of the study, which are the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
But the fact proved that, except for ‘paper,’ the other three items were not widely promoted at all.
Luo Ji had a neutral expression.
Zhou Dongnan might have thought beautifully at the time, or perhaps just wanted to casually earn a few cultural points, but to be honest, going to great lengths to create items like brushes and inkstones just for those pitiful few cultural points was extremely inefficient.
In contrast, Luo Ji had no intention of making brushes and inkstones from the very beginning.
Was he unable to make them?
No, he had the materials needed to make these things, but he simply didn’t intend to, because the cost-effectiveness was too low.
Even now, Luo Ji found it hard to see the point of making these two items.
The reason was simple.
Would he, a modern person, write with a brush?
Didn’t he know how well he could write calligraphy?
Why would he force himself to write with a brush to show off, when a charcoal pencil was much more convenient?
Luo Ji scoffed.
For a modern person to do such a foolish thing could no longer be described as rigid thinking, it was simply foolish.
For anything to be widely adopted, the first requirement is low difficulty of use.
The facts proved that the charcoal pencils Luo Ji made in the early stages quickly became widespread.
As for brushes, they were destined to remain a niche hobby in his civilization.
Ultimately, what was he, a modern person, doing here for?
When he could lead his people on a shortcut, why would he insist on following the old historical path?
If that were the case, his presence would make little difference.
