Chapter 26: The Disabled Soldier

When Song Xing and his group returned on horseback, Li Xian was explaining a timekeeping tool to the crowd—a "Big Ben clock." Considering the current rudimentary industrial base, the only option Li Xian could choose was this "Big Ben" device.

"It has two important components: the mainspring and the pendulum. The mainspring is used to store energy, while the pendulum is used for timekeeping." Li Xian spoke until his mouth was dry, mainly because he only had a rough idea about this device. He had no clue about the arrangement of the gears inside.

"How does the pendulum keep time?" The crowd was puzzled, even Xu Ren was confused. How could a swinging iron ball keep time?

"I know! I know!" Little Xie An shouted, "Although the swing amplitude is different, the time for each swing is the same! Therefore, as long as the length of the pendulum's string is calculated, it can keep accurate time, down to the second."

"Hmm?" Xu Ren observed carefully for a long time and realized it was indeed true. "Xie An, how do you know this?"

"Big Brother Young Master told me not to say."

Li Xian: ...

"Haha..." The crowd immediately burst into laughter.

Liu Bin also laughed for a long time before catching his breath: "Young Master, the principle of this thing is simple, but to keep precise time, it requires repeated testing. I estimate we can have a finished product within a month, before the New Year."

"Good, I'll be waiting for your good news."

Seeing that another problem was solved, Li Xian finally smiled, feeling a great sense of accomplishment.

But after the good news came the bad news—there weren't enough people! When Li Xian first arrived in An Yang, he had only three hundred or so people with him. The textile sub-factory had already been facing a labor shortage, and it was only temporarily resolved when Aunt He Lin personally went to An Yang and nearby villages to recruit some women.

But now, with the proposal of the "Big Ben clock" plan and the textile sub-factory's increased demand for looms, the mechanical sub-factory was the first to face a personnel shortage.

Unlike the textile sub-factory, the mechanical sub-factory had research tasks and was a core department, so not just anyone could join. The factory placed great emphasis on confidentiality.

Moreover, increasing production capacity in the mechanical factory had placed immense pressure on the metallurgical sub-factory. They were already burdened with an order of one million jin of weapons for the Sea Tribe, and Song Gang was so stressed he was about to pull his hair out. Now, with the task of making the Big Ben clock, the factory directors were about to explode.

Not enough manpower—what to do? It's not something that can be solved instantly, especially with the issue of testing loyalty. Now it was Li Xian’s turn to scratch his head.

Only Xu Ren seemed confident, saying, “Young Master, what’s so difficult about this? Just ask the Eldest Young Master for men!”

“My brother? What men does he have? Even his 30,000 soldiers are constantly complaining about not having enough manpower.”

“Injured and disabled soldiers!” Xu Ren seemed to have thought of something, and his tone turned a bit sorrowful. “Every governor has a large number of injured and disabled soldiers. Back when I was with the magistrate of Songzhou, I saw tens of thousands of disabled soldiers. Their lives… held almost no hope. Many magistrates and governors secretly ‘dispose of’ some of these injured soldiers to reduce the burden.

“In fact, here we can completely arrange for many of these disabled soldiers to work. Even if they can’t do physical labor, they can still guard the gates or warehouses. And as for their loyalty, that won’t be an issue.”

Li Xian immediately stood up. “I can’t believe I forgot about this. Sir, let’s go to An Yang and see how many injured and disabled soldiers are there.”

As they left the factory, Li Xian suddenly said, “Sir, you’ve been wanting to mention this for a while, haven’t you?”

This time, Xu Ren didn’t have his usual confident demeanor. Instead, he seemed a bit sorrowful, filled with emotion. “I knew I couldn’t hide it from you. The main reason I left the magistrate of Songzhou wasn’t just because he didn’t take my advice, but because I discovered that he was secretly disposing of soldiers he deemed useless.”

Li Xian fell silent. Such things were all too common in any world. Disabled soldiers not only lost their value, but they also became a heavy burden. When Cao Cao passed through Huarong Road, he even ordered the disabled and weak soldiers to carry bundles of straw and lay them on the road, while he led his cavalry to charge over them. These soldiers became the mats on which others tread, trampled into the muddy road.

After a long silence, Li Xian suddenly spoke solemnly, “Teacher, perhaps I, Li Xian, have the ability to show you a new world!”

Li Xian arrived once again in An Yang City. Along the way, the soldiers he encountered all respectfully greeted him as Duwei (Commander). Although Li Xian hadn’t actually led them for a day, and his cultivation wasn’t as strong as some centurions or thousand-man commanders, his actions since arriving in An Yang had genuinely earned the respect of these soldiers.

“Haha, Brother Xian, I could hear the soldiers calling you Duwei from afar.” Li Xian’s elder brother, Li Liang, came over to greet him from a distance.

Li Xian immediately said, “Big Brother, I’ve come to help you solve a problem.”

“Problem? I don’t have any problems.”

Glancing around at the surrounding soldiers, Li Xian lowered his voice, “Brother, let’s talk inside.”

“Alright.”

After sitting down, Li Xian finally explained his purpose. “Big Brother, the merchant business has now expanded, and we urgently need a large number of people. I’ve heard that you have quite a few injured and disabled soldiers. Maybe we can provide them with a new place to settle and live.”

Unexpectedly, Li Liang suddenly frowned. “Little brother, these soldiers are indeed a burden, but I’m willing to support them. They’ve already been injured and disabled, and now you want to make them work?”

Li Xian straightened his posture and replied, “Big brother, hear me out.

First, for these disabled soldiers, or at least for most of them, this kind of idle life is humiliating! Giving them something to do, giving their lives new meaning, allowing them to prove they are still alive—that’s a far better way to treat them.

Second, keeping them busy and giving them new goals will prevent them from facing their disabled bodies and sighing every day. We are all cultivators; as long as they have confidence, there may still be a chance in the future to reach the Nascent Soul stage and rebuild their bodies.

Third, participation will be completely voluntary, and there will be no compulsion. Even if they do enter the workshops, they will still receive monthly compensation. Those who don’t wish to work will continue to receive their original benefits as usual.

Fourth, for those who are willing to sign up, I will assign them appropriate positions, giving them at least some motivation and hope to continue their cultivation.

Fifth, I will ensure their families are well-treated. The factory could even assign people specifically to care for and educate their children in cultivation and studies.

What do you think, big brother?”

Li Xian’s words and ideas clearly had a profound impact on Li Liang. Even Xu Ren, who had been following Li Xian all this time, was listening with wide eyes—he had never imagined things could be approached this way, or explained in such a manner.

Li Xian stared at his elder brother, quietly waiting for his response.

After a long pause, Li Liang instructed his advisor, Zou Hui, who also served as the deputy magistrate of the county, to go and ask the injured soldiers how they felt.

Zou Hui soon returned, with a strange expression on his face. “Eldest Young Master, almost all of the disabled soldiers expressed their willingness to work, as long as the Young Master doesn’t reject them and is willing to tolerate their mistakes. They would even prefer not to be paid.”

Zou Hui’s tone was calm, but Li Liang could feel the bitterness of the soldiers. He sighed and said, “Little brother, you were right. No, Xian-di, you were right. Haha…”

Li Xian was speechless—he knew the term “Xian-di” would stick for a long time.

From that point on, Li Xian didn’t need to personally intervene. Xu Ren and the new factory heads began scrambling like mad to recruit people! In fact, the number of injured soldiers turned out to be far greater than expected—there were over ten thousand of them! Li Xian was stunned for a long time when he heard the number—how could a small county like An Yang have over ten thousand injured soldiers?!

Li Xian quickly figured it out. The soldiers here were cultivators, with an incredibly strong ability to survive. On Earth, most ancient wounded soldiers died from infections and other complications; but in this cultivation world, these soldiers were all cultivators.

It was just that Li Xian's big brother was incredibly "generous." With a single wave of his hand, he handed over more than ten thousand people to Li Xian. Li Xian was so moved, he was nearly in tears.

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