Lin Ze looked at his skyrocketing fortune and took stock of what he had been doing lately.
He quickly came to a conclusion: his sudden increase in fortune might have come from the batch of automatic rifles he had sold.
And in fact, that was exactly the case.
After Lin Ze opened the Gates to Heavens and sent firearms and ammunition to Outside North Sea Pass, where Prefect Lu Ji took charge of them, the prefect had immediately set things in motion.
Under the supervision of the White Robe Guard, the secret intelligence organization, he first tried to learn how to use the automatic rifles himself. Then he gathered the military officers to learn how to use firearms, and had them teach their own troops in turn.
With the process snowballing from there, an army of ten thousand riflemen had taken shape within a day. The force was then sent straight out to confront the Foreign Race raiding the border.
It was now autumn turning to winter, and the weather was cold. Near North Sea Pass, a fifty-thousand-strong cavalry army of a Foreign Race called the Running Wolf was on a pillaging spree.
The newly assembled Firearms Army had been sent to drive the cavalry back to the barren, bitterly cold lands beyond the territory—or wipe them out entirely—and reclaim the stolen goods.
In the Main World, such an army wouldn't even qualify as a rabble.
Even in the Golden Continent, it would be considered a bunch of weaklings. But in this Other World, where automatic rifles had never existed, it was the first time the Foreign Race had learned what industrial power meant.
Next, Lin Ze planned to replicate the process.
The battle began. Looking at the scene before them, even the soldiers who had brought it about could hardly believe their eyes.
Ji Kan said excitedly, "If Zi Yi really has a way, I'll ask my imperial brother to reward you. You might even be made a marquis or appointed to high office..."
"Please provide me with all the information you have on the surrounding Foreign Races. That way, I can adapt my approach to local conditions. Once I've drawn up a detailed plan, none of these problems will be problems anymore."
"Sending experts to slaughter the Foreign Races drains their vital energy and hastens the loss of their life force, making it harder for them to live long. Using firearms to pacify the Foreign Races, on the other hand, lets peerless experts conserve their vital energy and live longer, so they can protect our Great Zhou for many more years."
But it was all in vain. They had only just turned around when they followed their companions into the afterlife.
A dense volley of gunfire rang out. Bullets poured forth like rain beating down on banana leaves, forming a curtain of fire.
The cavalrymen at the very front were struck with sprays of blood. They fell from their horses and died without even a groan.
On the battlefield, the Running Wolf cavalry had not even had time to laugh at the Great Zhou troops for not knowing how to form ranks.
Lin Ze smiled and asked a question that struck at the heart of the matter.
Right now, wiping out just one Foreign Race had cost two hundred thousand taels of silver in ammunition. If they went on to wipe out every Foreign Race around the Great Zhou Dynasty, the cost would probably exceed ten million.
If the three sides could all win, Emperor Ji Yuan would not mind even if he knew his younger brother Ji Kan was taking the opportunity to make money.
But the situation was different now. The Running Wolf army had been ravaging the border for a long time, stealing the belongings and food of many Great Zhou subjects, yet Great Zhou had never sent out warriors who seemed to descend from the heavens to punish them.
Then he suddenly understood. Lin Ze didn't care about empty honors like noble titles; he wanted tangible benefits.
"The experts who charge slowly saw that terrifying sight. They were so stunned they forgot even to raise their bows and shoot, and turned to flee."
"Generally speaking, using firearms is still worth it. Bullets can be bought with money, but you can't buy more years of life."
Ji Qingyan backed up her brother. "Zi Yi, this expense can't be avoided. Buying firearms from you to pacify the Foreign Races is one way to spend money; spending a great deal every year to train experts and station them at the border is another."
The Great Zhou troops were not in disarray. Facing the charging cavalry, they stood loosely spread out and began firing their guns from four hundred meters away.
Hearing that, Lin Ze nodded with satisfaction.
For new recruits who had only just learned to handle guns, killing one person for every two hundred bullets was already an impressive result.
"Good."
Besides, war cost more than just weapons. The soldiers had to be paid, too, which was another enormous expense.
If this had happened in the past, the Foreign Race would have turned and fled as soon as they saw the Great Zhou army, then paid tribute every year to beg for peace.
Lin Ze nodded. "Mm, I understand. We're still losing money."
He had relied on his exceptional physique to survive the first shot, but in the next instant, the many bullets that followed had riddled him like a sieve.
On the grasslands Outside North Sea Pass, the newly formed Firearms Army encountered the Running Wolf army.
This method of gaining fortune wasn't good, though. Destroying an individual or group outright was like harvesting leeks by tearing out the roots.
If he filled all ten cubic meters with steel, he could bury himself in it, completely cut off every attack coming from all directions, and then calmly open the Gates to Heavens and escape.
Even if someone brought several hundred or a thousand firearms and had a group of experts ambush him, he wouldn't be afraid.
Profiting from it was one thing; changing more people's destinies and reaping fortune was another benefit.
Worried Lin Ze might not believe he had the authority to make this decision, Ji Kan continued, "At that time, I'll ask my imperial brother to change my current fief in the east into a border fief, then tell him I'll handle the border troubles. The annual expenditure will only need to be between ten and thirteen million taels of silver."
Lin Ze's fortune could now strengthen his Personal Space eight times. Added to the two previous upgrades, that would increase it to ten cubic meters.
No wonder Lin Ze had gained tens of thousands in fortune all at once.
In any case, whether it was true or not, they would know when they looked into it later.
But from a cost perspective, ten million rounds of ammunition were worth two hundred thousand taels of silver.
Fengping County, Lin Residence.
Aside from a small portion that had accumulated naturally over time as his businesses grew in influence, the rest had surged only recently.
Next, the two took their leave and went back to prepare the information Lin Ze needed.
Lin Ze had just made over two billion, and now this deal had earned him another two billion. Selling weapons really was wildly profitable.
When the gunfire stopped, only a few Running Wolf tribesmen who had sensed danger in time and dismounted to take cover remained. Everyone else was dead. Across the empty grassland, many spooked horses were either bolting or crouching on the ground.
Ji Kan's expression froze as he boasted about the Great Zhou soldiers' achievements. He said seriously, "Zi Yi, defending our land and guarding our borders can't be measured in terms of cost. Protecting our Great Zhou subjects so they can live in peace and raise their families—that's the very reason a nation exists."
Lin Ze sent Ji Kan and his sister off, then put away the twenty-five thousand taels of gold they had just brought him.
Lin Ze's fortune balance had now reached...
As for how to spend his fortune, Lin Ze naturally chose without hesitation to strengthen his Personal Space.
His visit this time was not only to brag about the Great Zhou soldiers' prowess; he had also brought gold and silver to place an order, urging Lin Ze to hurry up and deliver the second batch of firearms and ammunition.
"Your Highness, all ten million bullets were used up in one battle. Can the spoils cover the cost?"
"This way, we can not only eliminate the threat to the border, but also gain a large number of useful laborers and fighters. It's killing several birds with one stone."
Hearing that, Ji Qingyan and Ji Kan exchanged a glance, both surprised.
A fifty-thousand-strong cavalry charge was an overwhelming tide of men and horses. Facing the might of industry, the very peak of the cold-weapon era, the riders fell in rows like cut wheat, unable to put up the slightest resistance.
So how had the threat posed by the nomads in the Main World disappeared?
Ji Kan agreed.
He had always been proud of his body of bronze sinews and iron bones, but even that had failed to save his life.
With the money put away, Lin Ze began to deal with the fortune that had just surged.
The principle was simple: whenever an individual or group's fortune fluctuated because of him, whether it rose or fell, the Gates to Heavens could siphon off a portion for his own use.
"Right now, Lin Ze can strengthen his Personal Space eight times, adding to the two previous upgrades and bringing it to ten cubic meters."
In that case, Lin Ze could take advantage of the change in fortune while leaving civilization intact, continually harvesting returns as fortune rose and fell.
As he imagined it, Lin Ze issued the command to the Gates to Heavens to strengthen his space.
However, considering the overwhelming power of firearms, both of them recognized that the Truth Sect's pursuit of the truths of the world was justified. So neither of them completely doubted that Lin Ze could pull it off.
"Spending eighty thousand fortune, strengthening the Personal Space by eight cubic meters."
That was only the beginning. As the first wave of cavalrymen died, severed limbs, shattered heads, and all manner of hellish scenes appeared at once.
By then, the center of the fifty-thousand-strong cavalry army had been exposed.
Lin Ze looked at Ji Kan and said, "Your Highness, if I can solve this, I'll need your help. How about you give me half the money saved on military expenses?"
"If Zi Yi can solve the problem, the imperial court can save on military spending, and we can get some money to buy Spiritual Medicine and support our cultivation. It's a win for all three sides. This can be done."
"The Foreign Races raid our borders every year because they don't have enough to eat or wear. If we want them to stop raiding, we need to let them support themselves and have enough to eat."
Hearing that, Ji Kan and Lin Ze exchanged glances. They both saw disbelief in the other's eyes.
The first was the large-scale spread of modern weapons. It would strip the nomads of the mobility that made their cavalry so effective, turning them from a terrifying border threat into people who could sing and dance.
"Even so, there are several hurdles. The first is that our country doesn't have enough food. Our own people sometimes go hungry, let alone having any to spare for outsiders. The second is that the lands beyond our borders are barren and have no useful resources."
Ji Kan held the battle report sent from North Sea Pass and excitedly recounted the results the automatic rifles had achieved for Lin Ze.
Before Ji Kan could argue, Lin Ze continued, "I know there are several difficulties with this. The first is that our country doesn't have enough grain to feed our own people, let alone outsiders. The second is that the lands beyond our borders are barren and have no value to us."
Ji Kan had been about to start making grand promises again when he saw Lin Ze's cool gaze. He remembered how he and his sister had nearly fallen out with Lin Ze a few days ago after making empty promises.
The gunfire continued. As commander of this army, the Sky Wolf King had natural strength and sinews and bones of bronze and iron, making him no weaker than many first-rate experts in the Central Plains. His impoverished brain had only just begun to process the unbelievable scene before him when the dense curtain of bullets swallowed him.
As he came into greater contact with the imperial family and sold more firearms, Lin Ze was making ever larger waves in this world. He needed stronger means of protecting himself.
Before you continue