Iron Dragon Scythed Through the Dusty Road; the Ice Messengers Lit the Beacon, Shattering the Traitors' Web

At the far end of the workshop, in an open space.

Two parallel rails lay on the ground, forged from steel and joined with copper rivets at the seams, fitted together without a gap.

A small iron carriage, half a man's height, sat on the rails. A little chimney rose from its rear, hissing out white steam. The gears beneath the carriage meshed with the rails, and as the Steam Engine started, the carriage moved forward slowly. Its wheels rolled almost silently.

"This is the Rail-Car."

Qin Guli's eyes gleamed. "It's still small, but if we use the Hundred-Refining Machine to forge rails a zhang long, then build a large steam engine, it could haul over a hundred shi of grain.

"Once the rails are laid, even the journey from Xianyang to Handan will take only a day or two. If famine strikes anywhere, we can send relief grain at once. No more fear of grain being plundered or aid arriving too late."

Zhao Cheng ran his hand over the cold metal of the rails, and a crisscrossing railway network had already taken shape in his mind.

Steam locomotives would roar past, their carriages packed with soldiers and grain. A journey that had once taken half a month would now take only a day or two, and the border could answer a sudden attack in an instant.

With this, the entire Qin State would be as solid as an iron plate!

Never mind the states of Yan and Qi—even the foreign tribes on every frontier could be wiped out with ease.

It was time to blast open the gates to the Western world.

As he pondered, Qin Guli rubbed his hands, looking a little embarrassed.

"General," Qin Guli said, handing him a drawing. It showed a strange iron carriage with