Deep within Jade Water Forest, the windows of the damaged Buddhist Hall had been replaced and its tiled roof repaired, but many traces of battle still remained inside.
The golden Buddha that had been knocked aside still stood on the left side of the hall, where several craftsmen from the Thousand Mechanisms Sect were repairing the sliding tracks beneath the floor.
A small table stood in the middle of the hall. Zhongsun Jin sat on the floor, sketching Eastern Lake Fort on paper with drafting tools; opposite him sat Eunuch Xu, who was responsible for assisting with its defense.
Eastern Lake Fort stood on the eastern shore of Tianlang Lake, at the pass Xie Jianlan's ancestors had guarded. After the Northwestern Royal Court was annexed, the border moved forward, and the Western Sea Protectorate replaced Eastern Lake Fort.
But with the Tianlang King's surviving followers resurfacing and the Western Frontier at risk of slipping out of control, a project to renovate Eastern Lake Fort had been initiated before the new year, effectively creating a second defensive line in the west.
Zhongsun Jin truly excelled in both scholarly and martial pursuits. Not only did he hold a lofty position in the martial world, but he was also a founding master in siege warfare, fortifications, architecture, and waterworks. Along the way, he led his disciples and their disciples in researching materials, metallurgy, machinery, medicine, and more. His work could be said to touch every field.
Unfortunately, the Southern and Northern Dynasties had far too many scoundrels in their martial circles, and these people were quite capable. The Thousand Mechanisms Sect had only just developed the Thousand-Li Mirror and begun gradually supplying Northern Liang's army when the Red Flower House was already using it aboard its ships. Technological advances on both sides were