Seeing the young Taoist's somber expression, the Taoist smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's only a hundred years, it will pass in the blink of an eye."
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Chapter Fourteen: Xu Shu, who became a Taoist priest, and the five-hundred-year-old secret contract.
"Xu Shu, courtesy name Yuanzhi, it's actually him?" Lin Yang was genuinely surprised as he looked at the message delivered by the Zhang family.
According to 21st-century accounts, this person practiced martial arts in his youth and was a wandering knight-errant. Later, he killed someone to save a friend and had to change his name. Eventually, he was taught by Sima Hui and became a skilled warrior. Finally, he joined Liu Bei and became Liu Bei's chief strategist. Before leaving, he recommended Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei.
In numerous Three Kingdoms games, this character's intelligence level has consistently been 95 points or higher, which speaks volumes.
"Are you really Xu Shu? From Yingchuan? The Xu Shu who killed someone in a fit of rage to save his comrade?"
Looking at the handsome middle-aged man in front of him, who had an otherworldly air about him and was stroking his beard from time to time, Lin Yang felt a bit disoriented, as if he had wandered into the wrong movie set.
Seeing this, Xu Shu was also very surprised. Had he become so famous? Then he said, "That's right, it is I. I was born in Yingchuan, a native of Changshe. My original name was Shan Fu. In my youth, I was a wandering knight-errant. Later, for some reason, I committed murder and was imprisoned."
"Then, I was rescued by a Taoist priest from the Zhang family of Longhu Mountain. After that, I began to study Taoism. This study lasted for over a hundred years, and unknowingly, I broke through the Yin Spirit and Yang Spirit stages, and even now, I've become a Human Immortal," Xu Shu sighed. Unbeknownst to him, he was already over a hundred years old—he was old!
Hearing this, Lin Yang nodded. It seemed history was about to change. Originally, after Xu Shu was released from prison, he would have changed his name, begun studying, and eventually served Liu Bei. Now, however, he had been rescued by the Zhang family's Taoist priest and was beginning to learn Taoism.
I wonder how long my understanding of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms will remain effective! Then, I continued to look up Xu Shu's information.
Xu Shu learned the fire-based cultivation technique "Blazing Fire Dao Scripture" from the Zhang family's guest elders. Originally, he could only cultivate it to the fourth level of Human Immortal, and the technique itself was also quite ordinary.
As a result, Xu Shu, relying solely on his natural talent, gradually bolstered his foundation and forged his own path. When he transitioned from the third to the fourth tier, he inexplicably disappeared for a period, during which he obtained a great opportunity. (Lin Yang speculated that this was because he entered the Primal Land.)
His position in the Zhang family was awkward, neither high nor low. If he were even slightly less talented, he would have already wholeheartedly pledged allegiance to the Zhang family.
At that time, there will be no shortage of spirit stones, cultivation techniques, or magical treasures. In fact, many other resources will also be plentiful.
Now, he's too qualified and too independent. He's unwilling to submit, at least not wholeheartedly. Even if the Zhang family has grand ambitions, they won't waste resources on him.
Since you won't pledge allegiance, why should I continue investing? If I can't fully control you, what good will it do for the Zhang family, no matter how talented you are? Therefore, this time I sent Xu Shu over.
On the one hand, Xu Shu did not completely submit to the Zhang family. After being given to Lin Yang, Lin Yang no longer needed to worry about whether he was a spy.
On the other hand, Xu Shu himself is exceptionally talented, and keeping him in the Zhang family would be a waste. It would be better to give him directly to Lin Yang; perhaps Lin Yang could even win him over.
Lin Yang was quite satisfied with Zhang Lu's explanation. This was Xu Shu, after all, another top strategist, oh, now he'd become a Taoist priest.
“Your cultivation level is at the fourth level of Human Immortal, and you are currently the person with the highest cultivation level in the entire Wu Kingdom. If you had come to me half a year ago when I was still in the capital, you would definitely be the head of the civil service system.”
“If this had happened three months ago, before I even arrived in Jiangdong, you would probably have been one of the three big shots in the cultural management system.”
"Now that the system is in place, and the five hundred nobles have been working together for two whole months, it's unrealistic to expect me to promote you immediately. That wouldn't be caring; it would be harming you," Lin Yang said calmly, looking at Xu Shu.
I just hope Xu Shu can understand what I mean. Otherwise, if he really can't accept it, then I can only go back to where I came from and let the Zhang family replace him with someone else.
Upon hearing this, Xu Shu smiled and said, "This is quite common. Throughout history, apart from the elders who were there at the beginning of the dynasty, how many of those who suddenly obtained high positions have had a good ending?"
This is essentially a fundamental issue. If you haven't made any contributions and aren't a veteran like before, and suddenly you're thrust into a high position, the entire civil service will likely look down on you. Under such circumstances, how can you go far?
Look at Gan Luo, who was said to have become prime minister at the age of twelve. That's quite impressive, isn't it? He was a high-ranking official at the age of twelve. But what happened? Heh!
Without a foundation, you'll have few henchmen and few wings. You might even be disliked by your boss, and your career won't last long.
Seeing Xu Shu's reaction, Lin Yang was also very satisfied. He then said, "From now on, your position will be the head of the Ministry of Works, with a rank tentatively set at the sixth grade, and you will be specifically responsible for inventions and creations."
"As long as you work hard, I guarantee you will become an Earth Immortal within thirty years. However, the specific details of the job are one of the biggest secrets of the Wu Kingdom. Therefore, we need to sign a confidentiality agreement in advance, which is to say that we are being upfront about the unpleasant aspects."
As he spoke, he produced a contract. This contract was made of unusual materials; it wasn't for signing, but for reading. Simply reading it from beginning to end would naturally attract the attention of the Heavenly Dao. All that remained was to swear an oath.
Seeing this, Xu Shu frowned. However, after so many years of hard work, he knew that there were indeed some very core secrets that required making a vow to Heaven before understanding them.
These kinds of secrets are usually kept at the core of the family, which shows that Lin Yang trusts him a lot. From this perspective, it can be considered good news.
"Keep it a secret for five hundred years? Not a single word may be revealed within five hundred years. From the first year, I will be allocated at least one million taels of silver, and this amount will only increase each year thereafter, for work and research purposes. All research results will only be nominally owned, with a maximum of half a percent of the profits..."
After reading the confidentiality agreement, Xu Shu was even more puzzled and curious. One million taels of silver annually for research expenses was already quite generous. Moreover, there was a 50% profit-sharing component, which was even better.
Therefore, without much hesitation, Xu Shu signed the contract and swore an oath to Heaven.
"Now, my lord, you can tell me more about what exactly I, as the head of the Ministry of Works, am responsible for?" Xu Shu asked tentatively with a smile.
Since it was their first meeting, even though Lin Yang had a very good reputation (how could it not? He was constantly being promoted in various advertorials in the newspapers, subtly raising people's opinion of him), it was still better to test the waters first.
"Haha, actually, what you need to do is very simple: observe the lives of ordinary people, and then, based on the steam engine, invent all sorts of practical machines. For example, machines specifically for transplanting rice seedlings, tilling the land, smelting iron, smelting steel, and mining. Even the magic weapons for large-scale, industrialized production—these are all things you will be responsible for."
"This includes industrial standards, the key points of assembly lines, the construction of lathes and machine tools, the rational use of steam engines, and even airplanes and ships. These are all things you will be responsible for researching. Believe me, once you've researched these things, you'll definitely be remembered in history. At that time, no one will object to giving you the position of Minister of Works," Lin Yang said excitedly.
In Lin Yang's view, these Qi Refiners were all talented individuals, even geniuses. They simply had chosen the wrong path!
Instead of inventing and creating, they spend their days dreaming of immortality. Then, they pour their limited energy into the endless pursuit of eternal life. But in the end, how many truly achieve immortality?
Look at their brains. The mental power of a fourth-level human immortal cultivator, when fully engaged in calculations, is at the level of a quantum computer!
Imagine how much the world would change if Einstein's brain's computing power suddenly increased to the quantum level?
If the computing power of all scientists in China could instantly reach the level of a supercomputer, what kind of changes would occur in technology?
Therefore, although Xu Shu did not understand science at this time, Lin Yang still had great confidence in him.
In any case, with the steam engine as the core component, it wasn't difficult to simply observe life, summarize patterns, and invent things.
Unlike Lin Yang's excitement, Xu Shu was completely bewildered. What on earth is all this? Why do I understand each word individually, but when put together, I don't understand at all? The last time I had this thought was when I first started learning Taoism and reciting Taoist scriptures.
"What is this steam engine? What is industrialization? And what are these machines used for?" Xu Shu asked, puzzled.
To him, Lin Yang's words were like a fairy tale, completely incomprehensible. But more importantly, he sensed an opportunity while Lin Yang was speaking.