A Craftsman and Statesman from a Poor Family

Starting out with three vats of brine in a broken kiln, he boiled it into white salt and forged it into fine steel. Through sheer persistence, he transformed himself from a lowborn artisan into the thorn that kept the powerful clans awake at night.

Everyone laughed at him as a greedy profiteer, until he slapped his Petition to Abolish Lowborn Status onto the Golden Throne. Only then did the entire court realize: he wasn't making salt and iron, but a coffin for the old order.