Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 742 The dying dynasty was revived because of him

When the battle flag is hoisted on the giant ship, it means that it is about to set sail for battle. The warships that the navy usually trains and goes into battle are nothing more than small children in front of it, or even less than small children. It is like a big black fish leading a group of fish fry.

The massive ship, twenty feet long, with its sails raised as it sailed out of the harbor, created the visual effect of a mountain. As it slowly passed the edge of the city, countless people would come from dozens of miles away before dawn to watch.

Emperor Jingtai stood at the bow of the ship, holding a telescope and pretending to look into the distance. Although it was completely useless, he looked cool!

The emperor, a poet and literary enthusiast who could hold his own against Li Shimin, who could tear apart Japanese soldiers with his bare hands, for thirty rounds without losing, was certainly not a weak person. Standing there, his fiery red cloak fluttered in the wind under the sunlight.

"That must be Marshal Xia, right? He's truly imposing and valiant."

"That's His Majesty! Don't speak to him if you don't recognize him. It's said that His Majesty has spent his life conquering east and west, first forcing the grasslands to pay tribute and cede land, and now he's here to sweep away the Japanese pirates for us. He's truly a good emperor. I heard that one ship costs hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and it's said that His Majesty sold his own large fields to get it."

On one hand, it was said that His Majesty sold his own land to buy the boat. But after a while, it became that His Majesty pawned the Imperial Seal for the boat. All sorts of strange versions appeared, since rumors spread much faster than the truth.

At this moment, Li Shimin was also on the ship. He was sitting alone in the cabin, writing a letter to Chang'an.

“Sister, I was ordered to inspect the Longyou and Hexi regions and then travel eastward. I have traveled through two seasons and passed through twenty-one prefectures. Now, I offer my humble opinion to Heaven.”

When I first passed through Jingzhou, I still saw the old stele lying fallen among the weeds, yet new rice already piled high in the fields. The post roads that were destroyed in the wars of yesteryear are now bustling with merchants. Every prefecture and county has a horse market and a tea market, where merchants of all ethnicities gather, ensuring smooth trade. Children of both Han and non-Han ethnicities study together in night schools.

Upon arriving at Fuliang, I found peace and prosperity, with people living in tranquility. Their craftsmen, farmers, and merchants each fulfilled their duties, with no merchants interfering in politics and no powerful families dominating the government. Later, I heard the sound of chanting in the streets at night; children of all, from high-ranking officials to ordinary people, were learning, and their skills in crafts, agriculture, literature, and martial arts were all put to use. Later, upon arriving in Jiangnan, I learned that the abandoned temple's bronze bell had been used to cast plowshares, workshops had been repaired, and agriculture and sericulture had been supported. The land had been distributed to displaced people for reclamation.

Your Majesty, observing the celestial phenomena and human affairs, finds five signs to prove the restoration of the Wei dynasty: First, border generals no longer privately keep troops, all saying, "We are willing to exchange our heads for official appointments"; second, scholars from humble backgrounds all have hope, and powerful families no longer have the power to control everything; third, the markets are full of goods, prices are stable, and the people's livelihood is strictly guarded by the government, with grain, water, and land controlled by the government, especially food rations; fourth, water conservancy is always in place, and the floating bridge construction team is nearby. The 100,000-strong force was divided into nine departments and fourteen bureaus, each with its own duties, including building bridges, houses, roads, clearing silt, and opening up mountains. The monthly salary was quite high, and the more they worked, the more they earned, so the people flocked to it. Fifthly, many Hu merchants offered treasures in exchange for citizenship, but citizenship in the Great Wei was extremely difficult. However, it was very convenient for people from Jiangbei to become citizens. In fact, the people of Jiangnan spoke the Northwest dialect everywhere, and they were all of one mind and one heart. Chang'an could follow suit; otherwise, within ten years, there would probably be no one left to use in Jiangbei and the Northwest.

Your Majesty should know that the wheat ears on both banks of the Wei River today are not due to wind or rain, but because farmers dare to store surplus grain in the official granaries; merchants do not carry bows and swords, not because of laws or regulations, but because soldiers are stationed at the beacon towers along the way. The skeletal figures depicted in the refugee paintings of yesteryear are now mostly canal boatmen, factory workers, and laborers in the fields, their muscles clearly defined. It is truly a scene of vibrant life and renewal.

Looking back at my great Tang Dynasty, I once thought that the difference between Tang and Wei was only one or two ministers. But now I am shocked to realize that the difference between Tang and Wei is probably as vast as the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers. Although the court mocks the Wei emperor for being neither a true ruler nor a true subject, which only adds to the laughter, from my own observations, the Wei emperor is regarded as the best ruler by the people. Some compare him to Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han, and some compare him to Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang.

Your humble servant believes that the Great Wei has achieved such a state in just over ten years. Although it is due to the efforts of a certain person, it is not solely due to that person. The emperor, the people, the public, and the ministers all worked together to achieve this. The Great Tang cannot be taken away.

I also met Zhang Zhongchun, the Chamberlain of the Secretariat, during this trip. He is skilled in both literature and military affairs. His literary talent is probably no less than that of Xia Daosheng, and his leadership ability is vaguely superior to that of my younger brother.

Your subject does not understand why such outstanding talents could emerge from Tianwei in such a short period of time. It is truly perplexing. However, your subject has not yet had a proper meeting with Ma Zhou, the chief of the three provinces. But it is conceivable that he can remain firmly in the top position of the three provinces, as can be seen from the fact that he has been promoted to the position of chief of the three provinces by Zhang Zhongchun and Xia Daosheng.

Now, your humble servant is on the shores of the East China Sea, where he sees the ships of the Tian Wei dynasty, as numerous as islands and mountains. Our Li Tang dynasty currently lacks a direct sea route, but the lands of Shandong are easily within our grasp; therefore, these ships are of utmost importance. However… your humble servant has a request: please, Your Majesty, help your brother, otherwise, this vital national treasure may be beyond our ability to retrieve.”

Li Shimin sighed as he wrote this. When he looked up, he was no longer the joking street ruffian Li Shimin, but the Crown Prince Shizong, whose eyes were full of worry and vigilance. He put the letter away and put it in his pocket. He went to the window and looked at the vast sea. He couldn't help but feel a lot of emotions.

What he saw and heard on the ship over the past two days actually dealt him a heavy blow, because he had previously thought that as long as he could build the ship, everything would be fine.

But after a few days, he was shocked to discover that even if he built a ship, it was only the first step in a journey of a thousand miles.

To put it simply, even the Li Tang dynasty couldn't manufacture sails like that. Those double-woven canvases soaked in tung oil couldn't possibly be woven by human hands; they must have been produced by a super-large water-powered loom. They're sturdy, durable, windproof, waterproof, and indestructible. Such things are rare even in the outside world; most people would treasure them if they got their hands on one.

Then there's the daily supplies on board, the sailors' food, drink, and toilet needs, the storage of fresh water, the preservation of food, and so on. Each of these is a separate field of study. Even the paint used on the hull is their exclusive formula, which is wear-resistant, corrosion-resistant, and insect-proof. It's no exaggeration to say that the formula for this stuff would cost at least 200,000 taels of silver, but the key point is that they probably wouldn't sell it.

Beyond these fundamental hardware aspects, their soft power is also quite impressive. The vast ocean is not a martial arts world; it truly stretches to the horizon. Yet, they can accurately determine their location. Li Shimin, a military strategist, couldn't even read a nautical chart. Now, he sees everyone on the ship with shining eyes. In just a few days, many people have told Xia Lin that Prince Li's gaze towards them is strange, wondering if he's been too lonely at sea and developed some homosexual desires...

However, Xia Lin didn't have time to care about Li Shimin's quirks. Let him do whoever he wants, as long as he doesn't get involved with him, that's all that matters.

"Erfeng has been acting strangely lately."

That evening, after a training exercise aboard the ship, Emperor Jingtai came to Xia Lin's cabin. Sitting on the stool fixed to the floor, he frowned and said, "He spends all his time wandering around the ship, touching this and that, asking all sorts of questions." Xia Lin, who was currently studying navigation, didn't even turn his head when he heard this and replied, "That's normal. Do you think he's just lying around because he's joking around with us? He's got the makings of a great ruler."

"I knew it. I thought that Erfeng's personality had changed drastically after she failed to become emperor."

"Just remember one thing: he is the head of the largest intelligence agency in the Li Tang regime."

"Then why did you let him aboard the ship?!"

Xia Lin put down his pen and burst into laughter: "Why not?"

Emperor Jingtai was stingy and jealous. He genuinely didn't want Li Shimin to touch his precious ship. After hearing Xia Lin's words, he said with a very strange expression, "Aren't you afraid he'll steal our things?"

"Your Majesty, do you know what it takes to build this ship?"

"I don't know."

Xia Lin cleared his throat: "We need the Soviet Union... no, wrong channel. We need sixteen shipyards, more than 46,000 people, 750 experts in related fields, ten years of educational foundation, a unified system of weights and measures, and the Ministry of Revenue's questioning, accusations, and impeachment."

"So... even if he were given the ship, he wouldn't be able to build it?"

“He can’t even drive it away.” Xia Lin laughed.

"But what if he poachs people and leaves?"

Xia Lin rested her chin on one hand: "Brother Jing, I have a very simple question for you. Think about it for a moment before you answer me."

"Alright, go ahead." Emperor Jingtai sat up straight. "Please."

"Imagine you've spent ten years diligently studying engineering, overcoming countless obstacles and exhausting all your energy to finally have the opportunity to participate in the design and construction of the most powerful warship in the Great Wei Dynasty. This project would guarantee you a life of comfort and prestige, immortal fame and glory, and allow you to fully utilize your talents and ambitions. Then, someone from another country approaches you and says, 'Come work for me; wealth and honor will be yours.' Would you go?"

Emperor Jingtai spat on the ground: "How foolish of me to do that, gambling everything I already have on an uncertain tomorrow?"

Xia Lin spread his hands: "That's the problem. Those who can be pulled away aren't the core members. The core members won't leave at all. There are only a few reasons why they'll leave: one is that they're being persecuted here, another is that the country is on the verge of collapse, and the last is that they're being suppressed. Otherwise, who would want to leave a stable environment?"

"Hmm...then why are you so greedy for Li Shimin?"

“Because,” Xia Lin smiled helplessly, placing his hands on his knees, “life is limited in both length and breadth. I can’t do too much by myself, so I need someone to help me accomplish something.”

"what's up?"

"Eternal unification."

Emperor Jingtai was taken aback: "Unification for all ages? Didn't you say that there is no foundation for a dynasty that lasts forever?"

"We may not have a foundation, but we will have other things: language, measurement, and writing. As long as these three things remain unified for eternity, the Chinese nation will always be one. I will not indulge in wishful thinking that I can make this land peaceful again, so I must devise a plan to deal with the future after it falls apart. I am a pessimist, just like parachutes on airplanes must have been designed by pessimists."

"What is... an airplane?"
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Something came up today and I'll make up for the missing chapter tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)