Dimension Demon's Chat Group

Chapter 207 Zhuge Liang, the Materialist
[He Jingfeng: As a human being...]

[He Jingfeng: The topic is a bit too gory...]

[Su Haoming: In short, now is not the time.]

[Su Haoming: At least until the country is unified, it's not advisable to target the court officials.]

Li Shimin: I understand.

[Li Shimin: I have ordered my father to establish a publishing house, introduce new subjects, spread knowledge widely, and popularize education.]

[Li Shimin: Within ten years at most, a new generation of scholars will be able to enter the inner circle.]

[Li Shimin: I hope they grow up to look like the people I envision...]

[Fan Xian: So what kind of official do you ideally want?]

[Li Shimin: Of course, someone like the Chancellor!]

【Group members: …】

[Fan Xian: Isn't this a bit difficult for you?]

[Li Shimin: Even if my abilities are not on par with my father's, shouldn't my attitude at least be similar?]

[Li Shimin: Although they had only recently come into contact with modern knowledge, those old fogies in Chengdu were still worried about being electrocuted and were unwilling to run electrical wires or install electric lights in their mansions.]

[Li Shimin: On the other hand, my father, the Chancellor, is already skilled at disassembling and inspecting DC generators!]

【Group members: …】

[He Jingfeng: I remember the director of the Chengdu No. 1 Power Plant was the Prime Minister, right?]

Li Shimin: Yes!

[Li Shimin: There's no other way. If anyone else were even remotely reliable, I certainly wouldn't have entrusted this task to the Chancellor.]

[Li Shimin: We lack talent reserves!]

[Li Shimin: I can only ask my father to be more tolerant...]

[He Jingfeng: How about this, I'll recruit some people for you from my own world?]

[Li Shimin: Oh?]

[Li Shimin: Is this even possible?]

He Jingfeng: There shouldn't be any problem.

[He Jingfeng: I have plenty of educated people here who have a skill and no ties to reality. As long as you're discreet when hiring, you can definitely fool a few time travelers into working for you.]

Upon seeing the message posted by He Jingfeng in the group, Li Shimin was somewhat tempted.

After a moment's thought, he replied, "Then it's settled!"

[Li Shimin: We'll discuss the specifics at our next meeting at the temple.]

He Jingfeng: It's a deal.

After closing the chat group, Li Shimin continued to handle the government affairs at hand.

Busy until dark, he lit the incandescent lamp in the hall, summoned Zhuge Liang who had just finished get off work, and said he wanted to have a drink together after a long time.

Zhuge Liang readily agreed and accompanied Li Shimin, who was in high spirits, as they drank the special new product from the royal brewery.

Although they said they wouldn't discuss politics beforehand, the top two leaders of Shu Han couldn't help but talk about the Northern Expedition and government affairs when they got together.

"Your Majesty is indeed a gift from heaven!"

"With Your Majesty's improved papermaking and printing techniques, it will be difficult for the old aristocratic families to block the literary tradition. The literary center of the past thousand years will shift from here on out. The grand vision of Confucius to educate all without discrimination will also become a reality in Your Majesty's hands!"

Hearing the slightly admiring compliments around him, Li Shimin smiled smugly.

But then he shook his head, patted Zhuge Liang on the shoulder, and said:
"I merely sat in the palace and used some ink to ensure that this decree was implemented without inciting any rebellion among the powerful families. Your Excellency, you deserve the greatest credit!"

"...It's just that the late emperor's legacy is respected and followed by the people, and the timing isn't right, so we're just holding back!"

Zhuge Liang shook his head and said, "Once the world is unified and the four seas are at one, the powerful clans will never tolerate the common people standing alongside them in the court. Sooner or later they will make trouble for this and block the people's path to advancement."

"They dare!"

Li Shimin sneered, "If papermaking and printing can't open the doors of aristocratic families, then I'll use powerful ships and cannons to physically shatter their thresholds!"

Zhuge Liang smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "Your Majesty is wise; this old minister admires you!"

Li Shimin laughed as well: "Let's not talk about that. How is your spiritual practice these days, Grand Chancellor? Has it been neglected by state affairs?"

Zhuge Liang shook his head and said, "Your Majesty and the late Emperor entrusted this old minister with the weighty task of establishing a great dynasty. Even if I devote myself to the utmost, it is my duty as a minister. How can I use the burden of paperwork as an excuse to shirk my duties?"

Li Shimin understood and said, "Then there was a delay!"

After saying this, before Zhuge Liang could offer any explanation, Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Father-in-Chief, do not worry. Before long, I will find a group of professionals with the relevant skills to assist you!"

"At that time, the Prime Minister can confidently step down from his posts at paper mills, printing plants, and power plants, and focus on the Northern Expedition!"

Oh?
Zhuge Liang's expression shifted slightly. These new factories that His Majesty spoke of were all built with the novel knowledge passed down from the Heavenly Palace. Not to mention the Wei and Wu kingdoms, which had never been exposed to this knowledge, even the people from the Shu kingdom in the factories today could hardly be called talented.

After a moment's hesitation, he asked in a low voice, "May I ask Your Majesty, where do these talented individuals come from?"

Li Shimin replied without hesitation, "Of course, it's other worlds!"

Zhuge Liang was slightly taken aback, and frowned, saying, "Is this what Your Majesty meant by the concept of the Three Thousand Worlds?"

"That's right!"

Perhaps because he had drunk a little wine, Li Shimin's answer was quite straightforward, without any intention of concealing a lie. Zhuge Liang gave Li Shimin a deep look, considered it for a moment, and then suddenly said in a low voice, "For the past month, this old minister has been studying the knowledge of astronomy passed down from the Heavenly Palace, but the more I read, the more doubts I have in my heart."

"Now, thanks to His Majesty's favor, we are invited to a banquet where we will not discuss politics but only talk about romance and nature."

"This old minister dares to humbly request Your Majesty to speak frankly and dispel the doubts in my heart!"

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Father, please speak freely!"

Zhuge Liang remained silent for a moment, then slowly asked, "In this world... are there truly immortals and gods?"

Li Shimin was slightly taken aback, and frowned as he asked, "What makes you say that, Prime Minister?"

Zhuge Liang said in a low voice, "In the beginning of time, people sucked the essence of dew, ate grass and tree fruits, lived in the mountains and ate birds and beasts, and wore their feathers and skins. Near the water, they ate fish, turtles, clams and mussels. There was no fire, so there was a lot of fishy smell, which harmed their stomachs."

“If a sage were to appear and rule with the virtue of fire, he would create a fire drill to produce fire, teach people to cook food, and cast metal to make blades. The people were overjoyed and called him Suiren (the Fire Man).

Li Shimin said thoughtfully, "This is the legend of Suirenshi, the fire god of our Chinese civilization."

Zhuge Liang looked at him intently and said, "I wonder if Your Majesty has ever considered what the ancient people would think of a person who brings fire to the site of the ancestor of fire?"

"You mean... an immortal?"

"Your Majesty is indeed wise!"

Zhuge Liang first offered a compliment, then whispered, "The Heavenly Palace's 'Materialism' states that things are the origin of the world, and the mind is merely a shadow of things. All phenomena in heaven and earth are not governed by gods or ghosts, but are the transformations of natural matter."

Xunzi said that the movement of the heavens is constant, and Wang Chong discussed the naturalness of primordial energy. Both of them said that the nature of things is the basis, and that it is not caused by the will of heaven.

"In my humble opinion, physical form should precede spiritual thought. The real body governs the ethereal consciousness, just like the image in a mirror, which appears because of the reflection of the object, and is not something that appears out of thin air..."

Zhuge Liang explained his understanding of materialism.

As Li Shimin listened, he suddenly understood what he meant and couldn't help but laugh.

"Does the Prime Minister mean that so-called immortals and gods are merely human beings who have grasped the principles of nature?"

"The old minister dare not."

That being said, judging from Zhuge Liang's expression, that was clearly his opinion.

At least the knowledge transmitted from the Heavenly Palace was enough to serve as evidence to support his conjecture.

Li Shimin laughed and said, "No wonder the other day when there was spring thunder, the Prime Minister risked his life to summon the thunder with the help of a lightning rod... Was this also to verify the materialism of the Heavenly Palace?"

Zhuge Liang shook his head and said, "It's just an experiment."

Li Shimin laughed and said, "That's right. As the Prime Minister said, much of the so-called knowledge of the Heavenly Palace comes from those otherworldly humans who have mastered the principles of nature, but that does not mean that immortals and gods do not exist."

"If not, why would the Heavenly Palace pass down this knowledge?"

Zhuge Liang said softly, "This is also what I don't understand the most."

Li Shimin smiled and patted Zhuge Liang on the shoulder: "I know what you are worried about, Prime Minister. You are afraid that I will be deceived by bad people and become obsessed with the so-called reincarnation of the true emperor, and unknowingly lead the Han Dynasty into an abyss."

"I understand the Prime Minister's intentions, and I can also understand his concerns."

"But I must say, Your Excellency, you are overthinking it!"

"How could I possibly be fooled by such a low-level lie?"

"Even if we take a step back and assume that I have truly been deceived by villains, what exactly is the so-called Heavenly Palace after?"

"Are you after the mere hundreds of thousands of households in my Sichuan province?"

Looking at the smile on Li Shimin's face, Zhuge Liang seemed to be deep in thought.

He revealed this matter today only because he found the Heavenly Palace suspicious and wanted to subtly remind His Majesty.

But now, it seems His Majesty is fully aware of these so-called suspicious points, and may even be personally involved...

Then there's no problem!

Having figured this out, he did not hesitate to prostrate himself and beg for forgiveness: "This old minister spoke recklessly, please punish me, Your Majesty!"

Li Shimin quickly helped him up and said with a smile, "I know that you still have doubts, but it doesn't matter. When we destroy the states of Wei and Wu in the future, you can leave this world with me and see the so-called Heavenly Palace with your own eyes!"

……

……

Three days later, Li Shimin and He Jingfeng met in the inner universe and discussed in detail the matter of recruiting talents from the modern world.

Lin Yu also listened in for a while, offered a few constructive suggestions, and then quickly disappeared into his inner universe, appearing instead in the Spine City of the Frilian world.

After three days of intensive production, the virtual reality gaming pod has officially gone on sale.

In the name of the city lord, Wall established the world's first virtual reality game company and launched the first virtual reality game, "Star Journey," on a small scale within his clan!
The straightforward game title, coupled with the phrase "Our journey is to the stars and the sea," easily piqued the interest of the immortals.

In just one day, this game became a new trend among the immortals.

Almost every immortal in Spine Peak City had one. Those immortals who were traveling outside also became very interested upon receiving the news and rushed towards Spine Peak City.

Considering the issue of public opinion, this matter was firmly kept secret by Vol within the Immortal Clan.

The main reason for doing this is for the safety of the people.

The souls of the immortals are highly bound to the universe within their bodies, so even if they die in the game, no one can stop them from returning.

Unless it's Whitebeard, the Ancient One, or even some other great being stronger than him.

But an existence like this would not easily become an enemy of Lin Yu for the sake of a mere soul.

(End of this chapter)