My hotel is full of emperors throughout history.

Many people were watching at the airport, but none of them were as shocked as Lao Zhu and the others.

For them, it's more like a testament.

Witness the power of humankind in conquering the skies.

Witness how ordinary people, with bodies of steel, can perform divine deeds.

Liu Che's hand rested on the glass, his palms sweating.

He was thinking, if the Han Dynasty had such birds, what would the Xiongnu cavalry be?

What does the depth of the grassland matter?

He could set off from Chang'an in the morning and arrive in the northern desert in the evening, looking down from the sky at those tents, cattle, sheep, and horses...

If you were to load some of the cannonballs you'd seen on TV before onto it...

Liu Che's eyes flashed.

But Ying Zheng was thinking about something else.

He wondered how many craftsmen would be needed to build such a machine.

What kind of materials do you need?

What kind of craftsmanship?

And how long does it take for someone to learn how to drive it?

Zhu Yuanzhang was the most pragmatic.

"Hey kid, how much does one of these planes cost?"

"The A380 would cost around 400 million US dollars."

"Four hundred million... US dollars?"

"That's equivalent to more than two billion RMB."

Old Zhu fell silent.

More than two billion per aircraft...

This……

and many more!

Could he just sit in the plane and be teleported back to the Ming Dynasty like before?

But he quickly abandoned the idea.

If it's transported back without fuel or anything, it won't be of much use.

Instead of getting one of these, it would be better to buy more of the AKs that Chen mentioned before.

Li Shimin suddenly asked.

"Could this object be used to carry cargo?"

"Yes, we have dedicated cargo planes," Chen Mo said. "The largest cargo planes can carry over 100 tons."

"Over a hundred tons..." Li Shimin quickly calculated, "That's two hundred thousand catties. If it's for transporting grain..."

He didn't finish speaking, but the light in his eyes said it all.

The broadcast started.

"Boarding for flight MU5711 to Beilian has begun. Passengers please proceed to gate 12."

"It's our turn."

Chen Mo glanced at his boarding pass.

He led the group toward the boarding gate.

Queue up, swipe your boarding pass, and enter the cabin.

The flight attendants' smiles, the cabin seats, the overhead luggage racks, the small portholes...

"Let's sit here."

Chen Mo found a seat—he had specifically chosen one by the window.

This allowed several emperors to enjoy the scenery.

Liu Che sat by the window, his movements as he fastened his seatbelt somewhat clumsily.

Ying Zheng sat on the other side of the aisle, also by the window.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shimin sat in the middle row, while Zhu Di and his son sat behind them.

The plane started moving, turned, and taxied.

The captain's voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard this flight. Our flight time is estimated at 25 hours and 20 minutes, with a cruising altitude of 10,000 meters..."

"Ten thousand meters?" Li Shimin frowned. "How high is that?"

"Approximately... 30,000 feet."

At an altitude of 30,000 feet.

Liu Che stared out the window.

The plane was taxiing towards the runway. He could see the indicator lights along the runway and the taillights of other planes in the distance.

Then, the plane came to a stop at the end of the runway.

A brief stillness.

The engine roared suddenly louder, and I was pressed down into the seat. The runway began to recede rapidly, accelerating, and accelerating again…

At one moment, the fuselage felt light.

It's taking off.

The ground outside the window began to sink, buildings shrank to the size of building blocks, roads became thin lines, and cars resembled ants.

Higher and higher, until it pierced through the clouds, and the sunlight suddenly shone brightly.

Below is a continuous sea of ​​clouds, like a white wool carpet covering the sky.

Above was a deep blue sky, and the sunlight shone down without any obstruction.

The aircraft leveled off and began flying smoothly.

Liu Che pressed his face against the porthole, gripping the handrails on both sides, remaining silent for a long time.

Ying Zheng closed his eyes, but his fingers tapped lightly on the armrest—he was memorizing every detail of the flight.

Zhu Yuanzhang let out a long breath.

"My life has been worthwhile."

Zhu Di gazed at the sea of ​​clouds outside the window and suddenly murmured to himself.

"At dawn we fight to the sound of drums and gongs, at night we sleep embracing our jade saddles. I wish to use the sword at my waist to slay the Loulan."

But at this time,

Why would one need a sword at the waist to slay Loulan?

With this flying device, a distance of ten thousand miles is nothing more than a moment.

Later generations were no longer satisfied with simply defeating Loulan.

What they want to conquer is the sky, and even further places.

Li Shimin also had a complicated expression.

So this is what the future is like!!!

It turns out that humans really do have the ability to fly!

Chen Mo smiled as he looked at them, then turned his gaze to the window.

Suddenly, a slightly familiar voice came from the other side of the corridor.

"Oh, what a coincidence, we meet again."

Chen Mo turned his head and saw the same person who had been talking about the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge on the high-speed train.

The man looked to be in his forties and was holding a book about 20th-century world history.

"It's you! What a coincidence!"

Chen Mo responded with a smile.

"Your group... is also heading north?"

The middle-aged man used a somewhat subtle word, his gaze sweeping over Chen Mo's companions, whose demeanors were quite different.

Chen Mo pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"I guess so. I'm going to take care of some business, and while I'm at it... I'll pay my respects to the places I've been in the past."

The middle-aged man became interested upon hearing Chen Mo's words and adjusted his posture.

"Looking back at the footsteps of the past? You also know about the former Northern Associated University?"

"Of course!"

Chen Mo sighed.

"Who doesn't know that giant of a time? It's just a pity his era has ended..."

"It begins with humanity's most beautiful aspirations and spirit, yet ends with personal desires... It is undeniably a great irony."

Chen Mo sighed.

"That's right..."

The middle-aged man took over the conversation, his tone full of regret.

"What should have been a spark to break free from constraints was ultimately turned into a self-destructive flame by those who benefited from the status quo. What a pity, what a lament."

"You can't blame anyone else, but it's not necessarily a bad thing..."

Chen Mo smiled slightly.

"At least it showed us a dead end, didn't it?"

"That being said..."

The middle-aged man sighed.

"If they had actually followed that path back then, perhaps things wouldn't be like this now."

Chen Mo's tone was also full of melancholy.

"Yes, when that giant appeared out of nowhere, many people thought it could open up a completely new path, but in the end it could not escape the weaknesses of human nature."

"Those who benefit from the system treat public resources as private property, and gradually forget the wishes left by their predecessors."

The middle-aged man sighed and flipped through the history book in his hand.

"The most regrettable thing is that it had the opportunity to correct its mistakes."

"But the privileged class is deeply entrenched, making it difficult to touch anyone. In the end, we can only watch helplessly as the conflicts accumulate until they become uncontrollable."

"Back in the day, when that giant was still around, the salary of one person in an average White Eagle family was enough to support a family of four plus a dog..."

"See who among them dares to mess around?"

The middle-aged man was quite moved.

"During that period, all sorts of ingenious ideas were applied and developed. Some diseases that are incurable now could be cured back then. The White Eagles could even send people to the moon. But look at us now?"

Chen Mo chuckled.

"Brilliant ideas? Those are just a way to survive when you're forced into it."

"As someone said—after we leave, they will build schools and hospitals for you, and they will raise your wages. This is not because they have a change of heart, nor because they have become good people, but because we were here."

"Back when the giants were dominating the market, how could the capitalists on the other side of the White Eagle dare to make money lying down? If they didn't invest their technology in people's livelihoods and distribute the pie more evenly, their subordinates would probably have come knocking on their door with hammers long ago."

"If the people below don't have a good time, the other side will be very happy!"

"But people's hearts are fickle."

Chen Mo picked up the glass of cold water on the table and took a sip.

"When the people who conquered the country become the people who rule it, the 'for the people' they once shouted gradually turns into 'for their own people'."

"Privilege is something you can't let go of once you're on it, like a drug addiction. In the end, who remembers what they were trying to burn with that torch in the first place?"

The middle-aged man closed the book with a dull thud, as if sighing for that long-forgotten history.

"What's even more ironic is that when the giants fell, the capitalists on the White Eagle side celebrated their triumphs and then turned around and tore those welfare benefits apart bit by bit. Look at it now, an ordinary couple works themselves to the bone and still can't afford to raise a child, let alone a dog. They'd be killed at the slightest accident."

"That's why I say they are a pity, lamentable, tragic, but also hateful."

"To put it bluntly, it's because power wasn't properly controlled."

Chen Mo shook his head.

"The Northern Alliance served as a reminder to future generations through its own demise—no matter how grand the ideal, it needs real people to oversee it, otherwise it will eventually go awry."

The middle-aged man nodded repeatedly.

"Indeed, you were right before. It's like a pathfinder. It stumbled and fell, but it showed those who came after it which path was impassable. That's a kind of value in itself."

"At least we won't go down that wrong path now, right?"

The middle-aged man nodded, turned to look at the emperors, and asked with a smile.

"You gentlemen seem to be experienced people. What do you think is the most regrettable aspect of the Northern Alliance's downfall?"

"Nothing to regret..."

Old Zhu snorted coldly and glanced at Chen Mo.

After Chen Mo explained history to him, he had already seen many things clearly.

"No matter how good something is, once selfishness takes advantage of it, it becomes a source of trouble, and even the most severe punishments cannot completely prevent it."

"good!"

The middle-aged man nodded.

"Back then, Emperor Taizu of Ming was so ruthless to his subordinates, yet the Ming Dynasty still suffered from rampant corruption later on."

Old Zhu: ……

"Now……"

The middle-aged man sighed as he finished speaking.

"If only that person could come back."

"return?"

Chen Mo shook his head.

"I once wanted him to come back..."

After hearing this, Chen Mo remained silent for a long time before his voice suddenly lowered.

"But now... I keep thinking, do I really want him back?"

"Why come back? Just to suffer all that hardship again?"

Chen Mo shook his head, his voice becoming impassioned.

"We have hands and feet too! We also have the tools and techniques he left behind!"

"Why can't you just try it yourself, take a chance, and continue down the path you haven't finished?"

Liu Che and the others exchanged glances, not understanding why Chen Mo was suddenly so emotional.

The middle-aged man listened with a gleam in his eyes.

Chen Mo continued.

"Neither you nor I want to do it. We're both just hoping, hoping, and waiting for him to come back one day and lead us forward?"

"Then what are our hands, feet, and brains for?!"

Chen Mo spoke with great emotion, his chest heaving.

After a long while, he slowly calmed down, turning into a long, soft sigh.

"It's not that I don't want him to come back... I do."

"But I think he came back to see what new flowers the trees he planted have blossomed, to taste the food we grew ourselves, to... enjoy life."

"Soak up the sun, read some leisurely books, laugh and scold us for being so useless, and enjoy our old age in peace."

Chen Mo paused for a moment.

"Of course, if it were him, he wouldn't have called us useless."

"He would just smile and ask if we were having any difficulties, and then encourage us with a smile."

"Although the hope is that he can come back and enjoy a good life."

Chen Mo paused, a helpless smile appearing on his lips.

"But I know him too well..."

"If he really comes back, how can he stay still?"

"He's bound to worry about this and that, wandering around with his hands behind his back for a couple of minutes, always finding something to do, busier than anyone else... that's just his personality."

Finally, he raised his head, the fragile glint of tears in his eyes replaced by a gradually firming light, and looked into the void.

"I think... when students go to see their teachers, they have to put in some effort and produce something... acceptable, right?"

"If you have questions you don't know how to answer, of course you can ask, and you should ask."

"But I think... I'll try again—using the methods he taught me, combined with the realities of our generation, to test myself, to learn from my mistakes, even if my final answer is crooked or even wrong..."

He took a deep breath, as if he were carrying all his longing, reverence, and responsibility onto his shoulders.

"But I also wanted to show him that his students weren't always hiding in his shadow."

"We...are also trying to forge our own path."

"This road may be long and winding, and we may stumble and fall, but we ourselves are using the compass and pickaxe he left behind to carve it out, step by step."

"Even if he comes back, he'll leave again. Are we going to have to beg him to come back then?"

"To fantasize about his return all day long without putting up any resistance—doesn't that contradict his thoughts and beliefs?"

Liu Che and the others frowned, having no idea what Chen Mo was talking about.

This kid... why is he starting to use riddles?

But the middle-aged man's eyes were already red. He raised his hand to wipe his face, his voice thick with nasal tone, yet firm and resolute.

"Well said! That's fucking great!"

He stepped forward and patted Chen Mo's shoulder hard, so hard that Chen Mo staggered.

"Yes! He taught us to stand tall and be responsible people, and to walk our own paths. If we only hope he'll come back to shelter us from the storm, then we'll truly be letting him down!"

"Young man! I believe in you!!!"

Chen Mo smiled.

"Problems are meant to be solved, not complained about. If we move forward step by step and make changes little by little, we can always make our lives more stable."

The middle-aged man nodded emphatically, his eyes still red-rimmed, but the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile.

"That's right! Look at all these lights in the homes; every single one is a testament to a peaceful and prosperous life. If that person could come back and take a look, they'd probably be beaming with joy!"

He raised his hand to wipe his face, his tone full of relief.

"What he cared about most his whole life was to ensure a better life for the people and peace for the world, wasn't it?"

"Now that we've done it, and even done it better, he'll be happier than anyone else if he knew—he might even stroll around the streets with his hands behind his back, chat with the neighbors, and try out the new gadgets!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo also smiled.

But the others were completely confused, becoming more and more bewildered the more they listened.

"What exactly are you talking about?"

Old Zhu couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"It's nothing!"

Chen Mo glanced at him and shook his head.

Seeing that Chen Mo was unwilling to explain, Zhu Yuanzhang snorted and turned his head to look out the window.

"I wonder how Biao'er is doing as regent."