Chapter 353: The Great Tang unified the globe

Three months later.

Li Shimin stood at the entrance of the workshop.

He watched the iron contraption before him rumbling as it turned; the connecting rods drove the wheels, the wheels drove the waterwheel, and the waterwheel drove the millstone.

The flour ground in a quarter of an hour equaled the amount produced by an ox-drawn mill in an entire day in the past.

"This thing is more useful than ten oxen."

Li Shimin patted the scorching outer shell of the boiler; his palm was burned, so he pulled it back, blew on it, and laughed.

Gu Shanhe leaned against the doorframe, holding a wrench, and tapped it against his fingernail: "This is just the beginning."

"Once the railways are laid, you will get from Chang'an to Luoyang in half a day."

Li Shimin's eyes lit up.

He understood better than anyone what transportation meant.

Moving troops, transporting grain, sending orders, conducting trade—which of these could be done without roads?

The territory of the Great Tang had grown so vast that he could no longer manage it all from Chang'an; without railways, it would fall apart sooner or later.

Ying Zheng stood beside the steam engine, watching it motionlessly for a long time.

Gu Shanhe walked over and asked in a low voice: "Brother Zheng, what are you thinking about?"

Ying Zheng did not turn his head and said: "This thing is faster than the imperial highways."

Gu Shanhe smiled.

It was not easy to get the First Emperor to admit that someone else's road was faster than his imperial highways.

The workshop was bustling with activity, and the schools outside the city were no less lively.

Li Shimin had first piloted three free schools in Chang'an, charging no tuition and even providing lunch.

When the news spread, the people of Chang'an nearly broke down the doors of the schools.

Some parents who had never read a book themselves stood at the school gate holding their children's hands, their eyes reddening as they looked at the four characters "Chongwen Yixue" (Respecting Culture Charity School) on the plaque.

They were illiterate, but they recognized the official seal.

If the government said it would teach their children for free, then it was truly free.

Li Shimin stood on the second floor of a teahouse opposite the school, watching through the window as the children walked inside carrying cloth bookbags; the youngest could barely walk, while the oldest were already thirteen or fourteen.

He watched for a while, then turned to Empress Zhangsun and said: "If I had had schools like this when I was a child, I wouldn't have been scolded by Wei Zheng every day for having no culture."

Empress Zhangsun smiled with pursed lips and did not expose him.

Wei Zheng scolding him had nothing to do with whether he had culture, but rather with whether he made mistakes as an emperor.

While the free schools were being established, firearms were not neglected either.

The craftsmen of the Great Tang were practically monstrous in this era—

Give them a blueprint, and they could produce a prototype in three days.

From casting to test-firing, the Red-Clad Great Cannon took only forty days in total.

When the first shot was fired, a cloud of dust three zhang high exploded at the target range south of Chang'an.

The general in charge of the test-firing was stunned for a long time, then turned and knelt before Li Shimin, tears streaming down his face: "Your Majesty, with this cannon, the Turks can be pacified!"

Li Shimin said nothing; he squatted down and touched the cannon barrel—it was still hot to the touch.

He remembered the fourth year of Zhenguan, when Li Jing led three thousand cavalry on a night raid against Dingxiang, sending Jieli Khan fleeing in a panic.

Back then, they relied on the soldiers' dedication and victory bought with blood and death.

Now, with this thing, city walls, iron armor, and cavalry charges had all become a joke.

He did not continue the attack; instead, he placed the Red-Clad Great Cannons on the walls of Chang'an.

It was not out of distrust, but because he wanted the people of the Turks and the Tubo to come and see for themselves.

If you ride your horse over and see a row of dark cannon muzzles on the city wall aimed at you from afar, would you still dare to fight?

When the Turkic Chanyu in the north saw the drawings of the cannon barrels brought back by his scouts, he remained silent for a long time, then returned the cattle and sheep he had previously plundered.

In half a year, the Great Tang's seagoing ships were also replaced.

With steam engines installed, there was no need to wait for the wind or row the oars; once a shovel of coal was thrown in and the propeller turned, the ships darted out like arrows.

The first steam-powered fleet departed from Guangzhou, heading west.

The small nations of the Southern Seas along the way saw these behemoths belching black smoke and immediately opened their gates to offer tribute.

The fleet passed through the Strait of Malacca, entered the Indian Ocean, and then arrived at the entrance to the Red Sea.

Over in Europe, they still did not understand what the Great Tang was.

Envoys from several small nations traveled thousands of miles to Chang'an, and upon seeing the endless city and the dark cannon muzzles on the walls, their hands shook like sieves when they signed the state letters.

Li Shimin did not make things difficult for them.

The people of the Great Tang did things by the book: courtesy first, force later.

If you are willing to trade, then we trade;

If you are not willing, then my fleet is just passing by—it doesn't count as an invasion.

However, the monarchs of the European nations did not think so.

Seeing the Great Tang's ironclad warships anchored in their ports and artillery arrays aimed at their palaces, they very sensibly submitted their state letters, requesting to be incorporated into the territory of the Great Tang.

Li Shimin approved with two words: "Granted."

The ships continued west, crossing the Atlantic Ocean, and arrived at a land where no Han people had ever set foot—North America.

When the fleet reached the shore, the local natives charged over with spears and bows.

Seeing the soldiers coming off the ships holding firearms, they didn't know what those things were, but they knew that those dark iron tubes pointed at them could not be anything good.

The people of the Great Tang did not fire.

They left behind seeds, tools, and several farming manuals translated into the local language, then set sail south to South America.

It was half a month later when the news reached Chang'an.

Li Shimin sat in the Imperial Study, looking at the sea chart, and remained silent for a long time.

The sea chart was provided by Gu Shanhe, and it marked the current territory of the Great Tang.

Most of Asia, the entirety of Europe, and the coastlines of North and South America were all painted in the red of the Great Tang.

Li Shimin rolled up the sea chart, placed it back on the table, and looked at Gu Shanhe.

"I never imagined that the territory of the Great Tang would grow so vast that even I cannot remember all the names."

Gu Shanhe said: "Steam engines need coal, firearms need craftsmen, and ships need ports."

"If technology does not continue to advance, these things will rust away sooner or later."

Li Shimin nodded.

He understood.

It is easy to conquer the world, but difficult to hold it.

It is easy to expand territory, but difficult to sustain it.

Another half year passed.

The Great Tang unified the globe.

Li Shimin held a victory banquet in Chang'an that lasted for three days and three nights.

The sides of Zhuque Avenue were covered in colorful canopies, and every restaurant provided free food and wine.

The people could not remember the last time it had been this lively.

But none of those times were as lively as this one—

Because this time, it wasn't just about winning a war; they had also opened schools, built railways, and created ships that could move on their own.

The most eye-catching people at the victory banquet were not Li Shimin, but Gu Shanhe and Ying Zheng.

Gu Shanhe sat at Li Shimin's left hand, wearing a white long gown, carrying an aura of an immortal.

Everyone present knew that every single change in the Great Tang over the past year was inseparable from this man.

Ying Zheng sat beside Gu Shanhe, wearing his own black dragon robe, with a short sword hanging at his waist—not for decoration, but the kind that could truly kill.

He did not say a few words the entire time, barely touched his chopsticks, and just sat there like a statue.

But he drank a bowl of wine.

It was not offered by Li Shimin, but by Liu Bang.

Liu Bang walked over with a wine bowl, sat down beside Ying Zheng, and tapped the rim of his bowl against Ying Zheng's: "Brother Zheng, I offer you a bowl."

"Although you hit me quite hard back in the day, I don't hold a grudge; from now on, we are all in the same boat."

Ying Zheng glanced at him, picked up the wine bowl, and took a sip.

Liu Bang finished his own, wiped his mouth, and went to offer wine to Liu Che.

Meanwhile, Liu Che stood on the city tower watching the fireworks, with Liu Xiu beside him; the two did not speak, just looked up at the flowers of fire exploding in the night sky.