Chapter 668: External and Internal

Li Tai fell silent for a long time, then sighed, "Zi Anxiong, we are all not as good as you."

"If I were you, I couldn't spread this knowledge; I'm not that selfless."

Chen Yan heard this and turned his head toward him: "So… you don't want to teach the people of the Research Institute?"

"That's not it," Li Tai said hoarsely, "Anyway I have nothing to do lately, and the source of the knowledge is you; you have decided to pass it on, how could I stop it?"

"Moreover, although I can't be completely selfless, don't worry about being laughed at; I am very willing to see you disseminate the knowledge."

Chen Yan was startled for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

"By the way," Li Tai recalled something, "you just said we shouldn't focus on weapons but on other matters."

"Specifically what?"

"Specifically?" Chen Yan thought for a moment and raised a question: "Qingque, you once said something very true: whether it's the Divine Might Cannon or the yet‑unmade firearm, they both have huge upgrade potential."

"For example, the Divine Might Cannon you have now can only strike enemies two hundred meters away, but in reality, with continual research, optimization, and upgrades, it could someday hit targets two thousand meters, two kilometers, even twenty kilometers away."

"But that's not just the cannon's improvement; it requires a series of scientific and technological advances to achieve."

At this point, Chen Yan paused, "Let me give an example."

"Even if you now increase the amount of gunpowder, or keep the quantity the same while boosting its force, making the Divine Might Cannon fire farther and explode more powerfully."

"However, can the barrel withstand it?"

Li Tai frowned and fell into thought.

No joke, the fact that the cannon could be successfully built was largely thanks to Chen Yan's improvements to iron‑forging techniques.

Otherwise, with their previous forging methods, the barrels they produced would most likely be unable to sustain many firings.

Chen Yan's point was simple.

He was telling him that weapons had hit a bottleneck; even if they kept researching and found better techniques, material limitations still prevented production.

"Qingque," Chen Yan said calmly, "Weapons are naturally a nation's basic foundation, but a nation cannot rely on weapons alone."

"Honestly, the explosives and cannons you have already far exceed what people of this era can imagine."

"Without even considering the firearms still in development, just the explosives alone are enough to blow our enemies' brains open."

"Frankly, we are already on the path away from the cold‑weapon era; other countries beyond the Tang Dynasty are still constrained by whether their swords are hard enough or sharp enough."

"What do they have to play with us?"

Li Tai listened silently, occasionally nodding in agreement.

Chen Yan raised his hand and pointed to the distance: "We were born here, grew up here, so naturally we hope this place can become better."

"Since our weapons have already far outstripped others, externally we already stand invincible; we should slow our pace, hand this aspect over to others, and turn our focus inward toward the Tang Dynasty."

Li Tai, after listening, nodded thoughtfully, but his brows remained slightly furrowed.

"Zi Anxiong, I think I roughly understand what you mean, but specifically, what exactly? You can't be talking about building bridges, paving roads, or clearing land, can you? Those tasks are already being done by the people below."

Chen Yan smiled without answering directly, and instead asked back: "Qingque, how do you think the common people of the Tang Dynasty are living these days?"

Li Tai was taken aback, weighed his words, and said, "It's… it's okay, I guess? In recent years Father Emperor has lightened taxes, the administration is fairly clean, and since you appeared, the Tang Dynasty has changed day by day; in just a few short years we've already seen the beginning of a prosperous era, far better than the late Sui."

"How does that compare to the early Zhenguan period?"

"That was also considerably better," Li Tai replied quickly.

Chen Yan nodded and asked, "And how about ten years from now?"

Li Tai was at a loss, opened his mouth but could not speak.

Chen Yan looked at him, his tone still even: "You see, we all know the present is better than the past, but no one can guarantee the future will be better than now."

"Why? Not because Father Emperor is not diligent, nor because officials aren't hardworking, but because the grain harvested from the fields is only that much, the cloth woven is only that much, a cow can only do that much work."

"If these outputs don't increase, even if the people's lives are good, they won't improve much."

Li Tai furrowed his brows, vaguely grasping something: "You mean… increase the grain yield in the fields?"

"More than that." Chen Yan shook his head, "We need more grain, more cloth, better roads, better medicine, children who can read a few characters; only when all these add up can life truly improve."

"The knowledge I taught you shouldn't be used solely for making weapons to kill—that's for external affairs."

"Internally, we must also find ways to use the knowledge we possess to make the people of this land live better."

"For example, hydraulic looms, curved‑yuan plows, waterwheels—these simple things can provide unparalleled help to the common folk."

Li Tai almost understood, smiled and was about to speak.

At that moment, a pair of hands suddenly reached from behind and pressed on the two rocking chairs: "Whether internal or external, both should be valued; you have your own ideas, which is good."

"I do not oppose you, but… shouldn't you first bring out the so‑called Divine Might Cannon for me to see?"

The two were startled, turned around, and saw Li Shimin standing behind them, followed by Li Lizhi, Gao Yang, and the Wei Wang Consort.

Chen Yan and Li Tai could no longer sit still and immediately stood up.

"Father Emperor."

"His Majesty… why did you come? You arrived without a word; look at me, I have nothing prepared, and you say…"

Chen Yan opened with a grin, and Li Shimin gave him a side eye.

"Stop pulling these strings on me; I heard the Divine Might Cannon has been completed. You both know the situation: the great army has already begun to assemble, and I want to see what the Divine Might Cannon you spent so much manpower, material, and treasure on actually looks like."

"Whether it can be deployed in this upcoming campaign against Tuyuhun, you must give me a reliable answer."

Li Tai, hearing this, straightened his posture immediately: "Father Emperor, you want to see the Divine Might Cannon—how simple is that?"

"I said it was getting late today; I'll tell you more tomorrow. Since you're here, let's go take a look."

"Let you see the results of my son's efforts these days."

"......"