Chapter 1390

"Mm, I plan to start by improving agriculture. The Empire has always been weak in farming—only a handful of regions carry out large-scale grain cultivation, so whenever a war breaks out, we have to rush supplies in from the cities of those few regions."

"I hope every region can stockpile enough grain. Especially the barren lands—we need to plant crops on a massive scale just to sustain the basic livelihood of the local populace."

Taking Lin Cheng's inquiry as a cue, Li Jian went right ahead and began chatting with him about the Empire's livelihood.

The Empire today may look utterly splendid, smiles on every commoner's face.

But in truth, the lower-class citizens are crushed under enormous pressure—mainly because of the oppression from the upper nobility. The nobles collude with grain merchants to drive up prices, forcing the people to spend ever more money just to buy the grain their families need.

At the same time, the nobles refuse to raise their wages, so the people, just to survive, have no choice but to work even harder to earn money—only for that money to be spent on more grain, trapping them in a vicious cycle where, in the end, every coin ends up in the nobles' pockets.

"These nobles really are detestable." Lin Cheng nodded with a look of hatred.

This is the tragedy of the old century—the nobles and the king controlled far too many resources. The common folk were like pigs raised in a pen, with no chance to resist at all.

"So for the sake of the people, I must do this! Even if it means offending those noble houses, I won't hesitate." Li Jian declared, his voice brimming with grand righteousness.

Lin Cheng quickly played along with a flattery.

"Your Highness is truly benevolent 〃〃."

"No, it's because I have you, Lin Cheng. Only with you does any of this become possible."

Such a 'deeply affectionate' gaze fixed on Lin Cheng—and Lin Cheng immediately broke out in goosebumps all over.

Anyone stared at by a man with such a focused, 'affectionate' look wouldn't feel comfortable.

"Your Highness, since the goal is to improve farming and reduce manual labor, I have some rough ideas on my side as well."

"Hold on a moment."

Lin Cheng turned and walked into his own forging room, beginning to draft designs for various agricultural machinery. Using magic-crystal internal-combustion engines to improve farming conditions came down to a few steps: reclaiming new land and tilling the soil, sowing, and harvesting.

So three kinds of agricultural machines would suffice.

The first—an automatic soil-driller, used to reclaim new land and carry out tilling, loosening, and so on. The second—an automatic seeder, modeled on modern automatic sowing machines, capable of transplanting seedlings and distributing seeds alike.

The third—an automatic harvester, fitted with the function of automatically separating grain from straw.

By the time Lin Cheng finished his designs and came out, Li Jian was standing outside the Spirit Weapon barrier, staring longingly at the many spirit weapons mounted on the walls, sighing—willing but unable.

Utter helplessness.

Earlier, he had been wondering—doesn't Lin Cheng fear these spirit weapons being snatched if he just hangs them in the shop? He had figured he himself would have to take at least one spirit weapon with him.

But now, standing right here, having just experienced the might inside the Spirit Weapon barrier, he understood—and despaired.

With a protective barrier like this, who could possibly withstand it?

Even a seventh-tier powerhouse, if not recognized, would likely be helpless. Inside the barrier, the pressure isn't just from a single spirit weapon—every little bit adds up, the pressure multiplying many times over. And the stronger the one who enters, the heavier the suppression.

Under the combined pressure of so many spirit weapons, suppressing a seventh-tier powerhouse would be more than enough. As for eighth-tier powerhouses, Li Jian hadn't even considered them—each and every one of them has their own pride, and either already possesses a weapon that suits them.

Spirit weapons may be rare, but they're still far inferior to divine weapons.

Same old saying.

Without earning a spirit weapon's recognition, forget an eighth-tier powerhouse—even Lin Cheng himself wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

"Your Highness, what's this?"

Li Jian's gaze, brimming with grievance, made Lin Cheng think he had simply spent too long inside the forging room.

"．「I didn't earn any spirit weapon's recognition."

His words carried a heavy sense of loss. He had assumed that, as a prince, even if he wasn't exactly overbearingly imposing, his fortune was surely a sure thing—step into the Spirit Weapon barrier and a host of spirit weapons would immediately flock to become his weapon.

The result? Li Jian shut down completely!

Not even a single hair did he get—and on top of that, he was looked down upon by a whole group of spirit weapons acting in concert.

Before entering the Spirit Weapon barrier, he had been bragging to Guo Qing, saying he would definitely walk out with at least one spirit weapon. But the moment he stepped inside, he was forced back out beyond the barrier, and faint sounds of mocking laughter from different voices still echoed in his ears.

The slap to his face rang loud and clear.

"Your Highness needn't feel inferior (Qian Li's). Plenty of self-important mercenaries come to me and return empty-handed. These weapons pick a host that suits them—and for Your Highness, getting into brawls is far too dangerous."

"Staying safely in the rear with me—doesn't that smell just as sweet?"

Lin Cheng, in the manner of someone who'd been through it all, patted Li Jian on the shoulder and consoled him, "If spirit weapons were that easy to obtain, wouldn't I be swamped with orders?"

The third-tier authority is still two inheritors short. As for the canyon repair, it's already past halfway—once we find materials with gold and fire attributes, it can be fully restored.

Third-tier authority is just within reach.

Heaven knows when we'll finally find suitable gold- and fire-attribute materials to upgrade to third-tier authority.