Chapter 714

Li Yan's eyes twitched slightly, and he held back a laugh.

To be honest, he had thought of many things.

For the imperial court to dare release the steam engine on this day, they must have made significant progress.

Whether it was a steam carriage, or steam-powered millstones and the like, in short, it had to demonstrate practicality.

But he hadn't expected that the first thing they would build was a steam-powered dragon chariot.

The dragon chariot's frame was covered entirely in gilded dragon ornaments, with coiled dragon reliefs perched on the shafts, golden scales shimmering, and dragon heads held high on the carriage shafts; it had an air of imperial grandeur, but the carriage belly was embedded with a massive cast-iron boiler, with steam pipes and knotted connecting rods exposed, and on both sides, brass gear sets and cast-iron flywheels were visible to the naked eye.

As the dragon chariot moved forward, it erupted with "bang-bang" roars, and thick black smoke billowed from the rear.

Not only that, this steam dragon chariot clearly lacked a suspension system.

Emperor Xiao Qixuan sat upon it, relying entirely on his solid lower-body strength to remain steady.

To Li Yan, such a scene inexplicably felt absurd.

It seems this emperor is also one who loves to show off...

He fought to hold back his laughter, but the others could not laugh at all.

With such an unprecedented thing appearing, some were dumbfounded, some were stunned, and some were swallowing their saliva; there were hundreds of people at the scene, yet it was deathly silent, with only the roar of the steam dragon chariot to be heard.

Upon seeing this, Li Yan's expression also turned serious.

He thought of one thing.

He had seen many things in his past life, but others were different.

The roar of steam and gears was putting their understanding to the test.

Hiss—!

Suddenly, a large amount of steam erupted from the chimney above the dragon chariot, and the iron wheels on both sides came to a halt.

Billowing steam surged above the canopy of the dragon chariot, and the commotion was truly not small.

Seeing the astonished expressions of the crowd, Emperor Xiao Qixuan was clearly very satisfied.

Just at this moment, an official dressed in green official robes and wearing a Liang crown hurried out from the crowd.

His expression was agitated, his eyes wide open, and after adjusting his attire, he knelt on the ground and shouted: "The canopy steams with rosy clouds, auspicious vapors rise to show prosperity; the dragon carriage spits mist, the divine machine operates to manifest brilliance. Your Majesty's holy virtue moves heaven, a white rainbow pierces the sun, a sign of the Son of Heaven's majesty!"

"Long live, long live, long live our Emperor!"

"Long live, long live, long live our Emperor!"

The others also reacted and hurriedly began to flatter him.

Clatter!

A Nanyang envoy in the front row accidentally dropped the jade walnuts he was playing with in his hands, and they shattered.

However, he was completely unaware, staring fixedly at the rolling black smoke on the chariot, the color drained from his ashen face, his Adam's apple bobbing as he squeezed out an almost inaudible sigh of lament.

He turned his head to look at the person beside him, his eyes rolling, and whispered: "Sigh... with the Central Plains obtaining this object, how can we have peace."

The man beside him, dressed in a wide-sleeved robe with a cross-collar and right lapel, wearing a jade hairband, with a tall and burly figure, a round face, and a full beard, clearly different from the people of the Central Plains, was the envoy from the Wala Kingdom.

He also had a gloomy expression but did not reply.

Wala was a tribe that split off after the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom, and to resist the Tatars, they submitted to the Great Xuan and paid tribute.

Speaking of which, their relationship with the Great Xuan could not be considered good, and they were mutually guarded.

The Great Xuan Dynasty was at the peak of its national power, and Wala could not invade the south.

Likewise, the grasslands were vast, and the Great Xuan did not wish to exhaust its national treasury on a conquest, and they needed Wala to check the Tatars, so the two sides were in a state of being outwardly friendly but inwardly estranged.

With the Great Xuan coming up with this contraption, although he didn't know what its miraculous use was, the Wala envoy's mood was definitely not good.

Hearing the Nanyang envoy's provocation, the Wala envoy gave a cold laugh, "Indeed, does your country intend to just watch?"

The Nanyang envoy's expression stiffened, and he stopped speaking.

As for the Persian merchants in the distance, their eyes twitched, and they feigned composure, nudging their companions with their elbows, their fingertips covertly pointing at the gaps in the gears, lowering their voices to a mosquito's hum: "Quickly record it!... If we can imitate that articulated transmission..."

They were far away from the Great Xuan, and what they considered more was profit.

As for the people in the court, they also had their own thoughts.

A young official from the Pro-Maritime Faction, wearing a bird-patterned badge, looked thoughtful and hurriedly stepped forward, bowing to Elder Yuan Feng, his voice unable to hide his eagerness: "Your Majesty's great fortune! May I ask, Master Supervisor, what is the power of this divine work?"

Elder Yuan Feng stroked his beard and said: "In the future, it may be able to control ten thousand jun."

The young official swallowed his saliva, "If... if it were placed inside a giant ship, could it sail against the wind?"

Elder Yuan Feng turned his head to look at the Emperor, and seeing his calm expression, he spoke: "It can, but it will take time."

Once these words were spoken, many people immediately let out exclamations.

Li Yan, in the distance, frowned upon hearing this.

This steam engine was a key object for human transformation; although the news had already been leaked, the method of application should still be kept secret and not let people see through it.

The Emperor didn't know, so how could Elder Yuan Feng speak so carelessly.

Of course, he just watched and didn't speak.

The people of this world might not understand the technology of his past life, but they were definitely not stupid.

What's more, Emperor Xiao Qixuan was extremely shrewd; the things he could think of, the other party must have already considered, and to be able to generously display the steam engine, there must be deeper considerations.

What exactly does the imperial court have planned...

Elder Yuan Feng speaking so clearly naturally aroused the interest of many people.

Shen Kui, a tycoon in the capital, moved his fat body, disregarding decorum, and struggled to squeeze out of the crowd to the front of the line.

His face was flushed red with excitement, his thick palms rubbing his round belly, his voice trying hard to stay steady, yet still carrying a trace of a tremor: "Master... Master Yuan, forgive me! I dare to ask—if this 'Iron Ox' were used to drive a hundred millstones..."

He stretched out his short, thick fingers, gesturing, "In one day and night... how much grain can it grind? Can you give me a definite number?"

Elder Yuan Feng pondered for a moment, "It is comparable to a water mill, working day and night without rest."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but shake his head and laugh, "It is truly a pity to use it for grinding grain; it just takes advantage of the terrain, and there is no need for a river. If it were designed by the clever craftsmen of our Mo Sect to make machines for shelling and oil pressing, that would be truly labor-saving."

Upon hearing this, Shen Kui became even more excited.

He was one of the most prominent grain merchants in the capital.

Unlike the Pro-Maritime Faction, his entire foundation was in "grain," and from the Ministry of Revenue to the Jianghu Cao Gang, from high-ranking court officials to local minor officials, every link had to be managed, and he did not wish to be drawn into the struggle between the Pro-Maritime Faction and the local faction.

If this machine were truly that easy to use, the labor saved would be a minor point; the key was that it could save time and reduce waste in many links.

Some generals in the army were also full of curiosity.

"Master Yuan, if this object were covered in iron armor, could it run rampant on the battlefield?"

"Difficult, this object requires burning coal and adding water, and I fear the military logistics cannot keep up; furthermore, the terrain on the battlefield is complex, and if it were damaged by accident, it wouldn't be able to move at all..."

Elder Yuan Feng could be said to have spoken without reservation, with no taboos.

For a time, many people surrounded him, and even the grand opening ceremony was interrupted because of it, while Emperor Xiao Qixuan leisurely drank tea, calmly watching all of this.

Of course, not everyone was happy.

In the ranks of the nobility, an old minister with white hair had a livid expression, his nostrils flaring, and he squeezed a short, cold snort from his nasal cavity: "Strange skills... and lewd crafts!"

The voice was not loud, but it was like a golden needle piercing a balloon.

Beside him, another noble in python robes looked at his nose and heart, and only the thumb twisting the beeswax prayer beads in his sleeve suddenly accelerated, the knuckles turning white.

Their gazes met briefly, and in the depths of their eyes was deep worry.

The Emperor values it so much; this object must be a major tool for human transformation.

If it were just an ordinary Mystic Sect artifact, that would be fine.

But looking at the situation, the depth and breadth of this object's influence was immeasurable.

They didn't understand technology, but they understood the general trend of human hearts.

Human transformation would very likely lead to the loss of imperial power; since receiving the news, these noble families had all been making preparations in secret.

Retreating meant forming cliques for self-preservation, and advancing meant contending for the world.

For thousands of years, the Divine Land had always been like this.

The Xiao family was lifted to the throne by everyone back then, why couldn't they be...

But now that the divine artifact was controlled by the imperial court, if they used it to exert force and summon wind and rain, he didn't know how many families would fall, and there was still a pack of wolves staring from behind.

The Pro-Maritime Faction was so enthusiastic, he feared their momentum would grow even stronger.

Thinking of this, the old man couldn't help but shake his head and speak:

"When the vessel is full, virtue declines..."