Imperial Airport.
The airport was vast and heavily guarded. From the entrance onward, there was a guard post every ten paces, and every soldier carried a gun.
As the empire's economy soared and the industrial age arrived, society developed at a breathtaking pace, and the army's weapons were being upgraded just as rapidly.
The convoy carrying Ye Chen slowly drove in through the airport entrance under the watchful eyes of the surrounding soldiers.
"Greetings, Your Majesty! May Your Majesty live for ten thousand years!"
As Ye Chen stepped out of the vehicle, the surrounding soldiers dropped to one knee and saluted. Their voices were deafening and filled with imposing force.
Looking at the soldiers around him, Ye Chen's eyes were filled with satisfaction. The army of the Yanhuang Empire had been trained entirely according to the methods of the Huaxia army from his previous life, with strict military discipline.
"At ease!!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!!"
"Clatter!!"
The soldiers rose in perfect unison. From a distance, they looked as though they were a single person.
At that moment, Li Xinglong, the person in charge of the airport, hurried over.
After exchanging greetings, Ye Chen followed Li Xinglong to the airport's command center.
Inside the command center, people bustled about while various instruments that seemed extremely crude to Ye Chen operated continuously, monitoring the aircraft's flight conditions at all times.
After the flight data from the various aircraft came in, it was recorded.
When the people inside the command center saw Ye Chen arrive, they were about to salute.
Seeing this, Ye Chen smiled. "There's no need to salute. Just keep doing your work."
Hearing this, everyone nodded and devoted themselves to their work again. However, they became even more serious, striving to do their best.
Looking at the busy room, Ye Chen walked around, observing everyone's operations and the data displayed on the various instruments. The information left him somewhat baffled.
Now that the empire had developed to this level, Ye Chen's accumulated knowledge could be said to have fallen behind. There were many things he could no longer understand.
Ye Chen was not disappointed by this. After all, as the empire grew stronger, the knowledge involved in every field became far too vast. Even if he had ten clones, he could not learn it all.
Besides, he was the emperor of a nation. As the helmsman of an empire, he only needed to grasp the direction of the empire's development.
There was no need to force himself to learn too much about technology.
Professional matters should be left to professionals. There was no need for an outsider to master everything.
After making a round of the command center, Ye Chen went outside and arrived at a platform where he could clearly see the planes soaring through the sky.
As time passed, the aircraft completed its test flight mission. After the command center finished collecting all the data, it began to descend.
Whether an aircraft could land smoothly was of paramount importance.
An aircraft that could not land safely was ultimately a failed product.
"Yan Chen One is beginning its return. All ground departments, take note and prepare for rescue at any time."
"All departments received."
As the return order was issued, the Medical Department, Fire Department, Maintenance Department, Security Department, and various other departments on the ground sprang into action.
Standing on the platform, Ye Chen looked down at the scene below and could not help nodding.
Beside him, Li Xinglong watched the descending aircraft and silently prayed in his heart: It must succeed. Nothing must go wrong.
Since the aircraft had been built, this was not their first flight. However, because the technology was still immature, several aircraft had already been damaged.
Perhaps Li Xinglong's prayers had worked. Although Yan Chen One shook violently during its descent, it ultimately landed safely without incident.
Seeing this, Li Xinglong immediately relaxed, followed by a surge of excitement.
The aircraft's safe landing meant that the Kunpeng Project had been successfully completed.
At the same time, when the people in the command center saw the aircraft land safely, they erupted in cheers and hugged one another in excitement.
Some of them even cried tears of joy.
Ever since the Kunpeng Project had begun, they had thrown themselves into it full of confidence. They had conducted research day after day for decades, experiencing countless failures and wasting enormous amounts of resources along the way.
Although Ye Chen had never blamed them for this and often encouraged them, they still felt guilty.
Now they had finally succeeded. They could finally give His Majesty an answer.
They had not failed in their duty.
Hearing the cheers from the command center, Ye Chen could not help smiling.
He had seen all the hard work these scientists had put in. All he could do was protect them as much as possible.
At the same time, he would reward them handsomely so that they would have no worries holding them back.
These scientists were all treasures nurtured by the empire. Losing even one of them would make his heart ache for a long time.
Ye Chen then looked at the secretary-general beside him—the former secretary-general Yuan Long's granddaughter, Secretary Yuan Lan—and smiled. "Bestow one bottle of Longevity Elixir No. 5, one hundred million Yanhuang Coins, a residence in Tianchen Domain, and a three-rank title promotion upon the chief scientist of the Kunpeng Project...
"Bestow one bottle of Longevity Elixir No. 4, ten million Yanhuang Coins, a residence in Tianlan Domain, and a two-rank title promotion upon the associate scientists...
"Bestow one bottle of Longevity Elixir No. 3, one million Yanhuang Coins, a residence in Tianyun Domain, and a one-rank title promotion upon the researchers of the Kunpeng Project who have made outstanding contributions..."
As Ye Chen spoke, Secretary Yuan Lan quickly wrote everything down.
Beside them, Li Xinglong listened to Ye Chen's rewards and secretly clicked his tongue. They were simply too generous, giving him an entirely new understanding of Ye Chen's generosity.
At the same time, he realized just how much importance Ye Chen placed on the Kunpeng Project.
After Ye Chen finished speaking, Li Xinglong immediately bowed and said, "I, Li Xinglong, thank Your Majesty on behalf of everyone involved in the Kunpeng Project for these rewards."
"Heh, Lord Li, I attach great importance to the Kunpeng Project. From now on, I hope you will continue striving forward and keep improving every aspect of the aircraft in pursuit of even better results..."
Looking at Li Xinglong, Ye Chen smiled and offered some words of encouragement.
Yanhuang Calendar, Year 200.
Qiankun Hall.
After finishing the government documents in his hands, Ye Chen closed the file and rubbed his brow.
"Yuan Lan, what time is it now?"
"Your Majesty, it is already past one in the morning."
"It's already so late? Sigh, I really am destined to toil.
"It seems I need to develop artificial intelligence and computers as soon as possible to help him handle state affairs. That way, things will be easier."
Hearing that it was already so late, Ye Chen could not help shaking his head with a bitter smile.
Ever since the empire had entered the industrial age, it had been developing faster and faster. Even though the cabinet officials filtered the matters requiring his attention each day, he still had to deal with a great many things.
Moreover, as productivity rose, the economy began to soar. The empire's accumulated foundations began to erupt, and its rapid development became unstoppable.
At the same time, the population within the empire also began to explode.
The population of the Yanhuang Empire had now reached 260 million, and it was still increasing rapidly as time passed.
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