Billions of Commoners, A Population Explosion

Empire Airport.

Inside the vast airport, security was tight. From the entrance onward, guards stood every ten paces, each soldier armed with a firearm.

As the empire's economy soared and the industrial age dawned, society advanced with each passing day, while military weaponry evolved even faster.

Ye Chen's motorcade rolled slowly through the airport entrance under the watchful eyes of the surrounding soldiers.

"We pay homage to Your Majesty! May Your Majesty live ten thousand years!"

As Ye Chen stepped out of the vehicle, the soldiers around him knelt on one knee in salute, their voices thunderous and imposing.

Looking at the assembled troops, Ye Chen's eyes showed deep satisfaction. The Yanhuang Empire's military was modeled entirely after the training methods of Huaxia from his past life—strict discipline and clear orders.

"Rise!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Clatter!"

The soldiers rose in perfect unison, so synchronized that from a distance, they moved as one man.

Just then, the airport's director, Li Xinglong, hurried over.

After exchanging formal greetings, Ye Chen followed Li Xinglong to the airport command center.

Inside the command center, personnel bustled about. Various instruments—crude by Ye Chen's standards—were in operation, constantly monitoring the flight status of aircraft. Flight data from multiple planes came in and was recorded.

When the staff inside the command center noticed Ye Chen's arrival, they began to bow in salute.

Seeing this, Ye Chen smiled and said, "No need for formalities. Just go about your work."

At his words, everyone nodded and threw themselves back into their tasks, though they became even more meticulous, striving to do their best.

Watching the busy scene, Ye Chen wandered around, observing their operations and the data on the instruments. Much of it left him somewhat confused.

As the empire had developed to this level, Ye Chen's accumulated knowledge could no longer keep pace. There were many things he simply couldn't understand.

He wasn't disappointed by this, however. After all, as the empire grew stronger, the breadth of knowledge involved in every field became too vast. Even if he had ten clones, he couldn't learn it all.

Besides, as the emperor of a nation and its helmsman, his role was to steer the empire's development in the right direction.

As for technical matters, there was no need to force himself to master them.

Leave specialized tasks to the specialists. An outsider doesn't have to learn everything.

After a tour of the command center, Ye Chen stepped outside to a platform where he could clearly see the planes soaring in the sky.

As time passed, the aircraft in the sky completed their test flights, allowing the command center to gather all necessary data before beginning their descent.

Whether a plane could land smoothly was of utmost importance.

An aircraft that couldn't land safely was ultimately a failure.

"Yan Chen No. 1 is returning to base. All ground units, stand by for emergency response."

"All units received."

With the return command issued, the medical, fire, maintenance, and security departments on the ground sprang into action.

Standing on the platform, Ye Chen looked down at the scene below and nodded approvingly.

Beside him, Li Xinglong watched the descending plane and silently prayed—it must succeed, there must be no problems.

Since the aircraft had been built, this wasn't their first flight, but due to immature technology, several planes had already been lost.

Perhaps Li Xinglong's prayers were answered. Although Yan Chen No. 1 shook violently during its descent, it ultimately landed safely, narrowly avoiding disaster.

Seeing this, Li Xinglong breathed a sigh of relief, followed by a surge of excitement.

A safe landing meant the successful completion of the Kunpeng Project.

At the same time, the command center staff erupted in cheers at the smooth landing, embracing each other with joy.

Some were even moved to tears.

Since the Kunpeng Project began, they had thrown themselves into it with full confidence, researching for decades on end. During that time, they had endured countless failures and wasted enormous resources.

Though Ye Chen had never blamed them and often encouraged them, they still felt deep guilt.

Now, finally, they had succeeded. At last, they could report to His Majesty.

They had not failed their mission.

Hearing the cheers from the command center, Ye Chen couldn't help but smile.

He had seen the hard work of these scientists. All he could do was shield them as best he could.

At the same time, he would reward them generously, freeing them from all worries.

These scientists were treasures nurtured by the empire. Losing even one would pain him for a long time.

Then Ye Chen turned to his secretary-general beside him—Yuan Lan, granddaughter of the former secretary-general Yuan Long—and smiled. "Grant the chief scientist of the Kunpeng Project one bottle of Longevity Liquid No. 5, one hundred million Yanhuang Coins, a mansion in Tianchen Domain, and a three-rank promotion in nobility..."

Award secondary scientists one bottle of Longevity No. 4, ten million Yanhuang Coins, one mansion in Tianlan Domain, and a two-level rank promotion...

Award Kunpeng Project researchers with outstanding contributions one bottle of Longevity Liquid No. 3, one million Yanhuang Coins, one mansion in Tianyun Domain, and a one-level rank promotion...

As Ye Chen's voice rang out, Secretary Yuan Lan recorded it swiftly.

Li Xinglong, standing nearby, listened to Ye Chen's rewards and inwardly clicked his tongue in amazement—there were simply too many, giving him a new understanding of Ye Chen's generosity.

At the same time, it made him realize just how much importance Ye Chen placed on the Kunpeng Project.

As Ye Chen's words fell, Li Xinglong immediately bowed in thanks: "Your servant Li Xinglong, on behalf of all Kunpeng Project personnel, thanks Your Majesty for the rewards."

"Heh heh, Minister Li, Imperial We places great importance on the Kunpeng Project. We hope you will continue to strive, optimizing every aspect of the aircraft to achieve even better results..."

Looking at Li Xinglong, Ye Chen smiled and offered some encouragement.

Yanhuang Calendar, Year 200.

Qiankun Hall.

Ye Chen, who was handling state affairs, closed the document in his hands and couldn't help rubbing his brow.

"Yuan Lan, what time is it now?"

"Your Majesty, it is already past one in the morning."

"It's already that late? Sigh, a life of toil. I need to hurry up and develop artificial intelligence and computers to assist me in handling state affairs—that way, I can ease up a bit." Hearing how late it was, Ye Chen shook his head with a wry smile.

Ever since the empire entered the industrial age, development had accelerated rapidly. Even with cabinet officials filtering matters, he still had to deal with a mountain of tasks every day.

Moreover, as productivity rose and the economy began to soar, the empire's accumulated foundations started to erupt, and the momentum of rapid development became unstoppable.

At the same time, the empire's population began to explode.

Now, the Yanhuang Empire's population had reached 260 million, and as time passed, it was still increasing rapidly.