At the thought, Xu Mochen felt rather fortunate. Compared with the Douluo Continent in the novels, the Sun Moon Continent's civilization had undoubtedly developed countless times faster. A unified nation with no external enemies, open-minded ideas, a more advanced system, a sound and comprehensive education system, and a certain foundation in industry, commerce, and Soul Guidance Technology would make it much easier for many of his research products and beneficial policies to be accepted and promoted.
One had to understand that technological development wasn't about building castles in the air. If he had been born in Douluo Continent, developing one or two Soul Tools wouldn't have been too difficult. But if he actually wanted to use them to establish a complete industrial system across the continent in short order? He might as well wash up and go to bed. No point dreaming.
What was Douluo Continent like? Judging from Douluo I and Douluo II, Douluo Continent was still divided among various powers at this point. The countries were all still in the feudal era, and conservative thinking ran through society from top to bottom.
Under the influence of traditional, backward thinking and the stark divisions between Martial Soul ranks, Soul Masters with powerful Martial Souls feared ordinary people and low-level Soul Masters might threaten their status. They would do everything they could to prevent them from acquiring powerful Soul Guidance Weapons. Low-level Soul Masters, too, might fear ordinary people gaining the means to produce and fight effectively, thereby threatening their own position. They might also do everything in their power to obstruct the spread of industrialization and the development of Soul Guidance Technology.
On top of that, educational standards in Douluo Continent were sharply divided, and the right to an education was essentially controlled by Soul Masters and nobles. What they taught was mostly old texts, noble etiquette and skills, and things like Soul Masters running, fighting, and cultivating—activities that did almost nothing to advance Soul Guidance Technology. It was no wonder that promoting industrial development in Douluo Continent would be fraught with difficulties.
Considering that the novels had mentioned Douluo Continent originally had its own Soul Tool research, only for all the technology to be lost later for various reasons, leaving behind very few Soul Tools, most of them Storage Soul Tools, it was hardly surprising.
That didn't mean the Sun Moon Empire was one solid block, however. Each of the Ten Great Families had its own sphere of influence, and their open and covert struggles had never ceased. The other minor and mid-sized New Nobility families and the merchants were hardly well-behaved, either.
And even after the "God-Emperor War" ended, many remnants of the church and old noble elite had managed to escape. Their descendants, along with others who opposed the imperial family, might still be lurking in the darkness, waiting for a chance to deal the imperial family a fatal blow.
Xu Mochen had told Mo Wuying to focus first on keeping the Ten Great Families under surveillance because he knew full well that they played a vital role in the Sun Moon Empire's development. As long as nothing major went wrong with the Ten Great Families, those insignificant villains hiding in the shadows and plotting to overthrow the empire would find it difficult to accomplish anything.
Conversely, if the Ten Great Families took advantage of the late emperor's recent death to make a move, it could very well destabilize the empire and even shake the foundations of its rule.
At the thought, Xu Mochen couldn't help giving a wry smile and shaking his head. It wasn't that he didn't want to keep the Ten Great Families in the dark about the late emperor's death. Rather, they were deeply rooted, and with their connections and intelligence networks, learning the news would be as easy as lifting a finger.
Still, the Ten Great Families had once been members of the imperial loyalist faction. Their interests were fundamentally different from those of the "Divine Church" remnants. And with the imperial family's own careful maneuvering, there was no need to worry that news of the late emperor's death would leak out in the short term. But keeping it secret wasn't a long-term solution. Xu Mochen had to strengthen his position and establish his authority during this period.
After putting aside the unnecessary thoughts in his mind, Xu Mochen stopped dwelling on them and picked up a book from the shelf, An Introductory Guide to Soul Tools. At the same time, his Smart Brain began working at full speed.
The following afternoon, at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Guidance Research Institute
"So the Crown Prince met Mo Wuying last night?" In the laboratory on the top floor, Kong Dehan didn't seem particularly surprised when he heard Xu Mochen mention Mo Wuying. "That Mo Wuying has always come and gone without a trace. As the late emperor's personal guard, he's highly capable, and there's no doubt about his loyalty to the late emperor. It's good to have him protecting you, Your Highness. That puts my mind at ease."
Then Kong Dehan waved a hand. "Never mind him. Today, we'll start with a basic introduction to Soul Tools." He looked at Xu Mochen. "How much do you know about Soul Tools, Your Highness?"
Hearing this, Xu Mochen recalled the knowledge he had read the day before. Fortunately, he had his Smart Brain. In just one night, he had gone from a novice just starting to learn about Soul Tools to a prodigy who had mastered a wealth of knowledge about them.
Xu Mochen didn't bother being modest. He began explaining everything in detail. "As the name suggests, a Soul Tool is an object that uses Soul Power as an energy source to produce a particular function. Soul Tools can be classified in many ways. In terms of manufacturing methods, they can be divided into mass-produced Soul Tools and custom-made Soul Tools."
"With mass-produced Soul Tools, ordinary workers without Soul Power can manufacture most of the secondary components. However, workers with Soul Power and specialized skills are needed to make certain crucial components, including the core components. Because production is carried out on a large scale and the technology and manufacturing conditions are relatively simple, mass-produced Soul Tools are generally made using assembly lines."
"Custom-made Soul Tools are different. Usually, one or several Soul Engineers have to complete the entire process themselves, and the manufacturing process and conditions are complicated. As a result, it's difficult to establish an effective production line. That's why custom-made Soul Tools are so precious..."
"In terms of use, Soul Tools can be divided into civilian and military Soul Tools. Military Soul Guidance Weapons are often ranked from level one to nine, from weakest to strongest in terms of power and effectiveness. But this isn't absolute. A true rank assessment depends on the specific circumstances and the weapon's intended use. Historical consensus dates the earliest known Soul Guidance Weapon to the year 1364 before the Sun Moon calendar..."
As Xu Mochen spoke at length, his eloquence never flagging, Kong Dehan's expression first went from calm to approving, then from approval to surprise, then from surprise to bewilderment, until he was so shocked his mouth hung open. In the end, he was completely numb.
He had never expected the Crown Prince to be so knowledgeable about Soul Tools, on top of his outstanding political acumen and cultivation talent! But His Highness was only six years old! Weren't six-year-old children normally still at the age where they wanted to play?
Even Kong Dehan himself had been hailed as a super-prodigy when he was young, but compared with the Crown Prince, he was as different as heaven and earth! Good heavens, could the Crown Prince truly be a gift from the heavens to the Sun Moon Empire?
Xu Mochen paid little attention to Kong Dehan's expression. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Granduncle, I have to say, although the Sun Moon Empire's industrial capacity is steadily increasing, its industrial scale is enormous, and a large portion of its population has to be devoted to agricultural production."
"On top of that, the Sun Moon Empire has a vast territory of more than 8.6 million square kilometers. So even though it has a population of around 150 million, that works out to only a dozen or so people per square kilometer!"
"And that's according to the theoretical figures. In reality, the population distribution between cities and towns is severely imbalanced. More than seventy percent of the population is crammed into large and medium-sized towns that account for less than ten percent of the Sun Moon Empire's total area. As a result, labor shortages across most of the empire are even more severe than the theoretical figures suggest!"
"The shortage of manpower in both agriculture and industry has left many fields fallow because there's no one to cultivate them, while many workshops have been abandoned because they can't find anyone to hire. This has had a tremendous impact on the Sun Moon Empire's production!"
Kong Dehan looked just as helpless when he brought up the matter. "I understand all that, but there's no way to avoid it for the time being. In recent years, the Sun Moon Empire has been passing laws to encourage people to have children, along with all kinds of incentives. But people in the Sun Moon Empire generally believe that having too many children will become a burden and interfere with their work and lives."
"On top of that, because the land is vast and sparsely populated, and because slavery has been abolished, workers and farmhands in the Sun Moon Empire generally receive good wages. They don't have to worry too much about supporting themselves in old age. That means they don't need to have a lot of children to support them, which only makes the labor shortage worse."
To be fair, the advanced agricultural tools produced by the Sun Moon Empire had freed up some labor from the fields. But most of those tools still relied entirely on manpower for their power. The few that used water or wind power were limited by natural conditions and were difficult to put into widespread use.
So compared with the enormous labor shortage required for industrial development, the small number of people freed up by agricultural production was a mere drop in the bucket. But they couldn't simply neglect agriculture, could they? A shortage of industrial workers wasn't too serious, but a shortage of agricultural workers could genuinely lead to reduced grain and other agricultural output, causing widespread famine and a shortage of industrial raw materials, and jeopardizing the nation's stability.
Of course, it wasn't as if nobody had thought of using Soul Guidance machinery as a means of production. Soul Engineers had indeed developed a few kinds of Soul Guidance machinery powered by Soul Power. But all the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Tools currently needed Soul Masters to operate them, and the empire's average population density was already low. The number of Soul Masters was even lower.
The entire Sun Moon Empire had only a little over seven hundred thousand Soul Masters, and a large portion of them had to serve in the military and other armed forces. Soul Master workers were prized by the major corporations. They also had to produce crucial Soul Tool components. Expect them to work as ordinary laborers? Dream on.
And to get these Soul Guidance machines running, Soul Power had to be fed into them constantly. The amount needed to keep them operating was considerable. Even if several low-level Soul Masters did nothing but channel Soul Power into a machine, they still couldn't ensure it would have enough energy to run for long. This only made those Soul Guidance machines impractical failures, utterly disconnected from reality, and they were all tossed into some forgotten corner to gather dust.
"Actually, this situation arose because the Sun Moon Empire's development of Soul Guidance machinery has gone down the wrong path." Xu Mochen had his own take on the matter. "In fact, Soul Masters aren't the only ones who can provide the Soul Power machinery needs. There's another substance on the Sun Moon Continent that can supply Soul Guidance machinery with energy—Soul Coal."
Soul Coal was simply the general term for coal on the Sun Moon Continent. Unlike the coal on Blue Star, it contained abundant Soul Power. And unlike the Soul Power of Soul Masters, the energy within Soul Coal was purer and more plentiful, making it perfectly suited to power Soul Guidance machinery.
"Using Soul Coal for energy? You mean burning Soul Coal to power Soul Guidance machinery?" Kong Dehan furrowed his brow slightly. After a moment's thought, he said, "I've considered that method before, but then I realized it wasn't as simple as it seemed. The energy gas produced by burning Soul Coal is too hot, and can easily overheat and damage Soul Guidance machinery."
"Water cooling would certainly lower the temperature of the energy gas considerably, but it would also cause a great deal of Soul Guidance energy to be lost, leaving almost no usable energy for the machinery. It simply wouldn't be practical to use or promote."
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