Another year passed, and it was the Xia Tian of 629 AD.
During this year, the Great Tang began to undergo significant changes under Ling Yi's influence.
First, cement began to become widespread.
The main roads of Chang'an City have all been paved with cement.
Li Shimin was planning to build cement roads throughout the Great Tang, but due to financial constraints, he could not start construction for the time being.
Cooking methods such as frying, stir-frying, and boiling have become more widespread, leading to higher and higher pork prices and an increasing number of pig farmers.
Ling Yi casually shared some modern pig farming techniques.
Meanwhile, Ling Yi was busy tinkering with steelmaking.
Ling Yi obtained a group of craftsmen from Li Shimin. As before, Ling Yi provided a theoretical method for steelmaking, leaving the rest to these ancient craftsmen to develop their own techniques.
There's nothing he can do; Ling Yi really only knows how to talk the talk. His cheat is just Personal Space, not some kind of in-game store system where you can exchange for whatever you need.
Fortunately, the progress is quite good. These craftsmen are using their Wisdom to overcome one difficulty after another.
The temperature problem of the blast furnace has been solved. Once the carbon-to-iron ratio is determined through experiments, the first batch of steel is expected to be produced.
Ling Yi couldn't help but marvel once again at the Wisdom of the ancients.
Honestly, if you asked him to tinker with it himself, aside from using his Personal Space to compress the iron countless times to create Transcendent iron, he was really clueless.
Chang'an City, Li Shimin, Ling Yi, and a handsome bald monk stood facing each other.
Beside them was a troop of cavalrymen who had changed into civilian clothes.
"Your Majesty, sir, this humble monk takes his leave today. Amitabha." Dharma Master Xuanzang clasped his hands together and uttered a Buddhist chant.
"Take care on your journey, Dharma Master Xuanzang. When Mage return, I will personally host a welcoming banquet for Mage."
Li Shimin said with reluctance.
"Your Majesty, please rest assured. I have noted down all of Benefactor Ling Yi's instructions. If I gain anything, even if I cannot return immediately, I will have it sent back to Chang'an as soon as possible."
Ling Yi watched from the sidelines, finding it quite boring. He didn't have a good impression of monks, but he genuinely admired the Dharma Master Xuanzang Ling Yi.
Unlike the monks in Ling Yi's memory, this Dharma Master Xuanzang was more like an ancient scientist, adventurer, geographer, linguist, and traveler than a monk.
Ling Yi estimated that this guy's IQ was probably over 200.
During this year, the two met frequently, and Xuanzang felt that he benefited greatly from Ling Yi's "extensive knowledge" and his occasional forward-thinking theories.
Ling Yi greatly admired Xuanzang's erudition and lofty aspirations.
In any case, Ling Yi could never become that kind of person; Ling Yi truly admires Dharma Master Xuanzang.
Dharma Master Xuanzang's journey to the west was a Legend one, and even setting aside its Buddhist School significance, it Dharma Master Xuanzang still of extraordinary importance.
Seeing that the two had finally finished after dawdling for so long, Ling Yi stepped forward, waved his hand, and a sword and a piece of soft armor as thin as a cicada's wing appeared out of thin air.
"This sword is extremely sharp; West City cut anything to shreds."
Seeing that Dharma Master Xuanzang was about to say something, Ling Yi waved his hand to interrupt him, saying, "I'm not asking you to kill people, but it's okay to use it to scare people, right?"
"If you wear this armor underneath your clothes, ordinary swords and blades will not be able to harm you in the slightest."
Xuanzang smiled and said, "Thank you, Benefactor Ling."
In fact, Ling Yi prepared much more for the Dharma Master Xuanzang than just these things!
Putting everything else aside, that world Map alone is quite valuable.
Drawing world Map was the only skill Ling Yi could be proud of in his "previous life".
Moreover, Ling Yi also gave the Dharma Master Xuanzang a task: to collect all the seeds of grains, vegetables, fruits, and the like along the way and bring them back to the Great Tang.
"Even after a thousand miles of travel, we must part ways. Your Majesty, Benefactor Ling, this humble monk departs!"
The Dharma Master Xuanzang mounted his horse, turned it around, and galloped away.
"Go, protect the Dharma Master Xuanzang," Li Shimin said to the troop of cavalry in front of him.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
These cavalrymen were all elite soldiers, and each one was not easy to train.
It's just unknown how many of them will actually come back alive.
"Don't worry, with Dharma Master Xuanzang's Wisdom, he will surely turn misfortune into good fortune. This journey to the west is Legend one for Dharma Master Xuanzang, one that will be recorded in history."
Li Shimin was surprised that Ling Yi had such a high opinion of the Dharma Master Xuanzang, but his worries did not lessen in the slightest.
The Dharma Master Xuanzang was the kind of person who naturally possessed an approachable Aura Field, and he was also exceptionally talented. He was also a friend of Li Shimin.
"Sir, I don't know about that sword..."
"Forget about it. This thing isn't easy to make. You'd better just wait for the steelworks manager to produce a finished product soon."
Li Shimin was somewhat annoyed. Good heavens, does the emperor really have absolutely no face in front of you?
"Sir, are you still angry about me concealing my identity?"
"I'm very busy, I don't have time for that. Oh, by the way, send some more people over to the steel mill."
"But there are already so many people over there, and with so many people, it's easy to get distracted..."
Ling Yi patted Li Shimin on the shoulder and said, "You are the emperor, so broaden your perspective and don't always try to control West City."
"You must be able to see the whole world."
"I'm worried that foreigners will learn it."
"Don't be afraid. If anyone dares to attack, just come to me. I'll beat them to a pulp. It's been over a year since I last laid a hand on them, and I'm actually looking forward to it."
Li Shimin laughed heartily and said, "Alright, you said it yourself!"
He knew that this was Ling Yi's guarantee to him, and that Ling Yi's guarantee was of extraordinary significance to Li Shimin.
After spending more than a year together, Li Shimin had gained a general understanding of Ling Yi.
This is a person with no ambition whatsoever, and also a person who does things as he pleases.
He's completely impulsive; Ling Yi has gotten himself into quite a few troubles lately, but very few of them have actually amounted to anything.
However, anything of value discovered through research had an immeasurable impact on the development of the Great Tang.
"I heard you've produced quite a bit of fine wine again?" Li Shimin said with a smile.
"Are you even capable of holding your liquor?!"
Li Shimin wanted to boast, but remembering Ling Yi's "immortal" status, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
Just as the two were about to turn back, dozens of arrows suddenly shot out from the nearby Lin Zhong, heading straight for Ling Yi and Li Shimin.
Li Shimin was greatly alarmed because Ling Yi was there. He had only brought a team of guards with him today, and the key was that these guards were far away from them, so they didn't even have a chance to come to their rescue.
Just then, Ling Yi waved his hand, and the arrows that were in the air suddenly burst into flames, turning into a pile of ashes in the blink of an eye, Piu-piu away with the wind.
Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief. As expected of "immortal" abilities, this was the first time he had witnessed Ling Yi display his powers up close.
My heart is filled with both longing and awe.
"Whether they're alive or dead?" Ling Yi turned to Li Shimin and asked.
"We don't need them alive," Li Shimin said coldly, his face darkening.
He knew who was behind it and whose people they were, but he never expected them to be so brazen.
Ling Yi waved his hand again, and suddenly a chill began to rise from the woods in front of him, and the woods were covered with a layer of Bai Shuang at a visible speed.
Li Shimin glanced at Ling Yi again, a hint of fear creeping into his heart.
Such methods, if truly detrimental to the Great Tang, would likely be something they simply couldn't withstand.
I shook my head, trying to clear my mind of these jumbled thoughts. Thinking about these things now was pointless and utterly meaningless.
Fortunately, Ling Yi's relationship with them is pretty good now, so it's best to keep those little schemes that had been brewing in his mind to himself.
In three words, you can't afford to offend them; in three more words, you have to treat them with deference.
"Do you know whose people they are?" Ling Yi asked.
"Aristocratic families!" Li Shimin said coldly.
"Oh, a prestigious family, what are you planning to do?"
Li Shimin frowned for a moment. What should he do? He couldn't very well just wipe out all the aristocratic families, could he?
"I would like to execute them all, but the problem is I can't. Most of the officials in the court come from powerful families."
It would be easy to cut vacancies, but if so, the court would likely be left with a large number of vacancies.
These guys are despicable; they threaten to retire and go back to their hometowns at the drop of a hat.
The more Li Shimin thought about it, the angrier he became, but he had nowhere to vent his anger for the time being, which made him very frustrated.
However, this time, he was bound to kill a batch of people. Some people had to die, otherwise, if he were to be timid and indulge in even this, it would only embolden these powerful families to take advantage of him.
Ling Yi asked in surprise, "Don't we already have papermaking and movable type printing?"
Li Shimin was taken aback by Ling Yi's question. Papermaking and printing existed, but what did that have to do with the current situation?
Didn't I tell you about the newspaper?
"What newspaper? What is a newspaper?"
"Newspapers are good stuff..."
Ling Yi launched into another theoretical exercise, not only explaining the concept of newspapers but also instilling in Li Shimin a whole host of modern methods of public opinion management.
Li Shimin's eyes lit up as he listened, and he couldn't help but clap his hands in admiration at the most exciting parts.
Then, Li Shimin hurriedly returned to the palace.
"Hey, what happened to our drinking session?"
Ling Yi shook his head and turned to walk back, but just then, Ling Yi felt a message suddenly being transmitted to him from his Personal Space.
This caused Ling Yi, who had just taken a step forward, to stop again.
"Is that so?" Ling Yi's expression showed some surprise.
"Doesn't that mean the Great Tang is just my first stop?"
Ling Yi had always believed that his Personal Space was static and would not Changes in the future.
But now it seems that's not the case.
As he accomplished more and more in the Great Tang and his influence on the Great Tang grew, his Personal Space also began to Changes subtly.
Based on the information that his Personal Space had just given Ling Yi.
When the spacetime of a world deviates from its original trajectory, a portion of the Power of Space-Time will dissipate.
The Personal Space absorbs and accumulates this dissipated Power of Space-Time.
Power of Space-Time accumulates to a certain level, it will automatically capture and locate new Space-Time Coordinate Anchor.
Once the new anchor point is established, Ling Yi will be able to travel between worlds where the Space-Time Anchor has already been located.
However, given the limited Power of Space-Time collected in his Personal Space, finding a new Space-Time Anchor would be quite difficult.
"Looks like I'll have to make a big splash!"