If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

"Lord Zhou, His Majesty summons you to the palace."

Zhou Wu had not been summoned to the palace alone for a long time, and of course, every time he went to the palace, something would definitely fall on his shoulders.

"Hey~"

Zhou Wu sighed deeply. When the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree saw it, he felt a little strange. Others would be overjoyed to be summoned to the palace, but this Lord Zhou was quite special.

"Please, sir. His Majesty seems to be in a hurry."

"it is good."

. . . . . . . .

When Zhou Wu entered the palace, not only Emperor Li Tiancheng, but also most of the imperial high-ranking officials were present.

Zhou Wu thought to himself, "It seems something big is about to happen again."

"Zhou Wu is here. We've been waiting for you."

Li Tiancheng was sitting facing the main entrance of the hall, so naturally he saw Zhou Wu first.

"Greetings, Your Majesty. May I ask what brings you here?"

After Zhou Wu spoke, everyone else looked at him, but their eyes seemed to contain some indescribable emotions.

"Some time ago, the Emperor Emeritus went to inspect your South China Sea and had many insights after returning."

An inspection? It was clearly a vacation, but since the emperor liked these things, Zhou Wu naturally went along with it.

"The Emperor Emeritus gave me many useful suggestions during his inspection, which I am studying and digesting day and night, hoping to transform them into a driving force for the development of my fiefdom as soon as possible."

Good heavens, the emperor was just being polite, everyone knew that.

However, Zhou Wu's response was even more skillful, and everyone then realized why Zhou Wu was favored by the emperor. Besides his future abilities, speaking was also an art.

"Haha, stop being so cheeky. I called you here today because there's something I need to verify with you."

"I wonder what's going on?"

"When the Emperor Emeritus visited your South China Sea this time, he said you were researching a new mode of transportation called a train?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

So that's what it was about. Zhou Wu had thought it was something else entirely. It seems the imperial court is somewhat interested. However, Zhou Wu had originally planned to promote the train nationwide after completing the experiment.

"I heard it can carry both people and goods?"

"Yes."

Hearing Zhou Wu's affirmative answer, Li Tiancheng realized that the Emperor Emeritus had not lied and continued to ask questions.

"I heard it can carry over a thousand people at a time? Or perhaps tens of thousands of kilograms of goods?"

"um, yes."

This made the others uneasy.

They gathered here to discuss the transportation of supplies and personnel. Originally, the Great Dragon Empire did not have a great need for this, but with the incorporation of Gaoli Kingdom, Dazi, and Tubo Kingdom, the area of ​​the Great Dragon Empire has increased many times over.

Logistics involves both the support of inland talent and the return of local specialties, such as sheep from Dazi, warhorses, and long-haired cattle from Tubo, all of which require a very large volume of transportation.

It's simply unrealistic to continue following the old method of having people lead the horses.

Shipping was even more impossible. Gaoli might be a little better off because it is near the sea, but Tubo, one is an inland grassland and the other is an inland plateau, making shipping impossible.

While everyone was having a heated discussion, the retired emperor, who happened to be passing by, overheard it and couldn't help but mention it.

Even now, everyone still remembers the Emperor Emeritus's disdain at that time.

“What’s the use of just talking? Why don’t you go find Zhou Wu? He’s already thought of everything for you. His fiefdom’s trains can carry a thousand people and transport tens of thousands of catties of goods at a time, and they’re very fast. It only takes two or three days to get from the South China Sea to the capital.”

When everyone heard this, no one believed it. They all thought that the Emperor Emeritus liked Zhou Wu and was praising him. However, Li Tiancheng was skeptical.

In the end, it was decided to call Zhou Wu over and ask him directly.

. . . . .

"Zhou Wu, is there any exaggeration in what you said?"

Li Tiancheng knew Zhou Wu's character; he would never lie about this. Now he just wanted to ask Zhou Wu if there was any exaggeration in his words.

"What I said earlier was a bit conservative, because the train is currently in its first-generation experimental model, so its designed carrying capacity is not large, but it will definitely increase exponentially in the future."

"what!"

I was still wondering if there was any exaggeration involved, but then they said it was conservative.

"Lord Zhou, this matter concerns the future development of our Great Dragon Empire, how could I dare to joke about it?"

One of the ministers was making a pointed remark.

“Lord Zhou, although I have never seen what a train is, your train is so different from the oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages we usually see. It’s hard to believe. Even the elephants in Southeast Asia cannot compare to your train. It’s really unbelievable.”

It's normal for people to have this reaction. It mainly depends on their own knowledge and the environment they are exposed to. They simply cannot understand that a cart without livestock can not only move but also transport more things.

"As I've said before, just because you haven't seen something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. The train is currently being tested in the South China Sea. You are all welcome to come to the South China Sea and see it for yourselves."

Zhou Wu no longer wanted to engage in pointless arguments. As he always said, seeing is believing. No matter how much he said, these people still wouldn't understand. Only facts could prove it.

"Alright, get ready. We'll depart for the South China Sea in three days."

Emperor Li Tiancheng was truly a man of great vision; with a single wave of his hand, he ordered the entire imperial court to depart for the South China Sea.

The reason Li Tiancheng decided to go to the South China Sea was not only to see the train, but also because he wanted to see just how wonderful the South China Sea, which the retired emperor had always longed for, really was.

People say that the South China Sea is a wild and barren land, a place where even birds don't bother, but after the Fourth Prince went there, he was even willing to stay there as a fisherman. The Emperor Emeritus also kept thinking about it. The Crown Prince and Xixue also praised it highly.

The reactions of the crowd made Li Tiancheng even more anxious. He decided to take advantage of this opportunity to use his position for personal gain and bring the Empress along as well.

. . . . . . .

On the ship, they set off from the capital and sailed south. When they reached the estuary, these ministers, who had long lived inland, saw the sea for the first time and began to marvel at its vastness and boundlessness. Some even recited poems.

"Zhou Wu, you've been shouldering the responsibility of protecting the coastline of our Great Dragon all along. Thank you for your hard work."

As the emperor, Li Tiancheng naturally knew the length of the Great Dragon coastline, but it was just a string of cold numbers. When he truly saw the real coastline, he realized that the coastline needed to be defended even more.

"Your Majesty, the reason we had this problem before was that the navigation capabilities of the surrounding countries were not good enough. But now that some countries are able to sail the oceans, the defense of the coastline really needs to be strengthened."

"I understand. I thought the previous expansion of the navy by 30,000 was already a lot, but it seems that 30,000 is far from enough. After returning to the capital this time, I will consider further expanding the navy."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Tiancheng's promise to expand the navy was a truly unexpected and delightful surprise.