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Forty years after establishing his rule, the empire's western expeditionary force conquered Sindhu (the Indian subcontinent), incorporating its entire territory into its domain. Yi Huawei appointed his second son, Yi Juncheng, as "King of Sindhu," establishing a vassal state in the Ganges River basin to guard South Asia.

This marked the first time the empire had established a vassal kingdom overseas (connected by land, but still a newly acquired territory). The King of Sindhu possessed a high degree of autonomy, able to form his own army, collect taxes, and appoint and dismiss officials, but he was required to pay tribute to the central empire and submit to its rule, and to be supervised by the Xuanwei Envoy.

For the next twenty years, the empire continued to expand westward, southward, and northward:
In the western regions, the former Persian territories and Mesopotamia were gradually incorporated into the imperial tributary system, under the jurisdiction of the "Anxi Protectorate." The Arab Empire suffered crushing defeats in three large-scale wars with the Chinese Empire, and was forced to submit and pay tribute. Its remaining forces retreated to North Africa.

In the Southeast Asia region, the Imperial Navy successively conquered Luzon (Philippines), Java (Indonesia), and the Malay Peninsula, establishing the "Nanyang Protectorate" to govern them. A large influx of Chinese immigrants entered these areas, establishing plantations, mines, and trading posts, fundamentally altering the local population structure and civilization.

In the northern frontier, after thirty years of continuous "civilization" and military attacks, the Shiwei, Khitan, and other tribes were either assimilated, wiped out, or driven to the harsher, more northerly regions. The former Liaodong and Mongolian Plateau regions had become firmly established territory of the Han Chinese, governed by the "Beiting Protectorate."

By the time the dynasty had been established for sixty years, its territory stretched from the sea in the east to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean in the west, encompassing the South Pacific islands and the entire territory of India in the south, and reaching the Arctic Ocean coast in the north (although large-scale immigration was difficult due to the harsh cold, several military outposts and hunting stations had been established). It spanned more than 20,000 li from east to west and 15,000 li from north to south.

According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Revenue at the end of the 59th year of the reign, the total population has exceeded 2 billion.

Two billion thirty-seven million.

The Han Chinese (including the original Han Chinese and naturalized ethnic groups who have completely assimilated into Han culture) number approximately 840 million, accounting for 40% of the total population. They are mainly distributed in the core areas of the Central Plains, Jiangnan, Bashu, Guanzhong, and Liaodong, as well as the administrative centers and military fortresses of various protectorates.

The number of naturalized people (those of various ethnicities who have accepted Chinese culture and abide by imperial laws, but have not yet fully integrated into the Chinese nation) is approximately 650 million, accounting for more than 30% of the total population. They are mainly distributed in newly developed areas such as the Western Regions, Southeast Asia, and India, as well as the "civilized areas" surrounding the Central Plains.

The number of people under the control of the government (tribes that retain partial autonomy and pay regular tribute and service) is approximately 380 million, accounting for nearly 20% of the total population. They are mainly distributed in more remote frontier regions, such as the east coast of Africa, the interior of the Arabian Peninsula, the depths of the Central Asian steppes, and the edge of the North Asian permafrost zone.

The laborers (prisoners of war, criminals, and their descendants) numbered approximately 160 million, less than 10% of the total population. The vast majority of them were Jurchens and their descendants, with a small number of Arab prisoners of war and descendants of stubborn Western Region nobles. They were strictly confined to fixed "labor camps," performing the most arduous labor with no hope of advancement.

If the empire established thirty years before its founding was laid by Yi Huawei's extraordinary personal cultivation and iron-fisted methods, then the empire established thirty years after its founding was built on technology, or rather, on the wings of "the study of things."

Thirty-five years after the establishment of the dynasty, the Institute of Gewu and Tiangong, after more than twenty years of experimentation, finally succeeded in manufacturing the first "steam engine" that could be used in practice.

Over the next twenty-five years, the steam engine was continuously improved, miniaturized, and put into practical use.

By the sixtieth year of its establishment, the empire possessed a railway network connecting major cities such as Luoyang, Chang'an, Jinling, Youzhou, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Suyab, with a total length exceeding 80,000 li (approximately 40,000 kilometers). Trains could reach speeds of up to 60 li per hour, running day and night, with astonishing transport capacity. The journey from Luoyang to Guangzhou, which originally took more than a month, now only took five days.

The main force of the Imperial Ocean Fleet has completely replaced the old-style sailing ships. The 5,000-ton "Dingyuan-class" steam-powered ironclads can carry a thousand soldiers and a hundred cannons, and can sail in any weather without relying on wind power. Civilian steamships are ubiquitous on major rivers and coastal routes, greatly reducing logistics costs.

In the streets of major cities like Luoyang and Chang'an, small, steam-powered "public carriages" could carry twenty people and regularly shuttled between city gates and markets. The fares were inexpensive, making them affordable for ordinary citizens.

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Thirty-eight years after the establishment of the dynasty, the first "telegraph line" was successfully erected between Luoyang and Chang'an.

Over the next twenty-two years, the empire rapidly established a nationwide telegraph network. By the sixtieth year of its establishment, all prefectures, most counties, and major military strongholds on the frontiers were connected by telegraph. Orders issued from Luoyang could reach Suyab, the capital of India, and the Nanyang Protectorate within a quarter of an hour.

At the same time, the Empire began research into "wireless telegraphy." Although still in its infancy, it was already able to achieve short-range communication under certain conditions.

The large-scale application of steam engines required massive amounts of fuel. Coal, once merely a "black stone" used for heating by people in the north, suddenly became a strategic resource for the empire.

Between the 30th and 60th years of the establishment of the empire, more than ten large coal mines were newly developed in Shanxi, Henan, Liaodong, and the Western Regions. The annual coal output soared from less than 20 million shi in the 30th year of the establishment of the empire to 300 million shi in the 60th year of the establishment of the empire.

Coal is no longer only used in trains, ships, and factories, but it is also beginning to enter ordinary households. Residents of large cities such as Luoyang are now using "honeycomb briquettes"—a cheap fuel made of compressed coal powder with holes in the middle—for heating in winter. It is inexpensive, burns completely, and has greatly improved the winter conditions for people in northern China.

Oil also began to come into people's view.

Fifty years after the establishment of the dynasty, several "black oil springs" were discovered within the territory of the Protectorate of the Western Regions. Research by the Institute of Natural History revealed that this black, viscous liquid could be refined into "kerosene," used for lighting that was brighter and cheaper than candles and vegetable oil. Kerosene lamps quickly became widespread, and the nights in Luoyang were more than ten times brighter than they had been thirty years prior.

The steam engine brought about a revolution in the entire mode of production.

Thirty years before the establishment of the empire, its factories relied primarily on water, animal power, and human labor. Sixty years later, large factories commonly used steam engines to drive various machines: looms, spinning machines, forging hammers, blowers, water pumps, mills…

What was once a barren wasteland west of Luoyang has now become an industrial zone stretching for dozens of miles. Towering chimneys emit smoke of varying thickness day and night, and the roar of machines never ceases. This area is home to state-run arsenals, steel mills, textile factories, and machinery plants, as well as numerous private workshops of all kinds.

The concept of "production efficiency" was widely accepted throughout the empire. The Ministry of Revenue added "industrial output growth rate" to its annual performance evaluation of officials in various regions. Each prefecture and county established an "Industrial Bureau" to promote new technologies, manage factories, and train workers.

The development of industry, in turn, promoted agriculture.

By the 32nd year of the establishment of the dynasty, crops such as corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, after ten years of trial planting and promotion by the Ministry of Agriculture, had become widespread throughout the country by the 40th year of the establishment of the dynasty.

These crops share common characteristics: drought resistance, tolerance to poor soil, and high yield. Hilly, mountainous, and sandy lands that were previously uncultivable can now be planted with corn and sweet potatoes; barren farmland with low yields has seen its yields increase two or three times after being converted to potato cultivation.

Fifty years after the establishment of the dynasty, the Ministry of Agriculture successfully cultivated a new variety of hybrid rice, increasing the yield per mu by 50% compared to traditional rice varieties. This technology was quickly promoted in the Jiangnan and Lingnan regions, as well as the newly conquered Sindhu region. At the same time, chemical fertilizers began to be used in agricultural production.

The Gewu Tiangong Institute discovered that "phosphate rock" and "potassium salt" treated using specific methods could significantly increase crop yields. In the fifty-fifth year of the Dingding reign, the first batch of state-run fertilizer plants were built and put into operation in Hubei and Sichuan.

By the sixtieth year of its establishment, the empire's total grain output was more than three times that of the thirty years prior. However, its population growth was only twice that of the thirty years prior.

This meant that the empire had truly solved its food problem for the first time. Famine, the nightmare that had plagued Chinese civilization for thousands of years, was finally swept into the dustbin of history.

Thirty years after the establishment of the empire, its annual steel production was approximately 500,000 tons. By the sixtieth year, this figure had soared to 20 million tons—a forty-fold increase.

Railways, ships, factories, construction, weapons... the demand for steel is endless. New technologies are emerging one after another: the "converter steelmaking method" has replaced the traditional "roasting steel method", which has greatly improved efficiency and quality; the "rolling mill" can directly roll steel billets into rails, steel plates and steel beams, which greatly reduces processing costs.

The production of cement was equally staggering. In the sixty years since its establishment, the empire produced over one hundred million tons of cement annually. Roads, bridges, ports, dikes, buildings... the empire's land was being "hardened" inch by inch by cement and steel.

For thirty years, the dominant firearms were still muzzle-loading smoothbore muskets and cannons. They had slow rates of fire, low accuracy, and were easily affected by weather conditions.

Sixty years after establishing its rule, the mainstay equipment of the imperial army had been replaced with breech-loading rifles. These rifles used fixed ammunition, a rotating bolt action, and rifling. Their rate of fire was ten times that of thirty years prior, and their effective range was five times greater. A well-trained soldier could fire ten rounds per minute, hitting a target three hundred paces away.

The breech-loading rifled gun also adopted a breech-loading design, resulting in a high rate of fire and high accuracy. The shells also evolved from solid shot to "explosive shells" (high-explosive fragmentation shells), which produced a large number of fragments upon explosion, resulting in tremendous destructive power.

In the fifty-fifth year of the Dingding era, the Institute of Natural Crafts invented the "hand-cranked multi-barreled machine gun," which, when operated by one gunner, provided the firepower of dozens of riflemen. Although still in its infancy, it had already demonstrated its terrifying power in several border rebellions.

The Empire's main naval force has been upgraded from sailing warships to steam-powered ironclads. Their hulls are covered with iron armor several inches thick, impenetrable by ordinary cannons; equipped with large-caliber breech-loading rifled guns, they can easily sink any old-style warship.

Forty years after the establishment of the dynasty, the Imperial Crafts Academy successfully manufactured a hot air balloon capable of carrying people into the air. For the next twenty years, balloons were widely used for military reconnaissance. By the sixtieth year of the dynasty's establishment, the empire had formed three "balloon battalions," each equipped with twenty hot air balloons, capable of overlooking enemy positions from hundreds of meters above and providing precise guidance for artillery.

Forty-three years after the establishment of the dynasty, a young doctor from the Medical Department of the Gewu Tiangong Academy discovered "bacteria" under a microscope.

In the following decade or so, the empire's medical research made rapid progress.

Smallpox vaccines have been widely available throughout the country, and smallpox has been virtually eradicated.

The Empire enacted the Public Health Law, mandating the establishment of sewage systems, clean drinking water sources, and proper disposal of garbage and excrement throughout the country. The incidence of infectious diseases such as typhoid fever and cholera decreased significantly.

With the widespread availability of anesthesia, surgery is no longer an inhuman ordeal. The promotion of disinfection techniques (carbolic acid) has significantly reduced surgical infection rates.

State-run pharmaceutical factories began large-scale production of various medicines. Quinine (for treating malaria), aspirin (for reducing fever and relieving pain), sulfonamides (for antibacterial purposes)... These "miracle drugs" that were once only affordable to the wealthy and powerful are now accessible to ordinary people.

By the sixtieth year of the establishment of the empire, the average life expectancy had increased from forty-five years in the thirtieth year to fifty-five years.

The empire's technological leap over the past thirty years will inevitably bring about profound political and social changes.

As the empire expanded and affairs became more complex, the traditional "imperial examination system" could no longer meet the needs.

In the forty-fifth year of his reign, Yi Huawei promulgated the "New System of Officials," which thoroughly reformed the imperial bureaucratic system.

The single "Jinshi" examination was abolished, and instead, six examinations were conducted: "Arts," "Science," "Engineering," "Law," "Medicine," and "Agriculture." Each examination had a different focus: Arts tested classical texts and policy essays; Science tested mathematics and physics; Engineering tested mechanical manufacturing; Law tested legal cases; Medicine tested medical skills and pharmacology; and Agriculture tested agronomy and water conservancy.

Technical positions in various departments (such as the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Revenue, the Institute of Natural Resources and Crafts, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Imperial Medical Bureau) must be filled by those with formal professional training in the corresponding fields. Those without such training are not permitted to interfere in technical matters.

Local officials shall not serve more than six years in office and must be transferred elsewhere upon the expiration of their term; they shall not serve in their place of origin or in places where their immediate family members do business.

All officials undergo an annual examination and a major examination every three years. The evaluation includes performance, integrity, knowledge, and ability. Those who receive excellent ratings in three consecutive evaluations are promoted, while those who receive poor ratings in three consecutive evaluations are dismissed.

The implementation of this system transformed the empire's bureaucratic system from a "generalist" to a "specialist" structure. The days when the Vice Minister of Works was ignorant of engineering and the Vice Minister of Revenue was ignorant of mathematics were over.

Fifty years after establishing its rule, Yi Huawei has further strengthened the supervisory system:
The number of censors was increased from sixty to two hundred, and they were stationed in various circuits, prefectures, states, and counties throughout the country. They were responsible for investigating and correcting any matters they heard.

The censors were directly responsible to the emperor and were not subject to the control of local officials or the heads of the Six Ministries. The emperor personally controlled the appointment, promotion, and evaluation of the censors.

All officials of the fifth rank and above may directly submit secret memorials to the emperor, reporting illegal activities. The contents of these secret memorials are not to be viewed by anyone.

In addition to its traditional intelligence and surveillance functions, the Imperial City Guard has added a "technical surveillance" function—specifically responsible for monitoring emerging sectors such as factories, mines, railways, and telegraphs across various regions to prevent technology leaks, corruption, and safety accidents. (End of Chapter)