A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Wei Ying's lips curled up slightly; he could tell that these were Yang Jian's heartfelt words.

His opinion of Yang Jian changed, and he hastily rose through the ranks.

"Your insight is beyond that of 99% of people in the world."

"They always think that the people are like the grass on the ground; once one crop dies, the next one will grow back quickly."

"But how can the common people be mere weeds? They are also subjects of the Great Qian Dynasty, just like us, flesh and blood human beings."

"They all have one head, two eyes, one nose, one mouth, and two ears. Going back, whose ancestors weren't nobles?"

"And where is their superiority?"

"Everyone says that our Wei family has a noble bloodline, but we have never been so self-conscious about it."

"We have never thought that being born into the Wei family is anything noble. We have never been interested in our background, and we have no idea how much power or status we actually have."

"In the Wei family, whether you are respected by others is determined by your age or whether you are a legitimate or illegitimate child, solely by how much you have contributed to the common people of the world."

"The thing I regret most in my life is that I was born too early, the eldest son of the family, the head of the Wei family, and inherited the title of Prince of Yan."

"This saved me from being stuck in Luoyang for so long and deprived me of many opportunities to go to other places to help the people."

"The happiest days of my life were when I was young, without any burdens, and went to the local areas with my uncles and brothers to do practical things for the people."

After saying these things from the heart, Wei Ying felt extremely clear-headed and relieved.

Yang Jian's lips twitched involuntarily. "Listen, can you hear human speech?"

What does it mean to be uninterested in one's background?!

Don't they know their own status and power?!

You fucking explain to me what it means to have the biggest regret of your life: becoming the eldest son of a family, naturally becoming the head of the family, and inheriting a throne even more prestigious than the emperor's?!

Explain to me what you mean by "a burden"? Does "a burden" refer to the position of head of the most powerful family in the world? Or the most prestigious royal title in the world?

You fucking explain to me again what you mean by the happiest days of your life—is it when you're free from all these burdens and living a simple life among ordinary people?!

What's most infuriating is that Yang Jian discovered that Wei Ying genuinely felt this way.

Having spent nine years among the common people and so many years in the lowest levels of government and the highest levels of officialdom in a prefecture, his ability to judge people is absolutely second to none.

But now, he's somewhat insecure about his ability to judge people.

Wei Ying genuinely felt that way.

How could such a ridiculous thing happen in the world?!

No, is that right?

At the very least, people shouldn't...

Yang Jian was speechless.

Wei Ying smacked his lips, realizing he had said a bit too much, but for some reason, he felt a sense of familiarity looking at the young man in front of him.

I already had a favorable impression of his actions, which is why I spoke my mind so frankly.

Could this be the succubus constitution that our ancestors spoke of?

It is indeed terrifying.

"The Prince of Yan's deep love for his people truly impressed Yang Jian."

Yang Jian said dryly.

Even someone as eloquent as him didn't know what to say.

He believed that even the most shrewd and capable person would become mute in his current position.

"Ruojin hasn't yet said why you've come to visit today?"

Wei Ying changed the subject and asked Yang Jian.

"If Jin has come here today, it is indeed to ask you something."

"When I went down to the common people, I discovered that the Great Qian Empire has reached a bottleneck in one matter."

As the saying goes, "To get rich, build roads first."

"But the Great Qian Dynasty is just too vast, making it difficult for goods to circulate between different regions."

"Through my status and position, I was able to make some money circulate from one place to the surrounding areas. Even so, the wealth of the local people increased several times over."

"If we can open up channels between different places, speed up transportation, and enable people in different places to exchange goods and services and discover local advantages, we will definitely be able to improve people's lives."

Wei Ying gave Yang Jian a deep look, which sent chills down Yang Jian's spine.

"Come with me."

Wei Ying led Yang Jian to a factory outside Luoyang City. This was the territory of the Mo family, and it covered a huge area.

Wei Ying led Yang Jian to a place that was heavily guarded.

Upon entering the gate, Yang Jian's eyes widened in surprise.

As far as the eye can see, there are countless steel structures.

Even the floor was covered with a lot of steel, and there were even huge, unknown monsters made of steel.

"Prince Yan, where is this place?"

Wei Ying did not speak, but led Yang Jian to the owner of the contact factory, Mo Li, the current head of the Mo family.

"How's the research on steam engines going?"

"Your Highness, the research is basically complete. As long as the Gongshu family's steel smelting technology can keep up, we can officially begin laying it out domestically."

He glanced at Yang Jian curiously. He had been staying in the factory the whole time, completely unaware of the uproar surrounding Yang Jian outside.

"What comes to mind when you see these railway tracks on the ground?"

Wei Ying asked Yang Jian.

Yang Jian carefully observed the railway tracks, recalling everything in his mind related to marching speed.

"Could this be a royal road?"

Yang Jian asked in confusion, "But what kind of good family would build a road with steel? Isn't that a waste of resources?"

Wei Ying remained noncommittal.

"Could you demonstrate?"

Wei Ying asked Mo Li.

"sure."

With the big spender speaking up, is there any reason why it can't be done?

If you don't even want to give a presentation, do you not want the funding you're supposed to receive?

Mo Li led Wei Ying and Yang Jian to a monster made of steel. Mo Li opened the car door, and Wei Ying got in.

Yang Jian felt a chill run down his spine, but since Wei Ying had already gone in, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow her in.

Mo Li was the last to come in, and closed the door behind him.

The three of them found a place to sit down, and Mo Li began to introduce Wei Ying to their achievements over the past period.

Yang Jian swayed, and he suddenly realized that the iron monster under his buttocks was slowly moving.

Startled, he quickly grabbed a nearby pillar.

Mo Li and Wei Ying both showed kind smiles, though it wasn't much better for them as it was their first time sitting there.

As the steam engine sped up, Yang Jian looked through the glass window at the rapidly receding scenery outside, his eyes filled with astonishment.

He can ride horses, and his riding skills are quite good. Now, this steel monster's speed has already surpassed some BMWs, and it is still increasing.

He seemed to have anticipated something, and looked at Mo Li in shock.

Mo Li smiled kindly at Yang Jian, "The current speed of this steam engine is 150 kilometers per hour."

"Why can this steam car run?"

Yang Jian asked, shocked.

"That's complicated to explain, and it involves classified information."

Mo Li glanced at Wei Ying.

Wei Ying shook his head, and Yang Jian thought it meant he couldn't say.

But to everyone's surprise, Wei Ying said, "Let's be frank, this technology simply cannot be developed without sufficient capital."

"I'd be overjoyed if someone was willing to fund the development themselves."

"By the way, this is Yang Jian of the Yang family, courtesy name Ruojin."

"Ruojin, have you ever seen water boil?"

Yang Jian: "???"