You became an emperor by letting me AFK.

Demand represents industry.

Just as Feng Tianyin planned back then, the former coastline is now full of shipyards, and countless amounts of timber are processed every day.

They built a massive fleet that traversed the land.

Because of its small tonnage, it can even navigate inland waterways, so building it won't be a loss, since there are plenty of official orders from the temple. Moreover, there's a subsidy for every ship built, making it a guaranteed profit.

...A glance across the vast landscape reveals that a mere 1240 million people are hardly enough.

Too little.

Feng Tianyin is simultaneously advancing in various technological fields, but she cannot just focus on research; she must also cooperate with industry to implement these efforts and build an integrated system of production, education, and research. Therefore, she needs a large workforce, with hundreds of thousands of people directly or indirectly involved in the shipbuilding industry alone.

The massive logistics system requires even more manpower, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is the lifeblood of millions of canal workers.

In fact, there are labor shortages in all areas.

This also led to prosperity.

After all, every industry is vying for talent. As long as you're willing to work, you'll never have to worry about food or clothing; there are plenty of opportunities. These cutting-edge industries support a large population. They are also bottomless pits, constantly consuming human resources.

There are no robots available for you to use now; it's a labor-intensive industry.

urgent.

This is the attitude of the temple's higher-ups.

They saw a thriving economy in the data, but also a manpower shortage that could never be filled. The high priest's strict requirements were making them feel nauseous, and their minds were filled with thoughts of work.

Change the perspective.

Xia He then saw a young woman from the temple's upper echelons worrying about the household registration statistics, which terrified the officials who submitted the documents. Was His Majesty still dissatisfied with this growth rate? It was too strict.

She almost empathized with the working class.

"Alright, you may leave."

Feng Tianyin waved her hand to dismiss those around her, and seeing this, everyone left the study without daring to disturb them.

Once the high priest begins his seclusion, it must be of great importance and cannot be neglected.

I wonder what troublesome matters he'll be pondering once he emerges from seclusion. In any case, everyone is mentally prepared. No matter what difficult demands His Majesty makes, they won't be overwhelmed. Only a superman could stand firm in the Imperial Study.

Outside.

He Huang and Gegentana, who arrived at work on time in the early morning, looked at each other, finding it quite a rare moment of leisure.

"Great Prophet, what do you think His Majesty is worried about?"

"It must be related to the Heavenly Dao Festival, since the date is not far off. I guess she feels that the number of believers in the Great Qian Dynasty has not increased enough during this period, and she may be criticized by His Majesty, so she is worried."

“I also think that everyone is saying they are short-staffed, but the problems are never-ending.”

"Is it possible to take action against overseas city-states?" Gegentana was happy to support religious wars.

Unfortunately, He Huang shook his head.

“We are already busy enough and have no time to increase military affairs. Besides, the population of some city-states is no longer enough to replenish the Great Qian.”

“Indeed, let Her Majesty think about it first. Anyway, she will ask us, and we will have a solution after the festival.”

Both of them understood that if the High Priest shared his troubles, Heavenly Dao would definitely intervene.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Feng Tianyin bowed deeply to the white jade statue, and immediately beamed with joy.

I sensed the gaze of Heaven earlier, but it seemed to be mostly patrolling in the south, so I didn't disturb it. Sure enough, after looking around, it came to Xia Yi to say hello. It's been a long time since we last met.

I can feel His presence more easily now.

The years of spiritual training have not been wasted. By connecting with the Dao itself, one can quickly perceive it. Isn't this a way of moving closer to Him?

Xia He didn't think that much about it.

Instead, he moved his body to adapt to the body he was inhabiting, since he was currently in the state of a holographic device.

"Good morning. I just stopped by to check in, since the next round is coming up soon."

"Your Majesty, actually my calculations were a bit too ambitious. Even if the technology and population of the Great Qian develop rapidly, they will not be well matched, which may actually delay the deduction of the ideal model."

"It's nothing, don't worry, I'll make up for it in this round."

"I'm sorry to have troubled you so much."

"Don't be so formal. The purpose of each round's actions is to provide you with buffs."

Xia He thought it was normal. Moreover, the reason why development was not synchronized was because long-term national policies and political systems were still geared towards the era of war and feudalism, which held things back, but they could not be forcibly changed midway through the turn.

Once she starts actually operating it, adjustments can be made.

That's the right time.

"I think you've done a great job these past few years, giving us a lot of surprises by developing so many technologies so early on."

"Because agricultural productivity has increased, we can free up manpower."

Agriculture in the blessed plains of the south is quite developed. With the addition of chemical fertilizers and water conservancy projects, the harvests are even more abundant. One area is enough to supply the entire country, not to mention that there are also a lot of fertile land in the hilly valleys of the south.

The prerequisite for all of this is a strong agricultural nation.

Because Feng Tianyin had enabled the Great Qian Dynasty to achieve food freedom early on, she dared to encourage a large number of people who did not engage in agriculture.

There's even a food surplus now, so much so that she's finally willing to lift one restriction:

Brewing wine.

Instead of implementing a prohibition order that was likely to fail, she focused on controlling production as much as possible. She developed various technologies but excluded others from the process, prioritizing alcohol content over high purity. Over time, Daqian's brewing technology was continuously suppressed and fell behind.

They're only willing to unlock the relevant technologies now that they have surplus resources.

In addition, a large amount of grain was supplied to the livestock industry, which increased the production of meat products, and the days when meat could only be eaten during festivals were over.

Naturally, the new generation of people also grew stronger and taller, which was a logical consequence of adequate nutrition.

Xia He noticed these changes.

"...Actually, there is a hidden rule in the game Civilization Evolution: whenever you encounter a city-state, there is definitely a country not far away from the city-state, on the other side of the intercontinental sea."

The sudden guidance made Feng Tianyin's eyes widen in surprise.

This mechanism exists!

She grasped the information gap aspect; without Xia He's guidance, she truly wouldn't have known. Theoretically, patterns could be summarized from samples, but the sample size was too small, and the relevant information hadn't been entered into the database.

"Theoretically speaking, you can plunder the population of other civilizations, but you have to consider the distance and cost."

"After all, you've always been plundering barbarian villages and city-states."

In the eyes of the Daqian people, the High Priest was too temperamental; when he was short of manpower, he would steal. Many of the people today were actually descended from barbarian tribes.

As expected of her.

Feng Tianyin shook her head. "No need. According to my model, the population of ten million will grow very quickly. Our own population is enough. We have already passed the window of opportunity for plunder."

"Moreover, based on our contact with overseas city-states, they are even more ignorant of the Heavenly Dao Sect and cannot appreciate Your Majesty's transcendence."

The black-and-white-haired girl squatted in front of the table, gazing at Xia He's statue with shining eyes.

"Alright, since you've made up your mind."

The statue stepped onto Feng Tianyin's shoulder, and the latter stood up respectfully, her face full of surprise.

"You've built another magnificent wonder? Show it to me."

Yes, sir.

Feng Tianyin immediately went to the balcony and saw a huge bell tower through the window on the top floor of the temple. It was over 100 meters tall, and if you included the spire and lightning rod, it would be even taller, breaking the city's skyline record.

Its huge dial is rotating, revealing the thin metal sheets on it, which make a clicking sound as they rub together, full of the precise beauty of industry.

"Exposed parts, industrial ruggedness, if you add a little moisture, it becomes steampunk."

"Your Majesty, the steam engine will be manufactured soon."

"I'm not rushing you, take it slow."

"...Indeed, there are quite a few tank explosion accidents now, and we are still researching the best and most suitable material ratio for strength."

To put it bluntly, even a kettle can be considered a steam engine. The challenge lies in ensuring stable operation, and the Daqian Research Institute is still in the process of trial and error. It is not an independent invention; it requires the overall coordination of metallurgy, materials science, mechanics, and other fields to ultimately culminate in a masterpiece.

It won't happen overnight; it will take time, but it's just one step away from success.

【hint】

The current academic atmosphere at Daqian Science and Technology Center is strong; increasing the number of research points will lead to the emergence of more great scientists.

Both of them received a new status notification.

If heroes were powerful psionic units from ancient times, then great scientists are the cream of the crop in this era. In the world of Terra, possessing wisdom means more psionic revelations and the ability to create more new things.

hum!

Almost simultaneously, a wisp of pollution followed closely, as if stirred by active human consciousness.

The warp arrived to join the fun, but as soon as it entered the material world, it discovered two bright "big eyes" psionic reactions aimed at it.

How the hell did we end up in Xiayi again, and they're all here?

Whoops!

A gentle breeze blew by, and nothing happened; even someone as perceptive as the Great Prophet couldn't detect it. It wasn't that Gegentana was weak, but rather that the Cleanser was too powerful. The arrival of the Heavenly Dao's gaze simultaneously elevated the High Priest's status; with both of them watching, no evil spirit could withstand it. In an instant, it vanished into thin air.

"It seems that Daqian is developing smoothly and its scientific research has accumulated to the point where it can be greatly developed."

“Those annoying things have disturbed Your Majesty and deserve to die.”

Feng Tianyin was truly angry. She even refused to let her most trusted clerk in, wanting to enjoy this time alone with him. However, the subspace was so blind as to disturb her, and she deserved to die.

She usually just took it as an objective phenomenon, but now she's a little annoyed.

It has to be cleaned up.

While it's not worth getting so angry right now, we should definitely take proactive measures to eliminate the senses of evil spirits into consideration.

"You're kind of cute when you're angry."

Xia He couldn't help but smile, but upon hearing this, Feng Tianyin coughed and turned her head away.