You became an emperor by letting me AFK.

Nanwei also breathed a sigh of relief.

The university is just across the street from such a high priesthood, and the psionic reaction coming from the direction of the inner sanctuary just now was terrifying.

Xiayi's claim to be the center of the world is not an exaggeration; it is truly supreme.

"You're really bold, daring to use your spiritual vision to look at His Majesty. Aren't you afraid of your brain crashing?"

She scratched her head awkwardly.

"We still have time, would you like to go for lunch?"

After his speech at the opening ceremony, Wu Tong seemed to have regained his spirits and enthusiastically invited his junior to join him, who of course readily agreed. It seems that university life won't be boring after all; he'll be getting to know the whole of Xiayi over these four years.

They left with the crowd.

Behind the scenes, Feng Tianyin nodded to the principal and instructed him: "Although the study abroad program is to train our agents, we should not be stingy with good talents. I just saw two talented ones."

Yes, sir.

Time flies.

After a long period of fast-forwarding in Daqian, Xia He once again paid attention to the situation.

Although I decided to watch more after the feedback effect of the power of faith, the difference in the flow of time between the two sides was too great to ensure that we could look down at the same time. We could only do it after a period of time.

Therefore, for the Great Qian Dynasty, it had already been 114 years since the beginning of enlightenment.

"Still digesting the territory."

The initial acquisition of Borneo laid the foundation for the empire's development plan for several years, prioritizing a solid foundation and ensuring infrastructure development on both the north and south banks.

That's exactly what Feng Tianyin did; she kept laying railways, building highways, constructing reservoirs, and so on...

Looking around, all you see are various city construction projects.

Thanks to her authority to grant bonuses, otherwise, the current production capacity of the Great Qian Dynasty wouldn't be enough to handle so many projects. Besides, Xia He also saw a large number of projects waiting to be started.

Large-scale construction projects were launched.

In any case, since it's considered local territory in the eyes of the AI, it's worth developing carefully.

In addition, there is another piece of news: [Note: The population of the intercontinental sea region has officially surpassed the 1 million mark.]

The first cultural sphere in the Terra world with a population of 100000000 million has emerged.

The game mechanics are classified as belonging to a cultural sphere.

It's not entirely a geographical concept, nor is it about nationality or ethnicity; rather, it's a more general term referring to the fact that so many people believe in Tiandao Sect, use Chinese characters, speak Mandarin, and share the same festival customs and moral values...

However, if we have to divide it geographically, it is basically equivalent to an intercontinental sea.

"This is a new breakthrough."

Xia He nodded. This was good news; it meant the resources of a full 1 million people were available for mobilization. Although they didn't all belong to the Empire, Feng Tianyin would definitely have a way to mobilize and command them.

The inland sea region is inhabited only by the Empire and its vassals.

After years of meticulous work, the region no longer has any sovereign and independent political entities.

The High Priest does not need political forces that might say "no" to the Empire.

Even though dissent can be discussed at temple councils, the empire cannot tolerate any resistance from disobedient individuals in its overseas policies. Therefore, it is essential to ensure stability in the inland seas.

That's why we were able to expand overseas.

They all became puppets, blindly following the orders of the Great Qian, and filled with fear of the High Priest.

The little robot in Xia He's eyes is the big mastermind in theirs.

Who among the top elites on the mainland and overseas doesn't know that Feng Tianyin is pulling the strings and controlling everything behind the scenes? Especially the Foreign Affairs Intelligence Department, who knows how many dirty tricks they've done.

That's terrifying.

Of course, as long as you don't oppose the Great Qian Dynasty, it's fine.

Those she purged were all local forces that refused to submit to the construction of this large industrial market. They had even privately established tariff barriers, extorted money and goods, and hired thugs to sabotage... Naturally, these local forces reacted fiercely to the impact of Daqian's industrial goods.

It's just human nature.

Understanding does not mean support. In any case, Xia He's log reports were filled with cleanup messages, and those who dared to resist were all punished and disappeared into the annals of history.

It's not even about sending troops; that would be too violent and doesn't align with the temple's aesthetic principles.

It's nothing more than market competition, tax audits, and orders to rectify, after all, Daqian is a society governed by the rule of law.

We must operate within the legal framework.

A smooth combo is enough to make any opponent suffer.

Feng Tianyin has already adopted a conciliatory policy. Unlike dealing with staunch rebels or traitors of the city-state back then, she doesn't confiscate their property. Instead, she punishes them according to the law and then stops pursuing them. As long as they know what's good for them, they can continue to live a carefree life.

The inland sea is at peace.

Xia He's gaze shifted westward, for a notification had just popped up there:

News has come from the Western Valley: We have encountered missionaries from the "Holy Spirit Sect," which is a branch of the Western sect mentioned by the Great Qian.

[Reporters have learned that the largest Western caravan in history has arrived, with more than a thousand people.]

It's practically the size of an army.

However, the other party had no malicious intent and was genuinely conducting an investigation.

The Great Qian Dynasty held an open attitude towards this, embracing diverse perspectives. After all, it had always dealt with various political entities, cultural spheres, and ethnic groups, making it an experienced and unsurprising force.

For many years, the core concepts of the Heavenly Dao Sect and traditional Chinese learning have remained unchanged, but the empire has indeed innovated along the way.

In just a century, Xiayi transformed from a city-state into a great empire, gaining the confidence to look down upon the world.

Welcome, guests.

A caravan arrived at the border of the river valleys in the Western Regions.

Xia He's gaze followed them as they looked down upon a vast expanse of land, with endless yellow sand, towering strange rocks, and any gust of wind that could turn into a tornado.

Even in the steam age, society still evokes a sense of desolation.

Nomadic peoples still live there, migrating between different oases to cultivate the land, herd livestock, and trade, even forming several scattered settlements. But wouldn't they be precariously situated amidst the sandstorms? It would seem as if a single sandstorm could engulf them.

The Great Qian Dynasty did not believe in superstition.

A railway runs from the capital all the way to the northwestern desert.

Loulan and Kangguo were merely milestones; the true ambition was to conquer the desert.

Despite opposition, Feng Tianyin decided to build a railway on this barren land, determined to connect all the oasis settlements and leave none behind.

"Humans and machines have more perseverance than humans."

Xia He investigated the records and discovered that the railway along the line and even the entire project were designed by the High Priest himself. It was not just a simple railway, but a complex project involving the construction of sand-proof dikes and the laying of greenery along the way, after all, the railway could not be allowed to be swallowed up by the wind and sand.

Ecological engineering.

This is its true nature: a super dragon vein that runs through the desert.

After all, Feng Tianyin strictly adheres to the principle that "territory is not considered territory if it is not accessible by transportation".

If the railway is not extended as far as possible during the window of opportunity to consolidate rule, then the nomadic tribes and settlements in the northwest will not be able to be urbanized, or even come under the control of the Great Qian.

It is a miraculous project.

At that very moment, the Western Continent caravan was traveling along the route.

Xia He immediately possessed a guide from the Great Qian Dynasty. This person was a believer, so he could easily switch perspectives.

Boom!

Just then, a train roared past, startling the caravan's camels into a chorus of brays. Some even fell off in fright, exclaiming, "What is that?" "Could it be some kind of dragon?" "How can it be made of steel?" The cries rose and fell.

They weren't unfamiliar with trains, but seeing one in person still gave them a fright.

"Rumor has it that the entire territory of the Great Qian Dynasty is filled with these machines, and we also know about the stages of water-powered textile production..."

The tour guide smiled and said, "Don't be surprised, there's plenty more to come."

"Sir, where is that car going?"

“You are taking a trade route that people can safely travel on, while this route goes deep into the no-man's land to the western Jinsha Mountain, where there are newly mined gold, silver and oil mines, and a railway is needed.”

The caravan members looked at each other, unsure of what oil contained, but gold and silver were certainly worth mining.

However, the fact that a railway runs through the desert still demonstrates the country's strength.

"How much money will this cost!"

The merchants from the Duchy of Rus were amazed and speechless.

"I came to the interior of Daqian in my early years. At that time, it had not yet been connected to the far west. I came by camel. I never expected it to have changed so much."

The caravan leader, Rasvich, gazed into the distance, reflecting on the vicissitudes of life.

He comes from a family of businessmen.

He understood the roads and connections in the distance, yet he still felt that the Great Qian Dynasty was changing rapidly. Moreover, behind this was a persistence and pursuit, even if there was not much profit on the surface, he still wanted to build railways.

The tour guide shook his head. "I don't know how much it cost, but the important figures at the temple felt it was worth it to connect the various settlements."

In fact, Xia He, from his perspective, also understood.

expensive.

However, for an economy at the level of the Great Qian Empire, it is not necessary to squander money to the point of financial ruin. As long as a society has enough economic factors, real industries, and technology, it is actually not easy to make unprofitable investments.

It's expensive, but it makes money when it transports the resources from Jinsha Mountain, which is an oil field.

"It must be another resource-rich area after Linchun."

Moreover, the northern desert region produces various minerals due to volcanic activity, but still lacks oil.

Both Xia He and Feng Tianyin had worried that it might be an oil-poor country.

Fortunately.

The discovery of oil fields in the west has refuted this point. Not only in the west, but there are also numerous oil fields scattered throughout the permafrost in the north. However, the extraction costs, technical conditions, and exploration levels are quite different. In short, there is currently enough oil for our needs.

Besides, we don't really need it right now.

Before the Second Industrial Revolution, Daqian chose to leave it underground for exploration, and it wouldn't be too late to mine it when the time was right.