Tang Mo returned to Chang’an after concluding his affairs in Qi Country and moved into a brand-new palace built especially for him.
The palace was enormous, yet regrettably, only a limited area had been completed. Approximately one-fifth of the main complex was finished, with Tang Mo’s residence being just barely done.
The entire Royal Palace had undergone a transformation from its previous castle style, incorporating elements of traditional Chinese design—because the palace complex was so vast that it no longer had anything in common with a castle.
Chang’an… even in a different world, it could only be called Chang’an!
Glorious and grand, Chang’an stood as the pinnacle of the world. After Tang Mo renamed the city Chang’an, it became the Chang’an of Great Tang, a unique city surpassing all other imperial cities and capitals around the world!
It must be said that some things happen naturally, while others come unexpectedly.
Tang Mo had worked tirelessly and finally reaped the rewards in this summer: both his Imperial Concubines, Alice and Yulin, were pregnant.
This gave Tang Mo, who had never quite fully integrated into this world, a profound sense of belonging. Before the crossing, he had no descendants, and his occupation did not allow him the luxury of such thoughts.
In that environment, having descendants and women to worry about would mean that he had a vulnerability, something he had to care for and protect.
Therefore, he remained unmarried and childless; even with his immense wealth and nightly festivities, he never entertained the idea of marriage and having children.
But now, he had women who truly belonged to him, as well as his own children. So when he learned that he was to have descendants, he was incredibly delighted.
For a kingdom, the birth of an heir to the king, especially a highly beloved one, was undoubtedly a joyous occasion and definitely a cause for national celebration.
The military suggested holding a victory parade in honor of the prince’s birth to showcase the kingdom’s strength and joyously celebrate as a nation. After all, following the victorious campaign against Qi Country, Your Majesty had not flaunted his achievements.
The Prime Minister agreed the proposal was feasible. Roger had a large number of Gold Coins to spare and didn’t mind the extravagance of celebrating just this once.
Thanks to a wealth of technology transfer income, Tang Country had reclaimed a significant amount of its domestically issued currency, the Tang Yuan. This currency, officially known as the Great Tang Golden Yuan, had become a global currency due to its circulation.
Nowadays, Gold was only physically transported for large-scale international payments; for lesser amounts, merchants preferred trading in Tang Yuan.
After all, this currency was very convenient and could actually be spent as money, instilling strong confidence in many merchants.
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Keep in mind that even during the previous wartime status, Tang Country was willing to accept Tang Yuan for the sale of various goods, making such a resilient currency even more popular and beloved.
Because having a pocket full of clinking Gold Coins or Silver Coins was never as convenient as carrying a few banknotes.
Great Tang, quietly taking control of the world financial system, was more powerful than it appeared. Unbeknownst to many, Tang Mo seemed to have the power to influence the treasuries of many kings around the world.
Half a month ago, the first son of the king of Great Tang was born, with Yulin, the Princess, as the mother. Last night, Alice gave birth to a son, and instantly the kingdom was blessed with two princes.
Tang Mo was very pleased to suddenly have two sons within a span of just over ten days and issued a special pardon for many slaves and criminals with minor offenses.
Nearly 400,000 Goblin slaves were not included in the pardon. To celebrate their master’s welcoming of two sons, they worked overtime, building more than 100 kilometers of railway and over 200 kilometers of road.
Some Goblins, in their excitement, even forgot to rest and ultimately died from exhaustion while working diligently, prompting much sympathy and reflection.
In memory of these diligent Goblins striving for redemption, Tang Country even erected a monument for them, praising the friendship between Tang and Shen Countries, and extolling the self-sacrificing and industrious spirit of these international Goblin friends.
Moreover, Shen Wenmao and Shenwu Xiong, who were specifically in charge of the Goblins, were awarded the Great Tang International Medal, especially established by Tang Mo for the two of them.
The process of awarding medals to the pair came with a little incident which, intentionally or not, was spread around and became the butt of jokes among all the Goblin slaves from Shen Country.
During the award ceremony for the two crafty Shen, their short stature presented a problem; it would certainly be inappropriate for Tang Mo to bend down to award them, but having them stand on stools seemed too informal.
In the end, the only solution was to find the shortest Minister, who presented the medals on behalf of Tang Mo, which consequently lowered the ceremony’s prestige quite a bit.
The construction of Great Tang State was taking shape, with very smooth roads everywhere and a variety of cars visible throughout.
If judged by the number of vehicles, Great Tang could boast of being the most advanced country in the world, as cars had already replaced horse-drawn carriages as the primary means of transportation.
And then there were the trains; the technology of Great Tang’s railways had advanced, and the old train models were mostly relegated to branch lines now.
The railway transport capacity increased by two hundred percent within a year; this can truly be described as miraculous.
The increased capacity reflected tangibly in the lives of the common people: whereas before it took several days to travel from Tongcheng to Chang’an, now it only required one day, the improvement in efficiency went without saying.
Tang Mo took a flight from Chang’an, passing through Nanye, and after spending over a dozen hours, arrived in Pingning, a piece of news that filled the whole world with great interest in the forthcoming aviation miracle.
It’s no joke, the Great Tang Group was training more than 20,000 pilots on Dragon Island for the whole world, and they were all studying flight hard every day; the youngest among those who first came into contact with planes could now fly freely in the sky.
In the flight instructor’s meeting room on Dragon Island, a team leader slammed a document on the table, looked at a group of young flight instructors, and said helplessly, "Listen, go easy on the students who are about to graduate, don’t let them leave with regrets."
"After all, you are teachers, why be so competitive? Let them win a round, then send them home happily on the ship!" He cajoled them earnestly, a picture of frustration at their not living up to expectations.
In fact, he was very satisfied with these trainee pilots because often accompanying pilots from other countries for training, their flying skills had been honed quite well.
But the commanding officer still couldn’t show satisfaction; otherwise, these young pilots from Tang Country would become even more arrogant.
So his tone was filled with a stern reprimand: "Do you hear me?"
"Yes!" all the young men stood at attention, holding their heads high, and replied.
Continuing to tap on the document, the team leader emphasized, "Make it clear! You are teachers! Teachers! Our job now is to serve these students! They have paid! There are 7 gold coins in your allowance from them! Understand?"
"Understood!" all the flight instructors continued in response.
Feigning impatience, the team leader waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to make themselves scarce: "If you understand, then scram! Go back and think about how to lose once, but not too ugly—you can’t let it be too obvious!"
"These kids, none of them make life easy..." Once the flight instructor had left and the door was closed, the team leader rubbed the bridge of his nose and complained to his assistant behind him, "If they become really skilled, what are we to do if they suffer losses in future conflicts?"
"Eventually, others will figure it out on their own." The assistant offered comfortingly.
"I hope they never do!" the team leader shook his head, then asked, "How’s the work over at the security department? Have you heard anything?"
"How could they possibly let me know about their work?" The assistant shook his head and then added, "But I’ve picked up on a few things."
"A few?" the team leader asked curiously.
"Eight or so," the assistant confidently offered a number.
"How many?" The team leader was taken aback, then looked at his assistant somewhat exaggeratedly: "From the first batch of over five hundred students, the security department planted dozens of spies?"
"It’s not that many when you think about it; who’s to say there aren’t spies planted amongst us by others? We can’t fully trust and use them all..." the assistant explained cryptically.
"True," the team leader nodded, then pondered, "What do you think, should we lend a hand? As a favor to the security department team."
"Team leader, that wouldn’t be good, would it? It might seem like we aren’t discreet in our work if they find out," the assistant cautioned.
The instructor team leader nodded his head, agreeing with the sentiment: "True, it’d be superfluous. If they need something, they’ll surely come to me..."
No sooner had he finished his sentence, an officer from the security department knocked and entered. The man didn’t beat around the bush, pulling out a list: "One hundred fifty, some are our own people, give them a good ranking during the assessments, thanks."
"Got it, I’ll handle it," the instructor team leader glanced at the list.
"Burn it once you’re done with it." The visitor reminded. Clearly, this list wasn’t meant to last long because some names on it might one day become air force generals of certain countries, or high-ranking officials in their staff departments.
"Sure!" The instructor nodded, moving over to pull open a small cabinet and taking out a bottle of fine Linshui liquor: "You guys sure are busy, I hear another thousand came today, right? I’ve got some booze here, want a drink?"
"No choice, it’s all a lot of worry. I’m not allowed alcohol during work hours, rules of the security department," the visitor sighed wearily: "I better go, still a heap of work this afternoon. The Air Force is impressive, huh, Linshui fine liquor..."
"Take it, it’s on me," tossing the bottle to the visitor, the instructor team leader’s face beamed with a smile.
"Thanks!" Taking the bottle, the visitor expressed his gratitude: "Everyone knows the Air Force has good perks. Playing this feels like a game of landlord, haha."
Playing cards had been popular for quite a while now and the game of fighting landlords had obviously become a hit.